Csenge Nagy
Marina Branco Lopes Corte Real
by Kirill Cross
The new school year has arrived, and so have foreign exchange students. Coming from two different countries, the two exchange students are Marina Branco Lopes Côrte Real from Brazil and Csenge (pronounced Changa) Nagy from Hungary.
Real is adjusting to life at Suburban well so far. She said, “I really like the school. My teachers help me with what I need and have a lot of cool people here. It is interesting the difference between the countries and the culture, and I really want to participate of the things on school and learn more about the American people.”
Real has joined the soccer team and is enjoying that experience. She said, “I like to play with the girls and I think we have good players and people in it.”
Real also said, “My goals for the year and for my exchange program are basically the same. I really want to know all the things about the American culture. I want to live this, and know a lot of people. Try to show the differences between the countries and do a lot of things here. I want to learn more the English and have so much fun on this country.”
Nagy said that her school day in Hungary is different from the US. She said, “My school day starts at 8:00 am. Some days I have 9 classes and other days I only have six. I take religion class, art class, and gym every single day. In Hungary, I don’t get to choose what I take. And there are set requirements for what classes I have to take. My school has only 400 people. There is no Homecoming or Prom. Also, this is my first homecoming. I am so excited! I can’t wait.”
Nagy is enjoying her time at Suburban so far. She said, “I like it a lot because I can take other classes like baking.”
She also said the transition has been smooth. She said, “I’ve made a lot of friends. I made some friends in volleyball and everyone here is so nice.”
There are differences between the US and Hungary that Nagy noted. She said, “I don’t like the air conditioning because in Hungary we typically don’t use it. Also we don’t have football games and so far they have been really fun. Also, in Hungary, we don’t use cars as regularly as here, most of the time we use the bus and tram.”
She admits there have been some difficulties in the transition to American schooling. She said, “It was difficult because of the new people, every class is in another language but the people are always nice and try to help me. My goal is to make a lot of friends and try everything that I can.”