Grant Union High School's foreign exchange students include Apimuk Charudilaka of Thailand, Benjamin Sundermeier of Germany and Jesus Castro of Mexico. The Eagle/HEATHER SHEEDY Grant Union High School's foreign exchange students include Apimuk Charudilaka of Thailand, Benjamin Sundermeier of Germany and Jesus Castro of Mexico.

JOHN DAY – Adding a bit of culture at Grant Union High School are three foreign exchange students – Jesus Castro from Mexico, Apimuk Charudilaka of Thailand and Benjamin Sundermeier of Germany.

The young men are excited about being in the United States this school year and hope to improve their understanding and English conversational skills.

One of the students, Jesus Castro, shares his expertise of the Spanish language in return during classes taught by Liliana McKern. He lives with Bill and Lori Wyllie family.

Jesus Castro comes from Mexico City, a city of 10 million people. His father operates a fish shop, his mother is a homemaker and he has twin sisters. The family traveled to California when Jesus was a lad of 11, sightseeing in Los Angeles. As a high school senior, he is studying English for the first year. His future includes Tec de Monterey college to study engineering. Jesus enjoys running, bicycle racing, lifting weights and woodworking. Of John Day, he said, “I like it because it is small and there are not a lot of people.”

Apimuk Charudilaka, also known by his nickname Pla, arrived in the states this fall for the first time and lives at the home of Grant Union High School Principal Mark Witty. He comes from Bangkok, a city of 10 million, where his father works in customs and his mother is employed at a bank. He has one sister. Pla, a GUHS sophomore, is on the football team, playing the sport for the first time. He also participates in rugby and soccer. As a first-year English student, he is looking forward to learning the English language better, and art is his favorite class. After high school, Pla aspires to become a dentist.

German Benjamin Sundermeier has already had six years of English and is fluent in the language, although this is his first visit to the United States. A junior at GUHS, Sundermeier lives with the Eric Wunz family. His hometown is Westerland, with a population of 8,000. His father works with children and is furthering his education; his mother is the head of the cleaning department at a hospital. He has a 16-year-old sister. At Grant Union, Benjamin participates in varsity soccer and will join the track and field team. Life-Time Activities taught by Julie Mathews is his favorite GUHS class. One major difference he’s noticed between German and U.S. schools is that German students don’t “choose” their classes, he said. Since his homeland is an island with very flat land, Benjamin enjoys the beautiful landscape and mountains of Grant County. He also mentioned the friendliness of the people.