By Diana Zimmerman
Wah. Co. Eagle
Exchange student savors local living
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October 30, 2014
Diana Zimmerman
Kaiyuan "Kent" Cheng, an exchange student from China, is getting to know America at Wahkiakum High School.
Kaiyuan "Kent" Cheng has only been here a couple months, but it's long enough to know he's sold on the weather, and not so much on the food.
You can call him Kent, but at home you would greet him with his last name first. Cheng Kaiyuan is said quickly and sounds a bit like "Chung-KI-you-ahn.
The thermometers present high numbers most months of the year in Cheng's home of Nanjing, a few hours outside of Shanghai, China.
"It's not very hot here," he said. "I love the cool weather."
Still, he's already seen snow, as the winter months in his province of China get to be very cold.
Cheng is a 15 year-old who loves to read, play basketball, ping pong and games on his phone. His favorite book is Three Kingdoms, a novel about the turbulent period following the Han Dynasty.
Cheng plans to turn out for the basketball team after football season ends. Coach Eric Hansen put him in a game recently and he was obviously thrilled, despite never having played the game before moving here. The experience made quite an impression.
"I think it's dangerous," he laughed.
Homesickness hasn't really come into play for the young man. He's made several friends and he's enjoying his adventure, going to hockey games in Portland, attending the homecoming dance with friends and watching Arrow on TV with another exchange student and his host family.
He is amazed that he can drink water straight from the tap. At home, he said, they must boil their water before they use it.
Food is a different story. His parents have passed down their love of cooking to him and he's missing the traditional food at home, particularly the dumplings.
"The food," he said of the American diet, "is not good."
When he returns to China he will have one or two more years of school before he heads to the university to study engineering.
Cheng lives in Cathlamet with another exchange student in the home of Nova Lee and John Knopp. Mr. Cox, who teaches world history, is his favorite teacher.
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