Foreign exchange student in Iola
By Holly Neumann
Traveling all the way from the Republic of Georgia, Ekaterine “Kato” Jamaspishvili, 15, is now enjoying life in Wisconsin as a foreign exchange student.
Kato admits she had never heard of Wisconsin before arriving in Iola on Aug. 24.
“I had no idea where I was going,” she said. “I found out a week before I was coming here. I had to do some research.”
For Kato, who is staying with the Dan and Ann Tap family in Iola, becoming an exchange student was important to her.
“I wanted to learn better English,” she said. “I want to come back to America to go to college, as America is a better place to study.”
The Tap family thinks the placement is a good fit.
“We received an invitation to be a host family after a trip to Spain,” said Ann. “As a family, we decided this was an opportunity we would like to participate in. A student from Spain was needing placement, and we thought it would be a good fit.”
Unfortunately, that student did not work out as she had pet allergies.
“Kato still needed placement,” said Ann. “We looked over her bio. She and our daughter Alyssa had the same birthday so we thought this was meant to be.”
The biggest obstacle has been overcoming the language barrier.
Kato is fluent in Georgian and Russian, but struggled with her English.
“At first I could not understand what people were saying,” said Kato. “People here speak really fast. It sometimes takes me a little bit of time to figure it all out.”
“We used Google translator frequently,” added Ann.
Kato is the daughter of Shalva Jamaspishvili and Khatona Pochkhoa, and lives in the city of Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia.
“About 1 million people live in my city,” said Kato. “It is a very beautiful place to see and is known for its wine.”
Compared to her hometown, Iola seems quite small.
“It is so quiet here,” she said. “And everyone knows everybody. The people are so friendly. When you walk on the streets, everyone actually says hello.”
Kato is taking in the nature from the area as well.
“I love that there are deer and squirrels everywhere,” she said. “It is so beautiful.”
One of the biggest differences she sees is in the school system.
“Back home my school is big,” she said. “There are about 3,000 children, and they all go to one school. We sit in one classroom all year and the teachers come in.”
She said she loves school at Iola-Scandinavia, where she is a sophomore.
“It’s like a big family and everyone shows support for each other,” she said. “For the first time in my life I am happy to get up and go to school.”
She also enjoys all the activities and is currently a member of the T-Birds girl’s basketball team.
“Back home, we don’t play sports in school,” she said. “I haven’t really played basketball since the fifth grade, so I don’t know much about it, but I like it. Game days are a lot of fun, and my team really includes me.”
She smiles when she shares one of her playing experiences.
“I got into the game and we were on offense, but I was playing defense,” she said. “Oops”
In the spring, Kato plans to play softball for the first time.
“I first heard about it because it looks like baseball,” she said. “I will try and we will see how it goes.”
Homecoming and the state football experience were firsts for the teenager.
“Homecoming was new for me and I love to dance, so it was nice,” she said. “American football – wow. It is my new favorite sport and I think will be for the rest of my life.”
The Tap family enjoys seeing through Kato’s eyes.
“We wanted to make her time here enjoyable,” Ann said. “We worried that she would not be comfortable with us and she would not enjoy her time here. But she is such a joy to have in our home. She has become another daughter to us and sister to Alyssa. I told her she is setting the bar high for the next student should we decide to do it again.”
Kato admits it was not easy leaving her family.
“My family and my friends are very important for me,” she said. “Without them it feels weird, but I get to talk to them every day.”
Upon her return to the Republic of Georgia, Kato will have two years of high school remaining.
“Once I graduate, I want to return to America for college,” she said. “There are so many more opportunities for me here.”
She plans to pursue a degree in law, working toward a career as an attorney or judge.