MONROE - A smiling young woman, dressed in a bright red jacket, was going through a series of motions as cues for a class of kindergartners at Parkside Elementary School Wednesday morning.
"Itchi, knee," she repeated, scratching her knee. "Saun, yon, go."
Lachlyn Soper, 27, was teaching them to count in Japanese.
Soper was at Parkside to speak to students about customs, cultures and languages of other countries.
Soper, a graduate student at Princeton, had an internship with the United Nation last summer. She is now in Syria, working with the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). Soper visits refugee camps on the boarder of Syria and Iraq, speaking with Palestinians, taking photos and writing stories for an internal UN publication. She also writes grants.
Parkside School, she said, was "virtually a UN in itself here."
Parkside has 27 English Language Learners speaking seven languages.
In a third-grade class studying cultures, Soper presented Japanese clothing for the students to try on. Soper taught students how to pronounce the words for them.
She also showed students how their names were written in Arabic.
Soper says she speaks Arabic best of the five foreign languages she knows. She also speaks Japanese, Indonesian, Balinese, a little German and "not enough Spanish."
"I'm taking French classes now in Syria - a little strange, I know, but it's so cheap there," she said.
Soper and her sister Anna, 24, grew up in Argyle and spent much of their time as children "quizzing each other" about other countries. She attributed their interest in the world to being born in Australia.
"We were geography nerds," she said.
Soper said "everything is exciting" when living abroad.
"Even going to the grocery store and seeing cucumber octopus salad," she said. "In Japan, you have to tell them don't put seaweed on you pizza."
Soper said she loved living in Japan. Skiing and snowboarding are popular and on the public transportation system, delays of as little as two minutes are relayed to riders.
Soper has spent three years in the Arabic world. The Arabs, she said, would like to see media cover the Palestinian side of the Israel/Palestine conflict more fairly.
"The people love Americans; they want to come to America," Soper said. "But they are upset with the U.S. foreign policy and seeing people in Iraq dying - and nobody talking about the dying."
Soper said she has never felt unsafe in any foreign country. In comparison, Soper remembered when she was preparing to go to Egypt, where friends were during the 2004 bombings.
"I took my orientation in southside Chicago and I couldn't take the subway after dark," Soper said.
After graduation, Soper plans to continue living and working abroad.
"I may work with the government in the UN. I like living abroad," Soper said. "Living abroad makes you more appreciative of your own culture."
The best part about living abroad, she said, is "coming back to Wisconsin and having sharp cheddar cheese and a cold beer."
"Itchi, knee," she repeated, scratching her knee. "Saun, yon, go."
Lachlyn Soper, 27, was teaching them to count in Japanese.
Soper was at Parkside to speak to students about customs, cultures and languages of other countries.
Soper, a graduate student at Princeton, had an internship with the United Nation last summer. She is now in Syria, working with the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). Soper visits refugee camps on the boarder of Syria and Iraq, speaking with Palestinians, taking photos and writing stories for an internal UN publication. She also writes grants.
Parkside School, she said, was "virtually a UN in itself here."
Parkside has 27 English Language Learners speaking seven languages.
In a third-grade class studying cultures, Soper presented Japanese clothing for the students to try on. Soper taught students how to pronounce the words for them.
She also showed students how their names were written in Arabic.
Soper says she speaks Arabic best of the five foreign languages she knows. She also speaks Japanese, Indonesian, Balinese, a little German and "not enough Spanish."
"I'm taking French classes now in Syria - a little strange, I know, but it's so cheap there," she said.
Soper and her sister Anna, 24, grew up in Argyle and spent much of their time as children "quizzing each other" about other countries. She attributed their interest in the world to being born in Australia.
"We were geography nerds," she said.
Soper said "everything is exciting" when living abroad.
"Even going to the grocery store and seeing cucumber octopus salad," she said. "In Japan, you have to tell them don't put seaweed on you pizza."
Soper said she loved living in Japan. Skiing and snowboarding are popular and on the public transportation system, delays of as little as two minutes are relayed to riders.
Soper has spent three years in the Arabic world. The Arabs, she said, would like to see media cover the Palestinian side of the Israel/Palestine conflict more fairly.
"The people love Americans; they want to come to America," Soper said. "But they are upset with the U.S. foreign policy and seeing people in Iraq dying - and nobody talking about the dying."
Soper said she has never felt unsafe in any foreign country. In comparison, Soper remembered when she was preparing to go to Egypt, where friends were during the 2004 bombings.
"I took my orientation in southside Chicago and I couldn't take the subway after dark," Soper said.
After graduation, Soper plans to continue living and working abroad.
"I may work with the government in the UN. I like living abroad," Soper said. "Living abroad makes you more appreciative of your own culture."
The best part about living abroad, she said, is "coming back to Wisconsin and having sharp cheddar cheese and a cold beer."