ARGYLE - The five international students taking part in the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program at Argyle High School learned a lot about America since they came here a few months ago to spend the school year.
"Americans are very friendly. They aren't like what you see on TV," Faiz Rahman from Indonesia said.
Learning about America and helping Americans learn about people from other countries is the goal of the YES program, which helps build bridges between American students and students from countries that have a significant Muslim population.
A year ago, the five international students taking part in the program had never heard of Argyle.
Now, they'll never forget it.
"Before I came I knew nothing about it," said Shally Lao-un of the Philippines. "I didn't realize it was this small. When I saw the population sign, I realized the town is half the size of my school."
The students, Lao-un, Rahman, Yan Rou Leom of Malaysia, Hussein Al Harbi of Saudi Arabia and Bahar Gaser of Turkey, weren't used to being in a small town. It didn't take them long to discover the benefits of life in a rural community.
For Bahar, the first night in Argyle was one to remember. Living in a large city, she was used to seeing street lights, not the open sky, she said.
"I looked up and saw stars," she smiled. "Coming from a town of 4 million, everything here is different."
Another advantage of a small school was that it opened up the possibility to take part in school activities.
"It's easy to get involved with things," Al Harbi said.
The students were able to take part in extracurricular activities.
More importantly, they found it easy to make friends.
"Everybody knows everybody," Rahman said. "It's a good atmosphere."
Their fellow students and people in Argyle were easy to get to know, Yan Rou Leom added.
"Although Argyle is a small town, it's quite fun,' she said. "People are very friendly."
Al Harbi said the students treated him as just another student. He was happy about that, he said.
"I like being treated like everyone else," he said. "I wouldn't want to be treated as a foreign exchange student."
They were made to feel that they belonged, Lao-un added.
The students will stay in Argyle until the end of June. They are staying with Stan and Marjorie Bigelow.
"Americans are very friendly. They aren't like what you see on TV," Faiz Rahman from Indonesia said.
Learning about America and helping Americans learn about people from other countries is the goal of the YES program, which helps build bridges between American students and students from countries that have a significant Muslim population.
A year ago, the five international students taking part in the program had never heard of Argyle.
Now, they'll never forget it.
"Before I came I knew nothing about it," said Shally Lao-un of the Philippines. "I didn't realize it was this small. When I saw the population sign, I realized the town is half the size of my school."
The students, Lao-un, Rahman, Yan Rou Leom of Malaysia, Hussein Al Harbi of Saudi Arabia and Bahar Gaser of Turkey, weren't used to being in a small town. It didn't take them long to discover the benefits of life in a rural community.
For Bahar, the first night in Argyle was one to remember. Living in a large city, she was used to seeing street lights, not the open sky, she said.
"I looked up and saw stars," she smiled. "Coming from a town of 4 million, everything here is different."
Another advantage of a small school was that it opened up the possibility to take part in school activities.
"It's easy to get involved with things," Al Harbi said.
The students were able to take part in extracurricular activities.
More importantly, they found it easy to make friends.
"Everybody knows everybody," Rahman said. "It's a good atmosphere."
Their fellow students and people in Argyle were easy to get to know, Yan Rou Leom added.
"Although Argyle is a small town, it's quite fun,' she said. "People are very friendly."
Al Harbi said the students treated him as just another student. He was happy about that, he said.
"I like being treated like everyone else," he said. "I wouldn't want to be treated as a foreign exchange student."
They were made to feel that they belonged, Lao-un added.
The students will stay in Argyle until the end of June. They are staying with Stan and Marjorie Bigelow.