Turkish Exchange Student Is

Enjoying His Year In Newtown

By Tanjua Damon

Gaining new experiences and experiencing challenges are goals of many students. Achieving that goal this year is Durucan Baltas, an exchange student at Newtown High School.

Durucan, 16, is from Istanbul, Turkey, and is being sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club. Both of his parents are Rotarians. He is a senior at the high school currently studying chemistry, English, math, physics and history. Durucan is also a member of the varsity soccer team where he plays on the forward line and at the midfield. He also enjoys skiing, swimming, and tennis.

Having the opportunity to experience a different culture and be in a different country for a year is what interested Durucan most about being an exchange student.

“I wanted to live in a different experience,” he said. “And have a new challenge.”

Durucan’s native country of Turkey is about the size of Texas. He speaks English quite well but has been challenged with the language. He lived in England for a while, but has found American English to be very different than British English.

Durucan has already noticed differences between America and Turkey. He has observed that Americans are quite organized and very focused on what they do.

“That’s the way that they live. In Turkey, it’s more unorganized than compared to here,” he said. “We eat dinner at nine at night and here around 6 pm. People are very disciplined. So serious all the time.”

Durucan also noticed that how people interact with each other is different.

“In Turkey, you can get closer, a man kissing a man. Here it is gay,” he said. “Here everybody helps you. They don’t hesitate to help you. In Turkey they usually only help you if you ask. They aren’t so glad [to help].”

School is fairly similar except that there is more time in between classes, he said. The food is also similar, but Durucan had found he likes Gatorade.

Durucan’s parents, both psychology professors, are also Rotarians in Istanbul. He has an older brother named Basar. After his year experience in the United States, Durucan will go back to Turkey and redo his senior year there. He hopes to come back to the United States to go to college and study psychology or political science.

He arrived in late August and will be in Newtown until July 2002. He is currently being hosted by the family of Duane and Dot Baumert, who provide Durucan with room and board. The Baumerts also exercise general parental supervision. As a Rotary Exchange Student, the student stays with three different families for three months each.

Hosting an exchange student is opened to families, couples or single people. The Newtown Rotary Club invites the community to participate in the exchange program. For more information contact The Baumerts at 426-8895, or Youth Exchange Officers Bill Watts at 426-5532 or Tamra Evens at 227-6557.