Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 3, 1993 TAG: 9305270538
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A foreign exchange student, she played soccer with her peers, and, despite a language handicap, maintained all A's, except for a B in English.
Rosa never planned to come to a small town in Southwest Virginia and never planned to leave such a successful year in her wake. But Rosa's attitude of being "open to everything different and new away from home" probably helped smooth the waters between continents and lifestyles.
And, anticipating the possibility of snow was another factor that helped to break the ice. Certainly, Virginia didn't let her down this year.
"When I first got to the airport in Lynchburg on Aug. 16, it was real dark, and I couldn't see my host parents," Rosa said. But she said that from the start, they hit it off.
The Crowders, who hosted Rosa this year, have a son long out of high school and far away from home in Providence, R.I.
Pat Crowder said she didn't know what to expect when they decided to become host parents, but after having Rosa this past year, she said that if she had ever had a daughter, she would have wanted her to be like Rosa.
"She just bubbles all the time. When she first came here, it was a little hard for me to understand her, and I know it was for her, too. But it was kind of like she leaned on me to translate into something she could understand.
"She's the type of person that even though she's intelligent, she doesn't let it go to her head. She's so good about helping other students, and that's amazing. It opened their eyes," Crowder said.
Rosa, in addition to helping other students, brought a zeal for learning that infected everyone, said Bob Lee, her physics teacher.
"It's good to see someone else come in and give the students competition," he said. "Deborah is an extrovert anyway, and as the year went along, she came out more and more. There's lots of labs, and I spend a lot of time explaining; and if she doesn't understand, she asks - she will get involved, and she almost stops you until she get it."
Lee - who said he's taught foreign exchange students both at Liberty and Staunton River high schools, as well as having been an American student in Germany for a year himself - said the program is great.
"I find that almost all of them bring something to the school that the student wouldn't have otherwise gotten. It broadens their perspective of the world."
Rosa is one 176 Liberty graduates. Jennifer Robey is the valedictorian, and Reco Thomas is salutatorian.
Rosa may never have learned that in the United States, "warming her clothes" is called "ironing" them, or may still be calling her socks her "sockers"; but she does have plans to return to law school in the United States.
Without the exchange program, Rosa may never have seen the differences between Brazilian and United States schools. For instance, she said, in Rio she goes to school from 7 a.m. until to noon, and then the second shift of students attends in the afternoon.
And in Brazil, she said, students "have the same classroom all day, but the teachers change classes."
Students also pay to go to high school in Rio, but the government sponsors university educations.
Rosa also said she's learned something in Bedford County that definitely can't be taught in books: "how to understand people and the attitudes that they have. People in Rio are more open; people really want to be friends with a foreign exchange student.
"Here, people sometimes introduce me, and the next day they don't say, `Hello' or anything. That's the way it is here. Now, I'm used to it and it doesn't hurt me anymore."
Rosa, who said she gained maturity during her senior year, as well as another family, also decided this past year what her career track was going to be. Before coming to Liberty High School, she was wavering between the law and psychology. Now, "I want to be a lawyer."
For Crowder, Rosa brought a sense of adventure and a lot of love to the host family. Crowder said she's seriously thinking about visiting Brazil in February, because she's seen so many postcards and magazines about it.
"Our whole family has just fallen in love with her from day one," Crowder said.
by CNB