Senior Julia Valente is no native to this town. In August, she and six other students arrived from all over the world to spend a year as a Carmel student. The goal, according to the foreign exchange program’s website was to “Spread cultural perspective.”

But Valente stands alone in that she has history with the city of Carmel.

“Years ago, my dad came to Carmel as an exchange student,” Valente said. “So did three of my four uncles. I guess I just wanted to follow in their footsteps.”

According to Valente, her father’s host mother has visited her home in Brazil seven times since her father’s trip in 1978. She attended his wedding, and Valente even calls her father’s host mother Grandma.
Counselor David Mikesell, who organizes the program each year, said Valente’s case is a remarkable one.

“I think it’s incredible that her family has a story with this town,” Mikesell said. “She knows more about a place that’s 5,000 miles away from her home than the people in other parts of Indiana do.”

Arriving in a country with a culture and language that differ from hers, Valente said she expected to be surprised at the food or the people. But what she has noticed the most is the education.

“This school is so different,” Valente said. “In Brazil, we sit in one classroom while the teachers rotate, and every student takes the same classes as the rest or his of her class. But here, we can select which classes we want to take and we move from class to class.”

Valente’s hometown, Penápolis, has a population of 59,000. With little of its budget dedicated to learning, most of the Penápolis public schools are in poor condition.

“If you want to get a good education in Brazil, you have to pay to go to private school,” Valente said. “And we don’t have clubs or electives there. If you wanted to take art or dance, you would have to go to a special school for one hour in the afternoon. If you wanted to play a sport, you’d have to join a special team outside of school.”

In Carmel, Valente said she had to adjust to certain new responsibilities, including chores.

“We don’t have chores in Brazil. Most families have a maid, so it was really different for me to help out around the house and keep it clean.”

On weekends, Valente said she cleans her bedroom along with half of the bathroom. She washes and folds her laundry. She once even mowed the lawn.

“I sent a picture to my sister, but she refused to believe me. She kept insisting that I was just posing for the camera,” Valente said with a laugh.

Her diet, even the time when she eats, has also changed while living Carmel.

“It’s enforcing stereotypes, but I love the junk food here,” she said. “When I first arrived, though, mealtimes were confusing. In Brazil, if we went out to dinner, it would be at 9:30 or 10 p.m., so going out at 5 p.m., when the sun was still shining was a little difficult to get used to. I would think, “It’s still day. Why are we eating dinner already?’”

Throughout the year, Valente will live in three different homes with three different families. She will ride three different buses to school and three different buses back.

She stayed with the Sheek family throughout the first quarter. She will live in Zionsville for a while then move to West Clay in the spring.

Mikesell said, “When it comes to learning for the exchange students, I’d say it’s a mix between school and their host families. The families truly help the students explore the community and experience some of the culture.”

“I don’t know what my experience with the other families will be like, but I’ve enjoyed this one,” Valente said. “They spend a lot of time together. If a movie is on, everyone is watching it together. I feel like in Brazil, everyone in the family is busy with (his or her) own activity.”

The Sheeks are no strangers to the foreign exchange program. Having hosted a student from Slovakia years before, they welcomed Valente into their family with open arms.

“It’s been fun having another sibling in the house,” freshman Matthew Sheek said.

When the leaves fell from the trees in November, Sheek helped his “sister” rake them into a pile for her to jump in. Then he took the leaves piled onto the rake and threw them at her.

“Matthew, not like that,” she said as she laughed. Then she returned fire.

And as the wind aided them to carry the leaves toward each other, they laughed and joked with threats only used between siblings.

It’s clear that Valente is now a part of the family. And she has easily adjusted to both the new town and the new country.

“It’s been almost four months here, and I’ve felt like I’ve grown up,” she said. “Being far away from my family and the things I’m used to, it made me grow as a person.”