high school student from Thailand plans to attend CAl U
By Zain Siddiqui
Poon Nirunwongwan's love for a local Pittsburgh sports team piqued his interest in the area. Now, after coming to Western Pennsylvania as a foreign exchange student, he hopes to stay put in the area for the foreseeable future.
Nirunwongwan, 18, plans to attend California University of Pennsylvania once he graduates from Woodland Hills Senior High School in Pittsburgh.
Nrunwongwan is part of the international student program at Woodland Hills and is from Bangkok, Thailand.
“I arrived here in Pittsburgh just a few days before my birthday, and I was very frightened,” Nirunwongwan said through his translator, Janice Gibson. However, after seeing the sights and taking in the culture, Nirunwongwan warmed up to the area. “Pittsburgh is a beautiful city and I’m a huge Steeler fan,” he said
Nirunwongwan was an avid soccer player for his school in Thailand and plans to join the Woodland Hills soccer team. Surprisingly, his biggest reason for coming to Pittsburgh was because of his Steelers fandom. Nirunwongwan said he hopes to attend a few games this season. He is also a big fan of American music and pop culture, and his favorite genre of American music is Alternative Rock.
American food is one of the things he is anxiously awaiting to try. He has heard of the wondrous items he has to choose from, such as burgers and hot dogs .
“I love food,” Nirunwongwan said, laughing. “I’m excited to try all types of food. Currently I have been to Red Robin and ate a cheeseburger and it was amazing. The school food, though, is delicious. I eat pizza every day and it has become one of my new favorite foods.”
Nirunwongwan is staying with the Liggets, a Pittsburgh family who took part in the international student program. The family has a son, Samuel, attending Woodland Hills.
“The Liggets have been very friendly to me, and they gave me a place to live,” Nirunwongwan said. “They cook for me and they have also bought me a gift on my birthday. It’s something that I was not expecting.”
Nirunwongwon also stated that life in the United States is different than what it would be in Thailand. His family in Thailand never allowed him to have as much free time as kids do here. “In Thailand, my family is big on education,” he said. “I play soccer in my free time, but it is very limited. My parents feel that education will take you far. I feel that coming to the USA will help me accomplish my goal.”
Nirunwongwon said while in America, he still spends most of his time studying and reading for school.
Nirunwongwon plans on coming to Cal U, majoring in Sports Management and becoming a manager of an athletic team.
“ I really love sports,” he said. “When I was in Thailand, American sports are one of the things I studied since I was a young boy. I was always obsessed with American football growing up. With the little free time I had, I would watch old football games and sometimes they would play the old Steeler games from years ago.”
In Thailand, they don’t have the luxuries of cable television and sometimes even electricity. Thailand experiences blackouts constantly and sometimes they could last for days at a time, according to Nirunwongwon.
“ I really like how America has a lot of amenities like television and video games,” Nirunwongwon said.
Harold, Ligget, 45, and his wife, Carrie, 42, loved the idea of the international program and were quick to jump into action and help an aspiring student coming to a different country.
“Poom is a sweet kid,” Carrie said. “He is very kind and nice and always thanking us for giving him a place to stay and helping him adjust to living here.”
As is often the case, Nirunwongwon admits the most difficult adjustment he has faced has been learning the English language. Luckily for Nirunwongwon, the Liggets are dedicated to helping him with that aspect of living in America, too.
“The only difficult thing is the communication,” Carrie said. “We are still trying to teach him a bit of English. We are surprised, though, that he knows some basics, but he is a quick learner.”
Samuel Ligget has grown close to Nirunwongwon despite the communication issues they face.
“He’s a really nice guy and a friendly person too,” Samuel said. “I showed him how to throw a football, had him try real American food, and took him to the local mall to show him what we wear here compared to Thailand,” Samuel said.
Nirunwongwan plans on applying to Cal U in December and hopes to be accepted into the university. If accepted, he plans to visit in the spring before attending in Fall '16. He also hopes to learn more English in the coming year so he can interact better with all the new faces he will meet on campus.
Zain Siddiqui is a student majoring in Journalism at California University of Pennsylvania. Read more of his stories at zainsiddiquicaliforniapa.weebly.com
Nirunwongwan, 18, plans to attend California University of Pennsylvania once he graduates from Woodland Hills Senior High School in Pittsburgh.
Nrunwongwan is part of the international student program at Woodland Hills and is from Bangkok, Thailand.
“I arrived here in Pittsburgh just a few days before my birthday, and I was very frightened,” Nirunwongwan said through his translator, Janice Gibson. However, after seeing the sights and taking in the culture, Nirunwongwan warmed up to the area. “Pittsburgh is a beautiful city and I’m a huge Steeler fan,” he said
Nirunwongwan was an avid soccer player for his school in Thailand and plans to join the Woodland Hills soccer team. Surprisingly, his biggest reason for coming to Pittsburgh was because of his Steelers fandom. Nirunwongwan said he hopes to attend a few games this season. He is also a big fan of American music and pop culture, and his favorite genre of American music is Alternative Rock.
American food is one of the things he is anxiously awaiting to try. He has heard of the wondrous items he has to choose from, such as burgers and hot dogs .
“I love food,” Nirunwongwan said, laughing. “I’m excited to try all types of food. Currently I have been to Red Robin and ate a cheeseburger and it was amazing. The school food, though, is delicious. I eat pizza every day and it has become one of my new favorite foods.”
Nirunwongwan is staying with the Liggets, a Pittsburgh family who took part in the international student program. The family has a son, Samuel, attending Woodland Hills.
“The Liggets have been very friendly to me, and they gave me a place to live,” Nirunwongwan said. “They cook for me and they have also bought me a gift on my birthday. It’s something that I was not expecting.”
Nirunwongwon also stated that life in the United States is different than what it would be in Thailand. His family in Thailand never allowed him to have as much free time as kids do here. “In Thailand, my family is big on education,” he said. “I play soccer in my free time, but it is very limited. My parents feel that education will take you far. I feel that coming to the USA will help me accomplish my goal.”
Nirunwongwon said while in America, he still spends most of his time studying and reading for school.
Nirunwongwon plans on coming to Cal U, majoring in Sports Management and becoming a manager of an athletic team.
“ I really love sports,” he said. “When I was in Thailand, American sports are one of the things I studied since I was a young boy. I was always obsessed with American football growing up. With the little free time I had, I would watch old football games and sometimes they would play the old Steeler games from years ago.”
In Thailand, they don’t have the luxuries of cable television and sometimes even electricity. Thailand experiences blackouts constantly and sometimes they could last for days at a time, according to Nirunwongwon.
“ I really like how America has a lot of amenities like television and video games,” Nirunwongwon said.
Harold, Ligget, 45, and his wife, Carrie, 42, loved the idea of the international program and were quick to jump into action and help an aspiring student coming to a different country.
“Poom is a sweet kid,” Carrie said. “He is very kind and nice and always thanking us for giving him a place to stay and helping him adjust to living here.”
As is often the case, Nirunwongwon admits the most difficult adjustment he has faced has been learning the English language. Luckily for Nirunwongwon, the Liggets are dedicated to helping him with that aspect of living in America, too.
“The only difficult thing is the communication,” Carrie said. “We are still trying to teach him a bit of English. We are surprised, though, that he knows some basics, but he is a quick learner.”
Samuel Ligget has grown close to Nirunwongwon despite the communication issues they face.
“He’s a really nice guy and a friendly person too,” Samuel said. “I showed him how to throw a football, had him try real American food, and took him to the local mall to show him what we wear here compared to Thailand,” Samuel said.
Nirunwongwan plans on applying to Cal U in December and hopes to be accepted into the university. If accepted, he plans to visit in the spring before attending in Fall '16. He also hopes to learn more English in the coming year so he can interact better with all the new faces he will meet on campus.
Zain Siddiqui is a student majoring in Journalism at California University of Pennsylvania. Read more of his stories at zainsiddiquicaliforniapa.weebly.com