11/10/2007 - Exchange student dispelling misconceptions about Egypt

To Egyptian Yahia El-Kadi, snow is more amazing than the pyramids of Giza.

by Kristy Locklin
STAFF WRITER

Last week, during a playoff soccer game, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student got his first taste of winter weather.

After pelting his teammates with snowballs, he helped the Pine-Richland Rams earn a victory over Erie Cathedral Prep.

Yahia, or Ya-Ya, as he’s known around campus, also kicks extra points for the football team, is a member of numerous high school clubs, serves on the district’s World Languages Committee and is dedicated to earning high marks in his honors and advanced placement courses.

Before he heads back to Cairo next June, he hopes to squeeze a Steelers game into his hectic schedule. He’s impressed by Pittsburgh’s black-and-gold pride.

“In Egypt, people are fanatical about soccer. The fans are as crazy as they are here, probably more,” he says, pausing to rethink his statement. “Well…maybe not.”

Yahia lives in Pin Township with Jon and Theresa Bendicksen and their son, Tyler.

Several years ago, the Bendicksens’ daughter, Dani, spent six months as an exchange student in Argentina. The 2007 Pine-Richland graduate-who is fluent in Spanish-is now pursuing a degree in International Relations at New York University.

Dani’s experience with American Field Service inspired her parents to give back to the program.

In 2006, they welcomed Fabio Barreto, a 16-year-old from Brazil, into their home.

Yahia arrived last August.

“I am in awe of all of these AFS Students,” Theresa says. “They learn from us and we learn from them. That’s what AFS is all about. It promotes world peace and understanding.

During this visit, Yahia plans to clear up some misconceptions Americans have about his homeland.

Cairo, he explains, is a bustling city, with paved roads and buildings. Green pastures characterize the outlying farmland areas. No one rides camels, except tourists.

Egyptians eat at McDonald’s and watch television shows such as “Friends,” “Lost” and “Prison Break.” Like his American counterparts, Yahia hates Paris Hilton.

This week he’ll give an eye-opening presentation about Egypt in his World Cultures class.

“People think it’s all sand and pyramids and camels, ” he says, with a laugh. “It makes me feel a little sad that they don’‘t know much, but it’s mainly because they’re only taught things about ancient Egypt. No one really talks about the new stuff.”