St. Patrick Catholic High School welcomes exchange student Arenas Zhang!  A junior, Zhang’s host family is Dr. and Mrs. James Holland, Jacob and Peter.  Zhang’s home is Chongqing, located in the southwest part of China, with a population of over 30 million people. His mother is a doctor and his father is a businessman. Because couples in China are allowed to have only one child, he has no brothers and sisters.

     In the top 10 percent of his class, Arenas attended a school with two campuses, each with an enrollment of about 3,000 students. When he goes back to China, he will take the SAT and the TOELF, the test of English as a Foreign Language.  He will apply at University of California Los Angles, his first choice for college.  

     When asked about St. Patrick, Arenas answered “Nice!” He shared that he is having no trouble with math but he does have to concentrate in all of his classes because of the language difference. 

     “Everything is good,” he said with a big smile. Jacob has introduced him to friends and has taken him to several parties where he enjoys conversations. He especially likes it when people ask him about China. “I talk, talk, talk,” he says. 

    “I am seventeen years old, without my parents, without my friends, and in a different culture. I do get homesick sometimes,” Arenas shared. He talks with his parents once a week. 

     Welcome, Arenas! We are glad you are here.