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Daha, one of 21 Iraqi teenagers visiting the Fredericksburg area yesterday, looks around inside a tent at Ferry Farm.
Wasan (left) and Fatima, Iraqi teens on an exchange program, talk with Milford M. Nolan, a re-enactor.
Wasan (left) and Fatima, two of the Iraqi teens visiting the United States, |
BY MEGAN WILLIAMS
Yesterday was a day of firsts for Ranya.
She saw her first fireworks show and her first movie in a theater, and had her first encounter with a caramel apple.
This is also her first time in America, and her first Fourth of July.
"I didn't know what the Fourth of July was," she said. "I knew it was something big. When I heard what it was I thought, 'That's great.'"
Ranya is a 16-year-old student from Baghdad, one of 21 Iraqi students in Fredericksburg yesterday for the Heritage Festival. They are in the United States for four weeks along with 20 others as part of the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program, funded by the U.S. State Department.
The daylong trip to Fredericksburg was planned to show the visitors what a community Fourth of July celebration is like.
The group of 15- to 17-year-olds stood wide-eyed, cameras at the ready, as they arrived on the crowded downtown streets. After being introduced by Mayor Tom Tomzak, they set off to enjoy the festival.
Ranya didn't know where to begin. For a while she stood near the music stage bobbing her head to the Eagles' "Hotel California."
"I love this song," she said.
Although she feels she has become familiar with American culture through TV and music, actually being in the county surprised her.
The number of dogs baffled her and several of the other students, as did the hustle and bustle surrounding a holiday that was still new to them. It was overwhelming, but in a good way, said Ranya, who is not supposed to use her last name while traveling in the U.S.
"People here smile all the time," she said.
"And laugh more," added her best friend, Daha.
The girls made their way through the crowds, stopping to buy bracelets and earrings for friends and family, to joke with some friends and grab a free cup of ice cream.
After spending a few hours watching people getting soaked in a dunk tank, eating fair food and talking with craft vendors, the group took a trolley ride to Ferry Farm.
The students took pictures with Colonial re-enactors and tried their hands at Colonial chores. Ranya and Daha photographed everything.
A year ago, Ranya never considered the idea of being in America. But when a friend told her about the program, she searched for the application on her own and sent it in.
She had an impressive application. She's the youngest French horn player in Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra, and the only girl.
"I want to go to Juilliard," she said. "I know it's impossible to get into, but I don't want to go to college in Iraq."
Ranya said that living in Iraq has gotten better the last two years, but she expects it to get worse.
"Seeing someone getting killed right in front of you or losing someone you're close to just sucks," she said. "But it became normal, and I have to deal with it to live my life. Otherwise I might go crazy."
She said the war has toughened her up. In fact she hadn't cried in four years until Friday night.
For the past week the students have been at a camp called Virginia Global Youth Village in Bedford, with other kids their age from the United States and Hungary, with whom they formed close friendships.
"I cried like a little girl," Ranya said about having to leave camp. "Even the boys did; I didn't expect that."
The students will move on to Washington for a few days and then separate among five cities where they will live with host families for nearly two weeks. They'll meet up again in New York City for three days before going back to Iraq.
Rhianon Deleew, one of the two chaperons for the group, met the students just a week ago but already feels close to them.
"It's been a phenomenal experience," she said. "This is what makes my job worthwhile."
As the students pulled away from Ferry Farm to go to a movie before watching the fireworks show from Pratt Park, one girl whispered to her friend: "Everyone was so nice. I had a lot of fun."
Megan Williams: 540/374-5000,
Email: mewilliams@freelancestar.com
