Making the adjustment

By Kelly Masson
Citizen Editor

CULVER — Lyuba Docheva is adjusting to her new life at Culver Academies as an exchange student from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Through the American Secondary Schools and International Students and Teachers program, Lyuba was chosen to represent her country by writing an essay in English, taking a skills test and being interviewed.

“They just liked me, so they took me,” she said.

The best students from the country’s English language high school were eligible to contend. Seventy students were interviewed and seven were chosen to attend American schools as exchange students for one year.

ASSIST placed them in different schools around the United States.

Lyuba is adjusting to life at The Academies.

“Nothing is the same. They are stricter here. You really have to follow the rules,” she said. “The educational system is different. You can’t ask for additional help (in Bulgaria). You have to do all the work in class or at home.

"Here, there is more attention and help. Everybody is interested in you.”

Never having the opportunity, she has found new hobbies — fencing and cheerleading. Back home, there is no cheerleading program and fencing is very expensive.

Lyuba’s host parents, Ryan and Jamie Martin, help her with whatever she needs, including shopping in Plymouth or providing a place to go during breaks.

“We are just like normal parents and we are aware of her grades,” said Ryan.

Lyuba is a junior from Thomas Jefferson Second English Language High School. She lives in Sofia with her parents Milena Cholakova and Valery Velin and her baby sister Maria.

She plans to return to finish high school and get her bachelor’s degree in Bulgaria. She may come back to the U.S. to finish her master’s degree.