Basin students plan Korean exchange

GRANT COUNTY — A group of high school students are traveling to Korea this summer though a Grant County exchange program.

Eight are participating in the Grant County Economic Culture Exchange program for their first time, said Administrative Coordinator Carol Green. Three more are making a return trip with the students.

The trip, from July 17 to July 31, is funded primarily through business donations. They are asked only to finance their passport and spending money.

Moses Lake High School freshman Mariel Rodriguez, 15, said she traveled to Mexico and Canada in the past, but the Korea trip is going to be her first time overseas.

Meeting other people and learning about Korean culture is the most exciting part of the trip for her.

The biggest challenge Rodriguez anticipates is differences in food taste. She is not a big fan of Korean cooking. Her family, which owns Inca Mexican Restaurant in Moses Lake, eats Hispanic food regularly.

"I'm used to Mexican food all the time," she said.

Moses Lake High School junior Michael McDonald, 16, expressed an eagerness to meet people from Korea and learn more about Korean culture.

"I'm just really excited," McDonald said. "It sounds like fun."

It is going to be his first time traveling outside the country.

Two program participants attend Warden High School and one attends Ephrata High School. The others are from Moses Lake.

Green said the students are planning to host a yard sale sometime in May and participate in the farmers' market this year to help raise money for activities when the Korean students visit the United States.

To donate to the program, people are asked to contact Carol Green at grantcountyece@yahoo.com.