After traveling almost 6,000 miles from Gambia to the Roaring Fork Valley, three boys and two teachers were able to experience a completely new culture and way of life.

An exchange program facilitated through Basalt High School enabled teachers and students from Gambia to visit our valley, staying with student families and teachers from Basalt High School. In March, students from Basalt flew across the ocean to Uganda and Gambia and stayed with local African families. The exchange students were in the valley for 2 weeks, and came to visit Aspen High School on Wednesday, April 23^rd.

“The people here have been very nice. The school is much smaller than our school at home. At our school there are about 40 to 45 students in each class, and the teachers move from classroom to classroom while the kids stay in the same one” 18-year-old Muhammed Samadeh said.

So far the students have experienced what a typical student in the Roaring Fork Valley does on a day-to-day basis. During the school day, they have been to school and sat in during classes.  They shared their experiences with classes, and told them what a typical day is like for them.  On the weekends they did activities with their host families such as hike, go to the hot springs, or sightsee around the beautiful area.

Like many seniors at Aspen High School, college is on their minds. In Gambia, there is one public university and one public college. Because there are so few public colleges, it is very difficult to be accepted.

“In order to get into the schools you need to have very good grades. The schools are very expensive, but if your grades are good you can usually get scholarships,” senior in Gambia Ebrima Sumareh said.

The students set high goals for themselves and know what they want to study in the near future. Samaden wants to study economics and Sumareh hopes to study medicine.

The boys are very grateful to have had the opportunity to come visit the Roaring Fork Valley, and have learned a lot about our culture and way of life.