Recently I have had the privilege of getting to know Jordan (freshman) and Camryn (sophomore) Fox.  The two sisters and their family recently came back to Corry from Niamey, Africa. Camryn and Jordan have lived in Niamey, Africa for ten years. Their parents are missionaries, and they attend Sahel Academy where they live. The average temperature there is about 95 degrees, according to Camryn. Corry must be quite the change in temperature!

I started out with some quick, easy questions. And from those questions I gathered that Jordyn’s favorite color is green and Camryn’s favorite color is red. Their favorite foods are pizza (Jordyn) and hot dogs (Camryn). For dessert they loved cherry cheesecake (Camryn) and banana pudding (Jordyn). Camryn’s most-loved drink is orange juice because, “I like it a lot.” And Jordyn’s favorite drink is hot chocolate. I inquired if there was anything in particular they had ever dreamed of doing in their life. Jordan has always wanted to visit Australia, and Camryn has always wanted to go hang-gliding. Those both sound like a blast!

The Fox sisters both participate in sports here at Corry High. Camryn chose her primary sport as soccer, and a secondary sport of cross country. Jordyn chose to focus on cross country as her fall season sport. I asked both girls how their sports were going and Jordyn responded with, “I’ve been enjoying them because…we don’t really compete with other schools [where they are from].”  Camryn added, “I am really liking them because I feel like it gives us the opportunity to make friends.” Both girls are excelling in the sports they chose to participate in, proving just how athletic and gifted they are!

Of course I had to ask how school here differs from their private school in Niamey. So far the girls are enjoying their schooling here. Jordan said, “Public school is not bad, but it’s not as good as private school. It’s a lot smaller.” Camryn quickly added, “It’s big, there’s more people in one [grade level] than in our whole school.” I didn’t realize quite how small their school was in Africa! I followed up with asking, were you nervous when you got here? Excited?

Camryn said, “I was very nervous. I feel like there was a lot of people, so it was overwhelming.” Coming to a whole new school, let alone a whole new continent, must have been very nerve-wracking. Jordan then gave her opinion, saying “[I was] excited– just seeing my family again.” Seeing family after not being with them for a while is always time well spent.

Now, one thing I am sure many people are wondering about is what the food is like in Africa compared to here. Jordan and Camryn informed me that the average diet consists of rice and sauce, and “basic stuff like that.” They also said the candy and cookies are not tasteful from the market. While they may be good to the locals, after coming back to Corry and tasting cookies from here, the sweets from Niamey just aren’t the same. Jordan mentioned how she doesn’t cherish any specific food, just “everything”! Camryn said she specifically cherishes pizza when visiting the U.S.

Thank you for taking time to answer questions, Camryn and Jordan! It was really nice to get the opportunity to know more about you. On behalf of the newspaper crew and all the students, we hope you enjoy Corry High!