They wake up early, hop into the shower, eat a nutritious breakfast, brush their teeth and finally mob off to the school, as if they are a pack of rats or the last surviving buffalo herd, all before 8:15. These are the ideal actions of the everyday American teen, not to say that every American teen participates in these actions, but for Kevin Ishimwe the ideal, and more common un-ideal, actions of American society are a new experience.

Kevin Ishimwe, a freshman at Wenatchee High School, has lived in four countries before coming to the United States. His father works for the international Red Cross as a data manager.

“Where there is a wish, there is a way,” Ishimwe said. This is his father’s motto, and has become Ishimwe’s motto. Ishimwe’s father deeply influenced him; Ishimwe said he wants to be like his father and understand different cultures and what drives those cultures to live as they do.

Ishimwe was born in Rwanda, Africa, where he lived until 2007. Then, he moved to Switzerland, where he learned to speak French instead of his native Kinyarwanda.

“I was really excited to move to Switzerland, I heard it was a good place to live and that it was really cool,” Ishimwe said. “I liked Switzerland the most, it’s very peaceful and calm.”

In 2008, he moved from peaceful Switzerland to France, where he lived until 2010. Despite all the interesting places, Ishimwe said, “France was kinda boring.”

From France, Ishimwe returned to his birthplace, Rwanda.

“In Rwanda, there were lots of friends to reconnect with,” Ishimwe said. Within a few months it was time for Ishimwe to pack his bags once again and move halfway around the world.

In Ishimwe’s next leg of the journey he would find himself in the Philippines, where he would live for about two years, and learn to speak English.

“(The Philippines) had a good school and it was a big city,” Ishimwe said. “Moving from the Philippines was hard, especially saying goodbye to so many friends.”

In 2012, Ishimwe would find himself once again moving to a brand new place, this time it was a place with the name: Wenatchee, Washington, USA. Although it was not his father’s business that brought him here, it was a much needed vacation time. Ishimwe’s family have close friends who live in Wenatchee, so naturally it’s where they ended up.

“With these different experiences, I know different things,” Ishimwe said, comparing himself with his travels to anyone else who has grown up and stayed in one place of the world.

Ishimwe, other than traveling the world, plays basketball on the freshman team at WHS, as well as participates in track and field. He has the aspiration of becoming an engineer of international proportions after his schooling, both high school and college, are completed, his college choice may be or where he finds his first job; China, Russia or possibly Italy only time will tell. One thing is for certain about Ishimwe’s wishes, he’ll find a way.