CHERRY TWP — Laila Abou-Elezz is a long way from home.

Nearly 6,000 miles away is everything Abou-Elezz knows. Her family. Her school. Her friends.

The sophomore traded the familiarity and bustling city life of Cairo, Egypt, for the rolling rural landscape of Cherry Township.

Cairo's population: 8 million; Cherry Township's population: 1,053.

"I was so scared," said Abou-Elezz, 15, a foreign exchange student at Moniteau High. "In Egypt, I live in a city where everyone is around me. There are buildings everywhere. I know my neighborhood. Here, all I could see is trees and no neighbors. That scared me a lot."

Sometimes, the homesickness got to Abou-Elezz so much, she contemplated hopping on a plane and returning to Egypt.

But then basketball season started. Suddenly, Abou-Elezz missed home less and looked forward to her days in the United States more and more.

"It was really hard," Abou-Elezz said. "It didn't get better until I started playing basketball. It keeps me occupied and I know I have to work on this and work on that."

Abou-Elezz found she had a lot to work on.

In Egypt, she didn't play sports. Her school, like many in her native country, doesn't offer interscholastic sports.

But Abou-Elezz always wanted to try basketball, which is a popular sport inEgypt.

"There was something that always held me back from doing it," Abou-Elezz said. "It just didn't work out in Egypt. I made up my mind thatI am here to do things that I couldn't do inEgypt and experience living here."

It's been a learning process for Abou-Elezz.

Because of red tape, she wasn't able to play in her first junior varsity game until Thursday againstGrove City.She played sparingly, but said it felt good to get into live action.

Moniteau coach Mark Yeager has seen marked improvement in his Egyptian import.

"She's going to see a lot of minutes on the JV team," Yeager said.

Yeager is most amazed by Abou-Elezz's courage.

"I would never have sent one of my 15-year-old children away halfway around the world," Yeager said. "I remember when I went to basic training how homesick I was then.

"She's a real pleasure to have on the team."

Her teammates have accepted Abou-Elezz with open arms — and a warm winter coat.

Before the season started, Moniteau players presented Abou-Elezz with a Warriors' team jacket, which has come in handy in a climate much different than that of Cairo.

In fact, one of the early joys of her stay in the U.S. has been seeing snow.

"I was so excited to see it," Abou-Elezz said. "But now, it is really hard to live in."

Her teammates and classmates have learned as much from Abou-Elezz as she has from them. Abou-Elezz was bombarded by questions, all of which she was happy to answer.

"The whole purpose of coming here is letting people know about my country," Abou-Elezz said. "They were pretty amazed. I had a lot of questions like, 'Do you live in a desert? Do you ride a camel to school?' They really enjoy having me and are so supportive."

But basketball is one of the things she has enjoyed the most.

"I was really scared the first week because I didn't know anything about it and all the girls coming in knew everything about it," Abou-Elezz said. "Now it is so much fun for me. The spirit, the 'Go team!' It's really nice."

Abou-Elezz plans to continue playing basketball in Egypt when she returns after her school year in the United States.

"It made me more sure about what I want to do when I grow up," Abou-Elezz said. "I had goals, but this brought them into more focus. I want to work on making Egypt better than it is. Egypt is good, but I want to make it better."