OTTUMWA — Being an ambassador is a special assignment and Sadaf Nooruddin, 16, of Karachi, Pakistan, takes that very seriously.

But, that doesn’t mean she forgets to smile. Not only is the enthusiastic teen eager to share her background and knowledge, she’s also focused on learning as much as she can about the United States. That’s so she can tell others when she returns home.

“People know my country exists, but no one has a clear concept of who we are or how we live because they’ve never met anyone from Pakistan and haven’t visited my country,” she said.

Sadaf is a foreign exchange student who is staying with Ottumwan Ruth Roth, her host family. Sadaf’s original host family had to move from Ottumwa and she needed a place to stay. Ruth agreed to house her.

“Sadaf is bright, articulate, and has good insight,” Ruth said. “She’s the No. 2 scholar in Pakistan and has graduated with high honors. She’s a YES student, one of only three in Iowa.”

The YES (Youth Exchange and Study) Program is part of the federal Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Before coming to Iowa, Sadaf spent time in Washington, D.C., and she met other foreign exchange students and Senator Tom Harkin.

Sadaf arrived in America Aug. 14, 2005 (Pakistan’s Independence Day), wearing clothes the color of the Pakistani flag — green and white. She is from a metropolis — Karachi, more than 10 million people — and chose a rural area for her American studies.

“My country is three-fourths Muslim and the other fourth is of various religions. We live together in peace and unity, with equal rights to everyone,” she said.

In March Sadaf presented information about Pakistan during a week-long open house at Ottumwa High School. She told visitors her country is an agricultural one. Crops include wheat, corn and barley. Pakistan also has coal mining.

Located in Southern Asia, Pakistan borders the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west, and China in the north. Sadaf’s country is slightly less than twice the size of California.

There are 23 million people in Sadaf’s province. Karachi is on Pakistan’s southern coast and is near the Arabian Sea.

“My family lives by the beach and I like to walk there, but I don’t swim. My 12-year-old sister enjoys it more,” she said. “But, I do collect sea shells and have some very nice ones.”

Sadaf’s efforts to be a foreign exchange student started with her desire to represent her country.

“My country has given me so much and it means so much to get a chance to do this,” she said. “I wanted a firsthand chance to visit America, stay with a host family and tell people about my land and customs.”

Sadaf believes the Pakistani view of America is good, but most Pakistanis don’t know details about what Americans do. All they know is what the media tells them.