From here to there
March 11, 2016
Traveling thousands of miles away from home, going to a school with a completely different language, and even living with a family you have never seen before can be extremely difficult. This year’s foreign exchange students did just this and have a lot to say about it. Lara Bertschi, from Switzerland; Martine Hoedjes, from the Netherlands; Olha Ter-Vartanova, from Ukraine; Elinor Parra, from Sweden, moved here to get a taste of American education. But not only did they get the education, they also got the full American experience.
“It’s really American Tradition,’ said Senior Martine Hoedjes.
The students experienced several new things here in America, that is not normal to see in their countries. Such as transportation, food selection, and types of people.
“It’s weird that everybody goes to school with their car,” said senior Lara Bertschi.
Where Lara’s from, they usually take buses or trains because students in Switzerland get their license when they’re 18 years old.
Parra says she enjoys going to sporting events, like basketball and football games, to see the excitement of the student sections. She says her school in Sweden doesn’t have a variety of sports like ours, so it id very different.
But they also have a lot to say about their experiences outside of school.
Ter-Vartanova said, “I like freedom in America. When you can just sit in your car and go whenever you want, wherever you want.” While in Ukraine that kind of thing doesn’t happen very often.
Hoedjes says that, “Everywhere you go you see fast food restaurants. The cars are bigger, the roads are bigger, everything is actually bigger.” She also says she sees, “A lot of small things like you see in movies.”
The trip here, however, wasn’t that easy for any of the students. A lot of planning, money, applications, and bravery had to take place before the move happened. The students used the programs AFS (American Field Service) and EF (Education First) to make their trip here possible. That was the first step. Next they had to face the financial aspect.
“My parents had to pay 15,000 dollars,” said Bertschi.
Which is the average cost for exchange students to move to the US.
The flight here was a very long flight. It was some of the student’s first time flying over ocean.
“I’ve never flew before and it was really cool,” said Ter-Vartanova.
Parra says it is different to come out here after living in a big city, but says that’s the reason she’s had so much much fun.
The students have been here since early to mid August and plan to stay until late June. They have had their homesick moments along the way, but have adapted to American well and continue to enjoy the American experience during their stay.
