Every year, new faces enter the hallways of Woodgrove as exchange students from around the world join our school. However, each student does not know what to expect for their experience in an American high school.
Junior Celine Lauritzen from Sweden described that she was very excited and spent time imagining how school in America would be. “I was very excited to see everyone. I had lots of expectations about how people would be and how school would be in classes,” Lauritzen said. Junior Karolina Jelinkova from the Czech Republic shared that in her school back home, people are not as friendly. “People here are really nice, warm, smiling, and ask you how you are. In Czech, it’s not like this. People don’t even look at each other,” Jelinkova states.
The exchange students shared that the process of coming to America was very long. Lauritzen stated that she had many forms to fill out. The part that made her the most nervous was going to the embassy to get her visa. Alissa Dessouslavy, a junior from Switzerland, came to America through an agency. Dessouslavy said she was late in her request, but “asked them if I could go and they told me yeah. It was January and they still said I could enter.”
Junior Thea Kalek from Germany described how her exchange year affects her academic progress. “Back in Germany, the grades don’t count…It’s like a gap year,” Kalek said. Due to this, the exchange students have more flexibility when choosing their classes. This benefits them by making sure they have fun classes and not just hard classes that cause stress. Both Kalek and Dessouslavy describe that just because their grades do not count against them, does not mean they are not trying to get good grades and be good students. “I’m the person who represents my agency, and that means If I do something bad here, then the other kids in my agency aren’t allowed to come to Woodgrove after me,” explains Dessouslavy.
School sports are very unique to American high schools, and the exchange students all expressed how they love that part of Woodgrove. “I’m doing Winter Cheer, which was a dream for me. Cheerleading is usually only known in American high schools and from the movies,” Jelinkova expressed. Lauritzen also states that back in Sweden, they don’t have school sports like Woodgrove does. They have sports, but they are similar to travel teams in America. Jelinkova and Lauritzen both describe liking the connections they have gotten from school sports and reported that it is like nothing they have ever experienced before.
Each exchange student expressed how big and unique this experience is, and how it will stick with them forever. Lauritzen shared, “I’m starting to appreciate what I have at home more. I feel like when I go home, I’m going to see everyday things and realize I should not take them for granted.” For Lauritzen, the biggest impact on her day-to-day life was the differences between America and Sweden, and she appreciated the change.
Kalek explained that she does not want people to think of her as just “the exchange student from Germany.” She knows that she still has a personality and does not want to just be identified by where she is from. Kalek shared, “Sometimes, as an exchange student, I think people will be saying ‘oh look at
the exchange student.’” Kalek encourages people to get to know her and the other exchange students before making assumptions.
Woodgroves exchange students share their personal thoughts about attending an American high school. Their varying experiences differ, however, just as Lauritzen states, “It’s nothing that we’ve ever experienced before.”