Foreign exchange students participate in programs to live, study, and immerse themselves in a different culture and educational system, fostering cultural understanding and language skills for both the students and their host communities. To be in a foreign exchange program, applicants must research programs and destinations, use an exchange provider or their school’s international office, submit an application with documents like transcripts, and prove language proficiency. Applicants also need to provide personal information, academic records, and financial documentation to show they can afford the program and are prepared for the experience.
CHS Student Perspective
Evie Perkins (CHS Student): As a student who has always attended CHS, and has never traveled outside of the USA, it’s very interesting to learn about foreign exchange students and their culture. I think where they come from is fascinating. Learning about the differences between their countries and ours is really interesting to me, and I enjoy hearing their opinions about the USA. It’s cool to hear other people’s thoughts, so we have interviewed some students and staff.
CHS Students Interview
Hailey Beacham (CHS Student): She stated that foreign exchange students are very fun to be friends with, and she loves their accents and wishes there were more of them. She said she hopes to learn more about their cultures because they are all very unique.
Exchange Student Perspective
Lilly Schoissengeier (From Austria): I decided to go on exchange because I wanted to see and experience a different culture and improve my English. The process and time to become an exchange student depends on the program itself. I applied to the program in October 2024 to go on exchange in the fall of 2025. In most of the programs, you get your host family between January and August. I got my host family in May. Lilly stated that the American school system is way different than the Austrian one. In Austria, the students always stay in the same class and the teachers move from class to class, so the hallways are not that full. But, the good thing about the students moving is that you meet way more people. The school in my home country is open to going on exchange. I don’t even need to repeat the year. I just skipped it because I went to school here, but I still need to learn the stuff from Austria so I’m not behind when I come back. This depends from school to school. My first impression is that everything is so big. For example, the trucks in Europe are not even half the size of the trucks here in America. I miss a lot of the food, but mostly I miss the bread and a traditional dish called “Riebel”
CHS Teacher Interviews
Lilly and I asked teachers if it was difficult to teach a foreign exchange student. One teacher said it was not difficult, but teachers do have to find different words that they understand. We also interviewed the Spanish teacher, Mrs. Zeeman, because we wondered if it would be hard to teach someone Spanish who is also trying to learn better English. Mrs. Zeeman thinks it’s easy to teach them Spanish because of Latin roots. Learning to speak might go slower, but she says it’s not hard and she enjoys teaching them.
Another teacher, Mr. Beldyga, said it’s definitely a learning experience for both of them. He said that trying to teach Giulio Vedova, a foreign exchange student from Italy, the game of American football was challenging because it was a game he did not learn in Italy. Mr. Beldyga said there have been no language barriers, and he loves having foreign exchange students. He wants kids to be able to see places around the world, thinks it’s cool to have a person experience the USA, and it’s brave of someone to leave their family and come to experience new things. In his classroom, Mr. Beldyga has a whole bunch of flags from all different states and countries, and people can sign their flag. Lilly signed the Austrian flag!! Mr. Beldyga used to teach current events and gun laws, and he found it interesting that foreign exchange students don’t usually know anyone who has a gun, but when he asks Americans, it’s usually a yes.
