If you decided to leave your country and study in a different country, how would that make you feel?
High school students have the chance to be exchange students. Here at West, there are six exchange students this year. Though we all can try to imagine how hard it would be to move away from family and into a new culture and lifestyle, very few of us will have the opportunity to participate.

Students from Spain, Czech Republic, Japan, Thailand, Pakistan, and Germany are all staying here at West. When they first arrive here, are they being treated differently based on where they came from?
“Many classmates ask me about Japan,” junior Takumi Kishi, a foreign exchange student from Japan, said.“‘Is it true that blah blah?’ or ‘What kind of food do you like best?’”
Kishi says he isn’t bothered by the questions he just likes to inform people about his experiences and culture.
When you come from another country, it can sometimes be hard to adjust to the life of an American. Some people have different perspectives on different cultures that affect the exchange student’s experience.
“I wanted to know a new way of thinking, and I thought in America there are all kinds of people with their own strong way of thinking,” Kishi said.
Exchange students come for a reason; each one has a different goal or wants to experience new things.
“Sometimes people here don’t understand that much about exchange students,” junior Xenia Buxo, an exchange student from Spain, said. “so it’s not like they judge, but they don’t understand us.”

Even though they have experienced some misunderstandings with other students, these students agree that should not discourage students from try it.
“If you have the opportunity to do this,you should definitely do it,” junior Matyas Hrdina, an exchange student from the Czech Republic, said. “Experience something new and once you get the chance to do it, take it.”
Being away from family is one of the things that comes with new experiences. Sometimes people don’t think about that when talking to students who are away from their family such as an exchange student. Not only are they away from their family, they are away from friends too.
“She said she wanted to go back, like I miss my friends, I miss my family, I feel like people don’t understand me.” Xenia explains about a recent event that happened with another exchange student.
Taking a moment to learn about exchange students and where they come from, could help the community by learning a new kind of culture and a new way of living and thinking.