The reality of being an exchange student
November 4, 2021
Going on an exchange year is an amazing experience full of fun and unforgettable moments, but, how is really being an exchange student? How is the reality of starting a new life away from your friends and family?
We can not deny that going on an exchange year has gotten more and more popular over the years. To be more concrete, a total of 4.5 million teenagers all over the world decided to be exchange students in the school year 2019-2020, beating every record so far. Due to the pandemic, this number decreased by 16 percent, and although it seems like a really big loss, we can say that the number is still significant.
These numbers are not surprising. When studying abroad, students are able to speak and learn a different language for their stay, which is such a great advantage because of how important it is nowadays to know how to speak several languages. Even Though students must have a good understanding of the language before coming here, there is always some struggle when communicating. “It is hard to understand English all the time, because sometimes my brain just needs French” says Flore Tailhardat (France)
Another of the advantages of going on an exchange year is all the people students get to know. Not only people from the country they are studying in, but also other exchange students all over the world. This year, SPASH count with 6 foreign students who come from countries like Italy, France, Ukraine, Spain or Germany.
Being new in a high school and meeting people when you are also trying to speak in another language can be challenging sometimes, even more in such a big school like SPASH, but as Margherita Mio (Italy) said “People make it so easy. They always try to help you when you don’t get something and they made me feel really included.”
Even with all of these challenges, all the homesickness and tough moments, living a completely different life for 10 months is an incredible experience, and as exchange student from Spain Adria Prat says “The comeback is going to be harder for sure. We know we are coming back to our countries, but now we are creating a life and making bonds and in less than we think we are going to leave all of it forever.”
Hannah Purkapile • Nov 8, 2021 at 1:25 PM
Candela did a beautiful job writing this article! She really expressed herself how it can be hard being a foreign exchange student! Great job!
Kenzie Mayer • Nov 8, 2021 at 8:25 AM
Candella, your article really made me realize how much you all go through. I liked how you brought other exchange students’ opinions and what they have to say about it, and how it affected everyone. You did great!
Kaylea Hetzer • Nov 8, 2021 at 7:39 AM
Candela, I think your article really gave us a good glimpse on what it’s like to be a foreign exchange student. You did a good job on asking foreign exchange students around SPASH about their thoughts and the challenges the different exchange students go through. You also had a really nice graphic that helps us clearly see the dip that happened over COVID.