Exchange Students Find a Home Away from Home

People who have lived in the Bay Area their entire lives probably can’t imagine how new and different the experience is for the international exchange students visiting California.

The Athenian School emphasizes the Internationalism pillar through having exchanges with other Round Square schools. So ever since students returned from the winter holidays, Athenian has hosted seven exchange students from schools in Europe, South America, and Australia.

For students who are visiting America for the first time, it can be an eye-opening experience. Florentine, an exchange student from Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, said, “The school system in general is a lot different from my home school. You have so many options, in terms of what classes you take and also what you learn in the class. The teacher-student connections are very different than what I'm used to. There is more talking; it's closer.”

Mark Friedman, Global Education Director, also emphasized this unique aspect of Athenian’s experiential approach to education. “The way Athenian teaches tends to be very interactive. The literature and history classes are often very discussion oriented. There are lots of labs in the sciences. You're creating the knowledge with the teachers,” he said.

Micaela Abram Aybar, the exchange student visiting from Markham College in Lima, Peru, said, “One of the biggest [differences] would probably be how ‘chill’ the school is regarding how students regard their teachers. The ‘calling them by their first name’ basis is still crazy to me since I’m not used to it. So is the fact that anyone can get snacks whenever they want throughout the day, and how you don’t have a uniform.”

The casualness between Athenian students and teachers has surprised many students. Florentine said, “I like how you can just walk around with your plates [of food] or you can go into the offices of the teachers and get food and they have food in the offices, all so crazy for me.

School isn't the only new experience, because students are experiencing many culture shocks when exploring the wonders of the Bay Area. Though some students miss their native foods as they are away from home for over a month, they are trying many new cuisines in the Bay Area.

Noah Martens, the exchange student from Herlufsholm Skole in Denmark, said, “I've tried all kinds of different foods, especially fast food places like Chipotle, In-N-Out, and Taco Bell.”

Micaela said, “The concept of trying new things often [is] very cool.” In addition, Florentine has tried Asian foods new to her and Micaela has tried Ethiopian and Thai food.

An important aspect of exchanges is the generosity of host families, who take in students for a month or two. “My hosts are a really sweet family and I am loving my stay here. I am officially in love with bagels, they are really good. I think that my favorite supermarket is Trader Joe's, especially the lemonade,” said Antonia Ruge Martinez, from Colegio Anglo Colombiano School in Colombia.

Host families often take exchange students to see fun tourist destinations in California.

Jade McAskill, from Wilderness School in Adelaide, South Australia, said, “Some of the most memorable places I have visited with my host family are Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It was super cool.”

International exchanges are one way to create global connections.

“I would bring everything that has happened here so far back home with me, the good and the bad because all these experiences have truly changed me and my way of thinking,” Antonia said.