Studying abroad, whether in high school or college, seems like a dream come true for a plethora of students all across the world. The experiences had while being a foreign exchange student can form irreplaceable memories and friendships that last a lifetime. This year, multiple students have come to this school from various countries — from Germany to Italy to India.

   Leaving his home in Italy, senior Giovanni D’Agostino reflects on how he has had to deal with an entirely different way of life.

   “It’s not hard to be a foreign exchange student, but it is a challenge. You have to leave everything; you have to leave your family, you have to leave your habits. You go out from your [comfort zone]. I think all teenagers like being close to [their] house, [their] friends, but if you make this decision, you can improve your skills. Sometimes I feel this homesickness, but it is fun to go out. It is a challenge but you can meet new people, and see that life is not just this village and that there is more, that there is a world outside,” said D’Agostino.

In addition, D’Agostino highlights how different Americans are compared to Italians.

   “It’s a little thing, but there are a lot of flags, flags everywhere; they are out of your truck or in front of your house. This is good. I like this kind of patriotism because in Italy we don’t have this. I also prefer American teenagers to Italian teenagers. I think they are more friendly; they are different. They are very outgoing and friendly,” said D’Agostino.

Senior Kristiane Haddeland adds on to D’Agostino’s claim and reaffirms that they were pleasantly surprised.

   “You guys are super, super nice. Every time you even touch someone not on purpose, you say ‘sorry.’ You say ‘sorry’ for everything and ‘excuse me’ and ‘thank you.’ You are super polite. In Norway, people will walk into someone, [and they] just keep on walking,” said Haddeland.

   Although there are many advantages to becoming an exchange student, there are also some negative aspects. Senior Ina Sundén from Sweden shares some unpleasant side effects of coming to California and leaving her Swedish friends in a time zone nine hours ahead of her.

   “The worst thing is probably my school at home just started and my friends are in school and they have a lot of drama. I don’t want them to have a lot of drama, but I kind of want to know. The time difference is nine hours so that’s annoying, like ‘gosh, I have to call them tomorrow at like 7 a.m. here so it’s like 6:15 p.m. over there,’” said Sundén.

   While all exchange students would agree that studying abroad isn’t as luxurious as they had hoped, they all agree that there is no place they would rather be.