Flower Mound High School hosts many exchange student programs. Currently ten exchange students are attending FMHS from various places such as Germany, Austria, and Poland.
These students have taken the opportunity to not only travel to America but to fully immerse themselves in this new environment. In addition to adjusting to the language and culture, students must also adapt to the Texas weather.
“It was hard to get used to,” junior Michelle Meurer of Germany said. “It’s really warm in the summer but it’s getting colder now; I’m used to that.”
With the program the length of the student’s stay varies. Some students stay for six months, while others can stay for up to an entire school year.
“I’m here for a whole year,” junior Lena Yokoyama of Austria said. “So I hope to experience a lot while I’m here.”
Some exchange students experience a bit of a culture shock at the beginning of their stay. The many differences between their home country and America take a little time to get used to.
“In America, it’s really big and in order to go to the supermarket, you need a car,” junior Gonzalo Garcia Martinez said. “In Spain, you can walk.”
Exchange students are enrolled as juniors and are therefore required to take US History and English III. By taking these courses, students will have an opportunity to learn about America’s past as well as improve their English.
Junior Nadia Wabra of Denmark noticed other major differences after taking these courses.
“The school system is very different,” Wabra said. “In Denmark, the teachers come to us because the classes had very few students. At my school, there were only 30 kids in my grade.”
Although living in another country may seem exciting, there are some disadvantages. For example, once students return home, they are about a year behind their peers in school because not all credits transfer back to their home country’s high school. This mainly happens because students don’t take the necessary classes for their home country’s high school graduation requirements.
Luckily for Nadia Wabra, this doesn’t apply to her.
“I have already graduated before coming here,” Wabra said. “So it’s a little weird to be back in high school.”
Another drawback of the program is the large distance away from family and friends.
“I don’t miss my family anymore,” Yokoyama said. “I missed them the first couple of weeks, but not anymore because I know that I will see them again when I return home.”
Apart from these negatives, the students have been enjoying their time in America.
“I’m happy to come to Texas because it’s really nice,” Meurer said. “I thought everybody here in Texas had horses and wore hats like cowboys. But now I know better, and I like it here.”
For these exchange students, letting go of the American lifestyle will be difficult to adjust to.
“I love my life here so much that I don’t want to go home,” Yokoyama said.
