What’s the best time of year? Some might guess Christmastime or summer vacation. While those are some of my favorite times of year, you would be wrong: it’s exchange season! If you know me, you know it’s something I just won’t stop talking about. My friends know that I have been obsessed with exchange (maybe a little too much) ever since I went to Lille, France as a sophomore. There, I grew more confident in myself and was able to make many lasting friendships that I still cherish. It was an experience that I will never forget and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do. I improved my French language skills and grew not only in confidence, but also in self-worth. I broke out of my shell in ways I never had before and it was truly a life-changing experience for me.
What is exchange?
Now, for freshmen who may be confused and thinking ‘what is this girl talking about? Exchange?” You’ve come to the right place! Have you seen the girls in the different school uniforms that keep magically appearing? Well, those are the exchange students who come from around the world, stay for about 2-3 weeks, and go to school to see the American high school experience. Then, in turn, Stone Ridge girls go to their exchange students’ respective schools to learn about their culture. This allows for students to be more globally aware and culturally connected to the other Sacred Heart schools around the world, which is an incredible thing to think about. There are schools in Chile, several cities in Spain and France, the United Kingdom, Japan and many more. If you’re interested in potentially being a part of this program, do not hesitate to ask. If you have even the slightest inkling of wanting to participate, you should go to the interest meeting. The best place to go if you want to learn more about it, even prematurely, is to either Dr. Downey-Vanover or Ms. King’s offices/classrooms and they will be happy to chat with you about it. As an eager freshman wanting to participate, I know I went to them about 1000 times to ask questions just because I wanted to know as much as I possibly could.
What Does Hosting Look Like?
The host’s responsibility is to allow their exchange student to be fully involved and immersed into American culture and life. As a host, I took my exchange student Noah to high school football games (which were definitely a hit with all the cute boys around), we went to fast-food restaurants like Chick-fil-a and Five Guys, and she tried American foods like a pink drink, fried chicken and mac n’ cheese for the first time. We booked a tour inside the White House, went shopping in Georgetown, and so much more. My main goal was to allow her to see what an authentic few weeks in my life looked like as an American and get to know her on a deeper level while practicing our language skills. She taught me more French than my French teachers have (don’t tell Madame!) and I learned about all the people I would be meeting in the spring at her school. She went to all of my classes and was happy to report that Dr. Bulger’s sophomore English class and Mr. Doyle’s ceramics class were two of her favorites.
Before I move onto what a day abroad might look like, it is important to note that the exchange experience is beyond just going abroad and hosting. Connecting with your exchange student at other times too can form close bonds and tight connections with their family, friends, and whole community. The winter before I went abroad, my family was in Paris and Noah’s family made a huge effort to come down to Paris (a two hour drive) to visit my family and to ensure that I would be comfortable staying with them. What was supposed to be a short meeting, turned into a two full days of connecting with her family! I ended up going shopping with Noah and her brother and sister and we went out to dinner that night as one big family. Since my stay abroad, I have visited Noah twice and vice versa. She came to visit me in April of my Junior year and it was then that she invited me to visit over the summer because I just happened to be in Paris at that time and could take the train up for the weekend by myself.
What Happens Abroad?
Moving onto going abroad (the part that’s arguably the MOST fun), you will also attend your exchange student’s school for the duration of your stay. While at school you get the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the culture which is the most important part of your experience. I recommend starting conversations with people and following along in classes as much as you can because it will really allow you to see how your exchange student lives their daily life and compare it to the US. When I was in France, I was extremely nervous to start conversations with the people in Noah’s classes because I was worried that they would think I was some stupid, silly American girl, but I made a challenge for myself to talk to at least one person while I was there and I wanted to honor that. I was in class on the first day and Noah had introduced me to the guys and girls in her classes and they were talking about whether Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl was cute or not. I thought to myself “what a perfect conversation to enter into!” Immediately I was embraced by the warmth of all of her friends who graciously invited me into their conversation. To this day, I am close friends with all of the people I met abroad and I am so grateful to have both a second family and group of close friends in another country and place that feels like home. So, while you are abroad, get out of your comfort zone because you never know what could happen from sparking one conversation.
Interviews:
In order to get the full picture, here are some fun reflections from the exchange students who have visited Stone Ridge so far this year:
- What’s your name?
So far, we’ve had Caroline from Austria, Berta, Maria, and Marta from Seville, and Maria and Sophia from Madrid.
- What’s your favorite American food?
Caroline (Austria): “I loved the fried chicken”
Berta (Seville): “Chicken Nuggets!”
Maria (Seville): “Crumbl Cookies!”
Marta (Seville): “Mac n’ Cheese!”
Maria (Madrid): “Hamburgers, Cinnamon Rolls, and Bagels”
Sophia (Madrid): “I want to try Cane’s”
- What was your first impression of Stone Ridge?
Caroline (Austria): “It’s really different from Austria because we have 6+ subjects per day, and we can choose subjects and in high school you have to specialize [she does biology and biochemistry]. Everyone knows each other at Stone Ridge but in Austria we have homeroom where everyone goes to class together”
Berta (Seville): “It’s so modern”
Maria (Seville): “Very big and people are so nice”
Marta: “Very big, clean, and the people are very kind because everyone says hi”
Maria (Madrid): “It’s a HUGE school and everything is far away”
Sophia (Madrid): “It’s a huge school with a pool and espacio doesn’t happen in Spain so it’s a little different”
- What do you hope people ask you about?
Caroline (Austria): “How school is in Austria”
Berta (Seville): “My family in Spain”
Maria (Seville): “If I am having fun here and what I have done here”
Marta (Seville): “Ask about my country (family and friends from Spain) and if I need something”
Maria (Madrid): “Ask about my country (family and friends from Spain) and what I like to do”
Sophia (Madrid): “Ask about Spain”
- What do you hope to see or where do you want to travel to in America?
Caroline (Austria): “Lincoln Monument and Space Museum”
Berta (Seville): “NYC!”
Maria (Seville): “NYC!”
Marta (Seville): “NYC!”
Maria (Madrid): “I want to see the monuments and cute American boys!”
Sophia (Madrid): “Everything in DC”
- If you could tell us one thing about your home city/country what would it be?
Caroline (Austria): “Christmas Markets in Austria are beautiful and in front of city hall and there is a giant ice rink. The best time to come to Austria is Christmas”
Berta (Seville): “Seville is a beautiful city with a lot of history”
Maria (Seville): “Seville is the most beautiful city”
Marta (Seville): “The Holy week and Easter procession”
Maria (Madrid): “One thing about Madrid is that it’s way prettier than what people usually think”
Sophia (Madrid): “The typical food in Spain – tortilla (egg dish)”
- What’s the biggest culture difference?
Caroline (Austria): “People at the check out [at a grocery store] always ask how you’re doing. I don’t know if I should answer and if it’s just rhetorical”
Berta (Seville): “The time difference is 6 hours”
Maria (Seville): “The water fountains and soap dispensers are automatic! They go boop!”
Marta (Seville): “The meal times are too early”
Maria (Madrid): “People dress so weird!”
Sophia (Madrid): “The meal times are super early”
- What does your exchange student need to know when they come to visit your country?
Caroline (Austria): “The water is so much better in Austria because it comes from the mountain. Dress nicer always. Credit Cards on phone are not big in Austria”
Berta (Seville): “In Seville school ends at 2:30 and we eat lunch at home after school”
Maria (Seville): “It’s very hot when she comes (but shorts are only for the beach) and we wear jeans when it’s hot too”
Marta (Seville): “She must know my schedule and to dress nicer and that the meal times are much later”
Maria (Madrid): “The meal times and to dress nice”
Sophia (Madrid): “You need to know how to dress for Spain. NO SWEATPANTS!”
- What’s a funny phrase or fun fact about you or your country?
Caroline (Austria): “When something doesn’t go our way in German you say ‘Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift!’ which literally translates to ‘I think my pig is whistling’”
Berta (Seville): “The accent of Seville is not pronouncing the s”
Maria (Seville): “The accent is different in Seville”
Marta (Seville): “The accent in Seville”
Maria (Madrid): “People speak the fastest in Madrid and Seville”
Sophia (Madrid): “Semana Santa is that before Easter, there’s a whole week of celebration where people walk around with religious statues around the city”
Finally:
I hope this has convinced freshmen to consider exchange next year, cleared up some confusion or eased nerves if you are a sophomore ready to experience the magic of exchange, or provided some valuable information if you are a junior or senior who didn’t get to do exchange. I hope that at some point everyone gets to experience a study abroad program in college or even living in another country for some time to develop more global awareness.
