Monika Janska and Lilly Siegmund try on Dr. Erickson's Phd robe. They are both participating in yearbook along with Kaiza Zakrisson.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the school welcomed over 1100 students, 8 of them being foreign exchange students.
Monika Janska, Petr Podlipsky, Woobi Chung, Emma Feidieker, Lilly Siegmund, Jacob Strand-Giesdal, Isabel Soto Martinez, and Kaiza Zakrisson all left their hometowns to stay in the U.S for an entire school year. Many of them come from walkable, busy cities such as Toyko and Prague, different from Hastings Nebraska.
“I didn’t know a single thing about Nebraska before I got here. When I told my American cousin about my placement, he just asked me what in the world I was going to do here,” Zakrisson said
Though such a small population state, Nebraska public schools have a lot to offer for those who are not used to American schools. Opportunities like show choir, football, and debate are almost non-existent in other places.
“I have never seen a baseball or football game and I’ve only ever known it from movies,” Siegmund said. “I think that the different activities and events give you the opportunities to get to know people from school in a special kind of way that creates another kind of community.”
Schools are not only different in terms of extracurricular activities, but also different inside the classroom. In some parts of the world, it is common for the teacher to leave to teach other classes, and not the students.
“In Europe, the teachers are considered on a higher level than the students and they are not as friendly; The school here is more of a community,” Janska said
Not only do these students have to learn a new language, become a part of a new family, they also have to change into a new way of life.
“I live in Prague and the traffic situation is very different. I never have to use a car
when I want to go somewhere. I use only the bus or subway and that gets me pretty much
everywhere I want to go,” Janska said.
Though change can be uncomfortable, foreign exchange students are excited to tackle this new adventure in their life, enjoying it as much as they can.
“I am excited for everything that will happen to me this year. I am excited to meet new people, play a lot of different sports, all the graduation related activities and to have a lot of amazing memories,” Podlipsky said.
