Foreign exchange students don’t often come to Cape Coral High School, but this year we have four students who are coming to experience high school in America. These students have traveled far and wide, to come here from countries like Slovakia, Germany, and Spain.
A foreign exchange student is a student who goes to a different country, usually through an organization, to experience life in another country. These students will stay with a host family due to the fact that their parents don’t actually come with them.
This is an exciting time for Cape High because this isn’t something that happens every year. Principal, Ryan Jackson stated “I think it’s amazing because they’re coming to see an American High School, which is different from where they’re coming from.”
It’s an exciting time for all, these foreign exchange students get to experience a whole different way of life and students who live here can hear what their culture is like as well.
Jackson also stated, “ it’s just a great setup for them to come learn what we are all about, experience our food, our culture, and get acclimated with life here and just have a great time as well.”
Lukas Sykora came all the way from Slovakia through the Rotary International Club and is starting his Junior year at Cape High. “I just saw an article that I can sign up for to be an exchange student, and I tried it and now I’m here,” explained Skyora.
Sykora traveled on a plane for 27 hours and had a layover in Germany. Skyora expressed that the trip was “long” and “exhausting”. Regardless, this experience for Skyora could possibly be very rewarding.
Experiencing the difference between two different types of schools in two totally different countries could be a culture shock to some, but maybe not so much for Skyora.
“The school is a lot different than I thought, I think my school in my country is more challenging, but there are more people and better people,” Sykora said. “I knew a lot of the American culture from friends from [the] US.”
Also, all the way from Germany is Bennet Von Stosch. Von Stosch is a junior who is starting his exchange year here at Cape High in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. “I like American history and culture so I want to experience it, and that’s the reason I’m here,” explained Von Stosch.
Schools in Germany are very different from schools in America. Obviously in America, students are the ones who walk class to class, but in Germany it is quite the opposite and Von Stosh finds America’s way to be cool.
“I think it’s a nice aspect that you have different people in your class and that get to move class to class because it isn’t like that in Germany,” expressed Von Stosch
Lynn Talia also traveled from Germany and is starting her junior year at Cape High. Talia became a foreign exchange student when there was an orientation at her school and she just signed up and now she’s at the nest.
“I like both schools, I think I have to be here a little longer to see which one i like more but the people here are nice,” explained Talia.
Talia notes that she is excited for high school and attending football games to be apart of the seahawk spirit
Diego Arroyo is the fourth foreign exchange student coming all the way from Spain and he is starting his junior year at Cape High. Arroyo became an exchange student from the inspiration of his cousin who convinced him to give it a go.
“I like this school so far, it’s big and that really impressed me the most but it’s good, it’s nice,” stated Arroyo. Arroyo only traveled for nine hours making a pit stop in New York before coming to Cape Coral.
“I think that meeting new people was going to be the best part of this year, and that’s what I’m excited for,” expressed Arroyo. Meeting new people is a common theme throughout all of Cape High’s exchange students, and that is a good mindset to have.
“I would have hoped the difficulty of lessons would be a bit more competitive and it’s less hard than Spain so it does make me feel better,” expressed Arroyo. Arroyo is very academically driven and that is something that will get him far, even if the classes offered here aren’t to his academic preferability.
These four students were brave enough to try something new in a brand new country and this could become a core memory for them. As the year continues, these students are going to embark on a new and life changing adventure.
