Imagine going to an entirely new country with a completely different language and culture, all by yourself. Exchange students at East who come from different countries already have to confront this reality by navigating the cultural subtleties of teenage life in America.
Laura Crespo Reche is a junior from Valencia, Spain; Sayongoo Sandui is a junior from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They both arrived here in August and plan to stay for 10 months with their host families.
“I wanted to come here because I want to experience American high school, and I also wanted to improve my English level,” Crespo Reche said. “Besides that, I feel like going abroad in general helps you to be mature and face things that you wouldn’t have faced if you stay at home and in your comfort zone.”
While Crespo Reche came here through an agency, Sandui obtained a scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State.
“Everything is free. But the application process was pretty hard, there were a lot of essays,” Sandui said. “[My placement organization] is called BFF [Borderless Friends Forever]. And they try to find the perfect match for you depending on your application.”
According to senior Gabby Sielken, whose family is hosting Crespo Reche, they faced some cultural and personal differences, so they strengthened their relationship by communicating through sports.
“Sometimes we’ll come home and we play basketball together, and it’s just really great to spend time together and have one-on-one conversations,” Sielken said.
For these students, America and their home countries are different in various ways.
“My [old] school, where I’ve been studying for my whole life, is pretty small [with] 600 students. It doesn’t have as many classes or teachers like here. Everything’s bigger,” Crespo Reche said. “There are not as many opportunities to play sports [in Spain]. Sports here are such a big deal, but in Spain there are only two sports all year long.”
According to Sandui, the teaching style in Mongolia is very different from that in the U.S.
“The first thing I noticed was the relationship between the students and the teachers, because they talked about everything as if they were friends,” Sandui said. “But in Mongolia, you have to be really respectful to the teacher, [and] be mindful of your words.”
The exchange students also noted that they are also facing a lot of struggles.
“I found you are out of your comfort zone 24/7. And you have to find ways to be seen and to make things that matter. So you have to like trying to stand out,” Crespos Reche said.
Even though there are struggles, they both say they are gaining something from this experience.
“At first I thought that I was going to be homesick. I miss things, for sure, but I don’t feel like I want to go back, and it’s not like something makes me sad. I’m just grateful for [this place],” Crespo Reche said.
Photos courtesy of Sayongoo Sandui & Laura Crespo Reche
