Every year Rotary Youth Exchange sends one student from Forest Grove High School on an exchange trip to a foreign country. This will be a profile piece on the students visiting our school for this year. The exchange program is truly an incredible experience and an opportunity that students should definitely consider taking. Students interested should apply towards the beginning of their sophomore year so that if they get the spot they go abroad their junior year. Students would spend the year in a foreign country, often on a different continent, with a host family. Along with making new friendships that will last a lifetime, you would gain an amazing first-hand experience of another culture, and try incredible new foods that wouldn’t be available in the U.S. On top of all that, you get to experience the difference in entertainment. Even though you would miss your friends and your family, you would find that the environment that you’re living in would become your “home away from home”. Too many people have made the choice to not apply for this program and have regretted it. My mother Caren Geiger stated that “It’s a wonderful opportunity. But I never did it. And I really wish that I did.” I personally had a very similar experience. The only real difference is that I know the student who was picked last year, which causes me to regret my decision to not apply even more. Let’s get into our first exchange student.

Esperanza Contreras is an exchange student from Chile. She is 16 years old and has done track since she was six. She is currently running on the Vikings Cross Country team. When asked what it was like back home she said that Chile is “Very similar to here, but different in a cool way. The weather in Chile is very similar but with less rain.” Although she misses her friends and family, she seems to be really enjoying her time here. When asked how she felt here, she said, “I really like it…love it actually. It’s so cool here. I really like this country’s mac and cheese. You can’t get any that’s very good in Chile.” Esperanza then went on to talk a little bit about the people in Chile and how different they are from here. She said, “People back in Chile aren’t as kind as they are here. But we’re always joking with one another. And we hug everyone, even if you don’t know them. Here there’s more diversity. Everyone treats each other the same. Like you don’t care if someone’s white, black Mexican, gay, straight, etc. It’s not like that in Chile.”

After that, she was asked about her school and what it was like. She commented, “You don’t go to different classrooms for classes, so it’s easier to get close to people because you’re always in the same room. You don’t get to pick your classes like you do here. You get a schedule and you have to follow it.” That type of thing makes you think of all the intense differences between schools here and those in other countries. However, when you think about it, it can be much more convenient. You wouldn’t have to be moving through the school whenever you’re getting ready for a different class. When Esperanza was asked whether or not she’d recommend the exchange program to other students she said, “Yes, absolutely! It’s amazing. I love it.”