Glendora, California has recently welcomed two new exchange students: sophomore Charlotte Lambrecht and junior Isabella Rodrigues.
Lambrecht from Essen, Germany and Rodrigues from Indaiatuba, Brazil currently live with junior Jessica Moder, who has extensive experience with hosting students from other countries.
Moder has hosted Japanese, Chinese, German, French, and Spanish exchange students before Rodrigues and Lambrecht, stating that “you get to interact with different cultures, but you also get to see that you also have the same humor.”
Lambrecht explains that she signed up for an exchange year at an agency, where she filled out forms, got interviewed, and chose where to go, with the process leading up to her current situation in Glendora. The same went for Rodrigues.
While Rodrigues is staying in Glendora for five months, Lambrecht has the choice to stay for either five or ten.
When asked about differences between their home educational systems and the one in Glendora, both Rodrigues and Lambrecht claim that in their countries, they had to take more classes but had much less homework.
Rodrigues and Lambrecht agree that their educational systems are farther ahead than that of American schooling in academic material. However, Lambrecht notes the larger freedom of choice in terms of courses here as compared to Germany.
In reference to travelling great distances and crossing countries, they also became involved in the Glendora cross country team. Rodrigues comments, “Sports are better here. [They] are more competitive than ours.”
Lambrecht and Rodrigues are excited to see the numerous beaches, large cities, and memorable sights that California is famous for offering.
Exchange programs such as these are a way in which students from all over the world can interact with each other and expand their perspectives beyond what’s in their home city.
