Reitz Journalism

Imagine venturing out to a place that you’ve never been to. Then, picture that place being a country with a different language and customs, along with other different things to get around. In this new country, you’d have to live with a whole new family, go to school and try to manage living the life of someone who’s lived there they’re entire life.
Foreign exchange student programs have become very popular in recent times. The type of program became popular after World War II. Some countries wanted others to understand the culture and tolerance of their own and wanted to improve the language skills of boarding countries. Although this program was not started a long time ago, aspects of it have change. Such as the amount of time some one is there. The student is typically there for anywhere from 6 to 10 months, compared to some that used to last months longer.

This semester, Reitz is hosting two exchange students. Yesol Song and Louisa Leite are here to learn and gain new experiences. Song, from Korea has been in Indiana since the first semester of the beginning of this school year and Leite started here at the beginning of the 2008 semester, both having good experiences in a place completely different form their countries.
Although most e-villers think it’s boring here, others say it’s a lot different.
“It’s different and exciting here. I really like it,” stated Leite.
Think of where you want to go to college. It’s not USI, is it? No, it’s somewhere out of state or at least out of the city. But sometimes that is what most of us take for granted. Some students would love to come here and higher their education. Just maybe Evansville isn’t so bad all the time.
“I would miss here. You live in a city so long and then move somewhere for six months and move back you begin to miss it. I might com back for college,” Leite later stated.
See? Even a town that seems boring to some of us can make an impact on someone else. Our perspectives are different to us all in some way. So next time you think about how boring the ville is, try going out and finding some place new.
Reitz is very happy to host the exchange students. Hopefully, in the future we will be able to see Leite and Song very successful in the career they choose. And until then, it’s safe to say that they are always welcome in the hallways of Reitz High School.