Being a foreign exchange student can be hard for most students. However, it’s slightly easier at Windsor. The Windsor student body as a whole is very welcoming and excited to learn about other cultures. Windsor High School has eight foreign exchange students this year.

Junior Michelle Johansson is from Denmark, which is located next to Germany.

Johansson said, “It’s cool and I like it here in the (United States).” 

Johansson said she loves the food in America and that she is “always craving a burger.”

According to Johannson, school at Windsor is different than in her home country.  

Johansson said, “The students don’t walk from classroom to classroom, the teachers come to us.”

Changing up a student’s learning environment can be intimidating for a bit, but Johansson seems to be taking the change very well and enjoys it this way, although she misses her friends and family.

Johansson said, “I can’t wait to make memories I will forever keep.”  

Johansson is not the only one making memories.  Daniel Hesse, who is on the boys soccer team, is from the northern part of Germany, Hanover. Life in America is not much different than in Germany, according to Hesse.

Hesse said,“It’s okay. It’s not too different from Germany. I don’t dislike it”.

Not many things are different here from Germany, Hesse pointed out. Most of the food in America he can get in Germany, but Hesse said with excitement, “I love the pancakes!”. The school environment is a major change he noticed immediately.

Hesse said, “We stay in one classroom and the teachers come to us usually, and we have longer breaks instead of five minutes. We also don’t have sports–it’s mainly just educational.”

Hesse misses his family and friends, but he doesn’t want to think about it too much since he’s trying to adapt to the American culture.

Hesse said, “ I’m trying to focus on the present and not what I did in Germany.”

Hesse is not surprised by his experience in Missouri.

Hesse said, “How I pictured it is exactly how it is. I like it here.”