“It’s a small world after all.” The popular Disney song has a ring of truth. It is a small world, and this is brought to the attention of Leavenworth even more when welcoming new students to this little community at Cascade High School, specifically students on exchange. An exchange student is defined as a student from one country traveling to a host country and joining their school system. This program is offered to help create new learning opportunities, expand their cultural horizons, and give them the freedom to connect with diverse people they normally wouldn’t interact with. Many countries including the US, Italy, India, Brazil, Switzerland, and France, to name a few, present this chance to travel with reduced fees.
In Cascade School District, the program that handles exchange students is called the Rotary Club. It’s an international organization with over a million members in 80 countries. It focuses on inter-country connections, building new communities, and volunteering all over the world. Along with these projects, they also work on global water access, healthcare, and, of course, the Youth Exchange Program. “The Leavenworth Youth Exchange team has about eight people and we all are volunteers,” explained Karen Haire, who is the Youth Exchange officer. She works alongside Lupe Brisa, the Outbound Coordinator for our students traveling out of the country. Exchange is an amazing experience, but it is challenging to get accepted. “It was definitely competitive, I wouldn’t say it was that hard, it was just… you had to be very punctual, and you had to figure out a lot of things yourself,” mentioned Reese Mathers (12), a former exchange student who studied abroad to Germany.
This year we welcome two exchange students into Cascade High School: Jesper Koornstra and Janice Chiyeh.
Jesper Koornstra, grade 12, hails from the Netherlands, a small Northern European country known for its gorgeous windmills, colorful tulips, and stunning canals. However, Jesper’s preferred trait of his country is none of these: “I think my favorite thing about it is the freedom to travel and get around, it’s way easier because everything is accessible by train or by bus, so you can get everywhere without having a car,” he commented. The Netherlands has a very sophisticated transportation system with electric trains and many other environmentally sustainable methods to get around. Going back to America, the living situation can be hard to adjust to with new faces, new surroundings, new customs, but our exchange students host families have definitely done their very best to make sure the students feel safe and comfortable. As of now, the Johnsons’ have welcomed Koornstra into their home.
Exchange students are not able to pick which city/state they travel to, but they can choose which country. Compared to eighteen countries that were available to exchange with, Chiyeh and Koornstra both picked the USA. “I think it’s, in a way, a familiar country. I know the language a bit and I think I could be myself more here than, for example in Uruguay or something,” responded Koornstra.
Janice Chiyeh, grade 11, is from Taiwan. Taiwan is a small island off the coast of China, famous for bubble tea, its night markets, and incredible cuisine. This country is a stark contrast to America, but Chiyeh still picked the US to exchange to. “I wanted to learn English and it’s a different culture [here],” she explained. Chiyeh is currently staying with the Romes/Terranellas.
Currently Cascade High School has two students away on exchange: Nevada Allen (11) and Sully Fisher (10). Nevada is attending school in Belgium, a small European country on the border of Germany and France, for the entirety of their junior year while Sully has traveled to Taiwan. CHS hopes they both are getting what they wanted out of their exchange and CHS, along with their families, await the day they both return.
While staying a year away from friends, family, and country sounds terrifying, going on exchange is an incredible experience that participants won't regret. The Rotary Club provides the opportunity of a lifetime and a truly unforgettable year. For more information about the Rotary Exchange Program, go to rotary.org
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