A Year Abroad: What Exchange Students Really Learn

As the school year continues and we begin our second term, let’s get word from our exchange students to see how they feel about their experience at Waukee. This year we have four exchange students: Alexia Manea representing Romania, Natalia Romano representing Italy, Wiktoria Majduik representing Poland, and Ulrik Zangenberg representing Denmark.

While there are a few similarities between these countries, our exchange students are starting to notice the differences. Alexia Manea said, “The biggest culture shock and difference when coming to the U.S. was honestly just the environment of people.” Manea says that during her time in the U.S., she has noticed that people’s mannerisms are completely different than the people back home, such as the way students interact with each other in the hallways and the way that people speak. 

Natalia Romano says driving is the biggest difference. “The roads are very different between here and Italy like for example, in Italy, we do not have as many road signs and we do not have the big green signs like you have here,” Romano said. Overall, our exchange students are enjoying their time in the United States. Romano said, “It is honestly just amazing to just have the opportunity to be here and to experience the differences in cultures.” We’re happy to hear they’re having fun in Waukee.

This past week Alexia Manea visited other schools and classrooms to give presentations to other students and taught them about Romania and Romanian culture. She started her presentations with a slide show that included traditional foods, a map of Romania, an overview of the traditions that they have, and even the traditional clothing that they wear in Romania. Alexia ended her presentation with a craft or teaching students a traditional dance from Romania. 

As we approach the start of the second half of the school year we’ve realized that the exchange students are giving us opportunities to learn about other cultures. Sophomore Emma Smith said, “During the presentation, I learned a lot about Romania and I got a good understanding of the culture there.”