Foreign Exchange Student Programs

[yoopers]

The City of Rochelle and Rochelle Township High School (RTHS) have received foreign students into our community through foreign student exchange. There have been many students down through the years from many different countries, too many to name, but we really haven't been close to the program until now, probably because we didn't have connections with the high school until last year. But it's a very intriguing program and something we may investigate.

This year, we've come to know Victor Persson from Sweden. Victor seems to be a great kid and it's been a pleasure getting to know him and hear about his life in Sweden and how it compares to life in America. Fexnix, yes it is American style football that he plays back home so he and I got to sit the other night and talk for a time about playing. I played eons ago and he played for RTHS this past fall.

That got me to thinking about the possibility of getting involved in the exchange program. It's probably too late for Ben in his sophomore year to get involved, besides he probably doesn't have the right personality for it. Ben is more reserved by nature. But Brad is in 7th grade and is quite the outgoing type of guy. His soccer club sweatshirt has the name 'Braditude' printed on the back and he really lives up to his nickname most times...in a good way. I could see Brad having great success spending a year in school in another country for a year.

So I called the principal at RTHS to inquire about the program. To my surprise, his response was, "To my knowledge, you're the first person from this end to inquire about getting involved in the program." He told me that the school works with a certain company and gave me a name, Connie, and number to call. So far, she hasn't called me back. I could see us shooting for Brad's junior year in high school as I assume he would want to be here to graduate with his class at the end of his senior year. Hopefully, I'll hear back from her soon. Of course, we would heavily investigate the possibility of Brad playing soccer that year wherever he ended up. Man, what a growing up experience it would be for him. I bet the cost is out there though. We'll just have to wait and see what Connie says when she calls back.

Have any of you been involved in a foreign exchange student program? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Thanks,
Bruce