Moving half a world away from home to attend high school can be an exciting and challenging endeavor. Students can experience culture shock, homesickness, language differences, and more (“8 Common Challenges International Students Face and How to Overcome Them – TeachThought”). Two new exchange students have enrolled at Lancaster High School: one from Saudi Arabia and another from Sweden. They both have immersed themselves into the culture of an American high school by joining some sports teams, participating in school activities, and making friends and memories. 

Fajer Al Bakrah traveled almost seven thousand miles from Saudi Arabia to Ohio.  Al Bakrah has really enjoyed being here at Lancaster High School and her time on the soccer team made it better.

 “When I was part of the soccer team, it was one of my favorite experiences because it helped me make great memories and connect with amazing people,” she said. 

Al Bakrah didn’t really have a challenge moving here because it was mostly her choice. Also, she knew her host family and knew about the school four months in advance. Her hardest challenge was actually getting used to how different it is here in America. There is an eight-hour time difference between Ohio and Saudi Arabia.

“The biggest challenge was adapting to a new environment and lifestyle. The daily routines, like practice schedules, sleeping times, and meals, were quite different from what I was used to. Everything here is more organized, practices are longer and stricter, and people usually go to bed earlier than I expected,” said  Al Bakrah.

Before moving here, she had never seen America so she had no expectations. She is truly thankful for all of the experiences she has had so far. She is super thankful for her soccer teammates and coaches for being so positive and all the great memories they created together. Also the teachers for the constant support that they give her. 

Elena Haeni hails from Sweden.  She had to adjust to the size of the school population, the geography of the Buckeye State, and the time zone.

 “I lived in a small village with 1,382 inhabitants and 10 minutes away from the city. The nearest ski resort is about 30 minutes away. When I look out of the window, I see mountains everywhere,” explained Haeni.

There is a six-hour time difference between Ohio and Sweden. Since moving here, she hasn’t had much contact with her family and friends more than four thousand miles from home because when they are awake, she is at school, and then when she gets home from practice, they are asleep. The only time she really gets to communicate with her family and friends is during weekends. 

“It was quite different, but what separates me most from my home is the time difference. It prevents me from having much contact with my family and friends,” she said.

Just like Al Bakrah, Haeni is having trouble adapting to the new environment. She thinks the school day is much more different from what she is used to. Also the transportation is much different from where she lived in Sweden. Here in Lancaster they don’t have much transportation, which makes her miss all the freedom she had back home.

“You have to change classrooms; the school day is shorter, but there are fewer breaks. At home, there is public transportation everywhere, which makes it possible for me and everyone else there to travel quickly from A to B,” said Haeni. 

Haeni loves all the opportunities here in Lancaster. She likes that there are so many different classes to take, how flexible her schedule is, and all the clubs and sports students can join. 

“Everyone is so friendly and nice. I enjoy meeting new people all the time. The school here isn’t just a school with normal classes; it’s much more than that. I love all these clubs and sports teams and other great activities like pep rallies,” she said.

She joined the field hockey team, which just came to an end. She really enjoyed it and liked how well the team accepted her. She just started on the swim team and hopes to also join track in the spring. She is also involved in the international club and a little bit in the Latin and French clubs. 

Mrs. Benfield is the ESL teacher at LHS. This year she got to work a little bit with the two new foreign exchange students but not much. In the short amount of time she got to work with them, she enjoyed it. 

“I love working with the foreign exchange students. I love hearing about their cultures and where they’ve come from,” said Benfield. 

She really likes to help them get to know the school so they can have a better experience. She also believes that it is really rewarding to herself because she gets to work with kids from different countries with which she isn’t really familiar. 

“I want to help them to not really fit in, but to help them have a better time getting to know this school,” she explained.

She believes that they really want to be involved in not just school but all of the extracurricular activities that go on. So she thinks that it’s important for other students to get ahold of them and make sure they know all of the things going on so maybe they could get involved with it. 

“I think it’s important that students try to reach out to exchange students and let them know of all the stuff that’s going on. They’re really excited because this is such a good experience,” Benfield said.

Both of the foreign exchange students have been getting involved in more than just what they came here for. They both think that all of the sports and extra things that they have gotten involved in have been an incredible experience. They really appreciate all of the great things they have experienced so far.