Students from Spain, France, Italy, and more have all made their presence known at Nixa High School. They have traveled thousands of miles to experience America, immersing themselves in different cultures and gaining a new perspective on the world.

Yara Yasmine Vella, from Marche, Italy, is a senior taking part in the foreign exchange program at Nixa and plans to walk the stage during graduation at the end of this year. 

Everything starts somewhere, in Vella’s case, it started in her youth.

 “I have always been interested in exchanging,” she said. “ I am very curious and interested in other cultures, I have been finding information on exchange since I was young, I had always tried to convince my parents.” 

The cultural differences are quite large but can strike curiosity in our foreigners.

 “ I was very excited to experience the high school environment because in Italy all we do is study and learn, here you get to have experience,” she said. 

Marene Iratzagorria Elgezabal, another junior exchange students from Mugina, Spain, has been able to pinpoint her favorite experiences so far.

 “ My favorite thing so far is probably the people and the amount of opportunities we have here like sports and other activities,” she said.

Iratzagorria Elgezabal has taken this opportunity to join cross country and plans to join basketball and do track later on in the year. 

“In Spain, you are only allowed one sport per year and extracurriculars are not very involved in school atmospheres,” she said. 

With cultural differences come cultural challenges.

 “Making new friends and missing my family and friends have been a challenge, but learning and understanding the language too,” Vella said. 

Eventually, exchange students will have to be sent home to continue schooling or start new adventures. 

“Leaving my exchange friends can be good because we can help each other through this and share our experiences with each other and continue our friendships abroad,” Iratzagorria Elgezabal said.

Host families have also played a big role in our exchange, helping students experience new cultures and helping them to live their dreams, even when it can be hard.

 “I am very grateful for them, I understand it is not easy and I admire them for that,” Vella said.