Annika Khurana, Editor-in-Chief
@akhuranacourant
Flamenco dancing, cheerleading, strolling the historical Piazza del Colosseo, and driving down South Avenue with friends, exchange students have experienced the triumph of navigating new and routine activities while forming connections with their peers. During their longest stay abroad, but perhaps the shortest semester or school year of their high school careers, exchange students found a balance between maximizing their time at the high school and working towards their post-high-school goals.
Claudia García Dochao, a senior from Madrid, Spain, and exchange student for the 2022-23 school year, found excitement in exploring the many extracurricular offerings at the high school, most of which are not available at her current school. “I was on the cheerleading team, and it was a completely new experience for me,” Claudia said. “I was also in the Spanish club. In terms of clubs, we don’t really have anything similar here in Spain. It’s a really great opportunity for students to be in a community with other students who share their interests, so I would love to start something like that here.”
After graduating this spring, Claudia hopes to work towards becoming a veterinarian. However, while at the high school, Claudia experimented with various fields unrelated to veterinary medicine, even discovering some hidden interests. “I was trying things that I knew I would only be able to do in the US, and I’m really glad I did,” she said. “I took TV Broadcasting and really enjoyed it. Since coming back to Spain, I’ve been investigating it quite a lot.”
Other courses Claudia enjoyed include Journalism and Forensics. “I loved journalism because I’ve always been really passionate about writing. I’ve continued writing and sometimes posting blogs on my school website,” she said. “Forensics was also a really nice class because we put everything we learned into practice. It wasn’t just studying from a textbook, which is what we basically do here in Madrid.”
On the other hand, some exchange students furthered academic interests they had already developed at home. “I’m really into science, especially physics, engineering and mathematics, and I took a physics class with Mr. Reid, who has been a great and insightful teacher,” Luca Marchetti, a junior from Rome, Italy, and first-semester exchange student, said. “It was really cool to dive deeper into concepts that seem simple at first and test those concepts through labs and experiments.”
To take some time off and relieve academic pressure, exchange students participated in their favorite activities, but with an American twist. “I am really into cooking and baking,” Luca said. “I also often ate great fast food, like Chick-fil-A.”
Additionally, Carlotta Fattor, a senior from Bormio, Italy, and exchange student during the 2022-23 school year, participated in one of her favorite activities: skiing. “At first, it was a tough adjustment going from skiing in the Alps to smaller mountains in Connecticut,” Carlotta said. “But I experienced such a great community when I joined the Ski Club. We all bonded together on the drive to the mountain, and it was a great after-school activity to take some time off from doing homework.”
Carlotta also recalls how participating in a familiar activity in a new environment helped introduce her to new people. “Sometimes it’s even the little things that can help you get to know the people around you. For example, how do they prepare for a ski trip? Do they pack days before or on the same day?” she said. “You can start conversations from these questions, which helps form a community.”
Engaging in extracurricular activities across the globe allows for new perspectives to be gained, whether taking advantage of opportunities unavailable at home or pursuing a long-standing passion in a new environment. “I really miss the activities I used to do at NCHS,” Claudia said. “When I arrived, I met people at the extracurricular activities I joined, which made participating even more enjoyable. I still talk to all of them and hope to see them soon.”
