Each September, Ipswich High School welcomes its students back. Luckily for some students, it is not just the same old building as the year before. Every year, Ipswich High School welcomes foreign exchange students from all over the world. This is a wonderful experience for international students and Ipswich students alike. International students have the opportunity to come and live in the US with a host family, explore our country, and become involved in our culture. Ipswich students, on the other hand, get to meet new people from different backgrounds and learn about foreign countries without ever leaving the US.
For international students, the transition can be challenging as they are immediately immersed in a new culture and have to quickly adapt to our American lifestyle. Day-to-day life in the US is much different from their home countries. This year, we are fortunate to have two foreign exchange students: Joao Alfonso is a sophomore from Brazil and Sophie Johannknecht is a junior from Germany.
While we are used to our daily routine, Joao and Sophie had a lot of learning and adjusting to do as they began school this September. IHS students may be used to waking up early, taking classes that they choose, having free periods such as R block, and getting out of school early on Thursdays. However, school operates differently in the US than it does in Brazil, as Joao explained when asked about his daily routine back home: “In Brazil, we do not move classrooms, the teachers move and we stay in one spot.”
This was the first of many differences outlined by Joao. Others include how “students in Brazil attend two lunch periods each day,” and that students in Brazil are “not allowed to choose their own classes, and the school is very strict. We take 3 science courses per year, 2 math courses, and they are very strict on uniforms.” This observation was shared by Sophie, as she noted that, “In Germany we have a really strict dress code. No sweatpants, crop tops, or any other clothing like that. German students would never come to school with pajama pants. Even if it would be allowed, I think nearly no one would do it. It’s always that you dress nicely.”
Sophie also mentioned the course selection at IHS being one of the biggest differences in student life. When asked what she likes about IHS, Sophie described how she “really like[s] the ‘fun’ classes. [They] don’t have electives in Germany and [she] really enjoy[s] doing something like Criminology Forensic.” Sophie enjoys being able to pursue her passion in high school, as it prepares her for the real world as she tries to figure out what she wants to do in the future.
While very few IHS students study abroad, hosting foreign exchange students here has given us the opportunity to learn a lot about other cultures. This program has fostered many friendships stretching across the world to countries such as Germany, Spain, Finland, Netherlands, and now Brazil. The international student and study abroad program are run by the Ipswich Rotary. Interested students should talk to Mr. Mitchell and can be put in contact with rotary president, Martha Mauser. Continuing the tradition of hosting students and sending larger groups of IHS students abroad would advance students’ understanding of culture all around the world.
