This year, eight foreign exchange students are calling PNHS their temporary home. Each one has their own unique story to tell about themselves, and their reasons for coming here are as diverse as the countries they came from.

Julie Absil: “I’m from Belgium. A fun fact about myself is I like to play the guitar and I can speak 3 different languages, Dutch, French and now English. I decided to go to the US because, of course, I want to improve my English. But I also wanted to discover a new country, a new lifestyle. So far, I like everything about America, but my favorite thing are American football games and Homecoming. My favourite thing about my country are the Belgian fries. Belgian fries are the best! But. more seriously, I really like Bruxelles. It’s the capital of Belgium. Pretty much, Belgium is such a beautiful place. A fun fact about Belgium is that it’s about 8 times smaller than Michigan and 322 times smaller than the USA.”

Ferran Pujol Cuadra: “I am from Mallorca, Spain. The reason why I came is because my parents asked me if I wanted to go and I wasn’t sure but it was a new experience and I had to accept it. What I like about America is Chicago and how much bigger it is comparing to Portage, and I also love Portage. The cool part of my country is that Mallorca is an island, which is 7.061(km) away from here!”

John Mclntosh: “I am from Dundee, Scotland. I decided to come to America to to pretty much travel the world. My favorite thing about America has been the Washington trip and sight-seeing all of the monuments. But the downfall is that everything is so spread out, while in my country, everything is so much closer and walking distance. Something interesting about me is that I play the bagpipes, and Scotland’s National animal is the unicorn.”

Cecilia Pirchi0: “I’m from Italy, my city is Turin. I’ve decided to come here because I wanted to improve my english and to know a new culture. The people are my favorite part of USA so far, because everyone is so kind with me and tries to help me when I don’t know or can’t understand something. I love quite everything about my country, but probably the culture is my favorite part.”

Esther Schubert: “I am from North-Germany. I live in a small village with 2,500 people which is named Hechthausen. My biggest dream was to stay a year in the abroad to see if I will study in the abroad, which America was one of the places I wanted to go. America has so many stereotypes which makes it for me much more interesting to find out how it really is. Also, America looks good in movies, and so far, I don’t have a favorite part here. What I like about my country is the bread, cheese, and I like that we eat off of plates, not paper plates. Lastly, another fact about me is that I love to play soccer and I want to be  really successful referee in Germany.”

Sergio Lillo Ramon: “I am from Mallorca, Spain. I came to the US because it’s a new experience and a good opportunity for improving my English. My favorite part of America is Portage because it’s small, kinda the size of my town. My favorite thing to do is to spend time in hanging out with my friends, also I love going to Mallorcan beaches when I’m at home.”

Onofre Vicens Fiol: “I’m from Spain, Mallorca. What made me decide in coming to the US is because I like to know new people and new cultures, and my favorite part of America is when I visited Washington D.C. with my friends. Something about myself is that I enjoy playing soccer with my teammates, even spending time with them. Also, my country is one of the best countries in the world for me, and I’m very proud of it.”