A group of foreign exchange students from the Lai An all girls school in Yi Lan, Taiwan, arrived in Kansas to visit BVN and experience the schedule of an American high schooler’s day from Aug. 28 to Sept 6. The students shadowed other students and followed them through their normal class schedules.

The students started their day by arriving at school from their guest houses who hosted them during their stay. At school, they met the people they would shadow for the week. For the most part, the students were allowed to observe and participate in activities during the classes, but they also had spare work from their own school.

“I think the school’s activities are very fun,” said Grace, one of the Taiwanese exchange students. “I like how it’s interesting and there’s so many things you can do. Yesterday we had an activity in a class with paper clips, and I thought that was pretty fun.”

One of the biggest interests of the exchange students as they sat in the classrooms was how diverse the settings were, with a variety of different students, teachers, classes and environments. The transitions to each class were new and different for them as they got to see things they wouldn’t have normally seen in their old schools, such as displayed reptiles in biology.

“In Taiwan, we stay in the same classes.  We have the same classmates and we have the same classrooms, and the different teachers would come to us,” said Stephanie, another one of the Taiwanese exchange students. “And in America we just walk around and go to different classes, and it’s a big difference. We meet different people in different classes, and it’s kind of fun seeing different people and personalities.”

At the end of the day, the students finally got together and headed home with eager excitement to discuss experiences, laughing and enjoying the moments they were able to create.

“We’d like to thank everybody who gave us the opportunity to join in these classes, and the students we are shadowing,” Stephanie said. “We are very thankful for them and are glad that they are there to help us.”