The classroom in Mr. Kovach’s room is dark, the Chromebook screens illuminating the students inside as they chatter idly. Kovach stands in the back, watching as the students look up at the Smartboard and then back at their screens. Facing forward, at the edge of the classroom, sits a girl. She tilts towards her Chromebook screen, her dark hair blanketing her. Though setting far away, it’s evident that Ana Luiza Rodrigues De Castro is engaged and focused during this new experience. 

“What I like about this school is how different it is,” Rodrigues De Castro said. “I think in some ways it is better than Brazil. I think I can learn more cool stuff here.”

Senior Rodrigues De Castro is a foreign exchange student from Brazil. She is currently staying at Fort Osage for the second semester. She finds the most difficult adjustment is growing accustomed to the food.

“The food is very different from my home country,” Rodrigues De Castro admits. “It’s almost hard getting used to American food. I miss my home country, the food, and my family.”

Rodrigues De Castro hopes to become a lawyer, and is interested in classes such as acting and practical criminology. Junior Emily Floray believes having a foreign exchange student in her class to be a cool experience.

“I think it’s cool to have classmates who have different backgrounds,” Floray said. “You can learn a lot about different cultures.”

To become a foreign exchange student, senior students get in contact with the American Field

Services and the Council on International Educational Exchange to plan their trip which typically lasts a semester. Junior Victoria Hinkle thinks having a foreign exchange student to be a learning experience.

“I think having a foreign exchange student is cool because we can learn from them and they can learn from us,” Hinkle said in an Instagram interview. 

She settles back into her seat, prying her Chromebook open. After brushing her hair back, she blinks against the light, letting her eyes adjust to the screen. Once her password is typed, she involves herself into the lesson once more, smiling at her small accomplishment.