As she gets her books from her locker, Louise Glimbert has butterflies in her stomach. She asks a staff member where she can find the drama classroom. She is excited about coming to a new school, though it is over 4,000 miles away from her old school.

This is the story of Louise Glimbert’s first day at Revere High School. Louise is one of the three foreign exchange students this year. She is a junior from Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. Louise described how her school in Sweden was different from Revere High School.

“My school in Stockholm was not as strict as Revere. We did not need hall passes, there was no bell, and we did not get detentions,” Glimbert said.

Glimbert explained the challenges with moving to a foreign country.

“The worst part about moving to another country is leaving family and friends. Being homesick is also hard,” Glimbert said.

Glimbert mentioned what she hopes to gain from her stay in America.

“[I hope to] make new friends, improve my English and experience the American life,” Glimbert said.

Glimbert gave a piece of advice to people who are moving to another country.

“They should see it as a good chance to grow as a person. Even though it is hard at first, it will benefit you,” Glimbert said.

One of the other foreign exchange students is Crystal Xiao, a junior from Dongguan, Guangdong, China. Xiao compared her school in China to Revere.

“[At my school in China] we could not choose our classes and all of the classes were in one room. [At Revere] we can choose our classes,” Xiao said.

Xiao also spoke of how the students and staff at Revere High School are helping her adapt.

“If I do not know the words, [my teachers and friends] will do whatever they can to explain them to me,” Xiao said.

Some of the other differences Xiao brought up included the weather, cuisine and manners at mealtime.

“The first time I saw snow was about one week ago. I was excited to see the snow. It was pretty and I wanted to touch it,” Xiao said.

Xiao talked about what she hopes to gain from her experience in America.

“I want to get better [at] English,” Xiao said.

The last foreign exchange student is a junior from Foshan, Guangdong, China named Lu Li. Li talked about how her experience at Revere is going so far.

“The teachers are really good and the students are nice. I also enjoy the activities,” Li said.

She also voiced some challenges about moving to a new country.

“In my home country, I knew how to solve problems but here it is more difficult because of the culture difference,” Li said.

Li gave a tip for people who are moving away.

“Get ready for a challenge and enjoy the new life,” Li said.

Revere was a new environment for the foreign exchange students though they all agreed that the students and staff are kind and helpful. They also share the goal of improving their English. Although the girls have enjoyed their stay at Revere, they will be going back to their home countries in June.