Arrowhead Hosts Foreign Exchange Students

Classes at Arrowhead Union High School vary based on core classes, and interest driven extras. Being from another country, our world at Arrowhead is different for the more than six forgein exchange students at Arrowhead during the 2022-2023 year. 

Two of these students are Ann-Kathrin Ernst, from Germany, and Giorgia Biazza from Italy. Both girls traveled here in early August for school, and will stay into summer after school ends in 2023. 

Exchange students will be placed randomly unless they apply to stay with a specific host family they know. Ernst applied to stay with family friends in Wisconsin. 

At Arrowhead, forgein exchange students are required to take the class global seminar. The class is also open for juniors and connects exchange students by keeping them in the same class every day for the 10th hour, so that they end their days together. 

The teachers are Greg Bisbee and Heather Williams. Williams says, “Culture is like an iceberg, the tip is what we can see, but below is what’s not apparent.” 

Ernst, from Germany says, “The hardest aspect to adapt to is switching rooms almost every period, at home we have a 50 minute break every two periods, and we have 6 periods.” 

Arrowhead’s schedule consists of ten 40 minute periods. 

Junior Owen Wick says, “It helps us be more collaborative,” and Junior Hayden Hipkass says, “We like the social aspect, we talk a lot more.”

The seminar course considers student interests by having them pick a focus country of choice to gain deeper insight. 

Biazza said “the food was a shock,” and Ernst said “in this school you get lunch here, and in Germany at my school you can go out in the city and buy food, every school is different.” 

Eating a family meal differs too. Ernst said, “we have more fresh meals with vegetables and such at home.” 

Global seminar connected Biazza to two other Italian girls, and two Spanish girls. She said, “I think people should know there are a lot of lot of people here,” 

Even with that, Anni Ernst says “with no hesitation yes I feel safe at home and school.”