Since Chelsea High School has taken in exchange students, one major problem has continually recurred to this day: creating a connection between themselves, the local students, and the local community. Oftentimes, exchange students can create relations with one another through their shared experiences of living in a new country, whereas the local students don’t share this experience.

“All of my friends are exchange students. I know some of [the exchange students] have made friends with the local students, but it’s a lot harder to make connections with them,” Anna Julia Malosa Jorge, a sophomore exchange student at CHS said.

Malosa expresses that she is afraid of making close connections with the local students, due to the fact that the exchange student program only allows for one grade year.

“It’s hard to make friends with the local students, especially because I’m not going to be here next year. It’s also scary knowing that this might be my only chance here,” Malosa Jorge said.

One of the ways exchange students can become more connected to the local students and community is through sports, clubs, and art programs. This allows for casual interaction with other students.

“I’m a part of the sports program here, it makes me feel like I’m a part of the community,” Emma Roman Marti, a sophomore exchange student at CHS said.

Social anxiety and shyness are other contributing factors for some students, particularly with the added fear of making language mistakes.

“I’m really shy, I’m worried about messing up my words in front of the local students, the local students sometimes exclude me because of it,” Marti said.

But the language barrier is not an unsurmountable challenge, of course.

“I feel like I’m adjusting pretty well to the language and people here. I think it’s a little funny how local students shorten words, but every day I’m understanding it more,” Malosa said.