Five new students are seen walking down the hall. No, they are not seventh graders or freshmen. They are exchange students, who have come from as far as Switzerland and Taiwan.

These students encounter new languages, new faces, and new homes. Coming from completely different lifestyles, exchange students have to adjust to their new environment.

The number of exchange students traveling to America has been steadily growing over the years. Tens of thousands of students from foreign countries are enrolling in U.S. high schools.

Most students come to America so that they can experience American culture. According to USA Today, in 2013 there were more than 73,000 international students enrolled in U.S. high schools. They come from many programs, such as AFS-USA, CCI-Exchange, Ayusa, ASSE, ISEP, and many more. Lane’s exchange students are coming from AFS-USA and Ayusa. Each student stays with his or her host family for one academic year.

Eliane Bosshart was born and raised in Switzerland. She is 17 years old and a junior. Some of her classes include Drama, Aquaponics, Art, Band, and Spanish. Her hobbies are drawing, dancing, and spending the day with friends. She is very outgoing and loves the English language. Although she is not sure of her career, she knows she wants to study English and history.

Leon Riedel is a 16-year-old junior from Frankfurt, Germany. He is a part of the JV soccer team at Lane. He has been playing soccer ever since he was little, and it is his favorite sport. Some of his hobbies include going out with friends, meeting new people, and playing soccer. Some of his classes include U.S. History, Neuroscience, and Algebra 2. This is not his first time coming to America; he has visited Florida before. If he could live anywhere in the world, he would live in France or Spain, as long as he could settle in a country with big cities.

Channon Wattanakul is an exchange student from Thailand. He wanted to come to America because of the opportunities available to students. “Right now, America is the most advanced country in a lot of areas, such as education, technology, and much more. Everything here is so diverse,” Wattanakul said. He is very interested in computer sci- ence, which is why he is taking classes such as Programming and Computer Science. His hobbies include playing video games and tinkering with his computer. Although he loves computer science, his parents want him to be a doctor, so he plans on going to Harvard.

Rebekka Walka is a 15-year-old sophomore from Austria. She learned English when she was in sixth grade. Her most enjoyable hobby is playing handball, a European sport much like soccer. In handball, players use their hands to handle the ball, and then with the combined effort of their team, they try to score a goal by throwing it into the net. Walka visited many other places in America prior to this year. “I’ve been to Chicago once for vacation with my family. I’ve also gone to New York, Las Vegas, ton, San Francisco, and Miami,” Walka said.

Natasha (Chia-Chi) Tseng is a 16-year-old junior from Taiwan. She came to America because her mom wanted her to experience many different aspects of American culture. Some of the courses she takes are German, Ethnic Studies, Photography, Guitar, and Web Development. “The courses are very interesting and fun. In Taiwan, we don’t have courses like here. Such as guitar class,” Tseng said. Her hobbies include playing her guitar, singing, drawing, playing tennis, and swimming. She would like to major in social science or marketing and become a social scientist or 3-D designer.