Fallston’s foreign friends

On September 6th, 2022, students started filing into schools all over Harford County, some eager to start their new school year and others not. However, this year, Fallston High School had two students slightly more eager than the rest: Lena Wurz and Anton Thorup, two foreign exchange students from Italy and Denmark.  

Lena, a junior, is from a village in Northern Italy called Kaltern. In that area their first language is a German Dialect as opposed to Italian like many believe. However, she also speaks Italian, German, English, and Latin, to make a total of five languages.  

Anton, a sophomore, is from Gentofte, Denmark. He also speaks multiple languages, those being Danish, English, and some German.  He flew in on September 1st and was nervous to fly alone for the first time. “I had talked to my host family online before coming so I knew I was coming over to a good place,” he explained. 

Lena, however, arrived in America a day later on September 2, just four days before the first day of school. “I was nervous because two huge events were going to be so close together, the first being actually arriving in this country that I have never been in before and the other being the first day of school,” she said. 

Both students came through the same exchange program, ASSE, meaning they went on trips together. They both traveled with the group to Philadelphia, New York City, and even Annapolis where they met Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller. Anton also went to California and West Virginia while Lena visited Boston and upstate New York. 

Something both of them can relate to is the difference in school systems from their home countries to Fallston. “[Fallston] is a lot bigger than my school at home and switching classes was something new for me,” Anton said. However, though they may have been a little lost in the beginning, they quickly learned the layout and were getting around without any help in no time. 

When describing her first few months here, Lena mentioned how “everything is huge, every single store is huge” and how “you can get lost in very single store here which is so crazy because our stores are so small; there’s no way you can get lost in our stores.” 

Because they are so hyped up in the movies, a big experience for all exchange students is their first school football game. “I think my best memory related to school was the first time I was at a football game,” Anton explained. “The support from the entire school is something very unique and something I don’t think I will ever get to experience again.” 

Lena agrees, saying that “[the games] had such a good feeling of community and it was just so much fun when you see all of your friends from school dressing up and cheering for the team.”  

Another thing that all exchange students, and the families they build during their time in exchange, like to laugh about is both the stereotypes/images the students have of American culture prior to coming over and the things that surprise them the most after coming. For Anton, it was the massive culture that surrounds sports. “When I went to my host brother’s football games (he is 14) some of the parents really cared about winning and got a little mad if they lost. It was pretty funny,” he said.  

Though they both had slightly differing reasons for wanting to become exchange students, they will both be leaving in June with one thing in common: they have built a home away (far away) from home. They have made incredible memories, and it is all thanks to their host families, friends, teachers, and so many more who helped them navigate the rocky waters of exchange. 

When asked about a favorite memory, Lena gave me a never-ending list, including attending school dances, pep rallies, visiting so many incredible places, running cross country, Christmas morning, the farmer’s market, and theatre experiences. “I guess saying, ‘No, I don’t have one favorite memory because so much I did here was amazing and will forever be in my memories’ is easier,’” she said.  

Anton explained how though he may not have plans as of right now, he “will definitely come back to America someday.” As for Lena, after touring numerous colleges with her host sister, she hopes to come back to America for college and see all of the people she has met.  

“I hope that we will meet again some day and thank you for being a part of my year in the U.S,” Anton wants the people he has met here to know. Lena, however, explained that “[she] would like to say thank you to everyone who made [her] experience in the U.S so amazing.” 

As their year in the U.S is nearing an end, everyone is reflecting on the past year and the amazing memories that have filled it. They both have made an extreme impact on their host families, and Fallston as a whole, and there will most definitely be tears shed at the gates of BWI when it comes time to say ‘goodbye.’ 

“There are so many people behind this and just having the wish to do an exchange year isn’t enough, it is all the people who actually made it happen like my family at home, my host family here, my teachers. They are the ones who made this happen and I owe this entire year to them,” Lena said.