Foreign Exchange Students Take On HHS

In 2018, for the third year in a row, The Institute of International Education reported that over one million students from different backgrounds, countries and living situations chose to enroll as a foreign exchange student in the United States alone. Each person gave up their lives for six to ten months to experience a new walk of life. Hartselle High is lucky enough to have three exchange students to walk its halls this year. Sirli Sildever is one in that one million and also is one of the three to experience the Hartselle way. Sirli is from a small country in Northern Europe, Estonia. When She first came into the community of Hartselle she was taken in with open arms. She told us “My host family and teachers made me feel like I was home.” Everyone in the school is doing their part to make Sirli feel welcome. She has gained new friends and new life story to tell. One difference Sirli noticed between Estonia and Hartselle, is that fast food always seems to be on the menu here. “This school has so many fast food things! Like Pop-tarts and pizza.” One thing that we here in the U.S. could take away from Estonia is to prioritize healthy living. There, lunch consists of wholesome foods like brown rice, vegetables, and meats. In Estonia, on certain dates, people gather around, the whole town- the whole country. “They sing songs we used to to be allowed to sing” when the country was controlled by another one. The songs represent freedom and love. In America, freedom and love are things we experience every day, but other countries have yet to experience it. Talking with Sirli made me realize how different and similar people can be. People may have different cultures and traditions, yet in the end, we all want friends and success and happiness. At the end of the interview, I asked Sildever is she was happy that she took the leap of faith of moving here as a foreign exchange student. Sirli said it was “a great decision” and she is very happy she chose to come to Hartselle, even though she misses home dearly.