Homer Alaska - Schools -

"We've got these great kids going out next year and I wanted them to have an opportunity to ask questions and hear reactions," Lin Hampson, HHS counselor, said.

After tea tips were given by HHS English and speech teacher Kathy Kysar -- hold your finger like so, sample everything, never squeeze the lemon -- Mayforth led off the discussion by asking, "What's the purpose of foreign exchange?"

"You get to know the culture, rather than the tourist attractions," Noomah said, adding that her time in Chili also was a personal opportunity to connect with her Latin roots.

"You are a citizen of the world, not just your country," Monteiro said of the expanded realization he has experienced since coming to Homer.

"You learn about who you are," Williamson said, summing up all the responses from her classmates.

Looking for a view of Homer seen through the eyes of visitors, as well as students who have lived outside the area, Hampson asked how Homer was different than other places. The answers included "less franchised" and a place where people "walk slowly."

"Students in other parts of the United States are insane right now," Noomah said of high-powered, competitive school environments. "Here, it's not."

Comparing Alaska to his home country, Monteiro pointed to Homer's small size; its interest in poetry, music and reading; its population of older people; and its connection to nature that make it "a little unusual."

"I don't consider myself being in the United States," Monteiro said. " I'm in Alaska and glad. Alaska has a different culture from the Lower 48."

Prior to traveling from his native Thailand to Homer, Sirijaratwong said he expected Alaska to be a land of Eskimos, igloos and polar bears, with no computers.

"The U.S. should promote Alaska more," he said, encouraging an effort to correct misconceptions. His suggestion was met with laughs and agreement around the circle.

Mayforth expanded the subject by asking the three visiting exchange students what they thought of America before arriving.

"I grew up listening to a lot of American music and watching sitcoms," said Monteiro, whose father was an exchange student to the U.S. in 1975.

In addition to what he learned from his father, AFS -- the intercultural program through which Monteiro is spending time in Homer -- told Monteiro to respect Americans' "personal bubble."

"But you guys are not that different from us," he said, comparing his Homer classmates with friends in Brazil.

The opposite was true for Toivanen.

"We have an even bigger bubble," she said, laughing at the amount of personal space with which her Finnish countrymen feel comfortable.

With results of Tuesday's presidential election still fresh, students preparing to go abroad expressed a change in how they will present themselves.

"I feel so positive, so proud to say I'm 'American,'" Rohr said.

Williamson agreed.

"I'm really excited to go and say I'm an American,'" she said.

Excitement aside, being an exchange student also has challenges.

"The first month is hard, but you get used to it," Sirijaratwong said.

There's the language. The distance from home. A host family with which to become acquainted. There's waking up and thinking, "Where am I?"

There's simply the uniqueness of being an exchange student that can separate you from others. Or it can be a bridge.

"It's your year to do it all," Noomah said.

"So don't pull back. You've got to be out there as much as possible."

The advice Monteiro was given before leaving Brazil for Homer fit with Noomah's experience.

"Enjoy the ride," he said. "That's what my dad told me."