By Natasha Halarnkar, staff writer

“Since my family doesn’t travel much, it was a major change,” said senior Michelle Chung.  “It was my first time traveling alone.”

Michelle and sophomores Miranda Shakes and Courtney Carlson spent last semester on an exciting journey exploring new cultures and meeting new people.

All three spent part of this school year in different countries through a foreign exchange program.

Michelle was in Taiwan, Courtney in Germany, and Miranda in China.

Through great experiences and adventures, all three girls spoke highly of their programs.

“I would recommend this program to others, but it depends on the person,” said Michelle.  “If they are willing to drop everything and leave, be open to new things, be patient, sociable, and strong, this would be a great opportunity for them.”

Michelle added that her experience had lots of ups and downs.

“The food, people, and climate are all totally different from what we experience here,” said Michelle.

Courtney also had a mixed experience.  She has already returned home to California, not because of homesickness, but because of conflicts with her host family.  But there were other parts of the experience she did enjoy.

“I did learn a lot of German, made a few friends, and began to learn a lot about the culture,” said Courtney. “I’m really proud of that part and glad to have done it.”

Each girl also saw a difference in cultures with people they encountered.

“The Germans, as a general statement, are very nice people,” said Courtney. “(But) they take a little warming up, more so than Americans.”

Michelle said kids in Taiwan are raised differently, and she ended up hanging out more with college students instead.

While enjoying the new culture, they also had to keep up with their studies.

Along with learning about the language and culture of Taiwan, Michelle was taking classes through Venture in order to maintain her graduation status, said counselor Michelle Sampson.

“I had 10 hours of Chinese a week, and the rest of the hours I would either be in cooking, baking, or the library on my laptop,” said Michelle.

Michelle also said there were many uniforms for different days,  and the school days started at 7:20 a.m. and ended at 5:00 p.m. every day.

Courtney took classes in Germany that were really challenging, said her father, Dave Carlson.  The education system is more advanced and she had to study everything in German.

Courtney said schools in Germany are divided by the levels of academic interest and are quite different from America.

“While you have free periods, you’re allowed to walk into the city and do whatever you please, as long as you’re back on time,” said Courtney.  “Also, because of the sporadic schedule, you get out of school at a different time daily.

“For example,” she continued, “some days I’d come home at 11:50, and other times I would come home at 3:15.”

Miranda also saw a big difference between schools in America and China.

“Teenagers in China have very little freedom and school is their life,” she said.  “They go to school from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.”

But Miranda’s family showed her there was more to China than school.

“They would take me to places to see Chinese culture,” she said.  “Everything was very new and surprising.”

Miranda was able to visit the Zhangjiajie Mountains where Avatar was filmed, said sophomore Mischa Fritz, who kept in touch through Skype.

“The mountains here are pretty much Pandora,”  Miranda said on her blog while she was there.

The three girls also said they made friends with other exchange students from all over the world.

When she left for her trip, Michelle said she didn’t know what to expect.

“The whole exchange didn’t feel real to me…until I was unpacking in my new room in Taiwan,” said Michelle.

When Miranda first arrived in China, she said she experienced a lot of culture shock.

“Everything was so strange,” Miranda said.

While trying to adapt to the new society, the girls did miss some comforts of home.

Michelle struggled to adapt to the hot and humid climate in Taiwan, while Miranda missed American food.

But even with difficulties, they learned a lot about the language, culture and life.

“A lot about me has changed, but they aren’t the sort of things you can put into words,” Miranda said. “It’s perspective. You have to have the experiences to understand.”

Courtney agreed. Even with the challenges she faced, she still had a rewarding experience. She said she gained a huge appreciation of the things she has at home and how blessed she is.

She hopes to go back to Germany someday in the future.

“I think the next time that I go, I’ll have an even better experience because I’ll be older, and a little more wise,” said Courtney.  “I still think that it’s a great program.”