Imagine moving to a different continent, by yourself, to live there for several months. Junior Ana-Julia Souza achieved what most people could never do.
Souza, an exchange student from Brazil, knew she wanted to live in the United States ever since she was young. This past summer, she was finally able to achieve her dream and come to California.
“My parents didn’t want to move here [because] they wanted to stay in Brazil,” Souza said. “So I searched for some kind of program I could do by myself. I went to an agency in my city and I decided to do the one-year [schedule].”
Souza was accepted into the exchange program and arrived in California in June. Although she didn’t know anything about her host family, she clicked with them easily.
“My host mom is from Columbia,” Souza said. “The culture in Columbia is really similar to Brazil, so it was something that we really connected with.”
Souza loves having two host sisters as well because back home, she only has one brother. She is grateful for the chance to live with a family dynamic different from what she’s used to.
She has also enjoyed her time at Monte Vista over the past few months. Even though she was a new student, it was easy for her to fit in and make many new friends. Souza also loves the classes that she is currently taking: Sports Med, Anatomy and Physiology, and Psychology especially.
“[Monte Vista] is a really big school, and they have lots of options of classes,” Souza said. “[In Brazil] I used to stay in the same class with the same people for each subject, and the teachers [were the ones who] had to move around.”
Many Monte Vista students are used to an extensive selection of classes, but in Souza’s home city, it’s rare to find such a wide range of subjects and electives. Getting those same opportunities in Brazil requires attending a private, more expensive school.
At first, adjusting to the new schedule at Monte Vista was a challenge, but she ended up preferring the system of classes here because it gave her the chance to meet and interact with more people, especially those in different grades.
Attending Monte Vista has also helped Souza learn English. She has been taking English classes since she was eleven, but hearing it all day at school has greatly improved her speaking.
However, being an exchange student comes with its fair share of hardships. Despite the cherished memories she has made in the United States, Souza is eager to return home to her family in Brazil.
“I’m really homesick,” Souza said. “The hardest thing here is [being] away from my family because no one is going to be the same as my family. No host family is going to be the same.”
In fact, Souza has decided to cut her trip short as she plans on leaving Monte Vista just before the start of winter break.
“I [feel] like my time here [is] ending,” Souza said. “Being in an American school was really nice, and it was what I wanted. I experienced a lot of things and I saw a lot of beautiful places, too.”
Her experience came with several challenges including battling homesickness, moving in with complete strangers, and speaking a language she wasn’t accustomed to, but Souza doesn’t regret fulfilling her dream of living in America.
“[Being an exchange student] is definitely worth it,” Souza said. “[There are] a lot of responsibilities [that come with] being here alone, away from everybody that you know, but it’s a nice experience because you can make a lot of friends. I would definitely come back [to America]. It’s a place that I really like.”
