After welcoming three foreign exchange students into its halls for the 2023-2024 school year, Milaca High School has reached the milestone of having hosted 70 foreign exchange students with EF High School Exchange.
For reaching this milestone, EF High School Exchange coordinator for MHS Sharon Jamison presented Principal Damian Patnode with an award for the achievement.
“EF High School Exchange would like to present the Global Education Excellence Award to Milaca High School, especially thanking Damian Patnode, Mary Hastings, Trina Olson, and Caprise Larson for supporting over 70 EF exchange students over the past 16 years that Sharon Jamison has been the coordinator,” Jamison wrote about the award.
But who are the three students who helped the school reach the 70 student milestone?
Ines Kamperscrör is from Bavaria, Germany, near Munich. She is currently an 11th grade student at MHS and has participated in swimming, track and field, and the one act play. Kamperscrör is living with Cory and Lisa Greniger for the duration of her stay in Minnesota.
Paula Rayo Rodrigues is from Madrid, Spain, and is currently a 12th grade student at MHS. She has participated in swimming and track, and she is staying with Keith and Michelle Anderson.
Daniele Dell’Oglio is also a 12th grade student at MHS and has participated in track and field, as well as a brief experience in cross country. He is from a town near Milan, Italy, and is staying with Reese and Kim Hultman.
All three students have spent the past year living life as normal American teenagers in the halls of MHS. Below, the visiting students shared what their experiences have been like during that time.
How does your hometown compare to Milaca, and how did you learn where Milaca was?
Kamperschrör: “I grew up in a similar size town, like 2,000 people, so it’s pretty similar. I got my placement and then I had to Google where Minnesota is, and then I didn’t know where Milaca is, so I had to Google that. I didn’t really know where I was going when I found out I was going, honestly.”
Rodrigues: “I grew up in the city, so it’s different, it’s weird, but I like it. I used Google maps, and I had an idea, but I didn’t really know where I was going.”
Dell’Oglio: “My town is a little bit bigger, about 10,000 people, but the thing is that it’s all together and not as spread out. You guys have a little downtown and just country. I don’t really have any country in my hometown. I was pretty happy that I ended up in Minnesota. I was afraid that I was going to end up in some states like Mississippi or Alabama. One of my cousins went to Mississippi and he had a fun experience, but I don’t know if I wanted to go there. I could’ve gotten some better states probably, but it’s good. All the states have pros and cons. The weather is not very good over here, but the schools are pretty good compared to other states.”
How has your experience been so far?
Kamperschrör: “I like the people, and I like the state itself, but I’m not a fan of the weather. I grew up near the mountains, so it’s pretty flat here. It’s definitely been a little different.”
Rodrigues: “I like it; well, I don’t like the food, but the people are nice and friendly. I don’t like the weather either, it’s way too cold.”
Dell’Oglio: “I do agree with the food, it’s not very good here, but I mean you can always go to the grocery store and get what you want. It’s pretty windy here all year round. My hometown is close to two mountain chains, so there isn’t much wind because it’s blocked by the mountains.”
What was it like meeting your host families for the first time?
Kamperschrör: “I lived with the Jamisons first, and when I came here, I started swimming and after 10 days my host family showed up and asked if I would be their exchange student. So, that was pretty cool. It’s been good, I really like them, it’s a good match.”
Rodrigues: “It was kind of weird, I didn’t know them. They were super nice, but the language was kind of hard and I didn’t know what to do the first week. But it’s been good, and it’s going good now.”
Dell’Oglio: “I actually knew them already because we had been chatting, so it was not extra weird. I got to the airport and we hugged and started living together. It wasn’t a big surprise.”
What’s been your favorite food here? Least favorite?
Kamperschrör: “I loved Buffalo Wild Wings, the food is really good, and I really like Mexican food like El Jalisco. We don’t really have Mexican food at home, so I really like that. I don’t really like how there’s so much meat everywhere, especially hamburgers, I’m not the biggest fan of that. The food kind of reminds me of home like there’s a lot of potatoes, which isn’t always a positive. I’m not a big fan of German food.”
Rodrigues: “I like mac and cheese, I’m obsessed with mac and cheese. I don’t like sloppy Joes and Mexican food. I hate Mexican food.”
Dell’Oglio: “One thing you do very well is beef like steaks and all kinds of meat, that’s very good. Mexican food too. We went to a Mexican place in St. Cloud, they make real Mexican food. I tried it and it’s really good. My least favorite, I’m probably going to get some hating, but it’s casseroles or hot dishes. They’re kind of mushy.”
What foods are you missing from home?
Kamperschrör: “Pasta. I like that Germany has so much diversity in the food they get, not necessarily German food, but the other European food they get like Spanish, Italian, Greek.”
Rodrigues: “All the Spanish food. I miss it a lot. Sometimes I make it here, but it’s not the same.”
Dell’Oglio: “The food I miss a lot is pizza. I can get pizza here, but not the kind I want, that’s the problem.”
What is your favorite class at Milaca High School?
Kamperschrör: “I like contemporary lit(erature) because I have friends in that class. So, it’s just like a study hall but you read, and I like just reading books and doing some guides with that. At home it’s just reading different kinds of books and study, and I don’t really like that.”
Rodrigues: “I think I like economics. It was kind of fun, we learned a lot. In Spain we don’t learn anything, we only study and read books about economics. I like Spanish too, but because it’s my language.”
Dell’Oglio: “Shop class has been the greatest class. I was in woodworking for the first semester and I built something, which was fun. Now, welding class too. I like the trades and building something with my hands. At home, I only get to study in books, so I don’t really build anything. Right here, I get to build something and feel proud of it.”
What has surprised you most about living in Milaca?
Kamperschrör: “That it didn’t snow in September. It only snowed in October. I read that you sometimes have snow from September to May, and I thought I was going to have 10 months of snow. It was cold in the winter, but not as cold as I was expecting it to be.”
Rodrigues: “I think the weather, and the school in the United States is so much easier than in Spain and it’s so much fun. I don’t even have sports in my school.”
Dell’Oglio: “I was surprised by how big your roads are with all the trucks and stuff. I like them, but it’s different. At home you can barely fit two cars on a normal road, here you can fit four cars.”
When do you return home, and what are your future plans?
Kamperschrör: Plans to return home at the end of May. She has two more years of high school in Germany, then she plans on attending college in Munich, but is not sure what she would like to study. She is leaning toward something in economics or politics. She also hopes to travel a lot in the future.
Rodrigues: Plans to return home on May 27 and will take a test upon her return home for college. She hopes to attend college to become a dentist. She also hopes to travel a lot in the future and is looking forward to a summer spent at the beach.
Dell’Oglio: Plans to return home on May 21. He has one year left of high school and is currently deciding between attending college for some type of engineering or becoming a trades person.
For questions about hosting a student through EF High School Exchange, contact Sharon Jamison at 320-282-8121.
Reach Chloe Smith at chloe.smith@apgecm.com
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