A twelve hour flight gives plenty of time for foreign exchange students to wonder what the next year holds for them. A different family, a different home, a different culture. They fly to a place where a new family awaits with a home that has a new set of rules, all in a country where they will face bizarre customs.

Benedikt Lucny and Frederick Jorgensen, exchange students who have been welcomed into the Raptor community this school year, made that twelve hour flight this summer.

Becoming an exchange student requires an extensive process. When Lucny’s family decided to go through with the exchange, they still had a long journey ahead of them before he would even be able to come to the United States. They started by going to Education First, an organization in charge of facilitating the exchange of students from Europe.

“We had to be there one year before I did it,” Lucny said. “I had to fill out a long questionnaire, and I had to write a motivation letter. Then they looked for a host family for me.”

Jorgensen’s process was a little different. In addition to filling out a lot of paperwork, he attended a camp in Denmark where he learned about what being a foreign exchange student would look like.

Both Lucny and Jorgensen had expectations about America prior to coming.

“I didn’t think everyone would be so friendly,” Jorgensen said. “Everyone is so friendly here and very open-minded.”

School also differs greatly from country-to-country. In Austria, according to Lucny, the teachers tend to be a lot stricter. Jorgensen also noticed a difference in the point system from what he was used to in Denmark.

Despite these differences, Lucny and Jorgensen are having a positive experience here.

“I’m happy to be here,” Lucny said. “Everything is cleaned up and all of my teachers are great.”

Lucny and Jorgensen are both living together with the Kaplan family.

“It’s a really good relationship. I really like the family,” Lucny said. “We will definitely stay in contact after I leave the country.”

Lisa Kaplan, their host mother and an Individual Education Coordinator at Education First, has hosted students for many years now.

“I have always liked exploring different cultures and finding out new things about different environments,” Kaplan said. “It’s just always been something that we’ve wanted to explore.”

The Kaplans have kids of their own, including four older daughters that have already moved out and an eight year old son, Dakota.

Although Jorgensen was originally staying with the Kaplan family on a temporary basis to give the organization time to find a permanent host family, the Kaplans decided to make it a double placement and will be hosting both of them for the entire year.

“It was a little bit weird, because it wasn’t really decided if I would be staying with them or not,” Jorgensen said. “But they are really cool and they are very easy to talk to, so I think we have a really good relationship.”

For the Kaplan family, hosting students means involving them with activities within their household, including doing chores, and exposing them to new things.

“It’s fun to watch them enjoy new things, as simple as campfires and making s’mores,” Kaplan said. “Just the whole American experience that we would take for granted, they don’t usually do that.”

The Kaplans have really dedicated themselves to hosting students, and have been creating lifelong relationships these past five years. They plan on hosting more students in the years to come.

“We don’t host just to host,” Kaplan said. “We are part of a family now. They’re great boys and we are happy to have them.”