Would you ever leave your family, all your friends, your school, your country to spend one entire year of your life in another state with a host family? This is what exchange students do.  The Wayne City Unit 100 school this year is hosting 4 exchange students: two from Italy, one from Brazil, and one from Spain. Why they would students want to do that?  “One of the biggest reasons I wanted to be an exchange student is because of the life experience I will gain here, with a new culture, new habits and different customs,” stated Maria, the girl from Brazil. Between the USA, Italy, Spain and Brazil, there are a lot of differences that usually lead the exchange students to have cultural shock. “I have noticed a lot of differences! For example when we have to eat, in Italy we set the table for every meal and me and my family usually eat together. Also the school is pretty different, in Italy we have five years of high school, we do not have school dances or the yearbook, and we do not practice sports at school,” stated Giada, from Italy. How do students become an exchange student? The first thing students need to do is enroll in an agency that organizes years abroad in their home country. After students get some papers and sign some contracts, they will be paired with a partner abroad that will find the student a host family. Then, students are ready to leave and experience probably one of the best experiences in their life!