A group of 11 domestic exchange students came to visit Blue Earth for a week as part of the American Exchange Project, just as 10 of their BEA peers traveled around the country to explore other states. This is the fourth year that Blue Earth has participated in the American Exchange Project, with students visiting from Oregon, New York, Utah, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Virginia, and Alaska. The exchange students are pictured above next to the Little Sprout outside of the Blue Earth Community Library, from left to right, front row: Sophie Hall, Isabel Vargas, Cora Henry, Langston Donath, Imani Colman, Ximena Melendez. Back row: Carson Giles, Porter Snell, Alex Judge, Archer Sheridan, Alandra Soto Buitel, Julianna Robeco, Leona Shindo-Crawford, Grace Hanson, Kenzie Torgerson. Missing from the photo are BEA seniors Aimee Liegl, Pablo Ozuna, Amelia Greff, Connor Minor, Devin Haase, and Sydney Morris.

Ten Blue Earth Area students traveled across the country as part of the American Exchange Project, and upon returning home, they met up with the group of 11 exchange students from across the country back in Blue Earth for a week of connection and community-building.

BEA seniors Isabel Vargas, Sophie Hall, Kenzie Torgerson, Grace Hanson, Aimee Liegl, Pablo Ozuna, Amelia Greff, Connor Minor, Devin Haase, and Sydney Morris were the latest group of students to take part in this year’s American Exchange Project exchange, which marks the fourth year that Blue Earth has participated in the program.

The American Exchange Project, which started in 2019, is a free two-week program that allows high school seniors to travel to different cities across the country to build community and explore what other states have to offer.

Rather than a single shared time frame for all of the students, the BEA seniors set off for their travels at staggered dates throughout June and July, spending a week at their exchange destination before flying home. For the domestic exchange students coming to Blue Earth, July 22-29 was their chance to meet up with their BEA peers in the exchange and spend the week with them.

This year, there were 11 American Exchange Project students who came to visit Blue Earth, including Porter Snell from Oregon, Archer Sheridan and Imani Colman from New York, Carson Giles and Ximena Melendez from Utah, Alandra Soto Buitel from Florida, Julianna Robeco from South Carolina, Cora Henry from Arkansas, Langston Donath from Texas, Alex Judge from Alaska, and Leona Shindo-Crawford from Virginia.

As for where the Blue Earth students traveled, Aimee and Isabel both went to Texas (Aimee to Jasper and Isabel to Kilgore); Pablo went to Kenner, Louisiana; Amelia went to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Sophie went to Sussex, New Jersey; Connor went to Memphis, Tennessee; Sydney and Devin went to Virginia (Devin to Chesapeake and Sydney to Norfolk); Grace went to Washington, D.C.; and Kenzie went to Naples, Florida.

All of the participating American Exchange Project students had a busy week while they were in Blue Earth, traveling all over the state and enjoying the events of the Faribault County Fair. There was a stop at the Giant Museum, a trip up to the Twin Cities for the Mall of America and Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store, an expedition to Niagara Cave in Harmony, a visit to the SPAM Museum in Austin, and tickets to see the Autocross and the T&C Rodeo at the fair, just to name a few.

“I was confused when I looked up Blue Earth on Google, because all I saw was the Green Giant,” Julianna admitted. “I was like, “what are we going to do here?” I had no idea we were going to travel all around the state.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to be so hot,” Alex added. “The day I flew here from Alaska it was 56 degrees at home, and it’s been in the 90s here all week.”

Along with their travels, all of the visiting students stayed with various host families throughout Faribault County. All of the students had good things to say about their hosts, and praised the hospitality shown to them during their stay.

“I was a little nervous meeting my host family, because I was told I was going to be staying with them by myself,” Alandra shared. “In my talks with other kids from the exchange program, it sounded like some of them were staying with the same host family. But my host family was really nice, and really made it feel like home.”

“I actually wasn’t super worried about meeting my host family here,” Cora notes. “I’ve done foreign exchange programs in the past, and there it always felt awkward because there was a language barrier. Here, English is everyone’s first language, so it’s a lot easier to get to know them.”

This year’s host families included Barbara Carlson and Alton Jacobson of Bricelyn, who have hosted exchange students all four years; Kady Brown of Blue Earth, who has been a host for three years; and several first-time hosts, including Taylor and Pat Liegl of Winnebago, Sonja and Al Hanson of Blue Earth, Ken and Jean Wessels of Blue Earth, Bret and Rhonda Osborn of Winnebago, and Peg and Gerry Marose of Bricelyn.

Blue Earth proved to be a different experience than many of the visiting exchange students expected, with many citing a sense of culture shock at life in rural Minnesota.

“It’s really quiet here, a lot quieter than in New York,” Imani remarked. “I kind of miss the noise and the lights of the big city.”

“I had no idea that something like the Autocross even existed,” Archer noted. “Porter and I stayed with the same host family, and they got us seats really close to the pit, so we were right near all of the action. It was super cool!”

The BEA students also had a lot to share about their own travels, with a few noting that they already had plans to travel back and meet up with the friends they made during their own cross-country trips.

“This program genuinely helps you make some of the best friends you’ll ever have,” Sophie shared. “I made some really close friends down in Florida, and I’m already planning to head back down and visit them again.”

And speaking of friendships, even the visiting exchange students were able to find some unexpected common ground with each other. One lucky pair, Julianna and Ximena, discovered that they not only shared a birthday, but also were born around the same time, in the same year.

“It’s crazy – Julianna is from South Carolina and I’m from Utah, but we were born at almost the exact same time of day,” Ximena explained. “I had no idea that I would meet someone with the same birthday as part of this program, and I’m so happy I did.”

Overall, all of the students enjoyed their experiences as part of the American Exchange Project, and when asked if they would recommend the experience to their peers, the answer was a resounding yes.

“I would advise anyone who wants to try this for themselves to keep an open mind,” Alex added. “It’s not going to be what you expect, but that’s part of the experience, and it’s totally worth it.”

“It’s not every day that you get to travel somewhere completely for free, so I would definitely recommend that people participate,” Isabel shared. “You get to meet so many amazing people, and it’s a great way to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.”