Being a new student can be difficult, especially if the new school is in a different country. Sofie Myklebostad knows how this feels. Originally from Molde, Norway, Myklebostad came to America as a foreign exchange student in her junior year. Within the program, she was able to choose which country she wanted study in.

“I’ve always wanted to go to America so I thought, ‘Why not go in exchange instead of vacation?’” Myklebostad said. “It’s different, but it’s like a good different. I like it.”

Despite knowing which country she was going, she was not aware of which state she was going to. When she arrived in Kansas, Myklebostad was not surprised.

“I think it’s what I pictured America as. It’s very typical American, I think. So, I really like it here,” she said. “I like that it’s [Manhattan] … I don’t know how to explain it. I like the size of it. It’s not big, but it’s not small either.”

A challenge for many foreign exchange students is learning the language of the country they choose to go to. That was not the case for Myklebostad.

“We learned [English] at school. We start learning it in second grade,” she said.

However, that does not mean she has no trouble with the language at all.

“When we read old English, it’s very hard because I don’t know any of the words, but regular English that we just talk I can rely fine,” Myklebostad said.

As always, a new school can be different than what someone is used to.

“In Norway, we don’t have the same classes everyday. We have different classes every day. The school is easy here,” she said. “I really like the school because it’s so social. Everyone is nice.”

One of the hardest things for her is being in a new country without any of her friends, but that does not stop her from participating with school activities. She currently runs on the cross country team and enjoys going to the football games.

“I’m looking forward to American high school things,” Myklebostad said.