By Carol Stiffler

Nine international exchange students gathered around Eric and Shalan Cornell’s dining table last weekend, nervously chatting in English. Three from Germany, two from Spain, and one each from the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, and Slovakia, the high school students were very far from home.

They didn’t choose to come to the Upper Peninsula; they were placed here by local exchange coordinators. Coming from so many places, but no place as small as Newberry, you might guess that they couldn’t be thrilled to be here. But you’d be wrong.

“Who here would like to go home,” Shalan asked the group. “Raise your hand if you’d like to go home.”

No hands went up.

“Even just for a visit?” I asked.

No. Everyone protested that they wanted to stay – or even stay longer than a year if possible. Eight of them have been here since August, and the ninth arrived in early January. Four are staying in Newberry, four are living in Manistique, and one is housed in Escanaba. All are here through the ICES USA exchange program – International Cultural Exchange Services. Shalan Cornell is a local coordinator for ICES, working year round to place exchange students in local homes.

Adanne Nwose, 17, from Finland, and Ivana Kopkova, 16, from the Czech Republic, got here in August. They’re staying at the home of Joe Whalen and Krista Vanatta in Newberry.

“When we got here, it wasn’t as bad. It’s not that small,” Nwose said. “I thought it would be teeny tiny, like itty bitty. But instead, it’s like, small. I didn’t think you guys had a grocery store. That’s how small I was thinking.”

Nwose speaks five languages and has no discernible accent. If you met her on the sidewalk, you’d be sure she’s from America.

All of the students speak several languages, with the average being four languages per student. French is unanimously their least favorite language to study.

School is a breeze, they said. Once their English skills adapted, they found they’re ahead of their American classmates – no matter if they’re in school in Newberry, Manistique, or Escanaba.
Because they’re essentially “on vacation”, which they admit, some of them have requested that their teachers from their home country send them weekly assignments so they don’t fall behind in school.

“I’m going to have to take a huge exam out of every single subject I would be taking back home,” said Kopkova. “And if I fail, I have to retake the whole year. If I pass, I basically get to skip the year. So I don’t have to do all of my exams at once, I ask my teachers to send me work so I can work on it here, and then I don’t have to do it when I get back.”

That’s an unlikely scenario for these ambitious students, who aren’t here to party. They’re immersing themselves in the culture and perfecting their English in preparation for their future career goals.

Carlotta Rosner, 17, from Germany, is staying at the Cornell’s home in Newberry. Her family owns a company that sells trucks Her brother is spending a year as an exchange student in Minnesota, and her family has hopes of moving the entire business to Minnesota.

Rosner will work for them after graduation. In the meantime, one of her passions is weight lifting. She’s interested in being a body builder someday.

They have advice for other students who are considering spending a year here:

“If someone offers to hang out, always say yes,” Nwose said.

“Be open,” said Guillermo Beltran, 16, of Spain. He’s spending the year in Manistique.

“Hen you’re in Manistique, join the football team,” said Anton Kanal, 16, of Germany. Kanal is an avid American football player, though he’s currently wearing an air cast on his left foot from a basketball injury.

“Don’t do girls cross country,” said Candela Murciano, 17, of Spain. She’s also staying with the Cornells near Newberry. “No one wants to do it, so they ask us. The new people.”

Murciano, Kopkova, and Nwose ran cross country for the Newberry Indians this past fall, mostly as a favor to coach Tony Kitzman, but also because he promised to bribe them with grapes – their request.

“We never got grapes and we still ran the race,” Nwose said. It’s a funny memory now, but it was a challenge. Murciano has pictures of her blood-soaked running shoes – she’d developed and burst a blister on her right foot during a race. She didn’t notice until after it ended.

The joy and energy the students bring with them is addicting in a way, said Joe Whalen and Krista Vanatta. They’re hosting Nwose and Kopkova this year; last year they hosted Lucie Rabochova from the Czech Republic and Paula Garcia from Spain. Next year they plan to host a pair of boys, and two girls the year after that.

Whalen and Vanatta share four kids of their own in addition to hosting exchange students.

“We just enjoy them all the time,” Vanatta said. “Since there’s so many of them, it’s almost like they’ve got a mini party going all the time because they’re all together. A lot of times we don’t even talk, we just sit and listen to them.”

They pick students who seem like they’ll fit in with the large group of athletic teens they’re raising.

“That’s the type of kids we have, and we want them to fit in with us,” Whalen said. “I think we almost hit the lottery two times. Both times we’ve done this we’ve just had them fit in so well. The community loves having them just as much as we do.”

“The joy and the energy that they bring has been so fun. I wish everyone would do it,” Vanatta said. Whalen said host families gain a lot from the exchange as well.

“Sometimes we feel like we’re not good enough,” Vanatta said. “They want to come over to America and have this experience, and we’re just this little family in Newberry. What do we have to offer them? When they get here, they love it. They love the town. They love the friends and family that they meet.”

They’re practically “mini celebrities” here, Whalen said.

“They come from larger cities. They walk around and they’re anonymous. When they come here, people see them, and recognize them. And they see them in the stores, wherever they go,” Whalen said. “They’ve come home a lot of times and said complete strangers come up to them and know who they are. I think they really enjoy coming to the smaller towns, and just being noticed by everybody. I think it’s a really pleasant change.”

Whalen and Vanatta encourage interested families to give hosting a try, and Cornell hopes more local families will apply to be a host. She has about 10 interested local families, she said, though some never actually host. Hundreds of international students are eagerly awaiting placement. Last year, more than 300 were never selected.

For what it’s worth, Murciano previously spent time as an exchange student in Ireland and prefers her time in Newberry.

“[In Ireland], you have to go to the people. The people don’t come to you. When you are around, you are like, one more. They don’t care,” Murciano said. “I like the people more here.”