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SeniorNoraFroenleft her home in Norway for a year abroad in America. Norway is an aver- age sized country lo- cated in Scandinavia. Its government is unique to America’s in it being a monar- chy inﬂuenced heav- ily by socialism. To have a social- ist government a cer- tain type of is needed. “Culture and the government go togeth- er,” Froen said, “You have to have a special type of society to have a certain government. In Norway, you have to have it so everyone wants to help everyone else. In Norway, you pay so much in taxes but help so many people. If peo- ple just wanted to keep their money for them- selves and everything for themselves we wouldn’t be able to have a [social- ist] type of government.” The government is kept small and the parties Features Oct. 30, 20156 The Thunderbeat Culture Corner: Nora FroenEvery week, 1,709 students cram through the halls of Bellevue West. Every person has his or her own beliefs, traditions and culture. Monthly features on different students and faculty will highlight Bellevue West’s diversity. BRYN ESTLUND REPORTER Foreign exchange student Nora Froen discusses government in this month’s “Culture Corner.” “A friend for a year:” Inside hosting an exchange student For one school year, a handful of foreign ex- change students attend Bellevue West. Through- out their stay, they are exposed to new experi- ences, a new culture, and a brand new family. The families hosting these students are often over- looked; however, their lives are equally affected. Senior Britt Gray and her family are host- ing Raphael Iseli, from a small town near Bern, Switzerland, who is staying with them. Iseli arrived on the ﬁrst day of Au- gust and will stay with them until roughly a week after graduation. “I think it’s very inter- esting having someone from across the world in your home because you learn about their culture, you learn about their family, why they want to come to America,” Gray said. “It makes you think a lot about how people in the world are different.” The Grays knew what to expect when taking in Iseli, as he is their second experience with the for- eign exchange program. In the 2013-14 school year, they host- ed Kira Mandler from Germany. Ingrid Gray, Britt’s mother, explained that their incentive for hosting a second time came from the great ex- perience with Mandler. EMMA LARSON FEATURES EDITOR “[Kira] and her par- ents have become life- long friends to us, and we consider them to be our ‘German fam- ily,’” Ingrid said. “It was fun sharing American things with her, and we worked on an American bucket list for her to do while she was here. It was really good for our children to have another child join our family, and for them to learn to ac- cept her and love her.” Although Iseli and Mandler both formed bonds with the host family, their person- alities provided equally unique experiences. “Kira was very re- served and shy, and it took her a while to get comfortable and open up to us,” Britt said. “Ra- phael has been a com- pletely different experi- ence just because he’s very outgoing and he loves to talk; he loves making new friends. He was comfortable within a week living with us.” Sophomore Nick Townsend and his family are hosting an exchange student for this ﬁrst time. Sergio Paris from Mi- lan, Italy has been staying with the Townsends since the beginning of August. “It’s pretty cool,” Townsend said. “He tells us about Italian history and culture and some- times cooks us food.” Townsend lives with his biological brother and foster brother, so adding one more guy into the mix hasn’t altered his lifestyle too drastically. “I have to clean up after myself more be- cause he’s not used to that,” Townsend said. “But, otherwise, it’s pretty much the same. It’s just like host- ing a friend for a year.” However, the Gray family felt that having an extra child in the house signiﬁcantly impacted their family dynamic. Britt is the oldest of four, now ﬁve because of Iseli. She lives with her 15 year-old brother and two sisters, ages 12 and 5. “The kids have to learn to make room and share with one more sibling,” Ingrid said. “Most of the time they are trying to ‘behave better’ to be a good ex- ample of an American family (and not make our exchange student think we’re all crazy).” Not only do the fami- lies have to be conscious of mannerisms, but they have to learn how to nav- igate daily routines with an extra person along. “We have a bigger gro- cery bill, and I have to make bigger meals,” Ingrid said. “More laun- dry, more dishes, more homework, more sports and extracurricular ac- tivities to drive kids to. Adding one more (es- pecially a busy teen) does make a difference.” In order to be deemed an appropri- ate family to host an exchange student, the family is expected to be able to handle these new expenses and life adjustments. To ensure the trav- eling student’s safety, a local correspondent from the Education First Foundation conducted a series of inspections. “The exchange agency had to interview us and inspect our home (much like a social worker would for foster place- ment) to make sure it was suitable for another child to move in,” Ingrid said. “We reviewed many, many student applica- tions from various coun- tries in Europe. The host family gets to choose the student; the students do not have a say in where they go. The students ap- ply for EF in their home countries, where they have to ﬁll out a long application, submit pho- tos and grades, teacher recommendations, get medical and dental ex- ams (and often get shots updated to U.S. school system requirements), and are personally inter- viewed by EF staff to de- cide if they are suitable exchange candidates.” Although the pro- cess is long and speciﬁc, Townsend highly rec- ommended it to other families, and the Grays reﬂected on it as an in- comparable experience. Both Britt and Ingrid agreed that hosting an exchange student of- fered them a better per- spective about both the world and the people in it. “I think we’ve all grown and learned things from hosting,” Ingrid said. “We’ve learned about German and Swiss cultures, but we’ve also learned about ourselves. And I think the kids especially have be- come more aware and introspective of them- selves and what they do and say in general.” Britt Gray, her dad, Iseli, and her younger sister hold up Switzerland’s ﬂag while tailgating before a Nebraska Husker football game. The EF Foundation organized this group activity to include all of the exchange students in the area. Photo courtesy of Britt Gray are relatively similar mak- ing it more accessible for a socialist government. “In Norway every- one thinks the same way,” Froen said. “We have different parties that are so close to- gether that they ﬁt into one party in America.” For Froen, the dif- ferences in politics be- tween Norway and United States are con- trasting. Varied opin- ions are expected in the American government opposed to in Norway. “In America there is a lot more diversity and ev- eryone thinks differently and acts differently,” Froen said. “In Norway people think similarly, people show a lot more of what they think and mean or other options are show through the way they dress or act. In Norway people try to be like everyone else.” Commonly in Amer- ica, students show a lack of interest in under- standing their govern- ment. Froen’s knowl- edge on politics and the world has been described as refresh- ing to her fellow peers. “She knows a lot about how her govern- ment works, what’s go- ing on with politics and her world,” senior Jenna Hubbard said. “It’s good because as an American I don’t care as much and I don’t see students around caring as much. We have to have a class for govern- ment, but she hasn’t and she knows about it. I think her awareness is great.” Being politically aware has helped Froen to distinguish between both the good and bad aspects of each form of government. “Everything is easier if everyone has the same opinion in the govern- ment. When people have different opinions, then it makes it harder to do anything,” said Froen. “If everyone has the same opinion then things will never change, so something else might be better.” Photo by Bryn Estlund A student’s senior year is arguably the most important in a stu- dent’s career. It’s a time of deadlines, college applications, last min- ute score raising, and also a transition into adulthood with most se- niors turning eighteen. With this transition comes the choice or, some would argue the responsibility, to vote. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry is Nebraska’s 1st congressional district representative and, coin- cidentally, Bellevue, Sar- py County, and Lincoln’s representative. Forten- berry visited Bellevue West on Oct. 5. He talked to the senior class about politics, the upcoming election he’s running in and the relationship between the govern- ment and the people. “We are a people that self-governs, so the power comes from us. Therefore, we get the leadership we deserve,” Fortenberry told the se- niors in attendance. “So this act of voting is an exercise of your dignity and rights and it ought to be treated with great preciousness and ex- ercised responsibly.” In addition, Forten- berry talked about the nation as a whole. “There’s so much brokenness and disor- der in society and we have to ask ourselves ‘where does this origi- nate from?’” Forten- berry asked. “We can’t spend enough money to ﬁx that brokenness.” Fortenberry said he believes families and communities could help make the nation stronger. “I think [talking to high school students] helps me participate more directly in the life of the community and building towards those goals, instead of just talk- ing about it from Wash- ington, and doing it here,” Fortenberry said. “[I imagine a] vibrant school system that truly cares about their children and believe in the values of the community and are preparing you for life.” The next Congressio- nal election is Nov. 2016. This is currently Forten- berry’s sixth term in Con- gress. Students can go to www.usa.gov to learn more about voting regis- tration. AYALITA CROSSTON REPORTER CongressmanFortenberryinformson voting,politicalissues Bellevue West Theatre Department Presents 2015 Fall One-Act Play Festival November 3, 5, & 7 at 7 p.m. November 4 at 3:45 p.m. $5 Adults, $3 Students/Senior Citizens Free to BPS Activity Card and District Pass Holders The Substitute Teacher A New Play by Kennie Pelt & Kayleigh Burley Orphan Trains by Deborah Craig Presented by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. Idina & Greggory A New Comedy by Jade Miralles Alice Is Wonderland Written & Performed by Advanced Theatre Class “We are a people that self governs, so the power comes from us.” --Jeff Fortenberry

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