The Italian exchange students were the last of four exchanges to come to Curtis for the 2019-2020 school year. The Foriegn Exchange Club hosted Italian students for about two weeks during the Thanksgiving break. They arrived on November 21st, utterly exhausted from the eight hour plane ride. The bus then took them to Curtis, where they would meet their host family for the next two weeks. 

As the bus pulled up to the school, the Italian students looked out the window and saw a big crowd of students bouncing up and down in the cold. They departed the bus and grabbed their luggage to go in search of their American hosts. Hugs were exchanged once the Italian students met their host family. Curtis IDs and students metros were given to the students and shipped off with their host family. As the days passed, the students were more comfortable with each other and did a lot of group activities, the biggest of which was a trip to Washington D.C. They visited the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery to get a feel for American culture and history. 

The Curtis students organized trips to New York City landmarks, as well as more local attractions such as the Winter Lantern Festival allowing the bond within the group to strengthen. On December 6th, the Italian exchange students followed their American counterparts around during the school day to better understand how we spend our days. After a couple of periods, the Italians were headed home with tears in their eyes, but ultimately excited for the next time they would see each other.