Alessandra Natali never thought she would enjoy going to school so much, but her junior year at Knoch High School has been one of her favorites so far.

At her old school, she was in the same classroom all day, and it didn’t have any sports or extracurricular activities to take part in. With high school being so different, she said her education has surprisingly become one of her favorite parts of being in the United States.

“We don't change the classroom; we stay all the time in the same one,” Alessandra said of her old school. “You are there for five years with the same classmates with the same teachers. No lunch, we don't have sports, no elective subjects. No teams, no clubs.”

Alessandra is visiting Knoch from Florence, Italy, and living with a host family, the Ducksteins, along with another student visiting from Spain, Andrea Perez-Montaner.

Butler County has a few options that allow people to host students from around the world in their homes. Alessandra and Andrea are visiting through International Cultural Exchange Services (ICES), coordinated in the region by Kathryn Smail, who is also a support teacher at Northwest Elementary School.

Smail said anyone can go through the process of becoming a host for students from other countries, and she does her best to promote the program throughout Butler County. There are about a dozen students from other countries visiting Butler County this school year, she said.

“As soon as a family is matched with a student, they can actually start talking,” Smail said. “The beauty of this particular visa is that I can work with my families to find the best fit.”

The ultimate goal of the international exchange program, at least for the students, is to better their English, according to Smail. However, most students get a lot more than just a lesson in linguistics.

Mok Chutpongdachdee, a 17-year-old from Thailand attending Seneca Valley High School, said in part he wanted to visit the U.S. to become more culturally aware. However, he does have an interest in pursuing linguistics in the future.

“I wanted to have a goal in my life and get out of my country to see more of the world,” Chutpongdachdee said. “I'm very interested in linguistics, like learning a culture and studying into languages. I don't want to speak every language, just want to know how they are related to each other and their origin.”

Students can choose to stay for four months — one semester — or 10 months, the entire school year, and the period begins in September. Additionally, some students start their time in the U.S. at the start of the new year, and stay for four months. A majority of visitors opt to stay the entire school year, Smail said.

Students from across the world submit applications to ICES, and approved host families across the U.S. can view their profiles to find someone they would like to host. If they are a match, Smail helps to connect the host with the student so they can converse prior to the exchange.

Smail said she tries to ensure that all of the students visiting Butler County are at least 16 years old, but there are many in the ICES system who are younger. She also said the host families do not receive a stipend or money of any kind for taking in international students, but she and ICES try to support the host throughout the visiting period.

“It includes a lengthy application, a home check and a criminal background check. It's a lot, but as soon as a family is matched with a student, they can actually start talking,” Smail said. “We try to give (hosts) as much support and hand-holding as possible.”

The visiting students attend school just like any other student — they can take the same classes, join clubs and even play sports. School itself is pretty different for all of the international students compared with their experience in their home countries.

“We have no lockers in Spain; the teachers are closer to you here than they are in Spain,” said Maria Enjuto, a 15-year-old from Spain attending First Baptist Christian School. “Here we have the same classes almost every day; in Spain we have different ones every day.”

Linda Beck is the host for Maria, and they live in Fairview Township. She said her family found out they would be hosting Maria just days before she was scheduled to arrive.

“She was a week behind in school; we didn’t have time to describe what a normal day was here,” Beck said. “But she likes to be busy, so we keep doing things.”

The hosts for each student also said they were surprised by how well their visitors spoke English. While many countries teach the language to students at a young age, several of the visiting students said speaking in a real-world context is different.

“In Italy, we learn English at school since kindergarten, so even if we learn from a young age, most people don't know that really well,” Alessandra said. “The English they teach you doesn't let you actually speak it. The only way to learn English is to learn from talking with it.”

Smail said that although many come with a relative fluency in the language, she sees it develop even further by the end of their time in the U.S.

“All of our students have pretty good English skills, and then they explode when they are in the environments,” Smail said.

Despite living with a chaotic schedule since her arrival in September, Maria said she has already experienced a number of “American” traditions she has never been exposed to.

“I have done a lot of things here I have never done before,” Maria said. “We went to the zoo, went to a haunted house. I carved a pumpkin for the first time.”

The exchange in customs is another goal of the program, according to Smail. She said the cultural exchange the classmates get to experience through meeting someone from another country can be especially impactful.

“Learning how different our culture is compared to the others; our world is a lot bigger than we have been raised to think,” Smail said.

The host families have also gotten a little cultural insight from their visitors.

“Everywhere we go it takes a long time,” said Kristen Duckstein, host for Alessandra and Andrea. “Whenever we have to drive somewhere, she asks how long it will take. They're used to hopping on a train or walking everywhere.”

Sherrie Barone, the host for Chutpongdachdee, said she thought the experience would be good for her grandson, Shawn Eisenman, who also attends Seneca Valley High School.

She said her family has learned several surprising things about Thailand from Chutpongdachdee, who told them his neighbors owned an elephant, he began learning Chinese in elementary school and he lived in a dormitory to attend high school.

“I think it’s a good experience for all kids to see,” Barone said. “I think it's great that a lot of other countries send them here.”

For Beck, the most surprising aspect of the exchange program is the age of the students traveling internationally.

“It surprises me that they’re so young,” said Beck, Maria’s host. “I think she’s very brave to come here sight unseen and stay for almost a year.”

Smail said she often gets questions from people asking how they could possibly host someone from another culture in their home for almost a year, or even if it’s safe. She tells people that although there may be challenges, hosts will likely get a lot out of their experience with a student from another country.

“I enjoy making connections with these kids and talking to them and learning about them,” Smail said. “Just making a connection with these kids is something I don't think I would be able to have any other way.”

While some of the students were initially nervous about the journey, they each said the experience has been enjoyable so far. Meeting their temporary family for the first time was a cause of nerves that eased after some time.

“They are nice, and I think I am nice to them,” Maria said. “The part I was really worried about is actually really good.”

So far during his time in Butler County, Chutpongdachdee has been to a Pittsburgh Pirates game and a Penguins game and has been camping twice and eaten numerous foods he has never tried before.

Prior to coming to America, he had mainly experienced the culture through music, television and internet videos.

“I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift since 2014,” Chutpongdachdee said. “I watched a lot of people playing English video games, learned a lot from that. A couple years ago, I watched a show ‘Modern Family,’ to know how to talk around here.”

When he returns to Thailand, he has to present his transcripts from his school to his home school to complete his exchange program. He plans to return to the U.S. to attend college after he finishes high school.

Having never been on a sports team before, Maria plans to join the basketball team in the new year.

“I really enjoy the sports,” she said. “I like American football because of how much people get excited for it.”

Smail said she hopes to see more people sign up to be hosts for international students, seeing how much knowledge the current hosts get out of the experience.

“You just have to open your doors, open your hearts and find a kid who could benefit from spending time in the U.S.,” Smail said.

Alessandra said one of her favorite discoveries is corn on the cob, which is not grown in Italy. While that is one aspect of the U.S. she said she will miss when she goes home, she said she also hopes to stay friends with as many of her classmates as possible when she leaves.

“I'm sure I'm going to grow so much for this; it's a lot going for a year,” Alessandra said. “I think I’m going to be more mature, independent.”