North Branch becomes second home for exchange student

By Danielle Strenke
For 17-year-old Natalia Lusardi, the time she will spend in the United States is an opportunity to improve her English, experience a new culture and become more independent. For her current host family, she has already become a member of the family.
Natalia is spending her senior year of high school attending classes at North Branch High School. She is an exchange student from Chacabuco, Argentina, a city of about 36,000 people.
Her exchange trip was sponsored by the North Branch Rotary, and her current host family are Rotary member Bob and his wife Jeanne Walz.
Natalia made the trip from Argentina to Minnesota in August. Before the trip, she prepared for the journey by doing a little research into what Minnesota and North Branch are like.
ìI looked it up on the internet to learn about North Branch,î she said.
Natalia did know a little about the state before her trip; her older brother was an exchange student in Minnesota two years ago. He stayed in Chaska, she said.
After learning that the Walzís would be her host family, Natalia began exchanging emails with them.
Although she was prepared for the journey, Natalia was both nervous and excited before making her first trip abroad by herself.
ìI couldnít sleep until I got here,î she said. ìI was so excited to get here.î
In the short time that she has been her, Natalia has tried many new things, including a boat trip on the St. Croix River, camping at Wild River State Park and waterskiing.
She has also been to the Minnesota State Fair, the Renaissance Festival, a theater performance and a Minnesota Twins game.
The activities she is really looking forward to, however, involve Minnesota winters.
ìI want to ice skate on a frozen lake,î she said. Natalia is also excited about going skiing, snowboarding and just experiencing a Midwest winter.
The typical lows for an Argentinian winter are about 50 degrees, she said.
Natalia is an experienced skater already. She was a competitive skater for eight years in Argentina, but decided to stop skating when she realized it was not allowing her any free time to spend with friends.
After school started, Natalia tried out for the volleyball team. When that didnít work out, she joined the tennis team, and now plays on the junior varsity squad.
Last week, she won her first match. ìItís pretty good for never picking up a tennis racket before,î Jeanne Walz said.
Nataliaís school in Argentina has no organized sports, but she did play volleyball there as part of a morning program before school.
The Argentinian school day and North Branch school day are very different, she said.
While North Branch starts in the morning and ends in early afternoon, school in Argentina is from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Students then spend their mornings with family. In Argentina, Natalia works in her motherís perfume shop, selling perfume and makeup.
The school year is also different. In Argentina, students start in May and the year ends in December.
There isnít an opportunity to choose your own classes in Argentina, Natalia said. ìWe have four things ñ Natural, Economy, Art and Humanities,î she said.
Natalia explained that for each quarter in school, students choose one of the four groups of classes only for that quarter.
At NBHS, Natalia is taking a variety of different classes, including First Aid, American Studies, Food and Nutrition and English.
Natalia is not only giving up a year away from her family to take part in the cultural exchange, but she will have to repeat her senior year when she returns to Argentina, because she came her midway through the school year there.
Natalia said she is enjoying school, and has already made some friends., but admits it is hard because of the language barrier.
Although Argentinian children start taking English classes at the age of 9, Natalia is trying to pick up on the slang of the language.
ìItís hard to express exactly what I want to say sometimes,î she said.
Jeanne added that she speaks English extremely well. Both Bob and Jeanne hope to pick up some of the Spanish language during Nataliaís stay. ìWe want her to teach us, but she wonít,î Jeanne joked.
The food differences have also been an education, both for Natalia and her host family as they learn about dishes in their respective countries.
ìI like American food,î Natalia said. ìWe donít have as many packaged foods in Argentina.î
In Argentina, she explained, most of the food shopping is done at individual shops where they sell fresh items. ìWe buy bread at one store, meat at another, and fresh produce at another,î Natalia said.
She has already realized a love of ranch dressing and peanut butter. ìSheíll sit down and eat peanut butter right from the jar,î Jeanne said.
The one thing Natalia couldnít give up for a year was drinking the Argentinian national drink, called mate.
Mate is a somewhat bitter tea that is part of daily life for everyone in Argentina. ìWe get up and drink it in the morning,î Natalia said.
More than just a refreshment, mate is something special that is shared with family and friends. It is mixed and drank from containers with a silver straw. Each family member or friend drinks from the same container. ìIt is a symbol of friendship,î Natalia said.
She brought some of the drink with her, and has shared it with the Walzís during her stay.
As part of the Rotary program, Natalia will stay with at least one more host family and possibly two, during her year here. ìSheís already a member of our family,î Jeanne said.
Natalia said she misses her mom, dad and brother, but they have been able to exchange photos over the internet. She talks on the phone often with her mom, when her mom ignores the guidelines of not calling more than once a month.
At the end of her stay, Natalia has an opportunity to visit other parts of the country, including Chicago and Washington, D.C. But because of the current economy in Argentina, all of the money she saved for the trip is not worth as much here.
ìWeíre trying to figure out ways to raise some money for her trip,î Bob said. ìWe told her she could always teach the tango,î he joked.
After that, she will return to Buenos Aires, where Natalia will live with her college-age brother.
Natalia speaks with a maturity beyond her years when it comes to missing her family and homeland.
ìItís only a year, so I need to take advantage of everything while I am here,î she said. ìYou canít do this when youíre an adult ñ this is my only opportunity for this kind of trip.î

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