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Show Experience recalled -LL By SUZANNE PRICE "I missed my family most," stated Darren Christensen, who spent his junior year as a foreign exchange student in Sweden. DAREN, now a senior attending Davis High School, is home with his family after spending a year with the Jeren-felt Jeren-felt family in Orebro, Sweden. "It was hard being away from home," said Darren, "but it was a good experience." When Darren first learned of the Foreign Exchange Program, he decided that this was what he wanted to do. He was too young at the time and had to wait a year. THERE WERE many countries from which Darren could choose. He chose Sweden because he always wanted to go there. The cost, about $3,000 plus personal spending money for the year, did not stop Darren from his dream. The first thing Darren saw when landing was the greenness green-ness and beautiful forests. "It looked like paradise." He said that it was cold most of the time in Sweden, but that he liked being in the outdoors. DARREN ATTENDED classes taught in Swedish, which made it necessary to quickly learn the language. "I never did get used to the class schedules," was what Darren had to say about school. In Sweden high schools a student attends six different classes every day, except on Fridays when students go to three classes, eat lunch, then go home. Darren explained that people there studied much more. "They took school more seriously." Students have more respect for others in Sweden. They are also generally more reserved and formal and less friendly. Teachers are friends with students and attend many parties together, reported Darren. Sweden is a socialist country. Their people are given equal pay, so that all are living at about the same level no matter what line of work one does, so there isn't a big emphasis on going to college, Darren acknowledged. People Peo-ple from Sweden want to move to the United States, however. American products are also very popular. BEING ON the Foreign Exchange Program gave Darren a better knowledge of .what freedom in America really means. He suggests others should consider being a foreign exchange student. |