February brings freezing temperatures to Chicago, but for Niles West, it also brings Argentinian exchange students. The exchange students arrived Mon., Feb. 1 and stayed until Mon., Feb. 17. Towards  the beginning of their stay, they shadowed Niles West students during their school days, attending classes and activities from Wed. to Fri., Feb. 5-7. They also stayed in Chicago and had the opportunity to visit famous tourist attractions.

Both the Argentinian students and students from Niles West were very excited about the exchange. Senior Angela Razo had a student shadow her, and her exchange student loved the experience.

“Sofi attended 6 of my classes. At first, she was overwhelmed with the school because of the large size, but she loved the dynamic of the school, and she was ready to learn 100%,” Razo said.

Senior Maddy Foler met an exchange student during her AP Comp Sci A class.

“We had an independent workday, and the sponsor student hadn’t finished his work, so I talked to the Argentinian student. He taught me a few card games, and it was really fun,” Foler said.

Senior Kat Kriz also loved having one of the exchange students in her Spanish class.

“We had a girl in our Spanish class, and it was really fun. We asked her questions about how she liked it in Chicago, and she asked us about our experience in the school. Our Spanish teacher spoke in English to her, so it was weird to hear him speak in English,” Kriz said.

Overall, both the exchange students and the Niles West students enjoyed the experience, and they learned a lot. Niles West will also have exchange students from Barcelona come in mid-April, and they will be staying with various Niles West students.