Helena Cesarino transferred here for a year from Brazil. Cesarino chose to come to OPHS after hearing about it from a previous graduate. 

“I knew a girl that went here some years ago and she said it was really good, [the] people and neighborhood and everything. The school is really good,” Cesarino said. 

After coming to America, Cesarino realizes the differences between school culture in different countries. Wanting to immerse herself in American culture, she joined the cheer team.

“[I love] the football games thing and the cheer is really nice,” Cesarino said. 

In Brazil, athletic activities like football and cheer are not offered and school spirit is not as emphasized. Another big difference Cesarino noticed after coming to America was the times of meals.

“You guys have dinner so much earlier than us in Brazil, so this is different,” Cesarino said. 

 Overall, Cesarino is adapting to California and is enjoying her experience in the U.S. 

Rasmus Apenes recently transferred here from Norway. He will spend his senior year at OPHS. He chose OPHS for its academics and location.  

“[The weather] is great,” Apenes said. 

Apenes joined the football team and enjoys the school’s culture and people. Apenes has noticed various American quirks that have surprised him. 

“The bread tastes like cake. It’s absolutely disgusting,” Apenes said. 

The structure of OPHS is organized differently compared to schools in Norway. 

“I like that it’s an outside campus. It keeps the mind fresh and feels good to be out in the sun, whereas in Norway you are kind of locked away for the school day,” Apenes said. “However I like Norwegian classes better, because there we do a lot of group projects, and we have one class for almost all classes if that makes sense [homeroom], so you connect more with people. Because here it’s a lot of individual work and you don’t really talk.” 

The athletic department in Oak Park is different compared to Norway. 

“I love the sports, how you have high school sports and everyone attends sports events,” Apenes said. 

Bruna Sasdelli transferred here from Brazil and will be here for six months. As a junior, Sasdelli finds Oak Park enjoyable and safe. 

“I love America. I think that my favorite part is that I feel really safe here,” Sasdelli said. “I really like that, and especially Oak Park because it is so small. Like, I can walk around with my phone in my hand, [people won’t try to steal it].” 

Compared to Brazil, the biggest difference Sasdelli experienced is the food and the way that it is served. 

“In Brazil, I ate a big lunch with my family everyday, but here sometimes you just like to eat sandwiches and things,” Sasdelli said. “Especially what they serve for lunch compared to what they serve in Brazil, the food is very different. You can also eat very early.”

Living with a host family is a new experience, but Sasdelli has been welcomed with nothing but kindness. 

“In Oak Park I live with my new host family and I love them, they have been so kind,” Sasdelli said.

Senior Carl Thomsen transferred here from Denmark for a year. The most remarkable difference Thomsen notes is the athletic department. It’s also his favorite part about America. 

“My favorite part about America is the sports, it is so different than Denmark. The biggest difference is how official sports are here. Especially the school sports, they are very ‘try hard,’” Thomsen said. “You have to try out for it and stuff, and there are a lot of facilities here to do your sports. It is all very sports-oriented.” 

Compared to Denmark, the weather is much warmer. Thomsen also enjoys California’s weather because it is much less humid. 

“I would rather be in Oak Park because I like being outside with the hot weather and Oak Park has a lot of good exercise for students,” Thomsen said. 

Along with a well-rounded athletic program, Thomsen heard OPHS has quality education, a factor that is very important to him. 

“I really wanted to go to California,” Thomsen said. “Specifically Los Angeles, but I didn’t want to be in downtown Los Angeles; I would rather be more outside [in the suburbs].”

Thomsen believes that Oak Park is the best fit for him and has been enjoying his time here.

Lou Benard transferred here from France. Benard has found in America that the people are welcoming and positive. 

“Even if you don’t know someone, you can go to them and they’re going to be nice to you,” Benard said. 

The school system here is also different compared to France, where school has different times and activities. 

“In France, we do from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. And we don’t have clubs, we don’t really have sports,” Benard said. 

The academic levels in the U.S. are different from the way classes are in France. 

“In France, I’ve already covered most of the classes I have here because I didn’t get to pick my classes,” Benard said. “In France we went from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. everyday, we didn’t do any sports.”

After coming to OPHS, Benard tried flag football for the first time.  

“I discovered a new sport… flag football, which I had never even heard of before, and now I play,” Benard said. “Which I love, I love discovering new things.” 

Sophomore Ida Rigtrup also transferred here from Denmark for ten months. 

For Rigtrup, the selection process to come to Oak Park was slightly more randomized, but Oak Park ended up being exactly what Rigtrup wished for. 

“I love Oak Park. But, it was chosen randomly,” Rigtrup said. “I just wanted to go somewhere in California and was given Oak Park.” 

Rigtrup is also enjoying the weather that makes Southern California a destination. 

“The weather here is very nice. I especially like how it’s very hot here or how it’s not humid,” Rigtrup said. “It is very enjoyable; I love the heat.” 

Rigtrup has found that the people here are all very welcoming and kind. 

“Everyone here is so friendly. Like, people talk to you, even though they know you. On the streets, someone random [might] even say hi.” 

Rigtrup enjoys the welcoming environment, which is allowing her to thrive. 

Hedda Haugen transferred in as a sophomore from Norway. Previously, Haugen had heard very good things about Oak Park. 

“I transferred into Oak Park because of a girl from the organization we work with. She did her exchange at Oak Park previously and really enjoyed it, so I did the same thing,” Haugen said. “On the application, we were supposed to write three places we want to go to, but I only wrote Oak Park, so I was super nervous I wouldn’t get in.” 

Oak Park is already considered very academically rigorous, but compared to Norway, there is an even larger academic gap.

“I had a hard time getting used to the school system and like the things you guys [students] use,” Haugen said. “Like in chem or bio you use the lab notebooks and I never heard of that before. And you guys have so many quizzes and tests.”

The class schedule is also very different here in Oak Park compared to Norway. 

“In Norway you have four courses a day and it is much more mixed up. Here it is odd and even, but at my old school it was messy, you guys are much more organized,” Haugen said. “In Norway, we also have a homeroom, so instead of students changing rooms, it’s the teacher. When I came to the U.S. I thought it was cool that the teachers all have their own rooms.”

“In Norway you can call a teacher by the first name, but in Oak Park your teachers are more joking, and tell more about their personal lives,” Haugen said.

Students at Oak Park have been nothing but supportive and inviting to Haugen. The mix of different cultures and people has been a focal point in Haugen’s transfer experience.

 “The transfer has been super good. Everyone has been so welcoming,” Haugen said. “The best part is meeting new people and learning the culture and how different everybody here acts compared to how people at my school act.”

For Haugen, transferring and fitting in was relatively easy.

This year, Luvi Storto transferred to Oak Park for a semester from Germany, but Storto is not officially an exchange student. 

“Since I’m an American citizen I am officially a transfer student, not an exchange citizen,” Storto said. “I chose Oak Park because I have friends in the area whose children went there and loved it.” 

The main challenge that Storto has faced since transferring to Oak Park was making friends. 

“The hardest thing about going to a new school has been finding the courage to go up to new people and talk to them, since I didn’t know anyone in the beginning,” Storto said. 

Oak Park’s extracurricular activities are Storto’s favorite part.

“Experincing the school events and extracurricular activities that my school in Germany doesn’t have, like cheerleading or football, is very cool,” Storto said.

Storto also noticed a small difference in student-teacher relationships. 

“The teachers here are pretty similar, but they do small talk with the students sometimes which I’m not really used to,” Stroto said. 

“The classes are very different, in Germany you can’t choose your own classes until 12th grade,” Stroto said. “There I would have to take 12 classes, whereas here I only take six.”

Storto enjoys both her experience in the U.S. despite the differences with Germany. 

Catherine Lucas Dilliy came to OPHS for its great location and how it has been known academically. She will be spending one year at OPHS after extending her stay. 

“Initially I’m staying here for a semester but I can extend for a year,” Lucas Dilly said. 

She has had a smooth transition from Brazil. 

“I didn’t have a big challenge transferring here because everyone is very welcoming and nice,” Lucas Dilly said. 

Even school school structures in Oak Park are different from those schools in Brazil. 

“A big difference between Oak Park High School and my school in Brazil is the open campus,” Lucas Dilly said. “I love the [open camps] because I don’t feel like I’m stuck at school for hours. Here students change classrooms for each subject and in Brazil we usually stay in the same classroom all day.” 

Class electives and school spirit are different than in Brazil. 

“Oak Park High School has many electives and you can choose what you want based on your interest which we don’t have in Brazil,” said Lucas Dilly.

Another difference noticed is the sports atmosphere because sports games generate more interest from students and more students attend the games. 

 “The school spirit is much stronger here and I love it especially about sports because it’s a big thing and I love how people are really interested in it and support the teams when there is a game.”