LAKE FOREST — Today, Mr. Leyden’s first period journalism class was fortunate enough to host a press conference for five of the 24 students visiting from the Netherlands through our high school’s Dutch – American Exchange Program. Dutch students Tina, Eke, Estelle, Cas, and Dave flew over eight hours with their classmates from their homeland in The Hague, a city on the western coast of the Netherlands and the capital of the province of South Holland, with an engaging PowerPoint to share with our class and others what life comprises of in the Netherlands.

In a pre-presentation question inquiry to the visiting students from those in Leyden’s class, a common parallel of American lifestyle was described by the five Dutch students.

“Everything’s bigger in America. Food portions are bigger in America, the buildings are taller, and even their backyards are much bigger,” said Tina.

In the last few days, the students went to the Art Institute in Chicago, took a Chicago boat tour, and will attend a Cubs game and Blue Man Group show before they leave on Friday. Furthermore, they have acclimated themselves with the daily school life in Lake Forest, as each visiting student has been paired up with another from the high school.

Andrea Serrato, a coordinator of the trip, outlines the students from The Hague “do home stays when they come here and they live with our students, and when we go there, they [LFHS students] live with the same student who they hosted,” Serrato said. “It is kind of like a trade.”

The Lake Forest High School students who participated in the exchange program will soon in fact make the “trade” when they visit their sister school in The Hague from June 12- June 21.

“Our sister school is called Segbroek College, which is equivalent to our version of high school,” Serrato said. “We visit their school, we give presentations just like they did for us, and then during the days, we go on our own tours, like seeing the Anne Frank House. It is like in reverse.”

The 24 students who came to the United States will be in the Chicagoland area until this Friday when they head back to their home in the Netherlands. They will soon be joined by their newfound partners this upcoming summer. The exchange program occurs every two years for those interested.