Lars and his friends holding the Norwegian flag. Photo Submitted by Lars Best.
Being a foreign exchange student can sound like an impossible task. Going to not only a new school but a foreign country, by yourself seems terrifying. Not many people have the bravery or the dedication to even think about this opportunity. However, Lars Best is one of the few who took on the challenge by traveling all the way to Norway for a year as a foreign exchange student.
Lars Best is a Watauga High School Senior who spent eleven months in Fetsund, Norway, living with his host parents while also attending high school. Many would assume that in order to go to a foreign country, there would be a lot of preparation required: learning a whole other language and the huge expenses. But Best proved that being an exchange student is not far out of reach for anyone.
“My main preparation I would say was work,” said Best. “As a sixteen-year-old when I was leaving, the cost was pretty hefty. But it is not unachievable. I made the money from working and fundraising, and scholarships. Even though the price is big, there are still ways to get what you need.”
Learning the language would also seem to be an obstacle to becoming an exchange student, but Best was able to travel to Norway knowing only how to introduce himself.
“A lot of people from my school learned the language before they went, but I only knew how to say ‘Hi, my name is Lars.’ However, after being there for a year, I can now keep a conversation,” Best said.
The school he attended was called Sørumsand Videregående Skole, where he took three languages: Norwegian, French, and English, and took soccer as a class along with other core classes.
“How well [students] learn languages is way more pushed in Norway than it is in the US,” Best said. “In my class, everyone had already had 12 years of Norwegian, 10 years of English, and were in their fifth year of another language.”
Best's high school was significantly different from a lot of surrounding schools. Sørumsand Videregående Skole seemed to have an exceptional amount of freedom.
“School in Norway is much more independent. It’s mainly busy work, which you can do wherever you want in the school without having to ask the teacher,” Best said. “You could also leave whenever you wanted. Another difference is that no matter who you are, you’re treated equally to everyone else, so I called my teachers by first name.”
He also had some free time during his exchange in which he could immerse himself in Norway's lifestyle. Best would go on 2-mile hikes in the snow with friends or just go hang out in Oslo, the capital of Norway. During his free time, Best would continue to connect with the outdoors by volunteering with the “Norwegian Search and Rescue,” where he would help train dogs to rescue others.
“I would sit in the middle of the woods for hours, and dogs would come find me over and over again,” said Best. " It was really nice because I got to disconnect from the world a little bit.”
While Best had an amazing experience in Norway, after a long adventurous year, he traveled 4,170 miles back to Boone where he reunited with his family and friends.
“It’s bittersweet being back. It’s not really something your mind can process before it happens,” Best explained. “It’s so nice to come back and see everyone, but at the same time, it’s like you just created a whole other world. It all just took some getting used too.”
Throughout all of the challenges and the adventures, Best seemed to benefit immensely from his yearlong adventure in Fetsund, Norway.
“I feel like, overall, I gained independence, self-sufficiency, and I became more of a global citizen,” Best said. “I learned that you aren't just a human of your town. You’re a human of the world.”
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