Hannah Faith Crump

Wilford Jonsson and Kiran Hessler are enjoying their stay in America so far.

Juniors Kiran Hessler and Wilford Jonsson are exchange students who are experiencing life as an LCM student this year. Hessler is from Vorarlberg, Austria and Jonsson is from Umeå, Västerbotten, Sweden. They both moved to Orange to live with a host family for the 2025- 2026 school year because they heard good things about the program and thought it would be fun.

“I’ve also had family friends who’ve done exchange years; they’ve all spoke very highly of the experience regardless of where they went, be that the U.S. or France,” Jonsson said. “In Swedish we have a word that describes it well: ‘allmänbildande,’ which basically means that it makes you a well-rounded individual and well-read.”

The cultures are very different between the United States and Austria and Sweden. Hessler said it is much hotter in Texas than back in Austria, and that the food portion sizes are much larger. Wilford said most homes and cars in Sweden do not have air conditioning, where as here in the U.S. most places are air conditioned.

“A/C is amazing,” Jonsson said. “Back in Sweden very few homes have A/C and a lot of cars have broken ones. During 10-12 months of the year you don’t need it, but when you do it’s horrible. It’s always hotter indoors than outdoors so even though it’s almost never 90 outside it can get that hot indoors, especially if you have windows facing the sun most of the day like I do. You’re basically forced to live in your basement for most of day as the rest of the house is too hot.”

The differences between the U.S., Sweden, and Austria are significant an that includes languages. Hessler and Jonsson both speak German and English, and Jonsson also speaks Swedish. Another difference is the climate. In Sweden, they never get temperatures that reach the 90’s. However, in the States, 90 and 100 degree weather is a fairly common occurrence. On the flip side, they get much colder weather than in Texas, and they often get snow by Halloween.

“Honestly, I had no big expectations of the U.S.,” Hessler said. “I just wanted a place I could call home and to make new friends. After three weeks here, my expectations were met. I like the people, the school, my home. I like being here. One of the positives of being a foreign exchange student is that I can meet new people, learn a new culture, try different foods, go to a high school with spirit, and experience Friday nights.”