From Georgia to the United States, foreign exchange student Giorgi Kochalidze has been on a remarkable journey this school year.
Kochalidze moved to Orange this year and has already had many new experiences in his time here. He signed up for the foreign exchange student program to learn more about living independently in a different country. He also wanted to experience a new culture, as well as try new food and be enrolled in an American high school, which was one of his dreams. Kochalidze also said he wanted to travel in different states, make new friends, and create lots of memories.
While Kochalidze loves being here, he does miss some things about his home country of Georgia, located by Russia and Turkey.
“I probably miss the streets and people who live in there the most about my hometown,” Kochalidze said.
So far, he said his favorite thing about America is the fast-food restaurants; he has lots of options and can eat and try whatever we want. He recently tried Taco Bell for the first time and really liked it. He said the most annoying thing is the temperature because it’s too hot for him.
While there are so many things to love about Orange, Kochalidze said he misses his old school.
“There are many differences between my new school and my old school,” Kochalidze said. “My old school has four floors, and we don’t have a football stadium like LCM has. We don’t have pep rallies, cooking, welding, or forensic science. In the Georgian class, there are 30 students usually. Our school starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m.”
Kochalidze has had to adapt to many new things at his new school, such as making new friends and meeting new people. He said the first few days of school were hard because the school building was huge and he couldn’t find his way to classrooms. He didn’t know anyone, but now everything is getting better, and he is happy.
Kochalidze hopes to take lots of good memories from this school and with American friends, so then he will be able to tell his Georgian friends what crazy things happened to him while being in the United States.
“My best moments so far have been going to the lake house with my host family,” Kochalidze said. “It was great. I went fishing and I caught a 5.5 pounds carp. I was happy and excited, because it was my first caught fish in the U.S. I also cooked a Georgian dish, Khachapuri’, which is basically cheese bread. It’s delicious; I recommend everyone to try it. I have been on pep rally schedule several times and it is one of the coolest things at school.”
Kochalidze does not know what his goals are or what he wants to do in the future, but he might study abroad just like his brother.
“I am not sure what I want to do for whole life, but I want to go to college somewhere abroad, maybe even in the U.S.,” Kochalidze said.
He said when he came to the United States, he understood that it would be hard without his family in a different country and continent exploring a completely unknown culture.
“Homesickness is one of the following side effects of being an exchange student, but it was my choice, so I have to deal with it even if I really miss my family members,” Kochalidze said. “The good thing is that my brother is in the U.S. He is in New Orleans doing his master’s degree and teaching students as an assistant professor. So, I will be able to see him, and this will lower my homesickness.”
