For everyone, the first day of school has its own definition: exciting, melancholy, even nerve-racking. But for some, specifically those who are only temporarily residing in the country, the first day of school is an entirely new experience. Megan Eichenburger is one such student. Hailing from Switzerland, she will be attending just one year of school here as a junior as part of the Youth for Understanding (YFU)

“This isn’t my first time in America,” Eichenburger said. “About five years ago my mother brought us here to live with friends in California, but throughout that time I was homeschooled, so coming here and being in a school this big is a little scary for me.”

As nervous as she may be, Eichenburger’s feelings toward starting school had no bearing on her decision to return to the States.

“It was my idea to join the foreign exchange program,” Eichenburger said. “After I left California and went back to Switzerland, I had a case of reverse homesickness. I knew I had to come back.”

When she eventually did on Aug. 14, Eichenburger arrived at the airport to her host family, whom she had only Skyped with once before.

“The way the FYU website is set up, I never had the chance to figure out anything about them,” Eichenburger said. “They just picked me, and I was sent a letter.”

Her host family welcomed her with open arms.

“The first time I saw Megan in person I had to give her a hug,” exchange mother Julie Fullington said. “She seemed very tired and very on edge and hugging was the only way I knew how to set her mind at ease. I wanted to let her know first thing how happy we were to have her.”

In fact, her arrival had been highly anticipated for quite some time.

“We started talking about getting a foreign exchange student a while back in June,” host family member Kess Fullington said. “We had our first [exchange student] back in 2012 and we all thought it brought our family so much closer together, so we decided to sign up for another child.”

For Kess, choosing someone to live with her and her family was easy.

“I read on her profile page that she liked Star Wars, and I immediately said, ‘She’s the one,’” Kess said. “I knew she would fit in with the family based on her interests and she was right around my age, which was perfect.”

Age, in this case, was an important factor for the Fullington family.

“We were looking for someone specifically for me,” Kess said. “I’ll be leaving for college next year so we decided as a family that I should be able to get the most out of this experience as possible. It works out really well actually, because I can take Megan to and from school with me and we can hang out together at home.”

Eichenburger also enjoys living with someone around her age.

“I knew I was going to be spending most of my time with Kess, who I’ve already grown to think of as a second sister,” Eichenburger said. “And that’s really what I wanted from this whole trip: to be able to meet someone who lives far away, but who I can always call a friend.”