From the mountains and warmth of South Africa to the stalks of corn and the chilly weather of small-town Iowa, Thembelihle Setshogoe ’26 is spending her junior year at West High. Setshogoe is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa and participates in an exchange program called the Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange and Studies Program.
The exchange program, funded by the South African government, focuses on cultural connections. Setshogoe tells people about her country while also gaining cultural insight into the U.S. In exchange, this helps the tourism industry in South Africa because if people enjoy learning about her country, they could potentially want to visit in the future.
“My goal is to come here and tell a lot of people about South Africa and how things differ, like how I’m doing right now,” Setshogoe said.
Setshogoe applied for the exchange program on a website. At first, Setshogoe was unsure if she wanted to apply and feared she wouldn’t get in. With the encouragement of her mom, she applied and got accepted.
“I did it because she wanted me to, so my mom kind of just showed me the program and introduced it to me,” Setshogoe said.
Many students in South Africa apply for this opportunity, and it takes a while for people to be accepted into the program. This process started in 2022, and she was able to come to the U.S. in the summer of 2024. Once accepted into the program, they have to wait until a host family is found.
After Setshogoe got accepted into the exchange program, she had to go through many stages to be prepared for different situations in the U.S. The stages consisted of interacting with other kids, being put into different situations and learning about how people in the U.S. act.
Setshogoe was randomly selected to live in Iowa. So, in the summer of 2024, she flew over to the U.S. and landed in Iowa. Her first impression of Iowa was that there were a lot of corn fields and not a lot of people, but after a while she got used to living in Iowa.
“I thought Iowa was so chill, [and] such a nice place to be,” Setshogoe said.
Setshogoe lives with a host family of four and she is living with two younger host siblings who are in elementary school. She says that the adjustment from living with her family in South Africa to her host family in Iowa has felt quieter, but she finds it interesting to be in a new family dynamic and learning about how different people live and raise their children.
“It’s nice to see the creativity, and it’s also interesting to see how parents raise their kids differently,” she said.
The adjustment to moving to schools was similar to most, Setshogoe had to start over. Meeting new people and making friends was the most difficult part at the beginning of the school year.
“It’s kind of weird when you don’t have friends, it’s a bit harder to like school. In the beginning, I just wasn’t familiar with anyone,” Setshogoe said.
Setshogoe said she initially felt trapped at a new school in a new country, but when she met new friends, her school experience started to change. She started to go to football games and really enjoyed her first pep rally. She found it very different from her school in South Africa because the only sports they have are English football and rugby.
“At first I thought it was really weird but vibey at the same time,” she said.
One of Setshogoe’s biggest takeaways from being in the U.S. is the freedom many young people have. They are able to have a lot of different experiences that involve school and their future life. She feels like many people are prepared for their future because they have a lot of independence when they’re young.
“You get independence when you’re young, which is nice, [it] just prepares you for later on in life. It’s super cool,” Setshogoe said.
With her time in the U.S. ending at the end of the school year, she has a couple of things she wants to check off her bucket list before she goes back home, including going to Five Below, eating WingStop and going on a roller coaster.