On Saturday, Oct.17, members of Manhattan High’s American Field Service were joined by exchange students from all over the state of Kansas for an annual AFS conference. The conference, called AFS Fall Festival, was held in the fall this year, instead of in the spring as usual.

Exchange students from other Kansas cities traveled to Manhattan Friday night, their modes of transportation arranged by their local AFS coordinators, in time to have dinner with their designated Manhattan host families.

According to Manhattan High AFS adviser Tony Wichmann, a main goal of the AFS Fall Festival was to help exchange students get to know Kansas, their temporary home, better by taking them to do local activities.

“After eating dinner, I took the student staying with us to the MHS football game,” Wichmann said. “The conference is just about that — host families and exchange students doing activities to get the students connected and to help them know Kansas better.”

Manhattan High AFS president senior Megan Weathers, who hosted two exchange students, one from Topeka and one from Derby, over the conference weekend, explained that interacting with exchange students both from Manhattan and other Kansas cities was fun and partaking in local activities kept things interesting.

“I took my [AFS] sisters to the Varsity food truck. They were so excited, so that was fun,” Weathers said. “I think it’s good that they got to see and experience bit of Manhattan.”

After Friday night’s freetime activities together, host families and exchange students visited Kansas State University’s Student Union on Saturday for lunch, bowling and a K-State challenge course. While at the Union, exchange students also mingled with each other, making connections through shared cultures and experiences.

“It’s always neat to see the connections that happen when exchange students interact,” Wichmann said. “Even though they might not live in the same town while they’re here, they may have the same home country, so they’re able to connect through their culture.”