BANGOR — As Izumi Kawaguchi sat in the Husson College dining commons and munched on one of her first meals in Maine, the foreign-exchange student was eager to give Americans a taste of Japanese culture.

“Chopsticks,” the 17-year-old stressed, are among the first things she will teach her host family about.

Kawaguchi is among 59 students in the American Field Service program who will be enrolled at 35 high schools across Maine this school year. Most of the AFS students from 24 countries arrived in Bangor Friday for an orientation program at Husson College.

About 25 AFS students from Maine will be taking off in late August for countries around the world.

AFS, which was founded in 1947, is the leading international exchange program in the world. The nongovernmental, nonprofit organization provides intercultural learning opportunities to people and aspires to create a more peaceful world.

“I think America and Japan have many relations, but they don’t understand each other,” said Kawaguchi, who will be staying with a Waldoboro family during the coming school year.

“I want to make many friends,” she said.

“I wanted to experience how the real American life is,” added 17-year-old Rikke Naess of Oslo, Norway.

Charlie Grant, director of Friday’s orientation program, said each of the exchange students will have a unique experience. He added that the students, ages 16 to 18, often fund their own visits, and occasionally corporate sponsors chip in.

The host families and schools, Grant said, will play a vital role in the quality of the visits.

He explained that the host families and the exchange students all went through interview processes to determine which students and families would best fit together. All the AFS students staying in Maine know at least some English.

“The important thing is to have a good match,” Grant said.

Alice McLeod of Monmouth will host a student from Brazil this year. She also has welcomed students from Germany and Italy in past years.

“I enjoy it immensely,” McLeod said of opening her home to exchange students.

She added that she has seen the exchange students make a big impact at Monmouth High School.

“It adds to the student body and gives them a broader perspective on life,” McLeod said.

Many of the AFS students decided to attend classes in the United States to help them choose a career path after high school graduation.

“I want to do classes that I can build on when I get back,” said 16-year-old Una Solbakken of Oslo, Norway.

Other AFS students were just excited to get a firsthand look at this country’s culture. Some admitted they were a little wary of experiencing the four seasons in Maine.

“The weather is so cold here,” said 17-year-old Nitta Nazyra of Jakarta, Indonesia.

She asked, “This is summer, right?”