Nick Birney, 18, gained a new family and started to learn a new language this summer.

For six weeks while he lived in Cairo, Egypt, the Lawrence High School senior traded the familiarity of English for the basics of Arabic.

He also left behind his parents, Mike and Cindi Birney, who live near Clinton. Birney was accepted to participate in the summer language study with other American students through AFS Intercultural Programs, formerly American Field Service.

“They expected us to be able to learn really fast,” he said. “The day we started, it was very intense.”

The training paid off, as Birney progressed from a 0 to a beginner’s 1 as a speaker on the standard scale up to 5, which is considered fluent. The AFS Arabic Language Institute in Egypt is sponsored by the U.S. State Department, and Birney was one of 25 students selected after a thorough application process.

Through several hours of vocabulary lessons per day, Birney and his fellow American students were instructed how to write and speak Modern Standard Arabic and also the version spoken in Egypt.

American students were also immersed in Egyptian city life by staying with host families. Birney lived in a three-bedroom apartment with the Alfonse family, which translates into English as the father’s first name, he said.

His host father, a retired accountant, and mother shared a bedroom as did their four daughters. Birney shared a room with his host brother, whom he called George Alfonse, 21, who just passed his exam to be an accountant.

“I was honored that they considered me family,” Birney said.

When he wasn’t in language school or seeing the sights, he spent most of his free time with his Egyptian family. Their close-knit life struck him as staple in Arab culture, Birney said.

The trip fits well with his future plans because he would like to be a foreign service officer and study international relations and Arabic in college.

“I feel like the Arab world is very misunderstood in Western cultures,” he said.

Birney had political discussions with several Egyptians, and he said they mostly wanted to learn more about him and the United States.

His LHS French teacher, Megan Hurt, recommended Birney for the exchange program.

“This is the type of experience that is absolutely life-shifting and life-changing. It helps you understand your own culture and your own self in a way you wouldn’t otherwise,” she said.

Birney is trying to keep brushing up on the gains he made as a beginner with the language, including trying to enroll in an Arabic class at Kansas University. He also hopes to return to see the Alfonse family soon.

“It was so hard to leave them, and I had to promise that I’d come back some day and visit them,” he said.