The first couple weeks of school can be an adjustment period for everyone, especially so for the German exchange students who participated in the program. This program consists of exchange students experiencing life far from home. They joined West students in their daily lives, including attending school and participating in activities outside of school. Visiting a new country can be a big change, but it can also have the possibility of opening a lot of doors.
“At first, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do it because it’s pretty far away from home and from my family, but I thought it was a great opportunity to see new things and something else and to visit the U.S. and to meet new people,” exchange student Anabel Knauer said.
Some of the host students from West participated in the trip to Germany over the summer, which influenced them to share their culture with students visiting from Germany. However, not all of the host students from West participated in the German trip but heard about the exchange program from their German teacher.
“So I heard about it through my German teacher. She was kinda just looking for more people to host students, and I thought it would be cool to get to meet people from Germany and like show them America kind of,” junior Gwen Rigda said.
While the German students were visiting, they had many adventures along the way, including building birdhouses, visiting the sand dunes and exploring Mackinac Island. A lot of students from West and the exchange students enjoyed going to Mackinac Island. Some activities included bike riding, riding the ferry and shopping around.
“I really liked going to Mackinac Island with the students. It was just really cool to be able to be there on our own and kinda explore with the students,” Rigda said.
High school in the U.S. has its fair share of differences from high school in Germany. These exchange students were able to experience both sides of the ocean, even if they only spent a brief couple of weeks at West.
“Your school system is completely different from ours, and you guys are really friendly here. There’s a lot of small talk, like when you come into a store and people [greet you],” exchange student Lina Akuefner said.
Traveling across the country can be challenging, especially when attending a different school. However, it is experiences like these that can help develop more worldly views and teach valuable life lessons.
“I learned a lot about the culture difference and the school system difference, and I think I have got more confidence with my English and my speaking is better and [I have] a lot of new friends,” exchange student Katharina Hauptmann said.
