Foreign exchange students making themselves at home in Howell

By Editor in Chief: Natalie Dunn

Every year, Howell becomes a second home to students from all over the world for one semester, or the entire year in some cases. Exchange students live with a host family for the duration of their stay, and attend school at Howell High, learning about American culture and studying hard as well.

This year’s exchange students come from Austria, Germany, Mexico, and even France. Some having only lived here for a month, they’re already making friends and gaining new and exciting experiences. Lina Marie Brinkman, from Germany, is interested in joining the marching band.

“I like the weather here. It’s warmer than Germany. It’s strange, because [in Germany] we measure temperature in Celsius…and here it’s in Fahrenheit,” Brinkman says.

Verena Kipp, also from Germany, finds that the classes at Howell are more fun than the ones in Germany. She likes Space Science. “I like the blueberry pancakes, too,” she says, and laughs.

Exchange students experiencing life of American culture

Not many people consider moving to another country for a year to learn another language and lifestyle. However, that’s just what eight of Howell’s foreign exchange students have chosen to do.

 

“I love it here. The school is a lot bigger, the people are friendlier, and the school work is less difficult. When I first arrived here, I was very nervous to meet so many new people,” says German exchange student Nadja Grauer.

 

There are many cultural differences between the United States and other countries, from something as simple as the type of lifestyle to what language they speak.

 

A major difference can be seen when comparing the typical school sizes of other countries.

 

“The school here is a lot bigger than at home. Back home, our school has grades 5-12 and only has 60 people in each class. The school here even has both a large gym and a swimming pool. Things like this usually aren’t found in our schools back home,” says Marc Sanchis, from Spain.

 

Some students find the teaching style in the United States drastically different, although in a good way.

 

“In Germany, we are only allowed to call our teachers by their first name. Here, that’s definitely different. I also enjoy the ‘hands-on’ teaching here. Back home, teachers aren’t very involved with school activities. It’s cool to see how they help and participate,” says Jamie Heinig. Heinig is from Germany as well.

 

One main lifestyle change the exchange students are undergoing is eating different types of American food. Student Helene Bach (Denmark) is just one of the students who enjoy the difference in taste.

 

“I love the food here. My favorites so far are pizza rolls, Oreos, and Ranch dressing. I plan on taking more Ranch dressing back home with me. The food in Denmark is very different from the food here,” Bach proudly states.

 

On the other hand, the students recognize a variation in the healthiness of the foods in The United States, comparing to their home countries.

 

“I enjoy the food here and all, but I do miss the food of my country. The food here is extremely unhealthy, and fast food seems to be a common thing. At home, it’s opposite of that,” says Sanchis.

 

Another difference found between America and other countries is the establishment of sports teams.

 

“Sports programs aren’t part of our school system. If you want to play that sport, you must join through an organization or club. Here, you get to join as part of a school team, which is really unique. I enjoyed playing tennis this season,” says Grauer.

 

Since very few countries do not have school sports teams, school events aren’t as common as they are in the United States. An event such as Homecoming, was unheard of until just this year for the exchange students.

 

“My school doesn’t have any kind of dances or big sports games that go on. We only have club sports, to join outside of school. Homecoming here at Howell was really fun and I loved the dance,” says Bach.

 

There’s not a doubt that some days may be struggling for the exchange students, but each one’s bravery displays a positive attitude.

 

“Everything is very different here, but I like it,” adds Sanchis. “I came here to have a new experience, and just have fun.”

Achieving a dream in a different language

For 15-year-old Léa Nicolas, living in America and becoming a cheerleader has always been a dream.

“I wanted to be able to speak fluently in English and to learn a new lifestyle. I want to be a famous English singer when I am older and when I saw cheerleaders in movies, I just wanted to do it.”

Nicolas is currently a foreign exchange student from France, and she is staying with the Gallaway family from Howell for about a year. She arrived to America in September 2011 and is scheduled to return home in June of 2012.

“Having Léa as a member of our family has been wonderful. She is a great addition to our family. She fits in so well and she’s just a lot of fun to be around. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister,” says host-sister, senior Ashley Gallaway, with a smile.

Although she loves her host-parents, her three host-sisters and her host-brother, Nicolas misses her home life very much.

“I miss going to dinner at restaurants every Thursday with my mom after piano practice. I miss my brothers, David and Liam, too,” she says quietly.

Playing piano is just one of the things Nicolas loves to do in France. She enjoys hanging out with her friends and her passion is gymnastics. She also likes to go shopping but says the styles in America are very different from home.

“In America, girls wear tight skirts and all different types of jeans. In France, we wear flowy skirts and only skinny jeans. It’s weird. I like French styles better, no offense,” Nicolas says with a giggle.

Nicolas is very fond the school environment at Howell. She loves many things about HHS: that the school day ends early at 2:16 p.m.; the kind people in her classes; going to the dances; and all of the friendly teachers. She mainly dislikes the cold weather and the “disgusting school lunches.”

Nicolas was excited to find out that one of her host sisters was a member of the Howell varsity cheerleading team, hoping she could help her reach one of her goals. Nicolas decided to take a chance and try out for the cheerleading team. That chance paid off when the coaches allowed her to be on the team.

“I was so excited! I couldn’t wait for the first game. When I told my friends I made the team, they actually called me the B-word because they were jealous!” she says with a smile from ear to ear.

The coaches of the varsity cheerleading team were hesitant to put her on the team because of the language barrier and it was in the middle of the season, but they were willing to take a risk.

“Her eagerness to be a part of the team and her willingness to work hard was what sold it for us. She is determined to get her back-hand spring and it’s apparent. She took the initiative to learn all of the cheers and the skills,” Coach Cassie Pfander states.

Coach Tami Rossman is shocked on how far Nicolas has come as a first time cheerleader: “Each day, Léa has gotten closer and closer to attaining the required skills. She has grown to become a very valuable asset to the team. Its nice to have someone from a different country be interested in our team.”

Nicolas not only impresses her coaches, but also her 18 teammates.

“Léa is a very fun person to have on the team. She always wants to be involved in what we are doing and it amazes me how quickly she became so close to us,” says teammate and senior, Amanda McKenna.

Since her time in America, Nicolas has come a long way in adapting to the American lifestyle and becoming a cheerleader. Nicolas has not let the language barrier nor her inexperience hold her back as she continues to reach the rest of her dreams.

Foreign exchange students master the American way

Most people wouldn’t leave behind everything that they’ve ever known for almost a whole year just to learn another language, but that’s exactly what all 13 of Howell’s current foreign exchange students have done.

“I’m very happy being here and I’m glad that I met people from here that now are my friends,” Sofia Elguezabal said.

There is no doubt that many adjustments have to be made in order to live in a foreign country for an entire school year, and this is due to all the differences of culture between The United States and other countries.

One big difference that many students are embracing is the difference of the food here, and they all seem to agree on one thing: Americans eat way more fast food than people of other countries.

“I miss the food of my country,” said Marcelo Ribeiro. “It’s not bad here , but it’s really different.”

However, the same cannot be said for all of the foreign exchange students. In fact, one student can’t get enough American food.

“The food in America is awesome! I don’t know what I’m going to do when I will go back. I want to bring Wendy’s with me,” Elguezabal laughed.

Another cultural difference when coming to America is the school system.

“I like the communication between teacher and student here. I think that here you should be thankful that the teachers do a lot of stuff. In Germany you can’t talk personal with teachers but here you can,” Christoph Hohenfeld said. “Here teachers are more involved with the school, like coaching sports. Not in Germany.”

In schools in the countries mentioned above, students are not given the freedom to register for preferred classes.

“In Germany, you can’t choose your classes. Here I like that I have a choice,” Niklas Buechner said.

Another difference in the schools of America and other countries is school sports.

“In Spain if you want to play a sport, you have to play on a club. Here you can be on a team for the school,” Adrian Trillo said.

There are also differences in the actual school itself, compared to an average school of a country other than The United States.

“The school here is bigger. It has a gym and a pool. It has things that my school in Spain doesn’t have,” Javier Penuelas Bueno claimed.

Another major difference in the schools is the events that schools here have. In other countries, they don’t have school dances, and since they don’t have school sports teams, they don’t have sports games hosted by the schools.

“Homecoming was really, really good. I love to go to football games, too,” Camille Maze admitted.

Another thing that sets America apart from other countries is the people.

“Americans overall are more open. The chance that you’ll start a conversation here is much greater,” Felicia Mellquist stated.

Though battling these changes every day is a challenge for these exchange students, they all seem to have one similar goal.

“I came here because I want to learn more English and I want to live a new experience,” said Bueno.

Allyne Boing (Brazil), Niklas Buechner (Germany), Sofia Elguezabal (Mexico), Thuy Dung Frevert (Germany), Lucas Herberhold (Germany), Christoph Hohenfeld (Germany), Hyunwoo Jee (China), Beate Kutz (Germany), Camille Maze (France), Felicia Mellquist (Sweden), Javier Penuelas Bueno (Spain), Marcelo Ribeiro (Brazil) and Adrian Trillo (Spain)