Eight foreign exchange students new to PHS this year

Story by Emily Jens
John Jacobsen came to PHS from the Faroe Islands, which are a part of Denmark, and is staying with the Wisman family.  He gets about the same amount of homework, but otherwise, PHS is pretty different from his school at home.
  
“This school is huge in comparison.  For our school we have first through tenth grade and that’s altogether 220, maybe.  So this is huge.  And we also have one class and the teachers go around.  We have like a two minute break between each class,” explained Jacobsen.
  
When asked if his impression of Americans has changed at all he stated, “I think they’re all nice.  I expected to see more fat people.  The media says like all Americans are fat.”
  
Jacobsen enjoys music; he plays the piano, sings, and would like to see a baseball game before leaving. “I’m not homesick yet. I thought about home once, maybe, but I miss my friends and my family,” he said.
  
What made Jacobsen decide to become a foreign exchange student? “I just wanted to get away.  And I chose the U.S. because it’s the culture.  You can hear about it everywhere and I wanted to see it myself.”

Olivia Kreffi from Germany finds PHS very different from her German school.
  
“We have no out of school activities, and we have no lockers.  We don’t change classrooms, we stay in the same room and the teachers come to us.  Also, you always have class with the same people all the time and the work here is much easier.  And we don’t eat lunch there, we have school from eight to 1:30 or 2:30 and then you can go home and eat lunch.  So, it’s all very different,” explained Kreffi.
  
“The most important thing here is my family.  We laugh all the time and have fun,” she said of her host family, the Raabs.
  
“I don’t want to go back.  I came here and thought ‘Oh my goodness, one year without my family, without my twin sister’ and other stuff but I love my family here, I feel so good.  My mom here is like the same as in Germany.”
  
When asked about why she decided to become an exchange student, she said, “I love to see new culture, to get to know new people and it’s very exciting to come here and you know nobody and are without your family and all that.  It’s very exciting,” Kreffi expressed.
  
Her favorite teacher is Mr. Stoltenberg, and she is a member of the swim team.  “I want to see Florida and California with my family before I leave.”

Nina Buschmeier was surprised to get the opportunity to come here. 
  
She stated, “All the people [who applied] were so good at school and so perfect and I didn’t think they would pick me.  But they did, and now I’m here!”
  
Buschmeier is from Germany and is staying with the Wilson family. “I like them. My mom makes so many desserts.  Everyday she’s baking a cake or making brownies,” she said of her family. 
  
Her school in Germany has fifth to thirteenth grade all in the same school, and they have a different schedule each day.  Buschmeier thinks it’s more fun here because you have different classes to choose from, and she feels the work is easier here; but in the beginning it’s hard to understand everything with the language barrier.  Her favorite class is interior design because “it’s so easy.”
  
“The food here is very unhealthy.  I miss the German bread and water; we have such good water.  But I like the food here and I love eating,” Buschmeier stated.
  
“I was disappointed there was no public transportation, you always have to ask someone if they can give you a ride.  In Germany, you can get everywhere by bus, and it takes longer but I am on my own more,” informed Buschmeier.  
  
Though she misses her family and best friends she’s not homesick.  Before leaving she wants to just have a lot of fun and meet many new people.
  

Garan Rasathural is here from Denmark and having a nice time staying with the Brody family.  His most enjoyable classes are webpage building and drama.
  
Rasathural stated, “I decided to be a foreign exchange student just to experience the culture and you know, a lot of people talk about the American Dream and you hear a lot of different stuff about Americans, so I just wanted to see the real America.”
  
He was disappointed with the technology here and had expected it to be more advanced.  “But I really enjoy the sports here and just hanging out with friends,” Rasathural said.  He is a member of the soccer team and finds it really fun.
  
“It [the food is] pretty nice.  I don’t really eat it.  I make my own food, I only eat the salad,” informed Rasathural. 
  
He is a little homesick but doesn’t want to go back.  “Before leaving, I want to speak English and have knowledge about the culture,” Rasathural expressed.

Going to Six Flags is something Jackie Dittrich from Germany would like to do before leaving the U.S. 
  
About her host family, the Newkirks, Dittrich said, “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, kind of like the best family which I could have got. Charlotte and I get along really well. It’s scary, we like exactly the same things, it’s like we’re twin sisters.”  She is here until Dec. 15 and then Charlotte is going to Germany for half a year.
  
“I think the food is good.  Everyone is complaining but I like it.  Germany’s food is more fresh but it’s different here; I like it,” Dittrich said.
  
She’s not homesick, yet she does miss her friends and family.  Dittrichs’ least favorite class is weight training, she stated, “It’s cool, but it’s boring.”
  
Her favorite part about being here is learning the language and getting to know all the people.  “My least favorite thing about Plymouth is that there’s nothing going on.  I’m used to the big city so it’s weird,” commented Dittrich.  She was also disappointed that the classrooms here were smaller than they are in Germany.
  
“I’m just really excited to be here, and I can’t wait to learn more,” Dittrich said.
  
  
  

Sagar Patel is here from India and happy to be staying with the Saille family.  He loves fruit and eats a lot of it. His favorite kind is “all of them.”
  
“My school is bigger, we have no lockers, and teachers change classes but here the students change classes,” Patel said, comparing the two schools.
  
He’s a member of the soccer team and is enjoying it.  His least favorite class is English because he dislikes the grammar here.  Overall he feels the work is easier here. “In India we have many more exams and work to do,” commented Patel.
  
He misses his friends but isn’t homesick and does not want to return home yet.  “I wanted to be a foreign exchange student because you can lean a lot from it and it’s interesting to see a different education,” Patel expressed.

Hanne Lystad is here until June and is staying with the Dellger family.  “I really like them, I’m very happy to get in a family like that because they’re so welcoming,” Lystad commented.
  
“The American school system is built up in different ways, and it’s a lot easier here,” she explained.  Her favorite class is Politics in Action.
  
“My favorite thing about being here is that people are so friendly and welcoming.  I look forward to coming to school every day because you meet your friends and you make new friends and that’s great,” expressed Lystad.
  
It was all impulse that made her decide to be a foreign exchange student.  “I got a bit tired of home.  There are about 40,000 people but anyway it gets small after 17 years, so I kind of wanted to do something different and experience new things,” Lystad explained.
  
Before leaving, she would like to golf, go to a football game and learn its rules, and travel to a bigger city.  Lystad is enjoying her time here and is excited to see what the rest of her stay brings.