All four foreign exchange students at Brandon High School this year are from Germany. The Citizen recently talked to three of the students? Tillman Bedau of Krefeld, Shari Bortfeld of Bremen, and Claudia Wenta of Hamburg? about their experience. The fourth student, Marie Balke, was unavailable for comment.
The Citizen: What are some differences you have noticed between the U.S. and Germany?
Claudia: School is easier here. There are multiple choice tests here and we have to write more papers there.
Shari: I like the schools more here? in Germany you stay with the same 30 people until your junior year. Then you can choose your classes and you get all your points the last two years.
Tillman: Brandon High School is a lot bigger than my old school and at my old school we only stay in one class. I am also a lot more dependent on other people here, since there is no public transportation.
Shari: In Germany, we have a lot more trains, different car brands and more people using bikes to get somewhere. Another thing is the weather. We don’t get as much snow in Germany as we get here.
The Citizen: What do you like and dislike about being here?
Tillman: I like the extra-curricular activities and the good food. I love the burgers and fast food.
Shari: I enjoy meeting new people and to find out how people think, just everything about the ‘American way of life.? In Germany, I don’t mind getting to know new people, but here I get very nervous, what if they want to kill me? (laughs). I think I’m laughing more since I’m here.
Tillman: Americans are more friendly.
Shari: They’re not as stressed out.
Claudia: I like the people and my (host) family and the school spirit and sports. In Germany, we don’t have school sports, we have clubs. Here, I play tennis right now and I played volleyball.
The Citizen: What do you miss about home?
Shari: I miss my family and friends, but besides that, not much more.
Tillman: Sometimes I miss to just be able to go somewhere without a car, by bike or train for example. All the distances in Germany are much shorter.
Claudia: I miss German food, especially bread! We have harder bread. I miss fresh orange juice. I miss my family and friends, but I have new family and friends here. I will miss them when I go home.
The Citizen: What are some fun experiences you have had here?
Claudia: I had a lot of fun experiences. Going to Cedar Point with my family or just going to games at my school with friends.
Tillman: Trips with my family to the Upper Peninsula, Tigers game, MSU game, Indianapolis… I found new friends and tried out things I’ve never done before (like) baseball.
Shari: There aren’t any specific fun experiences, this whole year is a fun experience! Especially trips with family and birthday parties or other times hanging out with friends.
The Citizen: How is your host family different than your real family?
Tillman: It is very interesting to be an only child. But I realized that I wouldn’t want to live without my brother and my sister in Germany for longer than this year.
Claudia: I am an only child in Germany. I like having siblings here, but I’m not used to sharing.
Shari: I am an only child in Germany. Here I have an 8-month-old and 2-and-a-half year-old girl siblings. They are cute and adorable. It’s different, but I enjoy it.
The Citizen: What have you learned?
Claudia: English and a lot about myself. I can adapt to lots of situations.
Shari: I would like to move here.
Tillman: I learned that it wasn’t too hard for me to fit into my new environment because my host family made it very easy for me. However, I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to be able to change my attitude toward things, people, life? especially new things.