A student from Denmark and one from Germany attended Brandon High School for the 2008-2009 school year and stayed with host families in the area. They shared some of their thoughts on the experience prior to leaving for home.
Name: Line Flaga
Age: 17
Hometown: Jyllinge, Denmark
What has been your most memorable experience during your stay in the United States?: ‘Just everything I’ve done with my friends and host family. It’s hard just to pick one, but I went to Vermont for spring break with my host mom and two friends, and that is definitely a memorable experience. We went to Ben and Jerry’s, we went shopping, and met guys, so that was a lot of fun.?
What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed between your home country and the U.S.?: ‘I would say that the school is the biggest difference, it’s so much bigger and just everything about the classes are different. In Denmark, the students don’t walk from class to class. They stay in one room the whole day and then the teacher comes to them.?
What have you learned from this experience?: ‘I have learned how everything works over here and how to be on my own without my Mom and Dad.?
Name: Angelina Hock
Age: 16
Hometown: Hamburg, Germany
What has been your most memorable experience during your stay in the United States?: ‘My most memorable experience is how my loving host family made me be part of their family. They used to be strangers to me, but I felt comfortable with them from the very beginning and they gave me the feeling of being one of them. They gave me such a loving home and I’m going to have a second family forever. That is awesome.?
What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed between your home coutnry and the U.S.?: ‘I’ve noticed that most Americans drive their cars everywhere they want to go, even though it might be just a few feet to the neighbor’s house. Where I am from in Germany, we ride our bikes a lot. Also, the driving age in Germany is 18 and here it is 16-years-old. That is so young! There is also not that much public transportation in the U.S., but I love the yellow school buses. They are so cool! I also like that there is so much space everywhere. The houses are not as close together as they are in Hamburg. The school system is also completely different from the one we have back in Germany.?
What have you learned from this experience?: ‘I have learned that when I am just myself and not afraid to make mistakes (for example, in the language), it is pretty easy to be accepted and find friends, even though you’re far away from home and you don’t know anyone. I’ve also learned a lot about the American culture as a whole and that Americans are not always like we see them in the movies. And of course, I learned the English language almost as good as my mother language.?