Stories and Lifestyle

One year at a US high school? We dedicate this chapter to all those of our young readers who are dreaming about that. Former exchange student Thiemo Fetzer from Ulm, Germany, has kindly allowed us to publish (excerpts) of his experiences here. He returned from the US about one year ago. He had been in the US state of Maine most of the time.

Before departure I am going to fly to the US six days from now! Going to high school for one year and make a lot of new experiences. That's my goal! I am already counting down the days. Soon, it's going to begin. I have the plane tickets and everything I need has been bought already. I am thinking about what I am going to leave behind in Germany. Just a few days ago, Nadine and Cornelia have organized a surprise party for Laila, who is also going to the US. That was fun. Even Sascha from Darmstadt came to Ulm one more time - really great! What am I going to miss in the US? Maybe my friends? They say that in the US you will have more acquaintances than real friends... Will I maybe get homesick? The first week is already almost completely planned! Who is going to meet me at the airport? My first host family probably won't even be home during those first days so that I will probably spent them with my counselor. I know that, on the first day, I will probably first of all visit my school, the Belfast Area High School with 700 other students. You can take eight classes, four among them compulsory. Math, history. English, and a science. What am I going to choose as the other four? Can I maybe start in 12th grade and skip 11? I already know that Monday will be the first training of the school's soccer team. And from Tuesday to Thursday, there will be a kind of "team building camp" with the team. I think I will already get to know a lot of people there. I am preparing my presentation about Germany (I have to do that as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, since I am sent there as some sort of ambassador). I am on page three right now, approaching the Second World War. The uncertainty about how the Americans really are, what the American Way really is, that is what really makes me want to collect as many information as possible about Germany and work it into the presentation. I want to present Germany as a modern, high-culture country that should be taken seriously. I hope I will succeed!

Arrival in Boston Confusion at the airport, a helpful Danish woman, meeting my host family, the first night, the first fat Americans and the YMCA.

Now I have just landed in Boston after traveling for 9 hours already. Saying goodbye to my family at the airport in Frankfurt was more than moving. And I really didn't know anything! Fortunately, I got a seat near the window. Roughly 40 minutes before we started, my seat neighbor arrived - an Arab from Boston. We briefly talked about all kinds of things - mainly about the exchange - and that was it, really. Yes, I had been right to worry, the English really is difficult to understand. Six hours of exhausting flight. Even as we were approaching the city I already saw the first raised American flag. Boston looks really nice from above. There are many small islands off the coast and inland there are a lot of lakes. The Lufthansa flight attendant told me to come and see her after landing. Another young American woman had also asked for help. We left the plane and there she was, our helper. I already forgot her name - she was born in Denmark. She helped us to get through immigration and customs without any problems. Afterwards, my luggage had to be immediately checked in again. The Boston airport is so confusing! But apparently our Danish guide knew her way around there and I finally made my way to Terminal B American Airlines. After some friendly Americans had pointed out the way to the American Airlines desk for me, everything was taken care of. Apart from the fact that the flight was now half an hour delayed.

Arrival in Bangor, Maine Yes, after 35 minutes of flight I arrived in Bangor. By now, it was already about 11:30pm. I got my carry-on luggage and walked in the direction of the terminal. No, I didn't see my luggage - and wouldn't anymore today. I looked around and after a short while I saw Jayne and Mike Giles with a sign saying "Thiemo." After a short hello and the story of the confusing Boston airport, we started looking for my luggage, which wasn't there. The lady at the American Airlines desk gave us a form and that was that. I was to get my luggage the next day. So we set out for Belfast by car, a one-hour drive from Bangor. During the drive, we talked about all kinds of things. Jayne, Mike and also Loring (their son) are really friendly, nice and helpful. As soon as I arrived in my new house - all houses are made of wood and have at least one raised American flag - I immediately called my family in Germany. "I'm fine, everything went well, despite that thing with my luggage - here, speak to dad, too, for a second," and that was it. I was really tired. The first morning was already complicated and weird. I finally got up when I saw Jayne walk Gus (the dog). After I had read my first American newspaper - a report about "the great flood in Germany" - Jayne returned. I asked her whether she had a towel for me (try asking for a towel if you don't know the word). Then, American breakfast. No, it wasn't really breakfast. When I sat down at the table, Jayne asked me whether I wanted a donut. They eat donuts in all American sitcoms, so I wanted to try one. It was really good - not too sweet or too fat. Then, Jayne called American Airlines to ask about my luggage. Well, I can wait. She also called Mallory (my host niece) who was immediately invited over. We walked the twenty meters to the ocean with her sister Claire and just talked a bit. It is really difficult to just talk with the English we learn at school.

After lunch, it continued. We visited the high school and the YMCA. It is really just a big hall that can be used for many different sporting events. Among other things, they have a room for very small children who are being watched there after school and during the holidays, a room for training with a lot of different training equipment, a soccer field and a basketball court, a field hockey area and a gym. I also met my future soccer coach and a few team members there. All of them are really friendly and nice. The YMCA really is something special. It is financed by donations for the most part. After I had seen a few other schools, we drove back to Belfast. My luggage still hadn't arrived.

Meeting the first people at high school I had my first meeting with the high school's guidance counselor to choose my classes. Every American school has a guidance counselor who is responsible for helping the students pick their classes and set up their timetable. Four our of eight classes are compulsory, namely math, history, one science class and English. I talked to the guidance counselor about my wishes which included starting off with a difficult program and maybe change classes later. The other was to graduate from high school after my one year and skip one class. That's not such an easily solved issue. The school had already had exchange students who had done that. When he had just finished choosing my classes, the Super Intendant joined us. He wasn't sure how to handle this either. I think it will depend upon my performance. I have already chosen three classes that are for 12th graders. AP Physics (AP = Advanced Placement), AP American Studies (American history from the 19th century until today) and AP Calculus (math, advanced algebra), maybe AP Chemistry. As a little special, I also chose "Speech and Drama." In this class, we are going to learn how to give speeches, how to present projects etc. After we got back home, I was somehow really tired and exhausted. Being alone in the house, I watched TV a little, they have some kind of cable TV here, all really modern and new. It's not easy zapping your way through 120 channels. The problem is that they don't have a TV guide (for 250 channels - they are only paying for 120 here - that would almost be a book). So I didn't find The Simpsons. In addition, they have a channel that always shows the current program of over 120 channels.

The first day of school: the first American lessons. The teachers there! Yes, school already starts on September 4 here. Of course, I was more than excited, so my first day started really early. Around 6:10am I got up, showered, and had a good breakfast. Jayne drove me to school, on the way we picked up Mallory who turned out to be a great help at the beginning of my first day. Arriving at the school, my first feeling was surprise. For the first time, I saw Belfast Area High school bustling with students in the hallways and classrooms. First off, Mallory and I went to the cafeteria. There, all students received their official timetables and locker numbers. Again, the people had difficulties pronouncing my name (spelling and pronunciation are not the same). Anyway, I got a sort of calendar with information about the school, rules, etc. and my timetable with my locker number on it. Mallory saw me off to my first lesson, AP Calculus. I had already talked to the teacher so I knew him a little already. The hallways and the school in general looked a lot more friendly than the Schubart Gymnasium (Gymnasium = German academic high school). There's simply more color and humor involved. In addition, everything looks a lot better looked after. So, the first lesson was AP Calculus (senior class). At the beginning of the lesson, just as expected, the pledge of allegiance. It is read to the school over the speaker and all students are facing the American flag (there's one in each class room), hand over the heart (at least some of them), and, contrary to my expectations, only the teacher really spoke along. In every lesson, we were first of all made aware of the school rules as well as the individual teachers' expectations. Then they distributed a kind of syllabus, telling us what we would be learning that year. After wandering about the hallways for about two minutes, I found my second class, Speech & Drama with Mr. Lawson. In any case, this lesson was the most fun I had in class on my first day. He can really "talk" and "tell stories." Mr. Lawson also made a really nice impression because he told me that it was okay to criticize the American government. In the first lesson, we were supposed to introduce ourselves one after the other (it wasn't my turn yet). Also, everyone was supposed to name his favorite and least favorite speech. There was also one statement like "The worst speech I have ever heard was from Mr. Bush, who only was talking shit. Yea, I just think that Bush is the most stupid president we ever had." Yes, okay, that didn't seem terribly intelligent, but at least Bush doesn't seem to be popular everywhere.

So it isn't always one nation, one president. And in the third period I had Advanced American Studies II with Mr. Rioux. I could notice that he was a very patriotic teacher. One of the first sentences I heard him say was "we will attack Iraq in November." And then the teacher's rooms. Every teacher can decorate his room the way he likes it. In this room, there were war posters everywhere. "The Marines are just landed." "Want action - Join our team - US Marines Corps." Then I had my first American school lunch. Completely disoriented I lined up and bought an Italian sandwich with bacon. I sat down with a few guys from the soccer team and just started eating. I hardly understood a word of the jokes they made. In the 6th period, I had AP Physics with Mr. P (Pelleren). Apart from Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Lawson, he is probably the nicest teacher there. We started with the conversion of units! Oh god, that was such a long time ago. I am with a nice group of soccer players here. After this really great lesson, I had study hall. There you can do your homework, study or read. Supervised by a teacher of course. I started with my AP Physics homework right away. After a two-hour soccer training on a field near the school where I scored a nice goal, I was totally wiped out, tired and exhausted at the end of the day. I enjoyed a nice Dr. Pepper Diet Coke in front of the TV and went to bed at a quarter past nine.

Why the Americans are going to overtake us ... The American educational system with its many advantages is going to overtake our German system at some point, without a doubt. Especially here at school I can see every day how advanced the education system is in the US. Compared to the old-fashioned European system, the American system definitely has its advantages. The schools are working with the newest technologies and use every advantage for their system. The already have the program "a laptop for every student." IBM and other large companies are selling laptops for only $600 to middle school students. They are between 10 and 14 years of age. While Germany is still discussing the educational value of laptops, they are already being used here. You will get a warning if you visit certain websites and playing games on the laptop is nearly impossible. At the high school, every teacher has at least one computer of his own. Apart from that, there is a library and two computer rooms. Already today you can sent your homework such as essays to the teacher via email. The graphing calculator has been introduced for the math classes already five years ago. There's not one teacher who simply refuses to learn about the new technologies. In Germany, these further training programs are voluntary, here they are a must. Especially in my AP Physics class I could notice some definite modernizations. Measurements that must be conducted manually in Germany are done here by an instrument that is connected to the computer and documents all results. That makes everything a little easier, but it also leaves more time to think and to document results correctly. That doesn't mean that the Americans are smarter than we are, no, they are just better organized and looking ahead.

All teachers who know a little bit about Germany always praise the excellent education system, but it really isn't all that excellent. It is just way too expensive. In the US, there are not three different kinds of secondary schools, there's just one, the high school. When you raise money for 1,500 students of a Gymnasium (academic high school), Realschule (more like a high school) and Hauptschule (lower secondary school ending after 9th grade), all the money would go to only one school in the US. It is logical that this way they also have more money for special projects. Of course, the educational level is somewhat lowered by the fact that everyone is going to the same school here, but the course system is a good compromise. There are just several options. A special characteristic is that all classes are very practically oriented. You are taught to solve everyday problems. Because of the rather low academic level, many people go on to college after high school. And all students who have finished high school already have some kind of diploma. The American system leaves it up to the individual. Either you survive in college or you don't. College courses are limited to a maximum of four years. So, unlike Germany, they don't have students who spent seven years in college. And the colleges too are advanced. Together with my AP Physics class I visited the department of engineering at the university of Orono (the biggest one in Maine).You can become an engineer in only four years.

And the way of teaching depends on where the money comes from. The large companies in Maine, especially the paper industry, sponsor the universities and they base their courses on the manufacturing of paper! Sure, this is only the practical part of the training, but it is easily understandable. Everything is being done according to this simple economic principle. Yesterday, they took another big step for the students net access, the basic principle of the virtual classroom via internet was introduced. With a special software you can access the school's server and, for example, keep a date book there. The system also allows you to check what homework you got in your classes and when the next football game of your school's team will take place. The entire timetable is organized and available to the student. You access it from any place that has an internet access. I could imagine that a step like this would take up to five or six more years in Germany. And the system is being developed further every day.

In case you are interested in reading more reports by Thiemo Fetzer about his high school year in the US, find more on www.devmag.net/usa!