TOWAMENCIN- To most people, the thought of traveling and living overseas for ten months is a scary thought. However, to others it presents an opportunity to grow as a person. For North Penn High School German exchange student Nele Kanzer, the opportunity was not to be passed up.

“I want to learn to be independent,” said 16 year old Kanzer as she described why she wanted to join the exchange student program, “plus, I like to travel and I want to speak fluent English.”
Nele left her home in Salzgitter, Germany leaving behind her parents, Andreas and Carola Kanzer and older sister, Sophie. She had a warm welcome by her host family of Pennbrook Middle School eighth grader, Anna Daly and her parents, Cathy and Dave Daly on August 23rd.

Before arriving in America, Nele was not quite sure what to expect considering the fact that the stereotypes that she heard about America were that we were fat, lazy, loud, and have a lot of self-confidence.

“Everyone here is actually very friendly,” Nele described, “They all hug me and say hi, and they smile a lot!”

A bulk of the people that Nele have met have been at North Penn High School.

Compared to Kranich-Gymnasium, her school back in Germany, North Penn is three times larger with more of a variety of opportunities. North Penn, with its size and number of students, confused Nele when he first got here.

“One of the things I was most surprised to hear about was the [letter] days because they are very confusing,” said Nele, “I don’t quite know how to keep up with them sometimes.”

Outside of the hustle and bustle of school, Nele says she likes to participate in gymnastics and diving. Since she’s been in America, Nele has attended a few gymnastics open gyms and is even considering joining a competitive diving team.

Whenever she just wants to relax, Nele said that she likes to hang out with friends and family and go shopping. Shopping is one of her most favorite things to do both in Germany and America.

“My host family and I are going to New York over Christmas,” said Nele “It’s such a huge city I cannot wait to explore.”

This incredible opportunity for Nele will last ten months, for she will be returning to Germany in June 2015.

“I’m going to do as much as I can while I in America,” said Nele.