Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

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North Penn Abroad – NPHS Exchange Students Share Experiences Overseas

North Penn Abroad - NPHS Exchange Students Share Experiences Overseas

Keeping up the tradition of sending students abroad, North Penn’s International Friendship Club started of the 2012-2013 school year with a goodbye to their four outstanding scholars currently studying overseas.  The European nation just adopted our own, Maddi Clugston, Emily Hunsburger, Ian Mininger, and Rebecca Spross.

Maddi Clugston

“I wanted to go on this exchange for many reasons, but I feel like it was mainly the opportunity to experience a new life, language, and culture in a way that I couldn’t in Lansdale,” said junior Maddi Clugston who is currently studying in Toulouse, France.

 Immersed among the baguettes and berets, Clugston arrived on French soil August 24th, being greeted by her host family, the de Bellefons.

Living with the family of six (their oldest son, Paul de Bellefon, an enrolled student at North Penn this year), Clugtson feels at home. “I get along really well with my host family. I have three siblings who are starting to feel like real brothers and sisters and my parents are great. Everyone makes me feel welcome and it feels like home to me.”

However, being away from family is never easy, and Clugston admits that leaving “was difficult and a little unreal. I tried to say ‘see you soon’ instead of ‘goodbye.’ I feel pangs of homesickness sometimes but overall it’s not bad now. I think it’s just my family and friends that I miss the most.”

Clugston is enrolled at Lycée Pierre de Fermat, a prestigious school nestled in the heart of Toulouse.  With her school days set up like that of a college students, her school hours vary from 8am-6pm, leaving her with gaps and breaks and afternoons off.  “It’s different and generally a real challenge for me,” she explained, “the classes are more formal and longer, some being two hours.”

Another defining factor about her new school that differs from that of North Penn is the daunting fact that all her classes are in French. Correction: everything is in French, not only the classes. “The language is coming along.” Clugston blatantly stated, “I learn new phrases and words every day. It’s frustrating and I make mistakes often, but I’m getting more comfortable speaking and am definitely learning.”

Apart from the language and family, the new culture is throwing unexpected twists in her day. Ultimately she found the school bathroom situation the most shocking:

“The bathrooms at the schools here are unisex,” Clugston explained. “I walked in, saw boys, and was about to run away screaming.”

Clugston has an online blog of her adventures at http://www.3805miles.wordpress.com, where she shares her daily experiences, and elaborates more in depth of her exchange.

“It’s surreal [this experience]. The hardest part was the day I left, when it actually hit me and I said my last goodbyes. Once I was on my own in the airports, I tried my best to just keep swimming and not think about any problems.” However, as hard as she claims it to be, she would never regret taking this opportunity.

Her advice to others: “DO IT! Don’t even say “what if”, just go. No matter who you are or where you go, I promise you’ll get something out of it you can’t get from anywhere or anything else.”

 

Emily Hunsberger

 Traveling just South of Maddi, through the Pyrénées Mountains and into the heart of Spain, Emily Hunsburger, is spending her year in the country’s capital – Madrid.

“Since February when I found out that I was going to Madrid up until my departure September 4th, I didn’t go a day without thinking about my exchange,” Emily imparted. “Basically, I just had an endless string of questions going through my mind about what life would soon be like. I’m not going to lie, part of me was very nervous, but I think that’s normal. In reality, I was just over thinking everything. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t had spent so much time worrying.”

Matched with a family of four (the youngest daughter, Lucia Sanchez-Paus, a senior at North Penn) Emily is immersed in the language and culture, and is learning the customs from all angles.

“Last week I tried rabbit, and last night there was some eel chilling on my plate,” she states. “Those were probably the most bizarre things I have tried so far though. They do make normal foods like chicken, and fish, and they do respect the fact that I don’t like some of the things I try, so it’s all good,” explained Hunsberger.

Luckily she is adventurous not only in the culinary world, but enough to allow her valor to lead her miles and miles from her home back at North Penn. Of course she was not secretive about the fact that she misses her family back home, but Hunsberger knows and recognizes the amazing opportunity she has, and could not be happier.  

“The main reason I wanted to be an exchange student was for the learning experience. I think that the whole journey is culturally enriching, and it really is the opportunity of a lifetime!” She exclaims. “When Mrs. McGuriman and Mr. Brett (IFC advisors) came in to talk about the exchange program in my Spanish class, I knew right then and there that it was something I really wanted to do.”

In her goals for the year, beside the ultimate aspiration to become bilingual, Hunsberger included, “I think that I’m going to grow a lot as a person. Not only am I learning so much about the Spanish culture, but also myself. I can’t wait to look back on this and be able to see how much I got to experience here.”

She continues with her anticipations for the year; “I’m excited for all the new things I’m going to experience,” she says. “I can’t say there is one thing in particular I’m really looking forward to, although I would like to go to a bull fight one of these days. It looks absolutely disgusting, but I don’t think anyone can come to Spain and not see a bullfight. It’s like the unwritten rule.”

Those interested can find out more by following Hunsberger’s blog at http://emilyinmadrid.wordpress.com/ where she updates readers about her exchange and experiences.

 

Ian Mininger

Also enduring culture shock, Ian Mininger arrived in Salzgitter, Germany on August 30th, where he was greeted by his host family the Thiel’s.

“The reality of leaving didn’t hit me until a few days before I actually left,” recalled Mininger, thinking back. “The hardest part was definitely seeing my friends and family towards the end of August and thinking, ‘This is one of the last times I’ll see them for a year.’ And those were the kind of thoughts constantly going through my head – things like: ‘This is the last time in a year I’ll eat at my table or walk down my street or sleep in my bed.’”

Luckily, he gets along “exceedingly well with [his] host family. They are all extremely friendly, helpful, accommodating people, as is almost everyone here.” It is previewed, however, that he will be leaving his family of three halfway through the year to live and finish out his year abroad with the Ballüer family.  By the time Ian meets that family though, he will be well on his way to accomplishing his linguistic goal:

“I’m really looking forward to becoming completely fluent in a new language, especially so that I can have more complete conversations with the new friends I’ve made,” he said.

He added, “Adopting the language is a struggle, although certainly not as much so as it was when I first arrived. I’ve found that the challenge isn’t just learning the words to say, but also how to pronounce them well enough for people to understand.”

As hard as starting over in a new country deems to be, Ian is taking full advantage and gaining the best from it.  He came with high expectations, and strong intentions of genuinely enlightening himself and personally experiencing the German culture.

“I really wanted to gain more of a global perspective of the world,” Mininger explained as he revealed his motives for traveling abroad. “I’d been inspired to go to Germany ever since we started learning about its culture in middle school German class. It always seemed to be a place that would suit me well, which turned out to be true.”

Mininger has already been able to explore Hamburg, and try many new things including authentic dishes like krautsalat and weißwurst. Ultimately in the end he plans “to gain a much better understanding of another culture and language, and thus become more open and accepting of foreign concepts.”

His closing statement includes: “Leaving was hard, but being here is a situation that is completely and wonderfully unlike anything else.”

 

Rebecca Spross

Within the same country, Rebecca Spross is also enjoying dishes like krautsalat and weißwurst in her host city of Aalen.  There she lives with a 7 including herself, and is enrolled in classes at Schubart Gymnasium.

She compares the size of her new school to that of North Penn’s very own Penndale Middle Shool. “There’s a little over 900 students,” she explained, “but the ages range from fifth graders to 12th graders, so around 10-18 years old. It’s a lot different than North Penn.”

She also went on about the interaction between students and teachers, and the school times – everything varying from that of North Penn. “The teachers usually move from class to class, not the students,” she shares. “We have the same group of kids for almost every subject. Plus, we don’t have school every afternoon. Instead, we have a big lunch break when we can go into town or do whatever we want for an hour.”

She deems the German school system allows more freedom, probably a big factor in her reasoning as to why it is her favorite part of the day.

“Most days I’m running too late for the bus, but if the weather’s nice, I ride my bike with my host sisters to school through the center of Aalen. In the mornings there’s almost nobody around except the street cleaner, and it feels so quintessentially European. Plus, it is a good cardio workout in the morning, too.”

“School in the mornings goes until 1pm, and at 10:15am we get a 20 minute break for a snack,” she further enhances on. “When I have school in the afternoon, I usually either pack a sandwich or buy something from a bakery. Then after our classes we ride our bikes home.”

spross compares her after-school life to that of back home: “Lots of homework, studying, and of course running everyone around to their sport practices,” she said. “I tag along to a few of the practices including a track program, diving, swimming, and some recreational gymnastics; I did gymnastics back home.”

Her busy schedule does not keep her from spending time from her new family, nor from thinking about her family back in the states. “I was homesick the first week or two, but having such a warm and friendly family over here helps with the homesickness. My host family is amazing!” she shares in all honestly. “They’re incredibly welcoming and kind. They don’t know much English other than my host sister who will be coming to North Penn next year, so it is a complete immersion in terms of the language. My family is also very sporty, which I love! They keep me in shape!”

After such a hectic day, the family comes together for dinner, but surprisingly, dinner is not the most important meal of the day in her family, and Spross described the table scene; “We eat pretty light for supper, usually bread with cheese or lunch meats. The big meal is lunch, when everyone comes home for a nice home cooked meal. We’ve had a big variety, anything from Carrot Salad, Potato salad, Brats, Leberkas, and other traditional German style meals, to Spaghetti, eggs, or even Pancakes.”

In her enthusaim she is most excited for traveling around Europe, and broadening her “international networks.” A little more than a month into her exchange, an overwhelming difference between the American and German cultures is prominent.

“The approach to lifestyle is different. I feel like Americans are so consumed in their work/iPhones/computers that they don’t take the time of day to relax or do anything for pleasure. Over here I’m noticing how much more time is spent with family and not worrying so much about things.”

She continues to admit, however, as she is in the process of accomplishing the language that “The thing I definitely miss, and will never take for granted again, is being able to understand everything, and being able to simply communicate everything that I want to.”

Spross also has an online blog in which family and friends are encouraged to visit in order to find out more about Rebecca’s experiences abroad. You can find her at: http://rebeccaindeutschland.wordpress.com.

Overall, North Pen is very proud of their students abroad, and can only wish them well as they excel in their talents, explore new things, and enlighten their minds while they surpass all boundaries, obstacles, and hardships. Good luck! We cannot wait to hear about your adventures when you come back to us this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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