While most high school students spend their junior year getting their driver’s license, studying for their SAT’s, and getting ready for their first prom, NPHS students Alexa Karamis, Lilith Schmidt, and Ella Pimentel are spending their time in Germany and France.
As part of the exchange program managed by North Penn High School, the students above went through a series of trials in order to be accepted, including a one-on-one interview and an essay explaining why they should be one of the lucky applicants to go overseas. Once chosen, though, everything got a lot more real. Sent hundreds of miles away from home to stay with a host family in four different towns in Europe, each student started their year-long journey in a foreign country.
Q: What was your first impression of your country?
A (Alexa Karamis; Salzgitter, Germany): My first impression was that it was really cottagey. It kind of gives off Disney fairy tale vibes, you know? With the buildings and stuff. But it’s also really quiet here too, and calm.
A (Lilith Schmidt; Aalen, Germany): It’s really pretty because you have the mountains, so wherever you are, it’s such a good view. But at the same time, I thought I would never know how to get around the town because all the stores and stuff look the same because they’re all old buildings.
A (Ella Pimentel; Bordeaux, France): My first impression was that everything was really grand, and I was really shocked that everything seemed so different. It felt like every single part of my life, from the way the architecture is designed to the way that I live in my bedroom, is completely different.
Q: Tell me about how it was moving in with your host family.
A (Karamis): It’s not that weird. My host mom runs a daycare in the house, so sometimes, if I don’t have school, I wake up to a bunch of little kids running around the house screaming. But it’s okay because they’re super cute… but my host mom is the sweetest person ever… I’m really close with my host sisters. One’s 15 and the other’s 12. They’re really nice people.
A (Schmidt): [My host family] came to pick me up at the airport and they had this sign (see images below)… I have a host sister. She’s 14. Her name’s Sophia. She gave me a hug when they picked me up and it was really awkward because I had no idea what to say… It was so weird at first, but now it just feels normal. But sometimes I just wish I was at home, because I liked my routine.
A (Pimentel): I haven’t fully adapted yet, but I do think we’re getting along super well. And it’s kind of like, since you know that you’re going to stay with them for the whole year, you just immediately have to star
t bonding with them. Maybe it’s not that way for everybody, but for me, I really love my host family.
Q: How is the quality of communication between you and other French/German people?
*Note: Both Karamis and Schmidt went to Germany without taking any German language classes beforehand. On the other hand, Pimentel had taken three years of French before traveling to France.
A (Karamis): [Everyone in my host family] speaks English, except for my host father. I sometimes have to pull out a translator with him. But we communicate really well because they speak English. I have to ask them to speak to me in German sometimes so I can get used to it.
A (Schmidt): I had [to take] German class at the University of Aalen [for about two weeks]… Even though I had that class every day for four hours, I still couldn’t tell you what someone’s saying if they’re trying to talk to me… It’s hard because, since I know nobody here and I don’t know the language or anything, I’m kind of just on my own.
A (Pimentel): Sometimes it’s a little hard because, you know, there’s that [language barrier]. I mean, I took three years of French, but I don’t always understand what they’re saying. However, since I spend most of my time with them, they’ve kind of adapted their way of speaking to me… so I can respond in short phrases. It’s pretty easy to talk with them after one month.
Q: Do other people treat you differently because you’re an exchange student?
A (Karamis): All the younger kids are, like, super excited [to see me], you know? But the actual kids in my grade, 11th grade and 12th grade, don’t care that much… Oh, and I got to talk to this class about America, and they asked questions like, “Are the Walmarts really that big?” and “Does everyone really have a gun in their house?”
A (Schmidt): Honestly, the 1st question that I got from any of the students was, “Do you guys have a lot of shootings in your school?” And then another question was, “Do you like Trump?” Those were the first two questions I heard. That’s the extent of what other countries view America as: just guns and Trump. I had to laugh because that’s how they view us. In a way, they aren’t even wrong. Like, we don’t have shootings at our school, but there are shootings. There are so many.
A (Pimentel): [They definitely treat me differently] but not necessarily in a bad way. I just think that the way that they act with their friends when they’re speaking in French is different from how they act when they’re speaking to me in English… Everybody always talks to me about the American government, especially Trump, but just like American politics and government overall.
Q: What is one culture shock you had that you don’t think many other people know about?
A (Karamis): First of all, fish on pizza, like, tuna on pizza is the same as pepperoni on pizza for [Americans]. It’s super normal for them…. Also, [Germans] only drink sparkling water. I kind of like it too. I’m, like, adapting to it now… But another big cultural shock was the public buses. Not taking the yellow school bus is pretty weird [for me]… Oh, and also I don’t have dinner [at home]. We have two meals a day: breakfast, and then, like, lunch and dinner [combined] at, like, 3 p.m.
A (Schmidt): For grocery shopping, you just get whatever you need that day. You don’t really get stuff for the week unless it’s Saturday you need it for Monday. You’ll get it Saturday because everything’s closed on Sunday… Another thing is, in the [grocery] stores, you know how we have bottles of water in packages? They just open it and take one and pay for each individual. If they just need one water bottle, they just open and take one.
A (Pimentel): Honestly, probably just the lack of diversity. They have no Hispanic people. Hardly any Middle Eastern people or African people… And there’s only a small Asian population, but it’s just mostly white, which is crazy because in America, we just have so much diversity.
Q: Are you upset about missing your junior year in America?
A (Schmidt): I actually am really upset about that because I get FOMO so quickly. And they’re redoing our school and I don’t know anything about the renovation, so that’s gonna be all new to me when I come back. I kind of wish I was there for that even though I saw pictures and heard how annoying it was… I just miss my friends and my boyfriend, Matthew Mccall, and the school because I know everything.
A (Pimentel): I miss the school because in America, I had so many friends, and I did so many activities, and I had a job, and I was so involved in everything, but here, especially because I don’t speak the language and I haven’t grown up here, I can’t participate in a lot of things. And although I am doing some things, I was just so involved in America, and I definitely miss that… Honestly, compared to the things that I’m experiencing here, I’m not disappointed [about missing junior year] because I think that it’s worth it, you know?
Q: If you could’ve brought one thing with you to your respective country, regardless of customs or other flight restrictions, what would it be?
A (Karamis): I wish I could have brought, like, a year’s week supply of American fast food.
A (Schmidt): I would bring my dog. I don’t really care about my stuff at home, but I just feel bad for leaving my little dog Maggie.
A (Pimentel): Anything with a red 40 in it. I miss red 40 so much.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about your country?
A (Karamis): To be honest, [one of my favorite things is] being so independent for the first time. I don’t have my parents nagging at me to do my chores. I have to do them on my own. I have to go to the store and get food alone, and I just have all this time to figure myself out and who I really am when I’m separated from everyone.
Q: Do you recommend the exchange program to other people?
A (Karamis): I think honestly, I would recommend the exchange program to anyone who’s willing to change their life a lot. If you’re not actually interested in it, please don’t do it. You will just waste your time, but you have to actually really want to do it. You also have to be strong minded, too, because there are gonna be people who are kind of teasing you because you’re from America, you know? And giving you weird books for speaking English. You have to be kind of strong and not let those things get to you… You feel like you know the world better, and you won’t have any regrets either. When you’re older, you’re gonna be glad you didn’t turn this down, and know that you had the best time.
