Newton High School has gained a lot of students from different countries coming to attend American high school. Some of these students are here for a full year, while others are exclusively from Germany and only stay for two weeks. Then, at the end of the school year, some NHS upperclassmen will stay in Germany for a few weeks to have the same experience.
Exchange student Arwen Landgraf said the main difference between NHS and her hometown is how long our school days are. She said that at her school, they don’t have Gold and Black days. All of their classes are fit in one day and are 45 minutes long. Landgraf is most excited to learn about America and the lifestyle here.
“I think it’s cool that sports [are] connected with the school. In Germany, we don’t have it like this,” Landgraf said.
Exchange student Frida Bassen said her school in Germany does not have the same strict rule of five-minute passing periods. Lunch times at NHS are also different from her German school back at home.
“I am most excited about everything,” Bassen said.
Exchange student Lucas Rehmke-Demagny said that the lunch is very different here at NHS. At his school in Germany, they have multiple options of food to eat, but at NHS, there is only one thing on the menu the majority of the time.
“… I like it here, it’s very different from ours, but yeah I like the differences,” Rehmke-Demagny.
Exchange student Lasse Hoeft said the main difference between America and Germany is the traffic system and laws.
“For example … [in America] teenagers are allowed to drive, but [have to wait] to drink [until] the age of 21,” Hoeft said.
When Hoeft heard that he was making a trip to America, he thought of American football. He said he went to a K-State football game at Oklahoma State University and it was very cool. So far Hoeft’s experience has been great. He’s learned a lot of new and interesting things about America and has made a lot of friends.
“If I would get the chance to come back here I would definitely say yes,” Hoeft said. “I love the people here and liked all the experiences I had so far.”
Another foreign exchange student, Laura Otte, said the main difference between America and Germany is the school system. She said in Germany, they have all the same subjects every day of the week, with all the same people. In America, students can choose their own subjects and have classes with different people throughout the day.
“It’s very different that [in Newton] school ends at 3:15 p.m. and [students] eat lunch at school,” Otte said.
Otte said she was most excited to meet new people and a new landscape because she has never traveled to another continent.
“ The USA is also … very unique, and one of the biggest countries in the world, and interesting because of the different government,” Otte said. “It is also a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have such an experience.”
One of the main things Otte is excited about is seeing New York because it’s a huge city and she wants to see how people live in different parts of the world. However, Otte said she has already experienced so many fun and exciting things here in America.
“I was surprised at how much everything looked like the movies I had seen,” Otte said. “Everyone here is nice and I am having a great time.”
German School System
Foreign Exchange student Lasse Hoeft said Germany’s school system is very different from America’s school system. He said American schools have way more choices in electives than in Germany. For example, German students can’t choose as many subjects and classes as the students here at NHS can, and everyone has the same classes and subjects, no matter their interests. He said after they get out of Kindergarten by the age of five or six, they go to Elementary where they stay until fourth grade, which is very similar to American schools. In Germany, after the fourth grade, you go to one of the Secondary schools. The Secondary schools are based on your grades and students get the choice of Realschule, Hauptschule and Gymnasium schools. Hoeft is attending the Gymnasium school, which is the more difficult one.
