Five days ago American exchange students got picked up at the train station in Osnabrück. They stayed in host families that volunteered to take care of them. The students, who are from Colorado, experienced the daily routine of a German life. Today we got the opportunity to get to know them and the differences between America and Germany. We met the Americans and asked questions with their host siblings and a few 9th and 10th graders. The meeting was organised by Mrs. Warbanski-Riechardt and Mrs. Derkes. First off we talked about their main reasons for why they wanted to go to Germany. Most of them had relatives here and wanted to get to know their family roots. Another reason was that they wanted to learn more about the German culture and language.
Next we asked for their opinion on the German language. One of the major problems for the exchange students is that they are not used to the difference between "Sie" and "du" and sometimes make mistakes. Another confusing thing for them is the order of words in sentences and it’s also a struggle to assign the right gender to objects. Even though a lot of words are similar in English, German is still so hard to remember. In the end everyone agreed that it’s easier to learn English than German. Eventually we talked about German culture. Positive aspects are that everything is so bikeable and that public transport works so well. They also liked the historical parts of the old town and the many older buildings, which are hard to find in America.
However, not everything was positive, like how people act differently in the streets in Germany. The Americans are used to having conversations on the streets with strangers, while this isn’t common here. After that we discussed the differences between German and American schools. Students in the USA have eight lessons a day and also participate in clubs after school or do sports like American football. American football is a popular sport and many of the students go to the Friday games, where some show up with costumes. It isn't unusual in America to work as a student, even up to 20 hours a week.
Another fact on schools: those in the USA normally don’t have windows or have windows that can’t be opened - they have air conditioners. Finally we spoke about serious problems in the USA. One of these matters is being able to easily buy a gun. One student reported that the principal once had to shutdown their school for a week because of a theat. Unfortunately school shootings and threats are not rare in America. Also students and teachers are not allowed to talk about politics in class.
All in all it was interesting to learn more about the American lifestyle and to hear a different perspective on Germany. We hope they continue having a good time in here.
Text written by: Carla, Franzi and Vivien from 8d
