German exchange students from Munich arrived at Jefferson earlier in Sept., participating in a program that paired them with Jefferson students studying German. In this program, the visiting students stayed with their hosts for about two weeks—riding the bus to school, going through all their host’s classes with them and experiencing daily life as a Jefferson student .

For many of the visiting students, the decision to travel abroad was motivated by the opportunity to experience and learn more about American life and culture.

“I saw that there is so much new stuff to see, so many new opportunities, and this is basically a different continent,” sophomore Maiia Sorokina said. “I’ve never been here, and I just jumped at it.”

Interest in American culture was also influenced by media platforms, which sparked a wish to experience American life in person.

“You see a lot about American culture in films or like on social media, and I just wanted to experience that myself,” sophomore German exchange student Quirin Getiner said.

One of the most noticeable differences between Germany and the U.S. was how different American classrooms are compared to those in Germany. From class size to the courses and extracurriculars offered, the exchange students found the academic environment here to be surprisingly different from Germany.

“There [are] lots of different classes and subjects which we don’t have in our school, and I think that’s great,” junior German exchange student Anna Rott said “The things you do after school and all [of] the different clubs, we don’t have that at our school,”

The more interactive and social American teaching style also stood out as a distinctive part of the American learning experience.

“Here, I feel like it’s way more social,” Getiner said. “You work in a group way more often, [and] the people here are way more extroverted.”.

Beyond the classroom, daily life in the U.S. offered just as many surprises. Cultural differences became even more apparent in everyday routine and interactions.

“At the grocery store, the employees talk to you and ask you how your day was,” sophomore German exchange student Kaan Bozdemir said.

The American lifestyle stood out as very fast-paced, compared to the more relaxed German lifestyle.

“Everybody [in America] is going somewhere, everybody has some stuff to do,” Sorokina said. “In Germany, people are living the life. They’re more slower, they communicate with each other and they [dance] on the streets.”

Additionally, adjusting to a new environment brought up a sense of distance from the familiar comforts of home.

“I miss my family and my friends,” Rott said “Everything in Germany is close together. If I wanted to go to the grocery store in Germany, I would walk for five minutes max, but here I need to drive a car around.”

Though small inconveniences exist, this experience also provided students an opportunity to improve their English skills and learn more about American culture.

“I want to learn more English, and also get to know the people here,” Bozdemir said. “Maybe even get a feeling of how the U.S. is, maybe I might live here someday.”

The exchange program also offered new perspectives for the Jefferson student-hosts, such as providing awareness towards the cultural differences between different countries.

“I would recommend this program to other students,” Jefferson junior Suhani Garg said. “I think it’s a really cool program because you get a chance to go to Germany and immerse [yourself] in the culture there. You [also] get to see what it is like for someone else to come to your own culture. It is a really fun experience.”