Exchanging One Life For Another

German exchange students compare the reality of America to what they imagined it to be

Jailen Manzanares, Reporter|January 13, 2017

America is a country that we call home, but to others, America is filled with
stereotypes, fears, and awkwardness.
GJHS was lucky enough to have the opportunity of allowing foreign exchange students stay at
our school. Most of the students came from Germany. Those who got to house them were
repeatedly saying that you create a bond with them when they were here.
“He follows me everywhere I go. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with him,” Dalton Roethel,
sophomore, said.
Our everyday lives, including routine and styles, are seen as “weird” or “totally different”
to the students.
Daylan Griffin was housing a student from Germany named Tobi, who was surprised at
the way we act in America.
“You talk about other things than we talk about in Germany, you are more open when you
express yourself. Everyone here is different from each other. In Germany, everyone is the same.
We talk the same, and act the same,” Tobi said. “We have the same interests, and same behavior.
You also dress differently than we do”
“I imagined your school the way it is. Because of the American movies that I would
watch, the high schools looked like yours,” Thomas, Dalton Roethel’s exchange student said,
“But the space between places is very huge here. In Germany everything is very close together.
There is less amount of people in one place. Germany has more people in one place.”
America caught the eyes of Tobi and Thomas in two different ways. One saw the way people
reacted, and communicated with each other, while the other saw the way our