On March 18-19 eighteen students from Bavaria, Germany came to Heritage to get a taste of American high school for three weeks. One of the students, Svenja, has enjoyed many of her new experiences since she’s been in America.
“I like your donuts and your burgers,” she explained. “They are really good.”
Svenja also was attracted to the driving age we have. “I love that you can drive a car at sixteen. In Germany you have to be eighteen. But in Germany when we are sixteen we can go to the disco and drink beer, here we cannot.”
Despite the donuts and burgers, she hasn’t loved every part of her trip.
“Germany is really clean… I was in Seattle and thought the city was really dirty. The big cities, they don’t look really clean.” She did, however, enjoy her experience down in Vancouver. “It’s really pretty. I think the people here are nice.”
Svenja describes schooling in Germany as less lenient, and more difficult.
“I think classes in America are easier because you can decide what you want for math, or English, or anything, but we can’t. We have English, German, math and they are really hard.” Svenja also explained that the school German students attend depends on their grades.
“In fourth grade, if you have good marks, you go to a Gymnasium, or Grammar School. If you have good or middle marks you go to Realschule, or Intermediate School. When you’re really bad at school you go to Hauptschule, Secondary School.”
All eighteen of the visiting students are from an Intermediate school, and have been visiting local places such as Prairie High School. They will fly back to Nuremburg the last week of March. “It has been a good trip, I like to see America.”