As AHS starts the new school year it welcomes two foreign exchange students to its hallowed halls. Junhyung Kim, who came all the way from South Korea, and Katharina Hauke, who traveled almost 500 miles from Lehrte, Germany.
I had a chance to sit down with Katharina and her host family, Mo and JJ Smith, to get to know her a little bit and to find out how she feels about the time she has spent in the U.S. so far.
Katharina was inspired to come to America by her nineteen-year-old brother, Maximillian Hauke, who was also a foreign exchange student three years ago. He spent his time as an exchange student on a small farm on the outskirts of St. Paul, Minnesota. However, when Katharina would ask him about his experience there he had little to share. He would simply tell her, “Go make your own experiences,” and that’s exactly what she’s doing.
The first trek of Katharina’s journey to Nebraska started in New York, where she met three hundred other foreign exchange students from fourteen different countries. She spenttwo days touring New York before her flight to Denver, Colorado. Katharina said her flying experience was awful. She missed her flight from Denver to Scottsbluff and then, on top of that, she also had to take a late flight. When she finally arrived to Scottsbluff she was exhausted, but happy to, at last, meet her host parents, Mo and JJ Smith.
Katharina said there are many differences between the school system in Germany and the U.S. system. In Germany children start kindergarten when they are three-years-old. When they are six-years-old they graduate to elementary school where they spend the next six years. After that, when they are only twelve-years-old, they jump right into high school and are there for another six years until they graduate from the twelfth grade. Also in Germany they do not use the terms “freshman,” “sophomore,” “junior,” or “senior,” so that was yet another concept Katharina had to learn to help her understand our American ways.
Katharina’s main language is German, but she, and all other German students, was required to learn English while in school. She has also taken classes in French and Spanish, and she is fluent in both.
There are countless ways that Germany schools differ from American schools and Katharina mentioned a few of them. For instance, she was surprised she could choose her own classes here at AHS because in Germany all of her classes were chosen for her. She also added that going to different rooms is strange because in Germany the students wait in the classrooms and the teachers go to them.
Katharina is already very involved here at AHS. She is participating in softball, a sport she hadn’t even heard of before coming to America. She said softball has been her best experience, so far, because of the great coaches and friends she’s made on the team. Katharina is also going out for basketball. She has played for a league basketball team in Germany but they do not have school-sponsored athletics.
Katharina was nervous about the unknown before she came to America, but when I asked her how this experience has been she replied, “Everything is so great.” She said she has eaten such good food and has met really friendly people. Katharina said if she had to do it all over, she would definitely do it again.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Katharina’s host parents, never considered bringing an exchange student into their home until one night they received a random phone call from an Andrea Grahm from Gering. Ms. Grahm works for a foreign exchange program called PAX, an organization that works to bring foreign exchange students to the U.S. She said she was given their names from an anonymous source and had been told they had been recommended as possible host parents. Mr. and Mrs. Smith spent a month talking things over and finally agreed to do itThe process began when Andrea sent them names and basic profiles, describing each exchange student’s likes and dislikes. After they narrowed it down to three or four possibilities they received an essay from each student. After they read through all the essays they put Katharina as their first choice. When the matter was finalized, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith knew Katharina was coming, they started e-mailing and Facebooking with her up until the day she arrived.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are thrilled with how things have worked out. Mr. Smith and Katharina share many hobbies, like sports and cooking, so they get along well and have much to talk about. Mr. Smith said, “Katharina reminds me of my own daughter because of her drive to succeed.” Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith enjoy watching Katharina’s reaction to a new experiences, like hitting the first pitch of her very first softball game. Katharina said, “I was so shocked I forgot to run!”
The Smiths both agreed they are very happy with their decision and would do it again if they got the chance. Mr.
Smith said he would encourage other host families to take part in the process but to be selective and find someone whose personality mixes well theirs like they did. They said it is also important to have a stable relationship before considering the under taking. He said, “This comes with a huge commitment and you have to be able to rely on each other.”
Good luck to both Junhyung Kim and Katharina as they each live their own adventure here at AHS.
