Tyler Demshki, Staff Writer
EXCHANGE: German and American cultures collide and mix via an exchange of high school students.
Experiencing other cultures is a great way to broaden one’s view. This is one of the reasons several high school students from Germany chose to come to the United States. Students Carolina Kruschi, Lea Ballenberger, Hee-won Han, Jin-Jing Dresel, Luisa Pscherer, Winfried Scheller, Konstatine Uttginger and Christian Guo arrived in the U.S. on August 17 and stayed until September 7.
The students came from only two different schools, and thus were a fairly tight-knit group. However, Poly’s students still managed to communicate and interact with them, helping them feel at home in a foreign country. They helped introduce some U.S. cuisine to the German students, from our beloved In-N-Out Burger to snacks like Goldfish and Red Vines.
Pscherer in particular thought that this trip was a great opportunity. When asked about her choice to come to the U.S., she named movies as one reason for her interest in the culture here. One preconception she had that was shattered was the idea that cliques were abundant in American high schools, which, as most students can see, is a flawed notion. Overall, she enjoyed her experience and even appreciated some of the food here, though she did mention how she missed some German food.
“Maybe the sausages,” Pscherer said. “German food is really good.”
Some of Poly’s own students were able to test that statement when they went to Germany themselves. Over the summer (from July 6 to August 6), a group of Poly students, including Jared Kanouse (10), Kate Weggeland (10), Rosemary O’Neil (11), Misha Perinova (11), Jeffery Hsueh (12), Kristina Jorgenson (12) and Brandon Moore (12), went to Germany, where they were able to experience and soak in all of the cultural fineries.
“I already plan on going back next summer,” O’Neil said. “I loved the people, food, culture and scenery.”
This trip by our own students gave them a taste of Germany’s culture, just as we have given the German students a taste of ours. It truly was a mixing of cultures.
Photo by Olivia Childers/ The Poly Spotlight