Rebecca Mai ‘27
EE Staff Writer
How is it to be an exchange student? From my own experiences, I can tell you it’s definitely different. I’m a girl from Germany and have been at THS for about one and a half months so far. Here, you have a different schedule, different classes, and just a completely different life.
But what makes it so different, and how is THS perceived by other people?
THS is a very big school. With about 2,300 students, it’s much bigger than our European schools. That’s why it can feel kind of overwhelming during the first few days. Maybe that’s how freshmen feel, too, but for me it was something new. What I can really say is that THS offers so many opportunities. I’m not sure about other American high schools, but I think they might be similar. Maybe that’s why some Americans think schools are the same all over the world, but I say no, definitely not!
When I found out I would be going to THS during my stay in the U.S., I also got the THS program of studies. I was shocked to see that it was more than 100 pages long! Choosing classes was difficult because there were so many great options, especially the electives. That’s so special, because believe it or not, there are schools where students don’t get to choose their classes at all.
And when I start thinking about athletics and clubs, there is such a big range that every student can find something to do. If you love sports, you can join athletics and find a different sport for every season. The feeling of doing something for your school is incredible, it’s a spirit you’ll never forget. But even if you don’t like sports, there are so many clubs for everything. I really like that everyone is welcome in every club. Whether you want to join a community service group, something tech-related, or just a fun club, there’s something for everyone. As an exchange student, it’s hard to decide because you want the full experience and want to join everything!
One last thing that’s very interesting but also hard sometimes is that the schedule is completely different from what we’re used to as exchange students. I don’t mean the homework, that’s something every student deals with. I mean the start time, the long periods, and the breaks. When I heard that THS (and probably American high schools in general) only have one break, I thought, How are they doing this? Even after being here a while, I still wonder about that sometimes! The class periods are also longer. When I hear “60 minutes,” I sometimes don’t know how to stay concentrated that long, but all in all, it’s a good idea because you have time to really focus in one period and don’t have to split everything over many days.
To show another perspective, I asked another exchange student to describe her experience in three words. She said: “Growth, discovery, adventure.”
So, I would say these are probably the biggest things you notice when you come to THS as a new exchange student. I also hope I can represent and share the opinions of other current or former exchange students who might feel the same way.