Home away from home Foreign exchange students describe their experiences at FHS
F
“I just love the spirit, just like supporting each other, my swim Blanche Le Guen mates, they were Blanche Le Guen is a senior from This year, she was a part of awesome,” France. the FHS World Guard Team. Photo Jiménez by Abby Miller. said. “Now I’m in tennis, which I’m Tom Wolkenhauer so excited for. I think Tom Wolkenhauer is a senior from This year he was a part it’s going Germany. of the FHS track and cross country to be team. Photo by Abby Miller. super fun.”
Tiger Times
milleabi002@hsestudents.org
oreign exchange students from Spain, Germany and France have had the opportunity to learn at FHS throughout the school year. This opportunity has let them experience a new culture and allowed them to try new activities. For all of the foreign exchange students, life at FHS has been different in many ways. “In Spain, we have an assigned class,” senior Laura Jiménez said. “So the students, we just stay in the class for the whole day, and then the teachers are the ones that move around school. So, I stay with 25 other students just the whole day, and then the only time we get to meet other people is during our breaks.” For senior Blanche Le Guen, who is from France, the biggest difference between school at FHS and school in France is the school hours. In France, students are in school for a longer period of time. “We get to school [at FHS] at 8:30 a.m. and we get out at 3 p.m.,” Le Guen said. “In France I would go to school at 8 a.m. in the morning every day and get out at 5 or 6 p.m.” However, according to senior Tom Wolkenhauer who is from Germany, the biggest
1
Page 12
Abby Miller
difference for him is the student transportation. “Everybody here has a car, and everyone gets to school with a car or with a school bus,” Wolkenhauer said. “In Germany, you go to school by taking the train or riding your bike.” In addition to student transportation, another major difference Wolkenhauer had to adapt to was the homework system at FHS. While Wolkenhauer was eventually able to adjust, the homework system did affect his grades in the first semester. “Every homework [assignment] is graded in the U.S.,” Wolkenhauer said. “In Germany, homework isn’t that big, so if you forget your homework, it’s not a big deal.” In addition to attending FHS, foreign exchange students also have the opportunity to participate in activities outside of school. These activities include clubs, sports and performing arts. “I was really into sports,” Jiménez said. “I swam in Spain and played tennis. Here, sports are way more different and more competitive, so I really liked that because in Spain, I don’t know if I’ll ever get that opportunity.”
2
April 2022
