A new school year, new classes, new teachers, and lots of new faces. The best part about a new school year is meeting new people and making friends. Every year we meet someone from a different school, a different state, and sometimes even a different country. Well, this year we have the privilege of meeting a foreign-exchange student fromGermany, the small European country that’s about 5600 miles away from California.
Maike Stiller, the new foreign-exchange student fromWertheim,Germanyis attending Pitman High and she says she enjoys herself greatly in this new country. Although she misses her family back home, coming toAmericahas been a totally different experience for her, she says, “Everything’s different here: the food, the weather, the school, and the people.” Can you imagine that, coming to new country and experiencing a whole new world!
When asked about her experience inCalifornia, Stiller states that she loves the weather, “It’s the best part about California.” Upon visiting California, Stiller got the chance to taste some Mexican food and she declares that, “It’s (her) favorite food.” Stiller also shared some information about how her school in Germany is completely different from Pitman. She said that, “Pitman is a lot bigger and here we have the same subjects everyday but back home the subject would be different every day.” Her school inGermanyis very small and all the classrooms are in one building, compared to Pitman that must be very small. She also added that “The teachers here are very helpful and willing to work with me when I have trouble.” Although it must be difficult trying to adjust in a new country, Stiller has easily faced these challenges with the help of her motivation to learn English and visit the major cities she has heard of for their popularity such asLas Vegas, San Francisco, andLos Angeles. According to her experience here so far, Stiller states that, “The kids here are very friendly and very different from the kids back home.” She was very enthusiastic about visiting new places and making new friends. Another interesting fact about Stiller that she was willing to share, was that America is not the only foreign country she has visited, in the past she has travelled to other countries in Europe with her family during vacation time and she has also visited Australia. However, Stiller finds America to be quite different and aspires to make a lot out of her stay here.
Hopefully, Stiller achieves all her goals and returns toGermanywith good memories but until then, we students at Pitman should help her feel at home whenever we get the chance.
