en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:04:46 GMT 15 By Ada Li
Four o’clock in the morning. The sky was still black and the whole city sound asleep when four students rolled out of bed and headed to the Los Angelos Airport. Their destination- Frankfurt, Germany. For the last month, these students have taken a dip in the big melting pot of California. They’ve tasted what life is like for MVHS students and just how sweet the host families were. Anna Laura Christ, Fabian Goessl, Carsten Binzer, and Hannah Diefenbach were the four foreign exchange students that got to witness O.C. high school life up close and personal. Their host students were Caroline Chun, Matthew Meissner, Malcolm Morris and Cassandra Weber. Anna Laura Christ expressed astonishment at all the “big supermarkets. They are definitely a lot larger than the ones in Germany, and there is such a big selection in America.” Freshman Matthew Meissner said he had to, “Translate a lot of stuff” for his German exchange student. During this four-week stay in California, the German students and their host families did what the quintessential America family does best; hit the beaches, shop at malls, and indulge in the In-N-Outs around town. Sophomore Caroline Chun and Anna Christ went to “Los Angeles, a lot of beaches, Disneyland and Knott’s,” a perfect weekend for anyone hungry for the typical American teen’s routine. For Anna Christ, Venice Beach definitely exceeded expectations. “The atmosphere of Venice Beach is really great. And the burgers I had at In-N-Out in El Toro were the best I had while in America.” Matthew took his exchange student to San Clemente Beach, Big Bear and Dana Point. Fabian Goessl especially liked the mountains at Big Bear. The students’ impression of MVHS was also favorable. What most found different and interesting was the fact that students at Mission rotated classes; in Germany, it was the teacher that did the rotating while students stayed put in classroom. The wide variety of elective and art classes here also appealed to exchange students, especially the girls. Both Anna and Hannah found, “Classes such as Photo and Art Fundamentals really cool.” In Germany, they didn’t have the option of choosing elective classes. They did have, however, a wide variety of language selections such as English, Latin or French to pick from. As the designated day of departure back to Germany drew near, the exchange students were reluctant to leave the city and school that so warmly welcomed them. Spending a month in a different country can be challenging but these German students always kept an upbeat and positive attitude. When asked if she felt nervous about attending a high school an ocean away from home, Anna Christ answered, “No, I was really excited and I counted all the days to the flight to America. I couldn’t wait!” Hopefully, these exchange students will be coming back to Mission next year. ]]> Wed, 14 May 2008 15:04:00 GMT