(Continued from page 2)

attractions while Europe. "We also went to the English gardens, the Olympic Stadium from the 1972 Olympics and a Hofbrauhaus, which is a brewery house-- and there's a ton of them in Munich. We went to a bunch of churches, one of which was damaged in WWII and had been repaired but not yet repainted, so the whole place was white."
• Although, living in Germany was grandiose and ideal, adapting to an entire new culture was difficult. Andee says the biggest cultural shock for her was the mannerism of the German people. "German people aren't as easy to be friends with, and they aren't nice to strangers like Americans are," says Geist. However, "When a German asks you 'How are you?' you don't just say 'good.' You tell them how you really feel be

cause they really care. Americans don't care, and if someone asks you how you are, you say 'good' 99 percent of the time."  Andee says the Germans act completely different from Americans. Geist says the German schooling system is much different too. "They have three different levels of high school, and which level you attend depends on what you want to do afterward, like go to college or just get a job. I went to the top one, for college, and they have 13 grades. Their schedules are different also. They have 10 classes and have a block schedule, so at most they have four classes per day. In between each class, we had a 20-25 minute break.  I had to take these classes:  English, Biology, German, Math, Religion, Art, Math, PE, History and Social Studies.
•  Instead of having a long summer break, they had six weeks of summer break, two weeks of fall break, two weeks of winter break and two weeks of spring break. Geist also explained that their grading rubric differs as well. They don't have the typical A through F grading scale. Instead they use number one through six, one being the highest.
• Andee says going to Germany made her a stronger person. She became more independent and more responsible. Geist urges anyone interested in becoming a foreign exchange to go for it. She said it was such an incredible experience and she definitely wants to return. She says there is no better way to see the world and its vast cultures.

• - Lincoln Lane