Etats-Unis Témoignages
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Témoignages des Etats-UnisDon’t dream your life – live your dream!
I went to the Warsaw Community High School with 2500 other students. It was a great time! I participated in 7 classes: American Literature, Women’s Fitness, Pre Calculus, Mircobiology, US History, Spanish 1, and Marching/Concert Band during 7th period and after school. The teacher supported me at all time and the other students were always interested in finding out more about “the German girl”. I joined Marching Band and we participated at many competitions and invitationals as well as performing at the High School’s Football games. Being part of Marching Band was a great experience. I made many long-lasting friendships and learned how important it is to be part of something. Winona Lake was a great town to stay at for half a year. The lake and the woods with its small trails were perfect to go for walks and for going jogging. During summer, we went out on the lake with my host family’s boat and I went water-skiing for the first time. My favorite season was fall and the typical Indian summer. I made many unique and wonderful experiences and I want to thank my US and German family, and Ayusa for supporting me during the past year. Lena
Live the so-called “American Way of Life”Everything started with a big dream. A dream that really didn't seem possible to me. A dream that scared me a little but also made me excited. I didn't really know anything about the USA, but it was one of my biggest dreams in my life to go to the United States – the country everybody is talking about, the country with endless freedom and excitement. That was how I imagined this country. The United States always seemed to be very special to me and really different to Germany. My goal and wish was to really experience the life in this foreign place. I didn't want to be a tourist and visit the greatest cities in America, or just do some sightseeing, taking a whole lot of pictures, being excited, turning around and flying back to my home country – Germany. No. I really wanted to live the so-called “American Way of Life”. My first thoughts about doing an exchange program were developed by a TV show that broadcast young people going abroad for an exchange year or an au pair experience. Moreover, I really got into it through friends that planned on going abroad or already went to another country. After attending information meetings and “old meets new's” I really wanted to do it. There were a lot of things to consider. It was a whole lot of work but in the end it really didn't matter at all because my experience in the USA just was incredibly different than anything else that I've ever imagined in my life. The first days being abroad changed me in many ways. Firstly, I noticed a high number of differences in my daily routine and my everyday life. It was just so interesting to see how American people actually live. Generally, their way of living is close to the European culture rather than any other culture but there really were many things that just differed from our habits. The first weeks were so different than any other period of time in my life, but it was amazing! I started to improve my English skills and actually was able to understand those awesome Texans – those people I lived with for my exchange year. It really was easier than I thought it would be. One of the most important facts to consider – especially in the beginning of your exchange experience – is to take your time to adapt to everything. After getting used to the language and the daily little differences, you might recognize other facts that are interesting. I really had a hard time being homesick in the first two months. It was not easy at all – especially if you know everyone in Germany is missing you the same way like you miss them. But I tried to be strong and I overcame it. After getting involved in your school life you won't really realize that you actually have another family over the big sea – there in the distance called Germany. One of the key words to get involved in the school spirit and to get to meet new people is to be OPEN- MINDED. The Americans really appreciate learning a lot about the exchange student. They all want to know how life is like in this foreign European country. So for me it was really necessary to be very self- confident and to not be shy. After all, it extremely impacted my friendships in Texas and increased my self- confidence. The school spirit was a really big part for me. Not just during the week. Also on the weekends. My friends and I often went to football games or met for Student Council meetings after school. In this academic organization called Student Council we tried to improve our daily school life. It was so much fun. Moreover, you'll find a bunch of more clubs offering many different after- school activities. It is really recommended to attend a couple of those clubs. The school spirit is also marked by the sports. Try to get involved into sports! There are so many opportunities. I had dance class and started playing tennis in the second semester of my exchange year. It was so much fun! :-) The family time is also really important. Especially the little things in my everyday life were the actions my host parents got excited about. Just talking about your and their day is really important. We always also tried to have at least one meal all together. They really appreciated that and so I really felt involved and welcome into their family life. That made me happy. My family always wanted to do some activity on the weekend and I really liked that. For me it seemed important to let them know that I'm on time and honest. I usually said early enough how long I'm going to be out. Our mutual trust developed that way. One of the most important things is to always try to smile and to say “thank you”. Being self-confident, curious and interested in the “American Way of Life” I started my year, and can say now, that I had the best year of my life filled with many emotions, happiness and this dream – to experience the life in this foreign place – that came true. Annika
Small town USA or country life at its finest!“Cause everybody knows me and I know them […] I wouldn't trade one single day here in small town USA.” Just like in the song, I lived in small town called Inola in the state Oklahoma. Look at the map and you can find Oklahoma right in the middle of the USA. I can remember when I walked in the house of my host family, my first questions was: “Can we please turn off the air conditioning?” Astounded about my question my host dad just answered: “We never turn off the air conditioning!” This is just one of many things I had to get used to. The culture in the middle states in general is quite different to Germany. That is why I am even gladder that I got to go to Oklahoma and experience something I never knew before. The people are really leaned back, nice and open to everybody, interested in new people and always friendly. Known as the Bible belt, the people really go to church more than once a week.
“And I'm proud to say that I love this place Good ole small town USA”
Best decision of my lifeTo be an exchange student was the best decision in my life. I dreamed about coming into a host family with three kids: two boys and a girl in my age. As time went by some of my friends got a single-placement. I did not want to just have one host parent, I wanted a whole family. This wish came true, when an E-Mail from AYUSA came and a family in Minnesota was interested in hosting me. It was a family of two parents and three kids; two boys and one girl in my age. I was so indescribable happy! I really had a great time with that family, but as time went by things went wrong. I had to change my host family. An older lady was willing to host me for the last month. I spent time with her before already, and she seemed pretty cool. She hosted another student from Germany and we three always had fun times. But now, I should be the only student in the house. The lady is 76 and is living all alone on a big farm in the middle of nowhere. I had some thoughts, that it could get boring with time, but I was totally wrong. I had the best time during the last weeks of my exchange year. My community representative asked me every week how things were going and I was super positive about the single-placement experience. Lydia, my single host mom, is such a cool, older lady. She may be 76 years old, but she is more active than some 16 year old. Not just me, also her other German student had a great time at her house. She made every dream come true. She took us to the Mall of America and she also has a very big family with relatives living in Canada, Texas, Omaha and California. So her students get to travel a lot! She works from Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm, but whenever I needed her, she came over and helped me. She drove me to school every morning and she also picked me up. Rides for me and for other students to the gym were no problem for her. She is very flexible and spontaneous and I really enjoyed that. I tried a lot of things she likes and I never did before, but she did that, too! On the weekends we went shopping or did other amusing things. We had so much fun together. We had our meals together and Friday night we always watched a movie together. I could also spend as much time with my friends as I wanted and I could have the coolest parties at her house. That was all no problem for her. I really love her and loved the time I spent with her! I not only had a great host mom, I also won a great friend in her! Elina America Kentucky 2007/2008Have you ever thought about going abroad for 3 months, half a year or even a year? And time flew away and so did we; to our host families. This whole experience changed me into a more open-minded person. I improved my English, learned to handle stuff on my own and got more self-confident. If you are interested in learning more about a different country and its culture, as well as facing new challenges and making new experiences, I recommend that you do NOT miss this adventure. Friends from all over the world are waiting for you!
An Exchange Year is all about...Exchange is about learning. It's not as simple as learning whatever it is that's taught in school, though. It's about learning how to listen, how to speak, and how to think. Learning who you are, who your friends are, and the type of people you want as friends. Learning how to trust your innermost feelings, and how to find those feelings in the first place. It's about learning what is really important to you, and learning what you don't really give a damn about. Exchange is about learning how to tolerate, how to accept, how to like, and how to love. Learning how to give as well as you receive, and how to trust that everything will even out on its own. It's about learning that your mom and dad do have the right answers sometimes, and that your kid sister isn't such a dumb little kid anymore.
Exchange is about learning that large parties don't necessarily mean a good time. Learning that loneliness doesn't go away in a crowd, and that sometimes it's okay to be by yourself on a Friday or Saturday night. It's about learning that your lunchtime crowd doesn't constitute your popularity, and that popularity is all a matter of perspective. It's about learning that boredom is simply laziness of the mind, and watching three hours of TV every night is not quality relaxation time. Exchange is about learning how to pack a bag and how to pack a room full of way too much stuff. It's about learning that people probably like you a whole lot more than they will ever tell you and that it's your responsibility to make sure your friends know how much you appreciate them. It's about learning that simply doing what you're supposed to do isn't enough, you need to put forth twice the effort in order to fully grasp whatever it is that's sitting in front of you. It's about learning how to make people smile. Exchange is about learning how to miss people enough to not stick them in the past, and how to not miss them so much that it keeps you from moving into the future. Learning how to motivate yourself and how to motivate others. Learning what the phrase "make do" means and how to use it to make it seem as if you're not simply "making do". Exchange is about learning. Learning how to live.
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Spending half a year in the US was the dream I had for a very long time and I’m extremely happy that I had the opportunity to live my dream! During the 5 months (August-December 2009) in Winona Lake, Indiana, I stayed with the Whites. My host parents and my three host sisters were and still are like a real family to me. We spent several weekends in Wisconsin and went canoeing, shopping, fishing, and I got to watch a College Football game in the UW stadium. For fall break we flew over to Florida. I’m so thankful that my host family gave me the chance to see different parts of the US.
I wanted to learn as many new things as possible and of course I wanted to fit in. I went to church three times a week. But especially through the church I made so many friends and the youth group was awesome! Before the school started I already played Volleyball. I had practice everyday and I got to meet more and more people from my school. That is why I was not afraid or nervous at all on the first day of school. I was just excited to see all my friends and to meet more new people. I was thankful that my school was pretty small and everybody knew everybody. Still I didn’t find all my class rooms in the beginning. But I just had to ask somebody and instead of only telling me where I had to go, they walked with me to my classroom. From the first day on I liked all my classes. The teachers were really nice, and I loved to go to school. I got to be senior. Seniors totally have a special status in high school. We had senior pictures, a senior trip, secret senior pranks, senior tea and so much going on. I had so many senior nights and got a lot of presents. Like I said I played volleyball and also soccer. I was in the choir, fccla and fca. I went on choir competitions and concerts, state conventions, football and basketball games to support my school, volleyball or soccer games to play, a church camp, sports banquets; I was always busy. With friends we had many bonfires, s’mores and corn dogs, went to the zoo, shopping and so on. With my host family I visited a lot of relatives in different states, especially on holidays. We went camping and fishing together; even on a little vacation.
It did not take me long to make this decision and I do not regret it at all! My adventure started in New York City where I stayed for 3 days together with exchange students from all over the world. The big city astonished us, all these humongous houses, the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown and Time Square. It was simply breathtaking I spent the next ten months with my host family in Kentucky. It was interesting living in a foreign family, eating dinner as if it was your own. Little by little I adjusted to the different culture and customs.
baseball and football games on Friday nights. But it were not just all the school celebrations that fascinated me. I am grateful for having witnessed an American Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Easter. Furthermore I made friends from all over the world on trips to Virginia Beach and Washington D.C..
Exchange is about learning to treat people as people and not as stereotypes. Learning that sometimes a kiss isn't just a kiss, sometimes is means more, and sometimes it means less. Learning how to achieve, how to succeed, and how to accomplish. It's about learning how not to come in first place and still be proud, and about coming in last and learning how to admit that you could've done better.