Lawrence High has given German exchange students the opportunity to experience American culture and see it in a whole new light: from the differences of the school systems to the sweet taste of American food.

“The school system in general is so different,” senior Berenike Klinke said.

Many tests are in essay form in Germany. American schools offer true or false and multiple choice questions on tests. In Germany students must raise their hands if they have something to say, while in America, most students are free to shout whatever is on their mind without consequence.

Klinke said America is more laid back, and the German schools are stricter. When she came to America, Klinke did not expect how open minded and accepting Americans would be. She also was shocked at how much fast food was here and the sweetness of the drinks and foods. Klinke has become very fond of chicken salad, her favorite American food.

Junior Viona Keil misses Germany. Keil says Eutin is very beautiful compared to the landscape in Lawrence. Eutin’s skyline is covered in trees and has the blue sea, which she misses very much. Keil also said she loves all the cool people she has met in America.

Junior Verena Rowedder sees the negatives and positives of life in America. Everything is much bigger in America, she claims. The roads are wider and the schools are bigger. In Germany her school has 600 students, while Lawrence High has over 1,200 students.

“The classes are so different,” Rowedder said. “Lawrence High offers many courses and electives when in Germany the selection is limited.”

Rowedder’s favorite things about America is the independence teenagers have and that they can drive at age 16.

The exchange students spend four weeks in Lawrence while attending LHS and a fifth week in Chicago to conclude their trip.

Every year, students from Eutin visit Lawrence and learn more about American culture, and in turn, their host families come face to face with students from across the world.

Foreign exchange students experience a new culture and can bring their stories from America back home to Germany.

Whether they talk about the sweet food, the size of the streets, the educational atmosphere, the landscape or the variety of choices, the goal is cultural exchange.

The sister-city exchange program allows students from Eutin to visit Lawrence every October, and Lawrence students spend a month in Eutin every June. In the process, the students gain a global perspective.