The first day at school

Of course, we didn't just come to America to gain 5 kilos, but also to gain new experiences.

The high school was perfect for that.

A big plus point for the High School of Nokomis is that classes start at 8:22, so I only had to get up at half past 7. I also don't have any problems with jet lag anymore. So you could say that it was the perfect conditions for the first day of school at an American high school.

The whole thing went something like this: I followed my exchange partner Callie everywhere in the school, in her respective courses. These were, for example, photography, algebra (just as bad as it sounds), P. E. (sports), world history, German, English, and earth science (we didn't learn much in this course because Callie decided she didn't feel like it).

While we can't choose whether we want to continue with math or leave it, American students have the choice. And it looks quite interesting. You can choose almost anything, even foods, psychology, or drivers education.

This selection of courses made me jealous from the beginning because it sounded more useful than some of the courses we have (no offense, teachers, you're just doing your job). However, I was quite surprised because I felt like I wasn't doing anything.

Every student (and teacher) knows those last two days before the big summer vacation. No one has the necessary motivation or concentration to do anything in class. That's about what the courses I attended today were like.

No offense, my life would be much more relaxed if school in Germany was the same, but I was quite surprised that not much was done.

The cafeteria food was terrible, I almost longed for our cafeteria (yes, you heard right) and as always, it was quite high in calories. But that's nothing new, and we brought extra pants for that, right?

Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised, the students and teachers were very friendly and interested in us, which immediately took away the nervousness.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to tomorrow again, even if it's just school..

Elisa P.