A PUBLICATION OF THE YFU-USA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

This issue we have three great stories on exchange, each written from a different perspective. First, there is an article written by one of last year's International Students, looking back on the time she spent in the United States. Next, we have an article written by an alumna about her host family's visit to the United States. Lastly, we have an article from a former German International Student, who is now back in the US as an adult. Each of these stories reminds us of the impact of exchange, not just during the experience itself, but for many years afterwards.

Point Of View from Across the Pond

Last August I left my family, friends and beloved harbor town of Hamburg, Germany behind and went to live in Derry, New Hampshire with the Atherton family.

Although ten months can seem endless and I am very far away from home, I believe that I can gain a lot and learn about different people and maybe something about myself, too. I have already gained a great new family, a sister from Denmark, many wonderful friends and an incredible amount of experience.

It was very difficult in the beginning getting used to lots of things, like the hall passes at Pinkerton Academy, because we do not have them in Germany. Although it might sound very strange, public restrooms gave me a shock. With those tiny doors one can easily see the person inside and I often times involuntarily peek in. Another depressing factor was the increasing weight that was caused by too much good fast food like tacos or wraps. It is still a little embarrassing for me to ask people for a ride, whenever I want to go somewhere. Hamburg is "armed"in public transportation, so I did not have to worry about that back home.

The American slang caused some problems for me as well. I did not understand what people wanted to say by "awesome" or "chick". Now I know, for example, that "wicked" does not have to have a negative meaning. That knowledge can be very helpful sometimes. Besides the slang, the American accent is difficult to understand, even after several years of English. Now with some concentration, I am able to understand almost everything during a conversation without asking the person to repeat everything several times, although Americans from the South are still scaring me with their very strange accent.

(Continued on page 2)

The crowed roared in the Cleveland Indian's Ballpark after the pitcher threw a strike. The hot sun beat on our seats as my German host family and I sat and watched the Cleveland Indians vs. Baltimore Orioles baseball game. The Brasch's interest in the Cleveland Indians sparked when a friend sent Cleveland Indians baseball hats to me during my exchange semester in Germany. She sent a hat for each member of my host family. At that time, I never imagined actually having the opportunity to take my host family to an American baseball game in Ohio. Before the baseball game, I spent an afternoon pitching a baseball to my host sisters, Melanie and Ilka. Both wanted to learn about the game before Cleveland stepped up to bat.

During that hot April day, my host family experienced their first real baseball game in Ohio just five years after receiving their first Cleveland Indians hats from their exchange student. After every pitch, I explained to my host sister about the strikes, the fouls and the outs. The baseball rules and regulations became clear for my host family through each inning. As the seventh inning stretch rolled around, my host family had smiles on their faces as each heard the entire stadium singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and as they tasted ballpark hotdogs for the first time. I will never forget the day I shared the American game with my German host family.

Gretchen Innerst
Germany Semester 1995
Host Family: Brasch Family, Leer, Germany