It was hard for me, too, to learn the very fast "Hi! How are you?" "Fine, thanks!" greeting. If somebody asks you in Germany, "How are you?" they usually really want to know how you feel and expect a longer answer than just "fine", "good"or "tired." Here I was very surprised by people's behavior when I asked them how they were. They just left me after saying their little response.

Another totally new experience was going to church in America. In Hamburg you can find Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. However, the Christian churches differ from the churches in America. The American Baptist church, for example, was a quite of a shock for me. The people are very involved in the church life and like to talk about their religion and faith, unlike the German people. The service is very emotional. Although I am a Christian myself, I felt uncomfortable with the Baptist religion in the beginning.

New experiences are sometimes hard to accept, but I like to get to know people. Their lives are so different from mine and I look forward to learning more! My exchange year turned out to be much more than just a year of vacation. So far I can say I will have an unforgettable life lesson and fabulous memory.

Margarethe Padysz
2000-2001 International Student

2nd Annual Alumni Coordinator Conference

The second annual Alumni Coordinator conference was held this past June. This year's group was even larger than last year's and the conference was a great success! One of the Alumni Coordinators who participated had the following to say:

"I'm so thankful that I attended the Alumni Coordinator Conference in June. I had so much fun getting to know everyone and also learning what my role is as an Alumni Coordinator. The information that was facilitated to me and the information I gathered from experienced alumni really helped me to better understand what it is I am supposed to be accomplishing. It's also very calming knowing that there are other people out there who are just as devoted to this great organization as I am and who are feeling just as overwhelmed as I am. Looking back on it now, I realize that I have a great support group behind me and people who are willing to answer questions for me and help me with any problems that I may have."

Kristi Bogunovich
Wyoming Alumni Coordinator
Japan Summer 1999

(Back to first page)

Second Time Around - Alumni Activities in My Former YFU Host Country

My name is Elke, I am a YFU alumna from Germany and spent a year in Ohio when I was sixteen. During my remaining high school and university years I volunteered with YFU Germany. Not only did I come to appreciate my exchange experience much more, I got invaluable training in communication skills and cross-cultural understanding, and more importantly, made many wonderful friends among the other alumni.

I am a microbiologist now, and returned to the United States to do research at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This time, I came with my German husband, who also happens to be a biologist. Every night there is a small "German island" that I return to after work, rather than an American family to help me with things that are new and foreign. Even though my work environment is very supportive, it is different to being a high school student with 500 classmates as potential friends to choose from. And every once in a while it would be nice to meet people who are NOT biologists...

I was thrilled to find out that there was a group of active YFU alumni in the Boston area. Once again, I had the chance to meet people who share with me one major experience in their life, and I'm happy to say I've found some special friends through YFU.

Recently, I was one of the volunteers at the Boston area mid-year orientation. We split up into groups of five or six exchange students and two volunteers to discuss the students' experiences. Unintentionally, I was able to give something special to one German student that day. After the orientation was over, the student took me aside and said "I really wanted to thank you for pronouncing my name correctly just this one time."

In March, there was an alumni outing to an improv show in Boston's North End. I got to feel like an exchange student again, experiencing something new about my host culture. It definitely was a first for me, and also for Prateek, a volunteer from India. We had a lot of fun watching the "Improv Asylum" work with the audience suggestions and other cues.

YFU alumni activities have made my "second time around" in the US more special. Thank you to the Boston area alumni!

Elke Küster-Schöck
YFU Year USA, 1985-86

(Back to first page)