If there is one thing that German exchange student Charlotte Sievers learned during her year of study at Dowagiac Union High School, it is that it is not very difficult to meet new people, even when you’re thousands of miles from home.

“Just because you’re an exchange student, you’re already kind of popular,” Sievers said. “Every one wants to come up and talk to you, to ask you lots of questions.”

Sievers, who originally hails from Göttingen, was one of five foreign exchange students enrolled this year at the high school, and one of four from Germany. Among her fellow Germans still attending classes this semester are Gregor Heilborn, from Schwerin, and Celine Sehrt, from Kassel.

The travelers were enrolled at the high school through International Exchange, a nonprofit organization that matches students with suitable host families that mesh well with personality and
interests of applicants. Dowagiac families have hosted several students with the program over the years, from countries like Spain and Switzerland, said school liaison Lisa Thorne.

“It’s such a great experience for the high school as well,” she said. “Our students learn a lot.”

Thorne has hosted Sehrt this year in her home. The sophomore has been enrolled at the high school since January, she said.

“I already did a student exchange program in Switzerland before,” Sehrt said. “I wanted to come to America this time.”

For fellow sophomore Heilborn, his desire to study across the pond was fueled primarily by curiosity, he said.

“There’s a lot of rumors about the U.S., a lot of clichés that are passed around,” Heilborn said. “I just wanted to find out about it myself.”

As is to be expected upon entering a foreign country for the first time, there was a bit of initial culture shock that all three students faced upon arrival.

“There’s a lot of things that are different here,” Heilborn said. “They start right when come out of the airport and the highways look completely different.”

One thing that the trio found especially shocking was how chatty some people in the city can be with people they just met. For example, they were surprised at how cashiers would try to strike up conversations with them at the store.

“People here are really open with each other,” Sehrt said. “In Germany, you would never talk to strangers the way you do here.”

They also found the adjustment to the U.S. style of education a bit jarring at first as well. In Germany, they were used to taking a variety of different classes each week, though with mostly the same classmates; in Dowagiac, thought, they had mostly the same daily schedule, though with a different set of peers each hour.

“I think the atmosphere here is a lot different too,” Heilborn said. “School here is more relaxing. Teachers don’t take everything as seriously here. You feel a little more closer to them because of that.”

“I love the teachers here,” Sehrt said. “In Germany, you can’t really joke around with them, unless you want to be yelled at.”

While their visit to America is winding down, for Thorne’s freshman daughter Isabel, the journey will begin soon. Thorne will travel to Germany this summer as part of a three-week immersion program.

While she said she is a little scared about leaving home for such an extended length of time, she is excited to experience the sights that her “host sister” has spent the last several months describing to her.

“She made it sound really fun,” Thorne said. “Even the stuff she says is boring sounds fun to me.”