Letter: Worthington student wraps up second month in Germany

• Kuhl

Brittany Workman/Daily Globe Kayli Kuhl (left), a junior at Worthington High School was named the 2011-2012 exchange student to Crailsheim, Germany, at the program’s annual banquet Sunday. David Etzel (right) is the current Crailsheim exchange student to Worthington.

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Hello Worthington! Another month has come and gone as I have just finished my second month here in Germany. A lot has happened just in the past few weeks that have made it go even faster.

I was very excited to go to Switzerland with my host family on vacation. We spent a whole week there at the start of September. Everything about Switzerland was beautiful. Every day we went hiking in the mountains, or in a valley. Where we stayed was only a short drive away from Italy, so we also managed to spend a little bit of time in Italy as well. I would have liked to spend more time in Switzerland and see more, but we had to come home because finally school would be starting.

School started for me on Sept. 12, but every year in Satteldorf on the day Sunday before school is a community festival. This was a very fun day in which the whole community was involved. Throughout the day games were played and even a tournament was held. It was a fun way to spend my last day before school.

The next day, school finally started! I have been looking forward to school since I first got here. The school system here is the biggest difference I have noticed since I got here. The school I go to is called Kaufmannische Wirtschaft Gymnasium, but Crailsheim has many schools. On the first day we left a little early so I could find everything. Every morning I have been riding to school on my bike, so I need 15 minutes. When it gets colder in a couple weeks, I will ride on the bus. When I got to school, I went to my classroom and then waited. In Germany you go to your class and you stay in that room for most of the day. The only time we leave is if we have a “special” class like for biology, chemistry and phy-ed. It is much like our elementary school in that way. The other big difference is that most days I only have school for a half day. Only two days I week I have school all day! Although school is hard to understand, I still like it because it has given me a chance to meet a lot of people.

We had school for only four days and then we had a three-day weekend because of Volksfest. Volksfest is a huge festival in Crailsheim every year. It was so much fun! David Etzel and I got to ride in a car during the two parades (Saturday and Sunday), just as exchange students in Worthington are in the Turkey Day parade.

It doesn’t feel like I have been away for two months. I am sure that the next month will go by just as fast.

Tags: opinion, letters, education, crailsheim, worthington