Auslandsschuljahr in Staten Island, New York

My name is Mia and I spent the second semester of my 11^th school year in the United States. In case you are interested in doing something similar yourself or would like to know more about what an exchange semester is like, in the following text you can read about my personal experience: my host family, school, activities and what this exchange taught me.

I chose to do my exchange with an agency called High School Experts, which allowed students to choose the school they wanted to attend. I decided on a school in Staten Island, New York, called Staten Island Academy. The school searched for a host family and when they had found one that wanted to take me in, I was able to talk to my future family members on call before I could finally see them in person when I flew there in January. My family included the parents and five children. The oldest of the children turned 18 while I was there and the youngest turned 7. I really enjoyed having siblings of many different ages because I could hang out with the older ones but also have fun playing with the younger ones or reading bedtime stories to them.

School started a few days after I arrived in Staten Island. There were many things that were different at my American school than in Germany. For example, my school was rather small compared to EDS, it only had about 370 students in total. We had seven periods each day and school started at 8:10am and ended at 3:20pm, which meant I ate lunch at school every day. After the school day ended, many students stayed there for activities like rehearsals for the musical a concert or to practice for their sport team. Students had 7 different classes in total, and we also had so-called “prep periods” which were free periods in which we could work on homework or take a break. One thing that was special about my school was that we had a schedule in form of an eight-day cycle instead of a five-day schedule like we have here at EDS. That meant that I didn’t have the same subjects every weekday, but it depended on what cycle-day it was. Another very noticeable difference was that students had to wear a school uniform. Sometimes, I would’ve liked wearing my own clothes, but I think it also saved me a lot of time that I would have spent on choosing my outfits. However, of course not all schools in America have uniforms, so, if that is something you don’t want, don’t worry! One thing I really liked about the American school is that it had more specific classes students could choose from, for example several literature, math or history classes that each concentrated on a different topic.

The extracurricular activities the school had to offer were very interesting as well. There were many different clubs at school, including a film club or the school magazine. The school also had many different sport teams students could join. While I was there, in spring, the school offered lacrosse and softball for girls, baseball and tennis and volleyball for boys as well as a mixed golf team. I had a small role in the spring musical, Legally Blonde, and I joined the lacrosse team, too. These activities were a lot of fun, even though I was a complete beginner at both, and it was a great way to meet new friends at school! My grade also did a one-week trip to the UK, which was also a nice opportunity to become closer with my classmates.

My activities outside of school mostly included hanging out with my siblings and  my friends or doing trips to Manhattan or Brooklyn. On Staten Island, my friends and I would usually spend time at someone’s house, at a restaurant or at the mall. Some of my friends were also already able to drive because they could start driving one year earlier than we can in Germany, so it was easy to reach different parts of the Island. I also had the chance to travel to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, the Bahamas, an amusement park in Pennsylvania and a beach town in New Jersey with my host family.

Finally, I want to talk about what I learned or gained from this experience. Even though I mainly did this exchange because I wanted to experience high school in another country, I was also hoping I could improve my English while having an adventure like this, and I think that this expectation was met. After speaking English every day for almost half a year, it feels easier and more natural to me because I think less about what I am trying to say while I speak. Maybe you might not realize it at first, but I think you gain a broader vocabulary when you communicate in a new language for a few months because you hear others use words you didn’t know before or even look up new words so you can express yourself better, which you often remember.

Furthermore, this exchange showed me that living away from home and without my parents is easier than I thought it would be and that many things I was worried about, were better than I had expected. Before I left, I was really scared to leave my family for almost six months, to live with people I didn’t know and to go to a new school. I was very worried that I wouldn’t get along with my host family, or that I wouldn’t find any friends in school. Fortunately, I got along well with my host family. Of course, it took a few days or even weeks to really feel at home with them, but after I got to know them better, I knew I could talk to them about problems. Sometimes we misunderstood each other, or we might have been a little annoyed with each other, but I think things like that are normal when you live with someone for a long time. Overall, I was comfortable with them and consider myself lucky for having them as my host family. The same goes for finding friends, it took a few weeks to warm up to everyone but in the end, I had a few very close friends who I’m still in touch with. I was also scared of becoming too homesick to keep going, but that never happened. Even though there were times I missed my family, my friends and my home, I never wished to be back at home instead of America. The hardest part of the entire experience, for me, was saying goodbye, first to my home in Germany and then again to my new life, my new friends and my new family in America.

I feel like this exchange prepared me for the future a bit better. I learned important practical things, how to do my own laundry, because to be honest, my mom would usually do it for me at home. More importantly, realizing that all the things I was worried about didn’t happen took away some fear of the future. I know that moving out for college is something different, but this journey gave me confidence that I can manage to be without my family, find friends, have fun, and be successful in school when I live somewhere else.

In conclusion, this exchange really was an adventure to me. I experienced American high school, gained friendships with American teenagers and saw what it was like to live somewhere I had never been before without my parents. While I was there, I saw many different places inside and outside of America. I learned a lot, academically but also about myself and others and I believe that this was one of the most valuable experiences of my life so far. I would definitely recommend going abroad, because not only is making new friends and travelling to new places a lot of fun, but I also think the impressions you get when spending time abroad can often teach you things you don’t learn at school or at home.

Some pictures of me, my friends, my host family and activities:

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