Foreign-exchange students have been coming to our school for years, and it’s a really fascinating thing. Students are always reading about different cultures and different countries of the world, but imagine being completely submerged into a new one. That’s what the exchange students experience when they come to WWT, just as our new German exchange student, Carla Lepold, has so far this year.
Carla, originally from Munich, Germany, has never been to the United States before. Staying with a host family in town, Carla is a senior here at WWT.
“Life here is a lot different from life at home; everything’s smaller and school is completely different,” Carla said.
Transitioning from Germany to Michigan must be a very difficult thing to do, but Carla’s decision to join the Cross Country team really helped to make it easier on her.
“We don’t have cross country but I still run and I play tennis at home. It [XC] is so nice; I love it, especially the people who are in it,” Carla shared.
Though Carla admitted to being a bit nervous about coming here, she’s also really pleased with her surroundings and interested in our culture.
“I was nervous because I really didn’t know anybody and didn’t know the school system and coming to a family I’ve never met before. I like everything and the people, because they are so nice. I’m interested in the sport events at school because everybody’s going there and we don’t have something like that,” Carla said.
Carla didn’t really hold any high expectations of her transfer, but if she had, her arrival would have exceeded them.
“I didn’t have many expectations, just to make friends and try out all the American stuff. I really like it here and I enjoy going to school here,” Carla explained.
While Carla is having a nice time here, she still misses some things about her home.
“I miss the breaks in school; we have breaks after every 2 hours for about 15-30 minutes,” Carla said.
Germany might be a great distance from Warren, Michigan, but Carla is pretty much the same as any other teenage girl here and has similar hobbies.
“I like to play tennis a lot; otherwise I’m meeting my friends and hanging out with them,” Carla shared.
Carla is excited about finishing up the rest of her school year at Tower, but doesn’t want to have to leave so soon.
“If I have finished school, it means going back to Germany and leave the people and friends I’ve met here,” Carla said.
The school year is still young, though, and we have to make it a truly memorable experience for our new student. We’re looking forward to spending the rest of the year with you, Carla!
No responses yet