New country and school foreign to exchange students

Different countries have different cultures and traditions. That much is obvious. But there are so many things that people don’t realize about the world. There are two students who are trying to expand their knowledge of the world by coming to America from two countries that are very different. Judy Ting from Taiwan and Gundula Braun from Germany are participating in the foreign exchange student program.

Ting invited her host sister to the interview to help her be more comfortable due to the overwhelming culture shock as she explains the differences of Taiwanese and American life.

“We don’t have to change classes in Taiwan and school starts at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m.,” Ting said. “That means we always get home really late and don’t have time to do anything so we have to go to bed.”

All the time spent on her studies doesn’t mean that she didn’t have time to be in sports though. She played both badminton and basketball.

Coming to America can be very beneficial for foreign students.

“I don’t know a lot of English, so I came to learn so that I can teach it to my friends when I get back,” Ting said.

Gundula is no stranger to America, having already visited before.

“I’ve been to California and Nevada. I’ve wanted to come study here since I was 11 because my parents used to live here,” Braun said.

She had to learn the language at her school, so she knew some before she came.

“I took English classes for fi ve years because we have to start learning when we’re 11,” Braun said.

Even things such as making friends and meeting new people have proven to be a bit of a challenge due to the difference in customs.

“It’s hard to make friends when people here only say hello and goodbye. In Germany, people are much more friendly,” Braun said. “But I’m in marching band and that has helped some.”

One of the biggest changes that both students are experiencing is the amount of fast food Americans consume.

“There’s so much fast food,” Braun said. “In my neighborhood in Germany, we only have five fast food shops.”