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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2017)
MAY 5, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerCommunity Exchange students come to McNary KEIZERTIMES.COM By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes When a group of German high school students spent three weeks at McNary, they didn’t just observe classes, try new food and get a chance to work on their English. They also got a taste of what it’s like to be an Ameri- can teenager. “I noticed especially for girls the parents seem to be a lot more protective in terms of dating,” said Elisa Hermann, one of the exchange students. “My host student for example wants to date a guy but her parents say that’s not okay and I don’t think that would be a normal thing in Germany. We’re a lot more independent in Germany.” The 55 students, juniors all from the same bilingual high school in Stuttgart, Germany, each stayed with host families, 31 with McNary students and 24 in West Salem. This summer, a group of West Salem students will trav- el to Germany for their part of the exchange. McNary stu- dents will then go to Stuttgart the following summer. Since the German students go to a bilingual school, they take biology, history and ge- ography in English, a language they begin learning in the fi rst grade with lessons really pick- ing up in middle school. “I think our English got a little bit better,” David Lippert said of the trip to America. The students got to pick which classes to observe at McNary, which was refresh- ing. “We don’t get electives and we don’t get our own individ- ual schedules,” Hermann said. “It’s pretty cool to have the freedom to actually choose from all of the subjects that we don’t have.” “Just the variety of different subjects here is crazy cool,” Lippert said. “You could go cooking and then to animal behavior.” Philiip Class was most im- pressed by the weight room. “In Germany, we don’t have a weight room at school and I really like that,” he said. The exchange students did acknowledge visiting a Ger- man class was a little awkward. “When we were supposed to work with the Americans some just wouldn’t talk to us because they were ashamed and I get it but it was a little bit sad,” Hermann said. The German students also noticed a different dress code at McNary. “Here you have some peo- ple walking around in PJs and some people are all dressed up,” Hermann said. “In Ger- many, there isn’t a rule that would prohibit that (PJs) but people would just judge you. We probably wouldn’t wear sweat pants to school.” Both Hermann and Carlot- ta Keppler’s eyes got big when they were asked about shop- ping at the Woodburn outlets. “There was this one deal KEIZER CLASSIFIEDS HELP WANTED MISCELLANEOUS Tidewater Contractors, Inc. now hiring EXPERIENCED Equipment Mechanic and Truck Drivers. Please contact main offi ce 541-469-5341 or info@ twcontractors.com for application. Do you owe over $10,000 in back taxes? We help people resolve tax debt. $50 cash back upon sign- up. BBB Accredited. Call for a free consultation 1-800-956-6048 ONAC KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley high school students from Stuttgart, Germany spent three weeks of April at McNary observing classes and taking in American culture. in the Converse shop, (buy) one pair and (get) the second pair for half the price and we did it together,” Keppler said. “In Germany it wouldn’t be possible for two girls to get this deal because probably it would be for one person.” “I feel like the stores would be a lot stricter in Germany,” Hermann said. “I think the general prices are pretty com- parable to the German ones but they have deals that we just wouldn’t get.” The students also said they don’t have streets like River Road with restaurant after restaurant next to each other. There also isn’t any Mexican food or leftovers. “Here a family cooks din- ner and they eat it for two or even more days,” Class said. “In Germany, we usually cook what we can eat for one meal.” Lippert has been fi ne eating leftovers. “I like my food a lot be- cause my exchange father he cooks very good,” Lippert said. Another big difference is schools having their own sports teams. “It’s not like that in Ger- many at all,” Class said. “Sports in Germany are always sepa- rate from the school. You can ONAC GENERAL FOR SALE KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS. Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/KIT Complete Treatment System. Available: Hardware Stores, The Home Depot, homedepot.com. ONAC SERVICES DIVORCE $155. Complete preparation. Includes children, custody, support, property and bills division. No court appearances. Divorced in 1-5 weeks possible. 503-772-5295. www. paralegalalternatives.com legalalt@ msn.com ONAC DONATE YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR BOAT TO HERITAGE FOR THE BLIND. 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Hermann went to Silver Falls State Park and Sisters. “What’s interesting here is you can drive to the Cascades and get a completely different climate and that doesn’t hap- pen in Germany,” Hermann said. “Everything is quite sim- ilar climate-wise in Germany and here it’s a big change just like that.” Exchange programs are more common in Germany. Class, Hermann and Keppler had already been in similar programs before they came to Oregon. Class spent a year in Min- nesota. Herman was in Can- ada for six months and Kep- pler went to France for three months. The students left Keizer on Friday, April 21 and then spent a week sightseeing in San Francisco before going back to Germany.