A cool high school life: This is how Lars Keibel experiences his exchange year

Created: 02/27/2022, 20:00

Nothing for wimps: Lars Keibel at minus 20 degrees Celsius in front of the Mississippi River Bridge in La Crosse.

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Lars Keibel from Geretsrieder Gymnasium is currently in America as an exchange student.

In the interview he gives an insight into his everyday life.

Geretsried/Wisconsin – Lars Keibel, a high school student from Geretsried, has been spending a year abroad in Wisconsin/USA since August last year.

The 17-year-old received a full scholarship for his stay from the German Bundestag and the American Congress as part of the Parliamentary Sponsorship Program (PPP).

Lars was selected from 500 applicants.

Halfway through, he answered a few questions from our employee Tanja Lühr in writing.

Hello Lars, are you comfortable with your host family in Wisconsin and at the high school?

Lars Keibel:

I feel very comfortable with my host family.

It has a similar structure to my family at home and we get along really well.

My host mother grew up in Germany, which definitely helps when I forget an English word.

My high school experience is pretty cool for the most part too.

The only exception was a shooting threat in November.

The situation never escalated, but it was very surreal to experience something like that.

Otherwise, I really enjoy high school life.

Is there anything you particularly enjoy?

Lars Keibel:

I was able to choose from many interesting courses such as "Digital Art", "Photography", "Interior Design" and "Weight Training".

In autumn I was part of the “Cross Country Team”.

Currently, every Saturday, I compete with a choir, the "Show Choir" at our school, in various competitions in Wisconsin.

With the “Show Choir” you have five songs that you sing and dance to at the same time.

In a competition, around 15 choirs compete against each other.

We've made it to second place before.

How does your daily routine look like?

Lars Keibel:

During the weekdays I have breakfast at 7.10 a.m. and get ready.

At 7:40 a.m., my host mother drives my host brother and I to school, which starts at 8 a.m.

My first lesson is “US History”.

The current subject is the Cold War.

After my second lesson, Interior Design, I have Commons/Study Hall.

This is like a free lesson that comes about if there is no suitable course available in the timetable at that time.

It is recommended to have at least one Commons lesson in the timetable to allow for homework.

What's next?

Lars Keibel:

Before the fourth period, the whole school has "homeroom".

This is similar to "Commons".

The daily announcement from our school principal also takes place during this hour.

He explains what will happen at school in the next few days and weeks and congratulates students and teachers who have their birthdays on this day.

My fourth lesson is “Weight Training” – strength training.

I think it's cool that you can take this as a school subject here.

Lunch is in the fifth hour.

However, it is also taught at the same time.

The way it works is that the 800 students are sent to lunch in three groups and have classes the rest of the time.

After lunch I have English, Choir and Personal Finance.

School ends at 3:05 p.m.

Are you free then?

Lars Keibel:

I still have rehearsals for the "Show Choir" on Mondays and Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m.

On Tuesdays from 7pm to 8:15pm I have hip hop classes at La Crosse Dance Center.

If I don't have an activity planned, I usually do something with friends.

What have you already experienced outside of school in the USA?

Lars Keibel:

At the very beginning of my exchange, I went to the Great Lakes with my host family.

We also went to an open-air concert by the band Foreigner.

That was a great experience for me because it was my first concert in a few years due to Corona.

In December I was on stage myself.

Wow!

In what role?

Lars Keibel:

The "La Crosse Dance Center" performs the Nutcracker with its students every year, and I was allowed to be a part of it.

I played the harlequin.

This role does not exist in every interpretation of the ballet, to my knowledge, but in our version I had a five minute performance, about half of which was a solo.

I was also part of the "Cross Country Team" in the fall.

We practiced every day after school.

On weekends we competed with other schools.

They consisted of a five-kilometer race.

What can you tell us about your adopted home of La Crosse?

Lars Keibel:

The city has the largest Oktoberfest in the USA.

It was totally weird for me to see people in lederhosen in America.

I was expecting them all along to start speaking German with a Bavarian dialect.

Of course they spoke normal English.

In October we also went on a field trip to Milwaukee to see the Broadway musical Hamilton.

That was also very impressive.

How do you like the American mentality?

Lars Keibel:

I definitely like it.

Theoretically, you can approach anyone here and speak to him/her without being looked at askance.

Teachers also rarely offer direct criticism.

It's more like, "Yeah, that's great, and that other fact, which would have been the answer, is of course also important." I really enjoy that positive thinking.

In the first few weeks of my exchange, I sometimes asked myself whether the people here are really always in such a good mood, or whether they are simply better at suppressing negative emotions.

What conclusion did you come to?

Lars Keibel:

At least with my friends, I've noticed more and more that they also reveal negative thoughts the better they get to know me.

However, I believe that teachers must constantly maintain the positive facade.

But what is definitely not a facade is the willingness to participate in any activity.

While my high school peers are often reluctant to take part in activities planned by the school, many more students take part here.

Without this mentality, the typical American “high school spirit” probably wouldn't exist.

Is Corona an issue in the USA and if so, which regulations apply?

Lars Keibel:

Yes, it's an issue in a way, but not nearly as big as in Germany.

To me, the pandemic is showing up here in three ways.

For one thing, we wear masks indoors.

But that is the only action taken.

It is only tested at school if there has been direct contact with an infected person.

Also, in January, when the omicron wave was at its peak, a few of my classmates were in quarantine.

And most recently, one person in my circle of friends couldn't go bowling with us (or whatever we planned) because their parents didn't allow it due to Corona.

Did you have family visits?

Do you miss her?

Do you miss something else "typically German"?

Lars Keibel:

Unfortunately, the exchange organization prohibits family visits.

It's completely forbidden for the first six months, but after that it's still frowned upon.

Even though I have a lot of fun here and can develop myself personally, of course I sometimes miss my family and friends.

For me, that has steadily decreased over time.

But I heard from other exchange students that it was completely different for them and that they didn't think about home at all for the first few months, but then got homesick at Christmas.

So it's very individual.

Apart from my family, what I miss most is the Alps.

I definitely plan to go hiking there when I get home.

Are you in contact with your PPP godfather, the member of parliament Alexander Radwan?

Lars Keibel:

Yes.

We're not in constant contact, but I've already sent him a few interim reports and intend to continue to do so.

Tanya Lühr

The Parliamentary Sponsorship Program (PPP) 

Every year since 1983, the Parliamentary Sponsorship Program (PPP) has enabled students aged 15 and over to spend an exchange year in the United States of America with a scholarship from the German Bundestag and the US Congress.

Conversely, American scholarship holders come to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Good school grades are not the decisive selection criterion.

Rather, it depends on the personality.

Tolerance, openness and commitment are required.

The exchange is organized by the "Experiment" association, which can look back on 90 years of experience this year.

Every scholarship holder is assigned a sponsor from the German Bundestag, to whom he sends reports about his stay in the USA at regular intervals, so that the politician can gain an insight into the life of young people in North America.

Civic education plays an important role in the program.

Information about the sponsorship program and the possibility of applying is available on the Internet at the addresses under www.bundestag.de/ppp and www.experiment-ev.de.

Read the latest news from Geretsried here.