From March 17 to March 28, HAHS students hosted 12 German students and two teachers. Julia Bucheit, a senior at HAHS, hosted Theresa Weber. Frau Stevens, the German teacher at HAHS, reached out to Julia and Mrs. Bucheit and asked them if they would want to host a German student. Julia was happy to accept since she was interested in meeting a German student and learning more about their culture as well as comparing it to her own. Her favorite part of hosting Theresa was becoming friends with her and comparing the differences between America and Germany. To prepare for Theresa’s arrival, she cleaned and reorganized the bedroom and bathroom she would be using. Julia also bought some snacks that were made in Pennsylvania for Theresa to try. This experience turned out to be how Julia expected, and she is really glad that she and Theresa got along and shared a lot of the same interests.
Some interesting things that Julia learned was that Germany’s largest highway does not have a speed limit and the German students go to school all year round but they have more breaks. Julia enjoyed hosting Theresa and would definitely do it again.
Mrs. Bucheit, a science teacher at HAHS and Julia’s mother, also enjoyed the process of hosting Theresa. This is the first time the Bucheits hosted a foreign exchange student. Since her older son recently got his own apartment, there was an extra bedroom to host a student. This allowed Mrs. Bucheit to finally say yes to an opportunity like this. Mrs. Bucheit says Julia and Theresa had been communicating for months before her arrival to get to know each other. Overall, having Theresa stay in their home was a wonderful experience. Mrs. Bucheit noticed that this experience allowed Julia to move outside of her comfort zone a little and she thinks that is a good thing. Some of Mrs. Bucheit’s favorite parts were talking with Theresa and understanding the difference between the American and German education systems. Comparing their day-to-day lives has also been very interesting. To show Theresa as many American things as possible, Julia and Mrs. Bucheit created a busy schedule. Some of the experiences they got to share with Theresa were an Amish buggy ride, dinner at Shady Maple, shopping at Park City Mall, touring a college campus, line dancing, and seeing a Broadway musical. Since Julia is a senior and going off to college soon, Mrs. Bucheit is not sure if she would host another student. Without a teenager in the house, it may be difficult for a foreign exchange student to truly understand teenage American life. The time they spent with Theresa gave them an experience like no other and memories they will never forget. Mrs. Bucheit recommends that if possible, everyone should try to host a foreign exchange student.
