Fruita, Colorado
The school
School in the US is quite different from Germany. The school I would like to tell you about is the Fruita Monument High School 
(FMHS) in Colorado, US. It has about 1,800 pupils, and it is very big. In contrast to Germany, each teacher has his/her own classroom, and the pupils have to go from room to room. The classrooms are nice and well-decorated, depending on the subject, i.e. in the German classroom everything is from Germany like banners, posters etc.
In America a school year is split into three trimesters. You can choose five subjects from about 100, and you study them every day of the week.
FMHS offers three foreign languages: German, French and Spanish. But because you have them only one trimester you do not learn very much. The other subjects are e.g. subdivided into Algebra, Geometry etc. or Magazine, Composition etc. So you specialize in a certain field at which you are good but do not learn the other things.
School starts at 7.30 a.m. and finishes at 2.45 p.m.. A class lasts 71 minutes, and the recess to the next one lasts 7 minutes. After the first two classes there is lunch break of 59 minutes. You can have a meal at school where they offer pizza, hamburgers, spaghetti, fries etc. Or you can go to fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell …
The atmosphere is very easy and nice. Teachers and pupils are like friends, so that you can talk with them about normal things. OK, in Germany there are some teachers who are the same, but unfortunately they are rare. Classes are relaxed, pupils go out to buy drinks or food and even bring something for the teacher.
What I wondered about was the fact that nearly everything is written with a pencil there. Even tests or exams are written with it, no biros or pens.
Furthermore, you can do a lot of sport at school. For example, they offer baseball, basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, tennis, weight lifting etc.
When a school team has a match, many pupils and parents go there and cheer for the "Wildcats". The Wildcat is the school mascot, and there are many things you can buy showing the Wildcat logo. The pupils wear school sweatshirts, T-shirts, pants, caps, jackets ... this is very popular.
Besides, there are lots of lockers in the school building where each pupil can stow his/her books and folders. Many use them but there are also pupils who prefer the classical backpack.
Altogether I like the American school, the atmosphere and, for example, having PE every day. So, on the one hand, it is good that you can specialize on a topic you like, but on the other hand, you do not learn very much and you do not have a broad general knowledge.
American people
Americans are nice and friendly people. When we arrived at the airport, our host families cordially received us. They were very inquisitive and wanted to know everything. My family asked me about Germany, my family, my friends, myself etc.
The next day at school I was introduced to my host brother’s friends. All of them were nice, too, and they asked me a lot of questions. Furthermore, the other pupils also came by and wanted to talk to us. They were all interested and wanted to become acquainted with us.
Later, many pupils invited me to visit them at home or to go to a party with them, which was very nice. They wanted to involve us in their lives and to take part in them. Besides, Americans are funny and easy-going people. They do not take life too seriously and laugh a lot. When you go into a supermarket or to a gas station, you speak with the venders and have a small talk with them.
Moreover, Americans are quite family-oriented. When a family member has a competition, the others come to see and cheer for him/her. But this really gets on your nerves sometimes in case you do not want to watch him/her or have something other to do.
The trip
Our trip started on Oct. 16 at the Hanover Airport, which we left at 11.25 a.m.. After a long flight and some complications we arrived at Grand Junction/CO on the Oct. 17 at 9.45 a.m. where our host families gave us a warm welcome.
The next two days we attended FMHS classes and got to know what school in America is like. For example, we took part in "Weight Lifting", "German", "Independent Living" or "International Cuisine". It was really fun to cook or to lift weights at school.
On Wednesday we went on an awesome trip to Moab/Utah where we drove down deep slopes, across bald mountains and dunes in a big "Hummer".
Due to parent-teacher conferences we had the next three days off and we used this time to do a lot with our host families. For example, I visited the "Colorado National Monument", went to a football game (which, unfortunately, our team lost), went shooting, drove different kinds of ATVs/4-Wheelers etc.
Time flew very quickly and it was already Sunday when our two-day trip to Denver began. At first, we visited the amusement park "Six Flags Elitch Gardens" and the next day we did a city tour through Denver, which was rather a trip outside of Denver than inside. But the best was still waiting for us: the huge mall in Denver!
Later, we arrived back at Fruita where we went to school for the next four days and spent the afternoons with our families.
Friday, Oct. 29, was our last school day, so we said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for the good time we had had with them. Furthermore, that day was "Halloween" and for this reason some pupils were disguised and looked very funny.
After school my host brother, friends and me played paintball and afterwards my family and me went to the "Haunted House". We had a lot of fun there and laughed a lot about people’s fear and screaming.
Unfortunately, the next day was our departure day, so some people wept tears. We had to say goodbye but left the US with the promise to stay in contact and to visit them again.
Jan Belov, 11 B
