American High School Through The Lens of Foreign Exchange Students

by Sophie Moore

Growing up, I remember idolizing the lives of the students in High School Musical. Yet, it never occurred to me that I was living in my own High School Musical until I spoke with Wilma Ostermark and Yuan Brey, two foreign exchange students from Europe.

Wilma is a junior from Ry, Denmark who will be staying in Spokane for the next 11 months, and Yuan is a junior from Germany. Through them, I was given a glimpse of their perspectives on life in America compared to that in Europe.  

One of the first things Wilma told me about her experience in America thus far is that “it is exactly like High School Musical, but without the singing and dancing.”

Besides the lack of Troy Boltons and Gabriella’s, an enormous difference between the USA’s and Denmark’s schools is school spirit.

When asked about her times at Lewis and Clark football games, Wilma said, “It was fun to experience the school spirit. School Spirit here is a big thing. Mascots and cheerleaders and the band and all of the people cheering for your school.”

Wilma then explained how Danish schools don’t emphasize spirit in the same way we do. “You don’t have that all in Denmark,” she said. “School sports is not really a thing.” 

Here, we know that school sports, amongst other clubs, are an integral part of our community. From joining new teams or going to themed games, it is a must for American highschoolers. 

Outside of school, a major difference Wilma noted was the shopping. In Spokane we have 3 malls, which are staple hangout spots for many teens. In Denmark this is not the case.

According to Wilma, her town is a bit different. “There is three grocery stores, there’s two thrift stores...and one store you can buy clothes.”

In Spokane alone there are four Walmart's and two Targets. Almost all of the stores one can imagine are just a quick drive away. “If I needed to get new clothes, I would have to drive or take the train for thirty minutes,” Wilma said. 

I also had the privilege to speak with Yuan Brey from Germany, who traveled a whopping 27 hours in total from Hamburg to Spokane.

One thing that stuck out to me was the difference in foods in Germany versus the United States. When asked about his opinion of the food here, Yuan claimed that the sweets and chips here are not up-to-par with the snacks from his hometown. Yet, there are also some parts of American food that Germans miss out on.

Fast food is one of the most well-known and infamous components of life in America, so it is no surprise that it is something Yuan is eager to experience. He said, “I want to try a lot of famous restaurants and fast-food restaurants, because in general that’s not a really big thing [in Germany].”

An additional commodity that Yuan is new to is Starbucks. In America, especially in Washington, Starbucks and other drive through coffee shops, such as Jacobs Java, are a must for the early birds. I was shocked to know Yuan had never had Starbucks prior to his time in America. It is astonishing the significant impact that food has on a country’s culture and the opinions that surround it.  

Another glaring difference between Germany and the United States is the mode of transportation. In Germany, you are not allowed to get your license until you are eighteen years old, so teens heavily rely on public transportation.

Yuan observed, “Here, I have seen like 3 bus lines... in Germany, every 5 minutes there's a bus driving and we have over a thousand lines in Hamburg alone, so a thousand different busses that take you anywhere.”

Yuan then explained a ticket system commonly used for public transport. “We have something called the ‘Ten Euro Ticket.’ So, you pay ten euro for the whole month, and you can go anywhere in Germany with every bus...” (Ten euro is about $10.07 USD.)

While that is a very affordable option for transportation, us LC students have an even better deal when it comes to public transport. All SPS students can utilize their student ID as a bus pass for free. Despite this, there are significantly less students riding the bus here than in Germany. 

Yuan and Wilma brought up many differences between American and their hometowns, but this is the sentiment that both Wilma and Yuan emphasized that stuck with me the most: American high school is just like the movies.

“We see a lot of movies—high school movies—in Germany, and I wanted to see if it was like that. And to be honest, it really is a bit like that,” Yuan said.

In Wilma’s eyes, American high school is only missing the impulsive flashmobs and ballads that High School Musical depicts. But we have one thing that High School Musical did not: the remarkable exchange students we have the honor of sharing our city with.