German exchange student enriches Marian with presence

Kristy Maydwell & Megan Kawa

“I’ve started dreaming in English now,” chuckled Henrike Janssen.

Janssen, a 16-year-old junior and first year German exchange student, is currently attending Marian for the first semester. 

During the summer of 2002, Henrike Janssen, her brother, and her father visited the west coast of the United States.  On their visit, she was invited to spend a day at Marian with Alumnae Director, Mrs. Katie Pelan.  Mr. Janssen and Mr. Crouchley, Pelan’s father, knew each other beforehand through their jobs at IBM in Germany since 1990.

However, due to the early arrival of Pelan’s baby, Henrike Janssen spent the afternoon with Recruitment Director, Mrs. Michelle Delisi.  The idea of Janssen attending Marian was then formed.

According to Janssen, back home in Lower-Saxonia, a Northern Germany Provence, schools are a lot different than Marian.  “There are no private schools, just boarding schools for the very wealthy,” she said.

She also said that there are “no uniforms, no lunch breaks, no study halls, no Catholic schools, and no single-sexed schools.”

She even gets out earlier in the day than Marian at her German school.  “I go to school from eight [in the morning] until two [in the afternoon].”

In Germany, there are three different types of schooling that children can attend.  But first, all children attend four years of grade school and then two years of orientation school, where they continuously take tests to determine which type of school would accommodate their academic abilities in the future.

Although she is quite fluent after studying English for five years, there are still language barriers that Janssen must face.  For example, in physics class, which she considers her most difficult subject, there are certain terms that students would not normally learn when being taught English as a second language.  However, “she is very determined and disciplined. She studies a lot,” said Pelan.

When she is not studying, she teaches Pelan’s three children German. “They know how to count to ten in German,” said Pelan. Janssen laughs, recalling Pelan’s daughter bragging she can speak German. Even though, “she can only count up to six,” said Janssen.

She thinks and takes notes in English during class, but must translate them into German at her homestay to fully understand the meaning of her notes.  Even in French class, she has to translate from French, to German, and then to English and vice versa.

“We had the funniest conversation about American slang,” said Pelan. According to Pelan, Janssen said that we talk fast and use weird words and animations. Phrases such as “pigtails,” “happy-go-lucky,” and “are you serious?” humorously confuse her. However, adjusting to the language is not the hardest thing for Janssen.

“I hate American bread.  It’s just air…and all these ryes.  I make my American mother buy me better bread,” said Janssen.

Janssen realizes the patriotism in the United States, and she said that Germans are not nearly as patriotic. She was surprised that someone even asked her if Germans celebrate the Fourth of July. “Why would we celebrate your Independence Day?” said Janssen.

Contrary to what many would think, she has no problem getting accustomed to the activities teens participate in the U.S.  “We do the same stuff you do: going to parties, concerts, movies, and just hang out with friends.”

Just like most high school students, “I want to go to [a] university.” She isn’t sure what she wants to do with the rest of her life.  Janssen wants to “do stuff with social work or psychology, but I am not sure.”