My name is Jonas and I’m an exchange student from Germany. I’ve been here since August 11th and I have really enjoyed my time so far. But, there are many differences between the United States and my home country.

In Germany, sports are not an in-school activity. They function separate the school as “clubs”. Every town has their own club and they play against each other. It is similar to school sports in the USA, but without the school name and school spirit. It is, instead, a competition between hometowns.

Soccer has the popularity in Germany that football or baseball do in the United States. Every town has a soccer team and the matches are present in every bar and many restaurants. It is most prevalent on the weekends.

In Germany we don’t celebrate holidays like Halloween or Thanksgiving. We have things like carnivals and oktoberfest but not in my part of Germany.

In my part of Germany we celebrate only the big fests like Christmas or Easter, but in the south of Germany we celebrate Oktoberfest and carnivals.

Living in the United States has been an adjustment but I am enjoying the new culture, not too difficult from mine. We all enjoy sports and have holiday celebrations. I will enjoy the time I have left here.