“I hate McDonald’s”: Notes from a German exchange student on living like Americans
Senior reporter Cameron Hines interviews junior German exchange student, Jost Niemann. Niemann arrived at North Cobb this semester and plans to stay in America until June.
January 22, 2015
Junior Jost Niemann, NC’s newest exchange student, displays a fervent enthusiasm for travel and school, while offering a freshly foreign take on America.
Niemann, a native of Germany, arrived in Georgia last September. Not knowing what family he would be staying with, or even what state he would be travelling to, certainly contributed to a sense of anxiousness. Niemann always dreamt of going to school in America, a goal that mere anxiousness could not hinder.
“I wanted to work on my language skills, but more importantly, I wanted to experience the American way of life, like most Europeans do. America is so big and so far away to us,” Niemann said.
Travel, it seems, proves hardly foreign to Jost. He has visited the vast majority of European countries, in addition to Egypt, the Canary Islands, and now, America. In his short time across the pond, he has already visited Disney World and New York City.
Meet junior Jost Niemann, a German exchange student. He enjoys soccer, weight training, comedies and thrillers, as well as rap music. “Everyone in North Cobb is so nice. The school is really big,” says Niemann.
Upon arriving to NC this semester (he attended a private school during the fall semester), Niemann marveled at its sheer size. His school in Germany contained around 800 students, while NC’s population hovers around 3,000. Slowly but surely, he has begun to navigate his way around the “huge” school with greater success.
Jost notes several differences between German and American schools besides size. In Germany, schools focus on the primary subjects (math, chemistry, geography, etc.), so he was understandably astounded at the broad spectrum of courses taught at NC.
Additionally, after-school sports do not exist in Germany, which may seem like blasphemy to some. Instead, students play sports with local clubs, similar to recreational sports here. With the intention of playing for his school for the first time, Jost, a soccer player, recently tried out for NC’s varsity team.
American culture, for the most part, fascinates Niemann. Before coming to the U.S., he had never even watched a football game, but now describes the sport as impressive in scope, likening its popularity to that of soccer in Europe. He is familiar with American television, watching SpongeBob SquarePants as a kid and referencing Breaking Bad as one of his favorite shows. But one societal feature stands out to Jost in particular.
“Strangers here are very kind. In Germany, if you are at the store, for example, strangers don’t necessarily talk to you, but here in America they are very nice and accepting,” Niemann observed.
Make no mistake, Jost has and will not forget about Germany. He laments that one cannot go anywhere without a car; in Germany, the compact cities allow for walking or biking. Also, Niemann shuns America’s processed foods: “I hate McDonald’s,” he said with a laugh.
Niemann returns to Germany in June, and plans to study medicine in the future. Hopefully, he will cherish his time in America and leave with an unforgettable experience.
