My exchange year in the US

Since all my family members went to the US as exchange students and had great experiences it was not much of a question whether I would go abroad too. I always wanted to spend a year in another country and that is what I did. I chose a school in Napa, California, called Justin Siena. Napa is a small town about 45 minutes away from San Francisco - for me the most beautiful city in the world. Napa is in the middle of the Napa Valley, a famous wine region in the US. And when I arrived in Napa after an 18-hour flight this was my first impression of the town. There were wineries everywhere. Wineries as far as one can see. Now it was time to meet my host family. It turned out that I would be living with a 70-year-old widower. Great, I thought, I'll be trapped with a grandpa for the next 10 months. But it turned out I was so wrong. My host father was the nicest guy I have ever met. He did everything for me and we had so much fun together. He took me to San Diego, a city in the South of California, to the Redwoods, which are the highest trees in the world, and he took me skiing to Lake Tahoe.
One week after my arrival I had to start school. I, again, was very nervous. But that turned out to be totally unnecessary. First the school administration led me around and showed me everything I needed to know and afterwards lots of students wanted to talk to me, because I was a German exchange student and therefore something special.
During my first week I made lots of friends and that made things a lot easier for me.
American schools are a lot different from German schools. There are no oral grades. The grade is composed of homework, tests and the final exam. To get a good grade you do not have to be very smart, but you have to study hard. I did about 90 minutes of homework every night, but it was fine because most of the things I had to do were very interesting, like American history.
During the second semester I joined a sports team. I played golf for the school. I met new friends and had a lot of fun. You can also earn a lot of respect if you are good at sports.
Of course I also have to mention the wonderful weather I had in California, which made my experience especially nice.
In the summer the temperature was about 30 degrees Celsius during the day while during the winter it “cooled” down to about 15 degrees. But in February it warmed up again so I could go to the beach in my shorts to swim in the Pacific Ocean (about 30 minutes from Napa).
Even though my school was Catholic and I had to pray five times a day, and my host father took me to church with him every Sunday, I had the best time of my life. I made so many good friends I am still in contact with and all the great experiences I had made the decision to become an exchange student the best I have ever made. I can highly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to become an exchange student to take it. You will not regret it.
 
Gabriel Sieglerschmidt, 1. Semester