Hi, my name is Natasha (a would-be West junior), and I got the amazing opportunity to spend the year abroad in Germany! I got involved through CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) – a selective program that offers a fully immersive school-year in countries across Europe. Although the application process was long and grueling, it was worth it to be where I am now: staying with an amazing host family and making new friends at maybe the prettiest school I’ve ever seen (sorry, West; the bar was pretty low). I’ve studied abroad before, and I’m no stranger to homesickness, but when I first got off the plane and stepped foot into my new home for the year; I was overwhelmed. As much as I wanted nothing more than to go on this exchange, the feeling of leaving behind my family, friends, clubs, and other extracurriculars weighed heavy on my mind. Of course, I’m not always reminiscing on what’s going on back home, but I would be lying if I said the first day with my host family wasn’t spent doing a lot of crying in my room.

Prior to staying with my host family, the program requires a one-month long language camp at a hostel that is shared with the other exchange students. My group consisted of 40 other participants from all over the U.S, and although spending a month with them and befriending everyone was great, it really only added to that homesick feeling once we had to part ways and go to our families. After being with my host family for about a month now, those feelings have pretty much faded. That means I can finally enjoy everything around me to its fullest.

One aspect that might seem like a given, but is actually super unique to this experience, is staying with a host family. Every exchange student is picked by a family, and I was lucky enough to be picked by a host family who knows exactly how to help with the different stressors that exchange students face. I have my host mother and father, an older host brother, and two host sisters; one who is my age and one who is younger (although my host sister who is my age is also doing an exchange year!). There have been adjustments that have taken some getting used to, like eating dinner together every night, or biking everywhere (in hindsight those seem like pretty mundane things, but still; quite different from my usual life). I’ve been able to enjoy many nights with my host sister watching Gilmore Girls or Love is Blind UK, watching anime with my host brother, or biking to school with him. At first it seemed like I was intruding on a very tight-knit dynamic, but that quickly changed. In the simplest of terms, I feel so very welcomed with them.

It’s obvious to say that Germany is pretty different from the U.S, but besides the usual stereotypes that float around, there are still some pretty big differences that most people wouldn’t think about. Firstly, recycling and garbage separation is a major deal around here, and it’s generally frowned upon if you put things in the wrong bin (especially because the garbage cans are marked with what goes in them). Moreover, instead of throwing your plastic bottles away while they eventually land in the ocean, Germany has something called ‘Pfandautomats,’ which is a small receptacle that you can put your empty bottles in to receive money back! My favorite part so far though has to be the school system. It’s based on block scheduling, and although 13 classes sounded crazy to me at first too, I only have three classes every day (each 1.5 hours); which divides the class load up pretty evenly, and the best part is that I get to go home at 1:20! Having classes split up like this makes it much easier to manage the coursework, and gives me more time to myself to unwind or bike around the city. The craziest culture shock was how classes here get cancelled—if a teacher isn’t available at school that day, the most likely outcome is that the class just doesn’t happen at all. There’s been many days where I get to go home at 11:30 a.m, or don’t have to come into school until 10:00 a.m.––or sometimes both, which makes for a pretty easy-going day.

Another large difference is the openness in which people will talk about politics, and it’s quite common that people will open a conversation by talking about new electoral candidates or politics overseas. A large topic in recent times has been the Trump administration, paired with the fact that Germany has quite a similar party here that has been gaining traction in recent years. Despite that, the public opinion on Trump and his foreign policy has been pretty negative, and some of my teachers have even brought up Trump’s administration when talking about the AfD (Alternative for Deutschland), a far right campaign that brings in many elements of what National Socialism (better known as Nazi Germany) was like. Outside of school, the general public has also been indirectly affected by Trump’s tariffs and foreign policy actions, which have made gas and grocery prices rise drastically. It’s safe to say that most Germans have a relatively negative view about Trump and his policies, and it’s not uncommon that other people at my school will ask me what life in the U.S. is like under Trump’s leadership (or severe lack thereof), or why Americans voted him into office in the first place.

All in all, school life here has been easy to adjust to, and German teens are quite similar to teenagers back home. Although I’ve only been here for two months, I’ve met so many new friends, learned about Northern German culture, and have gotten the chance to experience so many new things that I would otherwise never have the ability to. As much as I miss being with my friends and family back home, this is the experience of a lifetime, and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to do it. I can’t wait to see what the next nine months have in store for me, and to live my life here to the fullest. Liebe grüße from Germany!

by Natasha Tisdel

Published October 5, 2026

Oshkosh West Index Volume 123 Issue 1

‘Tis who? Tisdel touches base from overseas foray to Deutschland