February 2012
The Trenton Trib
Page 7
Exchange student finding much to like about Michigan From Page 3
dream to come to America,” she said, equating it to a similar feeling an American might have when traveling to an intriguing destination. “It’s like when people (here) say they want go to Paris.” It becomes clear through talking to her that many things about America have made a very strong impression on her during the first half of her stay. “Everything’s so big! The trucks, the roads. The food. It’s so much!” And since she is in the “Motor City,” she was looking forward to a planned visit last month to the North American International Auto Show in downtown Detroit at Cobo Center. Even though she is old enough to drive, she won’t being doing any test drives at the auto show. One of the standard John Robert photo rules for visiting exchange stuJosephine Winkler dents is that they are not allowed to drive during their stays. “I’m not sure I’d want to. The roads are just, so….” and she pauses. Even though she has a clearly strong grasp of the language, she still sometimes finds it difficult to find the right words. It usually doesn’t take long, “You have to turn, and then turn, and turn,” she said, referring to our reliance on straight roads and blocks, as opposed to the round-a-bouts common in Europe. Her accent is not strong, but it is noticeable. “People always ask (if I hear an American accent), but I don’t,” she said, laughing. Asked if she can imitate one, she smiles and says she can’t. However, “the biggest difference in the people is probably just the language. I thought coming over (to the United States) I knew a lot of English.” Students are required to take English classes in Germany, starting at around 10 years old. “But I have learned a lot,” Josephine said. “I was surprised. It’s mostly slang,” but it has proved useful, as she describes how she can watch and understand what’s happening on television now in a single viewing, or, she said proudly, understand the jokes in a stand-up comedy routine. They import American movies and music to Europe, so she still gets to listen to the same music. She is presently staying with the family of Jim and Tracy Kersten. Jim is a judge in 33rd District Court and Tracy is a teacher at Arthurs Middle school. “They feel like my other family,” she said, explaining that the students usually stay with a few families while they are in their country, to get a feel for the variations in the culture. Josephine has already been with another host, and will likely be staying with the Kerstens until she returns to Germany. Josephine’s visit is made possible through the Rotary Club, an international organization that has a very active chapter here in Trenton. The visiting students are assigned to a Rotary district, or region, which then assigns them to a specific club within that region. Trenton Rotary Club is part of a 50-club district that
includes about 40 Detroit area clubs and about 10 southern Ontario clubs. “We usually try to host one student a year,” said Rose Angela Gronda, one of the program supervisors for Trenton’s Rotary, along with Dr. Noel Jackson. The students apply through the Rotary Club in their own country, and if selected go through a two-month screening process, which includes a large amount of paperwork (Josephine signals its bulks with her hands, making the size of a shoe box). She had a partner through it all, though, since her twin sister currently is being hosted in Brazil. If they get through this step (which requires having high marks in their classes), then host families on this side of the pond are interviewed and screened. Though families can in some situations request certain students, typically they are just assigned. The students stay for 11 months, from August to July. The program is not a traditional “exchange,” but instead brings over one student to live with a family. “We also try to send one student from Trenton,” Gronda said,
though they don’t just swap families when this happens. Josephine is enjoying her time in Trenton, and Michigan, though you can hear the excitement in her voice when she talks about a Rotary-sanctioned trip to California that will take place in June after the completion of the school year. For now, though, being here is just fine.
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