Cultural Differences between Germany and USA (Pierce)
By Charlotte Enk
America is the land of free will, but the bread here is not normal bread. This is only one of many differences between America and Germany.
The school system is very different, it is stricter in terms of attendance, for example, students here need a hall pass when they are only leaving for three minutes or students have to be there for study hall.
Moreover in the USA, students are only assessed in writing and therefore have to hand something in every day. In Germany, students are assessed more on oral skills and therefore have to talk a lot more, which means there are only two tests per semester.
Furthermore, it is required to learn a third foreign language from the sixth grade onward in Germany. That means a student has over 14 subjects in one semester. And most of them are in one week, so everyday is a different day. A great thing is also that the American school system has one less year of school.
It is also funny that the students have to change rooms and not the teachers in the US school system.
What I personally appreciate most is the school spirit at Pierce High School. The Bluejays have a great community here and always have fun.
– A German sentence that someone could use every time could be: “Moin, wie geht es dir?” (“Hi, how are you”) –
A difference some might know is that, it is way easier to drive a car alone under the age of 18 in the United States because in Germany this would be illegal. German minors are allowed to start with the license at the age of 16 ½ and can only drive with a parent once they are done with the process (usually takes a year) until the age of 18. So it was a shock to see some 14 year olds driving around in the parking lot and who can barely see over the steering wheel. However, it is also not necessary to learn to drive so early, because Germany has a very good public transport system and anyone can get anywhere in Germany or even to other countries within eight hours.
But in the end, it does not matter if you have good bread; when you have a great community.
Editor’s note: Charlotte Enk is studying in the United States as an exchange student, and after summer break starts here, she will be leaving soon to go back to Germany.
