CIEE BridgeUSA High School Blog

Someone told me that the biggest difference between American schools and German schools is that American schools have culture.

We scan our tickets and walk through the turnstiles. This ain't Disney; we're in Europa Park.

At long last, the snow has arrived here in Bavaria.

If there is any piece of advice I would give to future CBYX’ers, I would tell them to sort out high school graduation credits with guidance counselors prior to the exchange year.

My bedroom in the United States lacked personal touches. I liked my room plain: Having fewer items meant that I had less to dust and clean.

When I moved to Germany, I thought I escaped the clutches of ball sports with rackets, but I never saw myself willingly replacing one court sport with another.

Language camp: It's the month when students from the tip of Maine to the Caribbean Islands come to refine their conduct and learn about German cultural awareness.

Although I expected my first friends in Germany to be, well, German, they actually ended up being Chinese students.

Gazing outside my sunlit window, I peer down at the perimeter of my backyard, where the lush green Austrian pines nestle closely with the vivid purple hues of hydrangeas.

I truly feel like I am living in a fairy tale.

Izzy had the most amazing 10 months. She left Scotland and her close-knit family, and she entered a whole new world of American high school. And her mom wasn't sure she'd ever want to come home!

Germans love fresh fruit. Families living in small towns will commonly grow bushes of raspberries or take care of peach trees.

The paper is supposed to test my knowledge of English, which is quite good! But the test? It’s in German.

I wouldn’t truly be experiencing Bavarian life if I were to skip the most iconic traditional festival in the country: Oktoberfest.

Germany doesn’t give you time to tiptoe. One moment you’re fumbling with a ticket machine on the platform, the next you’re hurtling forward with the rhythm of the train insisting that you keep up.