Lucas(L): “Where are you originally from?”

Ben(B): “I’m from Germany…I live close to Frankfurt in the city. It’s called Mainz.”

L: “And then this question, pretty basic, but why did you want to be a foreign exchange student?”

B: “I talked about it with a friend and we planned on going to the United States together, I think, but then he didn’t end up going here, but I thought it would be cool.” 

L: “Is there anything you wanted to gain from the experience?”

B: “I mean…It’s just different. And I wanted to see how it is in America.”

L: “What’s the first thing you noticed, whenever you got to America, what’s the first thing you noticed that was different, almost immediately? 

B: Um, yeah, A lot of fast food,<laugh>, And big cars because we have cars everywhere in Germany, but they’re small and not big SUVs and American car brands. That’s the first thing I saw on the way from the airport.”

L: So, how have you enjoyed your host family? 

B: “They’ve[The Proffers] been good; they’re nice. I like that they do stuff all the time, like going outside and the swim season was pretty nice. And then we are doing stuff like go-kart driving, stuff like that. So it’s pretty nice. I like them.”

L: “Do you ever miss home?”

B: “Yeah. I mean, I miss home but I have so much stuff to do here that there’s no time to think about that.”

L: “Have you learned any lessons from being in America?”

B:  “Not really, just like, it’s been fun and a good experience. There’s nothing special I’ve learned.”

L: So, what are your plans when you leave? 

B: “I’m going to finish school and go to college, in America or Germany, but I don’t really know yet.”