Students from halfway across the world recently came to Desert Vista High School to experience the American lifestyle.

Helena, Max, Marie and Sinah are all from Regensburg, Germany. Regensburg is in the southeastern part of Germany.

American life was not that different from home. All students said that everything here is very big and there are a lot more cars. Buildings in Germany are small and not that tall, and groceries only come in very small sizes and are bought every other day. Bikes, mopeds, buses and walking are commonly used to get around, while in the U.S cars are the main modes of transportation.

Schools in Regensburg are almost exactly the same except they have more rigorous schools. There are twelve different classes each day, and English is a required language from kindergarten up.  In grades five through twelve, they attend only one school. The school they attend is based on their level of knowledge. Gymnasium is the highest form of school and, if they attend Gymnasium, their future education at college is prepaid.

While Helena, Max, Marie and Sinah were here they visited the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Camelback Mountain, Flagstaff and South Mountain. They went to the gun range, shopping, hiking, indoor sky diving and Sinah went to Disneyland. The Grand Canyon was their favorite place to visit. They think the best part about the U.S was the weather and nature.

Germany is bordered by Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, all of which Max has visited. There is a strict no gun rule in Germany. When you are sixteen you can start legally drinking beer and wine and at eighteen are allowed to drink everything else. Also at eighteen you can start learning how to drive. The weather is usually cloudy and/or snowing.

“I like the snow only in the winter,” said Marie.

Some of the best foods there, according to Helena, Max, Marie and Sinah, are chocolate, pretzels, and schweirebraten (pork).

Soccer is a very popular sport played by most boys starting when they are young.

Germany is run by a president and a prime minister, who is head of the country.

Sophomore Kat Niemeyer was the students’ host.

“I learned four German words from them,” said Kat.