Figure 1.--Joannes is pictured here when he first arrived in Texas, fresh from Germany with his long hair. He holds aa very American looking Dr. Peper.

A German exchange student tells about his experiences at an American school in a conservative American high school.

Hi everybody at home in Germany and the rest of the world. I'd like to show you some pictures and some things about my life as an exchange student in the U.S.

I live 5 minutes away from the high school which is in walking distance, for sure. There are approximately 1,000 students in Midlothian High School. The H.A. MEADOW LIBRARY is located on the school grounds. There are two quite big gymnasium, which are built adjacent to the main building. Next to the main building is a fieldhouse with two football fields. (HBC note: European schools usually do not have the extensive athletic facilities that American high schools haver.] A little bit farther, but still near by, are the tennis courts which are open all the time. That's why I can stay up there simply the evening if I don't have too much homework to do. This is usually a bit more difficult than the homework assigned at home. Sometimes I need 2-3 hour to do my assignments. The Midlothian High School is a great school with a high academic rating.

Figure 2.--A scene of Jannes's Texas hair cut. He is nor sure what he is going to look like..

The biggest problem is the dresscode, which is a kind of strict. You have to have a short haircut, you can't wear sweat pants, you must wear a belt and you have to tuck in your shirt. All in all it is a lot of fun to go to this high school.

The school has a huge library, the H. A. MEADOW LIBRARY. It is a huge library, and I think it is the biggest and only around Midlothian. There are are four tennis courts, which are in good condition. The picture on the left is me boarding the school bus to go to my first tennis match. This was on a Saturday, which meant I had to get up a little bit earlier than usually. It was my fist match and I was very exited.Too exited, but as I won my double match first, I could win my single, too. But of course Branden (my host brother) said that I just get lucky.

Figure 3.--Another scene of Jannes's Texas hair cut. He looks to be taking his hair cut in good humor.

We took several before and after pictures of my haircut, which actually doesn't look that bad. For some reason is it a bit easier too. The hair doesn't hang in my eyes any longer and it does dry faster. Oh well, let's see what I am going to do when I go back to Germany.

It was on Monday, August 18, 1997 when Sherry Harris, my P.I.E. Area Coordinator, arrived at my new home for a first time visit. The first thing she said was that I will have to cut my hair if I wanted to go to the high school in Midlothian. I had already read the dress code but I didn't know that they the rules were so strict and there were no exceptions. We had a lot of things to do that day. We had to go to the school to enroll me and to define my courses and my schedule. Also, I needed some stamps and I had to get my hair cut. It should be a long day.

Figure 4.--Joannes at home with his new hair cut.

On our way to the school, we stopped at the hairdresser's. This was the first stop, because I didn't want to give a bad impression on the first visit to my new school. After a discussion with the hairdresser, where I tried to make myself clear - with my broken English--that she should not cut too much of my hair off. I took a seat in her chair and a few moments later I got my hair trimmed.

After we stopped and bought the stamps, we then went to the Midlothian High School. When we got there we tried to find the counselor. He wasn't that easy to find in a big school like that. When we finally found him, we talked about my existing credits and grades which were transferred from Germany. After a lengthy conversation, which took about one hour. We discussed the elective courses, and then he gave me my temporary schedule. He also, informed me that I am a Senior this year, which means that I could graduate here...in Midlothian, Texas.

Figure 5.--Joannes in a photograph I think taken at school.

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Created: January 8, 2000
Last edited: January 8, 2000