Marvin Bethke
What 's up, Dude!
My name is Marvin, I'm sixteen years old and I am a foreign exchange student at Kamiakin High.
About my homecountry
I come from Berlin the capital of Germany, which is located in the center of Europe and has got nine bordering countries (Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic , Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands). Germany is about the same size as Montana but its population is almost 9O times bigger. This means that most of the people don`t live in houses in the Countryside like in the Tri-Cities but in apartments in big cities. The climate of the part of Germany I come from is a bit milder than in the Tri-Cities and much more humid. Since there is more rain, Germany is mostly covered with grassland and forest. In the summer the temperature goes up to 86° Fahrenheit and in the winter it is about 19° Fahrenheit. The landscape around Berlin is not mountainous like Washington State but very flat and there are a lots of lakes where you can go swimming in the summer.
About my homecity
I am happy to live in Berlin since it is a very exciting city: Berlin is about 800 years old and has now over 3 million inhabitants. Because there has been imigration in the past, the city`s population is multicultural and there are always concerts, cultural events, art, parties, or other stuff happening. Also Berlin is one of the greenest cities of Europe cause it has lots of parks where you can hang out with friends. We have lots of public transportation which gives you a kind of independence, because you can get everywere in Berlin 24 hours a day! And this without a drivers licence, which is important, cause here you can`t get it until you are 18. So if you are bored, at anytime you can take the city-train which is called "S-Bahn", a bus, or the subway to get downtown and meet people or just enjoy the city.
My Family and me
At home in Germany I have two elder brothers who are aged 19 and 22 and who already go to university. Together with my family I'm living in a semidetached House with a nice garden.
In my leisure time I enjoy hanging out with friends, going to concerts or parties, jamming with friends, riding my bike, listening to music, or doing some other crazy stuff with friends. I've been playing the piano for a couple of years and I like Drama. In Germany I used to do speed skating but unfortunately I joined any sports in America, so I will get fat! Yeah! Perhaps I could join track next spring.
My Hostfamily
My Hostfamily here is amazing! I love them really much and I can't imagine a better one :D. I've got three hostbrothers. Perhaps some of you might know Breck, he goes to Kamiakin but also to CBC and this is why he isn't a lot at the Campus. If you don't like him, I don't like you.
Martin, an other foreign exchange student , who is from Tahiti, is also staying with me in our hostfamily. He's become a real good friend of mine and he plays the guitar and the drums, so we occasionally jam together. He speaks French, so we sometimes speak together in his mother tongue as French is my second foreign language.
Why I came here and how long I`l stay
I landed in the Tri-Cities at the 24th of August and I'll stay for ten months. I came to America not only to learn English (which I think is a quite important language) but also to get independant, to learn somthing about myself (how do I get along in a completly new sourrounding, new friends, new parents and sibilings?) and of course to make intercultural friendship.
What I think about America so far?
Being in America is freaking awesome! As I said I really like my hostfamily, I like the Highschool Spirit (which is a lot better than in Germany) crazy people, the ambience at Footballgames and the kindness of the people. I am impressed of the care the Americans take about their community and I therefore joined Keyclub. Also I am really pleased to be a member of the Scarlet and Goldchoir which I enjoy a lot and what is much fun. Of course their are things which I miss or which I think is better in Germany: for example the food :D In Germany we don't eat as much fastfood and it's not common to order food but to cook it yourself. When we eat dinner with our family everone sits down at a table , we wait till eachone got his plate filled and we say "Guten Appetit" which means "enjoy your meal"; and we eat Pizza with fork and knife.
Nevertheless I enjoy being here and think the time here will be the one of the craziest, most awsome and unforgetable times I've ever had...