Guten Tag! Ni hao, wo-duh ming-d'zih! Hallo! Hola!
    Alta students are unaware of the many exchange students joining our throng wandering aimlessly through the hallways. Therefore, it's time to get to know them!
    The majority of Alta's exchange students come from Germany, and thus said very similar things about the differences in German and American schools. For instance, Germany has four different levels of school depending on how far you want to educate yourself. The different levels also put a variance on when you graduate, at 16 or 18.
    Cornelia Lutz, of Germany, also explained that in her country classrooms have subjects instead of teachers, and you take all your classes with the same people until 11th grade. Her favorite thing about living in America is learning so much English, which was a common answer among the German exchange students. Almost all of them also stated the worst thing about living here is the lack of public transportation and having to ask for rides everywhere. Malte Schlethe, also of Germany, said a major difference is our quarter/semester system. In Germany, "Our grades don't end."
    From a different part of the world, Natchanan Nanagara from Thailand says that Americans greet eachother much differently than those from her country. Another huge difference is the way American girls look. At her Thai school, no one is allowed to wear makeup and all the girls must have short hair. Natchanan said the hardest part about living in America is making new friends, so if you see her, be sure to say hello!
   Alfredo Gonzalez, commonly known as Fred, comes to us from Mexico. He loves playing Alta football on the sophomore team.He explains some differences between Alta and his former school are the lockers and the way people behave. "Here, people sit down a lot," he says. The worst thing for him is trouble with the language.
   Clearly, Alta students are missing out on great cultural experiences when passing by our exchange students in the hall. When you get to know the students, you get to know a whole new country.