Miles Away From Home

More by Caitlin Keady - 11/11

One of the aspects of a new school year that students seem to enjoy most is reconnecting with familiar faces and seeing old friends. In a campus as close-knit as Darien High School’s, it is easy to spot the “new kid”. While most DHSers are familiar with the Chinese Exchange students visiting the campus, they might miss another student attending DHS this year who is enjoying an exchange program and living far away from her family and country.

DHS sophomore Sarah Siebert comes to Darien from the Gertrud-Bäumer-Gymnasium School in Remscheid, Germany. She decided to do an exchange program in March 2010 and received a message saying that she would be attending DHS and living with an American family for ten months. “I was just very lucky,” Sarah said, commenting on her placement here.

Sarah lives with the family of sophomore Emma Morgan and the two have become very good friends during the time that Sarah has been here. “We are the same age so it's really like having a twin sister,” Morgan said. Both Sarah and Emma are new to DHS this year, “Sarah and I depend on each other to explain some of the things in DHS,” Morgan said.

Sarah said that her school at home is very different from DHS. “We have twelve to fourteen courses but we don’t have them every day,” Sarah said. In Germany, Sarah studies German, English, Spanish, Latin, Music, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geography, Social Sciences, Philosophy, History, and P.E. “Some courses I’ve had for nine years now, so we're learning a lot in Germany,” Sarah said. While her school is smaller than DHS, it has five floors and longer breaks between classes. When reflecting back on her first impressions of DHS and running between classes in four minutes: “The first day at DHS was a bit confusing,” Sarah said.

Another major difference between Sarah’s school at home and DHS? - the homework.

In Germany we do more work at class and so we don't have much homework,” Sarah said.

Sarah started to learn English when she was in third grade and she now speaks the language fluently. English is Sarah’s favorite language to learn as “It’s the easiest one.” She explained that in comparison to the other languages she studies, English is easy because “There are no conjugations,” Sarah said.

Besides taking classes, Sarah is playing volleyball for the JV team at DHS which is coached by Ms. Megan Sapeta. At home, Sarah played volleyball for her town team because her school didn’t have a team. Volleyball at DHS is very different from volleyball at home for Sarah. “We didn't have any endurance training or weight training,” Sarah said. “The team has accepted and embraced Sarah as one of their own,” Ms. Sapeta said, “she truly enjoys being a part of the BWVB family.”

While she is enjoying her time here, Sarah admits that she misses some parts of her home life. She has a brother in Germany whom she misses very much. “I miss my family but I’m so busy I don’t have time to be sad,” she said. “I also miss the food in Germany, especially chocolate!”
Sarah has shared part of her culture with DHS and she has learned a lot about our culture too. “I learn a lot about her community and she learns a lot about mine,” Morgan said. Sarah is staying in Darien for one school year and then she will return to Germany for the next year. “I’ve had a great time so far,” Sarah said, “I'm really looking forward to this whole school year.”