District News

Meet foreign exchange student Tobias Nixdorf

 

Jan. 20, 2012

 

Tobias Nixdorf always wanted to return to his country of birth. The 17-year-old from outside of Hamburg, Germany, was born in Texas and lived there until he was six months old. In August, he finally realized his goal of coming to school in America and went on to attend Newfane Central High School (in Niagara County).

This semester, he is an AFS foreign exchange student at Canajoharie High School, and already appreciates the friendliness of students and area residents. He lives with host family Cathy and Dale Shults, who both work for the district.

“I was born in Texas because my parents worked there for about four years, and then they moved back to Germany. I always talked about experiencing America, and I wanted to do an exchange program to get to know American life,” he said. “I basically wanted to get to know the country of my birth.”

Most of Tobias’ teachers know him as “Toby.” And although he is currently enrolled as a senior, he still has two years left to go in Germany because German schools have 13 grades. In Germany, Toby’s mother works in IT and his father takes care of the home. He also has a brother who attends college.

Toby says one of the major differences between Germany and America is the food and how friendly the people are. “American people say ‘thank you’ and ‘please' a lot and that I something I have gotten used to,” he said.

We sat down with Toby and found out what he likes about school, the U.S., and his new friends.

Q. What do you think of Canajoharie?
A. It’s a nice small school with nice people. My favorite part is the great people.

Q. Is America what you expected?
A. I didn’t really expect anything; I came here and just wanted to see. If you have expectations and they’re not true, you kind of get disappointed, so I try not to have any expectations.

Q. What are the big differences between Germany and the U.S.A.?
A. People are way nicer and friendlier. Culturally, the people here say 'please' and 'thank you' all the time. I wasn’t used to that. It was very strange for me. And although we have fast food like McDonalds and Burger King back home, we also have homemade foods like goose, red cabbage and gravy. Soccer is big in Germany too. It’s kind of like football here. You also have to drive with an adult until you’re 18.

Q. How long have you been speaking English?
A. In school, we started in third grade. Until fifth grade, it was just a couple words. It’s a subject in school and everyone has to take it. Most people in Germany can speak it or understand some.

Q. What is the difference in what they teach in school?
A. Our school system is different. Here, you can pick your courses and which year you take them. In Germany, the schedule is set every year, and the classes usually stay together in one room and a different teacher comes in. We only could choose a couple of things. We can choose in sixth grade between Latin and French. We have 13 grades instead of 12 too. For grades 11, 12, and 13, we can choose between a language, science, of arts-oriented class.

Q. What do you do for fun in Germany?
A. We are close to Hamburg and just hang out there. (We) Go to the mall.

Q. What do you look forward to doing the most in the USA?
A. I want to go to New York City. Everybody wants to be there one time. It’s famous all over the world for its nightlife.

Q. Where have you traveled in Europe?
A. Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. I’ve also been to Beijing, China.

Q. What activities do you participate in?
A. Wrestling. I started it at my old school and I wanted to continue here. I wanted to do something and wrestling just seemed like the most likely sport. I also play the violin, so I joined the school orchestra.

Q. What do you do in free time besides homework?
Play video games, hang out with friends, and go on Facebook.

Five Questions

Favorite subjects in school: physics and chemistry
Favorite movies: Avatar and The Simpsons movie
Favorite TV shows: House, The Simpsons, and Futurama
Favorite food: smoked pork
Favorite bands: Rammstein, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Fox, and LMFAO