Among the new students Holden High School welcomed back this year is a student a long way from home.

Melissa Mueller, a 16-year-old junior, is from Frankfurt, Germany and is a foreign exchange student staying in Holden with her host family Brandon and Melissa Badua and their children, Ariana, Jason and Erykah.

Mueller arrived from Germany after a 10 and one-half hour flight on August 1.  She will be staying through the first semester and will return home January 3.

She said she has always been interested in meeting new people and a lot of her friends back home became foreign exchange students and she didn’t want to  miss the opportunity.  “I have friends staying in all different states.  I wanted to improve my English, meet new people and experience something new,” said Mueller.

She said she enjoys Holden High School because it’s not too big or too small.  “I can find everything I need to here and I really like it.” she said.  “The school spirit in America is really different from Germany.  In Germany, we have six to eight classes a day and there are no football or softball games there.  We also don’t have all of the clubs you have here.  I’m thinking of joining the foreign language club.  It’s really fun here!”

She lists her favorite subjects as ceramics and lifetime sports.  “You all have a lot of different classes here, we don’t have anything like family classes where you can learn about cooking or how to handle your emotions back in Germany.  There is no cheerleading in Germany. The most popular activities in Germany are soccer, dancing, volleyball and basketball,” she added.

Her favorite thing about America is the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.  “I can’t wait to celebrate Halloween and Christmas in America.  I want to see how American life really is,” stated Mueller.

After high school, Mueller thinks she might attend what we in America would consider college, but she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her future yet.  “I may become an au pair and travel to Australia or Spain.  I think I would like to come back to America some day and visit the friends I have made here,” she said.

Some differences between German and American schools, according to Mueller, is there is no dress code in German schools and they don’t have to have hallway passes when leaving their rooms.

She keeps in touch with her family by writing emails to them and has a cell phone so she can call them frequently.  “I have never been away from home for so long before and sometimes get a little homesick, but not too bad,” Mueller stated.

“I am learning a lot here.  I have more self-confidence and have become more independent as I feel I can do things on my own, and my English is getting better,” she said.

She feels fortunate to have the Baduas for a host family.  “I had really good luck getting them for my family and I love the kids.  They always keep me busy playing with them and help me not to get too homesick.  Back home in Germany, I am an only child and live near a very large city.  Here, we live in the country and have four dogs, numerous cats, ducks and chickens.  I have no pets back in Germany so this is definitely something new for me and I love it,” Mueller said.

“I’m enjoying the new experiences here in America and I am learning a lot,” she said.