Student in the spotlight — Fynn Piepenschneider
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Thousands of miles stand between central Germany and central Iowa. Marshalltown High School exchange student Fynn Piepenschneider is enjoying his time in Marshalltown.
Fynn arrived at MHS in August and is set to head back home to Altenhasslau in June 2019. For now, he is learning a lot, both academically and culturally.
"In the application, you could choose east or west coast or you could even choose states," he said of applying for the exchange program.
Fynn decided to let fate place him somewhere in the U.S. That place happened to be Marshalltown.
"School is very different, school is even more different than the cultures are," the 16-year-old said.
One of the differences is in use of technology during the school day. While Germans enjoy their smartphones and laptops as much as Americans, Fynn said such devices weren't used in his classes back home.
"When you use your smartphone in class, you have to bring a cake the next day," he said with a laugh.
One aspect of school in America Fynn said he likes is the team spirit. He said German schools don't have mascots, sports teams, school colors and the like.
Instead, children who want to participate in sports generally do so through clubs. Fynn said soccer, basketball and running are some of the more popular sports where he is from.
The school day is also different. Where MHS students are at school from about 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Fynn said his school in Germany gets out at about 1 p.m. Students then eat lunch and get to work on homework.
Culturally, he said he's found Americans to apologize a lot more than Germans, like when an American almost bumps into somebody, for instance.
"In Germany, I don't think we would talk to the person," he said.
However, in many ways Fynn said he sees similarities between the two cultures.
"How people behave in general is similar," he said.
Fynn is involved in speech activities and plans to join band in the spring semester. He is also an avid reader, and his favorite English-language book is "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children."
Videography is another of Fynn's hobbies.
He said learning about culture is exciting and he likes talking to his MHS peers about Germany and hearing about American culture.
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Contact Adam Sodders at
(641) 753-6611 or
asodders@timesrepublican.com