RSS
Velkommen til Amerika, Anette Servan!
Welcome To America
What would life be like without football, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball or softball? What about not having Wendy’s, KFC or Taco Bell down the street? Ask Anette Servan!
Anette has joined our high school this year as an exchange student from Norway. Norway is located west of Sweden and Finland on the west coast of Russia. She said she came to America because, “I wanted to learn more about American culture, speak better English, make new friends, and be more independent.” She was really excited to become a student here; she is currently a senior and loves America. She says it’s just as she expected. “It feels like what I’ve seen in movies; people are so outgoing and nice.” Anette learned how to speak English in second grade, but it wasn’t until eighth grade that she was able to speak the language well.
Annette says that her high school in Norway is not as strict as Phoenixville High School. The students do not have to sign out of school if they have to leave; they can just leave. They are not only allowed to call their teachers by their first names, but are also allowed to call them and say they’re not going to be in school on a certain day. If an absence note is needed, the students can write their own without a parent signature required. Passbooks are not used in Anette’s school either…If you have to go to the bathroom, you just ask the teacher and go. As for seating arrangements, the students do not sit in single desks, they have three desks put together. Another big difference is the block scheduling (when core classes last the whole year, but are about an hour and a half long) that Norway schools have. This contrasts to Phoenixville’s regular period scheduling where the core classes last all year long and are 50 minutes each period.
Although Norway has sports, they don’t have nearly as many or even the same sports we do. Instead, Norway has sports such as handball, skiing, soccer and orientation (hiking). However, Anette enjoyed playing field hockey in the fall for Phoenixville High School and has been able to make many friends through sports and church. Anette stated, “Students here are more involved with sports and activities than in Norway.” Anette feels that American teenagers are also more outgoing than Norwegian teenagers.
As for food…What do Norwegian people eat?? Anette stated that they eat a lot of boiled potatoes, rice, pasta, fish, and meat. That’s not too different from our culture, but one thing Anette doesn’t like is how American food is full of sugar and fat.
Back home in Norway Anette lives with her mother and stepdad. Her stepdad has three sons older than Anette; one of the sons lives in Montana. She keeps in touch with her family through “Skype,” which is a type of e-mail/MSN messenger that allows people to talk for free through the computer.
Anette loves her host family. She has a mother and a father along with four siblings (two boys, twelve and six, and two girls, ten and five). There is also another exchange student, Franzi from Germany, living with them who is a junior at Phoenixville as well.
Overall, Anette Servan likes living in America and enjoys her host family, friends and classes. As for her future, Anette said, “I want to work in Africa to improve their living standards. I am considering going to college here, but I have to go back to Norway to finish high school and get a scholarship.” We certainly enjoy having Anette as a student here, and wish her luck with the rest of her senior year at Phoenixville and her second senior year in Norway!
Posted by
Marissa Rock
What would life be like without football, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball or softball? What about not having Wendy’s, KFC or Taco Bell down the street? Ask Anette Servan!
Anette has joined our high school this year as an exchange student from Norway. Norway is located west of Sweden and Finland on the west coast of Russia. She said she came to America because, “I wanted to learn more about American culture, speak better English, make new friends, and be more independent.” She was really excited to become a student here; she is currently a senior and loves America. She says it’s just as she expected. “It feels like what I’ve seen in movies; people are so outgoing and nice.” Anette learned how to speak English in second grade, but it wasn’t until eighth grade that she was able to speak the language well.
Annette says that her high school in Norway is not as strict as Phoenixville High School. The students do not have to sign out of school if they have to leave; they can just leave. They are not only allowed to call their teachers by their first names, but are also allowed to call them and say they’re not going to be in school on a certain day. If an absence note is needed, the students can write their own without a parent signature required. Passbooks are not used in Anette’s school either…If you have to go to the bathroom, you just ask the teacher and go. As for seating arrangements, the students do not sit in single desks, they have three desks put together. Another big difference is the block scheduling (when core classes last the whole year, but are about an hour and a half long) that Norway schools have. This contrasts to Phoenixville’s regular period scheduling where the core classes last all year long and are 50 minutes each period.
Although Norway has sports, they don’t have nearly as many or even the same sports we do. Instead, Norway has sports such as handball, skiing, soccer and orientation (hiking). However, Anette enjoyed playing field hockey in the fall for Phoenixville High School and has been able to make many friends through sports and church. Anette stated, “Students here are more involved with sports and activities than in Norway.” Anette feels that American teenagers are also more outgoing than Norwegian teenagers.
As for food…What do Norwegian people eat?? Anette stated that they eat a lot of boiled potatoes, rice, pasta, fish, and meat. That’s not too different from our culture, but one thing Anette doesn’t like is how American food is full of sugar and fat.
Back home in Norway Anette lives with her mother and stepdad. Her stepdad has three sons older than Anette; one of the sons lives in Montana. She keeps in touch with her family through “Skype,” which is a type of e-mail/MSN messenger that allows people to talk for free through the computer.
Anette loves her host family. She has a mother and a father along with four siblings (two boys, twelve and six, and two girls, ten and five). There is also another exchange student, Franzi from Germany, living with them who is a junior at Phoenixville as well.
Overall, Anette Servan likes living in America and enjoys her host family, friends and classes. As for her future, Anette said, “I want to work in Africa to improve their living standards. I am considering going to college here, but I have to go back to Norway to finish high school and get a scholarship.” We certainly enjoy having Anette as a student here, and wish her luck with the rest of her senior year at Phoenixville and her second senior year in Norway!
Posted by
Marissa Rock
posted by The Phoenix Files at
2:41 PM
1 Comments:
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Deborah
Term Life Insurance
Post a Comment
<< Home