Middletown, DE for German exchange student (work, sick, homes)

[Franz Fischer]

Anyone with experiences from Middletown?
We are Germans, living in Germany. My daughter 16y wants to spend a high school year in the States as an exchange student. I am working in an anglo-saxon company here in Germany. An unknown US colleague has offered to host my daughter in her family, here in Middletown. Looking forward to reading some of your feedbacks on how a German teenager can "survive" in Middletown.
Thanks in advance

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by Franz Fischer

Anyone with experiences from Middletown?
We are Germans, living in Germany. My daughter 16y wants to spend a high school year in the States as an exchange student. I am working in an anglo-saxon company here in Germany. An unknown US colleague has offered to host my daughter in her family, here in Middletown. Looking forward to reading some of your feedbacks on how a German teenager can "survive" in Middletown.
Thanks in advance

Well nice to meet you Franz Fischer..........And I'm sure your daughter will be fine.

[maryCh]

As a parent of older teens, I think the experience can be invaluable for your daughter. As a mother of a soon to be 17 yr old girl, I can relate to your concerns.

What I would question would be...

1) Is your daughter "mature" enough to be that far away from home, for that long a period? As I'm sure you know, trans-atlantic flights would not be cheap!

2) Will her studies be compatible from Germany to the US?

3) How dependable and secure is the "host family" situation?

I have heard good and bad about schools in Middletown, but if your daughter has her head on straight (so to speak), she will be fine as elizamary said. If she is easily influenced to take up with "the wrong crowd", that will happen even back in Germany.

Assuming her English is good, she should love the American experience! Keep us posted, and welcome to the forum!

Mary

[one6ylady]

If she gets homesick for hearing some German or simply wants to talk to someone else who has been there, she could contact me. I lived in Holland for 7+ years and Germany for 4 years (Wiesbaden and surrounding areas). I still speak very resonable German and would love to talk to someone from ANYWHERE in Germany, as it was my favorite of all the places I lived when my father was in the US Air Force and we moved all over the place.

There are some small cultural differences, but she should do just fine. The hardest thing for her to get used to will be the lack of public transportation. I live in Germany from 1984 thru 1988, and it wasn't that different from the US back then, and I suspect it has gotten even more like the US in the years since then. She won't find any place that serves a decent Jaegerschnitzel, but you can get Bratwurst and knokwurst in the local stores (not as good as at home, but decent if you know how to cook it right).

[Franz Fischer]

Thank you very much for your advices and offers. My daughter recently qualified for an exchange programme. Now we are awaiting the "GO" from Middletown High School or the new one opening in August and from the host family. What we do still not know yet is what are youngsters doing apart from school here in Middletown. Everett Theatre and Peach Festival, plus ???? Leaving the very best wishes to all of you for Christmas and a peaceful NEW YEAR.

[maryCh]

Hi Franz,

Thanks for the warm wishes for the holidays! As far as your daughter and things to do, I can't speak as someone very experienced in the area, as we only moved here in September. However, I am learning daily of activities available, and it seems there are several things of interest all over DE. As Middletown is somewhat central, I would think she would not want for things to do and explore. I presume a lot would depend on her interests.

Happy holidays to you as well; I look forward to hearing of your daughter's progress come spring.

Mary

[Franz Fischer]

Middletown, be prepared, Laura's coming in August. She is so exited and her mother even more.

[Honeycrisp]

I'm sure she'll have a wonderful time, it'll be a neat experience for her and very exciting. I know nothing about high schools in Delaware but I wish her well and hope you give little updates when you get a chance.

[Laural]

Hi Franz,

Hallo! Woher in Deutschland seit Ihr? Wir freun uns auf unseren Umzug nach Delaware in 2 Wochen.

We are very excited about moving to Middletown, the east coast is so rich with history, hopefully her host family plan on taking her to all the historical sites.

We hosted an exchange student from Holland several years back, it was an interesting experience.

Laura

[Charley]

Originally Posted by Franz Fischer

Middletown, be prepared, Laura's coming in August. She is so exited and her mother even more.

Congratulations Franz. I remember when you first posted about your daughter's desire to be an exchange student and I'm happy to hear that she will have a chance to enjoy the experience. Much good luck to her.

Charley