Two foreign exchange students discuss cultural differences

Johanna Hase and Pernille Rosenberg are two foreign exchange students who are delighted to be in Dodge City, thank you very much.
    Hase, 15, who has a hearty laugh and dark blonde hair, hails from Hamburg, Germany. Rosenberg, 16, who is more delicate with her chiseled looks and Scandinavian lighter hair, is from the Nordic town of Roedding, Denmark.
    The two girls came to the United States under the auspices of Youth for Understanding, a private non-profit organization that promotes international understanding through exchange programs for high school students in more than 30 countries.
    “My brother, Anton, who is 17, went to Mexico last year with the program,” said Hase, who arrived in Dodge City on Aug. 15.
    “I have a friend whose parents were host parents for a girl from Latvia,” said Rosenberg, who arrived here Aug. 29.
    The two girls are guests for 10 months in the home of Dodge City High School librarian Dee Stoecker.
    “She has been wonderful,” Hase said of Stoecker. “She chose us from among other exchange students. We are very lucky to be with her.”
    Rosenberg said that Stoecker had taken them with her everywhere, including different places in Kansas and Oklahoma, the Carnegie Center for the Arts, Democratic Party meetings and dinners with her friends.
    The two students were recently seen in formal dress, laughing and dancing at the Beaux Arts Ball and banquet.
    “We don’t have balls in Denmark,” Rosenberg said. “I would like to go to a masked ball.”
    Both girls are seniors at Dodge City High School this year because all exchange students are classified as seniors when they enter the school. That way, they get to go to the proms and receive diplomas.
    “Our schools are harder in Germany, more structured and focused on learning,” Hase said. “I had 14 different classes a week in Hamburg. It’s more relaxed and fun here. I like all my classes, especially Denmark. I have been acting since I was nine years old in fairy tales at a theater.”
    Hase will have a role in DCHS' fall play, “See How They Run,” portraying either a Russian or a German man in the production, which will be presented to the public Nov. 14 and 15.
    “They are thinking of changing my role from Russian to German, because I speak German,” Hase said with a laugh. “I do not know for sure yet what is going to happen.”
    Rosenberg said she didn't find Dodge City High School easier, but rather very different.
    "At home, we call our teachers by their first names," she said. "I like all my classes here, especially nutrition and cooking.”
    The two girls are among nine foreign exchange students at DCHS this year. Two foreign exchange students also are attending Spearville High School.
    Hase and Rosenberg said they found the clothing that U.S. students and adults wear to be very different.
    “A lot of girls wear sweats to school here; you would not do that in Germany,” Hase explained.
    Hase and Rosenberg said they find the boys they have met in Dodge City to be “fun and funnier” than the youth of their native lands.
    “The boys are more relaxed and open here,” Hase said. “But you find the same types in different countries."
    And besides their families, they both agreed that they miss bread.
    "Germany has 3,000 different kinds of bread,” Hase said. “Germany is the home country of bread. Our bread has lots of grains in it, and we eat it with butter, cheese or meat."
    Rosenberg agreed.
    "I miss the Danish dark bread,” Rosenberg said. “It’s healthier for you than the white bread here. The white bread is too soft. There are too many fast foods here.”
    Both girls will remain in Dodge City until June and hope to return to the United States someday. The small city of Dodge City, with its mixed population of whites and Hispanics, has been a new experience for them.
    “People are friendlier here,” Hase said. “You can chat with the teachers about stuff and have fun and make jokes with them. Here, you can say what you want to say.”
    As for Stoecker, she said everyone she spoke with only had good things to say about the exchange students.
    “All the teachers have had good things to say about the girls,” Stoecker said. “It’s always a joy to sponsor exchange students. All of them have been wonderful, but these two have been particularly delightful. In the past, I’ve taken only one student a year. It has been fun to have two of them.”