By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
Last week, the Clay County Progress featured two of the three Hayesville High School exchange students honored during the Clay County Board of Education’s December meeting. German exchange student, Felicia Falk, was not mentioned because she was visiting New York City with Jackie Gottlieb and her daughter, Lauren Gottlieb. The Gottliebs are the family Falk is living with this year.
This week, we were able to talk with Falk about what influenced her to leave to become an exchange student. “My mother was an exchange student when she was my age,” the young woman said. “She always told me how much she enjoyed her time in Canada, Australia and France and that she grew a lot personally through it. I wanted that for myself, too. I chose the United States because I always wanted to learn about American culture.”
Falk lives with her parents in the small town of Korbach, Germany, about 2 hours north of Frankfurt. She had traveled within Europe before, but never to the United States.
What has surprised her most about the United States, as well as life in a small American town like Hayesville? “There were a few things that were new and somewhat surprising to me,” she said. “I knew that school spirit is much more important in the United States than in Germany, but experiencing that for myself was amazing. Besides school, I was surprised that everything here is much further apart than I'm used to and that you always have to use the car to get somewhere.”
Speaking of going somewhere, part of winter break from school was spent traveling. “I was really looking forward to winter break, but not because I needed some time off,” she added. “I was looking forward to traveling to New York City with my host family. Looking back now, I can say that it was a great experience.”
She has missed her family, but talks to them regularly. “We usually have a video call once a week. Every three weeks or so, I also call my grandparents,” she added. “Social media makes it easy to stay in touch with friends in Europe. Especially over the holidays, I missed all these people and I'm looking forward to seeing them again after the school year. I'm really enjoying my time abroad.”
Falk knows her experiences in America will help her in whatever career she eventually chooses. “I don't know yet what I want to do for a living later on,” she said. “Being multilingual will definitely help me in my future career.”
She ended by thanking her family, along with her host family. “I am very grateful to my parents for supporting me throughout the entire process of applying for the scholarship and actually letting me go for such a long time. I would like to thank Jacqueline and Lauren Gottlieb for being my host family and allowing me to have this wonderful experience. I am looking forward to when they come to visit me in Germany.”
Lauren appreciates the experience of having an exchange student in their home. “Living with a foreign exchange student has given many new opportunities for my family,” the Hayesville High school student said. “While we are introducing Felicia to our culture, she is also sharing her own traditions, music, food and more. I have even been able to experience events and visit places in my town that I have never seen before.”
Lauren’s mom, Jackie agreed. “We are honored to have Felicia as part of our family from August 2022 to June 2023. For me, this was an opportunity for me to give back. Many years ago, I had the chance to travel and stay with host families – for a much shorter duration than Felicia – but still a memorable learning experience. Traveling and spending time with people who are different from you helps you to learn more about the world and helps you to grow personally. This experience is valuable for both the exchange student, as well as my own daughter. As Lauren helps Felicia with her English, Felicia works with Lauren on her German. Plans are in the works for Lauren to travel to Germany and meet Felicia’s family.”
Jackie said her exchange daughter is an only child in Germany. “She was really excited about siblings and dogs,” Gottlieb smiled. “With each new day, we learn more about each other’s language and culture. We’ve learned new card games, tasted different foods and listened to a variety of music. In December, we learned that Santa Claus or Nikolaus actually comes on December 6 known as Saint Nicholas Day and leaves a large shoe filled with candy outside the door. It is an exciting opportunity for all of us.”