After watching several tv shows featuring a high school student as the main character, you can imagine how excited I was to attend an American high school! Watching it on screen is way more different from reality. Let’s figure it out!
I was lucky enough to be part of the four students out of thirty to go to Asheville High School. Since Lana, my host, was studying there, I followed her through her school days. The building is amazing! To see old red bricks was surprising but in a very good way. Waking up at 7 am, a quick breakfast, driving to school and there we go! Every day was the same way. Each lesson lasted between 30 minutes and 1 hour and a half hour and were called period. School days were made of 5. When I opened the door, what struke me the most were the desks. Each student had his own desk. No defined places, people could sit wherever they wanted to. Teachers were already waiting for them. No time to waste, the lesson started. All of them wrote down what the teacher was saying on their computers, covered up with stickers, just for fun or in order to spread messages as a piece of work, a little part of themselves that they shared with their classmates. The room’s friendly atmosphere helps to focus. What a pleasure to hear speaking English all day long. I miss it so much.
French classes were the funniest and the most exciting hours of the day. How interesting it was to see how foreigners learned and saw your language. It was a pleasure to help them do exercises. Sometimes, I couldn’t even be helpful since I wasn’t able to explain how something worked as. Then you can understand the struggles and the little tricky parts of your mother tongue.
What a shock I had when I realized students only had 20 minutes for lunch and that they just ate a sandwich. The first day, I was starving but I think I could have get used to.
Even if I only spent few days there, I can say that movies always emphasize the reality. People just come as they are, do their stuff and live their own life. I felt comfortable, I wasn’t afraid of being judged because of my clothes or my haircut. Of course, it is true that school’s corridors are lined with lockers on each side, and that the school’s emblems are everywhere and cheerleaders do exist but don’t always trust what you see on screen. Try to build your own opinion and to get your point of view.
I really enjoyed attending school in another country. To see how it worked has helped me taking steps back and opening my mind to other school system. I feel so lucky to have lived such an experience and be sure, i’ll try again !
By Emma Lesaffre
