Foreign exchange student, Gweni Duwenhogger eagerly jumps into her semester at Grandview with the help of her host sister, Aspen Roethe.

Duwenhogger traveled here from Heidelberg, Germany and is in the 10th grade here at Grandview. 

As for her host family, she has a mom, dad and two sisters. One of her sisters, Aspen, is a senior here at Grandview. Duwenhogger’s host family also consists of a dog and three cats. 

Duwenhogger enjoys being able to have pets due to the fact that she doesn’t have any back home.

“I mow the [lawn] and feed the pets,” Duwenhogger said. 

Although Duwenhogger is a foreign exchange student, she is still given the responsibilities of a normal teenager.

 Duwenhogger is treated just like a member of the Roethe family. Although she fit in well with the family, Duwenhogger especially connected with her host sister, Aspen Roethe.

“Hosting an exchange student is just like adding another sibling,” senior Aspen Roethe said. “Gweni is exactly like a younger sibling.”

Roethe has shown Duwenhogger more then just the hoops of Grandview. The sisters also hangout together outside of school.

They have shared their varying cultural traditions with each other. While Roethe introduced Duwenhogger to American football and homecoming, Duwenhogger has introduced the Roethe family to German dishes such as schnitzel and pretzels.

There has been many suprising aspects in Duwenhoggers trip to the US.

“I think in the US most of the things are bigger,” Duwenhogger said. “So all the grocery stores are bigger, cars are bigger, everything is bigger.”

Compared to Grandview with 3,000 students, Duwenhogger was not used to the large number of students roaming the halls. 

“I had 500 students at my old school so it’s quite big here,” Duwenhogger said.  

Grandview, and lots of other schools are lucky to have so many interesting classes to choose from, as Duwenhogger only had 1 art class at her school in Germany.

“[We] don’t have Tech Theater, I don’t think we have cooking, photography, ceramics and all that stuff,” Duwenhogger said. “We only have German, English, and French; the basics. ”

Duwenhogger finds solace and fun in the relaxing hobby: Painting. 

Art has helped to bond Duwenbogger and Roethe as her host sister also enjoys being creative.

As much as she is enjoying her trip, Duwenhogger has still faced many challenges.

“I miss my friends and my family,” Duwenhogger said. 

Besides these bumps, Duwenhogger has created alot of fun memories. From eating Cheetos for the first time to going to her new found favorite restaurants Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A, Duwenhogger has had plenty of new experiences with food. 

Although the food is good, It’s not only great food that she has been delighted in trying. 

“I love Target. We don’t have [Target] in Germany.” Duwenhogger said. 

Though her time here has just begun, Duwenhogger feels as though she has already learned some valuable lessons.

“I have learned just to be yourself and [to] be open to everything,” Duwenhogger said. 

Duwenhogger hopes to have future endeavors in the US. 

“I would love to come back,” Duwenhogger said.“ Maybe go to college or [just] visit my host family.”