Interview- Felix Steiner

I chose to interview Felix Steiner from Lichtenfels, Germany. Felix came to my high school as a part of a Sister Cities program for my sophomore and part of my senior years. We communicated via Facebook and here are his responses to my questions!

From the left: Felix, CJ and Kevin. 

These are my friends from high school and Felix at an OSU game their Freshman year. I think these boys and Buckeye pride are the reasons why Felix thinks sports and American education go hand in hand haha :)

1. Where are you from?

 I'm from Lichtenfels, Germany

2. What level of schooling have you completed?

 Highschool degree

3. What is/was your life like growing up in Germany?

Educational wise I went to Kindergarten until i was 7, when I was younger I spent most time with my friends from my neighborhood playing soccer both on soccer fields but most of the time in the streets.

4. Describe the type of government in your country.

Germany is a democratic republic with Angela Merkel as it's chancellor. The Chancellor is the head of government and is therefore the executive power as the parliament is the legislative power. The Chancellor always gets elected for 4 year terms but can indefinitely get reelected.

5. What is the structure of the educational system in Germany?

1) The Gymnasium: after grade 12 pupil finish with the final exam the Abitur what prepares them to attend university
2) The Realschule: final exam is the "Mittlere Reife" after grade 10. The school has compared to the Gymnasium a broader range of emphasis for intermediate pupils

3) The Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education: final exam is the "Hauptschulabschluss" 

What type of school children can attend is all depending on there GPA of the "Grundschule"

6. What motivated you to come study in the US?

Well as you know I didnt study there yet but for me the motivation is or would be more for social than for educational reasons. First of all I always wanted to study abroad and since I'm so much into sports I like how sports and education are combined in the U.S.

7. What are your views on American education?

For me being used to German education I think the American education (Highschool!) is not as strict and easier to get through considering tests. I think it's a good thing sports are appreciated as part of the education but with the US having college sports in my opinion lots of kids invest way too much time into sports instead of their studies, i think for me this is one big weakness educational wise because when people don't make it far enough to make sports their living they end up having a bad educational level.

8. What are your views on American culture and social life?

Socially I feel like Americans have a very strong company as a community if needed. Americans obviously are very patriotic what I personally like a lot since patriotism is still such a big problem in Germany because of its history. What i recognised most about American culture is how people are very religious and appreciate life. Also sports play one important role in most Americans lifes.

9. What were some challenges you faced adjusting to American student life?

 can't really think of serious challenges that i faced. If there is one I would say that sometimes it wasn't always easy to have people understand how Germany is like and how certain things work in our country.

 10. What were some strategies you used to adjust to American learning and culture?

I think the best way to adjust to any culture is to just be open minded and leaving own cultural values behind. When I came to America for the first time I always tried to be open for new things to experience and tried to talk to people a lot. For me it was the easiest way to understand what people think and how they feel about life in general.