Hogan has enjoyed the unique experience of being a foreign exchange student.
Meet Linda Hogan from Germany
Linda Hogan addresses the many pros and cons of being a foreign exchange student
Welcome to “Walk in their shoes”, a column where we showcase our foreign exchange students and their homes throughout the year.
Linda Hogan (‘24) is from Germany.
Hogan is incredibly grateful for her opportunity to study abroad in the United States. She said it’s lovely in Colorado, but “of course [she’s] looking forward to going back [home]”.
Her friends are the reason she decided to look into being a foreign exchange student. “All my friends have studied abroad, so they really made me interested in it,” she shared. And even with the difficulties, Hogan does not regret the decision.
What surprised Hogan the most about the American education system was the fact that students have the liberty to choose their classes, something that German students don’t have the privilege of.
Back in Germany, Hogan enjoys playing fistball (which she described is similar to volleyball) as well as riding her horse, Canela. Hogan has really enjoyed taking advantage of the opportunity to continue to ride horses during her free time while she stays in Colorado.
Hogan spoke on both the pros and cons of her stay as a foreign exchange student. She said she misses a lot of things — her family, her friends, and most importantly, public transportation. “I don’t have a car or a bike, and if I [decide] to walk it’ll take me three hours [to get to my destination],” she said.
Hogan is used to the comfort of having access to public transportation in all cities and small towns. “My bus in Germany comes every ten minutes, and I can get to the next biggest city in 40 minutes,” she continued.
The most complicated part of becoming a foreign exchange student was the process of getting a visa approved, according to Hogan’s experience thus far. She said immigrant police officers asked her lots of ridiculous questions, and it was an extremely long wait.
Hogan said it has been super fun to get to live in and experience the customs of another country. She’s loved trying different habits and exploring American systems. But she did admit being a foreign exchange student can be really boring and sometimes lonely — sometimes you don’t have much to do and just stay at home since you don’t know as much what people do in their free time.
Overall Hogan has loved studying at Mead High, despite the challenges. We can’t wait to see what other adventures she looks into.