New student Johannes Stimmer, who goes by his middle name Manuel, traveled from Munich, Germany, to be a sophomore this year, and is currently staying with the Bedard family.  
   
Although he studied English at his school in Germany, Stimmer decided to come to the U.S. so that he could “study English and learn to do things independently,” he said.
“I thought it would be nice to be a foreign exchange student.”
   
According to Stimmer, adjusting to the school has been going well, even with all the differences compared to his school back in Germany.
  
“[SHS] is much bigger, but in Germany we have about 15 different subjects,” he said.

    
Stimmer also said that his peers have been nice to him and that he felt welcome at school.

    
“I enjoyed the New Students’ Barbecue because I got to meet other new students who were feeling the same as I was,” he said. “In Germany, there wouldn’t be anything like this.”
   
Even though he traveled from Germany recently, he says he already feels somewhat homesick.

   
“I just started school here but I already miss my friends and family in Germany,” Stimmer said.

    
Because Stimmer is a fan of soccer and played on his old school team, he has already attended the Earthquakes game on Aug. 22 and hopes to try out for the soccer team at Saratoga. As for Stimmer’s future plans for his education, he says that he will possibly go to college in the U.S. after graduation.

    
“I like it very much here,” he said. “It’s quite different from Germany.”