A new experience

DT Welcomes a new exchange student

By: Camdyn Beirow 

The small town of Doniphan might be seen as boring, a lot of “the same-old thing” for most of us, but not for Anna Schuermann. Schuermann is one of two foreign exchange students attending school at Doniphan-Trumbull this semester.

Because of the CoronaVirus, Schuermann was unable to come to the U.S. for a full school year. She instead went to France to work on her French before coming to the states. 

“France was great but because of Corona the schools closed and after 8 weeks I had to go back to Switzerland. I stayed in Vichy.” Says Anna

Schuermann, who is from Lucerne, Switzerland, is adjusting to the small town life that Doniphan has to offer. The town of Lucerne, known for its beautiful views of the Swiss Alps and has a population of around 80,000, is just a little different from Doniphan's flat vistas and 800+. In Switzerland  she enjoyed baking and dancing back in Switzerland.

“Doniphan is much smaller than Lucerne. Lucerne is a city where there are lots of shops, where you can buy clothes and there are many hotels,” says Schuermann.

Schuermann is adjusting to the minor differences between Doniphan and her hometown. Schuermann experienced her first basketball game in person when DT took on Ravenna. She is excited to see what else Nebraska has to offer, like the infamous Runza restaurant.

“It was really great, we don't have basketball games like that in Switzerland, and my host family recently took me to Runza,” says Schuermann

The upcoming semester will be an exciting time for her as she will be taking classes that she wasn’t taking back home in Switzerland.

“High School in Nebraska is very different from that in Switzerland, the subjects are a lot more fun than in Switzerland, for example, we don't have a subject like home design or food,” says Schuermann.

Schuermann has been enjoying her experiences with her host family, Sydney Rainforth’s family, and has been introducing them to new things just as they are helping to teach her about Nebraska.

“I have been teaching my host family how to speak German,” Schuermann says.

Anna Schuermann is excited for the semester at DT, ready to discover new things and visit new places

“I'm going to Arizona with my host family, I'm really looking forward to it.’’ Says Anna.