| ‘It was so nice of them to open their home to me’ — Fenja Siepelmeyer |
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By Gayle VanVooren Mascot Editor  Fenja Siepelmeyer stepped into the Minneota culture at the end of September, becoming the fourth foreign exchange student in attendance at Minneota High School this year. “I went to a host family in Stewart first and that just didn’t work out,” said Siepelmeyer. “The Myhre’s opened their home to me and within a week I was in Minneota. It was so nice of them to have me here so quickly,” she added. Siepelmeyer is living with the Wade and Terri Myhre family, which includes three elementary-aged boys. “I like the boys,” added Siepelmeyer with a grin. “They are so much fun.” Since that time, Siepelmeyer has been immersing herself in the Minneota school system. “I love the small town because it is so different than what I was used to,” she added. “I wanted to learn about the U.S.A. and improve my speech, as well as see what the school system is like,” she said. So far, she is enjoying taking Spanish and English classes, but misses the physical education class she took back home in Germany. “The people at school are so nice and I really enjoy it here,” she added. She said, “They have a different schedule every day (in Germany) with six periods one day and ten another. And we have no after school activities.” She also mentioned that kids go to schools according to their abilities. So while they start one school at the beginning of the year, they may be moved to another school during that year if grades change drastically. With club activities, fine arts and athletics being an important part of the school day here, Siepelmeyer agreed she is having a lot more fun in school here in Minneota. “You have to go to another club out of school to be involved in sports,” she said. “Everyone here is all excited for the games and there’s such a big school spirit that we don’t have in Germany at all,” she added. She comes from Osnabrueck, Ger-many, a city of some 32,000 people. She finds Minneota to be “quite different” but stated that she likes it here very much. She is a junior in the high school. Her father, Frank, works at a car company, and her mom, Sabine, is a teacher of first through fourth graders. She has a brother, Lennart, who is 12. When not involved in classes or extra curricular activities, Siepel-meyer “likes going to the movies, meeting friends, and singing.”
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