EXCHANGE: Song in his heart

Jonathan Proulux found at the Königslutter Dom church a home away from home© Katja Nitsche

The kid from New jersey looked up at the vaulted ceiling of the eight-centuries-old church and ran his hand along the back of a pew. »The accoustics in here are great,« Jonathan Proulx says, reminiscing about a Christmas Eve concert he took part in. »And the people welcomed me like you wouldn?t believe.«

Sending his voice soaring through an ancient cathedral isn't how Jon usually spends his holidays. Once in Germany, though, he threw himself into the exchange experience - joining choirs, playing soccer, studying German until he could speak it like a native. It took a few bouts of homesickness and a period of adjustment to get the routine down, but for the 17-year-old from Audubon, N.J., making German life his own was the key to growing up, becoming independent and finding a direction in life.

John came to Germany as a high school junior, which made him the youngest person in his program; most other students had already graduated and came to Germany for a year before heading to college. For those students, life was a bit easier, with more time for socializing and goofing off.

With a year to go at high school back in the States, that wasn't an option for John. »I just can?t afford that. They?ve already graduated,« he says. »I have to do my senior year still. I still have to figure out what to do next.«

Not that buckling down and working hard has been easy. Arriving in Germany with just a basic knowledge of the language, John had to spend four or five hours a night on homework, paging through a dictionary to make sure he understood what he was reading. »I just finished physics in German,« he says. »It was the hardest thing I've ever done.«