Noah Fleri
CHENEY- Noah Fleri, is a 16 year old high school junior from Berlin, Germany who is being hosted at Cheney High school this year.
Fleri's host parents while he is here are Cody Kurtis and Jeena Bushnell of Cheney. Fleri was recently in the cross country club and now he is focused on weightlifting and is in the power lifting club and said, "we just lift weights, and that's about it."
Although he is not involved in any sports right now, he plans to play soccer when it becomes available. He said on the weekends and during his free time, he often spends time with friends and visits Coeur d'Alene lake in Idaho. He said that he goes there often because his host dad's family live near there.
When asked how he feels about Cheney high school, he said "I would say it is very different from my high school." He said that his home school is a lot smaller and does not offer extracurricular activities. He also mentioned that unlike Cheney high school, his school encompasses all grades from first grade to high school. In Berlin, students are offered basic classes and there are no sports or extracurricular activities.
He said, "In Germany, there are core subjects that you can't fail, otherwise you fail the whole grade." He said German students have more breaks in between classes than he does while he's in the Unites States.
He added "Back home, we have a half an hour for breakfast after second period and after fifth period, we have an hour for lunch." The exchange student said although he isn't offered the long breaks between classes, he does like the fact that school starts nearly an hour later than it does in Germany.
Fleri noted that Cheney is a very car dependent location, which is frustrating to him at times. Being used to free public transportation, Fleri said "You have to have a car to get to everything here, especially, as I am from Berlin, we have subways and trains and everything is free for students."
He says he can get anywhere in Berlin easily using free public transportation.
Speaking about transportation, Fleri said "in America, you can drive when you are 15 years old, in Germany, you have to be 18 years old to drive." He said that he prefers his country's rules on driving because he doesn't feel like many 15-year-old students are mature enough for driving.
Fleri said he notices large differences in American and German consumption habits. "The consuming, it is amazing to me, how much stuff, like the pantry is always filled with snacks and stuff and everyday they buy groceries, I don't know how they do it." he said.
He said Americans waste a lot of food and he said that was shocking as well. Fleri's brother was also an exchange student at Cheney high school, which helped him be better prepared. He said although he has been disappointed in some things like the transportation issue, it has been a mostly positive experience while he has been here.
Fleri said he misses his home because "I can go out with friends a lot more because of public transportation, it is a big city, you can go anywhere you want basically."
He feels like he has a lot more freedom to get around back home. He said that he enjoyed the holiday break with his host family, opening gifts and eating a big dinner followed by a New Year's trip to Long Beach, Washington.
Fleri elaborated on what he hopes to gain during his time here, and said, "I do hope my English skills reach a higher level and that I make many friends so I have connections for later in life." Upon returning home, he wants to meet up with his friends and family and maybe fly back to Italy and visit family there.
After graduation, Fleri plans to either become a police officer or a teacher. He said he will not be attending an American university because "I think you have to pay for American universities, which is really expensive, everyone told me." He said that his brother attends a German university and it is $600 a year.
Features reporter, Sarah Stephens can be reached at features@cheneyfreepress.com
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