From Germany to USA- What was the first impression of life and High School like

Hey and welcome to my first post!

I was quite relaxed when the time came to meet my Host family because I had talked to them for a few months already, so it felt like I was meeting people that I already knew very well and also I was very tired from the journey, so it felt all rather surreal. When my host mom saw me she ran to hug me. I was so happy to finally arrive. I met the whole family at the airport and it was just great. For the first few days some other German exchange students that were my friends stayed with us. When we went onto the high way, I already saw a difference. Every where along the streets were advertisements, we have that in Germany too but not in that dimensions. The first week my host family took me to a lot of places and I became very familiar with the area. And soon I met my Spanish host sister.

High school is very different from Germany. The first thing I have to clarify is that the myth that American High school is very easy, is not true. Though the material we learn is easy, the dimensions of work we have to do and how long school s each day, makes it not as easy as thought. When I had my first day and entered the building, I felt as if I was in a movie. I was in an American high school!! Omggg. I was very excited. Something that I did nit expect was the way people dress, I was always told that the dress code is strict but yea at my school it is apparently not. A difference is that the students have to go to the teacher and not the teacher to the class. And that participating in class is not graded at all. Similar is that the Ap courses are on the level of German classes. I can’t choose between my two favourite classes, but the 2 classes I like the most are Ap World History and Jazz Band.
The school offers many activities which is great fun. 
I recommend any exchange student: Join as many clubs as you can. For example, as soon as I got my placement, I texted the Marching Band teacher and so I joined the Band. It was a great experience, I learned a lot in the music area and I met many friends. 
So I would say my first few weeks have been quite a success. But to this I often had to jump over my own shadow, trying to talk to new people and trying new things. It wasn’t always easy and there were  ofc people that weren’t nice but they are everywhere and the experience I made is all worth it.