Junior Mija Delija is an exchange student from West Germany near the Rhine River and the town of Cologne. She is staying with a host family, the Orisons.
“I get along with them very well,” said Delija. “I’m very happy that I’m with them. They’re very chill and not very strict with stuff and just friendly in general.”
Outside of school, she enjoys dancing, singing, and playing the piano.
This year she is in Patrick Bradley’s AP Latin class, which is her favorite class. Other classes she is taking are AP chemistry, chorus, precalculus, US history, English DE, and theatre.
In Germany, Delija was active in a church group as well as a student council. This year she is looking forward to getting involved in the Environmental and Outing Club and also continuing dance classes after school.
After only living here for a few months, Delija is noticing several major differences among the interactions between Germans and the interactions between Americans.
“I feel like people are more open here. They are friendlier when they first meet you,” said Delijia. “Germans are reserved, but more direct.”
Delija noted the major differences she has observed in typical German personalities and American personalities.
“[Americans] are very interested in other people and like talking about their lives, and sometimes they share personal stuff more easily than German people,” said Delija.
So far, Delija has already made several friends within her first few weeks at RCHS. She also mentioned how German schooling differs immensely from the school system in Lexington.
“One thing is that we don’t have every subject every day…and we don’t have many quizzes. Our tests are a bit more important [as] we have two tests each semester,” said Delija.
As for adapting to life in America, Delija misses her family, friends, and German food, but is easily getting used to frequently speaking English.
In Lexington, she enjoys the sense of community.
“There’s so much going on in the city. For example, the Community Festival just happened, and people actually [went] to it,” said Delija. “It’s not just a thing that’s there and no one does it.”
Delija is captivated by the friendly and very active society of Lexington, especially with its petite size. She is eager to see what life in Lexington holds for her this year, including making more friendships with students and taking part in American activities, such as Christmas and prom.