Letter: Göhler performs with band at U.S. Bank Stadium; enjoys trivia team competition – The Globe

Hello everyone,

The past month went by so fast, and it is already time for my second letter to you all.

At the beginning of October, the tennis season came to an end. I really enjoyed playing tennis and wish I could join the team again next season. Without tennis, I now have the time to join some school clubs such as BPA and robotics. I think one of the best things about American high schools are the many extracurricular activities you can participate in. There are so many interesting activities that I still want to try out.

I was also quite busy with the school band. We had marching band performances on several Saturdays. On Oct. 14, we drove up to Minneapolis and performed at the U.S. Bank Stadium.

Together with many other bands we participated there in Youth in Music. After our performance we had time left to watch some of the other really good bands. I liked the program of Iowa State University best.

On Oct. 20, I celebrated my 17th birthday. This was the first time I didn’t spend my birthday with my family, but of course they called me. I spent the day instead with my friends here and in the evening we went to the movie theater to watch Killers of the Flower Moon. A huge surprise was the birthday package my parents sent me from Germany with some of my favorite cookies and cake in it.

At the end of October, it was already time for me to move to my next host family. My three months with the Najeras went by so fast and I want to thank them for the nice time I had with them.

Now I am staying with Doyschers. I got to know their daughter, Erin, through the school band and we became friends quickly. She and her parents, Patrick and Charon Doyscher, welcomed me heartily in their family. Erin and I spent our first weekend together carving pumpkins for Halloween and baking brownies.

I was really excited for Halloween. Even though we have Halloween in Germany, it’s just not that big of a thing there. So of course my friends and I dressed up and we watched spooky movies together.

On Nov. 2, we had another cool band event: the indoor concert. We got a bunch of glow sticks and put them all over us for the lights out show. That was really impressive; the whole atmosphere changed when we turned off the lights.

Contributed / Sophie Göhler

Last weekend, my host family took me to Lake Sarah to go fishing. On our way there, we stopped at Runnings and I got my very own Minnesota fishing license. When we arrived at the lake, we first marveled at the beautiful landscape and then cast out our fishing rods.

Unfortunately, we had no luck catching a fish. On our way back, we stopped at a supermarket.

So I flew nine hours across the ocean just to end up shopping at Aldi. I discovered German food there that I thought I would never get here. They even had my favorite German Christmas cookies “Lebkuchen” and “Spekulatius”. I am curious to see if they really taste the same as the real German ones.

Speaking of German food, I also prepared some for my new host family. I brought some Spaetzle, a German type of noodles with me from Germany, and we ate those with “Schweinebraten”, a German style roast pork. Another day I made Schnitzel for my host family. This is a thin slice of meat coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

One other special event this month has been the trivia night at the Forbidden Barrel. Almost the whole robotics team takes part in it and last time we were so many we had to split up into two teams. Although we lost badly, we had a lot of fun there.

Spending time like this with my new friends is what makes my time here so wonderful and special.

Those were some of the amazing things I experienced this past month. I am looking forward to sharing more with all of you next month.

Sincerely,
Sophie Göhler
2023-24 exchange student to Worthington