Traverse City High School - Pines Yearbook (Traverse City, MI)

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Enrich Traverse City I am Eva Svensson from a city called Sundsvall in the northern part of Sweden. Sundsvall is three times bigger than Traverse City, but the two cities remind me very much about each other, because they are both situated around a bay. I like Traverse City very much because of its marvelous beaches and good skiing facilities. Where I live we have at least as much snow as you have, but unfortunately the hills are too rocky to be good for down hill skiing, so we ski mostly cross country instead. Besides skiing and swimming, I en- joy reading, theater, concerts, and traveling. This year I am staying with the Youker family. My Swedish family consists of six persons: my father, who is a veterinarian, my mother, my three sisters, and me. American schools seem to be somewhat easier than Swedish schools, because American students are fortunate enough to choose themselves what they want to study. Swedish students have to choose one out of the main three combinations and have to take at least three foreign languages to be able to graduate. Though we have to take gym every year we do not stress sports and other extra- curricular activities. We study up to thirteen subjects, and go to school on Satur- days. Only a minority graduate, and it is not uncommon to have to repeat a year. Being an exchange student, I will miss a year of school, but I think the experience I have gained will more than make up for it. My name is Manfred Sommer. I stay here with the Scranton family under the Y.F.U. program. My home town Bre- men in northern Germany is the size of Boston. Going to school in the afternoon , having lunch at school, and missing real fall, Christmas, and Easter vacations required quite some adjustment. While I take about thirteen subjects at home, I experience six different courses here. I find that in American literature and senior math 127 the teach- ing methods are pretty German. Humanities, my favorite class, driver ' s education, and U.S. government, the class I regard as most important for all students, are completely new to me. My favorite club, the Varsity Club, the Ski Club, and the A.F.S. Club made my free time a great time. The N.H.S. emphasized the academic aspect of school life. It was a privilege for me to be the first historian of the Student Council and tobeamember of the Investigation Com- mittee, which created the Student Court. I want to express my gratitude to your great principal, Mr. Lawler, his ex- cellent teaching staff, and the entire stu- dent body, especially the seniors. The only wish 1 have, while I am just about to leave TCHS, is to return to Michigan as soon as possible.

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Exchange Students My name is Nora King. I ' m an excha nge stu- dent from Uruguay on the Youth for Understanding exchange program. I am living with the Raftshol family. Traverse City is a very nice place. I es- pecially like the high school and its activities. In Uruguay the school system is different from here. There are four years of high school, and we graduate when we are sixteen years old. This is why they don ' t teach driving at school, because we can ' t have our driving license until we are eighteen. 1 find that American people have a very active life. What I like most is that they are very friendly and ready to help me whenever 1 need help. My hobbies are swimming, tennis, and listen- ing to good music. I hope skiing will be one too. Of all the subjects I take, the one I enjoy best is humanities. It is a completely new thing to me, for we don ' t get it in Uruguay. My favorite tilings are cherry pie, salad dressing, American cars, and sweatshirts . I will always remember my stay in America as a wonderful experience. I think it is the wish of every exchange student that Americanpeople should know and understand other ideas and customs. My name is Torbjorn Sandberg. But most Americans couldn ' t pronounce my first name, so I changed it to Toby. I live in southern Sweden, just across from Copenliagen, Denmark. I live there with my family, which consists of Mom, Dad, and two sisters, 20 and 15 years old. I ' m in between them, many times a very good position. Here in the U.S.I live with the Frantz family at 422 Sixth Street. They ' re a very nice family with three sons and one daughter, all of them lots of fun. I like your ski areas around here. Where Hive in Sweden we have the snow, but not the hills. Therefore, I ' ve taken every chance to ski I ' ve had. Further- more, I like the school with its spirit, my family, the Big Boy, your big, smooth cars,Tanz Haus, and the choir. Shortly said: I like it here and enjoy every min- ute of it. The people over here in the U.S. are very nice and friendly. Youfeel welcome wherever you go: to church, stores, clubs, school, everywhere. What I ' m going to miss most? Your pies, especially banana, your friendli- ness, your cars, the Big Boy, and Holi- day ski area. Hope to see you again! Until then . . . take it easy!

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I am Lone Jacobsen from Copenhagen, Den- mark. I am in the United States on an American Field Service International Scholarship. For several years it was my great wish to go to America, so when the time came, I was very happy to go, and 1 expected much, I didn ' t get disappointed at all. My stay in Traverse City with the A. Kent Schafers on 7341 East Shore Road is a wonderful experience. I enjoy the school, though it ' s very different from the gym- nasium I attended in Denmark. The relations between the teachers and students are very in- formal here, which I think is a favor. The clubs are very well developed and are adding much of importance to the school atmosphere. This is something I will miss when I get home. I will be home in Denmark in August after a four week trip around the states. Back and Forth with AFS The local adult chapter of the American Field Serv- ice, teachers, and upperclassmen interviewed eight TCHS juniors for the Americans Abroad Program. From this group, the committee selected RickStulen and Con- nie Spencer. The committee sent their applications to the New York AFS office . This office notified Rick in March that he was a semi-finalist with the program. If AFS can find Rick a home overseas for the summer, TCHS will enjoy his programs next year, as much as it enjoyed last year ' s finalist Jean Bjork ' s experiences in Turkey. 18