Maine West's foreign exchange student this year is 17‑year‑old Elizabeth (Betty) Dolch from Dusseldorf, Germany.

Betty is the youngest in a family of two brothers and two sisters. Her father is a business manager. Here in America Betty's staying with the Hillstroms, her host family. Betty has two host "sisters," Linda, a sophomore at M.W. and Nancy, a filth grader.

Betty's first impression of Maine West was the number of students we have here. Compared to the 700 in her school, it's quite a difference. Betty also found we are in so much of a hurry all the time, compared to her school. Her school in Germany has a type of open campus. Students are free to go where they want on a break. There are no study periods and school usually lets out between 1:05 and 1:55. Betty's schedule in Germany

changes every day of the week, and there is more lesson time than here. Betty's schedule this year includes physics, English, design and material, government, and radio-TV.

Betty's reason for joining the AFS program was to learn English, a subject she was having a little trouble with; but now that she is here she knows it was also to see what this country was like and to gain some insight about Americans.

Betty feels people put down someone else's opinion too much. "I have my opinion and you have yours; and though it's different, you shouldn't make fun of mine. It's just childish."

Betty will stay until the end of the school year. Stop and say hello and make her feel at home.