Kendall Langley

Many foreign exchange students walk the halls of Rolla High School every year, but last year, one of RHS’s own students experienced her own exchange year in Germany. Current senior Brynley Bedford decided that she wanted to spend her junior year across the ocean, and the process of getting there was a selective one.
“I had to write a bunch of essays, submit my GPA, my transcript, and then I also had to do a few phone interviews. I took two years of German through Rolla High School, and then I found the program, which was a free year, completely paid for by the government,” Bedford said. “The program I went on was a special program through the government called CBYX [Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange]. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to apply for it, and see what happens.’ And luckily, I got it. Only two hundred fifty Americans get to go, and that’s nationwide,” Bedford said.
During her exchange year, Bedford lived in a small town that she believed to be a perfect distance from some of the most well-loved cities in Germany.
“I was in Laupheim, and it was about two hours away from Nuremberg, two hours away from Munich, and two hours away from Stuttgart. It was perfect for traveling … My program paid for a travel ticket, which means I could take any public transportation for free. So I got to go to Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, like all the major cities for free … My favorite city was Hamburg. I just think it was beautiful because there’s all the red brick and there’s just so much history there. And it was really nice,” Bedford said.
Bedford’s original host family didn’t work out for her, resulting in Bedford moving in with a different family.
“I started off at one host family, and then I ended up switching after a month into another one. The first one, it just didn’t work out. The family dynamic was too different. And so we thought it was best for me to move somewhere else. That’s when I moved to Laupheim, which ended up being the perfect area for me. I had a whole bunch of host siblings and it was a small little house so we’re all cramped in, but it was nice. It felt like a real home, and very authentic,” Bedford said.
The schooling in Germany is different from the schooling in America, and Bedford had to grow accustomed to Germany’s education system.
“The school there is really different. In Germany, you have more classes, and it’s not every single day. Every day your schedule is a bit different, and the classes were also about an hour and a half each. So it was more like college classes. Another big difference was that they’re separated into different high schools depending on how smart the student is. There’s three levels of schooling … and I was in the higher level,” Bedford said.
With all change comes nerves, and moving to Germany for a year is a big change. Bedford shares how she went through a bit of personal growth throughout her trip.
“In the beginning, I was so nervous. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna wait to see if someone else wants to do this with me.’ I wasn’t confident to go out by myself, but, honestly, just go do it. You’ll learn so much about yourself. You’ll learn how to have fun being by yourself. I used to always not like being by myself. It’s lonely. But then I learned to enjoy solitude and go out and do things,” Bedford said. “So I went to Munich, I went to all these cities by myself and sometimes with friends. But I just learned more about myself and how to have fun. I traveled more than other people in the program; some people didn’t enjoy their exchange here as much and just stayed home. I recommend going out and doing stuff even if you’re nervous.”
Bedford also experienced a little bit of homesickness while away, but she quickly found a cure.
“Everyone in my program experienced a bit of homesickness. I distracted myself by going to all the little Christmas markets and getting souvenirs like music boxes and mugs and stuff. And if you distract yourself, it’s fine, but I did experience [homesickness] a bit during the holidays,” Bedford said.
There were also other Americans located in Germany who were a part of the CBYX program, and Bedford loved meeting up with them.
“Everyone in the CBYX program is American; it’s through Congress and the Bundestag [German parliament], and they send people to each other’s countries. They’re spread all throughout. But there were some people that were pretty close to me, and we met in little cities close to us. It’s like a little network of Americans there,” Bedford said.
Bedford’s homecoming came with mixed feelings, but she plans on returning to Germany in the future, as well as potentially doing another exchange year somewhere else.
“It was a bit bittersweet. I was excited to come home and see my family, and then, on the other hand, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna miss these guys,’ because we hung out all the time in class and stuff, and we went out and did stuff in cities, and we had a lot of fun, but I still text them every now and then, and we still talk to each other. I’ll definitely go back to Germany, and back to my favorite cities: Hamburg and Munich, but I don’t think I’ll ever go on another exchange year to Germany, and instead I want to do a semester in Italy, in college,” Bedford said.