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	Letters from students abroad Julien H. << zurück Arizona 2000 Dear students, my name is Julien Hasselmann and right now I'm having a great time in Phoenix, Arizona. The organization that brought me here is the former Amicus (now called Xenos) a Christian organization that sends students from Berlin to the western parts of the United States, such as Kansas, Nebraska, Alaska, California, Washington State, etc. The exchange program actually starts almost a year before you go to the US. At the beginning there is a lot of paper work to do, through which they get to know you better. Then there is a weekend camp in which you get to talk to 'real' Amis. They decide whether you are a good representative in the US or not. Just be yourself and it should be easy to get admitted by them! After that there is a weekly meeting with different subjects like: religion in America, drugs, host families, etc. When you are done with your preparation year you know a lot of things about the American culture and you can feel a little bit safer about that trip. I'm very impressed by Amicus. The people that work there are all between 20 and 30 years old. They don't get paid for what they do and invest a lot of time and love in that project. They have all been in the United States with Amicus and know exactly what's going through your mind. The name Amicus is really well chosen. From the very beginning I knew they were my friends. I guess that sounds a bit stupid, but it's true! The name Amicus changed a month ago into Xenos, which means Gastfreund, I believe (I forgot some Greek vocabularies!). That's fine too, because the staff is still the same.This is not supposed to be a commercial for Amicus, Xenos or so, it's just my personal feeling about it! Now I'm going to tell you something about Arizona and my life here. I live in a very nice family, consisting of my sister Casey (she is 16!), my hostmom Janny (she is not 16), and my host dad Bill (he is about 40). They are a very Christian family and are pretty much focused on religion and their belief, but that is how it is in most American families. I'm a Senior in my Highschool, which is the 12th grade. I'm going to graduate here in 2001 which is comparable to our Abi. Except it's way easier! Students on public schools are mostly not very well educated and their behavior is about the level of the VI. To express it in a careful way: school is more focused on fun than on work (which is a good thing for me!). Sports are very important here. Baseball, football, tennis, etc. actually everything you can dream of... I'm on the footballteam, which is a very big deal. We just reached the quarterfinals and tonight is the next game. The final will be in the professional stadium, one of the biggest football stadiums on the planet! That's just an example of the importance of sports here. I think those are pretty much the most important things you have to know ! If you have any questions, I would appreciate to receive an email from you guys (JulienHasselmann@aol.com). Have a nice time and think about a year in the US! Julien H.