Photo courtesy of Mitchell Harms

Senior Maxim Rinke (middle right) stands with his transfer family, the Harms, at a St. Louis Blues hockey game. As the months roll by, the Harms’ have found that he fits into their family naturally. “I think it was a little bit awkward at first but as time goes by, he is fitting in really well, and now he feels just like my real brother,” junior Mitchell Harms said.

As the darkness of the early morning in Germany gives way to bright sunlight, senior Maxim Rinke prepares to go to the airport. The sun shines pale tendrils of light onto Rinke as he steps out of his house and walks towards the car with his parents and bags. It is the day that he will leave Germany for a year to experience a transfer program in the United States.

Since his brothers participated in the Youth for Understanding (YFU) transfer program and returned to Germany with stories about their time in the United States (U.S.), Rinke has been excited about the opportunity to spend time in the foreign country. 

“My brothers also experienced the transfer program to the U.S., and they said that they had fun and learned a lot, so I was really excited when it came to be my turn to experience it,” Rinke said.

Rinke could not choose where he was transferred within the U.S., as YFU made the decision. However, he didn’t have a preference for his final destination.

“It doesn’t matter [to me] if I’m at a beach or anything, what matters to me is the people that I meet and the school I go to. I just think it’s really important to me to be able to learn about the culture [in the U.S.],” Rinke said.

Before arriving in the U.S., Rinke had a chance to meet his transfer family through a Zoom call. 

“My first impression of [the Harms] was that they were nice. [After that,] I couldn’t think of what else I would want in a transfer family,” Rinke said.

Even though he is taking classes in the U.S., Rinke must make up this school year in Germany. Because Germany requires one more year of school than the U.S., Rinke will make up two years of high school when he returns home.

“It has been worth it missing a year of school. If I knew what the U.S. would be like before I signed up for the program, I would have still signed up,” Rinke said.

In his free time, Rinke hangs out with his host family his friends and plays his favorite sport: soccer. 

“When [Rinke] first arrived, he was very quiet and reserved, but over a couple of months, he has really fit in and he feels like family now. It’s definitely going to be a change when he leaves for Germany again, [and] we will miss him,” Harms said.

Rinke said he would recommend the transfer experience to anyone looking to experience other cultures.

“The program was well-established, and the transfer process was flawless. I was really happy with how everything turned out, and I will be sad to leave the U.S.,” Rinke said.

Rinke recently contacted his family about the possibility of attending college in the U.S. Although he was not planning on it when he left Germany, Rinke’s goals have led him to want to remain in the U.S. for college.

“If you told me a month ago that I would even consider going to college here, I would have laughed, but the U.S. has grown on me. I have come to love the people and the different cultures here,” Rinke said.