There is a new face in EPG, Sophomore Perrine Krampl. Perrine is an exchange student from Austria. While here, she is staying with the Brucker family (Ava & Elise). When she first came to EPG, she stated, “It was just like the movies. The hallways look exactly like I expected them to be. The classes are like I thought they were going to be.” 

How did she feel when told she would be moving to Illinois?  She explained, “At first, I didn’t even really know the state of Illinois. I looked it up on the internet to find out what the weather is like and what the landscape looks like. I was really excited because it seemed pretty different from what I was used to in Austria. I also loved my host family from the beginning.”  

How have people been treating her so far? “Americans are such nice people! No matter where I’ve been, everybody was very friendly and welcoming.”  As a follow-up, I asked how she would compare Americans to Austrians on a nice-ness scale. She replied, “Americans are nicer and more open with conversation. People in grocery stores here ask how your day was and how are you doing, but in Austria, people only say hi.”

I was also curious how her home country’s clothing was different from America’s.  Said Perrine, “My school wears more formal clothes. Wearing sweatpants or not formal wear is considered disrespectful in my old school.” On the topic of clothing, I asked her what she thought of American students’ less formal apparel. “In Europe, when you go outside, everyone is wearing formal clothing and looks put together, but here you walk out and see people in sweatpants and leggings.” EPG is fortunate to have such a sweet exchange student join our school. Perrine participates in cross country and show choir. She is also planning to do track in the spring. If you see her in the hallway, be sure to say hello!