Moving to an unfamiliar country in high school would be unthinkable for many students, but this is Amelie Van Dorsten’s adventure.

“I was happy because of the nature,” the German teen said of her placement in Big Sky Country. When she first found out about coming to Great Falls she didn’t know that much about it, and as happy as she may have been she said she had other ideas of where she would like to live for a year.

“When you’re from Europe the most famous things in [the] U.S. are New York, California and Hollywood,” Van Dorsten said. At first she was hoping to go to California when she signed up to be a foreign exchange student.

School in Great Falls is different than in Germany, she said. The students at CMR get to decide what classes they can take, and they also don’t rotate classes or have the same schedule everyday, Van Dorsten said.

“All the people I’ve met now are really nice,” she said, adding that the teachers have relationships with their students.

One of the things that Van Dorsten doesn’t like so much is all the fast food, but she said she does like the pancakes.