If you have encountered an outgoing and friendly sophomore who has a European accent, it is most likely you have come across German foreign exchange student Lea Thanscheidt, a new sophomore at North Atlanta.

The 16-year-old fraulein hails from Leverkusen, a smaller city near much-larger Cologne, one of the largest cities in Germany. “I love the city life,” she said. “My home town is a couple hours away from Berlin.”

Though this is certainly her first scholastic experience in the United States, she has been to this country during visits to New York and California. “It’s so odd to see how differently people speak according to where they live,” she said.

After graduating from high school, she plans to attend college in Germany to become a teacher and study abroad in America.

Since she was in pre-kindergarten, Thanscheidt has been studying the English language vigorously. “It was really cool to come to a country where you get to practice speaking all of the time,” she said. “The best thing about America is the language. It’s completely different from the way British people speak.”

While being a student at North Atlanta, she is taking classes like any other student. Currently, her courses are literature, chemistry, world history, art, theater, team sports and ballet. “My favorite subject is math,” she said. “I’m really good at it, but I’m a little more advanced than what I’m learning now.”

For a semester, she will be living with a host family in Buckhead, parents who had students graduate from North Atlanta. “They cook really good food although it’s quite different fare than what I’m accustomed to in Germany,” she said. “But still, it is so delicious.”

Thanscheidt is an avid traveler, and has seen the sights of Australia, Thailand, China and numerous countries in her home continent of Europe. “The next country I’d like to visit is New Zealand,” she said. “It’s clean, they speak English, and it’s a great country to experience.”

Since she has a short time to spend at North Atlanta, she has made as many friends as possible with the hopes of creating lifelong connections. “The Americans are so approachable and understanding, and I’ll never forget the memories made during this trip,” she said.

For many years gone, North Atlanta has been the proud temporary home of many foreign exchange students from the ginormous green forests of Brazil to the magnificent mountains of Austria. And now – Herzlich Wilkommen zu North Atlanta! – welcome to North Atlanta Lea Thanscheidt!