Christoph Schroeter, 17, from Bavaria, Germany, is attending school at David Thompson Seconary as part of the international student program.

Since attending school in British Columbia, Schroeter believes his English has improved.

“School is kind of easier,” said Schroeter. “You only do four subjects in Canada [a semester].”

In Germany, it is typical to focus on all the school year’s subjects over the span of the year as opposed to splitting the subjects into different semesters.

“Everything is kind of bigger,” Schroeter said of the differences between his home and the Columbia Valley.

The general scope of the Valley, with the mountains in the skyline and the lakes and fields separating communities a fair distance apart, is much different than what Schroeter is used to.

Schroeter also finds the cars bigger in British Columbia as well, as they’re made smaller in Germany.

“I like bigger cars,” Schroeter added, though, so the new vehicle sizes were certainly not a problem for him.

The snow may be melted now, but Schroeter got a full taste of winter-style activities since he’s been to the Columbia Valley.

“I went snowshoeing,” he said. “It was really fun.”

Rocky Mountain School District No. 6 offers an International Student Program that has been in operation since 1987.

Since its start, the program offered in the communities of Golden, Invermere and Kimberley has hosted full-time and short-term students from throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, the United States and Australia.

For more information about the program, visit http://www.sd6.bc.ca/international.php