As she steps out onto the stage on opening night, her mind returns to the moment when she first stepped out of the plane. She is separated from her homeland by 5,500 miles. A time difference of nine hours prevents her from communicating with her family back home. When she takes her first few steps on American land, she finally realizes how far she is from home. All around her, strangers speak in a familiar, yet foreign tongue. Though she understands the words, she cannot keep up with the torrent of English. She worries that ,someday, she might miss home, half the world away. And yet she is excited for this new experience, to dance and act on stage, to live the American dream she has heard so much about. There are butterflies in her stomach, fluttering everywhere in anticipation of the future.

Now she is speaking and performing in English in front of an audience, laughing and working with friends who, three months ago, she never would have imagined meeting. Any fears of her new, unfamiliar environment, any desire to prematurely return to familiar faces, never surface. In fact, she revels on stage, excited for what is coming next. This, for now, is her home.

In the span of three months, junior Leonie Vullgraf, a German exchange student, went from being a foreigner, fresh off the plane from Germany, to the actress playing Mrs. Lucille McKee in MV Drama’s rendition of The Great Gatsby.

This isn’t the first time Vullgraf has acted on stage. Back in her hometown of Eckernförde, she actively participated in drama in her elementary school, where her mother was a drama teacher. Surprisingly, Vullgraf never enrolled in a formal drama class; she didn’t even think about it before this school year.

Fortunately for Vullgraf, a friend, junior Eva Ruiz, took her for a visit to the Drama Black Box.

“On the first day, Eva said to me, ‘Yeah, you can come with me to theatre, we have some friends and we are hanging out there and it’s a lesson, but we can be in there. I went with her to theatre and it was so cool that I asked the teacher if there was a free spot,” Vullgraf said. “She said, ‘Okay, you can ask Mr. [assistant principal Mike] White if you can change your schedule.’ And three days later, I was in drama.”

On the fourth day of the school year, Vullgraf joined MV Drama. Since then, she has performed in both MVSNL 2014 and MV Drama’s “The Great Gatsby.” Despite her unfamiliarity with the school and English language, Vullgraf wants to continue to participate in MV Drama performances because of the joy she feels while acting.

“To jump into character and to be on stage to get this, I love this feeling after the show when you go on stage and get the applause, and you’re so happy and full of emotion and adrenaline,” Vullgraf said. “And I love to wear costumes. And, well, it’s this mix of you jump into it and on the next day you are the next person. You can be whatever person you want to be.”

For her, like many other immigrants, the language barrier has been a difficult obstacle to pass. Despite learning English prior to her arrival, Vullgraf had trouble fully switching from German to English. However, she has been able to turn that inconvenience into amusement. Able to find humor in just about anything, Vullgraf enjoys her own small mistakes with her friends.

“It’s very funny because every day, I hear it 10 times, I think: ‘Oh, you’re so cute, oh, you’re so cute! I love your accent, it’s so fun!’” Vullgraf said. “The people are very interested, and ask me questions, how I feel and how it is. So I think I’m pretty well in that group. I’m the kind of person, I don’t have a problem with it when people laugh about me because I can laugh about myself, so when they laugh about me when I make mistakes, it’s very funny for us all.”

Vullgraf has been staying with fellow junior Bronwen Hardee and her family since the middle of August. Since the first time they met in mid-April, the two girls have been getting along amicably. Hardee was especially eager to befriend her new housemate.

“Both of my siblings were off in college,” Hardee said. “The house was too quiet, so it was great to have some company.”

Hardee’s family was introduced to the exchange program through the Wilson family, close friends who had housed Vullgraf’s brother Niklas when he was an exchange student back in 2008.

Thanks to her new friends and old hobbies, Vullgraf has found a new home in the U.S. And those fears of missing home? She hasn’t bothered herself with those since she stepped out of the plane.

“I was a bit scared that I would be homesick … I think I won’t be homesick because it’s so nice here; I don’t have a reason to be homesick,” Vullgraf said. “I really look forward to this rest of my exchange year. It only can keep getting better, I think.”

Vullgraf will return to Germany after the end of her junior year, near the beginning of July. After that, she can go back to her old school with her stories about her experience in America. Perhaps she will miss MVHS as a second home. But until then, she plans to enjoy every second of her time here.

This story was reported on by Justin Kim and Aditya Pimplaskar. Photos by Justin Kim.