You would not know that Keike Brodersen is from Germany unless she told you.

Keike, 16, a junior at Lakeside, is an exchange student who has been here for about 10 months. She is from Fohr, a small island in the North Sea. She has been learning English for quite a few years, and her proficiency might surprise you. There is only the slightest trace of an accent, and she is more fluent than a lot of kids who have lived in the U.S. all their lives.

Keike has been busy.

"I'm taking U.S. history, literature, French, ceramics and chorus. I'm playing tennis; I'm on the dance team for Lakeside and I'm in FCCLA," she says.

It would seem Keike has a gift for languages.

"I can speak French, Frisian, English and German," she said.

Frisian, an old language closely related to German, is spoken on her island, and back home, she speaks Frisian with her parents and German in school. She would also like to learn Spanish.

She is staying with George and Michelle Cimiallo and their family, Preston, 8, and Parker, 3. She baby-sits sometimes.

There are some hardships that accompany staying in another country.

"Getting to know people and trying to find friends is difficult. It was really hard reading The Scarlet Letter in literature, too," she said.

Despite having to start over, Keike is enjoying her stay:

"Everything's so different, but everyone's so nice. I like the school here. It's a lot bigger."

Trisha Pintavorn is a freshman at Lakeside High School.