Beaver Dam High School students traveled to Germany this summer as part of the German American Partnership Program to stay with host families. On Oct. 22, 27 students from the host families arrived in Beaver Dam for a visit from Giessen (spelled Gießen in German), about an hour north of Frankfurt.
The German students visited Washington, D.C., when they first arrived in the U.S.A.
The German American Partnership Program, which began in the 1970s, is supported by the German Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department. Each year, approximately 9,000 American and German students visit their partner schools. Beaver Dam and Giessen have one of the longest running exchanges, dating back to 1979.
German students have participated in a wide variety of activities with their host families, and attend classes with their host siblings. Five students — Tobias Carle, Leonhard Neiberger, Benedikt Shaetz, Elena Ntanas and Charlotte Wiesner — spoke about their visit so far.
Wiesner said she attended a Halloween dance last weekend.
“We don’t have Halloween,” Wiesner said. “It was amazing.”
She dressed up as a witch and worked at a haunted house on Sunday.
“That was awesome too,” she said.
Ntanas said she has never been to the U.S.A. before, and liked learning more about school life here. She attended a cooking class and really enjoyed it. She said her host family is trying to help her to experience the American way of life and spoke of how kind they are.
“They welcomed me so nicely,” Ntanas said.
She also visited Madison.
“I really liked the capitol,” Ntanas said. “I liked seeing the political life in Wisconsin.”
The students talked about the differences between Beaver Dam and their home city. Giessen, which traces its history back to the 12th century, has a population of nearly 80,000. Ntanas said she lives outside Giessen, but can reach the city in 20 minutes.
“I live right in the city,” Wiesner said.
She said her family does not have a car, but they get around on bikes.
Shaetz said Giessen is a university city, and the student body increases the population.
“I really liked the Badgers hockey game,” said Shaetz. “We had amazing seats.”
Neiberger visited Door County and stayed there for three days. He said one big difference is that BDHS is one big building. He said his school in Germany is in five or six buildings. Neiberger also spoke of the technology his host family has in their home and how connected everything is to the Internet.
The German students also remarked on how connected classrooms are at Beaver Dam High School with interactive white boards, laptops and the ability to check grades online compared to the technology offered at their school back home. They gave presentations in different classrooms, with topics including German chocolate and how Christmas is celebrated in Germany.
Wiesner said students at BDHS have made her feel like a famous person.
“Everyone wants to know your name,” Wiesner said.
The German students will depart from Beaver Dam this weekend to spend three days in Chicago before returning home to Germany.
Ntanas said she misses home, but cannot wait to see the Chicago skyline.
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