Thirty students from Germany visited BDHS as part of the German American Partnership Program, and 30 Beaver Dam families are serving as their hosts.
Beaver Dam Unified School District German Oriel Combs said BDHS students traveled to Germany last summer, and that many of the students whose families served as hosts then are visiting now. Combs said BDHS students travel to Germany every other summer and German students visit the USA every other fall. Beaver Dam exchanges students with the city of Giessen, Germany, located about an hour north of Frankfurt.
Since it began in 1972, the German American Partnership Program has grown from 150 schools participating to 800 today, with more than 300,000 student participants. It serves as a short-term exchange program, with visits that last at least 16 days, with a minimum of two weeks with host families and 10 days of school attendance.
Combs said Beaver Dam has one of the longest running exchanges in the state, dating back to 1979.
The students from Giessen, (spelled Gießen in German), first visited Washington, D.C. before arriving in Beaver Dam. Three of the students, Katharina Ulreich, Isabell Rothe and Sebastian Köhler, spoke about their visit so far.
The arrived during the shutdown of the federal government, which limited their activities.
“We could see memorials, but we could not get close to them,” Rothe said.
A few museums were still open, but the shutdown meant the closure of Ford’s Theatre, and the student said they had been looking forward to watching “The Laramie Project.”
The students have been staying with local families and attending class at BDHS for the last two weeks.
“I love my host family so much,” Ulreich said.
They said one of the biggest differences between school here and at home is the break length between classes. Another difference is the number of choices students at BDHS have for classes. Rothe said her favorite class while visiting was photography. Ulreich said her favorite class was psychology. Köhler said his was marketing.
They said they were impressed by the BDHS orchestra, and said it is not offered as a class in Germany but as an after school activity.
Giessen can trace its history back to the 12th century. It has a population of nearly 80,000, but occupies about 10 square miles less than Beaver Dam. The German students spoke about how much space people have between their homes in America, while most people in Giessen live in apartments. They’ve enjoyed trying new foods while visiting the U.S., with s’mores and peanut butter M&Ms listed as some favorites.
“There are so many different new things to see and to try,” Ulreich said.
“And people are so nice,” Rothe said.
They also appreciate Beaver Dam’s German connection.
Ulreich said she met a man at church on Sunday who was 102 years old and spoke to her in fluent German.
Other students visiting Beaver Dam include Laura Althaus, Anja Anders, Luca Bolz, Hannah Brieskorn, Fabian Buchauer, Laura Faber, Paula Florides, Leonard Janho, Jonas Jelinek, Philipp Kiele, Franziska Klose, Melis Koc, Sebastian Köhler, Natasha Kulawik, Le Thanh Huyen, Manuel Mack, Annika Nürnberger, Philipp Reichel, Alena Eckhold, Isabell Rothe, Marcella Schwan, Lina-Marie Seibert, Michelle Seidel, Katharina Ulreich, Mara Völzel, Mia Wagenbach, Alexander Wagner, Marie-Luise Wiesner, Celine Wölfl and Adelina Zeneli. Frank Bäcker and Juliane Müller serve as chaperones.
The German students will depart from Beaver Dam this weekend for a visit to Chicago before returning home to Germany.
For more information about GAPP, visit www.goethe.de/gapp orhttp://exchanges.state.gov/us/program/german-american-partnership-program.
