Photo from personal experience
Roughly every two years, our school has a very special program for those who take our school’s German classes. If a student is to sign up for said program, a German Exchange Student will be staying at their house for roughly three weeks, and it’ll be that student’s responsibility to teach their European visitor about the American culture and lifestyle. With this, comes an opportunity for the American student to then travel to Germany over the following summer, learning about their culture in turn. As someone who’s been a part of the German class for my entire high school career, I’ve been a part of the exchange program before. I’m here to share generalized information about the program along with my experience with it.
According to our school’s German teacher, Mr. Herrman, Horizon High School has been part of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP) since 2009 with the Friedrich-Rückert-Gymnasium in Ebern. The three main requirements are to have at least one year of education in German, a good academic standing, and good attendance. The exchange occurs every two years, although it was interrupted by COVID-19 back in 2020. In the year 2024, students from Germany will be here from September 19th to October 5th and students at Horizon will be heading to Germany at some point in the summer.
Two years ago, I was part of the GAPP exchange. I had a bit of a tricky situation, considering I haven’t hosted a student here in America. My parents disregarded the idea of a student coming here due to us having a townhouse that wasn’t large enough for another person to stay in long term. However, I was still able to go to Germany once I had talked to my teacher about the idea. The trip was overall the most enjoyable experience of my life. You get to go to a German school alongside your host student, you get to learn about the different customs and traditions they have, and visiting other cities is incredibly common. Oftentimes host families will plan exciting activities and trips for students to go on, for example I took a tour through Munich! There’s generally a lot to do while in Germany, and the only restrictions are the rules put into place by the schools and the program itself. Of course, it’s important to be respectful to the people around you, especially the family that hosts you. The program is absolutely worth the time and money that goes into it, and it’s something I would highly recommend. Just remember, the only requirement is one German class to be taken, then you’ll be able to experience something that’s truly a once in a lifetime experience.
