42 students. 2 weeks. 1 goal. A countless number of unforgettable experiences. Our sister school exchange programme has been staggering. We all share the memories of two amazing weeks: We exchanged our world views, discussed about Europe, made several excursions, explored different cities, laughed together, strengthened our friendships, discussed with politicians, tried out different sports, cooked lunch, and learned a lot about ourselves. From our barbecue welcome party to Wednesday’s farewell dinner and the whole programme in between, we enjoyed every single second with our American friends.
Unfortunately, they had to leave yesterday morning, and we weren’t ready to let them go – not yet. Many of us were in tears when the Americans left for their extension trip to Munich. It was like saying goodbye to a very good friend or a family member.
We are aware that this experience was only possible because of our great community. First, there are our talented, globally-minded American and German students who proved to be hungry for inspiration. Second, we are grateful that our colleagues were very supportive of our exchange programme. Third, we have to say thank you to all parents that courageously hosted a student for two weeks and made this experience so unique. Fourth, we are deeply indebted to our principals without whom this programme could not have been set up.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who enriched our lives forever! We are profoundly grateful for having Lakeshore High School as our sister school. Given the current political situation all over the world, it is of vital importance that we try to understand each other and exchange ideas. Against this background, our sister school exchange programme has definitely been a success!
We know that it is impossible to put the impact of our transatlantic exchange into words. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, we uploaded several of them – to give you an idea of how enriching this German-American exchange has been for all students, teachers and parents alike.
Die Schüleraustauschbegegnung wurde (u.a.) aus Mitteln des German American Partnership Program (GAPP) des Auswärtigen Amts gefördert und durch den Pädagogischen Austauschdienst (PAD) des Sekretariats der Kulturministerkonferenz unterstützt.