Halloween was exciting for the German exchange students as they do not typically celebrate the holiday in Germany. Photo courtesy of Kate Waisel.
Having someone you have never met before live in your house for three weeks is weird. No one can deny that. It also forces you to get to know them quickly. And this is just what the German exchange did.
As a participant in the German exchange, I hosted a German student for three weeks in October, and I will spend three weeks with my partner in Germany this coming summer.
While the German exchange students were here, they attended various seminars led by teachers at the high school, took several field trips, and participated in many other fun activities alongside their American partners.
The highlight for many German students was their three day trip to New York City during the second week that they were here.
“NYC was awesome. The enormous height of the buildings and them being so close to each other was simply impressive. Times Square and the Brooklyn Bridge were also cool, especially because of the view from the bridge to the skyscrapers,” Tim Würfl, a German student, said.
Four German students, along with one of the teachers from Germany, took the opportunity to see “The Phantom of the Opera” while in NYC.
“The Broadway show was simply impressive for me. My highlight was also New York because you hear so much about the city, but it is very different when you’re actually there. It's cool to see how the city works, especially because it's true that Times Square is still bright at night,” Britt Manegold, another German student, said.
Despite the trip to NYC being a highlight for most German students, they also found Boston to be a very unique and exciting city to explore.
“Boston is a really nice city with the bay and the river. It was impressive to be so close to the famous universities Harvard and MIT, especially since I also visited Harvard later,” Würfl said.
One especially fun activity for the German students was Halloween, which most people in Germany do not celebrate. Most students participating in the exchange carved a pumpkin with their German student and took them trick-or-treating.
Despite most American students feeling too old to trick-or-treat, both the German and American students really enjoyed it. The Germans particularly enjoyed dressing up, and the Americans enjoyed getting to show the German students what Halloween is all about and seeing them get excited about it.
Although the German students spent most of their time doing fun Bostonian activities, they also spent a lot of time with their host partner and family. Despite having communicated little before the trip, most partners got along well and some became close friends.
“In the family, I immediately felt very comfortable and was really sad when the three weeks were suddenly over and we had to leave. Over time, my host family really grew dear to me, and I did not want to leave,” Bele Appel, a German student, said.
Once the German and American students became closer, the best parts of the exchange were when everybody was together. The highlights for most of the Americans and I were spending the day in Boston with the German students, having an Oktoberfest party, going to Skyzone, and just generally hanging out and getting to know each other.
One of the best parts of the exchange was getting to see how the German students got really excited over things in America like buying Boston sweatshirts and seeing how big our school is.
On November 3, the American students waved goodbye to the German students as they got onto a school bus (the first time for many of them) to leave for the airport — a bittersweet moment for both the Germans and Americans.
“All in all, the exchange was a great experience, where I could make new friends, had a lot of fun and gained a lot of experience. I would definitely repeat [it],” Appel said.
“For me it was my first trip to America and also my first exchange. Of course, I was a little bit worried before, if this would all be as I imagined it, but now I can say that my expectations were completely exceeded,” Manegold said.