By Kai-Lou Yue and Victoria Walker
Co-Business Managers
In the last week, students may have noticed a few less people in their classes at Westford Academy and a lack of sudden bursts of German in the halls. After three weeks of slipping in and out of classes, visiting American attractions and living with Westford students, the German participants of the annual German-American exchange flew out of Boston Logan last week.
The exchange process began at the end of last year, when junior and senior students at WA interviewed with their respective language teachers in hope of taking part in the program. On October 4th, 2013, after months of preparation, nineteen students and two teachers from the Corvinianium school in Northeim, Germany arrived in Boston.
“Everybody who did [the exchange] before said that it was amazing and it was the best time ever,” said Johanna Günther, a German student.
Like the WA students who signed up to visit Northeim later this school year, the German students were intent upon learning about the culture of New England and discovering all the iconic aspects of American life during their visit. Led by their respective exchange partners, they attended an American football game, went canoeing, visited Witch’s Woods and went apple picking. Jumping right into the middle the term, they took on the tricky task of trying to capture the entire American fall experience in a few short weeks.
“I just wanted to experience what everyone calls the American way of life, what it’s like to go to high school … what it’s like to be an [American] high school student,” said Lisa Ropeter, an exchange student. She said that she and her friends had watched plenty of Hollywood movies like High School Musical, and were interested in seeing if U.S. schools were really similar to those in the media.
When not seeing the sights and visiting attractions, the German students either followed their exchange partners to class or walked into classes that they found interesting. Vera Brennecke, another German student, was surprised by the number of courses available to students at WA.
“The school is different here… There’s way more classes to choose from and more subjects. It is a lot cooler than Germany,” said Brennecke.
“You’ve got a lot of different art subjects, like ceramics, but we only got art,” Ropeter added.
The athletics are also very different at German gymnasium schools. While WA students dedicate countless hours to school teams, in Northeim, most competitive teams are based in the community.
“I do some athletics, but in Germany it’s different … sports aren’t organized by the school. There are clubs for every sport in the city you live in, so you don’t play them in school. We do have some sports teams but they are really bad,” said Ropeter.
The students were impressed by more than just the size and scope of the school. They cited bagels as a culinary highlight of the trip, for example, which seems surprising since these are such a staple of Westford high school life.
Overall, it was a culturally enriching activity for both sides. Next year, in the spring, students from Westford Academy will be visiting Northeim, Germany, and their exchange partners will take a turn being hosts to sharing German culture with the Americans.
“I can’t wait for the Americans to come to Germany,” said Brenneke. “It will be a lot of fun too.”
