Each year, Nipmuc has the good fortune to welcome a group of
high school students from Germany to our campus as part of an exchange program.
Throughout the month of October seven Nipmuc students hosted our international
guests, introducing them to American life, schools, and culture. It was please
to get to know these students and see how excited they were to learn about life
in the United States. Upon arriving they shared their excitement to ride to
school on a yellow school bus, see if high school in America was really how it
seemed in the movies, and visit Boston & New York.
It was a great visit that was beneficial to them, but also
to all of our students. We're thankful for the chance to make new friends and
learn about life in Germany.
For this week’s Feature Friday I had the chance to hear from
our student-hosts about how this experience impacted them. Enjoy!
Megan Baumgarten
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. The most memorable and meaningful part of my experience
in hosting a German exchange student would be making the connection with my
German exchange student. Julia and I had grown very close over the three weeks
she visited. I was excited to learn about the differences of the German
school that Julia regularly attends, and our American school. As well, I
enjoyed learning about how different my daily life was to hers, down to the
different appliances in her home. Learning so much about her life while
she learned about mine is defiantly the most memorable, and our friendship is
the most meaningful part.
Alex Chu
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. The most meaningful part of having Lina shadow me for
three weeks is hard to name. There isn't a single point that I could choose to
show how the experience went, instead it's the adventure itself. Recalling upon
our first day together we were both super shy and didn't find much to talk
about. For the first week of our time together I always felt bad about how it
went and I wanted to find a way I could make it memorable for both of us. The
only thing that really came to my mind is to show her how great Nipmuc truly
is. Her time shouldn't really be defined by moments it should be how she
remembers her entire time. This is why the best part of having Lina was her
being able to see how different it is here and spending a great time making
friends with everyone at Nipmuc.
Michelle Goddard
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. The most memorable part of my experience with Lena was
going to events outside of school, such as the football game. I loved seeing
her reactions to things such as football that are so normal in America, but a
brand new experience for her and her friends. Also, because Lena only
shadowed me in school, doing things outside of a classroom environment allowed
me to get to know her better. This was a great experience that allowed me to
develop a long lasting friendship.
Dallas O’Hagan
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. The most memorable part about hosting a German student
was all the fun Sebastian and I had. Meeting someone your own age that lives
half way across the Earth is an enduring thing to do, but it was so rewarding.
I had some of the greatest time with the German exchange students. They were so
much fun to meet and get to know. Over the course of three weeks I was able to
go from awkward acquaintances, to best friends with Sebastian. I was able to
learn so much about German culture and was able to teach him so much about
ours. This was such a rewarding experience and I cannot wait to meet him again
in the future.
Noelle Ott
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. For me, the most amazing part of doing the host student
program is watching your exchange student integrate themselves in your family
and school. It's incredible how easily they fit themselves into our high school
and how much they love being here, and even more incredible how a complete
stranger can become as close as a sibling in less than four weeks. My family
has done the exchange program three times now; each three-week interval has
been special, educational on all parts, and simply a great experience.
Jillian Penfield
Q. What is the most memorable and meaningful part of your
experience in hosting German exchange students?
A. My favorite part of this experience was making so many
amazing friends and learning about the German language and culture. Because of
the exchange last year, I would love to be able to speak German fluently. I
love learning about how their daily lives are so different from ours. I also
loved introducing them to the American culture. Not only did we introduce them
to Boston and Providence, but also to classic American teenager spots like
Skyzone and Chipotle; places that don't exist in Germany. Though this was an
exchange of students, it really was an exchange of cultures and learning
experiences.
Sequoia Tracy-Stone
The most memorable and most meaningful part of my experience
in hosting German Exchange students over the past five years has always been
learning about all the differences between our normal lives, yet seeing how
we're the same despite our differences. All the little things like laughing
around the dinner table and walking around town to washing the dishes together
and helping each other with math homework. Although going on the trips to
Boston, Providence, and New York City with the exchange students was a lot of
fun, it was the everyday experiences that meant the most to me.
