German Students Experience Life Of American Teens

Students are in Fayetteville for two weeks

A group of 12 German students visited Fayetteville High School as part of an exchange program for the last two weeks.  They include (back row left to right) Ina Miessner, Paulina Alvensleben, Laurin Snigula, Leon Schnitzler, Sanem Meyer and chaperone Bjorn Beling (front Row left to right) Alicia Klein, Elaine Luttgert, Victoria Schramm, Janina Gauckstern, Margie Nubbemeyer (teacher), and Charlotte Willnow. (not in photo Josie Kugel, Benedikt Sienz)

A group of 12 German students visited Fayetteville High School as part of an exchange program for the last two weeks. They include (back row left to right) Ina Miessner, Paulina Alvensleben, Laurin Snigula, Leon Schnitzler, Sanem Meyer and chaperone Bjorn Beling (front Row left to right) Alicia Klein, Elaine Luttgert, Victoria Schramm, Janina Gauckstern, Margie Nubbemeyer (teacher), and Charlotte Willnow. (not in photo Josie Kugel, Benedikt Sienz)

Saturday, September 28, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE — A group of students at Fayetteville High School may look like typical American teenagers, casually dressed, talking about shopping or sports or having lunch with friends at a fast food restaurant.

But they are 12 German students visiting in an exchange program that’s brought students to the high school for nearly 30 years.

The juniors attend Goethe School in Berlin and are accompanied by two chaperones, Bjorn Beling and Margie Nubbemeyer. They are here through the German-American Partnership Program.

At A Glance

Partnership Program

The German American Partnership Program is a nonprofit high school exchange program sponsored by the German Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department. The program involves some 800 schools, including five in Arkansas. Nearly 300,000 students have participated in the exchange since its beginning in the mid-1970s. The objectives of the program are to inspire intercultural understanding, promote German language instruction and motivate personal friendships. To learn more, go to www.goethe.de/ins/us/lp/prj/gapp/enindex.htm?wt_sc=gapp

Source: Staff Report

Josephine Kugel said she applied for the program to broaden her experiences and to come to the United States. Benedikt Sienz has visited the West Coast and said he wanted to learn more about the differences in the school systems.

Charlotte Willnow said she wanted to see how teenagers live, especially after school.

“They do different stuff,” Willnow said. She observed American teens seem to spend more time outside and involved in sports after school.

While their high school offers numerous sports, not all are competitive, Seinz said. He's in a swimming class for a grade. Kugel and Willnow are getting a grade in a classical dance class, which they described as similar to the type of dancing on the television show, “Dancing with the Stars.”

There is little similarity between high school in Germany and high school in Fayetteville.

“School is boring,” Kugel said, because students here are in the same class every day. Students at their school in Berlin are in different classes every day. Classes are 45 minutes long. Some days they are in school until 5 p.m. and other days they leave at 1 p.m.

The division of schools is different, Sienz said. Students attend elementary school for six years and the equivalent of high school for six years. After 10th grade, a student can transfer to a trade school. Students who complete the 12th grade are probably college bound, he said.

The students enjoyed shopping at Northwest Arkansas Mall, buying clothing, gifts and some Razorback gear. They said they love the fast food choices, especially Chick-fil-A and Sonic.

“I’ve been to Sonic three times,” Willnow said.

They stay with host families and attend school with teens of the same age.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Missy Tiller, who is Seinz’s host family. Her son, Alex, who is in the German III class, will visit Seinz and his family in Berlin for three weeks next summer, making it a true exchange.

The family hiked at Devil’s Den, attended sporting events, visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Bikes, Blues & BBQ. They plan to attend the Razorbacks football game tonight.

“It’s been a true learning experience. We have learned a lot,” Tiller said.

When they leave Fayetteville on Monday, the students will spend four days in New York before heading home. Beling said each student pays about $2,000 for the trip that includes airfare, hotel and food in New York, and souvenirs.

“The experiences the students have here, nobody can give them this in class,” Beling said, mentioning specifically the language and cultural experiences. “We need students to take German.”

They toured the University of Arkansas, went to a university volleyball game and traveled to northeast Oklahoma to visit the Cherokee Nation at Tahlequah.

The students participated in programs at Ramay and Woodland junior high schools.

Willnow said her favorite experience was a day at Beaver Lake. Kugel said her favorite was a visit to Hobby Lobby, eating sushi and going to see a horror movie. She laughed, saying she didn’t remember the name of the movie but it was a good one.

Seinz said he had no favorite activity. “Everything has been so nice,” he said.