German Exchange Students Offer Rave Reviews

German exchange student Charlotte Hussing with her host student, Clara Florian.

Recently, nearly 30 German students descended on Lakewood to take part in an exchange with the Lakewood High German Department. The students were hosted by families of LHS students studying German. The group was in town for two weeks. In June, the LHS students will travel to Germany and stay for three weeks with the families of the students they hosted in Lakewood. By all accounts, the first half of the exchange was successful. The following journal entries from two of the German students attest to that:

From Lina Probst:

The longest minutes of our bus trip from Buffalo to Cleveland are the minutes right before we meet the families. Suddenly everyone is getting excited, the conversations become louder and louder. Trying to get us quiet the teachers shout ‘Calm down!’ Then the bus stops. No one wants to leave their seats. Noticing that someone has to go, Johanna Z. and I take our jackets. We jump out of the bus into cold, fresh air. Our luggage is already there and together we enter the building. Behind an automatic door made of glass many people are waiting. You can hear the sound of their conversations and laughter. I take a deep breath. Now it will start, the main part of the exchange: We will stay with different families for two weeks. We will go to the local high school. We will have many experiences. And for sure, we will have an unforgettable time. The thoughts in my mind are dancing, they are flying around like little insects. Before I stay here forever the door opens and our adventure begins…

The first day in my host family I was extremely nervous. ‘Will they like me?’ and other questions were in my head like an annoying voice which never leaves. But all worries were unnecessary; our teachers made perfect matches. In every conversation I noticed how well I’m fitting in. If someone asks me what I will miss the most I would say the following…I’m going to miss:

- Lakewood with its beautiful parks and Lake Erie,

- Cleveland with its different attractions (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The Art Museum, The West Side Market…)

- The group events we did (go bowling, eat at Chipotle/Mitchell’s/… do a surprise birthday party, go to the cinema…)

- The cookies of my host sister and the bagels of my host mother,

- The high school and the teachers and students I met,

- and most of all my host family!

When I’m back in Germany I’ll keep all the experiences I’ve made and new memories deep in my heart. All in all I’m glad to be part of the exchange program and I know I will come back one day.

From Charlotte Hussing:

When we arrived in Lakewood the whole group was as nervous as never before during this America trip. Everyone was so excited to get to know their exchange partners and families but also afraid of walking through the door to them. Nearly every one of us has texted to his partner many times before our visit - nevertheless, we were all extremely nervous when we stood in front of this huge group of Americans and their families. But there was no reason. The Americans drew banners to welcome us, they were as nervous as we were (or even more) and they were so nice to make our arrival as easy and comfortable as possible.

My first memory of Lakewood will always be the visit at the Playhouse Square. My family took me there together with the family of my friend right after our arrival to break the ice. This theater is one of the most beautiful things I have seen during my time in Lakewood. In addition to that, I have visited the art museum and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which was just awesome. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is definitely a sight everyone coming to the greater Cleveland area should visit. For someone who is interested in music, Cleveland is the perfect area. I have seen the musical "Beautiful" which has been an amazing experience because seeing a musical in America is totally different to seeing a musical in Germany.  

We all have been a bit sad because the planned baseball game was cancelled because of bad weather. So we went to Tower City and explored Cleveland which was nice, too. Something that fascinates me are the different types of faith in America, so I went on one Sunday to a Unitarian Universalism church, which was really interesting because I have never heard of this religion before.  

In general, you can say that Lakewood and Cleveland are perfect places to enjoy a lot of cultural offerings. I had a lot of fun through visiting the high school together with my exchange partner because there are many subjects which are very different to subjects in Germany. I also enjoyed getting to know all of the other students and the teachers which were so nice and open-minded that you felt welcome from the first day. I will miss the American attitude and all of the people I got to know. It is amazing how well the teachers matched us together and I want to thank them so much because they enabled us to have an amazing time in our families and school. I am very happy that I was a part of this exchange and I hope that it will continue in the future.

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Volume 12, Issue 9, Posted 3:24 PM, 04.26.2016