Many students attended a school sanctioned trip to Germany including three who had not taken German with us. Many had different reasons for attending this trip.
“I wanted to go to Germany the most to get to see the culture of another country and to visit my exchange sister, Dana.” Senior Mallory Oswald said, “I missed her and hadn’t seen her for over a year, so I was excited to get to see what her life was like.” Oswald had hosted Dana in the last year during her trip to the states.
Most people on this trip hosted exchange students from Germany here in Omaha when the students visited us in the 24-25 school year. Living with them for the two weeks they spent in America. That is how the students who did not take German heard of this trip. A total of 12 students attended this trip, three of them not having taken german.
With the host families students got to have a lot of personalized experiences in Germany, going on different trips and living different lives in Germany. Many host families took students to see different culturally significant parts of Germany to help them enjoy their time in the country, and in Oswald’s case even out of the country! “The most memorable part of the trip was when my exchange sister took me on a day trip to Paris,just the two of us.” Oswald said, ”Paris was #1 on my bucket list, and it was amazing to get to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.”
South’s sister school is Helene Lange Gymnasium which is the school the students that travel to the states come from. When South visits Germany the German School year is still going so they attend classes alongside their host students. Students pointed out that the school is a lot less personal than ours. There are not any clubs or out of school activities in German schools. “Teachers move around classrooms instead of kids and the schools are 5th-12th grade.” Senior Toby Schwitzer noted.
They spent a few days in Berlin upon arrival to experience the German city and create some memories. Being able to be a part of the culture of Germany and seeing the most memorable parts of Germany.
“Students who take German were able to be fully immersed in the culture and take what they learned in the classroom and apply it to the real world.” Mr. Pullen, a German teacher here at South, said,” While we were there, students were able to utilize their language skills by ordering food, buying souvenirs, listening to conversations, and seeing what the everyday German is like.”
The trip was a one of a kind experience for many, getting to learn and embrace the culture of a new country whether they already had knowledge on the language or not. The memories made on this trip will last a lifetime.
