Grafton High School says 'Auf Wiedersehen' to exchange students
GRAFTON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- German exchange students said "Auf Wiedersehen," or farewell, to their American classmates as the school's exchange program came to an end on Wednesday.
"The main idea behind the exchange program is that German students get to know American life from the inside. So, they live in families, they attend school," English teacher at Thomas Morus Gymnasium in Germany and Grafton High School graduate, Diana Grogan-Schomers, said.
Grogan-Schomers was an integral part of starting the program over 20 years ago. Since then, countless students have traveled from Germany to America, and vice-versa, to experience a different culture.
From American food, our education system, and even job shadowing, the students had a crash course in American life.
"Seeing how an American family lives," 17-year-old exchange student Julien Backer said. "American people are apparently nicer than German people, I would say, on average. It was kind of nice to get an insight into a family that you wouldn't get if you're a tourist."
The students came from a school in Germany called Thomas Morus Gymnasium. Accompanying them were two teachers, Grogan-Schomers and Sarah Vonwirtz. Vonwirtz participated in the same exchange program in 2008 and stayed with the same home family that she did back then.
"I really love this exchange and it has shaped my life a lot," she said. "It's also good because I know what it's like to be in a foreign country, to know all the different foods and traditions, to help them adjust."
Funding for the exchange is provided by the German American Partnership Program, allowing both groups to expand their worldview.
"In Germany, most of the people think you eat a lot of fast food...but, it's not in reality like that. Many families, my host family, were nearly cooking every day," Backer said.
"Really, we're mostly the same people all around the world, who share many of the same experiences...we're more alike than we are different," Grafton High School German teacher Karen Frey said.
While they boarded a plane for Deutschland on Wednesday, they might make a return to America's Dairyland pretty soon.
"I think that I've had a lot of fun here, and I definitely want to come back and visit my host family again," Backer said.