German exchange students learn Americans aren't all thin and rich
17.05.2002 For a few weeks every year for the past 13 years, German students have come to William Tennent High School through the German-American Partnership Program.
This year, a group of German students came to stay with host families three weeks ago. A group of William Tennent students will go to Germany to stay with host families this summer.
„Of course the program gives students the opportunity to speak the language, but it also allows them an opportunity to debunk myths,“ said William Tennent High School German teacher Robert Raymond.
„It makes students see that Germans are like us. Once we can see similarities, then we have a chance to make connections and they get an initiation into the culture that they can't get in classes.“
- Karl Fiscus, chaperone for the 21 German exchange students that came to William Tennent, talks about some of the freedoms
This year, 21 German students came to stay with host families. The students visited sites in New York City, Philadelphia and Lancaster. When in Philadelphia for German Day festivities, they even had an audience with Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. „We were the only real Germans there - everyone else was a hyphenated German,“ said Karl Fiscus, an English teacher in Landau, Germany, which is about 70 miles south of Frankfurt.
The German students also sat in on some classes at William Tennent.
„It was a chance to speak English outside of English class,“ said Dominik Zang, 18, of Landau, Germany. „And you see that everyone speaks faster than in English class in Germany.“
But for the students and the American students of the host families, the exchange program also gave the opportunity to learn about modem-day Germany.
„In school, you get to know a lot about the background and history of Germany, but you don't know a lot about what's going on there now,“ said William Terment sophomore Julie Patrick.
„And we don't have German television shows to watch like they have American television shows to see.“
During the two weeks the German students were staying in the area, the students compared some of the differences between countries. In Germany, the students can drink in public, and go to dance clubs at age 16. „Kids in the United States are kept kids longer than in Germany,“ Fiscus said.
The Germans also attend a longer school schedule that extends throughout the entire year. They have 13 grade levels instead of 12. It is typical for foreign language students in Germany to take seven to nine years of English. They also learned the numerous television shows and movies exported to Europe do not accurately depict American life. „In Germany, everyone thinks he or she knows a lot about America from television and the movies,“ Fiscus said.
- German exchange student Dominik Zang, 18, of Landau Germany, talks about how he was able to use his English a lot more in America.
„But the first time you see someone fat in America, it's a bit of a shock, because on television and the movies everyone is thin. Then there is another stereotype of America that the students had to sift through on their trip here: the instant rags to riches success story.“
„I can see now that it's not that easy to get rich in America,“ said German student Zang.
Public Spirit The Willow Grove Guide, 13.10.1999, S. 16, by John A. Zukowski
Weitere Bilder zum Amerikaaustausch 1999 finden Sie hier.