CASHS students to visit Germany
CHAMBERSBURG - Students and teachers from Chambersburg Area School District will be traveling to Germany this summer as part of the student exchange program between CASHS and German school Gymnasium Waldkraiburg in Bavaria.
Jessica Hoover, a German teacher at CASHS, initially reached out to Gymnasium Waldkraiburg in the fall of 2014 to gauge their interest in starting an exchange program. Last fall, 16 students from Gymnasium Waldkraiburg came to stay with CASHS families for 16 days. Now it is the Germans who will get to play hosts when 18 CASHS students and three teachers will be in Germany from June 22 through July 7.
"They will be living with the same kids they hosted so it lives up to its name of cultural exchange," CASHS German teacher Paul Unruh said.
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While in Germany, CASHS students will be visiting the German high school for four or five days; Germans will still be in school, as their summer break is July 30 through Sept. 12. The rest of the time will be spent sightseeing and touring. Places that they plan to visit include the Alps, the Black Forest, Dachau, a concentration camp, and a couple of castles, including the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, better known as the "fairy-tale" or "Disneyland" castle.
The students are excited for their trip, particularly to see and experience the food, culture, castles, and examining day-to-day German life. CASHS students initially reached out to their German counterparts via social media in April 2015 to get to know them before the Germans came to visit, and those relationships have remained strong since last fall. With CASHS students preparing to travel to Germany, many have been reaching out to their host families and practicing German, seeing how the families are doing, and making plans about what they would like to do during their free time.
Zoe Philippou has been in contact with her host student, Tesi Muller. Topics that they have been discussing include their common interest in dance and theater, family life, and driving. Philippou will be able to drive earlier than Muller, so that has interested Muller.
"I'm interested to see how other families get along," Philippou said, adding that she's also excited to see other places in Germany while on the trip.
Katherine Papoutsis says she tries to schedule a chat with her German student once a week since her host family is trying to concoct a plan of where she will want to go during her stay in Germany. Since Papoutsis is involved in the band, her host family will be taking her to various music-related places, such as cathedrals. She will also be attending a Abschlussball, which is similar to an American prom, but the entire family attends the dance. She said that she did have to convince her host family that she did indeed want to go to the dance.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Papoutsis said.
Josue Chacon is looking forward to reuniting with his exchange partner and seeing how Germans interact with one another and get along with each other, but there's one more event that Chacon is looking forward to. While the CASHS students will be visiting Germany, the UEFA Euro Cup 2016, a big soccer match, will be taking place in France. A soccer buff, Chacon is interested to see how Germans support their team during the matches.
"I'm interested to see how people treat and react to it," Chacon said of the Euro Cup.
David Barr 717-262-4752