13 German Students Visit Mobile

Oct 25th, 2005

Theodore High School will have some very special guests this October. Thirteen students of the Goethe Gymnasium in Frankfurt am Main and their teacher will arrive on the seventh at 8:35 pm at the Mobile Regional Airport and live for about a month with Theodore's students who are learning German.



It is all a part of the German-American Partnership Program (GAPP), a national exchange program between American and German high schools designed to build cultural understanding and encourage the study of languages. GAPP is administered by the Goethe Institute and has found German partners for more than 700 American schools.



Theodore High School has participated in GAPP since 1988. In that time some 180 German teenagers have come to live and study in Theodore and some eighty of Theodore's students have traveled to and lived for a month in Germany and attended the Goethe Gymnasium in Frankfurt am Main. This will be the eleventh exchange between the two schools.



It nearly didn't happen as Hurricane Katrina has damaged homes of some the host families and disrupted the school schedule, but all the American families still want to open their homes for one more family member. Despite the news of the devastation on the Gulf Coast and the instability in New Orleans, all the Germans want very much to come and experience life here. They have even begun a relief drive at their school and hope to participate in relief efforts in Mississippi.



Among other activities, the German students plan to visit local colleges and tour Mobile. Of course they are excited to have a chance to swim in the Gulf of Mexico, and their partners have plans to take them to the Bay Fest, the Shrimp Festival, Elberta's Sausage Festival, and show them what Halloween is all about. The Germans will also present lectures on topics about Germany, German life, and German attitudes toward the US and Americans while they are here.



The hope is that the partners will have a deeper understanding and a greater appreciation for foreign cultures