German Students Featured in Elze Newspaper During Their Visit to Germany

Mayor Wolfgang Schurmann receives U.S. Students

It was a very enjoyable visit in the conference room of the Elze town hall. Four students from the US state of Wisconsin and their teacher, Landyn Heimerl, talked in the setting of an exchange program with the CJD Christophorusschule with the town mayor Wolfgang Schurmann. There were also 14 students from CJD in grades 11 and 12, who themselves, were in the United States last year.

According to Dominique Minkley, CJD English Teacher, the four students (a ninth grader, eleventh grader, and two twelfth graders) have already been in Germany since the 26^th of February. These students are from a private school in Beaver Dam, a small town with around 16,000 inhabitants about 150 miles northwest of Chicago. “They were at first in Cologne and have been in Elze since the 1^st of March”, shared Minkley at the end of the reception in the Elze town hall. “On the 10^th of March, they’ll be leaving and visiting Berlin for a week” she added. During their stay in Elze, each student will be staying with two different host families. During the USA trip last year, which was also organized by her colleague Leon Passchier, the CJD students stayed overnight in a dormitory on the school campus.

“I’m very glad to once again be able to greet and have guests from another country”, emphasized Schurmann at the beginning of the reception. “And I’m glad that you are here to get to know our town and country”, he added. The mayor then asked the students about their first impressions of Germany. One of the students answered, “There’s good bread here, and it’s a very interesting country.”

Conversely, the CJD students also shared about their impressions of the United States last year. “It’s completely different there than it is here”, said one of the students. Particularly with fast food, they provided insight to the culture shock that they experienced. At the school, however, the food was much richer in variety.

One of the German students could still remember the visit in Chicago quite well. “It was like in a movie”, he emphasized. Schurmann delightedly said that there are great opportunities these days for young people to get to know countries within the framework of a school exchange. In this context, he wanted to know from the young Americans if their school offers exchange programs with schools in other countries. “Not yet”, said one of the students. “However, there are students from 27 different countries taught at our school”, he added.

Elze’s mayor also wanted to know how the war in Ukraine is perceived in the United States. “In our politics, it’s a hot topic,” answered Landyn Heimerl. Additionally, the overriding question of how much money the United States will send to support Ukraine is often discussed. According to the teacher, there are also some discussions amongst students about the war, as some of the students are from Ukraine, as well as Russia.

Also, on the topic of Trump, had Heimerl something to say. “You’re always hearing something new about the man,” said Heimerl. In the United States, it is simply so that one is either for or against the Republicans. They are mostly more supported in the rural areas, while in large cities, the Democrats are often more dominant.

Schurmann also asked what other activities have been planned for the exchange. “Tomorrow we’re grilling and then on Saturday we’ll be heading to Hannover”, answered one of the students.

The mayor also learned that the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt is about eight and a half hours and that the school day in Beaver Dam begins at 8:15 AM and goes until 3:40 PM. “In the afternoon, we also have sports”, reported one of the students. “I personally do wrestling, but fencing and powerlifting are also offered” he explained further. Also, a CJD student added to this conversation: “In the USA, there are significantly more sports offered than by us in Germany.”

At the end of the reception, Schurmann experienced then yet still a very extraordinary moment. The American student Kirk Kelly, who will be studying opera singing at college next year, gave a taste of his singing talent. On that account he received a loud applause from his listeners in the conference room of the town hall.