Fitch hosts German exchange students

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Neighbors | Submitted .Austintown Fitch High School German foreign exchange hosts, from left, (front) Karin Weiss, Caitlyn Giles; (back) Kevin Homistek, Catelyn Elser, Briana Edwards and Allison Henline gathered to get details of the exchange program. Seven students from Hennef, Germany stayed with their host families for 10 days.

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Neighbors | Submitted .Students from Hennef, Germany and their Austintown Fitch High School host students, from left, (front) Anna-Katharine Wesemann, Niklas Noll, Lisa-Marie Schneider, Ann-Kristin Graf, Tobias Furman, Therese Oberstrass, Carina Hocke; (back) Kristin Weiss, Allison Henline, Caitlyn Gilles, Kevin Homistek, Briana Edwards and Katelyn Elser enjoyed a welcome breakfast held during the school’s German 2 class. The students from Germany arrived in Pittsburgh Nov. 21 and stayed with their host families for 10 days.

For the first time, Austintown Fitch High School participated in a student exchange program that brought students from the Cologne, Germany, region.

Seven students from Hennef, Germany, arrived in Pittsburgh Nov. 21 and began their 10-day stay in Austintown, while five of their classmates stayed in Boardman. Families of Austintown students interested in hosting a visitor selected their guest from profiles submitted by the German students.

The Fitch students and their guest include: Samantha Devenport (Ann-Kristin Graf), Briana Edwards (Carina Hocke), Katelyn Elser (Theresa Oberstrass), Caitlyn Gilles (Lisa-Marie Schneider), Allison Henline (Niklas Noll), Kevin Homistek (Tobias Furman), Kristen and Karin Weiss (Anna-Katharine Wesemann).

The goal of the exchange program was for German and Fitch students to experience each other’s culture. For Fitch students taking German, there is the added bonus of getting to practice and improve their German skills.

The guests were welcomed to Fitch High School at a breakfast held during the morning German 2 class. This gave students a chance to practice their language skills and get to know each other. They then attended classes with their host student for the next four days participating in class activities and answering many questions about life in Germany.

One of the reasons the exchange program was scheduled for November was so the German students could experience an American Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping — two events not part of the German culture.

During their stay here, they also attended a Phantoms hockey game, a potluck dinner in their honor and traveled to Washington, D.C., the weekend after Thanksgiving.

The program was a rewarding opportunity for all involved and new friendships have been established. Many of the students are keeping in touch via e-mail as they wait for the Fitch students to complete their part of the exchange program by traveling to Germany in June.