News and Features
Exchange program builds friendships, breaks down stereotypes
Twenty-one German high school students plus two faculty visited Lancaster Mennonite High School in October and November, marking the completion of the sixth exchange since 2000 between Lancaster Mennonite and the German school, Kreisgymnasium, which is located in Bad Krozingen. In June, nine LMH students and two adults visited the German school.
During their three-week visit in the States, the German students experienced American culture by living with LMH host families, attending classes at Lancaster Mennonite, and sightseeing in New York City and Washington, D.C. Before their return, the German students presented an informational chapel about their school.
LMH English teacher Jonathan Metzler, who has organized the exchange since 2002, believes the German visits help us Americans see ourselves as others see us and then allow us to present a broader, more authentic view of who we are—helping to correct misconceptions created by U.S. pop culture (music and movies). As the visitors get to know who we Americans really are, some “neat connections” are made, Metzler said.
"The friendships are amazing," he continued. For example, Hans Smucker, 2002, and his family have remained in touch with Philipp Kolb ever since the Smucker family hosted Kolb about 10 years ago. This past fall the Smuckers were delighted to have Kolb visit them again at their Bird-in-Hand home. Hans participated in the German exchange when he was an LMH senior.
More recently, Lancaster Mennonite board member Anne Kaufman Weaver and her family went to Germany for the Passion Play and looked up a student they had hosted. Other LMH families have done the same, providing not only an opportunity to rekindle friendships and build cultural understandings but, for some, a chance also to check out their German roots. In addition, some LMH students who participated in the exchange program have gone on to study German in college, and several have returned to Germany on short-term mission assignments.
The next exchange will occur during the 2011-12 school year; the German students will visit us in the fall of 2011 and our students will return the visit the following June. LMH students who have studied German or who are interested in doing so, and who want to learn about the culture, are welcome to participate in the program.