German Exchange Program

By: Cole Costantino 

Koblenz, a German city located on the banks of the Rhine, welcomed 14 Niskayuna students this past February. Each student was partnered with a German counterpart while they stayed and studied in the city for a little over two weeks. Later in March, NHS students would host their exchange partners in America. After spending approximately three days in Berlin and the remaining time in Koblenz, our students embarked on a journey home with more than just their luggage in tow.   

“It's definitely good cultural exposure to somewhere that isn't, you know, America-centric like here,” said Lachlan Brown, Niskayuna Sophomore and participant in Niskayuna’s German Exchange. “You can kind of look back on your life at home through a different lens, you get a lot of different perspectives on it. Obviously there's a language aspect, [but] you learn a lot: friendship.” Brown and his exchange partner, Mathayus Kaspari, were both able to gain newfound knowledge, language proficiency, and friendship through this exchange. Kaspari learned new aspects of American history, specifically related to native populations. “...The history of America, the indigenous people and how they were treated. I think that's really something everyone should know, so I think that's very good that I can take this knowledge back to Germany,” he said.

Exchanges like this were once commonplace at Niskayuna High School, but the pandemic altered plans. “Our last exchange program was of something like 24 years duration with a school in a different city,” Niskayuna German Teacher, Tracy Prebish, recounts. “Because of COVID and other reasons, that sort of fell apart. And so I searched and found this school in Koblenz, who were looking for an exchange partner. So we got in touch…this was the first year we were able to make the exchange happen,” Prebish adds.

This year’s exchange played out in two phases. First in February, 14 NHS students went to Koblenz, Germany. Then, this past March, 16 students from Koblenz came to our school in Niskayuna, NY. On our end, the program was opened to students from varying levels of German and from all grade levels; the majority of German students in the exchange were freshmen. Lara Kubitz wanted to experience America firsthand, a primary motivation for partaking in this exchange. “I wanted to make my own impression of America. I mean, you got a lot of bad stereotypes...I felt I was interested in going to another continent and the U.S. has just been amazing and really unique...I wanted to also meet new people and see different school systems. So it's really interesting to see it.” Acacia De Launiere, NHS Senior and Kubitz’s partner, notes some similarities between the two nations from their time in Koblenz. “The thing that was most surprising to me was how similar a lot of stores were across both countries. Like supermarkets, for example. There were many different sizes of them, just like in the U.S., and I was kind of surprised because we had gone into something that was as close to a German Walmart as there could be.” 

These exchanges don’t just create memories, they change lives. Everyone is a citizen of the world in addition to their respective nation; exchange programs such as this one yield better global citizens by deepening cultural understanding. They encourage open-mindedness, foster connections, and challenge assumptions, pioneering new ways forward. Prebish encourages all to travel, to learn a new language and to stay curious. “People have forgotten how valuable it is and how much fun it is. And so we're doing everything we can to make sure that people see,” Prebish said on the benefits of exchange. “You're never going to understand anything about another culture if you're just sitting here in Niskayuna. There's a lot of people from other cultures here and you can get some exposure to that through them. But it's not the same as actually going to another country and fully immersing yourself in what makes that culture special and what they do that makes it special. And being able to understand what people are saying and communicate with them in their language rather than them having to reach out to you in what is for them a foreign language. You learn so much more that way too.” The best way to learn is to live. In the words of Goethe, the German equivalent of Shakespeare, “Man reist nicht, um anzukommen, sondern um zu reisen.” One does not travel to arrive, but to travel.