Participation

Two options: 

1. ✈️ Apply to become a GAPPer and travel to Germany as a Youth Ambassador, representing the Pottsgrove community. This begins the process of hosting, and reciprocating the visit with your German exchange partner in Germany. It is recommended that GAPPers wishing to travel to Germany have completed at least German 2. I will do what I can to prepare travelers with less in-class experience, but there are significant advantages to taking the class. After traveling to Germany, GAPPers are encouraged to take German classes for the remainder of their high school career.

2. 🏠 Serve as a host for a student from Germany (No German classes required). As the demand for American host families may exceed the number of students planning to travel to Germany on the next exchange trip, the opportunity to host may be extended to families of non-travelers. 

German exchange students send over application profiles, and we review these as a group to see which students fit best with which hosts. If need be, the process is repeated in the opposite direction for GAPPers traveling to Germany. This repetition is typically unnecessary, as host GAPPers almost always reciprocate their visit with the family of the German student who will have stayed with you.

It can vary, but usually 3 weeks. About two weeks are spent in home-stays with German host families, usually the same family from whom you will have already hosted a child. This is the main feature of a reciprocal exchange. 

Absolutely. Traveling to Germany requires a passport. Application should ideally be submitted by Thanksgiving of the year prior to travel. It may take more than 8 weeks to receive your passport after application.

New passports cost $135 total (2024 price)

Set up an appointment in advance with: 

 -📚Pottstown Library (Read carefully for requirements)

 -📮USPS (post office)

 -🚙AAA (Members only)