WALLINGFORD — As a classroom of students entered the library at Moran Middle School Wednesday, 15 students from Germany were sitting at tables throughout the rooms. They greeted their American counterparts and began fielding questions.
“What’s it like in Germany?” said one Moran student.
“What’s your favorite color?” asked another.
The students, as well as three teachers, were visiting Wallingford as part of a foreign exchange program. Earlier in the year, students and teachers from Argentina and China visited the school system.
Between July and August, students from Wallingford will visit Argentina. In August 2014, 20 students went to China for a 10-day trip.
Peter Fleischmann, a teacher at Sheehan High School and the German exchange coordinator, said a date is being organized next year for Wallingford students to visit Germany. Fleischmann is looking at the German students and teachers’ visit as an experiment this year.
With the group’s visit, he hopes the German program within the town’s school system grows. He added that he enjoys seeing the friendships develop between the American and German students.
Of the 15 students, five were in high school and 10 were in middle school. From May 17-28, the students and teachers attended school and various activities, such as a tour of Yale University and trips to Boston and New York City.
They stayed with host families, who at times organized separate events for the group to participate in.
Middle school students in Wallingford studied Germany and other European countries this year, according to James Andreson, a teacher at Moran.
To hear first-hand about the lifestyle and culture of a foreign country is different than reading about it in a textbook, said Amy Neal, a parent who hosted a German middle school student.
Marcela Schwartz, one of the German teachers, echoed Neal’s thoughts.
“They’ve seen America in books, movies and cinema,” she said, adding the students are receiving a cultural lesson by living an American lifestyle for 11 days.
When the students and teachers arrived in Wallingford, Andreson said, the environment at Moran was “electrifying,” with staff and students eager to learn about the visitors.
“Americans can be very insular,” he said. “They can be very focused on America. This is a good way to see what’s out there.”
On Wednesday, the German group spent the day at Moran. In a way, Andreson said, the tables were being turned, with the German students being the teachers.
Chris Roser, a 14-year-old German high school student, answered question after question posed to him by curious Moran students.
When asked about his trip so far, Roser said he was enjoying the experience.
“You guys have great food here,” Roser said with a smile. “And lots of Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Roser said he didn’t believe there were many cultural differences between Americans and Germans — beside the fact that he didn’t expect to see people drinking milk often.
He did, however, say the school system between America and Germany is very different.
“In Germany, we’re in school from 7:55 to 1 o’clock,” he said. “We have breaks between fourth and fifth lesson and twice a week we go to school until noon.”
He added that a student may progress through school in the same group. As with students in Wallingford, the German students have a choice between a foreign language and they also take a technology course.
Marcel Baumgaertner, another German teacher, said there are three types of schools in Germany, ones designed for students who aspire to go to a university, others for students wanting to pursue an apprenticeship and a third type for everyone else, he said. He added that teachers in Germany will teach two subjects.
Standing with Schwartz and Thomas Siegl, the third teacher visiting with the students, the German teachers smiled as they watched the American and German students interact.
For Baumgaertner, “it was a great thing to see” the German students using their English to communicate and work through problems.
Siegl said the trip would be beneficial for the students from a developmental aspect.
“They have changed in the last week ... It’s a lot they haven’t experienced before. They are more mature and open- minded,” Siegl said. “For most of them, this is the longest time they’ve been without parents; that’s a major step in development for a young person.”
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