Mahopac High School students eagerly welcomed a group of students and two educators from a school located in Walldorf, Germany, as part of an international cultural exchange program organized by Mahopac German language teacher Katrina Bauerlein.
“This is the fifth time Mahopac has hosted exchange students from Germany, and the second time with this partner school from Walldorf, Germany,” Bauerlein said. “This program provides a valuable opportunity for both American and German students to engage in cultural learning and practice speaking a foreign language to native speakers.”
Twenty German students stayed with MHS host families from Oct. 13 through Oct. 25 and spent the two weeks getting to know the Mahopac school system and experiencing American culture. During their stay, Walldorf exchange students attended classes, sporting events and club activities with their host siblings at Mahopac High School to get a taste of what it is like to go to public school in the United States. Several of the German students expressed that they enjoyed how relaxed all the students at Mahopac were and how they wished they could wear more comfortable clothes to school back in Walldorf.
Mahopac student Molly McGourty reflected on the experience and what she learned about her German peers.
“Our teacher told us that the German students might be blunt with us, but I feel like we were very much the same,” she said. “It was cool to see how similar we really are.”
