This past summer, 10 Timber Creek students were the first to participate in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP) with Gabriel Von Seidl High School in Bad Tölz, Germany. GAPP is a reciprocal exchange supported by the U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry. During the two weeks they spent in Germany, they each stayed at the house of the German student that they were paired with, also known as their “brother” or “sister.”

To expand their knowledge on the culture, they went on several field trips while they were there, such as  to Bad Tölz, Bavaria and Berlin.

“My favorite place I visited during my stay was probably inside the city of Bad Tölz itself, staying with the family and learning their culture was unlike anything I could have done as a tourist,” senior Cameron Yancy said.

On Oct. 22, 20 German students will become the tourists and arrive at Timber Creek. Twenty students from Timber Creek have been paired up to host them, just as they did they did last summer in Germany. They will be bringing their guest “brother/sister” to school to attend classes alongside them.

“On at least three of these days, they will be doing field trips off campus, but on the other days, they will be in our classrooms experiencing life as a FALCON!” said German teacher, Curtis Russel.

“I’m most excited for Veronika to experience the food from Texas. It’s much different from that in Germany, and was she was very excited about trying all of the different types of food,” senior Kayla Brooks said about her guest sister.

Russel and his students hope that this will be the first round of many exchanges with our partner school in Germany.

“It’s pretty safe to say that some life-long friends were made,” exclaimed Russel.

Read part 2 of this story here: Howdy, Host Families: German Exchange Students Attend Timber Creek