LOS ALAMITOS, CA — It was almost midnight, and I was sitting in my room looking at the empty bed that used to be Marina Zeba’s, my German exchange student. The students from Stuttgart, Germany had left that evening, and it was a painful goodbye. But it wouldn’t be goodbye forever. 

The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) starts with German students coming to the United States for three weeks in October. What most people don’t know about the program is that the American host students have the opportunity to stay in Germany. The students “exchange” places when the American students get to stay with their German partner in Stuttgart, Germany for two weeks. The trip takes off after school ends in June and lasts three weeks – two of which are spent with the exchange partners. 

After the German students returned home, couple of months went by, and it was time for another meeting with Mr. Hansen, the teacher in charge of GAPP at Los Alamitos High School. This time, the meeting was about leaving for Germany. There weren’t as many host students as before, but the room was full of excitement. 

A few meetings later, and after a lot more texts with my German friends, it was time to leave. It was June 11, 2023 when I met up with the other seven Los Al host students in the airport. We gathered and made small talk as we waited for Mr. Hansen and Profe Sragovicz, our two chaperones for the trip. 

After a 12-hour plane ride and almost taking the wrong train, we found ourselves in Berlin, Germany. We walked the beautiful cobblestone streets from the train station to our Airbnb home for the next three days. We organized our rooms, took showers, and prepared to take on the city. We were all exhausted and extremely jet lagged, but we had to stay awake and eat dinner to accustom ourselves to the nine-hour time change.

Days two and three in Berlin were full of adventure and getting to know each other, but soon it was time to leave for Stuttgart. We boarded an express train that would take us six hours southwest to our long-awaited reunion with our German friends. When the train doors opened, we all ran out and hugged our  exchange students. Everybody’s face lit up with warmth and excitement as the moment we waited seven months for finally arrived.

“I was so happy to see my best friend… and I could not stop my tears from overflowing from happiness,” said American exchange student Hana Huynh, sophomore.

That evening, all of the American students and the German students got together to share a “willkommen” dinner. Some of us left early to play soccer and watch the sunset. It doesn’t get dark until around 10 p.m. in the summer in Germany, so we stayed out pretty late.

“I loved that [soccer] game where it was all of us. It was like 40 people. All of us at the same place was cool,” said German host student Jasko Kosovic, junior. 

During our time in Stuttgart, as school in Germany was still in session, the Los Al group became the exchange students, and the German group became the host students. Therefore, the American students would shadow the school day of our German hosts.

My first day at the Paracelsus-Gymnasium Hohenheim school was not as expected. It’s very different from Los Al. The school is mostly indoors and has fewer students. Each class is split into two different periods, 45 minutes each. I spent most of the day sitting in the back of the classroom, listening to kids speak a language I didn’t understand. 

While at school, the Americans led presentations about various topics. My group presented a slideshow about Los Al, while others talked about teen life or geography. Most of the German students enjoyed asking questions and learning fun facts. 

In the time away from school, I stayed very busy with Zeba, my host student. We spent a lot of time with friends, shopping in the city of Stuttgart, and growing closer. 

About a week into our stay in Stuttgart, the American group got together to take a quick two-day trip to Munich, Germany. It was planned to give the German hosts time to study and catch up on school work. We took the train for about 2.5 hours to our destination. Our group split up into two groups: one group would go to the Holocaust concentration camp, and the other would check into the hotel and walk around town.

The next day, we visited the main city of Munich and took a guided walking tour. We learned about some of the buildings and the history, which was very cool. We then had some time to shop and get to know the city better. There were many statues of lions, which are deemed to be good luck if touched. We passed all of the statues and made sure to collect all of the possible luck we could get.

We also walked through the Englischer Garten Süd, which is a park with a river running through it. We watched people surf in the beautiful sunshine. A little further from the surfers, we were able to jump in and flow with the water. This was definitely my favorite part of our stay in Munich.

After our adventure in Munich, it was time to return to our German hosts for our final week. Zeba wanted me to see everything, so our last week was pretty busy. We visited the Porsche and Mercedes museum, Tripsdrill (a theme park), went bowling, and there were even more soccer games. 

As our last day in Germany arrived, some of us prepared a final soccer game. The game went on until dark, and when it was over, we all took photos and said our goodbyes to our German friends. That night, Zeba and I stayed up until 3 a.m. talking and making plans to see each other in the future. During that time, I was also last-minute packing my bags. I couldn’t believe I actually had to leave until my bag was zipped. 

Three hours of sleep later, Zeba and I drove to the airport for our early morning departure. All of the American and German students gathered to say our goodbyes. I felt a sense of deja vu as the space was filled with tears and sadness yet again. 

Our journey in Germany was over, but it definitely won’t be my last one. So many great memories and friendships were formed and will stay with me forever. This time we had to say a real goodbye, but with our strong bonds, it’s only goodbye for now.