LOS ALAMITOS, Calif.,– Students from Paracelsus-Gymnasium Hohenheim, a high school in Stuttgart, Germany, will be visiting Los Alamitos High School, completing an annual tradition between the two schools. Visiting students will stay with host families for about two weeks in October.

¨My favorite part about the exchange was meeting new people and forming connections that lasted two years later.¨ said Lisa Reusch, a German student, a part of the 2023 GAPP program.

When families host, they are able to show exchange students around America and take them on trips all around Southern California. For the last two years, students have gone to Joshua Tree, toured Hollywood and taken a day trip to explore San Diego. Exchange students gain a unique experience from going to high school with their LAHS students and experiencing what a day typically looks like at LAHS. All students will travel to America with a teacher from their school who will be responsible for them and will meet with them throughout their visit.

“Hosting an exchange student was amazing for me and my family, I got to see how Americans were perceived by people from other countries”, said junior and American host student Max Engerman, “I remember the excitement of their arrival, sharing meals, exploring local spots, and learning about each other’s cultures. They came to my classes and we learned how different our schools were. Even just having someone to hang out with was more fun.

Students of any grade can host a student, and then over the summer, they can go back to Germany and be hosted by the family of the student they hosted. Students from LAHS will have a similar experience that their host student did from traveling to Germany, experiencing being a student in a German school and traveling across Germany. This opportunity provides unique insight into German culture 

“I got to experience the excitement for things that they see on a regular basis, like castles off in the distance. I got to see how they lived their lives and cultures are different from mine, but most of all I got to be the interesting American exchange student at my German exchange partner’s school,” said Engerman.

If you are interested in being a host student, you can go to the Griffin German Ambassadors club meetings, which are hosted by Profe Sragovicz’s in room 751, which you can find on the second floor of the language building. You can also contact her at @[email protected].