(Thank you German Friends)
A group of nineteen German exchange students arrived on campus on Tuesday, April 11th with their respective hosts (McClatchy students in the German program). There were eight boys and eleven girls. In this exchange, the German students stayed with their hosts’ families for two weeks, accompanying them to class each day and exploring Sacramento on field trips. They also prepared oral presentations on a variety of themes, ranging from climate to the German educational system. These brief “lectures” were meant to enlighten McClatchy classes about German culture, which many of us admittedly know very little about.
On Tuesday evening, after their first school day (at which point the jet lag was finally wearing off), Liam Tell held a welcome party for all of the students and their families to attend. My sister, Anna, chose to do the exchange, and our family hosted Valentina Klein from Kelkheim for two weeks. I was lucky enough to tag along with Anna, Valentina, and my dad to the celebration.
Frau Templeton gave a concise but beautiful introductory speech to the crowd, and the German teacher (named Mr. Renneberg, I believe) spoke graciously as well. They served awesome food and drinks in the backyard, making another highlight of the evening when Valentina tried her first taco. She told me that in Germany tacos exist, but she rarely sees them because they’re not popular. Some of the other Germans I talked to had eaten a taco once or twice, but Valentina was so unfamiliar that she was confused about the proper way to eat it.
When I asked how she felt about the taco, she replied, “not disappointed”. That’s all the feedback I could really get from her, but it was exciting nonetheless. I think the underwhelming reaction can be attributed to her conservative topping choices (one single squeeze of lime on her chicken), and firmly believe she would have been enthusiastic about tacos had she tried an epic taco filled with the array of veggies and dressings provided.
The next monumental moment was Valentina’s first burger at Meet and Eat on Thursday night. She ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which consisted of fried chicken, coleslaw, some condiments, and fries on the side. It was on a brioche bun and looked exactly like what you get at burger joints, so despite the title, I think it definitely qualified as a burger. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, which brought me and Anna some relief after the taco incident. With her meal, she also appreciated the “free water”–a privilege she is not used to at home.
On Friday night, she got a taste of what school dances are like in America–albeit at a pretty small, casual dance made up of mostly underclassmen. She and her friends enjoyed dancing and witnessing the quirky dance moves of CKM freshmen. Supposedly this was unlike anything they had seen before, because the only school dance they have at home is Senior Prom.
The next day, we took a day trip to San Francisco. It was a perfect day to visit SF. We went to the Ferry Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Lyon Street steps, Painted Ladies, and a couple other touristy spots. Then we stopped in Berkeley on the drive home to show her the UC Berkeley campus and grab some dinner. Valentina seemed delighted by the gorgeous weather and architecture in the city.
Though slightly tangential to the main topic of this article, I wanted to include this story about our German friend’s reaction to the infamous purple Beam. While in the Bay Area, we closely monitored the score of the first Kings vs. Warriors playoff game, but of course we were surrounded by Warriors fans. Thankfully, we got the last laugh when Curry missed a layup and the Kings won 126-123. The beam was lit when we got back to Sactown. For days, Valentina had thought people were saying “light the bean” until we showed it to her on the drive home and she had a revelation.
The German exchange students went to The Capitol and Old Sacramento during their second week. The McClatchy kids had to stay in school, but the inside scoop from our German friends was as follows: everyone was impressed with both the interior and exterior of the Capitol building, but equally impressed with the number of unhoused people in Old Sac. She spoke a lot about how different the homeless here are from those she encounters in Europe.
On the night of Friday, April 21st, a group of McClatchy kids and exchange students roller skated at Foothill Skater Inn. Though I wouldn’t consider roller skating to be a particularly typical activity for Americans above the age of nine, there are no roller rinks in Kelkheim, so it was a rite of passage for the Germans. Unfortunately, this is where Valentina and a few others caught Covid, but she returned home really happy, so she must have lived her last moments of freedom here to the fullest.
To conclude their stay in Sacramento, families coordinated to purchase tickets for everyone to watch a River Cats game from the grassy “Toyota Home Run Hill”. Because it was a Saturday game, there was a firework display at the end, loud enough for even the students quarantined at home to hear. It was a fitting event for the group’s final night here–baseball and a firework display are two quintessential elements of American culture.
The bus departed on Sunday morning. Although it was difficult to say goodbye to friends we’d grown so fond of, no one felt too sad, because they knew they would reunite soon. This summer, they will do the ol’ switcheroo, and the McClatchy kids will explore their former guests’ hometown, Kelkheim, to kick off their adventures in Germany.
In my opinion, the most valuable part of our time spent with a German exchange student was all the knowledge she imparted to us in our late night conversations (as we all procrastinated on our homework). Anna and I were continually surprised by her sophisticated English vocabulary, especially when discussing her political views; sometimes she made use of vocabulary words even our AP Government teachers don’t use. She brought up history about parts of the globe I don’t normally pay attention to, which was eye opening. It was very intriguing when she shared her perspective on food, social norms, and sports in the USA.
With that, I have summed up everything I observed from April 10th to the 23rd as a member of a host family. I sure hope that all the exchange students learned as much from their Sacramento experience as we did with their company.
