Nine American students from Plattsburgh High School in New York State began their three-week exchange program in Germany with a four-day intensive program in Berlin, during which they learned more about the capital city, which was heavily damaged during World War II and divided by the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.
The American students, accompanied by program coordinators Jessica Klimkiewicz and Gabi Rose, will spend two weeks with host families in Germany and attend a German high school in Rastede, Lower Saxony. German students from Rastede had previously spent time in Plattsburgh.
The American students, who are in the 11th and 12th grades at Plattsburgh High School, hope to learn more about the differences between the United States and Germany—from schools, eating habits, and sports programs to music and educational approaches. In Berlin, the students visited the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, and the Holocaust Memorial.