German Exchange Students Land In Hauppauge

If you hear "guten tag" or "hallo" in Hauppauge High School’s hallways, it may not be the German language students practicing for their next exam. 

Hauppauge residents greeted 20 German exchange students arriving for a two-week exchange program on Friday. The cultural exchange is part of an annual tradition, said Lillian Carey, director of Languages Other Than English at . 

“We’ve been doing it for so long that it’s a tradition. The families look forward to it. It’s kind of like a part of our program here, people aren’t afraid to do it. They love hosting the students,” Carey said.

Hauppauge High School participates in the German American Partnership Program, a nonprofit high school exchange program sponsored by the German Foreign Office and U.S. Department of State. Each fall, Hauppauge’s German language students have the option to travel to Germany for a homestay visit, an offer that is reciprocated in the spring.

Hauppauge students visited the German students in their hometown of Neu Wolmstorf, Germany near the larger city of Hamburg, Germany in October 2010. Carey said the teens have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of their new German friends in New York.

“It breeds excitement and an awareness of what is going on in the world around them,” Carey said. 

The German exchange students attended a full day of classes on Monday, shadowing their host students. Over the next two weeks, the exchange students will give presentations to Hauppauge's language classes, tour Long Island and New York City, and attend various pre-planned cultural events.

"We'd love to be able to do this in all our languages. It's half the price of a normal trip, as the German government supports it and the students are staying in homes, not hotels," Carey said. 

Hauppauge's Spanish language students traveled to Costa Rica for the first time in February, participating in a one-week homestay program. It was not an exchange program. Carey said French classes also go on an annual cultural trip. In 2011, students will visit Quebec City, Canada, but in previous years have flown to France. 

The high school will hold an International Night on April 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will allow the community to meet with the German exchange students, Carey said, and serve as a farewell party.