Thirteen German students and two faculty members from Düsseldorf visited Darlington this month, completing the second phase of the cultural exchange between Darlington School and St. Ursula Gymnasium. In June, 13 Darlington students and three faculty members spent two weeks in Düsseldorf.
“The program began after Luca Schmidt-Bleibtreu, a student from Düsseldorf, had a successful experience as a resident student at Darlington,” said Bailey Duncan ('98), history teacher and coordinator of the exchange program. “One of his teachers, Mitchell Maddox (who is no longer at Darlington), started talking to Luca’s mother, Christina Hirthammer-Schmidt-Bleibtreu, about beginning a student exchange between St. Ursula’s, Luca’s school, and Darlington. The idea was for both sets of students to experience German/American education and culture by attending school and living with host families for two weeks.”
The group of German students and teachers arrived in Rome on Oct. 16 and for the next two weeks they were completely immersed in American culture. The same Darlington students who visited Germany last June served as their hosts, opening their homes to new friends from overseas.
“The main benefit of an exchange such as this is to gain understanding between two different cultures,” Duncan said. “It is much more rich to live with a host family for two weeks than just staying in a hotel. We certainly experienced that during our time in Düsseldorf as we attended school at St. Ursula’s, visited with local politicians, toured local sites ranging from cathedrals to castles, and generally learned how Germans live and work.”
During their stay in Rome, the German students attended a variety of classes on the Upper School campus; visited cultural and historic sites in Northwest Georgia and Atlanta; enjoyed social gatherings at the homes of Darlington parents and faculty; and participated in a variety of different activities with their host families, including paintball, football and trips to Six Flags.
“The trip was awesome,” said sophomore Nico Hartmann. “We met a lot of nice people and went to fun places. I also improved my English and learned about the American way of life. I enjoyed the football game at Clemson and playing paintball the most.”
The night after their arrival, the Picon family hosted a potluck dinner at their home so that everyone could get reacquainted. On Oct. 18, the group visited Rome Area History Museum and took a walking tour of Rome before meeting with Al Hodge and Heather (Lathbury) Seckman (’85) of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.
“There is so much support here in this community for a project like this,” said Jana Goessling.
Two days later, they took a day trip to Atlanta, making stops at the Georgia Capitol, the CNN Center, the World of Coca Cola and the Hard Rock Café. During this outing, they also met Rep. Katie Dempsey and German Consul General Dr. Lütz Görgens, a native of Düsseldorf. On Oct. 24, they were treated to an Atlanta Falcons football game, thanks to the generosity of the Yancey and Eisner families.
“Americans are so friendly, especially in this part of the country,” said Janna Rickel. “We felt very welcome in American homes and on trips with our American host families.”
On Oct. 26, they visited the Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, Ga., where they also met Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini and Sen. Bill Heath. After exploring the museum, the group ventured to the Dr. Martin Luther King National Historic Site and did some shopping at Lenox Mall in Atlanta. The following evening, Darlington Headmaster Tom Whitworth and his wife, Margo, hosted a dinner for the group. On Oct. 28, they visited the Space Center in Huntsville, Ala., and had dinner with former trustee and Ft. Payne Mayor Bill Jordan (’54). The following evening, the Yancey family hosted dinner in honor of their last evening in Rome.
“The lessons our students and the students at St. Ursula’s are learning from this cultural exchange are both abundant and immeasurable,” Duncan said. “Both have experienced firsthand what life is like in an American/German household. They have eaten home-cooked meals and meals in local restaurants. They have experienced culture from a sports perspective as well as through touring cultural sites like churches, castles, company headquarters, political centers and schools. They have seen differing education styles and can now better understand how life is similar and different between the two settings. Most importantly, they have connected with people from far away in a meaningful way that we expect will continue to grow for a long time to come.”
Darlington students participating in the cultural exchange program are Cam Collins, Keenan Freyberg, Robert Kuckhoff, Harbin Peek, Rashard Perry, Melissa Picon, Avani Reddy, Bonnie Rowland, Ted Summer, Jonathan Tierney, Rosie White, John Wilhoite and Mary Morgan Yancey. Helping Duncan to coordinate the program on Darlington’s end are his wife, Shannon, and Spanish teacher Carson Raymond.
“I thought that this trip was the best one of all that I’ve taken without my parents,” said sophomore Augustin Vesselle. “I had fun and have met many nice people. All the trips with the group all together were fun. I’ve learned that the American way of life is pretty different from ours in Germany.”
