Hannah Scholl
What do you remember most vividly about your GAPP exchange?
I have so many vivid memories from my GAPP exchange!
One particular memory was a hiking trip that my host family took me on. We were living very close to the border of Switzerland, and so we went on a day trip casually to hike around the Seealpsee in Switzerland's Appenzell Alps. We took a gondola up, stopped at a traditional hut for lunch, and hiked back down (including sliding down a pile of snow in the summer). (Here is where I also got a glimpse into how different the Swiss German dialect is!). To this day, I believe it still remains one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on.
Another memory was going to see my first musical in German. While my exchange partner Lara was in the U.S. with us, I was in rehearsals for our school musical Grease, so she got a small taste of my love for musical theatre. It was so sweet of her mom and her to organize a trip to Stuttgart to go see Rocky das Musical.
I also have strong memories from the smaller, more every-day moments that were so meaningful to me- whether riding my bike to go swim across the Steißlingen See (the stunning turquoise-colored lake in the village!), stopping at the “Eierautomat” (egg vending machine, essentially) for farm-fresh eggs on the way home with the family, getting a scoop of gelato for a single euro, enjoying a typical German breakfast spread with assorted fresh breads from the bakery (My mom back in the U.S. was so jealous to hear that I got to have a fresh pretzel with butter for breakfast!!), attending community watch parties for the Europa Cup, and many more. It was my first real experience going out of the country, so I was soaking it all in.
Was there anything that surprised you about living with your host family or in your host country?
At the time, one of the things that really surprised and amazed me was the public transit network. To get to school my exchange partner and I would take a public bus (not a school bus!) to Radolfzell from the village of Steißlingen. I was shocked to see how many young children took the public bus because in the U.S., public buses unfortunately often hold a stigma of not always being safe, and we have specific school buses instead. It amazed me that the village where we were living that had a population of just over 5,000 people or so, had a bus schedule running all day every hour, or even every half hour. If we stayed late in Radolfzell, one had to call a “Rufbus” around an hour in advance, and a van would come and pick you up (for the same price of taking the bus). While some people complained about having to call the bus, in my mind it is basically a free taxi or Uber! In contrast, the town of over 30,000 people where I was living in the U.S. did not really have any public buses.
In general, I had the feeling there that cities were built for people, not necessarily just for cars. I felt much safer biking to places. Our class took a day trip to Munich, and we had the opportunity to take a high-speed train which was so cool. I felt jealous that we did not have similar access to the same breadth of public transit in the U.S.!
Have you kept in touch with your host family since your exchange? Have you been able to celebrate any milestones together?
11 years after we first met, my exchange partner Lara and I have stayed in contact, and are still great friends today! I have also stayed in touch with my younger sister’s GAPP exchange partner and host family who also live in the same village, as I got to know her when she stayed at our family’s house in the U.S. I think I have lost count of how many specific times I have visited with them in the last decade since my exchange.
My GAPP exchange was a wonderful introduction to Germany, and ignited a desire to spend more time in the country. After double majoring in German and Politics at Oberlin College, I first spent two years as a U.S. teaching assistant through the USTA Program administered by Fulbright Austria, and then spent a year in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals. During my time living in Europe, I went back to visit my host family and sister’s host family The first couple months of the CBYX program involve a language school placement, and coincidentally, I was placed at the Carl Duisberg Language Center in Radolfzell, the same city where our high school exchange took place! As a result, I ended up staying with my same GAPP exchange host family for a few months, and returned to visit both families for Easter as well. After returning from Germany, my exchange partner came to visit my family outside of Boston, and we took trips to New York and Florida as well. We communicate in a mix of German and English on Whats-app throughout the year. I am incredibly grateful to the GAPP program for making this life-long friendship possible!
Was there a particular moment during your exchange that changed the way you see the world?
One particular moment that truly blew me away (so much so that I even wrote a blog post about it during a policy internship at Frontier Group years later in college!) was the welcome dinner at the German school. It was a potluck, and just as we would in America, each family contributed a dish. Yet, unlike the welcome dinner my school in Wellesley, MA held for the German students in which there was disposable plates and silverware, as is typical at a large school function, each family brought not only a dish of homemade food, but also a little basket of their personal reusable cups, silverware, plates, and utensils for each member of the family, straight from their kitchens. It was such a simple thing, but struck me so powerfully, because I had never even considered that idea, making me realize that so many of our customs and habits are shaped by the society that we grow up in, and that there might be different, more sustainable approaches, that do not necessarily require any additional labor or financial resources. For example, it would not be a burden on the host to have to wash 50 plates and cutlery sets because each person was just responsible for their own items, and the school would also save money on having to buy additional sets of single-use plastic items. The experience also served as a model of community collective action. This was just one example of the different approaches to sustainable living that I witnessed in Germany.
What cultural differences stood out to you at the time, and how did you adapt to them?
As I mentioned earlier, I was amazed by the access to public transit, but I also had to learn to navigate the system. It was the first time I had to look at bus schedules and make sure I did not lose my monthly bus ticket pass (which unfortunately got rained on at one point and the text was mostly washed away so the bus driver made me purchase a new one).
Another difference was the general lack of air conditioning. Given that our exchange was during the summer, I was initially nervous about this. However, I was able to adapt by using the same strategies that families typically use such as putting down outside rollable shutters over the windows during the day to block out light, and keeping the windows open at night when it is cooler. The windows and houses themselves were built in such a sustainable way as to make it totally liveable without airconditioning. Upon returning to the U.S., I noticed how cold we keep our buildings, and experienced a bit of reverse culture shock in that regard.
Other small differences included different meals or eating habits (for example, typically eating a larger lunch after rather than during school and then a smaller ‘Brotzeit’ dinner). One interesting difference was that drinking plain tap water was not as common, and most of the time is not automatically free in restaurants like in the U.S. I started off not enjoying sparkling water, but somewhere along the way began to enjoy it. I also learned about the stronger culture of returning plastic water bottles at the store to get a “Pfand” or deposit back.
If you could give advice to your younger self before your exchange experience, what you say?
Don’t forget to put on sunscreen before going to the swimming pond in town totally jetlagged after landing that morning from transatlantic flight haha (luckily, my host mom happened to be a skin care expert and was able to make sure that the worst sunburn of my life got the proper care and attention it needed!)
What would you tell current students about why they should participate in a GAPP exchange? Any tips?
Staying with a host family and leaving the country for an extended period of time can definitely feel daunting, but I cannot recommend this program enough! Not only are you able to develop life-long friendships (really an extension of my family!), but also immerse yourself in a whole other culture and perspectives, which you can learn so much from–whether that is new sustainable ways of living, knowledge about political systems or new vocabulary. I often joke around that GAPP accidentally shaped my whole career path because it made me realize how valuable intercultural exchange and dialogue is.
My biggest tip: Try to avoid speaking in your native language in the other country! In general, the German students tend to have stronger English skills than our German skills because they start learning earlier than we did, and so it can be tempting to just speak English with your host partner all the time. It can feel embarrassing to muddle through some more difficult speaking moments, but trust me- the vast improvements in your fluency level will be worth any potential embarrassment you may have felt at the time! Don’t be afraid to communicate clearly with your partner/host that you prefer to speak as much German as possible (they may try to speak English to be welcoming!).
Looking back, what was the biggest lesson of your GAPP exchange experience?
One of the biggest lessons I learned from my GAPP exchange experience was the realization that many cultural or lifestyle differences that exist are not necessarily because of differences in opinions or values, but because of circumstances and path-dependency. For example, people tend to ride bikes and public transit more there because there is better and safer infrastructure to do so, not because Americans inherently love driving in cars more than Germans do. It is important to be open-minded to different approaches and perspectives that we can learn from others.
Another lesson I learned was that I could do anything that I put my mind to. Before going on my GAPP exchange, I had never gone away to sleep away camp, and had not been away from home or from my family for more than a few nights. It was empowering to know that I could be resilient enough to adapt to a different living environment, language, and culture.
How do you think participating in the GAPP program helped prepare you for working in a diverse, international city like New York?
If there is one thing that the GAPP program teaches you it is how to quickly adapt to different environments, and engage in cross-cultural dialogue. These types of skills that I was able to start building in high school are quite relevant in a diverse, international city like New York. Through my work, we often collaborate with foreign policy experts and officials from around the globe, in addition to the strong German-American community here!
How does having personally experienced an international exchange help you connect with the mission and goals of the American Council on Germany?
The American Council on Germany is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that was founded in 1952 to strengthen German-American relations. Today, the ACG works across generations to provide a deeper, more nuanced understanding about Germany, Europe, and the importance of the transatlantic partnership. Through a range of programs and activities, the ACG addresses the most pressing economic, political, and social challenges of the day to ensure better mutual understanding. Having experienced firsthand the benefits of international exchanges, starting off with the GAPP exchange, I understand deeply how impactful the ACG’s various study tours, Young Leaders Conference, fellowships, and more are for both individuals, and for the broader ripple effects in our communities and countries.
It is such a full circle moment to now be in a position to support the planning and implementation of international exchanges, including being able to recently staff our Study Tour on Social Cohesion in Germany. It is surreal to facilitate transatlantic dialogue and sharing of perspectives as I witness our program participants going through some of the same revelations that I have gone through, all while developing their own cross-country networks and friendships along the way. One thing I have learned is that the learning never stops! Every time I visit Germany through an exchange, I always have new takeaways every single time. I am deeply grateful to GAPP for opening the door to this whole new world for me.
