German Students at Home in Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS —  The thing that impresses Stefan Seele the most about Americans is that they’re so friendly.

“You meet someone on the street and they say ‘Hi’ even if you don’t know them,” he said.

Back home in Stuttgart, Germany, people are not that demonstrative, Seele said.

To Djaynab Tekete, Americans do everything in a big way. “There’s too much of everything here--too much food, too much trash,” she said.

Maren Dobberthien is puzzled by Americans who turn on their television sets even when no one is watching.

The three students from Germany discussed their impressions of America while swapping stories over snacks recently at Los Alamitos High School.

They are among 33 exchange students from Stuttgart who are living with families of Los Alamitos High students.

Discussing such topics as German immigration policies, teen culture and the German view of American history allows the visiting students to practice their English and gain self-confidence, they said.

The exchange program is under the auspices of the German American Partnership Program. Los Alamitos High School has participated since 1980, said Pat Ramsburg, a program adviser.

Ramsburg said the program pairs Los Alamitos High students with students from a partner school in Stuttgart, an industrial city about 400 miles southwest of Berlin. The German students come in the spring and live for a month with their host families.

The American students travel to Germany in the summer. Thirty-three of them are going this year, Ramsburg said.

Peter Knapp, an English teacher in Stuttgart and the German student adviser, said the program allows the students to learn each other’s language.

“It also gives students a better insight into the people, school life and culture of the host country,” Knapp said.

The presence of the German students on campus is a learning experience for many Los Alamitos High students, especially for those hosting the visitors in their homes.

Ian Rice, 18, who is hosting Seele, said he was surprised to find out how much he shares with his visitor. “We’re so much alike it’s incredible,” said Rice, whose mother speaks fluent German. He said he is excited already about his trip to Germany in the summer.

According to Ramsburg, applications for the program are accepted right after school starts in September. By November, she and Knapp begin to match up the German and American partners, using the autobiographies written on the applications.

Once matched, Ramsburg said the partners are encouraged to write to each other. For American students, the air fare to Germany and about $200 more for side trips are shouldered by their parents.

Through the program, Ramsburg said, lasting friendships and even romance have come about: “It’s kind of cute to watch these little love affairs develop.”