The first school day in Charles City

Our first day in Charles City high school started by driving with our host student to school. We didn´t have to wake up as early as we usually do.
The GAPP-Students met in the entry hall and the principal and the german teacher Mrs. Buttjer introduced themselves. After that we went into the german classroom and we gave Mrs. Buttjer our gifts such as “Haribo” and “Tempo Taschentücher”. Then new people introduced themselves. The first one was a teacher for students with special needs, the next one was an organizer for school and a man for school activities. The last one was a man who supports other teachers.
Mrs. Buttjer showed us around the High School and then we went to the middle school, that was next to the high school. The school in America is very different to the school in Germany, they have a green screen and every student has his own Laptop. After being shown around we went to lunch and had a short break before the next program started.
The next program was a rallye through Charles City. We started out in the gym, called YMCA, other stops were a Café, the Police Station, the post office, the supermarket and some others. The end was at McDonald´s where our hostfamily picked us up and drove us back home. 

Welcome to the States!

Our journey began with an one hour flight from Bremen to Amsterdam. Although the flight was delayed, we luckily didn‘t miss our connecting flight to Minneapolis, where we finally landed even a bit ahead of schedule. Also we got many and very tasty meals on board. After many security checks we could finally leave the airport in Minneapolis! All of us wearing winter clothes were very surprised about the 90 fahrenheit in Minneapolis.
Our bus driver took us then from the airport to the „Mall of America“ which is one of the most famous shopping malls in the world. The majority of us felt kind of lost in it though because of all the floors and countless shops.
At 7:30 pm we went to a Motel where we spend the night.
The next morning we went to the „Minneapolis Sculpture Garden“ which was interesting. Our next stop was at the „Foshay Tower“ where we had a nice view over the whole town. It was amazing. Then we went to the „Mill City Museum“ which is built into the ruins of what was once the world‘s largest flour mill. We got information about it while sitting in a large elevator which took us to different floors, where different situations of the history were presented. After that our bus driver wanted to take us to the waterfalls but unfortunately she dropped us off at the wrong place. It turned into an exciting adventure though, whilst discovering the place, walking up many stairs, but then finally arrived at a cute little beach.
After another 2 hours bus drived we arrived very excited in St. Ansgar and half an hour later we finally made it to Charles City where we met our host families.
-Joana and Laura-

Hours to go!

The great day is almost here. One last night in my own bed, one last breakfast at our house and then it's off to the United States. Am I nervous? Of course I am! My sister and I only realised today that this will be the longest time we've been separated since her birth, 14 years ago. The same can be said in regard to my parents. So am I (positively) excited and anxious for this trip? I would lie if I didn't answer with a loud and resounding YES! 

I have never spent so much time abroad without living there and I must say that despite my fears I see  more opportunities than risks. I expect to see the life of the normal American and live it myself for the time of my stay. I hope to meet interesting new people, maybe even form friendships long to surpass the time we spend together. 

My parents often tell me about their trips to the States in the nineties. They always speak of the beautiful wilderness and nature, picturesque scenes in the national parks (we even have a Seqouia in our back yard!) and of the kind and friendly people they met on their travels. In their words it is this diversity and mixture of mindblowing nature and a wonderful people that make the United States of America the grand nation they are today. I wish to witness this for myself and hope that at the end of a wonderful 4 weeks in the land of the free and home of the brave I can say for myself: I can't wait to return!

Goodbye Germany and WELCOME AMERICA!

A few months ago we had the chance to apply for GAPP. I was so happy after the message that I am allowed to take part in the exchange.

I can't believe that we will be on the airplane ✈️ tomorrow to fly to America but I am so glad to have this opportunity. I have never been out of Europe and also never in America. 

Living in the host family gives me the chance to get to know the every day life. Besides I think it's very interesting to see the differences between the American and the German school. 

After being in the host family I am so curious to get to know other parts of the USA. I really like that I can share all of it with the others. We will make so many new experiences and memories. 

I have never been away from home for one month but I don't think that it will be a big problem because the time will pass so fast because of so many cool actions. The bigger problem will be to leave the USA I think. 

In a few hours I can say "Welcome America". 

Only 1 day 😍

Friday morning the big adventure starts.
I can't believe that we will already fly to America on Friday✈. I look forward to the great time we will have.
I'm very excited to meet my host family and which differences I will notice in their daily life.
Besides the school system in America is quite different than it is in our school. They almost do everything with the laptop.  What will this be like ? - I don't know but after the four weeks I will know.
I'm also excited about the trips to Chicago and the Custer State Park with our group, because there we will see different places from the USA.
I hope that I can improve my English and that we will all have a great time with lots of  experiences.

Only 1 day left until we start our journey!

I still find it hard to believe that tomorrow we'll be in the US. I'm really excited, since I've never been to the US before and also really curious about the differences compared to Germany. I'm especially excited to meet my host family and to spend time with them. Also I hope that I can improve my English skills  as well as meeting new people. Now I just want the journey to finally start. 😊

See you soon! 👋

A dream comes true!

Only two days left till we fly to America, faraway from our homes. We almost packed everything and cant expect it anymore!
It is my second exchange I ever did so far, but I never have been in the USA before. In our last meeting we had the opportunity to see some pictures from the exchange last year and it looked amazing. I exspect a completly different schoolsystem and a different culture.
 In addition I hope to get a better fluent speech as well as a look insight their daily life.
I am really thankful to be on this exchange and I am looking forward to have a great time in the US.
Next time I am posting from the USA.

let the journey to a different country begin!🇺🇸🙋🏻

Wow how time flies!🇺🇸

Only a day left until the big journey over the atlantic ocean starts! I'm terribly excited and ready for take off✈️

First of all what will it be like travelling together with a group of 20 people? And what will St. Ansgar and Charles City look like?! So many questions which come to my mind..but I'm more than excited to get all the answers and to be able to experience and find out everything! 

I think meeting my host family for the first time and visiting the American High School for a few weeks will definitely be one of the things I'll remember forever. As well as that I'm hoping that the exchange will give us the great chance of meeting new people and making new friendships on a complete different continent than ours🌎

I'm glad that I'm getting the chance to participate and I'm sure we'll all have a great time and safe travels! Until then Goodbye Germany see you in four weeks!🇩🇪

39 hours✈️😊

Only 39 hours until our journey to the USA begins!
First of all I'm really looking forward to taking part in my host family's life. I've already chatted a lot with my host sister via email and she seems to be such a nice person. We have so many similar interests, I think we will have a lot of fun together!
I'm so excited to discover a different culture and traditions. Apart from that I hope to improve my English skills and get more self confident to do things on my own.
This is also my first exchange ever and my second time in the USA. Going to the high school in Charles City will be such an exciting experience since it is so different to our school here in Germany and the German school system. Also I would like to make new friends for a lifetime.
I think my highlights will be Mount Rushmore, the football game and the whole trip to Chicago.
I am already thankful for all the experiences that will be possible because of this exchange.

A lifetime experience!

In a few days our grand adventure will start and I am unbelievably excited about that.✈️🇺🇸
First of all I am really looking forward to meeting my host and her family. When I took part in the French exchange in spring, I realized that living in a host family is almost the most important and best thing about an exchange. The opportunity to experience a whole new culture is great and I believe that it's going to be very interesting and also funny to see the differences between Germany and the United States. Furthermore the possibility to share my thoughts and discuss with foreign students of my age is amazing and always something rewarding. Besides I hope that I can build some new friendships.

In general I am really excited to finally experience the “American way of life” by myself : go to an american high school, eat in an american cafeteria, taste american candy, watch a football game… In movies and TV shows we get a pretty clear image of how the everyday life in America looks, but I would like to find out what the reality is like and what just a cliché or stereotype is.

Besides I hope that I will improve my language skills and get more confident and fluently in English. Maybe I'll even get more independent and mature.

Apart from that I am very excited about the trips we are going to make with our group and very glad that we have the opportunity to not only experience so many things, but also visit different places in America. I am pretty sure that our trip to Chicago will be awesome, but I am also very eager to visit the National Park and Mount Rushmore.

In addition I think that it is great to travel with a group because it hopefully allows us to talk about our experiences or problems and share our opinions.

Anyways I am absolutely thrilled to visit the U.S. because I expect it to be an amazing once in a lifetime experience and I am sure that we will make some great memories...

Take-off ✈

I honestly can't believe that our flight already takes off on friday. It hasn't quite sunk in yet and therefore I don't feel that giddy.
But I've never been on a plane for such a long time so that's going to be rather interesting. I hope that I won't get homesick as I've never been away from home for that long.
It's going to be the first time that I'll travel somewhere beyond europe.
I'm really looking forward to meet my host family! On the one hand I'm exited to attend an american school, since a lot of subjects that are taught there, aren't available here but on the other hand I'm thrilled to visit lots of sights, for an example 'Mount Rushmore'.
I'm sure that all of the memorable things that I'm going to experience will leave quite an imprint on me. I hope to become more independent and mature, to improve my language skills and to encounter lots of new people during my stay.

It's started in three days 😍

Only three days left, befor the journey starts.
I am starting to pack my  things and the journey becomes to get real. I am looking forward to see my host family and to spend time with them. I am also looking forward to spend time with new people and to learn in the american school.  Especially I am really excited to see the American Football game, because American Football is very awesome. The trips with our group will be great.
The typical way of life in the USA is an great experience, because I was in Britain in a host family before and I like to learn something from people. Fascinating for me are the American school subjects, the lessons and sport activitys.
The main fact is that I want to improve my english skills, mabey you can read and understand what I write, but I know my english isn´t the best. Maybe it will be better than it is now.
We do things with our groupe, we won´t do again in our life and I am looking forward to enter the plane and the adventure in the  USA starts.
See you soon and the next time I will be writing from the USA!

Just 3 days to go!

Time goes by and the last days passed like in slow-motion. There are only 3 days left till start and we are ready for takeoff! The flights are booked, the presents bought and the months of fundraising are over. We raised so much and after all what we did for this trip I am really excited about it. This is also my first exchange ever and my first time in the USA too. I expect this to be a trip of a whole diffrent kind of what I did before, when seeing our plans for this year and the photos of last year. I think my highlights will be Mount Rushmore and the vast view over the scenery of South Dakota. Also I am looking forward to see my host family in Charles City ( when I say "my host family" I mean both of them, of course!). I was fairly surprised they don't have Milka and HARIBO or Softies,
but my exchange student Kelly mentioned, that HARIBO is the best candy she ever had. Thats quite cool and a bit odd to hear too.

America we are coming🙌💗

Friday morning we are going to fly to America and I'm very ecited because I never was as long in a plane before. We will have lunch up in the air and we will see the landscape from above. ✈🌁
I think when we are landing in America we will be so exited to see what will be going on in the next 4 weeks. Hopefully nobody gets homesick and that we can sleep our jetlack away. Maybe the difficult part is going to be writing with the family there are 7 hours between Germany and America hopefully we can handle this.⏰
I know we all will make fun memories and never leaving experiences and pictures in our heads.📷
The school is diffrent and the culture is a new one, maybe we struggle first with that but I'm not afraid of learning something new.👏
PS: I'm going to bring presents from America like all the candy we don't have here.🍬

The time of our lives

When I was in sixth grade I heard about GAPP the very first time and I immediately wished I could participate one day as well. Now my dream comes true - only four days are left until the journey will finally start! My feelings about that are simply overwhelming.
Of course I want to improve my language skills, but apart from that I hope I will become friends with my exchange student. I already wrote a few e-mails with her and she seems to be such a friendly and open-minded person. Besides I am already looking forward to meeting her friends and family and I am pretty excited which differences I will notice in their daily life.
One of our plans includes watching a football game with the whole group and I mean: How cool is that? I probably won't sleep that good the night before because of excitement, but I guess it will be worth it. Another part I am very curious about is our visit in Chicago with all its sights, interesting people and international atmosphere. Finally I want to add that this thing called "calories" will be a foreign word to me while the exchange because tasting all the American food I will come across plays a very important role on my to-do list for the US.

The biggest adventure so far 😍✈

Months ago I got to know that I'm going to be a participant of the GAPP exchange... And now there are just 5 more days left until we are on our way to the States ✈️ Somehow I still can't believe that one of my dreams is finally coming true 😍
I've never been to the US and I also never participated in an exchange before so this will be a whole new experience for me. Going on this adventure with some of my friends makes everything even better and I’m sure that we will have the best time of our lives so far.

I’m really looking forward to meeting my host family, I've been writing with my host for a few weeks now and I'm thrilled to finally meet her and her family face to face. Added to that I’m super excited to get to know the American culture and experience the everyday life in the States. I’m sure that we will face many differences regarding school, food and culture in comparison to Germany and I can’t wait to experience as much as possible. Furthermore I hope to improve my English skills as well as meeting lots of new people and making friends for a lifetime. This exchange is also a great opportunity to get more self-confident and open-minded.

Next time I’ll be posting from the US!😉

Making memories!

I'm so excited since I know that I have this opportunity to live in an American family for the next month and I'm counting every hour until we're going to have this experience!

I've never been so far and so long away from my family and I'm not sure how I will handle that. And if that's not enough to handle, I never did an exchange like France or Poland too! My point is that I've travelled to America two times before but I never saw this side of the U.S. I expect a lot of the vibes at their high school because we already think of the schools we know from movies or series. So will it be the same, with all the lockers, the classrooms and all the other things which is a typically American school routine for us? Literally I think we all want to improve our englisch skills but the biggest challenge will be that we have the self confidence to speak.

So my expectations are that I will speak more fluently, get more self confident to do things on my own and make memories that I won't forget. I'm so thankful that I can share all the things with my friends who are coming with me.

Looking forward to have the best time of my life so far!😍👏🏼

A journey through the midwest.🏁

In a few days we will take off to the united states and I can not wait! I was once in the US and it was amazing but Florida is a totally different place to be, the midwest has so much to offer. I am looking forward to see the incredible sceneries, a huge metropolis like Chicago and the biggest mall in the world. But most importantly to me are the people who live in these places and my host family that is making this possible. My first impression was great! Very kind and openminded people, that have contacted me a few weeks ago and I am really excited to meet them in person, as well as getting insight into their lifes.
See you in a bit!

A whole new experience...

In a few days I'm in America. I can't believe it!😍To be 4 weeks and a few thousand kilometers away from home is a whole new experience for me. It's amazing that our school offer this unique opportunity to travel to the USA. And the best thing about it is that I can travel with my friends. I'm sure that it's going to be an amazing time and an experience that I will remember for a long time. I've never been in the USA before that's why I'm already excited to get to know the American way of life. After writing with my exchange student for a long time, I'm happy to finally meet her in person in a few days! I'm dying to meet her family as well. We're going to visit a highschool in America and it's like fulfilling a childhood dream because there are so many films with highschools and I always thought that it must be so cool to go to one. I hope that I'm going to improve my english skills and that I'm going to meet nice people. And of course I would love to try as much American food as possible, especially candies.😋

Many things will be different

Just six more days to go… unbelievable😍! For the next month things in my daily life will change- I’m sure! But what do I really expect from the exchange? 

Well, the special thing about our trip is that it lasts one whole month. It is different from the two-week school exchange in France which I already did. Not only the duration of the stay varies, but it is also not as close to Germany as France is.

I never went to the USA before. That is why I am expecting that the so called „American way of life“ will be a great new experience for me. I hope to improve my language skills in order to speak more fluently and to expand my vocabulary. But also visiting an American High-School is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is exciting to meet new people and to hear new life stories. Another point would be to try a lot of typical American food. Also living with a new family and visiting new cities will be a great chance to see life from a different point of view.

I wish I can say in retrospect: That was a great time!😎

DER COUNTDOWN LÄUFT😍

Hallo ihr Lieben!😇
Noch 15 Tage bis es heisst:''breath out, breath in, American oxygen!''🌞 ✈
Dies ist unser Blog über unsere Reise nach Amerika! Wir werden hier viele Tagesberichte, Erfahrungen, Fotos, etc. mit euch teilen.👥
Wir sind alle suuuuper gespannt und können es kaum erwarten
Liebe Grüße eure Gapp-Teilnehmer 2017👋👯