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Greg Oliver

A group of German exchange students has been attending Daniel High School for nearly three weeks, not only gaining insight into the American education system but also extracurricular activities and sightseeing activities. Pictured, front row, from left, are: Lukas Koenig and Alvin Mur; second row, from left: Daniel High School Principal Sharon Huff, Michelle Lardon, Natascha Waelde, Dominik Kaltenbach, Fabienne Trik, Lisa Wittenberg, Franziska Rehm and teacher Ruth Augustin, chaperone for the German students; third row, from left: Sandra Hollweg, Carolin Lemle, Patrick Muller and Timothy Gebhard.

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Click on photo to enlarge

Greg Oliver

Franziska Rehm, right, a German exchange student, and Amanda Farley, whose home Franziska has been staying in during her visit.

CENTRAL — The approximately 12 German exchange students visiting Daniel High School during a three-week period that ends this weekend are experiencing what an American high school has to offer both academically and socially.

Lukas Koenig, Alvin Mur, Michelle Lardon, Natascha Waelde, Dominik Kaltenbach, Fabienne Trik, Lisa Wittenberg, Franziska Rehm, Sandra Hollweg, Carolin Lemle, Patrick Muller and Timothy Gebhard have attended classes just like their American counterparts at the school. But the biggest education may have come from what takes place after school.

Whittenberg said she has enjoyed trips to Wal-Mart and a recent tour of Ashtabula Plantation in Pendleton.

“I just love it,” Whittenberg said.

Gebhard said he attended the school’s state track meet and received an airplane ride. Rehm, who once spent a year in Texas attending a high school, said she attended the Junior-Senior Prom (Germany has dances, not proms), saw the Clemson football stadium and toured both the city of Clemson and Clemson University.

When it came to food, Rehm said she enjoyed sub sandwiches and French toast and, especially, Mexican food that included taco salad and salsa.

“We don’t really have it there (in Germany),” Rehm said.

The relationship between Daniel High School and Germany has been ongoing for several years. Three years ago, Daniel hosted a high school from eastern Germany and Kathleen Dickel, a German teacher at the Central school, was later awarded a Fulbright to teach in that country during the 2005-06 school year. In return, Ruth Augustin, who chaperoned German students to Daniel High last year and is doing the same again this year, taught at Daniel High.

Augustin is hopeful the German students will gain a better understanding of how the American school system works.

“I want to give them insight into the American school system and give closer contacts to see what their life is like in a different part of the world,” Augustin said.

Not only have the German students sat in on rigorous academic classes, Augustin said they have also experienced their share of fun. For example, she said some of the classes have consisted of tie-dying T-shirts as well as football and cheerleading.

“What I’m interested in is how students are involved in school and how extracurricular activities play a part in their lives,” she said. “We don’t have that in our country — our students go to school, study and go home. The school spirit here impresses me.”

Another difference Augustin has noticed about the American academic day compared to Germany is the hours that students are required to stay in school.

“The German school day is 7:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Friday,” Augustin said. “School begins in September and concludes at the end of July, but we have more breaks during the school year. It’s basically the same amount of days but split differently.”

The German students hiked Table Rock on Memorial Day and are visiting Charleston this week. They will return in time to attend Daniel High School’s graduation, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday in Littlejohn Coliseum, before departing early next week.

Rehm said she has enjoyed meeting Americans, adding that people in this area are more open than in Germany.

“In Germany, everyone is nice but, here, everyone is friendly,” Rehm said.

Ray Farley, whose daughter, Amanda, hosted Rehm during her stay, said he has been impressed with the manner in which the German students and the Daniel High students get along.

“All the German students are really, really good kids, and it’s exciting to watch the interaction between our students and the German students and how similar they act and their interests,” Farley said. “It’s been interesting to watch in a very, very short time their ability to galvanize and get along well.”

Once the German students return home next week, the separation from their Daniel High friends will be brief. The Daniel High students will make an exchange visit of their own when they arrive in the European country June 16 for a three-week stay.

During that time, Augustin said the Daniel High students not only will attend German schools but also visit a castle in Stuttgart, hike in the Black Forest, travel to Lake Constance and view a silver mine.

Daniel High School Principal Sharon Huff said the exchange program has been just as beneficial to her students as it has the German students.

“We enjoy this and hope we get to have many years of doing this,” Huff said.