Exchange of experiences

A group of students at the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium, from Eisenhüttenstadt, came to the DSM during the first semester of 2022. Several of them stayed with some of our families.

Since 2016, students from Klasse 8 at Deutsche Schule Medellín have gotten together  with their peers from Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium, in Eisenhüttenstadt, a town in the federal state of Brandenburg. The institutions have called this project Schülerbegegnung (student project in English).

Juliana Vélez, International Affairs Coordinator, explains that it consists of videocalls in which Colombian students practice German and German students practice Spanish. Besides, every year, three families from Eisenhüttenstadt receive three students from the DSM in their academic trip in Klasse 10; and a group of students travel to Colombia for two weeks to see different parts of the department of Antioquia and to share experiences in our Campus.

Several DSM families become temporary homes for some of the German students who visit our country. A student from Klasse 12, Laura Roldán Restrepo and her family, accommodated Leocadia, who is 16 years old. However, as Margarita Restrepo—Laura’s mom—explains: this is not new. “We love opening our doors to German students. We have welcomed some students from the Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium and other people who our daughters have met in their academic trips from Klasse 10”.

Every person they have welcomed into their home provides an opportunity to get to know another culture, and the chance to show them that Colombia is so much more than what they see on the news. For Laura, it is also important that those who visit, get the opportunity to learn more about the life of a student in Colombia: “I take them to the places that I usually visit, and I show them the places where I usually hang out”, she says.

Laura and Margarita are often stunned because in many cases, these young students from Germany know more about Colombia than themselves: “they have recommended some places that we can visit, they see parts of the city that we’ve never seen before and they’ve opened our eyes with regard to our own country”, expresses Margarita.

For Laura and Margarita, one of the most valuable things of this experience is the cultural exchange. “We get to experience different cultures, to be aware of what we can share and learn not only from other countries, but also, from ours too”, says Laura. They also enjoy when they can show the variety of the Colombian cuisine, our fruits and our ingredients. “In my opinion, these are great opportunities that no  one should waste. It’s as great being able to go to Germany and live with a German family as it is to welcome a German student here in our home in Colombia ".

That way, we create spaces that foster interculturality and that help build connections and bonds that will probably last for many years.