Chloe’s German high school requires all tenth graders to take part in a “Praktikum,” which is an internship at the beginning of the school year. For her internship in October, Chloe worked with senior citizens and enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about all things German, including the language, boardgames, and jokes. Since her internship concluded, Chloe has continued to deepen connections with her new friends at the nursing home and makes it a priority to visit them every week. “I go after my school days now, passing the time chatting with the Herrs and Fraus about everything from my current teenage escapades to life in America, to stories from the full lives they’ve lived.”
Chloe has also developed a new love of hiking, thanks to her host family. She notes that this has been a big change for her as she “may have once been terrified of hiking, and while National Geographic still won’t be knocking down my door any time soon, I can get my tennis shoes dirty now.”
In November, while Chloe’s family in the United States was celebrating Hanukkah, she was able to share her traditions with her host family in Germany. Chloe describes this experience as a very memorable one: “It was wonderful; we lit the Hanukkah candles every night and I recited the traditional prayer and song. It was a wonderful way to connect my two lives: The one steeped in tradition in the U.S., and the one in which I’m creating new causes for celebration here in Germany.” Chloe and her host mom researched nearby synagogues and discovered a small congregation of German and Russian Jews, who gather for Shabbat. Chloe recalled, “[On] my first visit, I met a group of exceedingly welcoming teenagers who lead the Youth Group, and I was even invited to one of their houses for dinner with their family.”
Although Chloe was initially nervous to step outside of her comfort zone to spend a year in Germany, she has overcome those fears with the help of her host community. She says, “I found all these wonderful people that I had no clue existed before. The world became so much bigger, and so much fuller of life and experiences and opportunities. I didn’t lose a world, I gained another”.
Congratulations, Chloe!
