Students lately have been hearing phrases like “Hallo” and “Guten Tag” around the school because District 219 has welcomed 28  exchange students from Bruchsal, Germany.

The German exchange popularity and success has been evident by the large number of students who are willing to participate.

Twenty-four Niles West and four Niles North students are part of the exchange. The quartet from Niles North are junior Max Hill and seniors Georgia Christus, George Vail and Breanna Anderson.

Anderson, who participated in the program her sophomore year, says, “I decided to do the foreign exchange again because I had fun with my first exchange partner. We learned a lot from each other about America and Germany. It is cool after learning German for four years to actually apply it in Germany.”

The trip is coordinated by  German teachers Sara Shuster, Lydia Ronning, Josef Neumayer, Natalie Bartl and Caroline Ahearn. Teachers Ronning and Neumayer are hosting German teachers that came along with the students.

The German students are staying in Skokie for a total of 10 days, from Oct. 11 to Oct. 21.

The German students had the opportunity to shadow their hosts for two days (Oct. 12 and Oct. 16) during school to get a sense of how an American public school works.

On Monday,  Oct. 15, the German students got to experience Skokie by visiting the Skokie Police Department, meet the mayor of Skokie and celebrate at a firehouse barbecue with Skokie firemen. Afterwards, the German students and their hosts visited Niles West where they worked on a mural honoring the two cultures.

The exchange program is not only beneficial for travel experience, but it also also allows friendships to form. Hill and his exchange partner, Jonas Klemt, quickly became friends after seeing how much they have in common. “We have similar interests,” Klemt says. “We both like to make jokes, eat at McDonald’s and sleep. I’m glad I like him and his family; it made it all very cool.”

The German students will say goodbye to their hosts this upcoming Monday, and they’ll be going to Boston to see a different part of  the U.S. However, it’s only auf wiedersehen until June 2013 when the D219 students become the guests as they venture off to Bruchsal.