Exchange students visit for cultural experience

German students hosted Austrians in their homes from April 6 to April 14 for the chance to learn more about another culture through foreign exchange programs.

“It’s been interesting having the Austrians here because I got to learn a lot about their culture,” ninth grader Eve Hogan said.

Hogan is a ninth grade student who took in two exhange students.

“It’s been fascinating to host the Austrians because I’ve gotten to see how different their lifestyles are from ours,” ninth grader Isabella Frank said.

Frank is a ninth grade student who took in three exchange students.

“It’s been really good to host the Austrians. In all honesty it’s been pretty fun. It helps with social skills when you meet someone new because you can’t be awkward when you meet them or the entire time will be weird,” ninth grader Margaret Keating said.

Keating is a ninth grade student who took in two exchange students.

“In some aspects they are really different from me, their school is a lot different but their home life is kind of the same,” Hogan said.

In Austria, the students must take off their shoes and change into new ones before entering the classroom.

“I think they’re pretty different from me because they communicate in a way I don’t know,” Keating said.

Austrians speak German, but their dialect slightly differs from the German spoken in Germany.

“I think that they found Pittsburgh really interesting,” Hogan said.

Hogan took her exchange students down to Pittsburgh to go shopping in the city.

“I think that they found Washington D.C very interesting,” Frank said.

Before the Austrians came to Altoona, they had been in Washington D.C for a week. The Austrians lived with their hosts for the week they were in Altoona.

“I’m very sad they left, because when you start to live with someone you learn everything about them, and it brings you a lot closer,” Keating said.