Dear Editor:

On Feb. 10, 2017, I went with 12 other Boothbay Region High School students to Germany on the German-American Partnership Program. We stayed about a month and toured the city of Hamburg and Bad Harzburg.

The first week we stayed at a hostel in Hamburg. Then for the next two weeks we stayed with our exchange partners in their homes.

My experience while in Germany was the most eye opening experience in my life. Everyone I met there was very nice. Every decision they made always catered to someone else and not themselves. When I got off my first plane and was sitting in the terminal beside another man waiting for the plane to arrive, the man tried to make conversation with me until he realized I didn’t know most of the German language. Then he started speaking in English trying to make me feel more welcomed in the country. Once I made it to Hamburg, I went on a train ride to my hostel with my supervisor. On the train I saw many people stand up to let older people have their seats. Most people let kids and elders sit first. I loved seeing how just about everyone here believed in helping others before helping themselves.

The sights I saw in Germany were like nothing else. In the past, I’ve been to Alaska, seen all of the east coast of the United States, Cancun, Mexico, and have seen the Mayan Temples. Nothing can compare to the sights of Germany. It was all beautiful.

While we took a tour around Bad Harzburg, the tour guide said that all the old buildings were kept the same, they very rarely ever constructed new buildings.

I’m planning to go back to Germany on the same program in 2019. I’m trying to convince other students to join us. I want other kids to experience a different culture. I hope parents reading this will see how great of an opportunity this is for their kids.

If you ever see a GAPP event happening in town, know that these kids are working hard to try and raise money and awareness for the program.

Ben Rumney

BRHS junior