Our trip to the Wild West!
In October 2023, 16 students and two teachers went on an exchange to explore the Wild West in Idaho. After our arrival in Idaho Falls, we went to our host families where we stayed for the next two weeks and enjoyed incredible hospitability and generosity. During weekdays everybody accompanied his or her partner student in their classes at two different schools (Thunder Ridge and Bonneville). There we got interesting insights into the American school system. After school we returned to the host families who we spend most of the time with. The extremely kind host families showed us many sights all over their state and even in Wyoming. We’re so grateful and happy that we could take part in this amazing exchange.
In the following section you can find short reports from us about trips and experiences we were able to enjoy. We would ever do this again and still stay in touch with our lovely hosts. Some of them are going to visit us in the following year.
2 weeks USA exchange and I’m glad to have had this opportunity. So many amazing, beautiful and unforgettable experiences, I will never forget.
During this time I stayed with an incredible, kind and loving host family - who welcomed me with open hearts and arms. The entire time I felt like part of the family, never alone or homesick. They wanted to make everything possible for me and show me the best and important things about Idaho, which the definitely achieved. My host family, Sydney, one of the sweetest and nicest people I’ve ever met. Everything we did together was always fun with her. I could always talk to her (a lot) and laugh about anything. Car drives and night drives were always amazing and fun too.
Thanks for getting you to know and had such an indescribable time. Thanks to the whole family for this unforgettable time. I couldn't have imagined the exchange to be better. THANK YOU
Together with my host family I’ve done a lot of great and pretty amazing things - for example visiting the “Craters of the Moon” or the “Yellowstone National Park”, the Concert of Sydney or High School Football Games. One of the best was the trip to the Yellowstone National Park. We started at 7 am. After an 2,5 hours ride we arrived at the park. To the begin Sydney spotted a wolf crossing the river. At different spots we saw many different amazing and breathtaking things. One of my favourites - the geysires - very spectacular and interesting hot water fountains. I’ve never seen such a natural event before. But it was also amazing to see the buffaloes and elks that up close. I can only say: an incredible, amazing, beautiful day. But I also liked the Football Games very much. I went with the family to two different. Both of them were very interesting. The one was a game of my school - The Thunder Ridge High School. Unfortunately they lost but it was interesting and fun too, especially to stand in the stundents fraction. The other one was in Pocatello at the State University Idaho. A nice and exciting game too. This time our team won. Thanks again to my host family who shared so many things with me during the whole time. I was never bored.
Ann-Kathrin G
My host family and I went to the Craters of the Moon. We saw all these Moon-like stones and this huge field. The landscape was so amazing and fascinating. I learn how the stones were created and what makes this place so special. The lava is so hot that when it gets to the surface, it immediately hardens. There are so many different ways in which the lava gets hard on the surface and they form a wide variety of stones. If never see such a beautiful place before. We also went in the caves there. There was a cave called “Indian Tunnel” where you could walk through and you also had to climb over fallen rocks. I went there with my host mother and my exchange student. The hole family is so kind and sweet. I really love them. I had such a wonderful time there and I would make it every day again.
Karla K.
For one of our trips, we went to a lavatube. It is a cave in the earth, it emerges through lava Flowing under the earth. When it cools down, there is a care left. So the family of my exchangepartner and I want and visited one. There was a small entrance, where we had to climb down. We also had to bring flashlights, because the further we got, the darker it was. On the picture, you can see that we weren't the first people that went there, James, the father of my exchangepartner, told me that many young adults go and party there. They also spray graffiti on that walls and floor. Compared to other Lavatubes, this one was really short. It was about half a mile Long. Overall, I can say it was a really nice experience, that I can only recommend.
Vinzent S.
When I heard that my host-student would be a boy, I was skeptical at first. But as soon as I met my family, I forgot about all my worries: they (the mother, the father, and the four boys) were the nicest people I’ve ever met. They lived in a really big house. We did a lot of nice activities and even thought I was a little bit shy at first I got used to the new situation. It also helped that one of my classmates lived with me. All in all it was a great experience and I am glad that I was part of the exchange program.
Haunted house
My family and I experienced some exciting adventures. The activity I will remember the most is the visit to a haunted house. Idaho falls had a few different themed houses. We visited the haunted hospital and the haunted theatre. It was very scary because even though it wasn’t real it felt like it was. It also surprised me that a lot of the scare-actors were really young: a few of them were even eight years old. I took a lot of good memories from this trip and I will miss this time a lot. I hope there will be another chance to visit the USA again.
Lina S.
Jackson hole
I was in Jackson with my host family and a friend. It was very nice because it had snowed and everything was nice and white. I like the city very much, completely different from a German city. We then had Mexican food and I had a taco. We also ate square ice cream. My host family was very friendly and open and showed me many different things and made it possible for me. We had a lot of fun together.
Emilia J.
Football game
My greatest experience was a football game at my high school. I went there with another exchange student from Spain. It was really exciting and a great atmosphere. During breaks, food, sweaters and other school clothes were sold. The school orchestra also had a performance. It was great that my host family made this possible for me. They did a lot of great things with me and welcomed me into their family.
Emma L.
One day during the exchange, I was in a theme park called Lagoon in Utah. There were many thrilling roller coasters that were a lot of fun and quite entertaining. We got stuck in one of the roller coasters, but it was still enjoyable. My favorite roller coaster was the Cannibal, which initially took a lot of courage for me. There was also a relatively newer roller coaster, but you had to wait in line for up to three hours. If you ever visit Utah, I highly recommend the amusement park.
The time with the family was especially enjoyable. It was also interesting to see how the school system works in comparison to the German one. This surprised me because the school system was very different compared to the German one. I really liked the food both within the family and outside. The exchange was very interesting and definitely worth recommending.
Leon K.
Leben in der Gastfamilie/ living in a host family:
My host family was amazing. On my first day in the US was my birthday, my host family bought me cake and ballon’s and sang me happy birthday. I’ve never celebrated my birthday without my family so I was scared to be alone but they made me feel like home. My host sister was so nice. We spend a lot of time together, laughing and having fun. She showed me all the amazing places I HAD to visit in Idaho Falls. Her and I have many similarities like the same music taste and food we liked but also much more and we grew close very fast. We spend a lot of time with her cousins and they were all very sweet. They acted the way they always do which made me feel like I knew them since forever. The parents and the siblings were very respectful. We made a lot of memories together which I will cherish forever. Looking back, it was one of the most exciting experiences in my life and I wish I would have been there longer. I’ll miss them a lot and hope that we will meet again in person.
Ein besonderes Ereignis/ a special event:
One of my favorite memories of the US was when we visited Salt Lake City to go on an NBA game. On Friday the 27. of October we got ready right after school and went to Salt Lake City. We were 7 people in the car, one parent and 6 kids. The drive was about 3 hours and when we finally arrived we were so exited to watch the game. I was able to get 4 Tickets in the front rows for free because one of the players is the son of my dads best friend. The other 3 had to pay for their tickets. The teams that were playing were Utah Jazz against the LA Clippers. The game was very fun to watch and 2 hours went by like nothing. Utah Jazz won by one point. After the game we went to a cabin in the woods. The house owners were the grandparents of one of the kids who was going with us. We spend the night at the cabin and the next morning we went to an outlet to go shopping. Then we went back home. It was two very exciting days I will always remember and I am very thankful for getting those 4 Tickets and for the hospitality of the Ward-family that let us stay at their house.
Mia M.
I was in Jackson Hole with my host mother Sarah and host sister Lauren. Relatives were also there. One of them used to live in Germany, Berlin. That's why we were able to talk a lot about sports and what is close to Stuttgart. The city is very western oriented, so we all went to the BBQ together. There were tacos, beef, steak, etc. After that we went to a candy store and tried weird sweets. All in one, I had the best two weeks of my life. My host family are the warmest people I got to know.I have taken Lauren and all her friends to my heart and hope she will come to Germany next year!
Liv S.
HOST FAMILIE
I personally switched host families and it wasn’t a drama and the teachers took care of it and checked in with us frequently. The host families are some of the nicest people I’ve meet. We did lots of fun activities and it wasn’t even nearly as awkward as I thought it would be, a bit at the start but towards the end it wasn’t awkward at all. I will miss the family I was with and I really hope we see each other again. Anyway I will always keep the memories with me and remember my time in America.
BARBECUE
We had a barbecue in our time there, it was at my Hosts home and they have a pond/pool there. Even tho it was pretty cold some boys decided to jump in, after a while a lot of us jumped in and swam in it, it was a lot of fun. In the end we all went to warm up in the hot tub and had great conversation.
Nisa P.