Scouting and acting are some of the ways exchange students expperienced German life.

Christina Cocadiz, 18, rehearses with a student at her German high school
One of my most fulfilling experiences during my time in Germany came from joining the theater group at my new high school. Theater has been a regular part of my life since high school, and I felt lucky to be able to continue acting in a different language. Working with the German high school theatre groups has been a wonderful way to improve my pronunciation skills and let me make new friends in different grades. For the past three months, we've been working on student-written scenes focused on communication - or, actually, miscommunication - a project that premiered in March. Of course, my time here hasn't only been spent on the stage. In September, a group of us took a week-long trip to Vienna, where I saw my first opera, tasted my first Sachertorte at a traditional café and bonded with friends.