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German students visit on exchange

Wildlife experiences thrill
Chris Bolster

Whale watching, hiking local mountains and missing the ferry—just a few of the authentic West Coast experiences a group of visiting German exchange students have been treated to over the past two weeks.

“They got to experience what happens when you miss the ferry at Horseshoe Bay and have to wait for the next one,” said Rod Perrault, Brooks Secondary School vice-principal. The students arrived in Powell River at 1 am on Friday, October 11 after 29 hours of travel.

The group of 22 grade 10 students come from Immanuel Kant Gymnasium (IKG) School which is in Tuttlinger, a city in the southwest part of Germany. Gymnasium schools are one of three streams German students can choose in their public school system and are for the more academically-focused.

Because Brooks does not offer classes in German language, the exchange is a cultural one for the Canadians and language-focused for the Germans who have been learning English since they were in elementary school.

The students will stay until Friday, October 25, and go on a tour of Townsite, spend half of a day at Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation learning about Coast Salish culture, hike Scout Mountain and visit Tofino for whale watching.

Teachers Thomas Klose, who teaches English, and Tobias Kohlbrenner, who teaches biology, have accompanied the students.

This is the fourth year that students from IKG have come to Powell River. Last July, 22 Brooks students travelled with Perrault and teacher Louise Kenning to Tuttlinger to have similar experiences with their German host families. Each of the 44 Canadian and German students are paired up and have the opportunity to stay with each other’s family.

“It’s a great program and a great opportunity for our students,” said Perrault. “One of my favourite things about it is that our students get excited about travelling to Germany and get that international experience but then when they return they also look at their home town a little differently.”

Both German and Canadian students agreed that the exchange was a good opportunity to visit a place that they may never have otherwise been able to go to.

“It’s a good chance,” said IKG student Tom Kerm. “With school you have the chance, so you have to use it.”

Some IKG students said they are enjoying their time in Canada and are impressed  by how friendly they have found Canadians to be. They said they are adjusting to the colder, more humid coastal climate. “We’re used to having mountains around us, but the ocean makes the landscape very beautiful,” said IKG student Perine Ruck.

Klose and Kohlbrenner have been delighted with the amount of wildlife they have seen, noting that it would be difficult to see deer and eagles in Tuttlinger. Kohlbrenner is excited to see whales and other marine wildlife on their trip to Tofino.

Kenning took Klose out for a short kayak trip where he saw seals and a deer swimming in the ocean. “I saw deer in the village and in the water,” said Klose. “When will I see one flying?”