The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) exchange between Kuna High School in Idaho and the Beruflichen Schulen des Kreises Herzogtum Lauenburg in Mölln, Germany, began May 30, 1997, with a flight from Boise to Seattle and then on to Amsterdam. Lured by a cheap airfare, we flew with the Dutch airline Martinair, knowing we would have to take the trains to our destination Mölln, near Hamburg. By the end of the trip, many of the students no doubt questioned the wisdom of that decision, and the Kuna group of '97 became the best-traveled (and maybe the most exhausted) GAPP group ever – we traveled on planes, trains, trams, subways, barges, tour boats and gliders. One of the students asked, "Mrs. Moulton, do you think it's a bad sign if I'm standing on the ground but I still feel like I'm moving?"

We were met by our host teacher Mr. Holger Wulf and his host families at the Mölln train station, whereupon our students were whisked off to homes they would share for the next month.The following day, with flags of Idaho, the United States, Schleswig-Holstein and Bundesrepublik Deutschland flying in front of the school, we were treated to Kaffee and Kuchen (baked by the school's own apprentice bakers) at a welcome reception. Mrs. Karla Schmidt, director of the Beruflichen Schulen des Kreises Herzogtum Lauenburg welcomed us with warm words in German and in English.

Our first Monday in the school we visited many of the colleges of the Berufliche Schulen, including the carpenters, machinists, bakers, cosmetologists, auto mechanics, electro-technical labs, language labs and the kitchen. The Kuna students were in awe of this school, with its 3500 students, 150 teachers and a building of approximately 6 wings, three to four floors high.

In the days that followed, our students would make projects in the welding class, solder circuits together in electronics, do hair and make-up in the beauty school classes, and make a presentation on the contemporary music scene in the U.S. for an English class, among other things. Some of the students had opportunities to visit other schools such as a "Gymnasium" and a "Grundschule."

After our school tour on the first day, Mr. Wulf gave us a bit of an orientation to Mölln as well, with lunch in the "Wildpark" in the center of town.

Mölln's lady Mayor took us on an informative walking tour of the city, culminating at city hall with refreshments and a welcome, which included words of wisdom from the town's official mascot, Till Eulenspiegel, a prankster from the Middle Ages.

In the following days in Mölln, we visited nearby Ratzeburg, almost an island city, neighbor to Mölln. The president of Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg, Mrs. Hinz, welcomed us warmly with an impressive speech about the value of such exchanges as ours in helping promote world harmony.

Our host teacher Mr. Wulf arranged for some of us to see the area from the vantage point of a glider, a truly breathtaking experience.

In the midst of our Mölln visit, because of a previous exchange with a school in the east, our group spent a few days with partner students in Fürstenwalde, visiting Berlin and traveling to Potsdam to see Frederick the Great's summer palace, Sans-Souci. Our group split briefly at the beginning of this trip, with one group going to Koblenz to see castles on the Rhein, while the others went to Berlin to be with students they had hosted in Kuna.

Upon our return to Mölln, the last days of our stay were filled with activities. We had a wonderful tour of the medieval town of Lübeck, with its narrow streets and tall, half-timbered houses. The students had time in the afternoon to explore on their own and do some shopping in the inviting, open squares in the town's center.

The next day found our group with their German host students, traveling the Elbe-Lübeck-Canal on the school's floating classroom barge, called "Geeste". Though the weather brought rain and wind, students stowed away in the cozy quarters below, playing cards, eating and talking, with periodic visits above to see picturesque towns along the banks or view the workings of the locks along our route. Our day included a look at one of the world's largest elevators for ships and barges, located on a stretch of the Elbe-Lübeck-Canal.

Herr Wulf had arranged for a bus tour of Hamburg, where we saw ist boulevards of fine houses and busy shopping areas. At a stop at the waterfront where Hamburg's famous fish market is held every Sunday morning, our group took the elevator down to the tunnels which run under the Elbe River. Later we toured the Hamburg harbor in a small boat, taking in the enormous container ships and the elevators that load them. We saw the old "Speicherstadt" with its brick warehouses all along the inner harbor, busy site of commerce and trade in ages past.

Our last gathering before preparing for the trip home was a visit to the home of one of the teachers, who has a huge old brick farmhouse with one of the few remaining original baking houses. Following a tradition that dates back centuries, our hosts, under the direction of a local baker showed us how the loaves of peasant bread were baked. Students sat around long tables out in the farm's grassy courtyard, eating the hot bread with butter on their last evening together as a group.

The next days found us busy trying to pack and prepare for our return train trip to Amsterdam, where we would fly out on Monday the 30^th of June. Students agreed it was easier to bid their host families and students farewell at the train station, where the quick arrival of the train prevented long tearful goodbyes. The farewell, though shorter, was nonetheless painful as we left dear friends and brought to a close this most rich and fascinating exchange with our GAPP group in Moelln.

This report on the 1997 GAPP exchange between Kuna High School in Kuna, Idaho, and the Kreisberufschule in Mölln, Germany, submitted by Dottie Moulton, German teacher and accompanying GAPP leader.

Dottie Moulton, Juli 1997