The chance to go to another country to learn and experience it like a real citizen is something most students only dream about. For two students, this seemingly unreachable idea has become a reality. Through the Student Partnership Exchange Program (SPEP), sophomore Anthony Lopresti and senior James Kenney are able to host a foreign exchange student from Germany as well as be one.

The program allows for a student from America to host another from Germany for two weeks, and then go to Germany to live with them for another two weeks. The program allows for not only work, but also some fun.

“They [the exchange student] work at an internship for a week, during the other week they go sightseeing, and on the last day they come to school with you,” said Lopresti.

Friday, the 17th, Lopresti and Kenney’s students attended Potomac Falls with them, shadowing them to all their classes. Lopresti, an admirer of Germany, found out about the program and instantly wanted to participate.

“You had to fill out an application where you talked about what you like to do and things like that, and they accepted me,” he said.

Lopresti will be living in a suburb outside Frankfurt, Germany when he travels there in November.

“During the sightseeing portion we are going to go to visit some German castles,” said Lopresti. Kenney, traveling at the same time as Lopresti, will be touring the area around his host family’s home.

“I will be seeing Main-Taunus Kreis, which is a town around where my host family resides, and parts of Frankfurt, the capital,” said Kenney.

Though some might have worries about a language barrier, being that the primary language in Germany is German, Lopresti is not concerned. “I’m not worried, many of the German students speak English,” he said. Which is true, many citizens in Germany as well as in an abundance of other European countries speak English fairly fluently, posing no cause for alarm for the American exchange students.

This chance to immerse oneself in another culture is once in a lifetime, especially as a student. SPEP is one that helps achieve those dreams of exploring somewhere outside of the United States.

“I’m really excited to see how it compares to the rest of the countries in Europe, because I have been to European countries before but never Germany,” said Kenney.