Delaware Valley German teacher Ben McPherson went on the high school German exchange trip in 2007, where he built a lasting connection with the city of Freiburg and his hosts.
“I call them family, and I believe they refer to me as their son, their American son,” said McPherson.
The exchange was a crucial part of McPherson’s upbringing. Without the trip, he would not have the amount of love he now has for Germany. Almost every year he tries to go back.
“I mean it was life-altering,” said McPherson. “It’s the entire reason that I’m here right now. The experience was so good, and I felt so welcomed there. I felt like it was a place that I wanted to spend as much time in as I could, so I kept going back. And that desire to keep going back, keep growing and keep experiencing more of this absolutely wonderful place, that is what the exchange gave to me.”
With every good experience comes some troubles as well. In Freiburg, there is a very different, unique dialect that can be hard for foreigners to understand. The “standard” German accent that most Americans know is from the Hanover area.
“The difficulty that I had was just being unfamiliar with the particular Freiburg dialect,” said McPherson. “It’s very different from the standard German that we use in class.”
Years after his trip, McPherson came back to Del Val to begin teaching in 2013. His experience in the country led to him wanting to share and even pass his love for Germany onto his students, whom he will take to Germany in June of 2024.
“I love the German language,” said McPherson. “I had a great experience when I was there, and I thought it was great that the opportunity presented itself that I could just share my love of German, and Germany, with other teenagers and with other people.”
