Holiday Cultural Exchange

Kevin Guepour hasn't been so excited about Christmas since he was a kid. For the first time, the 28-year-old student from Ivory Coast will be spending the holidays with a German family, one he doesn't even know yet.

"I'm a little scared," Guepour said. "I don't know how things are in a German family. Germany is not Africa."

Guepour came to the small German town of Emden to study teaching just three months ago. As soon as he heard about non-profit organization Experiment e.V.'s project, he applied. In a few days, Guepour will be on his way to Schwabach, near Nuremberg, where a guest family with children, parents and grandparents awaits him. He's looking forward to getting to know a different culture and forging links to another family.

Under the slogan "Learning together, living together," the project, which receives financing from the Germany's foreign ministry, has been underway for 22 years. This year around 100 foreign students are being sent to celebrate with German families. Experiment e.V. makes an effort to bring together people with shared interests so that both sides profit.

Another culture in your house

"The idea is simply international understanding," according to Experiment e.V.'s Cornelia Merkt. "For two weeks, foreign students become acquainted with German Christmas, German families and their everyday lives. For the family, it's clearly enriching as well, as they get to know a whole other culture in their own house."

In order to allow as many students as possible the opportunity to take part in the project, they may do so only once. That rule doesn't hold true for the families, many of whom host a student every year.

Armin and Gudrun Sievers, who have a 16-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, have invited a foreigner into their home every year for 13 years now. They've hosted students from Israel, Japan, Morocco and Portugal, among other places.

"We thought it could be interesting for the children, as they grew up, to see that there are people in other cultures who live and think differently," Armin Sievers said. "Maybe lasting contacts develop from it."

Learning from misunderstandings

When two different cultures come together, misunderstandings are nearly inevitable. But the parties generally manage to overcome them.

The Sievers family recalled a number of unusual situations that arose, including some awkward moments with a Japanese visitor several years ago.

"I had a little difficulty with her, because I had to make breakfast for her every day," Armin Sievers said.

He only found at later why the guest had expected him to prepare her meals.

"As a well-bred Japanese woman, it's bad manners to be doing things alone in someone else's kitchen," he said.

This year, again, the Sievers are expecting a Japanese student to spend the holidays with them. They have exchanged a few e-mails, but they still don't know very much about her. They want to be surprised.