For the past week Fountain Hills has played host to a group of German exchange students who traveled across the ocean from Fountain Hills’ Sister City of Dierdorf.

During their time in town and in the state these students have traveled to the Grand Canyon, along with some additional stops like to the campus of Fountain Hills Charter School.

“We got paired up with two students from Germany,” Charter student Avery Berg said. “They taught us German words, like the German word for ‘bye’ is ‘Tschüssi.’”

The exchange students themselves have enjoyed the chance to see the differences between cultures up close while they’ve been here, even if it has been a little warmer than they are used too.

“School here is very different,” Samuel Raab said. “In Germany we focus totally on school, unlike here where it seems a bit more relaxed.”

An example Raab offered was the recent homecoming celebrations.

“We don’t do anything like that in Germany,” Raab said.

Fountain Hills High School will send its own students to Dierdorf as part of the exchange program this June.