In July 2013, NSCA hosted 2 simultaneous youth exchanges, one with French sister city Toulon and one with German sister city Wilhelmshaven. A total of 20 international guests were hosted by families throughout Hampton Roads.
On July 14th, French students and their American hosts celebrated Bastille Day with NSCA and Alliance Française. Please read more about this event in the Virginia Beach Beacon.
(Pictured: Host student Rachel Allen, French student Romain Silva, French student Tiffany Costa & host student Jessica Shaw. Photo provided by Virginia Beach Beacon)
Meanwhile, German students arrived in Newark and toured around New York for 2 days, visiting sites such as the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. They were greeted by Wilhelmshaven Committee Co-Chair Barbara Boslego, NSCA Intern Zachary Fitzpatrick, and host students Bri Lannetti, Tori Lannetti and Shi’anne Parsons.
After arriving at the Norfolk International Airport, the German students have been busy. There was a welcome picnic hosted by the Rice family in Willoughby. On July 17th, NSCA members joined the French and German exchange students and their host families for a sunset cruise aboard the American Rover, a wonderful event sponsored by TowneBank.
The next morning, German students visited City Hall and met with Norfolk City Councilman Tommy Smigiel, where they were presented with Mace Pins. German student Winona Fischer and chaperon Nico Grässlin gave official greetings to the Councilman as representatives of Wilhelmshaven.
There were a number of other NSCA group activities like the trip to Charlottesville with the French students and trips to Jamestown and Busch Gardens for the German students. Many host families also took their French and German guests on individual excursions to places like Laser Tag, MacArthur Center and of course, the beach! Some even went as far as Washington DC! On July 28th, the French students returned home and on August 1st, the German students had a final farewell celebration.
Norfolk Sister City Association looks forward to another successful exchange in 2014!
