The way we did the exchange when we started was that the German group from Heimschule Lender visited us in April/May for three weeks, and then we went there starting in June. It was a very busy few weeks, but it was a great adventure. We always picked them up at the airport, and each teacher and student would take their partner home for three weeks. We started having them come to classes with our students right away. The way we chose the partners was random, based on a profile they sent us. We had our students assemble a goody bag of things they might need here. Lotion and a water bottle were the most important items. We are extremely dry compared to Sasbach. We also asked them to give the student a journal for keeping track of the full experience. The journal was my favorite part. I did a modern version of it with a blog of our trip. I look back at my daughter’s journal and am immediately taken back to those few weeks. I think it is the greatest gift from the trip and I always encourage people to take a journal and keep track of those special moments.