EIGHT SEMO STUDENTS MAKE TRIP TO GERMANY

Eight Southeast Missouri State University students and their instructor spent three weeks in Germany during the summer, where they were welcomed by the mayor of Memmingen and practiced their German language skills.

"When you are in Germany, you cannot escape speaking German," said Christopher Koy, an instructor in Southeast's foreign languages department. "Through the practice these students received during our three-week stay, they now can speak German. That is the precise goal of this program."

The students, all German majors or minors, prepared for the trip by participating in an intensive 10-day, three-credit-hour program on the Southeast campus. Each day consisted of six hours of preparation, including the development of a research project idea, which was completed in Germany, Koy said.

In Germany, the students received an additional three credit hours, which they earned by interviewing Memmingen High School students and transcribing audio tapes of the account, keeping a daily diary, and completing tests and quizzes on the language. The students also attended several classes at Memmingen High School.

During their stay, the Southeast group also took field trips to Munich and visited Glockenspiel, the Olympic Village, Deutsches Museum, and the Dachau Concentration Camp.

In Germany, the students were hosted by Memmingen families, which many have said "was the most rewarding part of the whole trip," Koy said.

In addition, the Southeast students were honored by Ivo Holzinger, mayor of Memmingen, at a reception at the city hall, Koy said.

The city hall reception gave students the opportunity to look back at the beginnings of the German-American friendship between Cape Girardeau and Memmingen. On hand at the reception was Heinrich Berndl, who was present when the first group of Southeast Missouri State University students visited Memmingen in 1956.

Two years later, a Memmingen student, Gerhard Link, received a grant to attend Southeast for one year. Link now teaches in a college in Memmingen and served as the organizer for this year's exchange.