From March 25 to April 1, students from Sankt Polten, Austria traveled to Altoona, Pa. as part of the Sister City Program. However, no students from Altoona traveled to Sankt Polten during this time.

Students in high level German classes should be given the option to travel to another country as part of the Sister City Program. It would be a great learning opportunity for them since they would be put into an environment with native speakers. This would sharpen those students’ skills in their respective languages by giving them real world experience.

When Sankt Poulten students visited Altoona, they enjoyed how they were able to try new things that they wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. Altoona students should be able to have this opportunity as well. Cultures in other countries are vastly different than those in the U.S. and it would give them something new to explore. Seeing other cultures firsthand can be a life changing experience for some people. This could also give students a better understanding of the outside world and help them make more connections with people from all walks of life.

The Sister City Program also helps students meet new people and form lifelong bonds. Many of the Sankt Poulten students spoke positively about the people they met during their time at Altoona. Students here should be able to meet other people that live in their sister cities as well instead of only being able to talk to their assigned student.

Sankt Polten students also mentioned how different education in their schools are in comparison to Altoona. They mentioned that teachers are the ones that move around from class to class instead of students. It would be interesting if students from Altoona were able to experience that too.

Altoona sending students to Sankt Polten would create interesting opportunities for them and let them see more of the world.