We are happy to announce Karina Meitinger, a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) young professional participant, as the March 2019 German participant of the Month. Karina is placed by Cultural Vistas and hosted by the Gruber family in Minnesota, where she attends St. Cloud State University. Karina has found a number of ways to give back

CBYX 2018-19 participant Ashley K. of Massachusetts, hosted in Detmold, shares how she connected with her host family through music. During my exchange year, I have connected with others not only through German, but through music as well. I connect best with my audience through my violin. In the past year, I won 1st place

CBYX 2018-19 participant, Clive J., hosted in Panketal, reminisces about holiday traditions in Germany. Apparently, Christmas time in Germany is essentially synonymous with Plätzchen, little cookies with many different hand-pressed shapes! Before coming here, I hadn’t known this. But after many different baking sessions, I have grown quite accustomed to these lovely little cookies. My

We are happy to announce Nicole Luncz, an ASSE-placed Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) high school participant from Bavaria, Germany as the December 2018 CBYX Participant of the Month. Nicole is hosted by the Huelskamp family in Sidney, OH and attends Fairlawn High School. Although Nicole had never been on a sports team before, she joined

CBYX 2018-19 Participant Charlie H. of Pennsylvania, hosted in Glinde, reflects on the power of saying “yes” to new opportunities in Germany. On one of my first trips with my host family, we stopped at a large shopping center in Cottbus. In this mall, I found a small stand detailing the different aspects of the

We are happy to announce Theodor Schell, a Cultural Vistas-placed Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Young Professional, as the November 2018 CBYX Participant of the Month. Since August, Theo has been hosted by the Feuchtenberger family in Bluefield, West Virginia and attends Bluefield State College. An avid runner in his free time, he joined the college’s

CBYX 2017-18 participant Caroline P. of Maryland, hosted in Husum, performed a two-week hands-on internship in the field she is passionate about, medicine. As a member of the eleventh grade here in Germany, everyone at my school must do an internship, and as an exchange student interested in medicine, I decided to pursue an internship

CBYX 2017-18 participant Ailish F. of Massachusetts, hosted in Greifswald, reflects on stepping outside her comfort zone by trying new activities in Germany. When I learned I would be going to Germany for a year, I promised myself I would take every opportunity I got to try something new. So, when my host parents asked

Kara S., 2014-15 AFS CBYX alumna, reflects on how the scholarship significantly influenced her life post-program. If people were airplanes, my house would be Newark Liberty International Airport. With the hustle and bustle, ins-and-outs and constant, vibrant motion, my house has always been the reliable place to land. Whether it be my Middle Eastern cousins