Lucy Thomas here, Tanja Weihing there: CDU Bundestag member Marc Biadacz is a mentor for young people who want to spend a year abroad. The young American from Minnesota currently lives in Malmsheim, while the Sindelfingen native spent a year in Kansas City. Both have something to say.
Taking a different perspective for a year, immersing yourself in a completely different world – this experience connects Lucy Thomas and Tanja Weihing. For three months now, 15-year-old Lucy from St. Paul, Minnesota has been living with the Thiel family in Malmsheim as the fourth child, the family has two daughters and a son. And Tanja Weihing from Sindelfingen returned to Germany in the summer after spending a year in Kansas City.
The Parliamentary Sponsorship Program (PPP) made this experience possible. The joint program of the German Bundestag and the US Congress allows young Americans to live and go to school in Germany for one year and young Germans to learn about life in the United States for twelve months. About 300 young Germans and as many Americans take advantage of this opportunity every year, says CDU Bundestag member Marc Biadacz.
Corona intervened
He is the godfather of both Tanja and Lucy. Tanja Weihing had already applied to him for a place in the PPP program three years ago. She wasn’t the only one. He convinced Biadacz with his “excellent letter of motivation” and in the interview. “I noticed that Tanja is very interested in learning about life in the United States.” She the then 15 year old she was also a high school student. Biadacz, who first attended secondary school himself, is convinced that one should not only support high school students.
So Tanja was awarded the contract. But then came Corona. And Tanja Weihing couldn’t travel. It was a difficult situation for her. After all, she’d just graduated from high school and hadn’t bothered with an apprenticeship or a place at school. She wanted to go to America. Luckily, after all, she was able to secure a place in a vocational college and she started her journey to the United States a year later. She hasn’t regretted this decision for a minute. “I brought German culture to the United States and I brought American culture with me to Germany,” she says. With her American host mother, she cooked Swabian spaetzle and baked German Christmas Gutsle.
The little host sister is learning English
Lucy Thomas also brings her own cultural identity to her host family. “We had a great Thanksgiving celebration,” reports her host father Renée Thiel. “And baked and baked for two days,” adds Lucy. Eleven-year-old Nele is particularly happy with the addition to the family. “Lucy loves to cook, just like me,” she enthuses about her American host sister. Her English has also improved a lot since Lucy lives with them. The American speaks German well. This is what convinced the Thiel family to take her in. “We watched videos of three candidates. But only Lucy spoke German,” reports 17-year-old Leonie. She has to make the ultimate sacrifice for the American guest and share her own room with the host sister. But both girls get along well.
Lucy is in the 10th grade at Rutesheim High School, Leonie is in the 11th. Hosting an American guest is a great experience, says Renée Thiel. “We also discuss politics a lot.” Lucy doesn’t know from her home country. But she likes the fact that different political systems are discussed in social studies classes.
Studies in the United States
Tanja Weihing has also experienced in the US that politics is not a topic of conversation. You attribute this to the fact that the fronts of American politics are very hardened. “Democrats and Republicans have almost no trade. In Germany, politicians from all parties work together.” Marc Biadacz also confirms this. “I quarrel in the Bundestag with members of other parties. But then let’s go have a beer together.
Tanja Weihing not only perfected her English that year in the United States, she also “gained a second family.” And the next trip is already planned. In the summer, the 18-year-old returns to the United States. As a good swimmer who had won a championship title in her American high school, she received a scholarship to study psychology at an American university. Before getting on the plane, she must first go to Berlin. Marc Biadacz invited her, Lucy and their Thiele host family to the Bundestag.
Lucys Appell
He still has one urgent request: “There are not enough host families willing to take American students. We need more families like the Thiels.” Renée Thiel suspects that there may also be financial reasons preventing families from hosting. “It would be nice if there was financial support for that.” Marc Biadacz promises to take this concern with him to Berlin.
New attempt
PP extension
The sponsorship program is available to schoolchildren and young professionals. The application period for next year has already passed. The application page for the 2024/2025 school year will be activated on May 2, 2023.
Information
More information about the PPP and the application can be found online at www.bundestag.de/ppp
