By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Friday, January 17th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – (Release from Thomas Joseph at the Baker School District) Baker High School students ages 16-18 will once again have opportunities to travel and study abroad as the high school renews its exchange program for 2025.
This summer, Baker students are invited to see beautiful Rouen, France, which is the capital of the historic Normandy region. Students will stay with host families for about 3.5-4 weeks and visit places such as the Normandy coast and Paris. As an added perk, any baseball players will be invited to practice and compete alongside an elite French high school baseball team, the Rouen Huskies, while in France if they so wish.
Baker High School students will visit France between mid-June and mid-July; for any families interested in hosting a French student, they will visit Baker City between mid-April and mid-May.
Next fall, Baker High School will also renew its exchange with Phorms Gymnasium in historic Hamburg, Germany! Students will stay with host families in Germany, as well; attend school at Phorms Gymnasium; and take in the city’s amazing gothic architecture and world class museums. This trip, too, will be about 4 weeks long and include a day trip to Berlin and a day or two in Amsterdam.
Travel to Hamburg will be on or about September 15 through about the first week of October; for any families interested in hosting a German student next fall, our German friends will be in Baker City between October 5th and October 17th. For those who have always wanted to host, but hesitate to commit to a long term, this short window may well be the perfect opportunity!
Neither trip requires a student to speak French or German to participate, and both trips are open to both boys and girls.
While both opportunities are still in development, estimated total cost for these experiences will likely be $3000 or less, including airfare! This affordable price hinges on host families at either end of these mutual exchange opportunities. If you are interested in your student participating in an exchange, we would highly encourage you to also consider hosting a corresponding exchange student when they travel to Baker City! That said, hosting is not required to participate if travel is your sole interest.
For more information about traveling or hosting, please contact Dr. Joseph at thomas.joseph@bakersd.org or call 541-524-2651 ext. 3503.