BELGIUM, Wis. — A new exchange program is providing local students with the opportunity to connect with the area's Luxembourgish roots.
Through this program, students from both countries are able to visit the other to learn about culture and meet fellow students. A group of those students visited the Luxembourg-American Cultural Center in Belgium Wednesday morning.
Sheboygan South High School principal Kevin Formolo helped found the program, along with a group of educators from Ozaukee and Sheboygan Counties. He chaperoned the group Wednesday, which included local students and their shadows from Luxembourg.
Watch: New exchange program connects Ozaukee, Sheboygan students with Luxembourg
"It's been a great challenge for our kids to think beyond themselves," Formolo said. "They're recognizing that there are different ways of looking at the world, and they are able to stand in another person's shoes."
Krissah Hopkins attends Sheboygan South High School. She visited Luxembourg as a part of the progam earlier in the school year. This week, she is hosting one of the exchange students, Frederik Boeing, who lives just outside Luxembourg City.
"Especially because we have the technology to do so, we should try to learn and know as many people as we can," Hopkins said. "It kind of made me see my own country in a different light."
The area around Belgium, Wisconsin was a popular destination for Luxembourg immigrants who came to America in the 1800s. To this day, northern Ozaukee County and southern Sheboygan County both have a large, proud community of Luxembourg-Americans.
"To understand the other cultures—we can work together better," Boeing said. "I didn't expect that we'd be so similar."
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