By Connor Kropschot
Staff Writer
Mira Costa freshman AJ Silverman will soon bid his family “auf wiedersehen” as he boards a plane to Germany and leaves his friends and family for an entire year.
Silverman will be spending all of the 2015-16 school year in Germany as a transfer student. Silverman will be participating in both the International Rotarian Youth Program and the United States German Jazz Program.
“The idea is for him to become immersed in another culture and language,” Silverman’s mother, Angie Silverman, said. “He will also experience the cultural differences and customs of the major holidays Germany practices.”
The U.S. Germany Jazz Program is designed for students from both the U.S. and Germany to participate in joint performances. These performances annually switch off between the two countries.
“After AJ leaves, the next time we will be able to see him is at his final concert at the end of his stay in Germany,” Angie Silverman said.
Silverman will travel to Germany on Aug. 5 through the International Rotary Youth Exchange Program. The rotary is designed to allow 8,000 students between the ages of 15 and 19 to travel and immerse themselves in the culture of a foreign country each year.
“I found out about the trip when a rotary member approached me and suggested that I participate in the various programs,” AJ Silverman said.
He will live under the care and rules of three different families over the course of his one-year stay in Germany.
“I have gotten to know the first host family pretty well,” AJ Silverman said. “They have a son and a daughter, and my family and I have talked to them over Skype on multiple occasions in order to get comfortable with them.”
According to Silverman, he decided to initially apply for this trip becuase of his love for traveling, music and language. Prospective members of the rotary program must go through an application process six to 12 months prior to the date of their planned departure.
Silverman’s application process included attending a retreat in Big Bear, being interviewed with other applicants and writing an essay about himself and his desire to participate in the program.
“AJ has always loved music,” Angie Silverman said. “We feel like taking a year away to learn with new teachers will be a great experience for him to have.”
Silverman will be splitting his time in Germany between playing jazz music and attending college-bound school that has block scheduling. For his music, Silverman will play the jazz guitar and plans to practice all year for a final concert in May, 2016, at the end of his time in Germany.
“I am most excited to learn jazz guitar and the German language while I am abroad,” AJ Silverman said.
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