There is a thriving community of people with Luxembourg heritage in the US state of Wisconsin, with some 2,300 of them living in the village of Belgium, according to the Luxembourg American Cultural Society. Marc Zimer (pictured at a school in Wisconsin) has helped set up exchange programs between Junglinster and another Wisconsin town, La Crosse. Photo: Provided by Marc Zimer

There is a thriving community of people with Luxembourg heritage in the US state of Wisconsin, with some 2,300 of them living in the village of Belgium, according to the Luxembourg American Cultural Society. Marc Zimer (pictured at a school in Wisconsin) has helped set up exchange programs between Junglinster and another Wisconsin town, La Crosse. Photo: Provided by Marc Zimer

A relationship between Junglinster and La Crosse, Wisconsin, has been developing in recent years, culminating in the two becoming sister cities on 18 January 2023. Marc Zimer, a teacher in Junglinster, spoke to Delano about related educational opportunities--and how the relationship is still growing.

Over a century ago, Marc Zimer’s ancestors immigrated to the United States from Luxembourg. Just under a decade ago, the two branches of the family reestablished contact and, ever since, Zimer has been visiting them in Wisconsin almost every year.

It was on one of these visits that Zimer, a physics teacher at the Lënster Lycée International School in Junglinster, noticed something missing from the Luxembourg American Cultural Society’s museum: there was no future-facing information, and about education especially.

So, through his American family, he got in touch with educators in La Crosse, Wisconsin, home to several high schools and multiple university campuses. Together, they set up an exchange program on Zoom. “It started out small,” Zimer explains, noting that the covid-19 pandemic had just begun. “It was exciting for the students because they [spoke to] someone different, from a different world, but with the same problems.”

Strengthening the connection

That first year only one class at the Lënster Lycée participated in the monthly Zoom chats with students in La Crosse, while in the current schoolyear that number is up to six. In the autumn, the calls focus on cultural discussions (“What do you do in your spare time?” “What are your favourite sports?”) while from January onwards the students embark on a project together. This year its theme is the history of Luxembourgers in Wisconsin.

Beyond the cities’ sisterhood, made official on 18 January, more milestones are ahead in 2023: some 25 students from the Lënster Lycée will visit La Crosse this summer, the first such trip in the works. After seeing Chicago, they will take a train to Wisconsin and attend college classes for two weeks (at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and Viterbo University) before joining their high school counterparts at Central High School and Aquinas High School--the latter experience timed appropriately to catch the local start date for the academic year, 1 September.

Naturally, adds Zimer, in 2024 it will be the American students’ turn to visit Luxembourg. And after that might come an exchange program for a whole semester or academic year. “That’s a goal we want to achieve,” says Zimer of the longer and more integrated stays, adding that both the American and Luxembourgish embassies are already involved. On both sides of the Atlantic, visiting students will live with local host families.

Finally, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UW-L) will also send some of its student teachers to the Lënster Lycée for international teaching experience (in exchange for university welcoming the Junglinster-based students in the summer) as part of an MOU signed by the two institutions. “We are very tightly linked together,” comments Zimer.

Cultural swap

What do students in Junglinster think of Americans, and how might the Zoom exchanges have changed it? “There are some clichés,” says Zimer, “and they know about the clichés--but it’s always interesting to see them, step by step, change their minds.”

“And they are very interested in American sports,” he adds. “Basketball, American football, baseball…”

On the Wisconsin side, asked what she hopes the student teachers will get from their experience in Luxembourg, UW-L’s director of international education and engagement Karolyn Bald comments: “In our ever-changing world, being a teacher requires awareness and responsiveness to cultural moments/opportunities in the classroom. This unique partnership allows UW-L student teachers to experience a different educational system, share ideas and practices and provide children with a unique cultural exchange. As a parent of a six-year-old, I love that we can bring the world to him through interactions with our international students who come to our community. We are hopeful that UW-L students can do the same for Junglinster students and families.”

“UW-L and the community of La Crosse are thrilled to partner with Junglinster,” she adds. “Our communities have a lot of similarities, shared histories and a desire to learn from one another. What an opportunity to build global community and cultural awareness!”