EDUCATION: Exchange students learn with style

Tortilla Flat, the smallest official community in the U.S. with a population of six, received some company March 7 when 17 German exchange students and their host families joined local sports car enthusiasts for a scenic drive to discover Arizona's desert landscaping along Apache Trail.

The exchange students, part of a group of 24 staying in Ahwatukee Foothills March 6 through 23 through the Phoenix Sister Cities program, traveled in 17 sports cars, including Ferraris, Porsches and Jaguars, to the Tortilla Flat Saloon for breakfast.

"I asked for volunteers who would be willing to drive up to Tortilla Flats and take a German student with them," Foothills resident and host parent Craig Kenyon said. "The cars were all collector sports cars."

Kenyon's son, Kyle, is a Desert Vista High School student and part of the Sister Cities program. Kyle will travel to Regensburg, Germany in May to stay with 16-year-old Julian Von Fischer's family, who is currently staying with the Kenyons.

"I've never seen such a new city, so it's great," Von Fischer said of his stay in Phoenix.

The 12 students living with Desert Vista families visited the school March 7, observing three classes the day before spring break.

"I like Desert Vista because our school is small and (here) it is much bigger, more interesting and totally on another system," Von Fischer said.

All 24 exchange students visited Desert Vista March 18 and Mountain Pointe March 19. Students also experienced the Heard Museum, Casa Grande ruins, Montezuma Castle, the Grand Canyon and many other locations that make Arizona unique.

Von Fischer, however, remains enthusiastic to show Kyle his hometown.

"We've got a very old town - 2,000 years old," Von Fischer said. The history will be the most interesting to show him."