From Hamburg to Chicago: Cheryl Graff’s Global Exchange Adventure
This week on No Name Paper, Meghan Wells and Candace Miller welcome back fan favorite Cheryl Graff, fresh off a whirlwind cultural exchange between Chicago and Hamburg. Cheryl shares what it was like to host German students in the Windy City—field trips, food shocks, and Fulbright dreams included!
From Taco Bell firsts and crowded high school hallways to Wrigley Field adventures and place-based education, Cheryl reflects on how the exchange deepened her students’ global perspectives and her own teaching philosophy.
We also catch up on Cheryl’s Fulbright journey, her Verizon spotlight, her music competition in Savannah, and how she still finds time for self-care and singing between lesson plans.
Stay tuned to the end for a hilarious “Culture Swap: Rapid Fire” game, where we find out who took more selfies, who was more punctual, and which group fell hardest for American snacks (spoiler: it’s not who you think).
🎓 Fulbright for Teachers: Cheryl’s path to becoming a global classrooms scholar
🌍 Hosting Hamburg: Cultural surprises, student exchanges, and community connections
🍔 Food Faves: What Germans really think of Taco Bell, Portillo’s, and Crumbl Cookies
🏫 Classroom Culture: SEL in America vs. structure in Germany
🎶 Rapid Fire Fun: Who taught the best slang and who won souvenir shopping
