Posted: Friday 18 June 2010
German Exchange Trip 2010
Report by Christopher Acheson, Harry Carstairs & Fionnlagh McClymont (F3).
It was a sweltering hot evening in Hessen on the 9th of June 2010, as we (12 HSD pupils accompanied by Mrs Mackenzie and Mrs Oliver) arrived in Treysa, already clad in yellow, red and black apparel. The heat and our tiredness however, could not quell our excitement as stepped out of the train doors with heavy suitcases to meet our German Exchange partners from the Christophorusschule and their families with whom we would be living with for the next ten days. After short introductions and a welcome from the Christophorusschule’s English teacher Herr Gora, we made our separate ways home to get a night's sleep before school the next morning.
The first morning started with a culture shock as Herr Gora guided us around the buildings of Christophorusschule and we realised the stark differences between school life in Germany and education in Scotland. No uniform? Teachers move from class to class? School's finished by half past one? Many more questions were buzzing through our minds by the time we had met the headmaster and left the school to spend the afternoon with our exchange partners. Activities that afternoon included pedalo boating, swimming in the nearby lake and eating ice cream in the sun as we quickly made new friends and began to adapt to our new German surroundings.
On Friday 11th June the German Exchange crew made their way to a wildlife park where everybody enjoyed feeding wild pigs and deer, then meeting otters, wolves and Bison to name just a few. We then watched a bird display with falcons, eagles and vultures before heading off on a walk through the shady woods down to the lake's edge for ice creams.
We spent the weekend relaxing and exploring with our host families, and on Monday morning we went to school with our German Exchange partners and went to their classes.
On Tuesday we went to the Edersee and had boat trip on the lake then visited the Eder Dam. We also visited a castle on a hill that overlooked the Edersee. In the evening some of us went to the cinema!
Wednesday saw us back at school with our German partners. We once again found the lessons very different to the ones in Scotland. Harry found explaining neutralisation reactions slightly more challenging in German! After two lessons we went to Lake Singliser where we played Aquagolf. One or two targets were hit, but unfortunately no prizes were won. We were all amazed, however, when Herr Gora took up the club and hit the ball out of the enclosure without much difficulty! After a quick lunch of Brötchen, Chips and yet more Wurst we headed back to school on the bus and from there went our different ways. In the afternoon we all did the usual variety of activities. Some people played tennis; some went swimming while others had the excitement of riding a motorcycle. In the evening we all met up again at the local cinema to see a film called The Prince of Persia.
On Thursday morning nobody could quite believe it was our last full day in Germany as we headed to the picturesque town of Marburg. We all went on a pleasant pedalo ride along the river before walking through cobbled streets to the fountain in Marburg’s old city square. After spending some time exploring the history of the area and its tourist attractions we had a couple of hours to do as we liked. Those who didn’t run straight to the shops for souvenirs and presents stayed in the square to try cake and coffee from the local Konditorei. To celebrate the last evening of our stay in Germany we went bowling. Charlotte found the pair of size 51 bowling shoes rather amusing, but once we figured out the correct size the bowling got under way. After several shots we realised that none of us were particularly good, and closed with the highest score being 77. We then had a game of Scotland vs. Germany table football, and to the surprise of all, Scotland won! Everyone had a great time, and at the end of the night we said a sad goodbye in the knowledge that the next time we would see everyone again would be at the train station.
Friday morning came, and after some frantic packing we were ready to leave for the train station. We bid farewell to our exchange partners before boarding the train to Frankfurt. We all miss many things about Germany, not least the weather, but we were secure in the knowledge that we would see our exchange partners again soon.