Tuesday, 25/11/14
Day 7, Düsseldorf
Hello parents!
Tuesday was the second school day for the tour’s participants, no longer could we consider „Oh, I didn’t know“ a valid excuse. Somehow, we could be considered full fledged students with enough knowledge to act with responsibility within one day. Now, I know little of all the other people’s actions during this day but for me, I began with a tiring awakening due to the last day’s soccer game.
Me and my host partner almost rushed to school to be on time for the first class, which if you haven’t heard, begins at a very early time. When we arrived, still mourning over the loss of another full hour of rest, we were informed that the class for cancelled. It was a painful time for us all, there were many downcast faces.
The next class for me was French if I remember correctly and I had Jasmin as a friend to accompany me. It was hard enough attempting to understand a language we haven’t mastered yet but learning a language through a language we haven’t would be an impossible task. Hence, Jasmin and I drew pictures and amused ourselves with games such as Guess the Song or 20 Questions.
Last class was biology which is something I have some experience with since I finished the first two units of VCE Biology. Interestingly, the biological terms often sounded similar to their english counterparts, most if not all the organelles I could guess and many other biological words were quite clear to me.
Nothing special occured that day, it was merely another school day but tomorrow will definitely be exciting
~Harry
Tuesday 2 December 2014
Monday, 24/11/14
Day 6, Düsseldorf
Hello parents!
Today was our first day at school! My host parents were very kind, friendly and did anything to make me feel comfortable in their home. Before meals, "Guten appetit" is said by the host. It is a way to say: "eat well; have a good appetite". People don't use this often in Australia, but I think it's a nice thing to say to your friends that you want them to eat well. Before I slept, I set my alarm for 6:30am, just like I would if I were at school in Australia. As I woke up, I was confused about where I was. I had to remind myself that I was half-way across the world, far, far, away from my bed!
We were eating breakfast and there I was, spoon half in my muesli, and waiting for the traffic lights to say "Guten Appetit". I gulped it down in five seconds, and was out the door in two. I thought we had to trek over the Alps to get to school, but it was only a two-minute walk! Two minutes!! They live a short bike ride to the city, and only two minutes to get to school! Crazy! It was a fantastic feeling to see my friends again, a heartwarming feeling, that couldn't stop me from smiling. We shared our experiences with each other, and laughing. Lots and lots of laughing.
I had no-idea of what class I had in the morning until I was told later on. The only thing I think I learnt in that class is how fast they talk in discussion. So I just sat there, listening to the endless stream of connected words flow out of their mouth, occasionally picking out some words, like Australia, and … yeah that's it.
Halfway through the day, we and our German partners, were given a short introduction and welcome to the school. Also, we were given a green-paper booklet with the school's map, rules, time-table and, some German tongue twisters! This time-table was a student sheet-form-thing that we had to fill out and get the teacher to sign at the end of the lesson.
All of the hosts decided that it was a good idea to take us to a Bundesliga (2nd league) match. The train was very packed, and everyone had to squeeze in. Lots of people had beers in their hands. When we went in the 'Esprit Arena' (a stadium similar to the MCG, but square), the first thing I noticed was the liveliness of the crowd. I was standing right behind the goals (standing up), so I thought "I might get squashed by this guy behind me", but thankfully only my host got squashed. Phew!
The game started, drums thrummed, fans roared, smokers puffed and I gasped for clean air. There was a lot of smoke. I eventually just gave up. At the start pf the game, a gigantic TV screen appeared and showed a man in a soccer outfit. Before I had time to read his name a man on a speaker said: "Andreas", then a pause, "LAMBERTZ" the crowd responded. I had no idea what was going on, but then, I got the hang of it and started to join in myself! Hahaha! The score was 3-3 and I must admit, I fell asleep before I hit my head on the pillow!
~Charlie
Day 6, Düsseldorf
Hello parents!
Today was our first day at school! My host parents were very kind, friendly and did anything to make me feel comfortable in their home. Before meals, "Guten appetit" is said by the host. It is a way to say: "eat well; have a good appetite". People don't use this often in Australia, but I think it's a nice thing to say to your friends that you want them to eat well. Before I slept, I set my alarm for 6:30am, just like I would if I were at school in Australia. As I woke up, I was confused about where I was. I had to remind myself that I was half-way across the world, far, far, away from my bed!
We were eating breakfast and there I was, spoon half in my muesli, and waiting for the traffic lights to say "Guten Appetit". I gulped it down in five seconds, and was out the door in two. I thought we had to trek over the Alps to get to school, but it was only a two-minute walk! Two minutes!! They live a short bike ride to the city, and only two minutes to get to school! Crazy! It was a fantastic feeling to see my friends again, a heartwarming feeling, that couldn't stop me from smiling. We shared our experiences with each other, and laughing. Lots and lots of laughing.
I had no-idea of what class I had in the morning until I was told later on. The only thing I think I learnt in that class is how fast they talk in discussion. So I just sat there, listening to the endless stream of connected words flow out of their mouth, occasionally picking out some words, like Australia, and … yeah that's it.
Halfway through the day, we and our German partners, were given a short introduction and welcome to the school. Also, we were given a green-paper booklet with the school's map, rules, time-table and, some German tongue twisters! This time-table was a student sheet-form-thing that we had to fill out and get the teacher to sign at the end of the lesson.
All of the hosts decided that it was a good idea to take us to a Bundesliga (2nd league) match. The train was very packed, and everyone had to squeeze in. Lots of people had beers in their hands. When we went in the 'Esprit Arena' (a stadium similar to the MCG, but square), the first thing I noticed was the liveliness of the crowd. I was standing right behind the goals (standing up), so I thought "I might get squashed by this guy behind me", but thankfully only my host got squashed. Phew!
The game started, drums thrummed, fans roared, smokers puffed and I gasped for clean air. There was a lot of smoke. I eventually just gave up. At the start pf the game, a gigantic TV screen appeared and showed a man in a soccer outfit. Before I had time to read his name a man on a speaker said: "Andreas", then a pause, "LAMBERTZ" the crowd responded. I had no idea what was going on, but then, I got the hang of it and started to join in myself! Hahaha! The score was 3-3 and I must admit, I fell asleep before I hit my head on the pillow!
~Charlie
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