Left: Nick excited to take photos of the senior prank.
Right: KWR students jumping around the balloons in the entryway.
Right: KWR students jumping around the balloons in the entryway.
We arrived at our usual time of 9am at Kaiser Wilhelm-und-Ratsgymnasium to start our dance course, but we had the surprise of the big senior prank. It is tradition for the senior class to collaborate to set up their prank the night before (they were gathering last night as we were leaving our farewell party). They are allowed to do any prank, as long as they are willing to clean up the mess. As seen above, we arrived and the entire entryway was packed with balloons. Students of all ages (the school has 5th-12th graders) were jumping around and popping balloons everywhere. As a result of the prank, we were unable to start our dance class (the hallway where we were practicing was the main way for students to get to classes without having to walk through all of the balloons), so we postponed our dance class and had students perform their skits.
There were about nine different skits and all were very entertaining, silly, and dealt with at least one aspect of understanding (or misunderstanding) cultural norms (German or American). One group made a skit about the difference in water (mineral, tap, or sparkling); another about the service mentality between both countries; another about speaking another language; and many more.
After most of the skits were performed, we moved back to the hallway to finish up our dance course. We practiced all of the dances that we learned (discofox, cha cha cha, square, and polka). It was extremely fun and all of the students certainly felt silly, but they had a great time. After our dance class, we returned back to the classroom and finished up the last two skits.
After the skits, Herr Schubert and Frau Buckesfeld distributed pieces of paper in the shape of feet. Some were blue and some were beige. On the beige feet, all students were instructed to write down a "good" experience from their exchange, whether the experience was in the United States or in Germany. One the blue feet, they were supposed to write a "weird" or "interesting" experience from their exchange. Once they wrote down their experiences, they were instructed to share what they wrote and tape it to the white board.
Herr Schubert and Frau Buckesfeld pointed out that our footsteps and experiences were different, but together we make a wacky dance that would not be easy to follow. They both shared kind words about the exchange and invited Thuy and Emilie up to share a gift with us. They made bracelets for all exchange partners. They painted/wrote the exchange partner names or initials on the bracelets and distributed them to all of the partners (e.g. Ekin and Gunnar had bracelets that said, "Ekin + Gunnar"). They then thanked us teachers and gifted me a box of Lindt chocolates. I was very flattered and thankful. I shared some words of appreciation and excitement in the connections that were made between the students and their exchange culture.
We excused all students and informed them to meet up at the train station at 3:30pm to say our farewells and take our last pictures together. This allowed them about three hours of free-time to gather their bags and buy any last minute Hannover items.
Left: Skit written by Deborah, Aryan, and Max
Middle: Josephine and Hailey performing their skit
Right: Madelynn and Aryan showing off their dance moves
Middle: Josephine and Hailey performing their skit
Right: Madelynn and Aryan showing off their dance moves
Left: All students wrote down a "good" experience and "strange" experience from their exchange (in Germany and the US). All quotes (feet) were then taped to the wall to visualize our unique dance.
Right: All students (German and American) with several of the host parents and younger siblings saying farewells to each other at the train station in Hannover.
Left: The teachers aka GAPP coordinators involved for this amazing exchange between Hannover and Portland! (L to R: Frau Sophie Buckesfeld, Herr Ralf Schubert, Mr. Tod Grobey, and Ms. Myriah Day)Thanks for making this exchange happen! All activities have been so fun and we are lucky to have been so successful with such an amazing community of host families, schools, and students!
1000 Mal Danke!
After saying our farewell, we boarded our train to Berlin. Our train trip was an hour longer than it was scheduled. About a week before we arrived, Germany had suffered from many floods across the country. As a result, some paths of train tracks did not pass the safety standards for travel. Our train took a detour through Braunschweig and Magdeburg. The time went by quickly as students wrote their thank-you postcards to our sponsors and family members. The excitement and energy among the group was great. Everyone was enthusiastic and thankful to have the opportunity to be on this exchange. As their teacher, I was very proud of all of the work that they did, the kindness that they extended, and the level of maturity and care they took in participating in school and host family activities. I would take this group of students anywhere!
After our slight hour delay, we arrived in Berlin safe and exhausted. We made it to our hostel St. Christopher's Inn in Mitte (U-Bahn Rosa Luxemburg Platz). We went for a brief walk around our neighborhood to move our bodies, but then we were all off to sleep for the beginning of our city adventures in Berlin.
Lily exploring the World Clock at Alexanderplatz (10 minute walk from our hostel)
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