Message from Teacher and GAPP Coordinator Myriah J. Day

Our final group photo (with German and American students) at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium on Friday, June 21st.

This exchange trip has been incredible! From our adventures in Hannover to our trip to Hamburg to our visit to Schloß Marienburg and from also our class times at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium to our travels through Berlin, we have been so fortunate to have such incredibly, amazing students, both from US and Germany! 

All of the host families (both US and Germany) were so incredibly accommodating. Each host family had so much to offer and was so kind to open their house to someone whom they had never met before. With all respect and kindnesses from us, we are very grateful for the adventures and experiences that all of the exchange students (in Portland and Hannover) had the opportunity to live. Thank you so much, host families!

Frau Sophie Buckesfeld was such huge help to us while we were in Hannover. She was very accommodating and worked so hard to make our collaborative project well-organized. She is so very kind and she even loaned me to her German cell phone (much cheaper than international plan), which was especially great to have while I was in charge of the students. Her help is so appreciated. Thank you, Sophie!

Herr Ralf Schubert was an excellent exchange teacher. We arrived at the end of the school year and he extended his kindness and creativity to plan an amazing time for us in Hannover. As the head of the upper school, he extended his time and commitment to this exchange in ways that cannot be thanked enough. He has certainly been an great asset to this exchange. We are so lucky to have had such a great school in Hannover, have him as a leader, and to collaborate with such engaging teachers. Thank you, Ralf!

Mr. Tod Grobey has been an awesome and supportive chaperone, teacher, and co-pilot. He taught us so much and was able to share incredible amounts of information and knowledge about Hannover, Germany, and German culture. He is not only incredibly enthusiastic, funny, caring, but he is SO helpful. Thank you, Tod! You are amazing!

To all of our supporters (see side bar and many more)! We are so fortunate and glad to have had this unique and special opportunity to participate in this German American Partnership Program exchange. We cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for this partnership between Madison High School, Pacific Crest Community School, and Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium. Your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Last, but not least, I could not have asked for a better group of students. Upon my return to the US, my family and friends asked me, "How was the trip?" I always quickly responded with, "I am so proud of the students and the trip could not have been better." From the excitement that the students showed to participate in sending the appreciation postcards to seeing the spark of cultural understanding light in their eyes, every moment was really incredible. Though there were a couple of those predictable lightly stressful moments, everything smoothed out easily. I am very proud of all of the students for all of their hard work, fundraising, openness, understanding, care, respect, learning experiences, and so many more things. I am so proud of you, you are truly amazing young people. I look forward to hearing about how you make the world a better place! Thank you to each one of you! Brynnen, Cassandra, Deborah, Gunnar, Hailey, Hannah, Jess, Lily, Madelynn, Nick, Ryan, Sam, Sophie! You really made this trip worth all of the hard work! Please keep traveling and experiencing the world!

100000 MAL DANKE to EVERYONE! 

Best, 

Ms. Myriah J. Day

Our way back home - Mittwoch 26.6.13

On our flight home from Frankfurt to San Francisco (12 hour flight)

This morning was certainly the earliest of all of our days! We got up at 4am and left the hostel by 4:30am. Lucky for us, it was not raining very hard. Although the U-Bahn was just outside the door, it was more efficient for us to walk 5 blocks to our bus stop (Bus 100 to Berlin Tegel). We got in line for our flight and I made sure all students made it through the security point and we were ready to board our first flight from Berlin to Frankfurt with Lufthansa. The flight was on time and we were all relaxed (aka tired as heck).
We arrived in Frankfurt and we boarded the enormous jet (three seats in on each side, five in the middle, and an upstairs) to make our way to San Francisco. The flight was long, but we had our own personal televisions with movies, shows, games, and radio. We all felt very fancy. Though it was very sad to leave Germany, we were all ready to be back at home in Portland, Oregon.
After a 12-hour flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco, we landed and had about 90 minutes to get to our connecting flight to Portland. We had another short ordeal with Gunnar's flight, but after a very kind and helpful ticket agent worked with me, Gunnar and I ran through the airport to meet up with the rest of the group. To our pleasant surprise, our flight was delayed for an another hour. If you see the link to today's photos, you will see that Sam, Jess, and Gunnar had a good time with our camera (very funny) during our layover in San Francisco.
As soon as we got off the plane in Portland, all students reunited with their eager families and we parted our ways. The adventures in our GAPP exchange came to an awesome and sweet ending.

What happens when the teacher leaves the camera in the hands of the students! Ha! We are almost home! Just waiting for our flight from San Francisco to Portland.

Photos from this Day

DDR Museum, Berlin Wall Memorial, and Turkish Market - Dienstag, 25.6.13

Left: Brynnen pretending to drive around Hailey in a Trabant (Trabi, former East German car)

Right: Group photo at Berliner Mauer Gedenkstätte (Berlin Wall Memorial).

We started out leaving the hostel a little bit earlier than our other days, 9:30. We had initially planned to walk to our tour reservation at the DDR Museum (East German Museum), but it was raining. It was not only raining, it was POURING. Not like at home in Portland, Oregon, like the "we better have some kind of rain protection or we will be soaked" kind of pouring. We changed our plan to walk and took the bus two stops and arrived at our destination about 15 minutes early.
The DDR Museum is located right next to the Museumsinsel and it was packed full of people. Our very kind tour guide mentioned to us that the museum is rarely as full as it was, but the rain brought many visitors in, and the museum was a small space. We heard learned a lot about Marx, Honecker, heard fascinating personal stories from our tour guides childhood, and interacted with historical displays (a Trabant, typical DDR living quarters, fashion of the DDR times, Stasi spy equipment, and many other things). Though it was very crowded, all of us enjoyed hearing the stories and playing around the museum.
After our tour, we put on our half-dried clothing and packed onto the bus to make our way to the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall Memorial). We arrived in good time and only had to take one bus, the U-Bahn, and then a street car (about 20 minute travel time). We walked through the memorial site and viewed the heartfelt stories about the many people that lost their lives trying to get over the wall. We were able to see parts of the wall and to put into perspective what it looked like to view into the East. You could see a area of "No Man's Land". At the end of our time at the memorial, students were eager to start their free time, which started at 1:30pm. Hailey had to return back to the hostel with Tod, where she was accompanied to the airport to fly to Amsterdam to meet with her family. We all gave our farewell to her and sent her on her way.
During my free-time, I planned to go to the Turkish Market off of Kottbusser Damm. I had made plans to buy a new bag, to find some delicious food, potentially purchase some more gifts for my family, and see my friend Katinka (also accompanied us earlier in our trip in Berlin). If students chose to travel to the Turkish Market, they were welcome to come with me, but they would be responsible for the rest of their free time. Eight students decided to come along. As we travelled through the pouring rain, we eventually made it to the market. Students were able to purchase and barter prices for some jewelry, clothing items, and gifts for friends and family. Katinka met up with us and we all went out for some lunch at a hip sandwich shop (where they even gave us blankets to warm ourselves while we sat on the back patio directly on the Spree River). Most of the students were back at the hostel at 6pm (if planning to attend the dance performance).
All of the students that wanted to attend Dummy at Chamäleon Theater needed to be packed and ready for our early morning wake-up (4am) and departure (6:20am flight from Berlin). It was Deborah's birthday wish to see the performance and I agreed to take any student that could afford to pay their own ticket (35 Euro = $46) and to be completely packed and ready to go for our morning departure by 7pm. The Chamäleon Theater was a 15-minute walk from our hostel inside the Hackesche Höfe. The performance was mind-blowing. Deborah, Sophie, and Madelynn got to sit in the front row and Jess, Cassandra, Ryan, and I sat in the second row along the wall. Please see the link above or the following one: Dummy. Both videos show the amazing talents of the performers we had the opportunity to see. We were all so glad that this suggestion and wish was made.
We got back to the hostel at 10:30pm and found some students scrambling to finish up their packing. After finally getting everyone to bed, our last day in Berlin was over. We are leaving tomorrow and we all cannot believe that this trip is coming to an end.

Left: After adventures in the rain at the Turkish Market, we all stopped for food in one of the many Turkish neighborhoods in Berlin

Right: Seven students and I (teacher) decided to attend "Dummy" at the Chamäleon Theater. It was Deborah's 16th birthday wish and we all got amazing seats. 

Photos from this Day

Siegesäule, Ku'damm, The Story of Berlin, & Dinner - Montag 24.6.13

Left: Gunnar pretending to eat the Siegesäule 

Middle: Hailey pretending to drive an old car while touring The Story of Berlin

Right: Deborah, Hailey, Sophie, Madelynn, and Hannah exploring the many stories in The Story of Berlin exhibit

We started out Monday morning at our usual time of 10am leaving St. Christopher's Inn. We took the long route to Ku'damm (Kurfürstendamm).
We got off of the S-Bahn at Bellevue and took a walk through the Tiergarten to make our way to the Siegesäule (Victory Column). As we approached the column, everyone started to get out their cameras and take several photos. We made our funny poses and then made our way to Ku'damm. Once we arrived at Ku'damm, we walked over to the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church). We were stunned to see that we could not actually see the church (it was surrounded by a semi-permanent structure). It was being renovated. We went inside the church and looked at some of the incredible photos and read the stories presented in the small exhibit. One of the difficult things about the renovation is repairing a building that is falling apart that needs to remain "falling apart" (see photos and story on above link). After we left there, students were given an hour and a half of free-time to roam around Ku'damm (go to KaDeWe [Kaufhaus des Westens]), shop, eat, and/or sight see).
At the end of our free-time, we met in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche and walked towards our bus stop. According to the time, we had a couple of moments to stop at the Ampelmann Shop, where several of us purchased gifts with the Ampelmann on it (see links).
We boarded the bus and only traveled about 5 stops and got out to make it to our exhibit reservation at The Story of Berlin. As we walked briskly towards a shopping center (where the address led us), we found the museum/exhibit. After we checked in, I gave the students their scavenger hunt assignments. I printed four different languages for the scavenger hunt (German, Spanish, French, and English). I knew that there were varying abilities of different languages that would guide each group of students through the exhibit in a language other than English. I allowed students about 20 minutes with their chosen language other than English and then decided to allow them to engage more into the exhibits by giving them the scavenger hunt in English. There was so much information, many interesting photos, and hundreds engaging objects to view about the different eras of Berlin (dating all the way back to when Berlin was built). We were in the exhibit for about two hours and still didn't have a chance to see every room! As predicted, at the end of the exhibit was a gift shop and many of us purchased Berlin souvenirs to bring home to our friends and families. We couldn't believe that we will be leaving less than 48 hours!
After we left The Story of Berlin, we got on the bus again and traveled further down Ku'damm to have an early dinner together. It was only 4:30pm, but we were hungry. It was our last dinner together as a large group (Hailey is flying to Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon and Hannah is meeting with her parents tomorrow evening). Tomorrow is also Deborah's 16th birthday. As a result of Deborah's wishes for hummus throughout our travels, I found an amazing Turkish restaurant called Restaurant Tugra. I had called to make reservations yesterday and throughout the day, but nobody at the restaurant had answered. I crossed my fingers (or pushed my thumbs [as you do in Germany]) that they would be able to accommodate 15 of us. As soon as we arrived, to our surprise, they welcomed us enthusiastically. We ordered a couple bottles of white wine for students to experience and made a toast to our trip. We ordered delicious food that made our mouths water and our excitement about our travels come out. The wait staff brought Deborah a small birthday treat and they sang, "Happy Birthday". We asked them to take our photo in front of the restaurant and they asked to join us (which we were excited about). It was an excellent last dinner together!
From dinner, everyone had free-time (about 5:45pm) and all returned to the hostel by 11pm. Today was amazing and tomorrow we take on our last adventures in Berlin.

Group photo with the awesome staff at Tugra, who served us delicious Turkish fare and catered to our wishes. They all even sang "Happy Birthday" to Deborah!

Photos from this Day

Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburger Tor, and Museums - Sonntag, 23.6.13

Left: Brynnen and Ryan exploring the Holocaust Memorial

Middle: Group Photo in front of the Brandenburger Tor

Right: Sophie standing front of the Reichstag

Like Saturday, we got up and ate our hostel breakfast and made it out the hostel door by 10am. Many of the students learned that I was serious about them having their emergency contact numbers (with mine, Tod's, and the hostel's phone number) and a miniature map. That was their ticket to leave the hostel for the day. We did our classic count-off, "Eins" "Eins" "Zwei" "Zwei" and so on. We traveled on the U2 to Potsdamer Platz and walked over to the Holocaust Memorial.
When we arrived at the memorial, we allowed the students to experience the installation for 45 minutes. The experience was memorable and indescribable to many. We all had different experiences of eerie, confusion, and impact. It was heavy and powerful. Students appreciated the installation, while also critically thinking about the meanings imprinted on the minds of the survivors, victims, and perpetrators of the Holocaust. This experience certainly held for powerful discussions about culture and genocide.
From there, we walked two blocks over to the Brandenburger Tor. There was much construction being dismantled from the previous CSD weekend. On the east side of the Brandenburger Tor, there was a pedestrian zone where many people were walking around taking pictures and posing with the many street performers. There were many different street performers ranging from a bear (the city mascot), an "American" and "Russian soldier befriending each other, "DDR officers" stamping passports with "DDR", and a man making enormous bubbles. One could donate to his little cup and he would help others make enormous bubbles. Lily and Cassandra made bubbles for all to watch, which was very mesmorizing. Even Sam couldn't help himself to chase after them to pop them.
After spending enough time at the Brandenburger Tor, we walked four blocks over to the Reichstag and took pictures. We only spent about 20 minutes taking photos and it was time for lunch.
We started walking back towards Potsdamer Platz to grab some food and realized that our appointment for the Pergamon Museum was sooner than we had planned. We turned back around and hopped on a bus (about 10 stops) towards the Museumsinsel. We arrived to the museum and many of the students were famished and had forgot to grab a snack. We made the decision to enter the museum and our budget allowed us to rent the headphones to walk around the museum. Some students chose to come into the museum for a while and then grab some food outside of the museum (which was a little tricky to find because of the surrounding construction). All students did have the opportunity to view the wonders of the Pergamon Altar and see many of the other exhibits throughout the museum (about 90 minutes). There was an incredible exhibit about the discovery of Uruk (one of the world's first metropolis'). At the end of our time, we met up to move over to two blocks to the Neues Museum.
The Neues Museum was just as beautiful and had an incredible exhibit of Neferiti. We got to see the real bust (3,300 years old)! We chose not to obtain the headsets and spend about 45 minutes viewing the thousands of years of history. It was also not only the exhibits, the museum itself was incredible. It felt like we were walking inside a building. As we were nearing the end of our day at the museums, we were beginning to feel silly. We all met in the courtyard outside the museum and students were released for their free time at 4pm. The weather was warm and students had already made plans to go on their small adventures. I made my way back to the hostel to go meet up with a former employer, for whom I nannied from 1999-2001. I even got to see the 14-year-old kid that I used to take care of as a 3-year-old. It was beautiful.
At the end of the night, all of the students made it back to the hostel and lights out happened at 11:30. This exchange trip continues to get better everyday. It is obvious that all students are getting along with each other and many have found life-long bonds.

Left: Mr. Tod Grobey showing off the famous Pergamon Altar in the Pergamon Museum

Right: Jess and Ryan in the Neues Museum with Queen Nefertiti in the background (in room behind them in glass)

Photos from this Day

CSD and Stasi Prison - Samstag, 22.6.13

Getting ready to go out on our adventure to CSD and the Stasi Prison. 

(Please notice that we are pointing to a shirt designed by Samuel Jeans when he attended Madison High School. Samuel donated $900 to our Indiegogo fundraiser. Thanks Samuel!)

We woke up at 9am and ate our breakfast from St. Christopher's Inn. Breakfast was mostly Brötchen (rolls) with butter and cheese, four different kinds of cereal, coffee and tea, and toast. I disbursed student food money and we made our way to meet at 10am in front of the Volksbühne (theater) across the street from our hostel. There was an installation in the grass in front of the theater, where one could climb the platform and speak into the horn-shaped sculpture and make sounds for the whole square to hear.
As students waited for all to arrive, they played around the sculpture (see above) and we discussed our first adventure travelling through Berlin. Seven students had decided to travel with Myriah and Katinka (an old friend of Myriah, who lives in Berlin) to CSD. CSD is a parade supporting people in the LGBT community and celebrating the diversity of the world. Six students decided to go with Tod to Hohenschönhausen, a former prison from the former Stasi (secret police from East Germany). This prison was also shown in the film "The Lives of Others" (which the students watched in school on Monday).
Everyone that went the CSD parade had a great time. We hung out on the west end of Kurfürstendamm and waited patiently for the parade people watching and getting to know each other. The parade started and all were excited to receive the free items tossed from the floats goofing around dancing to the music. Many of the floats and contingents displayed signs bringing attention to the controversy in Russia. All had a great time and had the opportunity to see some of the sights of Ku'damm before making it back to the hostel at 4pm.
Everyone that went Höhenschonhausen were very affected by their experience at the prison. To the small misfortune, their tour was in German, so teacher Tod was working hard to make sure that he could translate many of the important details. Some of the students described it as "eerie", "powerful", and "intense". After the tour, students took some time to relax and discover some of the areas around the neighborhood of our hostel. All met up back at the hostel at 4pm to be ready to leave for the next adventure at 4:45.
The next adventure was at Rathaus Schöneberg for a discussion about John F. Kennedy put on by the Checkpoint Charlie Stiftung (Foundation). On June 26th 1963, JFK came to West Berlin for many monumental words regarding the relationship between the United States and West Germany. It was the first major speech given by a U.S. president after WWII that was working towards forming a healthy relationship between the two countries. This was the same visit where JFK said his famous line, "Ick bin ine Beerleener" ("Ich bin ein Berliner" aka "I am a jelly donut"). We were invited upon our interest to volunteer for the foundation and had the opportunity to be inside Rathaus Schönberg (where JFK was) and listen to a discussion moderated by Sven Felix Kellerhoff (a journalist from "Die Welt" and "Die Berliner Morgenpost"). He interviewed a man (Harald Karas), who was a journalist during the time that JFK was in Berlin. Also with him was a senator of building and housing with the city of Berlin (Klaus Franke). Lastly, an actress and translator (Anita Lochner), who was the daughter of the translator for JFK. They all spoke for about 90 minutes, while a PowerPoint slide show of images of JFK and the 1960s in West Berlin were shown. We were one of two schools (from the US) invited to listen to the discussion (all in German). The other school was CITADEL in Charleston, South Carolina. It was an honor to be there and all students were both excited and relieved to have a fully scheduled day come to an end.
We made it through our first day in Berlin with many things learned about the history of Berlin, but also the layout of the city. Some students braved taking the subway/street car on their own and made it back to our hostel before curfew (11pm). It was a long day, but these students make everything worth it. This group of young people are really amazing!

After attending the discussion about John F. Kennedy and the relationship between the US and Germany, we took this group photo in front of Rathaus Schöneberg. 

This is the city hall where JFK said his famous, "Ich bin ein Berliner" quote.

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule and Travel to Berlin - Freitag, 21.6.13

           

Left: Nick excited to take photos of the senior prank. 
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

 
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)

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule and Farewell Party - Donnerstag, 20.6.13

All students and teachers involved in the "International Friendship" project at KWR

Today's schedule was fairly short at school. We continued the Projekttage and started the day with our fun dance course. At the end of the dancing, we still had a couple of presentations to finish (they did not present last Friday). We had the opportunity to see presentations from Sophie and Hailey, Deborah, and Cassandra. All of the students watching and learning from them gave each one of them individual feedback about what they learned and a question they wanted to ask.
At the end of the presentations, we instructed students to get back into their skit groups and practice their skit for tomorrow's performance. They worked on their skits for about an hour and then school was dismissed.
We met back at school at 6pm to find ourselves caught in a thunder and lightening storm. The rain came down hard (which we don't see very often in Portland). It was amazing, amusing, and over quickly. We (Ralf and I) arranged a classroom to get ready for the potluck and farewell party. Students brought pizza, salads, and delicious treats to enjoy. We all hung out, chatted, and played some soccer on the playground. It was very sweet and relaxing. The farewell party was over by 8pm and many students went on their last downtown adventure with their hosts.
Tomorrow is our last day at KWR. I interviewed a couple of students about their experience at KWR and there is certainly going to be some sadness in leaving behind good friends here in Germany.

Our Farewell Party at KWR in the evening 6-8pm)

Photos from this Day

Projekttage bei der Schule (Project Days at school) - Mittwoch, 19.6.13

Lily and Deborah having a blast during our dance course

Today was the first of three days of the collaborative project between the German and American students. Through the school student council at Kaiser Wilhelm und-Ratsgymnasium, these project days were organized throughout the entire school. For three days, students participate in a "project" in school, instead of attending regular classes.

Teachers host these projects and any student (grades 5-11, [12th is already done]) can sign up to participate. Some projects involve learning about computer science, soccer, bicycling, theater, and many other activities. Although the American students seemed a bit bummed out that they would not be experiencing as much of the everyday experience at school, they were excited by the opportunity to collaborate with our hosts.

Our project is titled "Internationale Bekannschaft" (International Friendship). Our host teachers organized a dance course for all students to do at the beginning of each day during "Projekttage". It is not uncommon for German teenagers to learn how to dance (ballroom style). Several German students shared that they were taking a dance course or had taken a dance course outside of school. Our dance teacher was a student from KWR (I think) and taught us the "Discofox" and the "Cha Cha Cha". We tried our best and certainly had many awkward and funny moments. The teachers were learning these dances too!

After our dance course, we had a break and then came back together begin work making skits about the differences between American and German culture. We watched a short clip from "Night on Earth" (please be aware of vulgar language). It has an excellent depiction of the silly things that can happen when two people from different cultures meet each other. Then students were put into groups of three and then we gave suggestions about what topics their skit could cover. For example, they could write a skit about the following cultural differences: food, false cognates (e.g. the word "Rock" in German means skirt), service mentality, shaking hands, the differences in water (carbonated and tap), and many more. Most groups had enough time to write a skit, tomorrow they will practice it, and on Friday, they will perform it for our project group. I can already tell that all skits will be amazing! The work that these students have been doing has been quite impressive!

Only two more days here in Hannover. Huge sigh of sadness coming from myself and many students. It will be exciting to be Berlin, but it will be hard to say, "Tschüß" to all of these incredible people.

Disclaimer: 

Please excuse grammatical errors, With this little amount of sleep and the constant "go go go" our our days, this German teacher is struggling to think and produce sentences in English. Tee-Hee!

German and American students brainstorming about "Internationale Bekannschaft" skit

(L to R: Gunnar, Madelynn, Marlon, Max, Brynnen, and Lara)

Photos from this Day

Our trip to Schloß Marienburg (Castle) - Dienstag, 18.6.13

Large group photo at Schloß Marienburg

We made it! The Schloß Marienburg (Sh-loss Ma-reen-boorg) was incredible! We left on the train to Nordstemmen as the group of 15 Americans. We arrived in the small town and one could see the castle from the train station. All of the students were excited as we set foot for our 30-minute hike through the forest. 

We arrived about 30 minutes early (before our tour started). We spent our time lounging around the courtyard, drinking beverages at the cafe, and taking pictures. Unfortunately, you will not find any pictures from inside the castle (no photos allowed). The tour guide gave an hour-long detailed tour of the castle and shared a lot about the history of the kingdom of Hannover. See link about Queen Marie and the fate of the short history of this summer residence for the Queen. 

We were all impressed by the details of the architecture (especially the plans for it), the plethora of the books in the library, the concepts of many of the rooms (i.e. the room for mourning), the stories shared about King George V, and the chapel.

After our tour, we hung out in the castle for about 20 more minutes and then made our way back down through the forest. At one point, we got separated (Madelynn, Nick, and I) from the rest of group, but we found each other again without any panic. We made it back to the small train station, hoping that we would find something to eat from a kiosk or stand. There was nothing to be found (not even a vending machine), so we patiently waited for our train back to Hannover. 

After our train was almost 45 minutes late, we were finally able to get back to Hannover to meet with the host families/siblings. The train ride from Nordstemmen to Hannover was only about 25 minutes long. One could see that the students were tired, but of course, they were onto their next adventures with their host families.

 
Our view of the castle as we hiked up towards it. 

  Model of the original plan for castle (made of cork)

Teacher Myriah, Hannah, and Gunnar with Schloß Marienburg in the background

Photos from this Day

Monday at KWR (very normal day) - Montag, 17.6.13

American students wrapped up in the film, "The Lives of Others" to prepare for history of East Germany while we are in Berlin.

Today was a fairly normal school day at KWR. All students attended classes and some of the host sibling had an exam to complete, so as teachers, we gathered the students into a classroom and watched "The Lives of Others" (a 2006 award-winning German film about the Stasi). This film was very captivating for the students to learn more in depth about the history of the secret police in the German Democratic Republic (GDR aka East Germany). Although the film is fiction, it depicts many of the different consequences that can happen from disagreeing with the government of that era. This film also helped to prepare students to visit the prison at Hohenschönhausen, when we are in Berlin.
At the end of the day, host siblings were patiently waiting to hang out with their guests and go on an adventure around Hannover. We checked with all of the students and they made their way to enjoy the hot weather at Maschsee (around 85 degrees fahrenheit). As I made my way back to my amazing host family's house, I took a little bike detour home and found myself at the Mittellandkanal. The Mittellandkanal goes through the north of Hannover and is directly on bike path to and from school. I stopped to take some photos.

Very interesting boat travelling from Hamburg under one of the many bridges on the "Mittellandkanal" in Hannover

Photos from this day

Friday at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium (Presentations) - Freitag, 14.6.13

Madelynn presenting about an important topic for our collaboration with KWR.

This exciting day at Kaiser Wilhelm und-Ratsgymasium all of the American students shared their presentations with three different English classes. We had to make sure that we would have a classroom that had access to the Internet (not all classes have this) and that we could find a projector. Some students had to present using a USB drive if they had a PowerPoint presentation. Some students used the Internet online tool Prezi to share their presentations (where we needed a good Internet connection).

The following topics, presentations, and class times were shared with the English classes at KWR:

1st Period (Herr Ahrendt)
• Ryan                                   
Transportation in Portland                   
• Brynnen                                                            
Sculpture and Street Art in Portland      
• Lily                                   
Food and Food Carts in Portland                                   

1st-2nd Period (Frau Walter)
• Gunnar & Hannah  
Portland Environmental Movement 
and Bicycling
• Cassandra*
Pacific Crest Community School
• Nick
Fun Things to do in Portland 
• Deborah*
US View of Politics

3rd Period (Frau Dembeck)
• Jess
The Pacific Northwest
• Hailey & Sophie*
Non-profits and the Humane Society
• Sam
Teenage Life in the US
• Madelynn
Energy Consumption in the US and Environmental Solutions

* These presentations were presented again on Thursday, 6/20 due to Internet connectivity issues, lack of time, or absence of student

After each of the presentations, the German students asked a couple of questions and in some classes they wrote down a couple interesting perspectives that they learned from the presentations given by the American students.
After all American students presented, they attended their 4th period class and then the Americans joined class 10d during 5th and 6th period P.E. class. We played Völkerball (see below), which is type of dodge ball played by German youth. All German students admitted to playing this game as a child. It took our students a couple of times to get the rules, but most everyone enjoyed playing and participated. After learning a German game, the American students taught the German students how to play kickball. Most Germans were familiar with baseball, but had not played or heard of kickball. After a couple games, class was over and students began their adventurous weekend with their host families.

German and American students playing a traditional German ball game, Völkerball

Photos from this Day

Our trip to Hamburg - Donnerstag, 13.6.13

Our large group of Americans and Germans waiting for the ferry in Hamburg

On Thursday (6/13/13), we had the opportunity to go to Hamburg with the host siblings. At 9:30am, fifteen Americans and fifteen Germans loaded in a train to Hamburg. We were lucky enough on the way there to get to sit in the same area (we weren't as lucky on our return trip). We arrived at the main train station at 12pm and we ran around for a couple minutes searching for a bathroom. It seemed to be at the other end of the train station and cost 1 Euro to use.
As we convened together again, we, Americans did our count-off, "Eins?", "Eins" (Brynnen and Cassandra), "Zwei?", "Zwei" (Deborah and Lily), "Drei?" "Drei" (Hailey, Sam, Madelynn), "Vier?" "Vier" (Gunnar and Hannah), "Fünf?" "Fünf" (Jess and Sophie), "Sechs?" "Sechs" (Nick and Ryan). It seemed that we were not the only school group travelling around as we saw several other groups walking the streets.
Hamburg is known as one of the first hanseatic cities, which means that it was one of the first cities to trade goods with other cities dating back to the 12th century.
We walked from the train station to the Europa Passage (Oy-rope-ah Pah-sa-zsa), where we briefly saw sophisticated fashion stores and a small violin concert played by about 100 youth ages 6-12. It was very amazing (picture on link)!
Then we made our way to the Altes Rathaus (Ahll-tez Raat-hows) and took several pictures.
Despite our imagination, this building was built in the 1897 and one can see 20 emperor statues on the front of the building.
We took tons of pictures at the Rathaus and then walked on toward the Gedenkkirche St. Nikolai (Geh-denk-keer-keh Saint Nee-ko-lye). This church now serves as a memorial to the bombing of Hamburg during WWII. It was apparently the tallest building in the world from 1874-1876. Today, it is the second tallest building in the Hamburg.
After taking some photos, we kept walking towards our reservation at Miniatur Wunderland (Mini-ah-chur Voo-nda-lahnd). As a group, we had a reservation to enter this incredible display of the coolest miniature models of thousands of places around the world. (It is really worth checking out the link). There were exhibits that were indescribable. The "sun" (lights) even went down and all of the installations adjusted to be working in the "night". There are many photos on our link. One of my personal favorite was the many displays of the same location. Each location was a different time period (i.e. before, during, and after the wall came down). After a short hour and a half with the miniature world, we met up to walk to one of the many ferries to take a tour around the harbor.
The ferry system in Hamburg is another form of their public transportation, travelling from dock to dock around the harbor. The Hamburg port is the third busiest in all of Europe and we  had a chance to see the many boats and different docks. We got out of the ferry at the beach and neighborhood Övelgönne (Eh-vel-geh-nneh). We walked around looking at the interesting houses and view of the harbor. We found ourselves at a cute little cafe called Strandperle (Beach pearl), where they had just enough room for us all to sit. We hung out as a large group and ordered beverages as we relaxed on the beach, watching the boats go by. We started to walk back towards the city center and reunited with Lily, who had not had a chance to catch up with us at the cafe. We got on the ferry and it was looking like getting our train was going to be quite tricky. We still had 3 stops with the ferry and 4 stops with street car and we only had 20 minutes.
We arrived at the platform and our train was running a bit late, so we all ran quickly and half of us got on the train. The doors began to close and the conductor called out that we would not fit. I yelled through the train, "Portlanders! Portlanders! Get off now! We're not taking this one. Schnell! Schnell! Schnell!" All students ran off of the train quickly and again, we counted off and we took a deep breath of relief. We had everyone! Phew!
That meant that we'd catch the next train in 45 minutes. We wandered through the train station and found ourselves something to eat for dinner. We all made it back in time and we were able to get on the next train, but we were separated in three different sections. It was a relaxing ride back to Hannover and all of the students looked thoroughly exhausted. We have had quite a busy couple days! Tomorrow (Friday), students will get to present their presentations in English classes in school. I know that they'll do great! This group of students are just awesome!

Ryan is so excited to be at Miniatur Wunderland!

Photos from this Day

Tour around Hannover - Mittwoch, 12.6.13

Group photo of us inside of the "Neues Rathaus" (new town hall)

Today was a very eventful day! We did tons and tons of walking (probably about 3 miles)! We picked up the students from school after their 2nd period and we went exploring throughout the city following parts of the "Red Thread", going inside  the "Neues Rathaus", and visiting the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We started at the main train station following along and seeing the opera center and moving down to the Aegidien church, which was built around 1347! We stopped in many places along the way taking pictures and sharing stories. Tod has been such a great help in sharing stories with the students. He has a knack for storytelling.
We made it to the new city hall and all of the students were blown away. When I told the students that we'd be going to the top, it looked as though their eyes were going to fall out of their head. They were so excited. We entered the building and we were super lucky that they had just had a time slot open for us to take the elevator the top. We moved quickly up the three flights of stairs to wait for the elevator that moves up, inside the dome. The elevator could only take 5 people at a time, so we broke into three different groups. It moves up the curve of the dome and was certainly tight with five people in it. The floor is curved to compensate for moving up a curve. One could see up, down, and through all walls of the elevator. We were all so brave! It has a beautifully warm day, so it felt good to be up high with the brisk wind, while we enjoyed the incredible views of the entire city. All of the students took pictures and were so excited! It took a while to get back down, because we had to wait for the elevator. We made the decision to cut our tour a little shorter so we could even plenty of time to eat and make it to the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We made our stop on the "Red Thread" at the "Markthalle", where there were many different food vendors. Students were free to roam and grab food from whichever vendor they chose. Tod and I ate some delicious curry for 3.50 Euros! We gave all students 30 minutes to eat and then we made it on our way to the "Herrenhäuser Gärten".
We arrived via subway/streetcar and we gathered around and I passed out the scavenger hunt photo adventure handouts, which I created all in German (with a vocabulary list in it). Students had the option to participate in the scavenger hunt or have just over an hour of free time. Two teams formed to take tons of pictures (one with three and another with four). They both took it seriously and followed the ridiculous directions (i.e. wave at the statue named, "Amerika", make a "lost" face while in the labyrinth). The weather was sunny and the students had moments to relax and enjoy themselves.
Then we returned back to school and met up with their German host siblings. Tomorrow, we go to Hamburg with host siblings. We will be making a whole day of it. We will leave via train at 9:30am, arrive in Hamburg at 12pm. We will explore many things in Hamburg and then we will leave at 5:30pm. Lots of adventures! The students are certainly holding up well considering we have not even been here 72 hours.

View of one of the gardens at Herrenhäuser Gärten

Photos from this Day

First Day of School at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium - Dienstag, 11.6.13

Madelynn, Nick, Sam, and Hailey walking around school together.

So, today all of the students made it through their first day of school at Kaiser Wilhelm und Ratsgymnasium! We snagged them out of their third period class to connect to them and allow them an opportunity to share stories about their first day and ask any questions about language and culture.
Students shared a lot about the invisible culture surrounding their host families. Food was a big topic (Brötchen, Käse, Wurst, Pho, Brot, Marmelade) and of course, the water. "How do I get water without bubbles?" As we encouraged them to continue drinking occasionally, we informed them how to request "stilles Wasser" or "Leitungswasser". We also talked about the wall outlets, door handles, toilets, locks for doors, and their hopes that their German will get better (and it will!). All students reported that they are getting along amazingly with their host families and they are really enjoying being here. At the end of third period, we brought them back to their classrooms and they finished out their school day.
We (co-teacher Tod and I) met with Herr Schubert to finish arranging our plans for the rest of our stay in Hannover.
Then, we had an excellent time at our welcome party at the Salmo family residence. They organized a barbeque with all of the host students and several of the host parents. It was exceptionally kind especially because their exchange student that had not yet arrived, Gunnar. We were still patiently awaiting his arrival when the barbeque started.
About half way through the party, I left with Mr. Salmo and his son Ekin to go pick up Gunnar from the airport. Gunnar's flight went well and he was very excited to have arrived. After being asked about the flight he said, "It was boring." We are all so glad that he made it! As soon as we arrived back at the barbeque, everyone rejoiced and welcomed him by cheering for him. You can see one of the pictures of Gunnar with his host family below.
The barbeque lasted until 10:30pm and it was still so light outside! It seems that the sun stays out until 11pm here! Also, the weather has been so beautiful! We are so lucky!
We are looking forward to tomorrow's adventures!
Keep checking out the photo links, I'll still keep uploading pictures!

Mr. Salmo, Ekin, and Gunnar at the airport less than five minutes after Gunnar retrieved his luggage.

Photos from this Day

We are here! - Sonntag, 9.6.13 - Montag, 10.6.13

On the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt!

14 of the 15 of us made in to Hannover!
After 15 hours of travel, we have arrived in Hannover safely.
We travelled from Portland to Chicago and didn't have the chance to have Gunnar with us (huge sad face). We have missed him, but fortunately, we will be able to connect with him tomorrow or Wednesday.
From Chicago to Frankfurt, students were stunned by the huge plane (two levels) and were excited to practice their German with the flight attendants. Most of us got a little bit of sleep, but a couple didn't sleep at all.
All of the students completed a fun crossword puzzle, which clued them into some facts about German culture and politics.
After we arrived in Frankfurt, our plane was delayed slightly, but we finally arrived in Hannover about an hour late.
Now, everyone is hanging out with their host families, hopefully soaking in the excitement of being here and yes, getting to take a shower.
To see photos, keep checking the Photo tab (upper right-hand) and photos should be uploaded regularly.

Also, please feel free to check out another blog written by Cassandra, one of the students
http://dontsaygift.tumblr.com/

The Wacky Teacher Myriah J. Day and Silly Chaperone Tod Grobey (and ridiculous Jess in the background!)

Photos from this Day

Fundraising Success!

The fundraising has been a huge success!

This has been such an amazing experience! So many awesome people have come to help us in our adventures in getting to Germany.

We have had so much fundraisers and it has certainly paid off, literally (ha ha). 

We are very appreciative and feeling incredibly humbled by everyone's support and contributions. 

Through all of our fundraisers, we have made $5015.40!!!

Through Indiegogo, we made $2117 ($717 beyond our goal); from Beulahland, we made $487; from our YARD SALE, we made $762; from our TEENS work for exchange, we made $810; and we have had over $839 in other donations made at our events!

We are so fortunate that our community has been so incredibly supportive! While we are in Germany, we are looking forward to keeping up with this blog, sending thank you postcards, and continuing our efforts to make amazing connections worldwide to make this exchange program life changing!

Thank you for your support!

HUGE YARD SALE!

HUGE YARD SALE! Saturday (5/25) and Sunday (5/26) from 9am to 3pm. There are tons of items that we will have set up in the parking lot at Pacific Crest Community School (116 NE 29th)
So many cool things to sell! Binoculars, bikes, outdoor umbrellas, adirondack chairs, backpacks, luggage, dry bags, dishes, newly released books, music stands, good quality shoes & clothes - women, men, youth, child sizes, toys (a really cool wooden maze thing), patio umbrellas, tons of books, a super nice blender, old school mixers, games, craft stuff, sports equipment....
Students, family members, and teachers have worked hard to get stuff organized and priced reasonably. 10 families donated items to contribute to this benefit! 
High School students from Pacific Crest Community School and Madison High School will be participating in the exchange program German American Partnership Program and travelling to Germany (going to school and living with host families) for three weeks. We leave in two weeks!
If you are interested to see more information about the trip, please see the following blog:

ALL FUNDS GO TO to our travel expenses while in Germany (in TWO WEEKS)! COME and/or PLEASE SHARE THIS information with your friends and family!
HOPE TO SEE YOU!

Link to Craiglist AD

We have made our INDIEGOGO GOAL of $1400!!

This is so incredibly exciting! Right now, we are beyond our goal by over $300! You can see a list of our amazing contributors directly right of this post. 

Now that we have made our goal, we will contribute any additional funds to the opportunity to go a castle near to Hannover called Schloss Marienburg. To view the website of this castle, please click the link.

Again, we are so ecstatic and so grateful for everyone's amazing contributions! It has been so amazing to see such support of this incredible opportunity!

If you wish to contribute to help us keep earning beyond our goal, please click the following link: Help Fund German Exchange Trip

THIS BLOG FEATURED ON GAPP WEBSITE

Also, a little side note: 

Our blog has been featured on the GAPP website (which is a HUGE honor). Take a quick look where we are featured! (There aren't that many other blogs either!)

List of GAPP participating schools

Large donation from Beulahland!

Thank you so much to everyone at Beulahland (especially Heatherette) and all of our volunteers!
• Sappho 
• Rich Malena (@GeekPortland)
• Montanna Jane (Excitement Engineer)
• Braddaloantays
• MONTGOMERY WORD
• Tamara J. Brown
• DeeJay Mikki Spinn

The Monday nights in April earned our trip $467! So exciting! Thank you again for coming out to support our trip, our fun, and our community!

Please keep supporting us by viewing this blog and if you didn't make it out to Beulahland in the month of April, please feel free to donate to our online fundraiser through indiegogo.com

Indiegogo: GAPP Online Fundraiser

Hello Amazing Community Supporters, 

As you may realize, we are coming down to the last four weeks before we make our exchange trip to Germany on June 9th! 

Five students are traveling from Pacific Crest Community School and eight from Madison High School!

You may have known that we had the Beulahland fundraisers in April, students have been working for community members through Teens Work for Exchange, we had our Bowl-A-Thon and our garage sale is coming memorial day weekend at 116 NE 29th Ave (weather dependent). 

Now, we have one more fundraiser that I am requesting folks to participate in through online efforts. This fundraiser will go towards our food and museum visit budget while we are in Berlin (4 days, 5 nights) and Hamburg (1 day). The online fundraiser is through Indiegogo, which accepts paypal, debit, or credit cards. 

If you could contribute even $5, it would be huge help towards our goal of $1400 by June 1st at 11:59 pm (PST). Please consider contributing if you have ever been an exchange student, known an exchange student, and/or have known how exchange experiences can enhance our world for the better.

To contribute to our online fundraiser through indiegogo.com, please click the following link: GAPP Online Fundraiser 

If you unable to contribute now, please share this link with your friends and/or post it on your social media. We want to spread the word as far and wide as we can. We sincerely appreciate your time!

If you have any questions about our trip, the German American Partnership Program, or where the money is going, please contact me at msmyriahjday@gmail.com

Sending our very best for this last big push to make a very enriching experience for all students and community members involved.

MONDAY NIGHTS IN APRIL AT BEULAHLAND!

Come out to Beulahland (118 NE 28th Ave.) to support our travel funds to Germany! 10% of sales from 8pm-2am go to support our trip!

4/1 - DJ
Sappho (Disco, Boogie, R&B, Funk)

4/8 - TRIVIA
Hosted by Rich Malena (@GeekPortland) 8:30-10

4/15 - TRIVIA & DJ
Hosted by Montanna Jane (Excitement Engineer) 8:30-10
Music from Braddaloantays

4/22 - MUSIC
MONTOGOMERY WORD

4/29 - TRIVIA & DJ
Hosted by Tamara J. Brown 8:30-10
Music from Dee Jay Mikki Spinn (LadyPop+)

Adventures with the German Students in Portland

The amazing adventures with German exchange students and teachers are coming to a close tomorrow evening (Thursday, March 14th). It has really been a pleasure to get to know both of the teachers from Germany, as well every single one of the thirteen exchange students visiting our schools (Madison High School and Pacific Crest Community School).
All host families have been incredible as they showed their guest around Portland, Seattle, around Oregon, and have shown what life is like as an American family. We could not have asked for a better exchange.



I just can't believe how fast times flies by.

The German students and teachers arrived last Saturday (3/2) and they were thrown into the whirlwind of fun times.
Sunday (3/3) - Welcome Pizza Party (We certainly had enough pizza!)
Monday (3/4) - First Day at American School (Madison High School & Pacific Crest Community School)
Tuesday (3/5) - Regular School Day
Wednesday (3/6) - Tour of Portland, including Chinese Gardens with German students and teachers only. It was great fun for all, but certainly in true Portland form, RAINY
Thursday (3/7) - Field Trip with ALL students to Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and Portland Art Museum. At OMSI, students had the opportunity to visit the Mythbusters exhibit, while also investigating the sustainable practices of Portland. At the Portland Art Museum, students had the chance to view the Native American Art Gallery and the American and Northwest Galleries. So much fun! And the sun decided to shine down on us!
Friday (3/8) - German students gave presentations in their classes. Presentations ranged from Sights of Hannover, the Infrastructure of Transportation in Hannover, Alternative Energy sources, and many, many more! All of the German students gave their presentations in English! Very impressed with their language skills!
Weekend Adventures with Host Families - Some students went to the Oregon Coast, while one family took both of their exchange students up to Seattle for the weekend, most students got to adventure all around Portland, seeing the Saturday market and visiting Powell's. It was exciting to hear all about the fun times!
Monday (3/11) - German students regularly attending Madison visited Pacific Crest for a day of classes. Students got to experience the unique and engaging private school, while they also continued to give their presentations.
Monday Evening - Bowling Night at Hollywood Bowl. Most of the host students, all of the German students and teachers, and some invited school friends that have been made in school participated in an eventful and fun night of bowling! It was incredibly fun!
Tuesday (3/12) - German students regularly attending Pacific Crest visit Madison for a day of classes. Students got to experience the large and resourceful public school, while they also continued to give their presentations.
Wednesday (3/13) - Regular school day at Madison. At PCrest, 5 of the 6 students there had the opportunity to visit Zenger Farms (urban farm and education center), which was organized by one of the awesome service learning teachers at Pacific Crest. Thanks Jordia!
Thursday (3/14) - Our potluck is tomorrow! I imagine that good times will be had and lots of pictures will be taken. I will be interviewing students about their experiences as an exchange student and as a host student. The interviews will be videotaped to hopefully be included in a video about our collaboration exchange (projected date for release is August 2013).
Friday (3/15) - German students and teachers depart Portland about 7pm. They will travel on to San Francisco for another five days, then back to Hannover. All host families and teachers will arrive at the airport around 6pm to say farewell to this enthusiastic group of students.
I imagine tears will be had and hugs a many. I am so glad that all involved students and familes had a such a wonderful time! This is my first time taking on this endeavor as a GAPP coordinator and the first half of our exchange has really gone well. I feel good about it! It is an exchange like this that makes doing this work absolutely worth it!

Also, check out the new link to the photo tab (on the far right of the screen, above)!

German Exchange Students arrive to PDX

12 of the 13 German arrived safely to their host families!
The last student arrives tomorrow morning.

This is going to be an excellent adventure. Tomorrow is our pizza party potluck and we'll have a chance to get to know each other better! I can already tell that this is going to great fun!

Host Family Meeting

Next GAPP host family meeting is at Pacific Crest Community School

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 20th, 6-7pm

Be sure to check out recent calendar updates!

Parent and Student Meeting
Wednesday, January 23rd
6pm
Pacific Crest Community School

Topics to be discussed: Hosting an exchange student, fundraising update, website (blog) introduction