Editor's Note: The following account was supplied by German students at Monroe High School who recently visited Germany. It is published in their words.
On March 20, nineteen members of the MHS German Exchange boarded a bus for Chicago O'Hare airport to depart for a two-week school and family exchange with our partner school in Neu-Anspach, Hessen, Germany. For the first time, the group was traveling in the week prior to and during spring break, rather than during summer vacation. During the first week of the exchange, the students attended school with their host brothers and sisters, led class discussions and interviews in the English classes, and were generally able to experience a normal week at our partner school. They were surprised to see how much they were able to understand in the Math classes ("They're doing the same thing we are right now."), in History classes ("They're studying the same period of World War II. It's interesting to hear about it through their perspective."), and in Biology. ("I did this worksheet in Biology ... in German .... and I understood it.")
The second week was spring break for our partner school, as well. The host brothers and sisters were able to go on all of the field trips, which created more time for everyone to get to know each other. We toured Frankfurt, Mainz, a castle and small wine village on the Rhine River, the Saalburg, (a restored Roman garrison), and Hessen Park, (a "living" museum similar to Old World Wisconsin.
The Exchange program offers the students the chance to experience the country and the culture in a way not possible for a tourist. Below are first-hand accounts of the experience written by two of the students.
By Cassie Coffey
Traveling to Germany was an educational and cultural experience that none of us will ever forget. From the March 20 to April 3, our group of 21 exchange travelers from Monroe High School immersed ourselves into daily life in Germany. For the first week we were students at the Adolf-Reichwein-Schule in Neu Anspach, Germany. We attended classes with our host sisters and brothers. It was a great learning experience to be able to compare and contrast school in Germany to school in the United States. We also had the opportunity to talk to younger grades while attending school. They interviewed us about our lives and culture in America.
Our second week of travel was a week of sightseeing. During this week the German students were on break from school, so we were able to sight-see with our hosts. Some of the places we visited were Frankfurt, Hessen Park, and a Roman fort called Saalburg. In Frankfurt we visited the Frankfurt Cathedral and learned about German political history at the Paulskirche, the birthplace of German democracy. While exploring Hessen Park, which is similar to Old World Wisconsin, we got to try our hand at spinning yarn and felting. We also learned how the half-timbered buildings were constructed in the past.
Our tour through the historical Roman fort of Saalburg was a really unique experience. Our partner school is located very near the "Limes," the Northern most boundary of the Roman Empire on the continent. We learned all about the lives of Roman soldiers who lived and worked in the fort at the end of the 1st Century AD. During our visit to Saalburg we also got to experience what it was like to fight as a Roman soldier when we tried our hand at shooting arrows and throwing spears. It was a really fun experience.
Overall, our two weeks in Germany taught us a lot about German history, but also about current German culture. We made great friends with our hosts and their families, and many of us plan to return to Germany in the future.
By Kaitlyn Wyss
As a little child, my grandfather always spoke in German to me and even though I couldn't comprehend what he was saying, I still found the language intriguing. Before German classes became available for me I was able to learn from him. Then, when I was old enough to take summer school classes, I chose German as the language I wanted to master. Starting in seventh grade, I took German classes in school to further my knowledge in not only the language, but the culture as well.
Germany's culture is so important to me because it makes up a huge part of my family's heritage. Being a part of this exchange allowed me to participate in the different cultural experiences that I would not be allowed to do if I traveled alone.
It was so hard to believe that for a whole year we had been waiting for this amazing experience to come and then the day, March 20, was finally here. Our bags were packed and we were ready to say our goodbyes. As our anticipation and nerves built up we boarded the plane (which was a new experience for me as well) and eight hours later my dream had came true - we were finally in Germany.
The first week that we were there we went to school with our hosts and that was a completely new, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I thought I would never say this, but I actually liked going to school. I would compare their school to our college campus, because each student has a different time schedule with different classes each day, classes get canceled if a teacher is gone, and they have different buildings for different classes. The second week that we were there we went on field trips to different nearby places. My favorite city was Bad Homburg where we saw historical land marks, learned some of the history, and got to go to the Fussgängerzone ( a pedestrian zone) to shop. We also got to meet up with Taylor Bryant, an MHS student who has been living and attending school in Hessen, and her host sister, Laura Fahrner, who was a Hessen-Wisconsin exchange student in Monroe first semester. They live in Idstein, which is close to Bad Homburg. It was so nice to see them again.
The travel group toured Frankfurt, which is only a half hour away from our partner school in Neu Anspach. We learned some history of the city, and saw a lot of banks, including the European Central Bank. Frankfurt is the financial center for Germany, and the only German city with skyscrapers. We also went to the top of the Main Tower, the tallest building in the city. You could see all of Frankfurt and it was breathtaking.
This trip was a life changing experience, something I will cherish close to my heart and I will return.
On March 20, nineteen members of the MHS German Exchange boarded a bus for Chicago O'Hare airport to depart for a two-week school and family exchange with our partner school in Neu-Anspach, Hessen, Germany. For the first time, the group was traveling in the week prior to and during spring break, rather than during summer vacation. During the first week of the exchange, the students attended school with their host brothers and sisters, led class discussions and interviews in the English classes, and were generally able to experience a normal week at our partner school. They were surprised to see how much they were able to understand in the Math classes ("They're doing the same thing we are right now."), in History classes ("They're studying the same period of World War II. It's interesting to hear about it through their perspective."), and in Biology. ("I did this worksheet in Biology ... in German .... and I understood it.")
The second week was spring break for our partner school, as well. The host brothers and sisters were able to go on all of the field trips, which created more time for everyone to get to know each other. We toured Frankfurt, Mainz, a castle and small wine village on the Rhine River, the Saalburg, (a restored Roman garrison), and Hessen Park, (a "living" museum similar to Old World Wisconsin.
The Exchange program offers the students the chance to experience the country and the culture in a way not possible for a tourist. Below are first-hand accounts of the experience written by two of the students.
By Cassie Coffey
Traveling to Germany was an educational and cultural experience that none of us will ever forget. From the March 20 to April 3, our group of 21 exchange travelers from Monroe High School immersed ourselves into daily life in Germany. For the first week we were students at the Adolf-Reichwein-Schule in Neu Anspach, Germany. We attended classes with our host sisters and brothers. It was a great learning experience to be able to compare and contrast school in Germany to school in the United States. We also had the opportunity to talk to younger grades while attending school. They interviewed us about our lives and culture in America.
Our second week of travel was a week of sightseeing. During this week the German students were on break from school, so we were able to sight-see with our hosts. Some of the places we visited were Frankfurt, Hessen Park, and a Roman fort called Saalburg. In Frankfurt we visited the Frankfurt Cathedral and learned about German political history at the Paulskirche, the birthplace of German democracy. While exploring Hessen Park, which is similar to Old World Wisconsin, we got to try our hand at spinning yarn and felting. We also learned how the half-timbered buildings were constructed in the past.
Our tour through the historical Roman fort of Saalburg was a really unique experience. Our partner school is located very near the "Limes," the Northern most boundary of the Roman Empire on the continent. We learned all about the lives of Roman soldiers who lived and worked in the fort at the end of the 1st Century AD. During our visit to Saalburg we also got to experience what it was like to fight as a Roman soldier when we tried our hand at shooting arrows and throwing spears. It was a really fun experience.
Overall, our two weeks in Germany taught us a lot about German history, but also about current German culture. We made great friends with our hosts and their families, and many of us plan to return to Germany in the future.
By Kaitlyn Wyss
As a little child, my grandfather always spoke in German to me and even though I couldn't comprehend what he was saying, I still found the language intriguing. Before German classes became available for me I was able to learn from him. Then, when I was old enough to take summer school classes, I chose German as the language I wanted to master. Starting in seventh grade, I took German classes in school to further my knowledge in not only the language, but the culture as well.
Germany's culture is so important to me because it makes up a huge part of my family's heritage. Being a part of this exchange allowed me to participate in the different cultural experiences that I would not be allowed to do if I traveled alone.
It was so hard to believe that for a whole year we had been waiting for this amazing experience to come and then the day, March 20, was finally here. Our bags were packed and we were ready to say our goodbyes. As our anticipation and nerves built up we boarded the plane (which was a new experience for me as well) and eight hours later my dream had came true - we were finally in Germany.
The first week that we were there we went to school with our hosts and that was a completely new, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I thought I would never say this, but I actually liked going to school. I would compare their school to our college campus, because each student has a different time schedule with different classes each day, classes get canceled if a teacher is gone, and they have different buildings for different classes. The second week that we were there we went on field trips to different nearby places. My favorite city was Bad Homburg where we saw historical land marks, learned some of the history, and got to go to the Fussgängerzone ( a pedestrian zone) to shop. We also got to meet up with Taylor Bryant, an MHS student who has been living and attending school in Hessen, and her host sister, Laura Fahrner, who was a Hessen-Wisconsin exchange student in Monroe first semester. They live in Idstein, which is close to Bad Homburg. It was so nice to see them again.
The travel group toured Frankfurt, which is only a half hour away from our partner school in Neu Anspach. We learned some history of the city, and saw a lot of banks, including the European Central Bank. Frankfurt is the financial center for Germany, and the only German city with skyscrapers. We also went to the top of the Main Tower, the tallest building in the city. You could see all of Frankfurt and it was breathtaking.
This trip was a life changing experience, something I will cherish close to my heart and I will return.