Writes Rohan D. (5ths)
Over the Autumn half-term, eleven iGCSE German students embarked upon the German Exchange trip, accompanied by Herr Pacey (MTS) and Frau Davis from St Helen’s. Excited about spending a whole week immersed in German language and culture, the coach to the airport was abuzz with chatter. After gliding through Heathrow and then Hanover Airport, we finally met the host families.
After a restful Friday evening, in which I played a few boardgames with my host family and enjoyed burgers, I headed to bed, full of excitement for what was to come. Breakfast was early, ahead of exploring the city centre of Walsrode, a town of about 30,000 people in northern Germany. Despite its compactness, it had a cosy charm, and its main features included a stunning church adjacent to a park full of tall, autumnal trees. The highlight of the weekend was no doubt when we went to the city of Hanover to watch a handball game. Having never seen a match before, I did not expect the electric atmosphere supporting the local team “Die Recken.” The audience created deafening sounds for the whole hour-long game, not letting up from the drums. The game was close, with both teams tying neck and neck for the win. However, in the dying stages of the game, we conceded an agonising penalty, letting our grip on glory slide away.
The action-packed weekend was quickly followed by a trip to the “Volkswagen Autostadt” in Wolfsburg. This is the main design headquarters for Volkswagen and the various car marques the concern owns. We were all mesmerised, surrounded by beautiful classic cars such as the DeLorean. The workshop we took part in illustrated the importance of designs being both aesthetically pleasing, but also functional. We all sketched our own car designs, be it based on the Audi TT or the Volkswagen Polo, and then had to bring them to life using clay and cardboard.
Tuesday was the first day back to school. Despite the early start of 7:45am, the school was busy and the classroom was decorated for Halloween. Starting with a long hour-and-a-half of Maths, the German students worked through some algebra. Thankfully, Maths is a relatively universal language, and I was relatively familiar with the working. A break for 20 minutes followed, where all the students crammed in the hallways and cafeteria, before we went back to another lesson. Unlike here at home, at 1pm German students can go home!
