1992 School Magazine

Attending school highlighted the many similarities and dif- ferences between Australian and German schools. in Gennany, the co-ed classes ai'e from 7.45 am. until I pm. and there is school every second Saturday. German SIu- dents are considerably oldei' than their Australian countei- palts, with the students ending school after grade thirteen between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. Consequently, the classes are much less formal, and there is little co- curricular activity. We found the standard of work extremely 111gh, particularly in Englisli classes. Students also have the opportunity of studying biology and geography in English, and some are even eligible for' the English leaving certificate. in class, the students were, much to OUT amazement, studying books such as Macbeth and 1984, as well as complex poeti'y about the Irish revolu- lion! in comparison to the Gel'man students, oui' knowl- edge of English grammar was quite pool', and the English teacher at times seemed sceptical of our ability to speak EITolish! The classes also PIOvided a foi'uni for us to be asked (and ask) questions. Dui'ing this lime it became clean what a great impact the media has on one country's per- CGption of another. In particular, the students could 1101 coinpi'ehend the idea of wearing a uniforni at school. In one class, a large discussion evolved from this piactice which we hardly consider 10 be important in OUT fl'ee time, we saw several niovies such as "Hot Shots " "IFK" and "Bernard and Blanca in Kangai'o0 Land", known in Australia as "The Rescue Rangers Down Under". Movies that we would never even contemplate seeing in AUSti'alia suddenly became entertaining, especial- Iy when they featured kangai'o0s and koalas speaking German! We also saw shows such as "Mr Bean, " "Neiohbours" and the "Wonder Years", went shopping and went to the traditional Christmas Markets. Oui' expel'Iences are fai' too ITUmei'ous to write down, and we are very grateful to nave had the opportunity to pailici- pate in the eXchange program. Although only a few German students have visited BCGS, we hope that the number will increase in the neai' future. Going on eXchange is a rewarding experience, and we would like to thank the staff of BGGS, the Society for Australian German Student EXchange, and most of all, the Maria Waechtler Schule and OUT host families.

GERMAN EXCHANGE Althougli December I meant the start of summer for most Australians, for Iacqui Mowbray, Kansche Haberfield and Lisa Cohn it meant the start of a two month eXchange at Girls' Gi. am mar's sister school, the Maria Waechtlei. Schule ill Essen, Gennany. Iacqui and Lisa were awarded eXchange scholarships fronT the Society for' Australian CGrinaii Student EXchange, and Kansche organized her trip 11/10ugh the newly founded sister school relationship We wei'e fortunate to be able to experience Germany in two different ways, firstly as tourists, and secondly as "real Gel. nTaiis", by living with a host family and attending school.

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Lisa Cohn (L) and Iacqui Mowbray in addition to brief trips to Am SIGrdam and Paris, o11r ITav- GIS ranged from Sylt and Hamburg in the north, Munich in the soulli, Trier and Aachen in the west, to Berlin in the east. 11 was especially fascinating to see at first hand the problems and benefits of the integration of the former GDR into a united Germany. While in Berlin, we visited many famous sites, such as Checkpoint Charlie, the Blandenburg Gate, many famous museums and other his- torical sites, and we were given a guided tour of the Gelman Parliament House, the Reichstag. As tourists, we learnt many valuable skills, such as asking directions in German (and following them), reading bus, train and plane timetables, (German public transport is renowned for its punctuality) and locating the ever-elusive bank which cashes travellers' cheques free of charge However' the niost rewarding palt of oui' trip was the time spent 11vino witli our wonderful and patient host families - the Relmer, 00matia and Krone families. During this time, we were immersed in the German lifestyle, and conse- quently improved both our language skills and our cultural awai'eness. After studying German foi' five years it was in lei. estino to see how the German language fitted into the bioader cultural context of the country itself. We experi- enced many traditional celebrations sucli as SI Nikolaus, ChristInas (celebrated on Christmas Eve) and New Year's Eve. SI Nikolaus, our equivalent of Santa Claus, arrives on December 6111 and brings 1011ies and presents. Another Santa Claus, this time called "der Weihnachtsmann" (the Christ mall man) comes with more presents on Christmas Eve. New Year's Eve was a major event, celebrated with fireworks, champagne and tons of confetti. The fun and warmtli of these celebrations, contrasted to the near zero tempei'atures and occasional snow, will remain as delight- ful memories for years to come

Lisa Cohn

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Katische Haberfield IL) with her host sister Munira and an nthei. fiiend

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