My Exchange Years in Germany
Here's a picture of (from left to right) my
biological sister, me, my biological dad, my host dad, and my host mother
(1994), in Westpark, a garden that was made for a world rose garden exposition.
There is also a Biergarten in the park.
July 1993-July 1994
I spent my junior year of high school in Germany,
with YFU as a Congress-Bundestag Recipient.
I had a one month orientation program in Berlin, and then I moved to Munich
where I lived with a host family for a year and attended Luiesen Gymnasium.
Since the school system is so different in Germany, I was placed in the
10th grade, which was actually for the best because I had had no prior German.
My classmates' ages ranged from 15 to 18. Luiesen Gymnasium was a "new language
school," meaning the students had to take German, English, Latin, and either
French or old Greek. Plus, they offered Spanish, Russian & Italian as
afterschool classes. At the time I was more of a science person, so only having
Biology and Physics for 2 hours a week, not having any Chemistry at all, &
being in a math class full of people that said "I can't do math, it's too hard"
took some getting used to. I'm really happy that I attended a "new language
school" though. The students were so interesting, so well traveled, and knew a
lot about so many different countries.
My host family was the best. We
went to Brannenburg almost every weekend to the family's home in the mountains.
When we were in Brannenburg,
(another look at
Brannenburg) we often took hikes through the mountains just 15km north of
the Austrian boarder. We also went mushroom hunting while on those hikes. I
loved finding Hexen Pilsen & then having a dinner with friends and family
after the hunt.
My year abroad was a life changing experience, and I am
really grateful to Congress-Bundestag for giving me the chance to become an
exchange student.
September 1997-March 1998
In my second experience in Germany I went to
Erlangen
University as my foreign study experience with Kalamazoo College. Part of
Kalamazoo College's curriculm is to take part in a cultural project while on
foreign study. I decided to see what it was like to work for a German company.
With lots of luck (gluck), I found a job as a techincal translator for Siemens AG.
Once again,I lived with a
German family while in Erlangen, however, this home was more of a boarding
experience, and less of a family experience. I lived with a widow. Her medical
student son lived with us for a while while he was in between exams as well.
I got to visit a lot of friends and family from my 1993-94 experience while
I was in Erlangen. I was gone pretty much every weekend on the
Shoeneswochenendepass (a 35DM train ticket that will get you wherever you want
to go in Germany on the weekend).
Touch Pooh Bear's nose to get
home
