Musings on the Hamburg
Exchange 2012
This year we
decided to set up a collaborative approach, using Google Drive, for
participants of the exchange in order to give us their thoughts and share
their experiences.
- It was a cold,
Hamburg morning and we had spent the previous couple hours in class with
our exchanges. I and half of the group had just finished an hour of Drama,
attempting to perform a sketch (in German!) to some of the younger
children at the Heinrich-Heine
Gymnasium. We had a short break until further exploration of the city,
so decided to have a look around the school. A couple of us were walking
through the playground and stopped to watch a football game taking place
between maybe 7 or 8, what looked like, 12 or 13 year olds. After a couple
minutes of discussion we asked if they wanted a match. Very proud to be
speaking German one of us asked ‘Können wir mitspielen?’ to which they seemed very happy at the
possibility to face new opposition. The three of us then took part in most
tiring 30 minutes of our lives! No training session at UCS could have
prepared us for how well these little Germans were passing the ball. A
crowd began to gather, and after, what felt like, endless waves of German
counter attacks we found ourselves at 12-11 down. With five minutes left
of break we knew something special would be needed to turn this game
around, luckily that’s where a brilliant left foot volley from Jonnie Byre
saved us from the humiliation we’d certainly face if having to tell Mr
Underwood we’d lost. As the ball sailed into the back of the net, I knew
where this was heading…penalties! Sudden death and our German friends
missed their first shot; it all came down to Jack Drew. He stepped up and
slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, crushing all the
stereotypes of how notoriously good Germans are at penalties, and
declaring us victorious!
- After an early start we
made our way from the Poppenbüttel
train station to the Hauptbahnhof
in Hamburg, where we boarded the rapid train to the capital, Berlin. After
the journey was over, and yet some more giant German pretzels had been
demolished, we set out on a day of sightseeing and headed towards the
Brandenburg Gate. Despite the mass numbers of tourists posing with dressed
up American soldiers, we were all taken back by this great piece of
history.
- One of the most
interesting parts of the trip was the day in school. We got to see how
their lessons worked and what the German pupils studied. Some of us got to
see a variety of different English lessons and a lucky few were able to
perform a sketch by German comedian ‘Loriot’
in front of a class of year sevens! The English lessons were very
interesting as were able to see how the language is taught in a different
country. We also had lunch with our partners and their friends. Altogether
it was a very interesting day and we learned a lot.
- After a distinctive walk through the rather
explicit Reeperbahn, we came
across the Hauptkirche
Sankt Michaelis. As we came to the front entrance, many of our
exchange partners decided to pull out from entering the church - they
didn’t tell us why. As we took the staircase, said to be over 2000 steps,
we finally realised why they were so hasty about joining us – they had
completed the feat at the weekend with their host families! Nonetheless,
the views of the harbour and city centre were spectacular and definitely
worth the climb in the end.
- For me, the Hamburg
exchange was a trip to remember; it started off with the weekend, as this
provided the chance to spend some time with our exchange partners. We had
great fun on the Saturday with activities ranging from a heavy lunch in
Subway, to shopping in the huge
Alsterhaus Einkaufszentrum to almost getting lost countless amounts of
times. Not to mention the evening gathering at the home of one of our host
partners. However, the highlight for me was the football match which took
place at the Heinerich Heine
Gymnasium. We were all eager and ready to go and play our hearts out
against the Heinerich Heine faithful. It was a tense encounter that swung in our
favour. With the score line against us and 11 hungry German students
playing the ball around with confidence, the English took control and were
on the march to victory. The game came down to penalties and the always
reliable Jack Drew stepped up and coolly slotted home the penalty to send
the English following crazy. Overall, the trip was a huge success and we
hope to see our German partners again sometime in the future.
- My experience on the Hamburg exchange was
somewhat different to what I had expected in the weeks building up to the
trip. My weekend in Germany (though not always in Hamburg) was undoubtedly
a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
The weekend in Hamburg
usually consists of the host’s family giving a tour of their city, often
visiting the many famous churches and going down to the River Elbe. I,
however, was driven south on the Autobahn, hurtling at full speed until we
reached the small town of Ratzeburg;
it was there that my trip began... I was about to undertake two days of
camp with my exchange partner, as she and her confirmation group prepared
for their confirmation. I, being an atheist, was deeply underprepared for
the tasks that lay ahead of me as the Germans invited me take part in
their board games, one of which was resembled the liturgical year. Imagine
my predicament as I had to display my limited knowledge of Christianity in
German!
When I arrived back in
Hamburg, I met up with the others for an evening of bowling. I was
introduced to the other exchanges and warmly welcomed by everyone. My
weekend came to a close with a perpetual stream of questions about my time
on the camp! The rest of the week we spent exploring Hamburg, Lübeck and
Berlin and we enjoyed a morning in school, as well as a great leaving meal
in Block Haus. The week went by
extremely quickly!
- The much anticipated return of our exchange
partners to London created vast amounts of tension among us as we
congregated in the Great Hall in early April. Discussions on what we
should do bellowed throughout the Hall. Camden? Piccadilly? Many
suggestions were voiced …none happened in the end as our exchanges had a
more sequacious concepts running through their heads, mostly involving
shopping!
- Thanks so much to Mr Underwood and Dr Plow for
organising such a great trip. I can’t wait to go back to Hamburg and visit
my partner next year.
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