Saturday, January 29, 2005

Presentations and Gymnasium

Accompanied by 2 of my American colleagues, I stepped foot in my first German High School (Gymnasuim). With about 1,300 kids from approx. 6-13 grades, it looks rather American situated in a pretty suburb of Regensburg.

We stepped into a class of 12 graders learning English as a favor for a good German friend doing Assistant-Teacher work at the school (13 is the last grade in Bavaria - meaning you're not done until you're 19 opposed to 18 - Imagine that!). Our task: Answer questions and engage the students in English conversations about America.

The circle of chairs set up in the middle of the room held slightly uncomfortable/awkward looking students, who, over the course of the hour, appeared to share many behavior traits with their American High-School counterparts. Body language was the clearest common denominator.

But don't start getting too excited about "Unity of the Youth" or any idealistic international community of teenagers growing up together in the info-age. After a slow start with some relatively neutral questions about the US College system, differences soon became apparent. From experience in the states, our questioning of an Int'l person would quickly move to culture, customs, travel, food, parties... Our precocious class went the other direction at rapid-fire pace. "What do you think about Gun Control?", "What are your feelings about the War and Election in Iraq?", "What about your President?"...

If I may comment on our performance: Of the 3 Americans we had 1 Socially Liberal, 1 Traditional Conservative, and 1 rather Unclassified - all 3 with a shared love of our home. We all hashed out our differing views in front of the class, much to their intrest. This was about as close to "Fair and Balanced Coverage" as I've ever seen.

Experiencing the class (who were very good listening to our insights and enjoyable to boot), the following interview with the school newspaper (over baked Krapfen and coffee from the teacher's Cafe-quality espresso machine), and a tour of the facilities with 3 of my closest friends in Germany (our German included) was not only one of the best mornings of my 5 months here, but also a great insight into a German institution I've learned and heard so much about ever since German 1010.


Sunday, January 23, 2005


Organ and Ensemble Concerts in Germany (Harpsichord and Piccolo Trumpet Included!)