An einem schoenen Mittwoch Mittag der Fallbreak haben sich die Austauschfamilien von Boris und Wynona in Gatlinburg zusammengeschlossen. Getroffen in der Outlett-Mall in Pigeon Forge gingen wir zu aller erst shoppen. Nach zahlreichen Schnaeppchen, welche wir bei Levi's und co. ergattern konnten ging es zum Lunch zu Mellow-Mushroom-Pizza.Dort konnten wir unsere eigene Pizza erstellen und, dank free refills, trinken soviel wir konnten.
Mit vollem Magen schlenderten wir durch die Einkaufsstrasse und fuhren anschliessend mit dem Skylift auf einen Berg hinauf, von dem wir eine wunderschoene Aussicht auf Gatlinburg genossen. Darauffolgend irrten wir im Mirror-Maze und hatten viel spass.Alle zusammen begaben wir uns dann zur Go-Kart-Bahn, wo uns eine kurvige Strecke erwartete. Diese hinter sich zu lassen war eine Herausforderung, welche nicht nur spass gemacht hat, sondern auch das Adrenalin  in den Koerper schoss. 
Zum abschluss assen wir ein tolles Eis bei Baskin Robbins und nahmen dann getrennte Wege.
Zusammenfasssend kann man sagen, dass dies ein gelungener Ferientag mit viel spass und gutem Essen gewesen ist.
Liebe Gruesse aus Amerika
Boris & Wynona

 

Creeper Trail photo by Zeinab

 

Am Montag, den 12.10.2015 fuhren Sarah, Dilara, Marci, Senem, Caroline, Lulu, Semantha, Cansu, Valerie nach Gatlinburg und mieteten uns ein Waldhaus (Cabin). Am Dienstag fuhren wir dann in den Nationalpark der Great Smoky Mountains.

Es war eine atemberaubende Landschaft zu sehen.

Die Bäume waren bunt gefärbt. Von Gelb, Orange, Rot, Braun, Grün war alles dabei. Das Wetter war herrlich ,wir hatten eine Tagestemperatur von ungefähr 23 Grad Celsius, welche sehr angenehm war.

Im Nationalpark angekommen, fuhren wir hindurch und genossen die wunderschöne Aussicht.

Nach einem Lunch am Fluss sind wir zurückgefahren und haben die frühen Abendstunden noch in einer Shopping Area in Gatlinburg verbracht.

Zurück am Abend haben wir Abendbrot gekocht und schauten noch einen Film.

Im großen und ganzen war das ein sehr schöner und entspannter Tag.

Have a magical Journey!

"Please keep your arms, hands, legs and feet inside the vehicle. Please remain seated in all times." Diesen Satz habe ich letzte Woche mindestens 100 Mal gehört.

Mit dem Luxus-Camper der Familie von Andrew wohnen wir im Fort Wilderness, dem Campground von Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. Die kommenden Tage werden wir hier bleiben, und unterschiedliche Parks hier im Disneyworld und in den Universal Studios besuchen. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, und Hollywood Studios sind die drei Disney-Parks in denen wir Zeit verbringen. In den Universal Themeparks gefällt mir, natürlich, die Harry Potter-Section am besten. Ich geniesse besonders den Ride in Gringotts. Viele meiner Lieblingcharaktere aus den Harry Potter-Romanen waren in der kleinen 3D-Geschichte zu sehen. 

Alles in allem eine sehr gelungene Woche.

Thank you for traveling with us and have a nice journey.

"Go, Vols, Go!" riefen die Mengen. An einem typischen Herbstsamstag, welcher gleichzeitig ein Spieltag der "Tennessee Volunteers", bin ich mit meinem Austauschpartner (Grayson) nach Knoxville gefahren um seine Freundin zu besuchen, welche dort zur Universitaet geht, zu besuchen.

Nachdem das lokale Team, die "Vols" gewannen, stieg die Stimmung ins Unermessliche. Hunderttausend Menschen kamen nur um das allwoechentliche Football-Spiel zu sehen. Nach dem Spiel stroemten alle Menschen aus dem riesigen Stadium auf die Strasse um gute Stimmung zu verbreiten. Spaeter war in einem Restaurant namens Soccer-Taco. Dort gab es gutes mexikanisches Essen und Fernseher um das Spiel zu sehen. Leider habe ich keine Ahnung wie American Football funktioniert und konnte es deshalb nicht so geniessen wie die Anderen um mich herum. Trotzdem hatte ich einen schoenen Tag und viel Spass !

It's a miracle...

It's a miracle that some of us got to even come on this trip. 

It's a miracle that we made it here without losing any of our luggage or members of the group. 

It's a miracle that we have all made it on the train together, every time without fail. 

It's a miracle that we've only had to use the insurance once. 

It's a miracle that no one has gotten hit by a bus or any other vehicle while crossing the road. 

It's a miracle, even among all the kinds of diversity in this group, that we have made life long friends and are leaving this country feeling the love. 

As we get on the bus to leave Berlin, our hearts are full of love and happiness at the memories we have made on this trip. Happy memories, funny memories, and even a few bad memories that every well rounded trip needs. Many of us had never stepped foot out of Kingsport, TN, much less the country. This trip has been a cultural experience, to say the least. We have learned so much: about ourselves, about others and their cultures, and about life in general. For most of us, regardless of how much fun we've had, we can't wait to get home to our families and our own beds. That being said, we couldn't be more thankful to our hosts, the teachers, and everyone else for their hospitality. 

Thank you to all those involved who helped make this trip possible! We are very grateful. 

We can't wait until the Berliners come to America in October! 

Interviews with refugees

Today some of us met with refugees who have fled their countries in the past year or two in search of safety. Those of us who have completed German 4 were given the opportunity to interview them as a part of the project that the GAPP program is doing on diversity. We weren't sure what to expect from the interviews, but we prepared questions in advance, keeping in mind the gravity of the situations many of these refugees fled from and attempting to focus mainly on how their lives in Germany are now. 

Most of the students began learning German upon their enrollment in ADO little as 10 months ago. Because of the importance that the school has placed on the refugees learning German as well as their immersion in the language, though, they seemed to be as good as or better than those of us who have been studying it for the past two years in America. 

When I asked what means or services are available to them and their families to learn German, many first replied that they had no family with them, and then said that school was their resource for learning the language. I think that the realization that many of these students are alone here was one of the most eye-opening things for me. I can only imagine the bravery it took for them to come so far away from home by themselves, even if it was their option.

 When one of the teachers asked them to explain why there were no girls in the class (there is one, but she was sick today), they simply told us that the journeys they endured to get to Germany were very dangerous- too dangerous for women and children.

Many of the boys I spoke with said that they spoke Arabic, a little bit of English, and some German. I asked what their plans for the next 5 years were, and they all replied that they would either find work or go to Berufsschule, which is like technical school. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how open the students were to answering our questions and how quickly we were able to fall into friendly conversation. 

More than anything else, I was reminded today that the people we hear about on the news day in and day out are not just numbers. They are not just points on a map. It's so easy to forget this -easy to remove ourselves- but the fact is that each and every one of them are real people with loved ones, dreams and aspirations, and lives as fully complex as our own. 

While on the S-Bahn

Today, a small group of Americans went to visit a technical college. Well it wasn't a "technical college" like we have in the US,but it was close enough and I can't remember it's actual title. While there we got into small groups with the college students and chatted about the diffrences in America and Germany, with topics ranging from the economy to school. In all it was interesting to hear what real german students thought about their school syaytem and economy.
But the interesting part wa on the S-Bahn.

So here we were, a group of American High schoolers and one teacher, just going back to school like normal people. Then an old lady boarded the train. After about one minute of S-Bahn -ing, she gets the attention of one of the students,  looks him square in the eye, and asked him "what do they teach you in America about World War II??"
Well we were all speachless. Obviously, being in Germany WW11 is a bit of a touchy subject. We all just looked at her with out answering, but she was persistence! She asked us if we felt safe here, if we were welcomed, and if "we carried the sorrows if the war". We were all so confused that Frau Whitt had to answer all of the crazy questions she asked.
We still had 3 or 4 stops to go, but in a moment of panic, one kid asked the teacher "hey, isn't this our stop?" And we all rushed off the train. We took about 4 minutes to debrief everyone on what happened, then boarded the next train to Neukölln. All I can say is that lady freaked us all out!