Vom 18.10. bis zum 7.11.2002 wohnten 15 Schüler der Klassen 10 bzw. 11 in nordamerikanischen Familien. (Maria Adnane, Maren Böh, Daniel Getta, Melanie Fröhlich, Tanja Herbert, Diana Herbon, Can Karacöcek, Nadine Kuka, Theresa Marx, Christopher Pawlowski, Manuela Popp, Lea Himmelsbach, Vanessa Schies, Britta Simon, Lisa Steinbach) Begleitet wurden die Schüler von den Englischlehrerinnen Martina Roll und Claudia Sommer.
Die Schule
In Townsend, Massachusetts, besuchten die Schüler die North Middlesex Regional High School (NMRHS) - Gesamtschule, Klassen 9-12 - an der auch Deutsch als Fremdsprache unterrichtet wird.
In der Schule folgten die deutschen Schüler dem Tagesablauf ihres Gastbruders bzw. ihrer Gastschwester, um den nordamerikanischen Schulalltag zu erleben.
Außerdem besuchten die deutschen Schüler verschiedene Unterrichtsstunden, in denen sie über Deutschland und Mannheim berichteten, das deutsche Schulsystem vorstellten und Fragen der nordamerikanischen Schüler beantworteten. Das Gesprächsinteresse auf beiden Seiten war groß, die Kenntnisse der nordamerikanischen Schüler über Deutschland jedoch eher gering.
Da alle Präsentationen und Gespräche auf Englisch stattfanden, konnten die deutschen Schüler hier besonders ihre Englischkenntnisse anwenden.
Ausflüge
Die Schüler konnten auf Ausflügen an die Küste Wale beobachten, in der "Dining Hall" der Eliteuniversität Harvard zu Mittag essen, die "verhexte" Stadt Salem kennen lernen und den "Indian Summer" auf einer Wanderung durch den bunten herbstlichen Laubwald in New Hampshire genießen.
Ein Eintauchen in die Entstehungsgeschichte der U.S.A. erfolgte sowohl in Concord als auch in der Hauptstadt Boston.
Höhepunkt der Reise war der Wochenendausflug nach New York City. Schüler und Lehrerinnen waren begeistert von der Atmosphäre auf dem Broadway. Der Blick vom Empire State Building auf die Stadt bleibt unvergesslich. Um zur Freiheitsstatue zu gelangen und das Gebäude der Vereinten Nationen zu betreten musste die Gruppe sich gründlichen Sicherheitskontrollen unterziehen.
Die kulinarischen Ausflüge zu McDonald´s, Dunkin Donuts, dem Hard Rock Café und zum Chinesen in Chinatown rundeten das Programm ab.
Zum Rahmenprogramm gehörten Besuche in den Einkaufszentren der Nachbarstädte sowie Begrüßungs-, Geburtstags- und Abschiedsparties.
Zu "Halloween" höhlten die Schüler ihre eigenen Kürbisse aus.
Während der ganzen Zeit schrieben die Schüler Tagebuch. In der lokalen Presse erschien nach einem Interview ein Artikel über die Gruppe.
In den Gastfamilien fühlten sich die Schüler sehr wohl. "Meine Gastschwester nannte mich Schwester, und die Oma wollte, dass ich Oma zu ihr sage. Die Eltern haben sich wie meine richtigen Eltern verhalten!", meinte Britta. Andere Schüler lobten das leckere Essen.
Briefe und Emails werden nun fleißig geschrieben um die gewonnenen Kontakte aufrechtzuerhalten und zu intensivieren. Zwischen einer 9. Klasse des PPG und einer 9. Klasse der NMRHS läuft ein Internetprojekt. Der Gegenbesuch der nordamerikanischen Schüler wird im April oder Juni 2003 stattfinden.
Martina Roll, Englischlehrerin am Peter-Petersen-Gymnasium, Mannheim
Aus den Townsend Times, 14.11.2002:
German exchange students bid farewell to NMRHS
By Don Eriksson
REGION -- Fifteen high schoolers from Mannheim, Germany (Baden-Wurttenberg) have been discovering that despite minor differences in food and school sessions, they share a lot in common with their American contemporaries. The Germans students just finished a month of living in the homes of North Middlesex Regional High School families and attending school there.
The 15- and 16-year-olds from Peter-Petersen-Gymnasium (their high school back home) gathered in the NMRHS library during their final school afternoon. They shared their thoughts and had their pictures taken for the newspaper before heading homeward.
The group, 13 10th graders and two 11th graders, was chaperoned by Martina Roll, who teaches English, Spanish and German, and Claudia Sommer, a geography and English teacher. Speaking remarkably good English, the students explained that in Germany, English is taught beginning in the fifth grade.
The trip was arranged by Carousel Tours, and paid for by the students' parents. "We would hope to exchange students back to Germany," Roll said.
The month at NMRHS was a busy one. There were whale watches, a trip to Salem and the Trolley Museum, visits to Boston, and a weekend visit to New York City. There was a scavenger hunt, a hike in the mountains of New Hampshire, lunch at Harvard University, a visit to the Museum of Science, a trip to Concord, and a weekend with host families on Cape Cod.
In between, there were four school days that revealed big differences from what they have at home. "They don't have breaks between classes here," said Theresa Marx. "We have 20-minute breaks." And the school day schedule is different. Back home, the school days starts at 7:50 a.m. and ends at 1:10 p.m. Three days a week, school extends to 3:30 p.m.
"Here there are seven subjects -- we must take 13," Theresa said. Classes are laid out similar to American college schedules. The students know what they will be taking every day, but not all subjects are scheduled every day. There are no study halls and no classes such as early childhood education. Gymnasium, the German equivalent of high school, runs from grade six through 13. University can follow.
In the seventh grade, the multi-lingual youngsters, who all speak at least four languages, can choose between Latin and French. In the ninth grade, they can choose between Spanish or science. To study English and French, all must have studied Latin. "It's easier to learn English if the mother language is German," Theresa said.
The students found school busing is emphasized here much more than at home. Several of them rode bicycles to school and some walked or took the bus. One described riding "through a forest" to school. There are many bicycle trails in and around their town.
The visitors knew about the Nashua River Rail Trail. Roll said she had hoped to try it.
The Big Apple was a universally favorite place. "I like the Empire State Building. It's so high and you can see," said Diana Herbon. Manuela Popp, understanding it was something like an icon for the country, liked walking around the Statue of Liberty. "There was very high security," Roll observed, "too much."
The students found American food too sweet and too fattening. The clothes and music, however, are very similar between the two cultures. Manuela was the only one who liked rap. "It's a story that they tell and it makes them feel better," she said. Favorite actors are Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Josh Hartnett. Movies are the same ones we see, except they are overdubbed in German. Women who do voice-overs are famous in Germany.
"Many people asked us about Hitler and the Nazis," Manuela Popp said. "This has nothing to do with us. It is like someone asking Americans about Vietnam." Theresa noticed that "Americans are as patriotic as Germans."
"They are normal teenagers," Roll said, "sometimes complaining about inactivity and mandatory attendance, but they had a great time."
Besides Roll and Sommer, the group included Maren Boh, Vanessa Schies, Popp, Melanie Frohlich, Herbon, Nadine Kuka, Tanja Herbert, Steinbach, Lea Himmelsbach, Theresa Marx, Britta Simon, Maria Aduane, Can Karakocek, Daniel Getta and Christopher Pawlowski.