Lake of Constance

Sunday we hopped in car and drove about an hour and a half to the Lake of Constance. It is the biggest lake in Central Europe. Our first stop on our day trip was to the monkey habitat. This was the cutest thing! So these monkeys are pretty much the luckiest little buggers ever! They lay around all day and sit and wait for people to feed them popcorn. What a life!

                           

                                

                                

                                  

From top to bottom: Me, Vanessa, Sarah and Tasha all feeding the monkeys popcorn

Before we went in the workers made sure to inform us that WE COULD NOT PET THE MONKEYS! I am sorry but I feel like telling us not to touch them is like telling a kid in a candy shop to not eat anything. This was so unfair! All I wanted to do was pet and cuddle with the little monkeys. But apparently they think we are really bizarre dressed monkeys that have cooties.  So I had to settle with just feeding them.

But still aren’t they cutest thing ever?!?!

  

Nappy time for this one!

             

Besides for the monkeys there were also ducks! Baby duckies! Here is a ridiculous cute video of a mother duck getting food for her ducklings:

The ducklings were all fuzzy and fluffy looking. Awh!

After the monkey habitat we walked over to the lake. It wasn’t a beach like area with sand, it was all grass, and then an area of rocks before the water. Speaking of the water, it was FREEZING! And most of you know how I am with cold water… yeah, not so great… So I’m pretty sure I didn’t get any further than my ankles in the water. But that was quite alright with me. We then laid out in the sun for a bit. It was nice to relax and catch some rays. Before we headed back to Esslingen we got some ice cream. I had a green apple flavored, it was yummy!

Oh and I suppose I didn’t mention what we ate for lunch. We went to a nice café by the beach. The food was really delicious. And I must say, between the 7 of us, we have seemed to have gotten this ordering food in German down packed! We walked into the café and asked a question in English and the waitress gave us this look like, “Oh my gosh, the don’t speak German, what do I do?!?” But both us and the waitress survived so all is good. I went out on a limb and tried something I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but the risk was a success because it was very good. I knew it was a steak (because it said western steak, genius right?) and I had recognized the word for onions (zwiebel) as well as the word for bacon (speck). So steak onions and bacon couldn’t seem to bad, and in fact it was awesome. Okay I did not actually eat the onions, but it gave the steak a good flavor. Also it was served with seasoned potato wedges. All in all a successful meal. J

So we headed back to the hotel and later in the evening ventured out to food and then it was off to bed.

<3

The Day we all hit a wall

Okay so now we are at Saturday. In the morning we went back to the Grundschule (the elementary school) because they were having a summer fest and the principal invited us to come and check it out. We were supposed to dance with the kids, you know the dance we practiced with kids in their gym class, but (thankfully) when we got there the dance teacher was busy getting all the students ready so we didn’t end up dancing with them. OH DARN. Really with all the parents watching, I was content with just watching. But the kids dance was cute!

                              

Their choir also performed a few songs.

Their theme of the fest was the four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. So they had a man that was breathing fire. That was pretty cool.

After the singing and dancing the kids put on a performance of a German fairy tale. Although none of us could understand what they were not saying nor could really see because there were so many parents. So we decided to head back to the hotel. Our plan was to be productive the rest of the day. We were going to do some blogging, then check out this street fest that was near by and then take the train into Stuttgart and go to the zoo…. But that did not happen, oh no. We got back to the hotel and laid around a bit longer than planed. We did actually look around the street fest for awhile. Then we came to the consensus that most of us really weren’t at all feeling walking around the zoo.

I feel like we have all hit a wall, a wall of exhaustion. So much walking and tours and fun! So as where a week ago, even if I was tired I would have still wanted to GO GO GO… now I just want to go take a nap! Which is exactly what I did… a two hour nap to be exact! I know that probably seems lame but we have been going non stop since we’ve got here. So I think the nap was the best decision for all of us.

After our lovely nap, we all got ready for dinner and going out for the night. We were going to meet up with Ina again tonight since we didn’t the night before she again had to work early in the morning, so that was a no go. Still we got spiffy-ed up so after a very yummy dinner at the café by our hotel we decided to walk around the park for a bit.

Well when you are in Germany and you are a group of giggle girls speaking English you kind of stick out like a sore thumb. So while we were talking a group of guys .. oh wait correction: boys, they were most definitely several years younger than all of us, came up and started talking to us, or trying to at least since they spoke only a little bit of English. But anyways they were friendly and found it cool to be talking to Americans. Like they’ve never seen Americans before... jokes… But they had some very interesting stereotypes and opinions about America.

1. They get there idea of cops in America from the Simpsons, fat, blue hair and eating donuts all day. They said this is why there is crime because the cops are too fat to catch the criminals…. Okay.

2. They think we don’t like England because of the Revolutionary War… I thought that was kind of interesting.

3. They love Obama and hate George Bush… no comment there…

4. Again with the Gangsters and crime in Chicago

5. And American girls are beautiful, but we all knew that! :P

I think it’s really cool to see how other people view our country. Well here is a group of our new German buddies. None of us were really ready for the picture to be taken but its all I’ve got so here it is:

                                 

You really don't need to completey speak the same language to laugh and have a good time.

They kept calling me sunshine :)

<3

Ludwigsburg

                                                

Friday we went to the Castle in Ludwigsburg. Our tour guide told us (and we could tell by our aching feet) that this is the longest castle tour in Germany. The tour was about an hour and a half. There are over 400 rooms in the castle and we saw 70 rooms…. Imagine if we were to see all of them… Eep! Well the castle was really pretty. Not only is it the longest castle tour but it is also supposed to the most authentic and well preserved castle.

              

 It is decorated in Baroque and Rococo (says the tour guide).

It is decorated in Gorgeousness (says me).

I won’t ramble on in this post and instead just show you some pictures:

                                   

                                                    

The King's quarters. Seems like a tiny bed, right? Well it is, especially if youre around 7ft tall like one of the kings was.

 

This was the queen's quarters. The striped chair is the chamber pot... cool right?

This is in the theater, they would bring pull the chandeller up through the whole to light the candles.

 

There was a room of all mirrors... You know I just couldn't resist!

Okay so this has nothing to do with the castle but I'm throwing it in here anyways. These cigarette machines are all over. There's one place where you swipe your driver's liscense to prove you are old enough to buy them and then another place where you insert money or a credit card. Cool Huh?

                                         

After the castle tour we went to this fairy tale park. You walk around to different stations and watch/ look at different displays of German versions of the grim fairy tale stories. They seemed very similar to American fairy tales. There was a Cinderella story, little red riding hood, Rumpelstiltskin, and Rapunzel. Although, some of the stories seemed maybe a little more violent or less cheery than the American stories.  Sadly I ran out of batteries half way through the park. But here are some pictures of the different stations that I got to before the camera died.

                              

Rapunzel, and a couple is taking their wedding pictures next to it... awh!

Guess what this one is?^^^

All day we were battling the off and on rain, again… thankfully I have learned my lesson and had both an umbrella and a jacket. Look at me, I’m learning!

We finally finished at the Fairy tale park and took the train back into Stuttgart. Ina, Bettina’s friend’s daughter, who is 18, so around our age, came with us and we did a little shopping. Okay maybe shopping is the wrong word. For me it was more like, look at all the wonderful clothes I wish I could buy lol. We also got crepes at a crepe stand. It was delicious. I got one that was banana and nutella. YUM!

Later that night Ina was supposed to show us a club that her and her friends go to. Woho party with the locals! But she had to work at 5am the next morning and after walking around we were all pretty tired. So what better alternative than FOOD! We got a doner again, well because it’s that awesome.  Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and SLEPT.

I <3 sleep.  

<3

Dachau and Munich

                                   

On Thursday it was off to Munich. First we headed to the memorial of the Dachau concentration camp. As sad and somber as it is to see everything there I think it’s definitely an unbelievable experience. The tour was through the prisoner camp which we learned was only a very small portion of the camp. All of the original cabins that the prisoners lived in were gone but there were two reconstructed buildings to get a sense of the tight quarters. There also were plots to show where all the buildings once stood. Now there are a lot of memorials throughout the camp. It makes visiting the camp more focused around remembering those who died there, instead of being geared towards a shock value. Not that there wasn’t the shock of the complete brutality of the camp but at some point it’s important to get past the pointing the fingers and focus remembering those who were victims of this tragedy.

                                          

This gate is authentic, but the door is a replica. The words on the door are the same as it was when the camp was in use:

"Work Will Set You Free"

                                           

                                         

The orginal bunk houses aren't here any more, but these plots marked out in concrete show were they used to stand.

One important thing to remember about Dachau is it was the first concentration camp to open. I find this important to remember because this is more or less where it all started. All the other camps that were opened after Dachau were modeled after it. Dachau was never used as an extermination or death camp but still the experience is intense. I think for me mostly because like I had just mentioned, Dachau was the first one and things only got worse from there.

I’m going to keep it short and sweet about Dachau. But I got a book all about it so if you’re interested in that you’re welcome to look through it. J

        

This was kind of cool. It is the audio guide we got to used on the tour. The map had different numbers and when you got to that number and wanted to hear about it you typed in the number and pressed play and then you hold the device to your ear and listen.

Afterwards we headed towards downtown Munich to get food and do some shopping! Munich is really pretty. It has the hussle and bussle of a big city with all the old German buildings and castle like buildings. I like it. Replace the metal skyscrapers in Chicago with castles? Yes Please! As we were walking to dinner we saw yet another rally. This one was about education (what a coincidence!) They were protesting the cost of higher education… Maybe we should have gone up there and told them how much we pay for college… Only joking. But seriously, they’re schooling is supposed to be free but I guess they have different fees or cost they aren’t happy with.

After dinner we did some shopping. There were lots and lots of souvenir shops where we walked which was fun. We definitely didn’t have enough time to shop, especially since the shops started closing down early, some even before 7:30. And guess who saw a cute little side purse that she absolutely loved and decided she was going to get on the way back to the car but couldn’t because the stand was closed by the time she walked back. Yep that’s right, this girl! Oh well I’m over it.

Here’s a few pics of the city:

                                

                                           

                                             

                                             

See what I mean? Cool old building in the middle of the city. The protest was going on right outside of it.

Another random fun thing, the restuarant we at, look what I found at the bottom of my glass:

                                 

That's all for now, I need a nap! I'm exhausted. Hopefully later today I will find time to add a post about the Lichenstein Castle we saw on  Friday.

<3

Realschule Day 2 and Kegeln

It was, what, just a few days ago that I was saying that I had finally gotten all caught up with my blogs. Well that didn’t last long, now I’m behind again, so I am going to (try ) and keep them shorter.

So Wednesday we were back at the Realschule for the second day. In the morning when we got there we first met with some of the members of the student government. We asked them what they thought of the tracking system and they seemed to have the same opinion as the principal talked about the system. Most said that they were content with being placed in the Realschule. Their opinion of the kids in the Gymnasium was that they don’t have a lot of free time because they have so much school work to do. They told us how they would rather complete the Realschule and then go to 2 or 3 extra years at the Gymnasium afterwards. All of them said that they had plans to go on to a gymnasium after they graduate.

They seemed to think that there was not much difference between the students at the gymnasium  and them. At first when the students were placed into the schools some thought they were better than others because they were placed in the gymnasium but as they got older it became less of an issue. Interestingly enough though, when we talked to the students at the gymnasium they said they were better than the students at the realschule and weren’t friends with many students from either the realschule or hauptschule. I think this shows the placements in different schools at such a young age can create an issue of labeling.

After that we observed in two more classes. I saw a math class and a sewing/textile class. The sewing class was really very cool. All the students were working on different projects. One which was very neat was they made a bag out of different wrappers such as Capri sun or coffee bags. There were others that were knitting, crocheting, stenciling and painting on silk. In the spring the students are in the sewing part of the class and in the winter they learn to cook.

There were only two boys in the class, they said they took the class because of the FOOD lol. They also said that they like the way the German school system is set up. They seemed to think the biggest difference between the schools was the speed of learning. One of the boys said that after he graduates in a year he will look for an apprenticeship.  The projects they were working on all seemed really cool. I want to make them all! I am definitely going to make the bag they were making, hopefully lol.

After we got done at the school, Tasha and I did laundry and went for a run. I love running here! It’s so pretty and there’s so much to look at as well as some kick butt hills! Laundry was kind of expensive, :/ sad necessity. Oh well.

                                            

                                         

For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant with Kegeln, which is traditional German bowling. I wasn’t any better at this than American bowling but it was still a lot of fun.  In Kegeln there are 9 pins which are set up in a diamond shape. The pins are attached to strings which reset the pins after each throw. The balls are smaller, have two wholes and not heavy like in bowling. There are a couple different versions of the game you can play with big teams. We were STARVING when we got there, so as soon as we got our food the game was put on hold (obviously we have our priorities straight) and we chowed down! It was yummy.  

<3

It’s Tuesday??

For some reason this fact seemed to completely blow my mind, all afternoon today I was convinced its Monday. It was a sad realization when I found out it was in fact Tuesday and not Monday since that means that we are one day closer to our trip being over. Although I shouldn’t be thinking about that yet since we still have about 10 days left. Still it’s sad to process the fact that at some point this wonderful trip will end.

Today we were observing in another school. This one is called Zollberg Realschule. If you recall from a previous post, a realschule is a school for 5^th-10^th graders. These are students that didn’t test high enough to get into the upper track, the Gymnasium but also didn’t have scores low enough for them to have to go the Hauptschule.  This realschule is a special sports orientated one. This means that with in their school they have a specific track that students may be placed into which means that they have a great focus on physical education and sports. Although this does not mean that they have to be really into sports or a hard core athlete.

Well once again we were elaborately welcomed into the school. Bettina’s friend, Andrea who works in this realschule had set up drinks, pretzels and pastries for us. It was beyond sweet of her as well as beyond delicious for us. The pretzels, OH MY GOSH, were to too good. There is butter inside the pretzel. Yum! Needless to say I think most of us would admit we ate wayyy to much, but it was just so good.

                                        

First we talked with the principal for awhile. I thought this was interesting because we got a little bit difference sense of what students and parents think about being placed in the realschule instead of the gymnasium.  Obviously parents want their children to be the best they can be and be placed in the best school but realistically not all students will be placed or should be placed in the gymnasium. She told us that often times both parents and students may be bummed out about not being tracked into the gymnasium. But she explained that it would not be the end of the world.  (Although being placed in the even lower track could create a lot of distress for some parents and students). Actually she told us that for some vocations it is better to graduate from a realschule instead of from the gymnasium. This is because the gymnasiums are often more focused on the humanities and languages where as a realschule focuses more on preparing the students for the work force. For an example, in 8^th grade they have an intensive week of job shadowing as well as a job fair every year. The fact that some companies would prefer this has changed my view a little bit about the status of realschule and the whole tracking system in general. First I thought that the gymnasium was the best and that was it. But I am starting to see system in some ways is simply more specialized instead of just segregated.

Another thing that she taught us about the structure of the school system was that students that graduate from a realschule still have the option if they make good marks to transfer to gymnasium afterwards. They would not go to a regular gymnasium, most often they would go to a sort of “transfer” gymnasium but after finishing grade 10 at the realschule they would apply to a gymnasium and could continue through grades 11-13. If they pass and get their diploma from there, then they are pretty much open to move on to a university. This flexibility really set my mind at ease a little bit about the German school system. Although it does seem like there is still some stigmas that comes along sending children to one track or the other, so far from what I learned it seems as if students can try to improve and always make better for their selves if they choose to do so. Now, my opinion may change again, I’m not sure. We still have one more school to visit, which if I’m not mistaken is a hauptschule or a simpler type of school. So I will keep you posted with what I find out!

One interesting/ difficult, I can’t decide which, thing about our observations this time around was that we were not placed in English classes this time. For all the other observations we were observing either an English lesson or class (meaning the students were learning English).  I was watching a history class. I really am not exactly sure what they were learning about but it was something about the Romans. The class did a lot group work which was good for me because I was able to walk around and ask the students some questions as they worked. They were 6^th grades so most of them knew enough English to talk a little bit. One of the boys asked me if I knew Family Guy and South Park. I thought that was funny. He told me that they didn’t like history and that it was boring. He said that sport was his favorite. The class seemed a little rambunctious which the teacher explained to me was probably mostly because they had just got done with swimming. Also it was the last period of the day, so for 6^th graders that’s pretty understandable I think.

Later in the day we went for a run around Esslingen. It felt sooo nice after all the pastries and pretzels we ate at the school. Have to burn off some of those carbs!! For dinner we went to this wine cellar. I’ve discovered I don’t really like wine. Interesting a fact I learned about myself. Which works for me since I’d rather not pay almost 5 dollars for something to drink!

Heading to the realschule tomorrow again and then German bowling in the evening. <3

Heres the video of me screaming my butt off on the first zip line at the climbing park.

Me zip lining for the first time at the Climbing park on Friday

(Lemme know if the video doesn't work!)

*Also if you want to see more photos and what everyone else is doing and thinking about the trip we have a facebook group, its EIU Study Abroad- German Life and Schools

And some pictures as well:


It's a Bird! It's a Plane?! ... oh no its just me, chillin in the trees.


Yeah... I'm that cool


The head bands they gave us to wear under the helmets made us look like pirates!

All caught up

Okay I know this is a lot of posts in one day but I have finally had a day where I have been able to relax in the hotel and get all the blogging done that I wanted to. After we left the school today we all came back and took a nap and then I was able to finish editing all my posts I’ve been working on.

Side note: I did something I didn’t think I would do here: I went to an American restaurant.  Subway. I know, I know totally not adventurous at all. But It was late and everyone else was out doing laundry so I was on my own for dinner.  But on the bright side I did go out by myself for the first time and ordered food, hopefully that negates my lameness. Even though the worker mostly spoke German it still looked the same. It tasted a little different though. The meat was DEFINITELY better and the mayo was different, it tasted more like a miracle whip. A couple girls walked in and used the restroom and left without ordering anything, the worked didn’t seemed to pleased. She kind of rolled her eyes at them and I think she sarcastically said “Goodbye and Thank You very much!” I’m even picking up attitude in German! How cool!

Grundschule St Bernhardt

Last Thursday and Today (Monday) we observed in another school. This school is for students 1^st grade to 4^th grade. The students would go to whichever Grundschule is closest to their house. After visiting the Gymnasium earlier last week we were all a little bit worried about visiting the grundscule because we were afraid that we would not be able to get much out of the experience since the students will be able to only speak very minimal English. But on the contrary! It was fun! One thing you learn when spending time with kids that don’t speak the same language as you is:

“The language of kid is universal. They don’t need words in order to communicate.”

Thursday we observed in two different classrooms. And then also in a P.E class. Here’s a picture of us dancing with the class:

The fourth graders understood quite a bit more English than the first graders we saw. Although it was very clear that they were much more reluctant to want to speak English than the older kids we saw last week.  When the first grade teacher told the class they were going to do a lesson in English they all moaned and groaned. But after the lesson started the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The teacher explained to us that in the younger grades (about 1^st and 2^nd grades) the students only learn how to speak and listen in English. It isn’t till 3^rd or 4^th grade that they begin to write and do minimal reading. In the younger grades they primarily learn the language through fun songs, chants and pictures.

Today we went back to the school and it was field trip day! Yay! Field trips in German schools seem quite different than field trips in American schools. The field trip was a hike through the woods. Now when I say hike, I mean it was quite a hike! I’m surprised that these little kids (they were 1^st graders) could make it up these hills. Well maybe its just culture shock and being from IL I’m not used to hills. Where are all the cornfields and flat land?? The students had been learning about the earth and on this trip to the woods they were going to collect dirt, rocks, leaves and moss.  So these three classes of 1^st graders walked for about an hr up hill where we rested and had a snack. Then we walked a little bit further into the woods. The students then collected different things. I don’t think I’ve ever done a field trip like this. I feel that schools in America would be to worried of kids wandering off, getting dirty or not able to hike that far. And yes a lot of the kids get muddy, some strayed a little to far at times and maybe an occasional moan about the steep hill but in the end everyone made it back safe and seemed to have a good time.

Once the kids got over being shy, they wouldn’t leave us be! They were just so cute.  Tony had started  giving one of the kids a piggy back rides, so then of course everyone wanted one. Here’s a video of how it all went down:

And then Vanessa also had some kids that wanted piggy back rides. Here’s the result of that:

And then here is one of my little buddies that wouldn’t leave my side:

                                                  

And here’s something super cute. We came across a rudabaga patch. And guess what the kids did? …

                              

Precious Right??

I think the thing I learned the most about this experience was that kids are kids. It doesn’t matter what language they speak, where they live or what culture they’re from they are still the same. They strive for attention, to feel special or wanted and they have a never ending thirst to learn about the world around them.