FROschTOsch

by Oliver Flaskamp, (BVA) 

Wednesday, 17^th, 6 o’clock at Düsseldorf Airport. 

Eighteen tired German students from the BvA met in front of the baggage check-in. The two teachers Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Ehl gave their last instructions for the flight and so twenty German people checked in for the direct flight to Birmingham Airport in GB.

Why did these people fly to Birmingham? The Comenius Project is a gathering of different schools from different countries.  Participating in Kington were the German Bettine-von-Arnim-Gesamtschule, Langenfeld, the Polish Lyceé, Gostynin and our hosts, the British Lady Hawkins School in Kington.

So at 7.30 we, the German students and teachers, were flying to the people who drive on the left side of the road and to the homeland of rain .

At Birmingham Airport the travellers had to change to a bus for our journey to Kington, a little town near the border to Wales.  Most of us wanted to take a nap, but our bus driver was not paying attention to the tired Germans who wanted to sleep in the little bus. Instead he drove on the winding country roads like a Rally-driver.

After a two-hour-bus journey we arrived at the hostel in Kington and carried the baggage in. Then twenty German visitors had a walk through Kington to the Lady Hawkins School. In the school we ate a very good lunch for only £1.40.

In the evening the boys and girls who stayed with a host family went with the English students to their homes.  The others went to the hostel in Kington. All Germans were very tired and went to bed at 8 o’clock.

Thursday, 18^th 

In the hostel we had an “English toast” for breakfast and went to school afterwards. We could choose our lessons at school. I sat in chemistry with the teacher teaching – in English, of course – about plastic compounds. But the teacher didn’t use the board and chalk. Each classroom has a beamer and an interactive board. The equipment is very modern in the English school and I am envious of that modern equipment, I admit.

In the evening we drove to Leominster with little buses (very fast again!). In the “Grove” we played bowling. It was a good evening activity to mix with the other delegations.

Friday, 19^th 

Friday morning the Germans, the Polish group, and some English students went on a trip to Birmingham. We visited the “think-tank”, a learning-by-doing museum. A lot of Germans had a lot of fun in the playground with building bricks and such things .

In the afternoon we were set free to go shopping. A lot of pounds were spent at “Primark”, a cheap but very good shopping centre. Contented about the day, we came back to Kington and went to bed.

 Saturday, 20^th 

On this Saturday the Comenius group went to a special classroom. The High School in Kington has an “Eco-Classroom”. This room is an energy-efficient classroom, with solar collectors on its roof and everything is natural.

In this room the project group had the chance to listen to the online-editor of a local newspaper, the Herefordshire Times.

In the evening we had a trip to a cinema to watch the newest Harry Potter Film: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows”. It was a wonderful small cinema.

 Sunday 21^st 

The German and the Polish groups were in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. We visited the national museum “Saint Faggans’ ”, an open-air museum. Some students looked around in this big museum park, but it was very cold and rainy. So most of us needed a cup of coffee or a cup of tea in the Welsh café of the museum.

In the afternoon we went to Cardiff City, where all students ran to the big shops like Apple, Hollister and Primark, or visited the big Christmas Market. The students spent lots of money at the British shops, and returned to the bus with very, very big shopping bags.

 Monday 22^th

On Monday we got a vivid lesson about Welsh history in the mine “Big Pit”. Our teacher was a former mine worker.  He explained to us that children had to work at this mine in the past. The galleries were very low so that some of us almost had to crawl. It was very astonishing to see what went on in this mine in the past. The workers had horses down there to pull the carts full of coal.

It was the last evening in GB, so we all had a dinner together in a restaurant and finally we had to pack our bags.  

Tuesday 23^rd 

Our last day in Great Britain! We said goodbye to our hosts in Kington and once again had a journey to Birmingham. The Polish group had their flight at 12 o’clock, so our bus stopped at Birmingham Airport at 10 o’clock. We took our bags to the airport and went to a train that brought us to Birmingham City again. We looked at our last pounds and went shopping, some sat in Starbucks or MacDonalds for hours. At 7 in the evening we flew back home, to Germany

by Sarah Fischer (BvA)

 “At last! We’re in Kington.”  That’s what all of us- the 20 travelers- thought so full of anticipation and exhaustion when we finally had finished our long travel and alighted from the bus that had taken us there. Those of us who were accommodated in the hostel were relaxed and calm, but the others, who would live in host families during our one-week-stay, became very excited. The excitement went so sky high because in this moment we realized what was happening. I was one of them, full of nervousness to meet the host family I would be living with and worries if the family and especially my host sister would like me and if everything would work well.  Those worries were without any reason, I can say in retrospect, because I had a wonderful and eventful week, which I would always like to relive. My “everyday life” in an English family for one week, the impressions I got and the experiences I made, I will describe in this article.

I got to know my host family- the Williams’- and my home for the following week only a few hours later and when I eventually stepped over the door sill of a small, cute, typically English house, all of my worries and the tension disappeared. They gave me a warm welcome and I was greeted with a dinner where we had our first conversations around the dinner table. So I could collapse into bed relieved and dropped off to sleep- as early as never before: at half past 7. For anything else I still had 6 days left.

On the following morning I was full of motivation again, and wanted to catch up on everything I had missed the evening before. But my first shocked thought in this morning was: “Where in the world am I?” when a friendly voice woke me up with the words: “Sarah! You have to get up! It’s half past seven!” ”What?!  English? “, I asked myself for a second. But then I looked around in the small pink-coloured room I lay in and I finally realized where I was and why I was there: I was in Kington! I almost said it loudly. The 12 hours of deep sleep left marks, I think. I was dazed with sleep and I was a bit confused. But I got up and walked downstairs into the kitchen where the breakfast table was already set, as every morning. There was nothing left to be desired- from a standpoint of an Englishman. After 4 days my host family finally could convince me and I tried baked beans very hesitantly. They told me I couldn’t fly back to Germany without having tried this …it wasn’t as bad as I had expected, but I still prefer “Brötchen”

At breakfast my host family and I had the chance to get to know each other better and to have a little chat – in English of course. And I have to admit that I worried too much at the beginning. I actually was surprised how much I understood – I almost understood everything I was asked or told, but I hesitated to answer nevertheless because I didn’t want to make a mistake. I tried to remember my English lesson: When do I have to use which tense? – I had no idea. simple past? Or do I have to use present perfect now – or past perfect? Did they understand me?  What about a German accent…do I have one? Does it matter? Those worries were always on my mind – at least till the middle of the week. Then I tried to forget about all that and just tried to express my ideas. I was more relaxed, but still a little bit embarrassed, I have to say.

 When I strolled through charming small Kington with my host sister Holly in her school uniform –a pleated skirt, a white blouse and knee highs- we got the opportunity to make a conversation without many people around us and without all the excitement. So both of us felt more and more at ease and communicative, after a real silent start. But from day to day we got to know each other much better and soon both of us weren’t as shy as at the beginning anymore So particularly with her I connect fantastic memories of my time in Kington: On trips with the whole group to Cardiff, Birmingham or different Welsh museums and also the hours at Lady Hawkins’ School, where she showed me her everyday school life. And in the evenings we mostly sat together with the rest of the family in the living room and watched a DVD or just listened to music and talked about the day alone in her pink-coloured room that we shared. There are too many great memories to list them all.

All in all: It was an awesome week I spent there. I did not only make new experiences, got to know a lot about the English culture and everyday life or discovered differences and similarities to Germany…I also met a wonderful family who always treated me well, I had lots of fun with and I would always like to meet again. I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

by Philip Kulej (BvA)

Deeply religious? Hospitable? Ambitious?  Those are only a few of the best known prejudices about Polish people. But how much of it is reality? Only clichés or even more?  This and also the differences and similarities in comparison to the German culture, I, as a student with parents from Poland, would like to discuss in the following article.

The first prejudice is, that Polish men are much more religious than German ones and I have to admit, that it is even more than a cliché, it’s definitely the truth. Religion has a huge priority, especially in the previous generations of the Polish. During visits to the part of my family who is still living in Poland, it is quite usual to go to church every Sunday and there are only very few excuses, whereas in Germany, church only plays a minor part and  isn’t  that important in everyday life. In my life religion does exist, because of my parents, who have shown me the importance of faith and the Christian traditions. I don’t have to go to church every week, but on Christian holidays, church attendance is an inherent part.

In addition, they say that the Polish are a very sociable and hospitable people, that they are also rather active.  And I can say: It is no lie. While Germans, for example, prefer celebrating in a relaxed way, Polish parties are much louder and livelier.  So Germans can be characterized as showing a more silent and reserved behaviour, but nevertheless I can say that they know anyway how to have fun.

But the Polish and the Germans have something in common, too. One example for it is the precision and their conscience. Both of them take their work as well as other tasks very seriously, they are ambitious and perfectionists.

To sum up, I can say, that I can identify with both cultures and I wouldn’t like to miss one of them because both of them are enriching my life.

by Nina Weber, Linnéa Tölle (BvA)

Our school has made the commitment to help Tibetan people with a winter school for refugee children.

For six years we have been supporting this project now. Within this project many people work together really well to help them get the best possible education and a good start into adult life.

For sure you are very curious where our partner school is, aren’t you? The school is located in northern India, more precisely in Ladakh. By the way: Ladakh lies between the mountain ranges of the Himalayas and has 270,126 inhabitants. The land area amounts to 86,904 square kilometres.

We support the partner school with money for teachers, books and pens, which we earn with social projects in our school. In winter we always organize a bazar, where we sell for example donated books, candles and  Christmas tree decorations. In summer we have two opportunities for helping them: On the one hand we celebrate our traditional summer festival where you can find our Ladakh stall. On the other hand we also have our traditional Charity Run, where each participant collects money for the laps he or she runs from family and friends.

On 10^th March every year, the international “Day of the Tibetan Flag” takes place and we go to either Hilden or Langenfeld to point out and explain the hoisted flag to people who walk down the precinct.

We do this because of the situation in Tibet.

Tibet has been under Chinese rule since 1959 und Tibetans are not granted the human right to practise their culture and traditions freely. Many Tibetans, among them many children, have therefore left Tibet and found refuge south of the Himalayas. Most of them crossed the dangerous mountains on foot and under the threat of being detected and killed by the Chinese. Our partners have their new home in Choglamsar near  Ladakh’s capital Leh.

- Do video games encourage violence? -

by Ailish, Frauke und Oliver (BvA)

Many experts are discussing if video games make young people aggressive. Some of them say that video games should be prohibited for adolescents.

In our opinion video games aren’t the worst thing leading to an aggressive youth; in fact, those who play them need special skills when it comes to reaction, logic and agility. Multiplayer games also encourage teamwork.

Most TV shows for children encourage violence even more than video games. If small children at about 6 years of age already watch cartoon characters killing each other in a bloody bout and see them laugh at it, to us that is a lot more violence-encouraging than adolescents’ playing e.g. ‘’Counterstrike’’ – that is just the next step on what has started in their childhood.

Video games can be violence encouraging, too. But those youngsters who really became a danger for the people around them were mentally ill before they started playing those games.

So, to us it’s clear that most video games aren’t as bad as it is always said after one of those killing frenzies. It depends on who is playing them and it’s impossible to judge all adolescents by some exceptions.

by Christoph Leppin (BvA)

On 28 September 2010, three students of the Bettine-von-Arnim Gesamtschule went to the Bayer CropScience laboratories, in order to compete against three other schools, each providing three students, at Bayer’s annual ‘Science Day’.

Our three students, namely Tanja Jockel, Philipp Maibaum, and Christoph Leppin, were eager to get to know the ‘real thing’, that is working in a professional laboratory, along with professional scientists and equipment. Although our school does offer a variety of equipment when it comes to subjects like biology and chemistry, their experience at CropScience was mind-blowingly different from what they experience in class.

This, on the one hand, was of course due to the more advanced and complex assignments they were to fulfil. On the other hand, they had never before been involved in the development of inhibitors (i.e. anti-catalysts), which have proven to be vital for modern agriculture’s fight against weeds, fungi and parasites. Basically, their assignment was to find out which inhibitor to use in order to block a specific enzyme of a plant. In addition they were to determine its optimal dose, examine how they interact and, ultimately, how they work on biochemical basis and what to improve. This might sound easier than it is, and, needless to say, has proven to be quite a challenge for every student involved.

While, in the end, our school did not turn out to be the winner, we were more than satisfied in achieving third place and returning home with an amazing experience, brand new iPods, and a prize of 1000€.

As one of the contestants, I would like to thank Bayer CropScience and its team for organizing the event and our biology teacher Mrs. Mosebach-Garbade for signing us in, thus helping us to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

by  Jessica and Denise   (BvA)

Shopping in England is just great. For example “Primark”. Primark is a big shop for clothes, jewellery and so on. In Germany we just have two shops of that chain; they are in Frankfurt and Bremen.

But in Germany we’ve got a lot of H&M shops. That’s our Primark. But it’s more expensive than Primark & the quality isn’t as good.

We think that Primark is a nice shop and we spent a lot of time in it when we were in Birmingham.

In England they also have some H&M shops but not so many as Primark.

It was a new experience to see a shop in England because they’re different from ours in Germany.

by Meike & Katrin (BvA)

The 12^th grade went to Berlin by train from 3^rd to 7^th October 2010. We split up in two groups because the German Railway didn’t allow 90 people in one train.

The first evening we went to the Brandenburger Gate because of the German Unification Day. There was a fair all the way down to the Column of Victory where we went in little groups of 3 or 4.

The next day we visited the Parliament Building, the Reichstag Building, with the whole group. We listened to a lecture about the building and after that we met Ms. Noll and talked about her work as the MP of our home region. Then we went to the top of the building with its glass dome.

For lunch we all went to the 12 Apostle, an Italian restaurant. The afternoon was free to explore the city or go shopping. In the evening we had time to party which we took advantage of thoroughly.

On Tuesday we all had to go on a 2-hour-trip on the River Spree which runs through the city. For lunch we could go on our own or with the teachers, but we had to meet at the museum “Story of Berlin” in the afternoon at 3 o’clock. After the museum we had free time until the next morning. In the evening some of us (60 people) went to a brewery which actually was more like a bar.

On Wednesday we went to museums in small groups. There was the Art Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Museum of Nature and the German History Museum. After that we had free time again.

The last evening we all went to the brewery again, this time with the teachers, which was a little bit boring so that after about half an hour most of us left to go somewhere else. Some of us went to another bar with the teachers which was lots of fun.

The next day we left Berlin by train again in two groups.

All in all we had a great time and got to see a lot of the City of Berlin.

by Marlon Ulbort / Christoph Leppin (BvA)

As a German, you have to live with something unusual. There is no way to live without it, and surely we Germans would do so, if it were possible. Sometimes, Germans do not want to be German. We try to adapt, speaking English fluently, without a noticeable accent, just to hide our German roots during vacation and to be protected against the others’ prejudices.

We are tired of excusing for our history.

Sure, things should better not have happened at all, but history did take place. And history takes a special place in every German’s life. We have to cope with history and get along with what our forefathers did. Get along with something you would never have done yourself. Something you are not guilty of. Sounds impossible. Yet that is our reality.

I have got the feeling that when people from all over the globe think of Germany, they just see the dark light our past has brought upon our amazing country. A country of poets and inventors, revolutionaries and artists. Our recent past is to blame for a stereotype no German wants to be linked with. A reputation no German likes to joke about.

It is a strange feeling. A feeling you are born with. Like your own localized original sin. A sin committed by Adolf and Eve. In a way you feel guilty, asking yourself how this could have happened. Simply believing that the answer is that certain totalitarian regime, dictated by only one sick, messed-up soul, that made the whole world clash in war. That answer seems acceptable but it is not. You are German, in the same way as your forefathers were, and the whole world shares this mutual thought. It is personal. Sometimes it feels like you are to blame for the mistakes of the past.

When we met Dr. Lipski and Mrs. Funk we tried to find out how to cope with our German heritage. Both of them were born into the German community in Gostynin, Poland, which had been settling there 200 years before. Dr Lipski talked about his way to live with German history. He said that he also was a victim of the regime which terrorized the whole world. He lost a family member during this time, killed by the SS. Dr. Lipski said he and his family were victims in a special way. Dr. Lipski was a small boy when the NSDAP ruled over Germany. He was not able to realize what was wrong and he was not able to revolt. And still, he feels he has to justify himself – justify himself like all Germans have to do at least once in their lifetime.

I do not know what my great grandfathers did in this war and unfortunately, I cannot ask them, they are dead. Their children, my grandfathers and mothers keep silent in which way my family got involved in this war. I just hear my grandfather’s agitated tales of his escape with his family from the frontlines. It is like a black spot in their memory, nobody wants to throw some light inside, and maybe nothing is inside. I will never know, my parents will never know. And the people who know, died in silence.

I’m not the only German having this black spot in his family. And maybe my generation has many more black and dark spots in their families than the generations before us. And maybe a big part of my generation does not know about a dark shadow in their past. But these shadows stay in the reputation we Germans have to live with.

I just know I am not guilty. The only thing I can do not to get identified with the German Nazi past is to show the people a better view of myself and the country I live in. It is not a matter of ignorance when I say I am tired of excusing for German history. It is just because nobody can excuse what happened and every attempt to do so is a disgrace for us. No German will ever find peace with this part of German history unless we bring light to the dark holes. Maybe the ignorance of the actors of these times passed these spots on to us. Maybe these spots are just illusions. But I will never know.

by G. Fiedler (BvA)

On March 23, 2010 the FROschTOsch project meeting had the privilege to welcome two very special guests, Ms Erna Funk and Dr. Stephan Lipski. They were both born into the German minority in Gostynin before World War II and told the FROschTOsch team about how Germans came to live in Poland 200 years ago, what life was like as a German among Polish neighbours and what they experienced under Nazi German occupation.

2 Germans born in Gostynin report