Monday- Back to school again / Day 5
On the 5th day here in Santa Barbara we slowly got used to the time difference and the jetlag was no longer present. However we felt tired since we needed to wake up early to get to school on time. As always we could expect a warmhearted welcome and we weren‘t disappointed as we were given free donuts at our arrival. There were two girls standing outside with a cart filled with the most delicious donuts one could imagine – from classy maple to coconut flavored and various sprinkled ones. We were a bit shy at the beginning but we all came back for one and we didn’t regret it!
When we came in a fellow student was already awaiting us. We attended Theology-, Spanish- and Chemistry class with him, where we learned a lot and made a great experience. we could really participate since we have already covered a couple of things back home but also the new things were interesting and classes were always really engaging so it was easy and fun to contribute. During lunch break we interviewed a couple of students and received numerous interesting answers concerning an exchange to Germany and in general their interests. We obviously want to make their visit fun and interesting so this was an important task for us and we hope to be able to make their stay as perfect as was ours. We already felt sad that tomorrow was going to be our last day at school.
Mr Sobotta and Mrs Neuschitzer went to see a Mandarin Class which they advised us to go to as well because learning Chinese doesn’t seem that simple but the teacher Mr Eggman made it look that way and the students were great according to them which we believe since they were working with tablets, could listen to the pronunciation, work on their writing skills (-> have a look at the picture where Mr Sobotta tries that). Everything works digitally and it’s not that different from the way we started learning English – not the digital part but the content part ;). One of the main difference though is that we are used to hear English pretty much everywhere – from music to our favorite TV shows, but Chinese?! How would you ever know if it’s right what you are saying and how do you actually get in touch with the language?! Well, Mr Eggman is a true expert in his field, he has been to China for a couple of years and is fluent, he knows everything about the four different harmonies or pitches if you will and is so immersed in the language and culture that it s really a great experience to learn from him. Our teachers were impressed of how much they already knew after only a year – they could read, speak – they were really in awe after that experience and especially how media contributed to that! The class was also a teacher’s dream – 5 students!
Right after school we – that is the boys- participated in football practice. We were really eager to learn and the 5 coaches, yes, 5! had a huge team to work with and we had the time of our lives. It was so much fun although we struggled a bit at first but could later celebrate some successful catches. We weren’t allowed to go in full force since American students are insured – it’s not the safest of all sports and so we could only do a part of it but we were really excited and wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Later, we had to do some grocery shopping and we promised our German friends some typical American treats like Oreos with different kinds of flavors so we went looking for these and what can I tell you- we got them and hope everybody likes them!
