Shape your future, go one better
Year 10 Germany
Below is an excerpt of the 2013 German Trip as our each Language trip occurs every 2 years:
Five Oberon students – Jack, Brodie, Amelia, Tom and Maddi – were lucky enough to participate in the school’s exchange program to Germany for five weeks. We travelled there with a group of 19 students and three teachers from Geelong, Ballarat and Melbourne.
The adventure started with a 27 hour flight including a short stop in Bangkok. After the landing in Frankfurt, Germany we were finally reunited with our exchange partners who had visited us in Australia last spring. We also met our exchange partners’ families for the first time.
School started at 7.40 am and finished at 1pm. There was no uniform and all of the students and teachers were very welcoming and friendly.
Marburg was the closest city to our villages. It has the most amazing buildings.
The Easter holidays were a fun time for all of us, as well as experiencing the German Easter traditions, we travelled all over Germany and some even travelled to other countries. Brodie went to the North Sea, Maddie to the mountains in Austria, Amelia to Switzerland and Bavaria, – Amelia to Switzerland and Bavaria, Jack saw an international football match and Tom went skiing in Weimar.
At the end of the Easter holidays the Australian students went to Berlin for three days. It was an amazing experience which we all enjoyed. Herr Kleindienst also joined us in Berlin for the rest of the exchange. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, sections of the Berlin Wall and the Jewish Memorial. All of the sights and activities were very interesting but I am sure the highlight for all of us was the Blue Man Group. They were very funny and the music was great.
The whole group went on an excursion to Kassel and saw the amazing Hercules monument as well as the water cascades.
One of our final activities was the Australian Evening. This was our farewell and thank you to the German schools and host families. It was a sad occasion as we have all become very close to our new families in Germany. We are all still in contact with our host families and many of us are planning the next trip and our host siblings are also planning return trips to Australia!
Germany was an amazing experience. We all learned lots about the culture, history and language. We really encourage everyone who has the opportunity to do exchange to take it.
Amelia, Brodie, Jack, Maddie, Tom – Year 10
