Monday, December 11th: On Monday we met at our school’s cafeteria at 09:30 in the morning. There the deputy principal, Mr. Isert welcomed all the exchange students. After Mr. Isert gave his welcoming speech we took a group photo in front of our old school tower, which is the symbol of our school. Afterwards we went to room 223, where the German students started with a short presentation about some fun-facts about Germany. This presentation was followed by the introductions of the different schools with videos. Hereafter, the students had a short break and then gave another presentation about a world map each school prepared, in which the ethnic diversity of each school was shown. Afterwards we had a lunch break, in which each student could take either a tomato soup with rice or a potato soup with sausages and a piece of bread. When lunch was over we met in room 223 again. There every group showed a photo slideshow, in which each school presented pictures from students and how they see themselves. At the end of the day the whole group was divided into minor groups in which each student introduced himself, whereupon one student of each group was introduced by another student to the whole group again. Jan Schulz
Tuesday, December 12th: First, we followed our regular classes with our host students to show them what a school day at our school was like. So my exchange student and I went to the gym, where we played ultimate frisbee. After this we had a German lesson and the teacher returned our last class test. At the same time, our school - more precise: our students from year 12 - arranged a school exhibition on different topics in our auditorium. Of course, we also went there with our guests. At quarter to one a teacher, Mister Frahm hold a prestentation about how our school welcomes and integrates refugees. He told us that some refugees have never seen a school from the inside. It seems hard to integrate everyone. After this we had free time and we went home, meet with other partners and friends or played games. At the end of this day we went to school again to listen to a panel discussion about safety in Germany. Johanna Niemann
Wednesday, December 12th: We got up very early, because at already 7.30 we went to Hamburg by bus. On the bus, many of us tried to sleep again. We arrived at Hamburg harbour at almost 9. 45. At 10:00 o’clock we boarded a boat and got to know the town a bit better on a guided boat-tour. It was very windy. So the little boat swayed a lot. Many photos were taken and everybody enjoyed this one hour-long trip. After that we walked to the city centre. On the way we stopped in front of the Michel to take some more group-pictures again. The students also got the chance to go inside, before we went on. They were very impressed by the big church. In the city centre another presentation was organized. It was called “Culture Scene in Hamburg and how it deals with Refugees” and was given by a woman of the ministry of culture. The projects she talked about were very interesting. All of them were very creative, especially projects which are connected with music und theater seemed to be popular. They are for refugees and Germans to integrate. The biggest problem was, according to the woman, the money, because there are so many expensive projects. That is why they always have to decide to whom they give the money. After her presentation we were able to ask questions which she tried to answer in the best way. One hour later we left again and went to the town hall with the Christmas market in front. Next to it we agreed on a meeting point and a meeting time, before we split in little groups to enjoy our free time in Hamburg. Most groups went to the modern shopping centre and the traditional Christmas market. Many souvenirs and presents were bought, pictures were taken and food was eaten. We smelled a lot of tea, looked for some books and walked around. Everybody had a lot of fun. When we asked our exchange students later they summed up that Hamburg is a nice city and without the rain it would have been a perfect day. At 16:13 we met again to go back to Hermannsburg by bus. Everybody was very tired again, because of that really long day, but they were also happy because it was a successful day. It was raining and already dark when we arrived home. The rest of the evening everybody spent in his or her family. We played a game and talked a lot about our different cultures. It was very interesting and funny. Anna Lena Bakemeier
Thursday, December 14th: For my Danish guest Daniel and me the day began at 7 o`clock. We had breakfast and caught the bus to school at 7:40. We arrived at school at 8:20 where the whole group listened to an interesting presentation from two Kurdish students about their Yezidish religion, traditions and culture, the integration process in Germany and problems they are faced with. After a short round of questions the presentation ended around 9 o’clock. A little break followed and the German teacher Mr. Lamm started working with the students. In little groups every student wrote three or more important words on cards, which – in their opinion – are related to the term identity. It was one of our main goals to question who we are and what defines our identity. Soon, all students presented their cards and started to select the most important ones and most frequent ideas to minimize the number of cards. After we worked out the most important aspects we arranged them under main themes or superordinate topics. Finally the German students developed different graphical ideas, which include the important aspects of identity, to be used as an example to later create the poster on identity. After a short lunch break our bus to Bergen/Belsen at 12 pm. As many students hoped we were able to receive a guided tour all around the old area of the camp with a such terrible history which took place in the time of the World War II. Our guide managed to show us the most important places oft he camp like the old "transport road" or the accommodations where the prisoners - often hundreds of them - needed to sleep and live in a very small space. We also saw the famous memorial site of the young Jewish girl called "Anne Frank“ who - due to her religion - was a victim of the persecution of the Jews and other minorities. Her mother and sister died there and also Anne dies just a couple of weeks before the Americans freed the camp in 1945. But as we finished this sad but very important and interesting trip and after we arrived with the bus at school around 16:30 the German students and their international students could decide what they wanted to do the rest of the evening. Many students went to the brilliant "Christmas Concert“ organized by our school or met to bake "Christmas Cookies“. And elsewhere other students played games with their exchange student and their German family. Overall this day gave us the chance to find out more about our personal and true identity. Further, we all learned more about important aspects of German and international history. It became clear what racial discrimination and exclusion can lead to. Tom Thiele
Friday, December 15th: On Friday we had breakfast as usual and went to school at 7:30 am for my English lessons. At 9:25 am we all met in our gymnasium to do some fun team activities and do sports. After separating into two groups, my group started doing some relaxed games such as sorting each other from youngest to oldest without talking to each other with Mrs. Herget. Then our group got to learn the basics of Ultimate Frisbee with Mr. Wambutt and some of the members of our home team. We had a lot of fun. From 11 am to 1 pm we appreciated the little timeout and spent our money and time to eat lunch. Then we took a bus to Celle, where we enjoyed a guided walk by a very lovely lady, who told us a lot about the city and its history. From 4 pm until 7 pm we had free time to explore Celle’s beautiful Christmas market and do some Christmas shopping in Celle’s Town Center. Finally, we all met again and walked to the restaurant “Ristorante Primavera” to have a delicious last dinner together. Even the Italians loved the pizza we ate there. After a wonderful day the bus took us back to Hermannsburg and most of us already had to say goodbye to each other. In the morning of the next day we went to the train station and our guests started their journey home. All of us had a fantastic week with a lot of new insights and impressions of other countries and their approach to welcome diversity at school. Helene Meyer