The Friendship Connection
Schüleraustausch USA in den Osterferien 2012
Neun Schülerinnen und Schüler der FFS durften in diesem Jahr die Zeit um Ostern in den USA verbringen. Sie sind gerade mit vielen neuen Eindrücken und Erlebnissen zurückgekehrt.
Leider wird es für die Organisation The Friendship Connection zunehmend schwieriger, alle austauschwilligen Schülerinnen und Schüler in die USA zu vermitteln. Das liegt zum einen an der immer noch schwierigen Wirtschaftslage dort, die es vielen Familien unmöglich macht, zusätzlich ein Kind aufzunehmen, geschweige denn, ihr eigenes nach Deutschland zu schicken. Zum anderen unterstützt die chinesische Regierung ganz massiv die Einführung von Chinesischunterricht an den Highschools, wodurch vielfach die dortigen Deutschprogramme auf der Strecke bleiben. Und wenn amerikanische Schüler kein Deutsch mehr lernen, ist auch der Austausch mit Deutschland nicht mehr so interessant.
Deswegen konnten in diesem Jahr von unserer Schule fünf Bewerber/-innen nicht vermittelt werden, was wir sehr schade finden. Die Enttäuschung war entsprechend groß.
Umso glücklicher können sich diejenigen schätzen, bei denen es geklappt hat und auf deren Berichte wir sehr gespannt sind.
Annette Tegethoff - Tanja Whiteside
April 2012
Friendship Connection: Schüleraustausch USA 2011
Im Schuljahr 2010/11 hatten wieder neun Schülerinnen und Schüler Gelegenheit, mit der Friendship Connection über die Osterferien vier spannende Wochen in den USA zu verbringen. Dort waren sie über das ganze Land verteilt. Sie nahmen am Schulleben in den amerikanischen Highschools teil, erlebten amerikanisches Familienleben und die dortige Gastfreundschaft und kamen durchweg mit sehr positiven Eindrücken wieder zurück. Einige von ihnen hatten in den Sommerferien ihre amerikanischen Austauschpartner/-innen zu Besuch und konnten ihnen deutsche Gepflogenheiten und Sehenswürdigkeiten zeigen.
Hier ein paar der mitgebrachten Eindrücke aus den USA, die sicher Lust machen, sich im nächsten Jahr auch auf den Weg zu machen:
What did you find most surprising?
Before every sport event a girl sings the national anthem.
What did you find most interesting?
That I saw my first baseball game.
What did you find most strange?
The American history teacher always says "we" when he talks about the soldiers in the Second World War.
What did you like most about the USA?
That everything is that big.
What did you like most about the Americans?
That all people are so nice and pretty.
What did you not like at all?
That we had to leave after four weeks ;)
What did you miss most?
German bap.
Felix
- The most surprising and interesting thing was that everyone drove a big car and every student who turned 17 got a pick-up from their parents.
- The strangest thing was that everybody was texting all the time with the mobile phone. That was kind of weird because the personal contact to each other was missing.
- I really like the big shopping centers and the malls in the USA. You can get everything you want in there. A pharmacy is always next to the shopping mall.
The Americans are very polite and very relaxed. And I like the sports of the Americans. The food was also great because a lot of cheese was in there.
- I don´t like the lessons of the Americans. They are often boring. Another thing is the speed limit on the highway but apart from these two things I like everything!
- I missed the fresh vegetables and fruits and a little bit the German chocolate. But all in all I did not miss a lot of things because in America there are certain things we don’t have.
Christian
- Surprising was that all the houses looked nearly similar.
- The tornados and the school buses looked exactly like you can see them in American movies, which was very interesting.
- It was strange that they used the car even for short distances.
- I liked the sweets and the fast food.
- I didn’t like the tornados and the lessons at school because I didn’t understand anything.
- I didn’t miss anything, I liked it very much.
Marcel
When I remember my stay in the USA I can say that it was really cool and that I would like to do it again if I can. My host family was great and the best that could happen to me. I found the landscape around Denver is very nice and a lot will be unforgettable for me. I was positively surprised about the rule that it’s forbidden to smoke in public and some other rules were really interesting. I think it's great that the students are proud and identify with their school and even wear T-shirts with the school name on them. It’s also cool that the American kids can drive at the age of 15 accompanied by a parent and that all guys are very friendly. I think I have never met an unfriendly person in the four weeks of my trip. I remember a neighbor who invited me to dinner although she didn’t know me.
Florian
My final review is very positive. I enjoyed my stay in America I was very lucky that I had the chance to get in a very nice family. My exchange partner Patrick is really nice. He has the same interests I have. That was a great job by Friendship Connection. I could take home some unforgettable impressions from there. I have seen more Hummers there in four weeks than in my whole life. This was very scary because they are wasting so much CO2. There are of course other impressions, for example, the Americans are very hospitable and friendly. I missed nothing in America, everything was so good. I often remember how much I laughed with all these guys and how much fun we had. The other thing which was good was the weather: it was really brilliant. We had sunshine and 27°C nearly all day. We only had two days of rain. But best of all is that I’ve found a friend.
Leonhard
www.ffs-giessen.de