Albert Einstein Gymnasium

Eine Bericht von Ariana Drauch und Valeria Camargo, St. Francis Prep School New York

Many people do not get the opportunity to travel the world at such a young age. Lucky for us, we had the chance to see Germany first hand. Our names are Ariana Drauch and Valeria Camargo, exchange students from New York. We attend Saint Francis Preparatory School in Queens and will be entering the 11th grade in September. For the past three weeks we have traveled throughout Germany, experiencing everyday life. We stayed with our exchange students, who attend the Albert-Einstein Schule , and their families. With them, we attended classes at school. It was a great experience to see what school in Germany was like and be able to compare it to our school in New York. Our families made us feel right at home and welcomed us with open arms. They showed us around various places in Germany, including museums, festival s and other areas of interest.

Much of our time here was spent in Frankfurt, whether with school tours, shopping, or Friday nights out. It was great to see “Mainhattan,” which shared its similarities with our Manhattan back in New York. We visited the Hessischer Rundfunk and were able to see how radio and television stations function. Herr Dilgen, a former teacher at the Albert-Einstein Schule, accompanied us in Frankfurt and gave us a tour of the Frankfurter Dom. We also spent our last weekend in Frankfurt at the Museumsuferfest, not to mention the countless hours we spent shopping at the Zeil.

In addition, we made many small trips throughout Germany, including a trip to a local bakery in Bishofsheim, where we learned all the techniques involved in baking. The following day Herr Maier, the principal of the Albert-Einstein Schule, graciously arranged a bus trip to Oberwesel , where we hiked along the Rhine to  St. Goarshausen . We spent the next four days in Passau in a youth hostel and had the opportunity to grow closer, not only as students traveling together, but as friends. There we took a boat trip to Austria and had lunch along the Danube River. From there, we made a day trip to Munich and walked around the beautiful city. During our final week, we traveled to Würzburg,  where we took a tour of the Prince Bishop’s palace. In Bad Vilbel, we visited the Hassia Mineral Water Plant and learned more about mineral water and its benefits.

After our experiences, we were able to see what Germany is really like. The school system, for example is very different. The Albert-Einstein Schule does not have a uniform dress code, while our school does. The school day is shorter here than at our school and summer vacation is six weeks while ours is eight weeks. High school in America begins in the 9th grade and ends in the 12th grade, unlike in Germany. The class sizes are also very different. In Germany, class size can range from 15 to 30 students, while in America classes in some schools have up to 50 students.

The food preferences in Germany are at times different from ours in America. Meat is usually eaten here at every meal, while we don’t eat meat as often in America. Moreover, mineral water is the drink of choice in many families’ homes , while most of us Americans prefer still water. Bread is also a very popular breakfast choice in Germany, while many Americans either have cereal, or skip breakfast all together. Lunches in Germany are often bigger than dinners, which is not the case in America. Many of us enjoyed the traditional German food, including Käsespätzle, Schnitzel and Pfannkuchen. We also liked many of the drinks here that we do not have in America, including Mezzo Mix and Apfelschorle.

Writing this article, we realzed what a great time we had these three weeks. For many of us, it was our first time in Germany and we had to adapt to a different culture and language. At the end of the three weeks, many of us improved our German and expanded our knowledge of the German culture. All of the plane, bus and train rides have brought us all closer together and made those long trips memorable ones. We would like to thank Mr. Kruger for the time and effort he has put into this trip. Without him, nothing would have been possible and we thank him for that. We would also like to thank Herr Maier for allowing us to attend the Albert-Einstein Schule, which has left us with many memories of fun and remarkable times. Even thinking about leaving makes us sad. This was a truly amazing experience that has left us with life-long memories as well as friends.

Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland, wir lieben dich.