Clothilde’s report

I had wanted to participate in this experience since the start of the school year. I thought it could be very interesting and rewarding. I wanted to be better at German, to discover a different culture and meet new people. But only two students could participate in the programme; in fact three of us applied for it.

So we had to organize a meeting with French teachers involved in the Eramus programme : Mr. Monneray and Mr. Valton. During this meeting, I talked about my experiences in German : my knowledge about this country and my previous over there. Finally, Alexis Salmon and I were selected for this two-month experience.

I arrived in Germany on a Sunday at Hambourg airport, with Alexis.

At school

The next day, it was my first day at school, the first difference is that almost every student rides to school by bike, and there are so many bike roads in Kiel! When I arrived in the classroom, I was pretty shy and Alexis too, there were just 16 students in this class but in France we are 36 per class! We were a little bit shy and that was hard for us to make friends but it was interesting to participate in lessons taught in German. Basically, the subjects taught are the same as in France with some differences such as Wipo, this is politics. They keep having music and art classes in high school. Some subjects are separated like Physics and Chemistry, or History and Geography but in France these subjects are taught together. In Germany, the school ends earlier than in France, at about 2:00 PM. I liked these  new ways of working very much, so cool and enjoyable!

I had two families in Germany, one each month. 

With the Prophet Family :

The first family is the Prophet Family, the father is named Kersten, the mother Birte and there are two girls, Lea, 18 and Elisa, 16.

With the Prophet Family, I practised handball with Elisa just once because I was very bad but it was funny! Over the first week end, Kersten wanted me to visit the Kiel market with him, we tasted some cheeses and other things and we drank hot chocolate with one of Kersten’s friend, so nice! Next, I visited the other side of Kiel with some bars and coffee shops, it was so cute! Finally, I joined Elisa and Lea and some of their friends (Flo and Gesa) in Kiel town center, we walked around the city and went into shops, it was so nice! On Monday, we decided to eat at the Peter Pan restaurant for Birte’s birthday, a very beautiful place! On Thursday, we changed class with Alexis, 10a to the 9b, and we met Gesa, Hannes, Theo, Carla and Eliane, they were very friendly, they would be our friends for the rest of our stay.

On Wednesday, we went to a handball match of the Kiel Handball team, the Kiel team won!

On Saturday, we went to a Pizzeria with Gesa, Theo and Hannes. We talked a lot, it was very nice and funny, then we went to Gesa’s and we played a board game, very funny! On the next day, we visited the Laboe Beach with my family and Alexis, this is a military place with a very high tower and a submarine, then we had hot chocolate together. As regards the last week with the Prophet family, on Friday, there was the school concert, they played beautiful songs, very cool. It was the day when I met my new family, the Ulrich Family, Frank and Barbara, the parents  and Coraline, their daughter and my penfriend.

As a conclusion, I can say that these 4 weeks with the Prophet Family were amazing. I improved my German a lot, and I had so much fun, it was just so nice! To say goodbye, they offered me a book about the History of Kiel and a box of crunch that I loved! I was really sad to leave them.

With the Ulrich family :

I was hosted by the Ulrich, my second Family, for 4 weeks. Caroline, my pen friend, is 14, two years younger than me.

I went to the Ulrichs’ on Saturday; we went together for a meal for their friend’s birthday. I met all of their friends, there were adults and teenagers, and I spoke German with all of them. It was so nice because all of guests were so friendly and said I was very good at talking German!

The next Thursday, my parents arrived to visit me, I was so happy to see them after one month without them! I spent five days with my parents in the Prophet’s second home. On Friday, my parents decided to visit Denmark with Alexis, so we first visited Flensbourg city ; secondly we visited Sonderbourg a little bit and then a fishing village. On the way home, we saw an old castle and a giant shoe! On Saturday, I decided to show Laboe Beach to my parents, and this time, we could enter inside the submarine and the military tower. It was not like with the Prophets because it was closed.

On Sunday we met Alexis’ Family, and in the evening, we had supper in a super restaurant with the Prophets, we spoke a lot, it was really nice. On Monday, the last day with my parents, we visited Lübeck, a very old city in Germany, and very beautiful too, we enjoyed this so much! On Tuesday, I said goodbye to them, it was so sad.

On Saturday 7 March, I visited Kiel and Kiel port with Caroline, Barbara and her friends, we skated along the trail and we saw seals in an aquarium, so cute. Then we had a meal in a very cool restaurant with an amazing view. In the evening, they offered me to watch the French movie “La Boom” while eating pizzas, of course, it was so nice! On Sunday, it was a rehearsal of Caroline’s communion, so I met Ulrich’s friends for the second time, they were so friendly, and we went to a restaurant. I tasted some Austrian food specialties, it was delicious! On Monday we had no school, so we went to the trampoline park with Caroline, Alexis and Carl, Alexis’ pen friend, we made some back flips and we had so much fun! Then we had pizza together, very nice, we talked so much! This week was the last one of our adventure, so the last day at school, we decided to eat together with Alexis, Hannes, Eliane, Carla, and Gesa, we went to the Campus Suit.

Then we spoke, played and had fun, it was so cool to spend time, the last time with them! Next day, on Saturday, we visited Hamburg with my family, it’s so beautiful, a big and rich city, we shopped a little bit and took a drive in this amazing city.

On Sunday, it was the D-Day. Alexis’ Family drove us to the airport. Then we took our flight to our country.

At the end of my adventure, I was so proud of me, both my families were so nice and I learned so much with them, not just the language but a new culture and a new view of life too!

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