Snails

The snails here are so huge! I didn't even know they could be that big. I keep getting made fun of because the people here think they are a normal size. I can't get over it! My mind is officially blown.
-Georgia

First impressions, part 2

The Reichstag Building and Holocaust Memorial

One of the first things visitors see in the Reichstag building are the purple chairs. There are more than two major political parties in Germany, but none of them use purple, making it a neutral color. On the top of the building, one could see the whole city. There was a glass dome that had spiral stairs that ran along the sides of the glass that goes up about five or six stories. In the center of the dome hangs many mirrors that reflect the sunlight into the main part of the dome.

Our last day in Berlin we visited the Holocaust memorial and museum. The memorial was above ground and took up an entire block, they were blocks of stone in varying sizes. As people walked through it they began to disappear inside of it.

-Matheson and Natali


Berlin, Germany is quite an adventurous city. After an eight hour flight, a few bus rides, and a hike to the  hostel, 16 exhausted kids piled into their rooms (three rooms with eight beds each) hoping for a restful night. Despite being tired, the kids did not sleep much, kept up by the exciting fact that they were IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. The following nights continued in the same fashion along with hat stealing, loud neighbors, and the occasional nosebleed. Their adventures continued the next day, trekking through Berlin (without suitcases this time) seeing many famous buildings. One group of girls enjoyed pizza and pasta for lunch while drinking carbonated water on this first day. They all agreed it was wonderful, even though it wasn't German food. The next day took the kids to the political center of Berlin where they learned about the government of Germany including the five major political parties. This was accompanied by the taste of currywurst and european Fanta. Their last day had the american students visiting the Holocaust memorial and museum, a very sad experience that is a powerful reminder of the event that had transpired. This was followed by a long train ride filled with reading, writing, card games, storytellng, and lots and lots of sleeping. The nerve wracking exit was forgotten at the exciting meetup with the German families and the reunion of friends separated by an ocean. After being introduced to the homes of their respected families and eating a nice dinner, the American students were able to try and catch up on some much needed sleep (jet lag is horrible). The most recent adventure leads the students to doing as we are now, typing a fantastic paragraph for Mrs. Lay, so auf wiedersehen for now!
    -Sarah & Angie 

How to get thrown out of the Reichstag- a step-by-step tutorial

1. Obtain knowledge from Kieran.

2. Obtain an American flag

3. Embark on a journey 4,000 miles to Berlin

4. go on a tour of the Reichstag with flag in backpack

5. make it past the first security checkpoint

6. ascend to the top of the Reichtag, with backpack and flag

7. make it to the final hallway to ascend to the top of the glass dome to

    gain access to the rooftops

8. tuck flags into the backpack pockets

9. attempt to make it past the final security checkpoint

10. get caught with the flags and accused of plotting to take back the reichstag and flying an American flag over the city-state of Berlin

11.get thrown out of Reichstag 

-Nate and Grant

(Chaperone's note:  no, they did not get thrown out.  But the flags were confiscated and it was a rather tense moment.  And now we know:  no flags in the Reichstag!)

CURRYWURST IS BETTER THAN LIFE!!!

On our last day in Berlin we went to a food stand called Currywurst 36. Berlin is the home of Currywurst. So we had high hopes. Matthew ordered first, Catherine ordered next and Natalie ordered last. The language barrier did not seem to be a problem because the man spoke some English and tolerated Matthew's bad German. Paired with pommes frites (french fries) and a German Fanta (which is different from American Fanta), the Currywurst experience was everything we had dreamed of!!
-Catherine and Matthew

First Impressions

Berlin was great, but I couldn't wait to get to our final destination: Hamm.  The train ride there was rather uneventful but enjoyable and only served to increase my anticipation for meeting Lars' family.  When the train finally arrived it was extremely exciting and going home with Lars was great!  They have a very small dog who loves to nip at people and is very playful, but what I loved most about the house was the family!  They were great!  I had an amazing dinner (Crepes) and the best part about the whole thing was they made me speak German! 
-Preston

The food is great! It's very different, but extremely delicious. Berlin was beautiful, except it was hard to find the restrooms, and which ones were the guys and the girls. I didn't like paying for the restrooms, and one time I accidentally walked into the guys restroom instead of the girls. It was embarrassing, but funny. The people are very nice, and unique. My host family is extravagant in a sense, and thrilled to have me stay there. They treat me as part of the family which I find wonderful. My room is so colorful, and my bed sinks every time I lay down. I have my own bathroom, toiletten and shower. The house is pretty and has a trampoline in the back yard. The cool thing is that it is in the ground.The most interesting thing is that when go to the bathroom the toilet paper is on the outside of the stalls. It took us a while to figure that out. That's all for now folks. Till next time.

-Camryn

 

I loved the houses. Every house was different. They had different styles and architecture. Especially in Berlin. My host family was very welcoming which was wonderful. They made me feel like I was at home. My favorite part of the trip so far has been the scenery and the foods. The most interesting part of the trip has been the hostel. A lot of interesting things happened in the hostile. Germany's great. It has been a great experience so far.

-Sarah G.

One thing about Germany that is really weird and annoying is that we have to pay €1,00 for going to the bathroom. It is awful making people pay for going to the bathroom and I don’t understand why it is such a big deal. They even put guards outside the doors to make sure that people pay and at one bathroom there was a gate and you had to pay a euro to open the door. It is just so strange and frustrating.

-Katelynn

 

I think it is so cool how the German people get around.They use buses, trains, subways, and bikes all the time. I find it so interesting because in America people don't use those as often (especially bikes). This has been a super cool experince for me because I’ve never been on a train or double-decker bus. I loved the train too, it was super fun and I have had a great time so far.

-Georgia

Odd things in Germany

     In Germany, there was several different things that I have never seen in America. In restaurants, they had blankets at every table so you can eat outside. Also, you could smoke almost anywhere. Typically, it always smelled like cigarettes on the streets and in restaurants. Around every corner, there was a vending machine for cigarettes. I even saw police officers that would vape on duty. One thing that I really dislike is that you have to pay to use the restroom. In school, they play music during the breaks and can go outside and play soccer in the middle of the day. Also, you do not need a pass to go anywhere like at our school. They do not care if you do not come to school late if you have a free period. They trust their students very much.

-Maddy

 

 

Headed to Hamm!

Chattanooga's longest running school exchange will take to the skies again on Saturday as we fly to Berlin and then go by train to Hamm to stay with our exchange partners for the next 3.5 weeks!
  Stay tuned for updates from your favorite students!