June 6th - Arrival in Oschersleben

After leaving from Atlanta on June 5th at 6pm, we flew overnight and reached Frankfurt at 8.55 in the morning.  We then had a four hour layover and caught our next plane to Hannover at 1.30pm.  The second flight was considerably shorter and we arrived on time in Hannover.  Sheri (who had made her own way to Hannover via Paris) was waiting for us at the airport along with Roland our driver.  We loaded up the bus and took off and after an hour and a half bus ride, we arrived in Oschersleben at the school.  There our host teachers were waiting on us and after a short welcome get together we departed to our homes to settle in and get some much needed rest.  

June 7th -  Grönemeyer Concert

After sleeping through the night, I felt almost completely over my jetlag.  The teachers were all spending the weekend with there host families.  I attended the Grönemeyer concert in Oschersleben and arrived on the scene about 2 pm.  We watched 2raumwohnung (A relatively new german group) perform and they were followed by the fantastischen Vier (fantastic four) and they were also quite good.  Horst and I then headed home where we took a little break and had a bite to eat.  At the concert, they had given us armbands so that we could come and go from the Motosport Arena.  We watched a few minutes of the opening game of the EM soccer tournament and then we head back to the concert.  Herbbie was right on time and his show was excellent.

June 9th - 1st day of school

Monday was another beautiful day.  The teachers met at the high school and were greeted by the Principal.  A group of students presented a welcome to the region by showing us a slide show of some of the places we would be visiting.  We then divided up into different groups and went to various classrooms.  We observed some and also spoke at some.  We were well received and it was a great experience for everyone.  One group of students remembered me from when I had visited them in kindergarten on a previous trip ten years ago.  Needless to say, it was great to see them and how big they had grown.  After visiting several classes, we had a great lunch served to us in the cafeteria of the Gymnasium.  Following that we had a tour of the town of Oschersleben and did a little shopping as well.  The teachers were then picked up and had the afternoon to spend with their host teachers.  I met with the leader of the Teacher group coming to America.  They are planning to arrive on the afternoon of the 4th of August and to leave on the 10th of August.  We look forward to their visit and are already sad thinking about having to leave Oschersleben next Monday.  You can never have enough time with such wonderful people.

June 10th - Trip to Magdeburg

Today we met at the train station in the morning and took off for Magdeburg.  When we arrived, we made our way to the Hundertwasser Haus in Magdeburg.  There we were given a tour of the building in English and we all wanted to rent an apartment there.  After that, we visited the Cathedral in Magdeburg and then I had to leave to attend a Faculty meeting at the German High School.  I delivered a speech and it was well received by all.  The group stayed in Magdeburg and had the afternoon free to do some shopping.  

June 11th - School Visits

Today we began our day by visiting an elementary school or (Grundschule)  we visited the 1st and 4th grade classes and told a little about our town and area.  We were given a tour of the elementary school and had an opportunity to talk with several of the teachers.  Following that, we visited a Volkshochschule (a kind of coninuing education school) were we were shown a short presentation about the school and the types of classes they offered.  This school was more for adults who wanted to learn or take classes in a number of areas.  We visited two classes of foreigners who were learning German.  We talked about the GPS standards that we have versus the standards in Europe.  At lunchtime, we went our separate ways to find lunch with our host teachers.

June 12th -  Trip to Wernigerode

Today the group met in the morning at the train station and left Oschersleben for Wernigerode a very pretty German city in the Harz mountains.  The group arrived and took a train to the Wernigerode castle that sits on a small mountain overlooking the city.  We took a group photo and had some time to walk through the castle.  The group then took the train down to the city center and the beautiful town hall.  The group then had a couple hours to find something to eat and to do a little shopping.  The group then boarded the train and returned to Oschersleben.

June 13th - Visit to Oberschule 5 - Marienborn - Farewell Dinner

The day began with the group gathering at Schule 5 in Oschersleben.  It is the equivalent of a middle school in America.  We met in the teacher´s room and the principal welcomed us to their school.  We then were allowed to observe several different classes and discuss with them methodologies and common problems that they faced with their students.  We also discussed our school system with the students.  After visiting the school for a couple hours, we were driven to visit Marienborn, also called the eye of the needle.  It was during the cold war, the largest crossing point between West Germany and East Germany.  It was also called checkpoint Alpha.  We were given a tour of the facility in English.  After leaving the checkpoint, we drove to the former border and had the opportunity to see it as it was in Hötensleben.  After that we returned to Oschersleben and later met to celebrate our farewell dinner.