Celle is a wonderful town, though in the rivalry between Luneburg and Celle it is hard to say who comes out on top. When we first arrived, we took a plane ride over the town for some arial views of the city. Then we had a barbeque, a quick presentation, and then home with our host families for the night.
The next morning, we went to Berlin. Even though I was not feeling 100% that day from a sore back, it was such an awesome place! We did not have nearly enough time. We arrived after 1.5 hours on the train and got on a sight-seeing bus. First we stopped at the Victory tower. After an excruciating trek up many, many winding stairs, we finally made it to the top. I have to say, I am not sure whether the view up there was worth that insane hike, but I'm glad to have done it anyway.
We then ate lunch at Noah's, did a little shopping, and then got back on the bus to continue the tour around Berlin. Some of the main attractions are obvious: Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the brandenburg gate to name a few.
We had a tour of the Reichstag and even got to meet with a member of the Parliament who is a Rotarian and serves on Germany's defense committee.
On the next day, I went to the Holty Gymnasium and met with the principal. She took me to some classes to observe some lessons. I also met with a newly hired English teacher and learned a little about the teacher education process. For example, pre-service teachers go to university for 4 or 5 years and then complete 1.5 years of teaching at a school with a mentor. I also had the opportunity to talk to a year 11 class that was preparing for abitur. This was an interesting experience because for two years students only learn materials that will help them on this exit exam from high school. Basically, imagine studying for an AP exam for 2 years...except the stakes are much higher. If you do poorly on abitur, then you cannot advance in school to university, or maybe even vocational schools. Also we talked about school mascots. It is not very common in germany, so when they told me their school had a peacock for a mascot, I was surprised. Then they showed me an actual peacock...that was to what I was expecting!
After school Debby and I went into town for a bit to do a little shopping. She got her Deutschland shirt in preparation for the European soccer championships. We then visited a goldsmith and had a brief tour, and then we had an informal gathering at a cellar bar. It was Tim's birthday, so we had a great opportunity to celebrate.
In the morning, Lindsey and I did a little shopping/sight seeing and then it was off to Goslar!
Sara
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