THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CARRIE ANSELL, TEENOLOGY CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
WHAT'S WRONG with this picture?
It's 6 a.m. On a small table in a dark room, a red alarm clock begins to ring and a tired arm emerges from the warmth of the covers to hit it. With a loud sigh, an exhausted body gets up to start another long day of school in Germany.
Much to my disgust, even though school starts later in the day here, I have to get up earlier. Why? Because my town, Horn-Bad Meinberg, is so incredibly small that it doesn't have its own ``gymnasium,'' or high school. As a result I have to take a bus to the next largest town, Detmold. Boy, do I now appreciate the fact that in America, school was practically in my back yard.
I shouldn't complain though. This is the first year that they haven't had Saturday school in Detmold, so I guess I have pretty good timing.
There are no school buses here. Instead, we have public transportation, and if you don't have a seat, the driver doesn't care. As long as the driver can shut the doors, he doesn't worry. I spent almost a week suffering before I realized that if I take the bus that comes five minutes earlier, I can get a seat, since school-aged kids are all procrastinators and they take the latest possible bus. Since this revelation, I've been a lot happier with my bus ride.
Overcrowding is not a problem in school, although some of my teachers think it is. My gym teacher (officially gym is called ``sport'' here) complained that our class of 21 students was too big. Having once had a gym class of about 40 students, the class didn't seem that large to me.
Of course, everything is smaller here. Grabbe Gymnasium, my school, has grades five through 13 and around 900 students, almost half the size of my Hampton Roads high school.
I like this though because everything is a lot more personal. When I first enrolled, the director, or principal, was the first person to talk to me about what classes I should take. Nothing against my principal in America, but I'm sure he never discusses course selection with new students.
Size isn't the only difference. The schedule is enough to make anyone crazy. It's similar to block scheduling, and it's confusing. Each of my classes meets for three hours every week (except for sport, that's only two), but at different times and in different rooms.
For example, I take math on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday, I have it fourth bell in Room 108. Wednesday, I have it first bell in Room 217, and Friday I have it fifth bell, back in Room 108. I can keep track of math OK, but I have to do that for eight other classes as well. One perk of this schedule is that on Tuesday, I don't have to come in until fourth bell, and on Wednesday, I get to go home after fifth. I guess all in all it really isn't that bad.
As for my classes, I like them a lot. I take biology, math, German, English, geography, sport, philosophy, history and art. Anyone who knows me knows that the idea of me taking an art course is a total joke, but my school is an ``arts gymnasium,'' and so I am required to take either music or art, and since I can't play an instrument . . . .
I think my teacher makes exceptions for me, though. He is always quick to tear apart everyone else's work, but when he gets to me, he just says, ``Hmm.
Actually, all my teachers are pretty good at putting up with me. The first day of philosophy class, I introduced myself and explained that I was an exchange student. The teacher looked at me, smiled, and said, ``I figured.'' I guess it is kind of obvious.
There are some pluses to being an exchange student. For one thing, all my teachers understand how hard the work can be, and they're very nice about not putting me on the spot. If I raise my hand, it's almost comic how fast they call on me. Yesterday, when I answered my first question in history, everyone was so surprised that I had said something they all turned around and looked to see if it was really me.
The big plus though is ``klausurs,'' or exams. Even though I have nine classes, I only have to take three klausurs - English, math and German. I figure English will be a breeze. I should be able to get through math OK, but for German I'll be waiting for a religious experience. I guess the solution is to stop writing and to start studying. I'll let you know how I do the next time I write. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Carrie Ansell is spending a year abroad in Germany.
by CNB