Austausch - Exchange 2010

-German life-

2010-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

I have done lots of things since my last entry, firstly the end of the holidays were very good, as well as the start of school. On the first day back i participated in one of Magdalena's sport lessons, this was very different to ours in Australia but still very good. The rest of the school week went very fast & was soon over.
On the weekend, i caught up with my previous exchange partner from 2009; Sandra Warmedinger. i met her parents & her grandparents too. I had a great day catching up with her & remembering some of the good & funny times we had while she stayed with me. It was a little sad to be saying bye again for the 2nd time, but this time didn't seem a bad as the first, i guess because it seemed like i knew i would be able to see her again. I think that is a good things about this program, it gives people the incentive & motivation to get out & see the world & experience lots of different things & cultures.

On Sunday my family & i took a drive to Konigssee, this is a very large lake, that gets to over 200 metres deep. The water is very clean (drinking quality) & of course the views there are very beautiful as well. We walked around before getting on a boat that would take us to another area of the lake. The only people who live there were the fisherman & his family & the family that owns the resturant on the island, it's very nice & we took a little walk around. Then we had a drink at the resturant, before heading back to the main area of the lake, by the time we got there, it was getting pretty dark & cold, so we soon headed home.

Back at school again & it's very nice. the classes are interesting &it's nice to see how they learn things in Germany compared to how we do at our school. Today we were able to listen the English radio station that is at the school, the music was pretty cool & there were even some, interviews featuring some Australians including Myself. it was very weird to hear myself talking on a speaker. I think that they will be playing another episode next week too. so that should be interesting. I don't have any school tomorrow & my family are planning on baking Christmas Cookies, this should be very fun.

Gosh, the time is flying by so fast, already it's been a few weeks since the other Australians left, it doesn't feel like that long but our time here is starting coming closer to the end of our trip. Hopefully the next few weeks slow down for me so they don't speed by so fast, i doubt it though.

Until next time.

Eleisha

2010-11-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

Hobedere,
It's been 15 days since we left the other exchange students at the Munich airport, but it feels like almost a week. We spent our last few days as a whole group in the capital and very historic city of Berlin.
After parting with our host families at the Rosenheim train station, (for most students it was the last time) we travelled to Munich to catch our connecting train to Berlin. It was a 7 hour trip, but it definitely didn't feel that long. I think most of the time was spent sleeping, listening to music or just general chatting.
When we arrived, we caught another train and then a bus to the accomodation we would be staying in for the next few days. I think most were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. We had dinner at the restaurant we would be having dinner at every night, the 'Cayenne'. We even made some new friends here as well.
The next day, we headed down the Ku'damm, having a look as we went, and ended up out the front of the 'Story of Berlin' museum. We had a bit of a quick look around and then chose pairs and were each given a questionnaire. Nath Gasperoni and I teamed up and we were the last ones out by a while. But it turned out to be worth it, as we won the prize for the most correct. We also visited a nuclear bomb shelter, built under a car park. It was built in preparation for a possible nuclear attack on Berlin during the Cold War. Even though it was very eerie, I quite enjoyed being down there, as I felt I was actually inside the history. Compared to most of the others' comments, I don't think I would mind having to live down there.
The next day we visited another museum, this time on Berlin's 'Museum Island'. This museum was called the 'Pergammon Museum' and contained many, many artefacts and recreations from classical history. This was very interesting for me, as I am interested archaeology and these types of things. Again, I was among the last out of the museum. After a burger at an Aussie restaurant nearby, we had some free time. After another good meal at our restaurant, we headed straight off to the Reichstag (Bundestag). There was quite a line out the front, so we had to wait for a while. Once we were in, we had to pass through a security check and then made our way up the 'bee hive' with a great view of the city at night.
The next day, our last day in Berlin, we travelled back to the Reichstag, where Frau Kusch informed us a bit about the building itself. We also visited the Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish Memorial, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and a few other sites during the day. That night we all had to pack and get ready for our departure the next day.
Since leaving the others at the airport in Munich, we had one week of full schooling. This past week has been holidays for the students, and we've been up to quite a bit. Some things I've been up to during my free time has been a trip to the beautiful Austrian city, Salzburg, watching some movie, playing a bit of football and just generally hanging out with Adrian and his friends. I am very glad that I get on well with them all.

In thanking people, to Herr and Frau Kusch, I've experienced first hand how stressful and exhausting organising everything can be, but you always seem to do a good job and we are all very grateful for the work you put in. Thanks also to Herr Lehrer, Frau Kreplin, Frau Marx, Mr. Pryor and of course especially all the host families who've made the trip so succesful.

Bis naechstes mal,
Joshua J. E. Kusch

Holiday Fun

2010-11-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

My week of holidays have been so far very good, i have done a lot of interesting things.

On the weekend i went with my family to the Scholss Hellbrunn. We started off having a quick tour at the water games, which turned out to be quite fun & refreshing for me. It was very interesting to see that all the water works & little figurines are all powered by the water, no electricity was used.

Then we took a look around in the Shloss, it was very beautiful & historical as well. When we had finished that audio tor, we had a nice relaxing lunch in the park. The weather was so great & the park was full of families. After a bit of relaxing & playing at the park, we had to move on to the next thing, which was Salzburg. Here we walked through the wonderful city & soon got to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It was a steep walk up but we all managed to do it quickly, even though i wanted to stop to take photos very often (and have a short break). When we got up the top & into the walls we walked around a little bit & then headed to a audio tour of the fortress. There was so much history involved with the caslte, the construction alone was dedicated to one room & that took a fair bit of time.

But it was very interesting & i managed to pick up on a few people speaking English during it. Even though the fortress was very interesting & nice too, i would have to say that they highlight out of the tour was the chance to stand on the top of it & enjoy the astonishing views of Salzburg & surrounds.

Also on the weekend & a bit during the week as well, i was able to fly kites with Maggy, Johanna & Marinus. The wind was very good & i found it very fun. Another great expirence for me & a great memory to take home.

Today we went to Kristallwelten, which had lots of attractions featuring lots of precious diamonds. The place was amazing, it had Swarovski diamonds & housed the biggest diamond in the world. There was lots to see as well, we spent a lot of time marvelling over the great works created there.

The Holidays have proved to be very fun & interesting & provided me with some extra family time. I've enjoyed everyday so far & look forward to the rest.

My Time In Germany

2010-11-03T03:08:00.001-07:00

On the 24th of September, We left for Germany. After a long tiring flight we arrived in Munich. There was a man there to collect us. He took us to school. We arrived at school, and did what we had to, then it was time to go and meet our host families. Then I'd say most of us had a quiet Saturday. On Sunday we had brunch with everyone and their host families, it was good to catch up with the rest of the Aussies. On Monday was our first full day at school, it was a bit different at first because of the classes and break, on the Wednesday of this week we had "Wandertag" which is a day organised by the class and the teacher, Sam, Abbey and my Class plus another class went bowling, I thought it was a really fun day and it was great to just mingle with some different Germans.
On Thursday we went to Passau and that was a fantastic expirence for me and I thought it was absolutely amazing, and such a beautiful view from just down the hill from where we were staying, the next day we went to a Bavarian National Park.
Then I had a great weekend with my Familie. On Wednesday the 6th of October we went to the Amerung Museum, it was a place with old houses from back in the day and a little more resent one, which was built in 1882. Then we went to the Chiemsee, and got on a boat and went to the Herrenchiemsee, we went to the castle on there and it was so beautiful and amazing, the colours were outstanding.
Then on the Friday we did a orientation of Bad Aibling, and ended that by going threw the Heimat Musuem, and some others went to the Therme for swimming.
On the weekend I went with my Family to Salzburg, it was amazing, I had the best time, We walked up the busiest street and then walked to a dome and looked inside then went on a great, hard walk up to a Castle, although the walk was hard the end result was amazing, the view of Austria was fantastic, it was my favourite weekend in Germany.
Then on Wednesday the 13th Mr Pryor arrived and we travelled to Munich for a day trip, there we walked around the city for a little bit, the went to BMW, that was crazy watching cars been made, its such a odd process, with all the robots, then we had free time and went shopping then we went back to Rosenhiem. The next day we went and met the Deputy Mayor of Bad Aibling, I learnt alot about the town. This weekend was our final weekend with our families, I went into Rosenhiem with Angelina and did some shopping, then we went home and had a quiet night, the next day was a special day in Bavaria, at 12.oo noon we went to a Restraunt and had a Bavaraian Meal, it was different but tasty, then we went to my aunts and had some cake, and said our goodbyes.
On Thursday the 21st we met at the train station and said our goodbyes, there was lots of tears, and we then set off for Berlin, 8 hours later we arrived and caught a train and bus to where we were staying in the Europa Hotel, it was very nice accommodation, The next day we went to "The Story of Berlin" it was very interesting, then we went into a Bunker under a car park, it was a horrible feeling being down there, I really enjoyed that day.
The day after that we went to the Pergamonmuseum, it was amazing inside and very interesting, we went to an Australian restraunt for lunch, after that we went shopping until 5.00pm, later that night we went to the Reichtag, which is the Federal Parliament, the wait was long, and chilly, then when we got inside we got an elevator up to the top and got headsets that told us about the things we could see, then we went back to the hotel.
On our final day in Germany we went into the centre of town and Michelle gave us a tour, first we went back to the Reichtag, and then to the Brandonburg Gate, and then we walked around and then we went to the Jewish Memorial, and walked through that, we then went to the Berlin Wall, Then to Check Point Charlie and had some lunch and a look around, and went home and packed for the next day too leave, we Flew with everyone from Berlin to Munich and there Frank, Michelle, Josh, Ryan and Eleisha got off, and Mr Pryor came home with the rest of us, after a long trip we arrvied in Melbourne, to find our families waiting, with lots of hugs and kisses and tears.
It is good to be home, but Germany will be greatly missed, it was such and amazing experience.
I would like to Thank firstly Mr and Mrs Kusch for everything they did, it would of been a hard job looking after all of us, and secondly I would like to thank my host family I didn't only make a friend but a second family, I will miss them and hope to see them again one day.
Thanks to all the teachers at the school and Herr Lerher and Frau Kreplin

Signing Off..
Holly

wendelstein, allerheiligen and thankyou

2010-11-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since we arrived back from Berlin and the other Aussies departed back for Australia but the time is still flying! Coming back from Berlin was especially interesting for me as i now am staying with Seppi and the Lechner family making this a whole new expeience for me.

Yesterday we went to the Wendelstein, a 1838m high mountain about 40km from Bad Aibling, we traveled by gondola to the top which was covered in snow. The weather was good, but maybe a little bit cold, which meant we could see the incredible views at the top and could see all the way to Munich.

Today is Allerheiligen which is a religious day for Germany and Seppi's whole family is here at the moment. As Seppi has four brothers and two sisters plus some of them have their own children im currently finding it a very difficult job to learn everyones names and how they are related to seppi! Almost the whole town where i live, ostermünchen, went to the church today for a ceremony, it was interesting to see so many young people going becuase in Australia a lot of young people aren't religious.

Once again a big thankyou to Herr Kusch, Michelle, Mr Pryor, Herr Lehrer, Frau Kreplin, and of course a huge thankyou to all the host families for making it such a great time here. (especially mine) I know that everybody has had a incredible time which we will never forget! Cheers all!

Ryan Kupferle

2010-10-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

I've been back from Berlin for a few days now & getting used to not having all the Australians here & also to going to every class. I'm having a great time here though.

When i came back home from Berlin, my town & surround had snow. This was very exciting as we don't get snow in our town in Australia.

On Tuesday, my family & i rugged up & headed up the moutain to the snow, here we spent a lot of time having fun throwing around snow & sliding dow the hill. I had a great time & now can't wait for it to snow some more.

I think that Berlin was really fun, we did & saw so many things, like the Brandenburg gate, the Berlin wall, we went to Potzdamerplatz, to the memorial for the Jewish people, we expirenced the story of Berlin & much more. Over the few days we had there, we saw so many things, that were all so great. The accomodation was really good as well. i think that we were all quite surprised when we managed to find an Australian resturant that proved to have very good food & very aussie music too.

I would just like to take this oppourtunity to say thank youto Mr Kusch, Michelle & Mr Pryor for taking us around & for putting up with all our shopping. My time in Berlin was truly great.

Last Weekend with my Family.

2010-10-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my host parents had a Hochzeit (wedding) to attend. So Angelina and I went to Rosenheim for a hot drink and some lunch, it was so cold that when we left the shop we were in we had to find another to go in and wait until our bus came.

On Sunday, it was a special Bavarian Day, I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but we went to a Restaurant and had Duck and Blaukraut and Knöde.l When it came out I was wondering if I'd like the blaukraut because it looked odd, but much to my suprise it didnt taste too bad. After that we went into a little room and there we were told about the world clock. It was a really beautiful clock and amzing to see how it worked. Then we went to my host mum's sister's house for some cake, it was so tasty. I was sad because I knew that would be the last time I get to see her, well for now unless I come back which I'm hoping to.

But overall my time here was so amazing and I have formed a great friendship with Angelina and her family, and I know im definitely going to miss them, as I'm sure every other Aussie could second that. I think we all need to thank Mr & Mrs Kusch for everything, not only whilst we have been here but all the work they did behind the scenes, we all really appreciate it. Also to Herr Lehrer and Frau Kreplin for all their organising.

This for me has been a great experience, I will miss it so much although I can't wait to go and see Berlin. Ive heard its great too.

Holly Pronk
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Am Sonntag war ein ganz besonderer Tag für mich, denn es war mein letztes Wochenende mit Holly. Also fuhren wir nach Baierbach zum "Gockerlwirt" und aßen Ente mit Blaukraut und Knödel. Es war einfach schön. Danach fuhren wir zu meiner Tante aßen Kuchen und hatten eine schöne Zeit.
Ich bin sehr traurig dass Holly und die anderen Aussies schon übermorgen gehen müssen, denn ich fand wir waren/sind eine nette Gruppe und haben Freundschaften geschlossen.
Ich bin sicher, dass wir Deutschen am Donnerstag sehr traurig am Bahnhof abschied nehmen werden. Aber ich hoffe dass wir uns alle wiedersehen.

Angelina Schmidt

Last week in Bad Aibling

2010-10-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my last scheduled post for our time here in Germany. I know that i speak (or write) on behalf of the rest of the exchange group when i say that we have had an absolutely terrific time here with our hostfamilies and we are all looking forward to our trip to Berlin. We will all miss life here (those of us who are leaving) and its seems like our time has gone much too fast.

We were absolutely spoilt last night to a cultural evening hosted by our exchange partners and their families. Not to mention the Kiefersfelden Shooting club, who kindly allowed us to use their, uh, clubrooms i guess you call them as well as their shooting range afterwards. Oh, we also presented our Impressions projects to everyone there.

But, alas, we were outshon by a local Bavarian dance group. I think they were a youth dance group too. Anyway, the show they put on was fantastic and enjoyed by all, including the Bavarian parents themselves, dressed in their traditional Dirndl and Lederhosen (I don't know if they have plurals).

For the rest of the week here (all 2 days of it) we will: be presenting our projects again to the Yr 8's, who are the next group eligible to come to Australia on exchange, packing our bags for our trip to Berlin and finally, on Thursday morning we leave our hostfamilies for the last time to catch our train to Munich, then on to Berlin.

I for one, have had the time of my life here, and am expecting Berlin to be just as great.

Signing off,

Max Carter

Letztes gemeinsames Wochenende mit Kayla

2010-10-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

Gestern fuhren wir gegen 12:30 Uhr mit Steffi nach Kufstein, wo wir die Burg besichtigten und im Shoppingcenter zum Einkaufen gingen. Um 12:30 Uhr ging es los. Wir fuhren mit dem Auto nach Kufstein, wo wir die "Festung Kufstein" besichtigten. In der Burg selber gab es verschiedene Museen, zum Beispiel das Heimatmuseum und das Staatsgefängnis. Im Heimatmuseum sahen wir einen Höhlenbär, eine Höhlenbärin und ein kleines Höhlenjunges und im Staatsgefängnis konnten wir einen Eindruck darüber gewinnen, wie die Gefangen dort untergebracht waren und welche Strafen sie damals schon hatten. Ich fand es nicht so toll, da es teilweise sehr brutal war. Auf der Burg selber hatten wir einen schönen Ausblick auf die Berge, den Banhof mit der Altstadt und den Inn. Im Innenhof machten wir eine Brotzeit, bevor es weiter zum Einkaufszentrum ging. Dort hatten wir ca. 2 Stunden Zeit. Anschließend brachten wir Steffi zum Bahnhof und fuhren nach Hause.
Am Sonntag um 13:00 Uhr kamen Steffi und und ihre Mutter Karin zum Racletteessen zu uns. Anschließend brachte uns Kayla australische Kartenspiele bei, wie zum Beispiel "Fish" und "Snap". "Fish" kann man vergleichen mit "Quartett" und "Snap" mit "Halli Galli". Der Spaßfaktor war sehr hoch. Um 4:30 Uhr traten Steffi und Karin den Heimweg an und wir spielten mit Kayla "Die Siedler von Catan". Das Wochenende war sehr schön und ich finde es schade, dass sie am Donnerstag die Reise nach Berlin antreten wird.

Franziska Lohse

A relaxing last weekend with my host family

2010-10-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

While I've been in Germany so many people have told me how close we are to other countries, so when my host dad asked me what I wanted to do on the weekend, I asked if we could go for a trip to Austria. So at about 12:30pm on Saturday we left to go to Austria, to a town called Kufstein about a 30 minute drive.

When we arrived we went to a castle named Kufstein Fortress, situated on a small mountain next to the Inn river. We couldn't actually go into the castle except for a cafe that had been built inside and the jail cells which were conected to the castle, but it was really pretty from the outside and had a great view over the town.After visiting the castle we went into town and did some shopping and got an ice cream even though the weather was freezing.

On the way home I fell asleep in the car and thought i better try and have a bit of an early night but after watching a movie, I didn't end up going to bed untill after 12am. Then on sunday morning I ended up sleeping in untill about 11am. We were having visitors for lunch so I went and got ready and when I came back to the dinning table it was covered with food and a Racledte in the middle of the table. A racledte has one big pan on top and then smaller pans underneath and you get a small pan and put as the food you want on it and cook it. It's hard to explain but it was a really different way of cooking your food to what I have tried before. Then for the rest of the afternoon we played cards and game boards because it was raining outside but it was a really nice and relaxing weekend.

Kayla Harris

Vorletztes Wochenende

2010-10-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Am Samstag trafen wir uns mit ein paar Freunden von mir in Nicklheim. Wir verbrachten dort unseren Nachmittag, hörten Musik und ich wir probierten australische Süßigkeit 'TimTams'. Manche von ihnen kannten sie schon, da ich auch welche aus Australien mitgebracht hatte. :)
Am Abend sind wir dann zum Weinfest gegangen. Es war sehr kalt, aber wir hatten sehr viel Spaß.
Zur späteren Stunde sind wir dann mit meiner Freundin zu ihr nach Hause gegangen und warteten dort, bis uns unsere Eltern abholten.

Am Sonntag fuhren wir erneut nach Nicklheim, da wir dort bei einem Fußballspiel zuschauten.
Die Nicklheimer gewannen 5:0 gegen Frasdorf, was uns sehr freute. :)
Am Abend versuchten wir meiner Austauschpartnerin das berühmte bayerische Kartenspiel "9erln" zu erklären. Sie lernte es wirklich schnell und dies ist meist unsere Beschäftigung, wenn wir nicht wissen, was wir machen sollen.

Es war ein sehr schönes und entspanntes Wochenende.

Impressions Underway

2010-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last week we made a start on our very important Impressions projects, which we will present to our host parents and also to some of the students (mainly Yr 8's and our hostbrothers/sisters) in two separate presentations next week. The projects are the one major piece of work that must be completed when undertaking the exchange. It is to show what we have learnt and noticed whilst here in Germany and also for us to show our German language skills.

Nathan and I are one group, Josh and Ryan another, Holly, Eleisha and Elisha are a group and i believe that Sam, Abbey Roisin and Kayla are in one group together. Our first presentation is on Monday, which seems all too soon for us.

As Nathan posted previously, we went to King Ludwig II's Schloss Neuschwanstein last Saturday. We were both amazed by the historical castle and sheer size of it. Our tour guide tried to convince us that the king was buying less expensive options for his castle, so he could save his quickly disappearing pennies. I don't know how he didn't realise that he would run out of money; he was building three castles for himself at once!

On the Sunday Peter, my hostmum and i accompanied some of my hostmum's friends for a day trip into Austria.(it isn't that far from me, probably a 3 min drive across the river.) We first went to a town called Kitsbühel where we caught a cablecar up the mountain to Streif, a winter skiing destination. There we had a great view almost 300 degrees around. The lunch we had was at a cafe with the best view i have seen in a long time. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Streif is a very large area, with no clearly defined centre, apart from the town below. My host family told me that the Winter Olympics are going to be held there in 2018, but a few words may have been lost in translation. So, it is quite possibly that I am completely wrong.

After that we drove to Krimml Waterfalls, which were tucked away in this quite large and cold pocket in an even bigger valley. I was there from around 2 until 3:30 and not once was the sun visible, as the surrounding mountains blocked it out. The waterfall was broken into four main steps, but we only looked from the bottom. The 12km walk to the top didn't tickle our fancy at the time. Even from below, it was teriffic to see.

It was a great day and I really enjoyed the places I went and the people I was with.

Max Carter

Halfway

2010-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to visit Neuschwanstein which is King Ludwig the II´s second castle. It was a massive place but it still wasn't finished being built. The section that was finished was amazing there was so much gilded gold. The castle was about a two hour drive from my house and then about a half an hour walk up a hill. On Sunday I went to a big lake call Schliersee. It wasn't as big Chimsee but it was a very nice place although it was cold. The lake was in the mountins and that was probably why the wind was so cold. It took us a long time to get down becouse of road works on the road but we got down eventually. When we got back we to the Maxelreiner brewery for dinner. I had schnitzel and chips and it was a very good meal. Afterwards we had a look at the castle where the ownerof the brewery lives and it was huge. Then we went home.
Another terrific Sunday in Bayern.

My weekend

2010-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went over to Sarah's friend's house. He had so many things in his room like a TV, laptop, stereo etc. I thought he was very rich but we then went to another friend's house and her room had also many things like this. I think this is normal in Germany, which is lucky for them. That night I went with her group of friends to a Weinfest in a local town, Nickelheim. This was fun but it was so cold to walk home outside and I had about 4 layers on. And it's not even winter yet.

The next day we went to watch a local soccer match in Nickelheim. I think they won 5-0, which is apparently very suprising for them. That night the family taught me a Bavarian card game, which was a bit like Uno. On their cards though they didn't have spades, clubs or diamonds. Instead they had Eichel (acorn), Gras (leaf) and Schain (shell). Overall it was a pretty good weekend.

We havn't had any excursions so far this week, just Impressions Projects and normal school but I did have an incident where I couldn't find out how to get into the house for about 20 minutes. The door didn't have a door handle so I was very confused. Just another difference here from back home.

Another Great Weekend

2010-10-12T02:07:00.000-07:00

On the weekend, my host family took me to Kletterwald near the Chiemsee, this was really fun. At first I was scared of the big heights, but it soon went away because i was more focused on hurrying up & getting to the ground. We spent three hours there, with non-stop work, going from platform to platform & course to course. Afterwards, my hands were pretty sore from all the pulling on ropes & using them to balance. I would have to say that the day was very challenging mentally & physically, but it was well worth it. I managed to escape with minimal injuries & a smile on my face.

On Sunday we went to another moutain, very close to Flintsbach, which my family ski on often during the winter. It was a great day again & there were many people up on the mountain as well. The roads travelling up to the top were very narrow, but motorbikes & the occasional car still continued to speed up. Only yesterday there was an accident where, someone's car went over the side.

The views like always were spectacular & I could see the fog resting in the lower towns & villages from above. We ventured to the highest point of the mountain, then sat & had light lunch. Whilst we were eating, we saw Mrs Kreplin & had a small chat, before she had to leave.

On the way back down we stopped to watch some paragliders preparing to take off. We waited to watch some of them, which was quite interesting.

2010-10-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my host Parents and brother took me to Salzburg. We walked up a busy street with many shops they were filled with souvenirs, and all sorts of things.

As we were walking past a bag shop my host mum pointed out a bag to me that was worth 1798€, it wasn't leather or anything special, it shocked me a bit. Once we reached the end of the street we went to a real Austrian Cafe, there we all had coffee and some traditional Austrian cake, it was good, but very different to what I was used to.

We then went to a Dome and inside were paintings and it was all very beautiful, we lit a candle inside the Dome and then we left. We then went to a castle, we were going to take the train up the hill but we thought that if we walked we could see all the beautiful views. Once we got to the top we walked to the edge and looked over, it was the most amazing view I had ever experie nced. This day for me was an absolute highlight. I will always remember this day.

3. Wochenende

2010-10-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

Am Freitag ging es direkt nach der Schule in Richtung Therme in Bad Aibling. Fast alle Deutschen waren dort mit ihren Austauschpartnern und entspannten sich ungefähr drei Stunden dort. Danach gingen Ryan und ich noch zu Josh und Adrian nach Hause.

Am Samstag war es an der Zeit früh aufzustehen, denn wir fuhren um 7 Uhr nach Österreich Richtung Kufstein und wanderten auf die Ritzaualm, um dort zu frühstücken. Der 2 Stunden dauernde Fußmarsch hat sich durch den herrlichen Ausblick bezahlt gemacht. Wir saßen bei 1116 Höhenmetern draußen im Biergarten und für Ryan war es unglaublich auf dieser Höhe eine Restaurant vorzufinden.

Der Sonntag war sehr entspannend und begann erst am Mittag. Am Abend ging es in das beste bayerische Wirtshaus zum Essen.

Laura Daxenbichler

3rd weekend

2010-10-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Friday after school the Aussies and hosts walked down to the Therme in Bad Abiling. The Therme is a sort of relaxation swimming place with a number of different pools. We spent about 3 hours in the Therme. thereafter Laura and I went to Adrians and Joshua's house for another few hours.

On Saturday my host family went to the "Ritzaualm" in Kufstein in Austria. It was about a two hour walk up to the restaurant where we had a very nice breakfast/lunch.To go right to the top of the mountain is a two day walk so we thought we would just do the short walk.

The views that we were rewarded with at the top were spectacular. Once we returned from the walk we all had a short sleep because we were all exhausted. That night I went to Joshua's house for the night which was fun.

On Sunday we had a quiet afternoon at home then my host family treated me to a very nice German meal at a restaurant in our town called the 'Wirt Von Dred'.

Can't believe that its our third weekend already time really is flying.

Ryan Kupferle

Amerang, Chiemsee, Hinterglasmalerei, Stadtrallye, Heimatmuseum, Grillnachmittag bei Herr Rutz, Bad Feilnbach Apfelmarkt

2010-10-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday October 6 the German and Aussie Exchange group were accompanied by Herr Gerd Kramer and Frau Sabine Stuerzelmeyer to the Amerang Bauernhaus Museum. The museum complex housed a number of houses that date back to the 17th Century.

What was particularly noteworthy was that the doorways to the houses were extremely low indicating that the people of this era were very short. They lived to about 40 years of age and this was due to extremely difficult living conditions with severe winters keeping them housebound. Open fires in the house would be flueless and hence parts of the house, including the kitchen would be filled with smoke and this would adversely affect health. The beds were all very small and were totally enclosed (box beds). Our students were bemused by the fact that chickens were kept in the kitchen to encourage them to lay in the winter as outside was far too cold.

After the very informative tour of Amerang, we reboarded the coach and travelled to the Chiemsee, the largest lake in Bayern. The fog by this time cleared just as we entered Prien. We went by boat to the Castle Herrenchiemsee which was the residence of King Ludwig II, the infamous Ludwig who also built two more castles, the world famous Neuschwanstein (which formed the basis of Disneyland's castle) and Lindenhof, the smallest and arguably the best of the three.

King Ludwig was a big devotee of the French Kings, especially King Louis XIV and XV. The Herrenchiemsee was meant to be an exact replica of the Palace of Versailles. In fact it was that, but he only completed a third of the structure, hence the wings of the Palace of Versailles were missing. Nevertheless, we did a tour of the castle and our students were blown away by the ostentatiousness of the appointments within the castle. This was one self indulgent King.

Sadly we weren't permitted to take photos as the flashes would have compromised the paintings and would have detracted from the experience of other visitors with flashes going off all over the place. Another reason no doubt would have been so that they could make some money out of the production of souvenirs etc.

The weather was absolutely delightful as we made our way out of the Palace and back down towards the ferry where we passed the Benedictene Monastry which at one time housed monks and which lateer served as the residence of King Ludwig as he oversaw the construction of his monument to the French Sun Kings.

Once back on the ferry we were then conveyed to my favourite, the Fraueninsel (the Women's Island). This small island is a delight because of a number of factors, it is home to 300 residents, many of whom are artists, fishermen and nuns who still occupy the convent which was built in 791. The nuns also run a "Kloesterladen", a shop that sells various religious artefacts, books, locally made produce and art from the island in addition to their honey liquor and marzipans. One can walk around the island in about 15 minutes but it is a terrific journey that fills all the senses as one smells the smoked fish, sees the yachts and small fishing boats and then wanders the tremendous well kept cemetery. The entrance step to the church is almost entirely worn down due to the feet of parishioners passing over it over 900 years.

A very busy day but a great experience for all, many thanks to Sabine and Gerd for being with us that day. Not doubt it wasn't overly stressful for them, however, we appreciated their good humour and company.

On Thursday October 7 the Aussie exchange students were involvedin an Art workshop conducted by Frau Peklo, the Wirtschaftschule Art teacher. The students were involved in Hinterglasmalerei, a traditional form of painting where the artist paints behind glass to produce their pieces. Historically the motifs were religious and honoured the Saints such as St.Florian the patron saint who protected houses from fire and St.Antonius the patron saint for returning lost items. Methinks he was smiling on Max and Elisha at various points.

The students produced their masterpieces through the morning and will be taking them back to Australia to families. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Frau Peklo's time, support and encouragement through the workshop.

In the afternoon, directly after school the entire exchange group caught the train to Westerham to visit Herr Rutz who back in Bright in March had invited the entire group to a Grill (BBQ) at his place. Once we arrived at his house we conveyed all drinks, food, seats etc down along the river to a small clearing right on the river. Anjan, Herr Rutz's son had set up the BBQ and greeted us in both English and German. Again, the students were also warmly received by both Herr Rutz and his wife. We ate Semmeln (breadrolls) with scrumptious pork sausage and a very tasty salad. The Mangfall river flowing right past us was a lovely backdrop.

Thanks to the Rutz family for providing a tremendous Barbie and great company as well. It really was good for the German students to be reacquainted with their previous Direktor (Principal) and for the Aussies to make their connection with Herr Rutz again after the Passau trip.

On Friday October 8, Herr Kramer und Herr Gehart organised a Stadtrallye (town orientation) for the Aussie exchange kids. After negotiating various questions and areas through the town the group ended up in the beautiful Bad Aibling Kurpark, voted as one of the top 5 parks in Germany. We went into the Heimatmuseum. A very enthusiastic guide took us through the museum and showed us many relics. Of particular note was some of the artefacts that were found in Bad Aibling including several swords dating back to the Roman times and a mammoth tusk that was found in the Moors. The town of Bad Aibling dates back to the 8th Century and it was difficult for our Aussie students to conceptualise this as we can't imagine any civilisation as such being so old. Some of our students are sure to revisit the museum as they were entranced by the information.

Later on in the afternoon we went to the Therme Bad Aibling which is a swimming pool complex that also houses various spas, saunas, and unique bathing areas. We thank the Mayor of Bad Aibling Herr Schwaller for sponsoring the Therme experience. Students were allowed the whole afternoon in the complex gratis thanks to the Bad Aibling Shire.

Friday night many of us watched Deutschland play Turkey in a European Cup qualifier. This match was played in Berlin and was particularly interesting because Berlin is the largest Turkish populated city outside Turkey. Germany won 3-0 and with about 20 minutes to go, half the crowd left the stadium.

Today, again we were greeted with fog and it fell like very light drizzle. By 2.30pm it started to clear up and we drove to Bad Feilnbach, a small village in the vicinity for their very famous Apfelmarkt. Bad Feilnbach is the Wandi of the area and the Apfelmarkt allows local producers of apples to showcase their wares. It was my first visit and both Michelle and I were really impressed with the market. They were selling and demonstrating just about everything including cars, solar panels, bathroom finishes and delectable local produce and foods such as Steckelfisch (fish on a stick), humongous trout slow cooked over hot coals.

In the tents, traditional Bayerische Gerichte was consumed with Bavarian bands playing traditional tunes. I must say this was probably the best market I have been to, the atmosphere was great, the crowds manageable in relation to numbers, I never felt overwhelmed by hordes of people and there was plenty of space to sit down and eat and drink in relative quiet despite the music playing in the background. Leaving the market we glanced across to the right and saw the last rays of the sun shining resplendently on the Wendelstein, the iconic mountain in this area. What a tremendous way to finish off what was a great day.

Kletterwald in Prien

2010-10-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Heute waren wir im Kletterwald in Prien. Das war echt schön. Zuerst hat man eine Sicherheitseinführung bekommen, wie man den Gurt richtig anlegt und die Karabiner einhängt. Danach durften wir selbst losklettern. Es gibt unterschiedliche Höhen: 2 - 14 Meter. Zwei Pfade in 12 und 14 Meter Höhe darf man erst ab 12 bzw. 14 Jahren betreten. An einer Station kannst du z. B. in einem Auto durch die Luft fahren. Es gibt viele verschiedene Variationen zu bewältigen, wie z. B. ein senkrecht hängendes Netz, einzeln hängende Platten oder Baumstämme, Netzröhren und weitere wacklige Angelegenheiten. Am Ende eines Parcours konnte man mit einer Art Seilbahn nach unten fahren. Am schwierigsten fand ich, die Seilschlaufen, die lose in der Luft gebaumelt sind, zu durchqueren. Ein frei stehender 8 Meter hoher Baumstamm wurde aufgestellt. Dort kann man hochklettern und im freien Fall nach unten springen.
Wir hatten sehr viel Spaß - Eleisha hat ihre Höhenangst gut überwunden...

Magdalena Huber

Kristallwelten in Wattens

2010-10-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, my host family took me to Austria, to the Swarovski Crystal museum.

During the drive I observed the beautiful scenery, the mountains were so majestic and huge, I was just amazed.

We stopped just before we got to Austria, and my host mother bought a sticker so we could go into Austria. Chrissi then asked me; "Do you need to buy one of these when you drive your car to another country in Australia?"

I thought it was funny as we can´t actually drive our car to another country where we come from, unless you put it on a boat or something.

Once we were at Swarovski, we went for a small walk in the gardens, which were beautiful and filled with lovely sculptures.

We got inside the museum and we were astonished by amazing crystal sculptures and artwork.

It was kind of strange, because everything was kind of wierd, I couldn´t really understand who could come up with such strange things. But obviously someone did.

After we had been through the whole museum we went into the shop and browsed all of the jewellery. It was all very expensive but really nice.

So in conclusion, I had a fantastic day and I can´t wait for the other adventures my host family will take me on.

Samantha Young
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Am Sonntag, den 03. Oktober sind Sam, meine Familie und ich nach Wattens zu den Swarovski-Kristallwelten gefahren.

Es war ein sehr schöner Tag. Seit langem hat mal wieder die Sonne gescheint und wir konnten wunderbar die Berge in Österreich sehen. Außerdem war es, denke ich, auch für Sam ein schönes Erlebnis, die vielen schönen Glassteinskulpturen und andere Swarovskiklunker zu sehen :)

MfG
Chrissi Santl

Quiet Weekend in Germany

2010-10-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Am letzten Samstag war mein Austauschpartner Nathan Gasperoni mit Adrian, Joschua und Max in der Erdinger Therme. Dort hatte er eine Menge Spaß mit den anderen und eine große Auswahl an Rutschen. Als er am Abend zurückkam war er erstmal etwas müde. Nachdem meine Eltern bei Verwanten waren, machten wir uns ein paar Pizzen.

Am Sonntag dann sind wir früh aufgestanden, damit wir früh Richtung München fahren könnten. Mit dem Auto fuhren wir ungefähr um 9:00 nach Aying und von dort aus mit dem Zug nach München zum Oktoberfest. Dort war es dann sehr voll und wir haben in mehrere Bierzelte geschaut um einen Sitzplatz zu finden um etwas zu trinken. Etwas später waren Nathan und ich beim schießen und für das erste mal war echt sehr gut. Danch probierte er noch ein halbes Hendel und eine bayrische Breze. Nachdem wir gegessen hatten besichteten wir noch die Bavariastatue und die St. Peters Kirche. Bei der zurückfahrt traffen wir noch meine Schwester die übers Wochenende weggefahren war. Als wir zu Hause ankammen machte meine Mutter für uns alle einen Schweinsbraten, der Nathan denke ich geschmeckt hatte. Nachdem wir gegessen hatten sind wir alle langsam ins Bett gegangen und haben uns auf Montag vorbereitet.

Wolfgang Radke

Our Chiemsee Experience

2010-10-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Today we have just got home from our day trip to Chiemsee, a large lake about an hour by bus from Bad Aibling. After arriving at school at normal time, approx. 8 a.m. we boarded our coach to Chiemsee.

After what was a very short trip in comparison to others i've done whilst in Germany we arrived to a sunny and reasonably warm day in Chiemsee. The lake itself has a surface area of around 80² km. The lake has three islands: Herreninsel (gentleman's island) which is the largest and houses a monastery and Castle Herrenchiemsee, Fraueninsel (lady' island) which is much smaller, but is populated by a small village and a nunnery and the last is Krautinsel (herb island), which is uninhabited.

We went by ferry to Herreninsel first, where we walked from the dock near the monastery to the Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Why King Ludwig II wanted a third castle for himself on an island in a lake beats me. But they did say he was mad...... Anyway, we first caught sight of the castle from a side entrance. It is a beautiful castle, but not as i expected it. It is not your typical castle with parapets and towers, but rather a grand building which makes you stop and look. King Ludwig II wanted the castle to replicate Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles. As we found out on our tour, Ludwig was quite a fan of the French King.

We embarked on our separate journeys through the castle in our language groups, which we were very lucky to have because I can imagine that having the tour in another langauge wouldn't help improve the experience. Unfortunately photography isn't allowed inside the castle, so sorry to all parents. But that didn't stop one sly figure in our group taking the old sneaky pic while the tour hostess wasn't around. Oh, how we dislike him........

The tour was amazing though, the castle really is something to behold, even if it is unfinished. The construction of the castle was halted mid-process because of the King's financial woes, so only the central third of the complex was complete. It was planned to have two wings either side of the central part, but even that is still being finished and refurbished.

We all made sure we had some good photos from outside the spectacular castle before we left to board our next boat to Fraueninsel. 10 minutes by boat and we were arriving at one of the numerous docks on the small island. Fraueninsel is an inhabited island, with many, if not all, landowners having their own private jetty and sea vessels. It is only a short walk around the island, but there is plenty to marvel at. The houses themselves aren't anything special, but the views of the lake and the surrounding flora are simply astounding.

We spent an hour or so on Fraueninsel before we disembarked back to the mainland at around 4 p.m. Although some aspects of the trip weren't great eg. (walking everywhere, the sneaky photographer) the positives heavily outweigh the negatives.

So, after a great day blessed with beautiful weather, this is Max Carter, signing off.

(Sorry for the sideways images everyone)

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Heute stand der CHIEMSEE auf dem Programm.
Wir fuhren heute um 8.00 Uhr mit Frau Stürzelmayer und Herrn Kramer mit dem Bus zuerst ins Bauernhofmuseum im Amerang und danach ging es weiter nach Prien am Chiemsee, wo wir mit dem Schiff zuerst auf Herrenchiemsee übersetzten.
Dort hatten wir eine Führung im Schloss Herrenchiemsee und wanderten durch den Park zurück zur Anlegestelle.
Von dort aus ging es weiter zur Fraueninsel, wo wir eine Stunde Zeit hatten uns auf der Insel umzusehen.
Müde und voll von neuen Eindrücken fuhren wir zurück nach Bad Aibling.
Es war ein schöner Tag.

Peter Haidacher

Besuch des Bauernhausmuseums Amerang und Fahrt zum Chiemsee

2010-10-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Am 6. Oktober besichtigten wir das Bauernhausmuseum in Amerang und fuhren zum Chiemsee.
Um 8 Uhr fuhren wir von der Schule los. Zuerst besichtigten wir das Bauernhausmuseum in Amerang, wo wir Führungen in Deutsch (für die Deutschen) und in Englisch (für die Australier) hatten. Es war ganz interessant.
Eineinhalb Stunden später fuhren wir zum Chiemsee. Mit dem Boot ging es dann zur Herreninsel, wo uns das Schloss durch Führungen gezeigt wurde. Wir wurden genauso aufgeteilt wie im Bauernhaus Museum. Anschließend verweilten wir noch eine ganze Zeitlang auf der Insel, bevor es mit dem Boot weiter zur Fraueninsel ging. Dort konnte jeder auf eigene Faust die Insel erkunden. Dazu hatten wir eine Stunde Zeit. Das war sehr schön, da es sonnig und warm war. Nun war es auch schon wieder an der Zeit, die Rückreise anzutreten.
Um ca. 18 Uhr kamen wir an der Schule an. Es war ein sehr schöner und erlebnisreicher Tag.

Franziska Lohse

Ein ganz normaler Tag

2010-10-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

Gestern war ein weniger aufregender Tag. Wir deutschen hatten ganz normalen Unterricht während unsere Gastgeschwister an ihren Projekten arbeiteten.
Kurz vor der Pause, gab es noch einen unerwarteten Feueralarm.
Nach der Schule, fuhr ich mit Elisha und Christina mit dem Zug nach Rosenheim zum shoppen. Am späten Nachmittag fuhren wir dann wieder nach Hause, da wir alle total müde waren.
Sarah Reiser

Just a normal day

2010-10-05T11:31:00.001-07:00

Today was not a very exciting day. We went to school as usual but we did start our Impressions Projects, which is good. I only had one normal school class because of it, which was even better. We also had a practice fire drill, which was a lot quicker and more organised then ours back in Bright.

After school I went with Sarah and Christina on the train to Rosenheim to go shopping. I was shocked at how cheap some of the prices were. We went to an ice-creamery and got an ice-cream for only one euro compared to our 4 dollar ones back home.

We went to many stores and by the end of it I was very tired. I think that might have something to do with the fact that there was nearly a flight of stairs in every store, which I was not used to. Hopefully we can all get a good nights rest and have a great day tomorrow in Chiemsee.

A weekend in München

2010-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 2nd, Franziska and I set off on our way to München for the weekend. We went by train which was mostly full of people who were on their way to the Oktober Fest.Our first stop was to visit the Glockenspiel which was really nice. There were so many people who came to see it.

Then we jumped on another train and went out to Olympic Park where we went to the BMW museum. We spent a while there not realising how big it actually was and how much there was to see. I do admit though I wouldn't want to go there with any car lovers though because they could spend ages there reading about the history of the cars and motorbikes and how far they've come.

After our trip at the BMW museum we went back into the city and grabbed something to eat and drink and then it was time to do some shopping. My plan was to buy some presents for my family but that didn't quite work out that way, instead we just went shopping for clothes for ourselves. Once we started to get tired we went by train to Franziska's Aunty and Uncle's house where we stayed the night.

Sunday the 3rd, Franziska, her uncle, her cousin and I were off to the Oktober Fest. We met up with Peter and Max who joined us for the day. When we arrived I couldn't believe how many rides and rollercoasters there were. By about 1pm we could hardly move from one place to another. There were so many people there, it was crazy. Once we were all tired of not being able to move we found our way out and went to the train station which took us about 45 minutes back into Rosenheim.

Then once we arrived home my host parents took Franziska and I to the closing of the Rosenheim Garden Festival. They had a live band there and at the end there was a bunch of fireworks which looked really cool and topped of a good weekend.

By Kayla Harris

JUST A CASUAL DAY

2010-10-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the 4th of October, we just had a normal school day, but Sam Y, Abbey L and I were running late to class because we were having a little bit of trouble finding the room. Once we finally got there the teacher opened the door and as Abbey went to walk in, tripped over and the whole class was in hysterics, it was the funniest thing.

After school Angelina, Sam and I caught the bus to Rosenheim to go shopping. At about 3.00pm we met up with Abbey, Selina and her boyfriend Phillip, we went and had a coffee, then Angelina and I went home with her Aunty.

Today the 5th of October was a just a normal school day again, we got to school and had our home group. Then we all started on our Impressions projects, I think everyone's is coming along nicely.

After school we caught the bus home and had some lunch, then we walked up to the Post Office.

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Heute war ein ganz normal Schultag, wir hatten Unterricht und die Australier hatten zuerst Homegroup und dann arbeiteten sie an ihrem Projekt.
Als wir Schule aus hatten, nahmen wir den Bus nach Hause und aßen zu Mittag.
Anschließend musste ich lernen und wir gingen zusammen zur Post und zum Schokoladen.

Angelina Schmidt

A Great Day On The Moutain

2010-10-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went with my family to Austria. We went there to hike up a moutain called Spitzstein. It was a bit of hard work, but the rewards were great. It was a lovely day, very sunny and warm and so many people had the same idea as us. On the way up, we saw many ponies, that just like the cows the farmers had taken up to the moutains to graze. They were all very friendly and we had great fun patting them. Once we had gotten to the top, we had some lunch, as always it was very yummy. Then we spent a couple of hours up there enjoying the breath-taking views & great weather.

Whilst we were up there we had a couple of rounds of 'snap' and 'go-fish'. Although, my family are new to both games, they have caught on very quickly. To my dismay, I often found myself falling behind.

After a long time sitting down and relaxing, we decided that it was time we headed back down. Although it was a shame to be leaving such beautiful views behind, I managed to take a lot of photos, so it wasn't as bad. When we had finally completed our descent, we were all pretty worn out. So we headed off home. The afternoon was then pretty easy, we didn't do too much after that big trip.

It was a great day, I had a really good time and I would gladly do it every weekend. My stay in Germany seems to get better every day. With so many things to see and do I don't miss home at all.

Tag der Deutsche Einheit

2010-10-04T01:39:00.001-07:00

Amidst all the celebrations of the 200th Anniversary of the Oktoberfest, it is easy to have overlooked another significant event, the 20th Anniversary of the Reunification of Germany. Normally it is a national holiday but this year it fell on the Sunday and consequently may have been more subdued. Nevertheless, it is a momentous occasion and a cause for reflection. Twenty years ago the two German independent states finally reunified after a terrible period of separation.

Our students prior to their departure for Germany watched documentary footage of the many escape attempts and deprivations of liberties of those who lived in the former ironically named German Democratic Republic.

Celebrations in the form of concerts and street parties were held throughout the country. Tributes poured in from Obama and other dingitaries. Ex Russian President Gorbachev who in essence was one of the architects of freedom and reunification also congratulated the Germans. Gorbachev was in Frankfurt on Saturday and announced that Germany was the shining light of countries who wanted to proceed towards democracy.

The German President Christian Wulff used the occasion to call for more unity and indicated that Muslims were also Germans in an effort to head off debate about differences.

An interesting atmospheric phenomenon allowed Bavarians to enjoy their magnificent natural surroundings in all its splendour yesterday. A "foehn" wind drives warm air downwards from the Alps and creates quite pleasant temperatures.

We ventured to the Tegernsee, a magnificent lake that takes your breath away and walked around part of it. It was magnificent and a real crowd puller. There were many family groups and the environs also offer respite to people convalescing from various physical injuries. I couldn't think of a more serene place to recover, it must do wonders for the mind as well as provide ample opportunities to go for gentle walks.

Today, our students started preparing for their Impressions Project "Eindruecke". They are to present these to both parents and students in the near future. At our homegroups we have been
discussing noteworthy differences between our two lands and cultures, interesting events etc. Our group have delivered some quite intriguing observations which will hopefully be conveyed into their projects.

This week, the partner Powerpoint presentations will be delivered to classes. Wednesday will be a highlight with the trip to Amerang to see the 400 year old farm and then the boat trip to the two islands on the Chiemsee, the largest lake in the area.

A taste of what's going on..

2010-10-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's finally my turn to write a post so I think it's best to do it right away.

We've all been here for around 10 days now and I'm pretty sure everyone is enjoying themselves a lot and having been doing quite a bit.

We all had our first week of school last week. It was a new experience for us all, even myself who has experienced it before. A large section of the school has been relatively recently renovated and a very big amount has been added on since I was last here. The way classes operate has also changed slightly. Last time, it was the teachers who would move between different classrooms where the students waited for the next class, but the school has since adopted a system in which each teacher has their own classroom and the students have to move around. More like ours at home.

I've been up to a few things whilst I've been here. One day, I drove with my family to a town not too far away, and we stopped at the bottom of a mountain track. We met up with a few other families there, including Ryan's and Eleisha Young's. We then proceded to make our way up the mountain. It was a beautiful walk but extremely tiring. Once we reached the top, I was surprised to find a very, very nice restaurant at the top. What was even more surprising was that it was almost full. It was a surprise because the only way up the mountain was the very tiring walking track. I don't think I know many people in Australia that, of a weekend, would simply hike up a mountain for the sake of it. But here it's quite common.

That's only one example of the many, many things I and the others have been up to during our stay so far. And there's still heaps more planned, (and not planned).

Homesickness hasn't really been a problem for me, probably because it's not my first time away from home for so long, and also probably because most of my home is here with me.. but nonetheless, not everyone is here and it can be a little sad at times. Especially when you can't talk to people regularly because of time differences. But hopefully with a bit more time, it won't be as bad.

This is just a small insight into the activities and feelings I'm sure most of us have been doing or having.

I look forward to writing my next post.

Signing off,

Joshua J. E. Kusch

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Nun ist es soweit, die Australier sind schon seit 1 Woche und 4 Tagen hier. Ich denke und bin auch der Meinung, dass sie sich alle schon in ihren Familien gut eingelebt haben. In der Schule kommen Sie auch schon gut zurecht und sind mit dem Wandern der Klassen zufrieden. Ich habe mit meinem Austauschpartner Josh Kusch schon viel unternommen. Wir waren auf der Tregler Alm nähe Bad Feilnbach, in Rosenheim mit Laura und Ryan und letzten Samstag waren wir in der Erdinger Therme. Letze Woche war die ganze Austauschgruppe am Donnerstag und Freitag in Passau und konnten sich dort die Stadt anschauen. Am Freitag fuhren wir dann in den Bayrischen Wald und konnten dort Tiere und Bäume anschauen.

Adrian Schubert

2. Wochenende

2010-10-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Am Freitag kamen wir ca. um 18:00 Uhr bei den Gastfamilien an. Da die letzten zwei Tage sehr angstrengend waren, haben wir uns erst mal erholt und relaxed.

Am Samstag besuchten wir das Oktoberfest, für mich war es auch das erste mal und es war eine schöne Erfahrung. Danach machten wir noch einen kleinen Rundgang durch die Innenstadt von München.

Obwohl sich Ryan am Sonntag eine Erkältung eingefangen hatte, genossen wir die 21 Grad im Garten. Am Abend fuhren wir noch in die Landesgartenschau und bewunderten das Feuerwerk.

Laura Daxenbichler

Wendelstein

2010-10-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today my host family and I went to the Wendelstein. We travelled up the mountain on the train. We first visited the church there and did a bit of looking around. You could see mountains already covered in snow, which we think were in Austria. We then went into the cave, which was very cramped and crowded. Lots of people were in there though to see a statue of Jesus Christ on the cross. After that we walked up to the very top of the mountain which was 1840 metres high. It was very tiring to get up there but the view was beautiful, we could even see the school from where we were. Up there was also a weather station and an observatory. There was also a gate blocking tourists from these places with metal spikes around it. I thought that was a bit extreme.
We came back down and met up with Holly and Angie and had some drinks at the Wendelsteinhaus, as their mum, dad and brother climbed to the top. At 3.25 we came back down and went out for tea, then for ice cream.
Overall it was a pretty good day, which was made even better by the sunny weather.

german weekend

2010-10-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday we arrived back in Bad Aibling at about 6 pm, we then unpacked our stuff from the trip and relaxed after a hard day of the Bavarian National Park. That night Laura and I went to my hostbrother´s friend´s place for a few hours. On Saturday we went to the OKTOBERFEST by train. It was lots of fun and amazing to see so many people in one place, most of which were American, Italian. We than went into Munich to see the city. On Sunday i got sick with a cold so i´ve been sleeping in bed all day. Hopefully will be better as soon as possible.

Ryan Kupferle

Quiet Weekend in Germany

2010-10-03T09:23:00.001-07:00

After having a week to settle in it is a lot easier to have fun once you have got used to it. On Saturday Josh, Max, Adrian, his friend and I went to a water fun/relaxing center called Therma Erding. One part of the complex was a big pool and spas, the next was an area to just lie down and rest and the other part was a big dome with lots of waterslides. We spent most of the time on the water slides and there were a lot of them so it was hard to get bored but easy to get a headache because of all the noise in such a small area. But it was still heaps of fun. The complex was about two hours away on the train and bus, but was worth the wait.

Today I went to the Oktoberfest with my family and it was amazing. There were people everywhere and it was just unbelievable, there was so much like rollercoasters, little stalls with games, huge beer tents that could fit nearly ten thousand people in them, hundreds of food stalls that sold roast chickens, roast duck, nuts, bretzels and heaps more. There were also museums and historical things that have been around since the start.

More than half the people were dressed up in the traditional clothes and other people decided to wear random things that had nothing to do with it. Inside the beer tents you could hardly hear yourself speak, it was extremey loud and even afterwards when you're utside and two hundred metres away you can still hear the noise coming from inside these tents.

From up on the hill looking down at the Otoberfest it is massive and there are just people everywhere and when you're down there it is almost impossible to walk around it's that full. Tomorrow is the last day of the festival for this year and it would not be fun to have to clean it all up and pack it all away until next year when they have to set it all up again. There are six beer tents I think and the only breweries allowed are ones from Munich.

The people working in the tents have to be strong becouse they carry around up to about nine or ten of the big glasses, Steins, which all have a litre of beer in them and then they have to walk around in between everyone which is a challenge when you're not carrying anything.

The Oktoberfest is in its two hundreth year and it is an awesome experience to go to such a huge event and when I was sitting down eating half a chicken and a bretzel that was even bigger, it was a great feeling knowing what you're a part of and you can tell how special it is to the Germans when you're there because everyone absolutely loves it For something to go for just under three weeks and pulls in millions of visitors as well as Euros, you know it is huge.

Everyday keeps getting better here in Germany and I hope it continues like this.

Nahan Gasperoni

Passau Trip

2010-10-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the 30th of September, everyone came to school as usual, but we met in the Mensa. Then at 8.00am we left for Passau. At about 11.00am we arrived and after a little bit of driving around we found the youth hostel and got our rooms, then we walked down into the town with a tour of Passau given by Herr Rutz.

Once we had reached the town we had a little bit of time to get some lunch and a drink. We then met at a boat "Die Gisela"which we boarded and sailed down the 3 rivers. It was really cool how they were all different colours and then when they joined you could see the line where they met.

After we got off the boat, Herr Rutz took us to some places and spoke about them. After that we had some free time until 7.oopm, I think most of us went shopping. At 7.oopm we met for dinner in a restaurant right next to the Danube River.

After our dinner at about 9.oo ish, we adventured back to the hostel, it was very dark and hard to see the way. On the way, there was a little lookout with a view of Passau. It was beautiful with all the lights. We went to our rooms and settled then slept.. as we were all pretty tired.

Holly Pronk
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Unser Tag in Passau und der anschließende Tag im Bayrischen Wald und in der Glasbläserstadt waren einfach schön. Es war eine schöne Erfahrung und die Gruppe hat sich wie schon in Australien sehr gut verstanden.

Angelina Schmidt

Passau, Drei Fluesse Stadt

2010-10-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Early Thursday morning our entire exchange group, Frau Kreplin, Herr Lehrer, Michelle and our special guest, Herr Rutz filed on to our coach to Passau. Three hours later, 250km travelled and with numb bums we emerged out of the fog and saw the splendid Donau (Danube) in regal sunshine.

Passau is now a university city of about 50,000 residents and houses about 8,000 students. Its beauty and popularity in part is due to it being the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Donau and the Inn as well as a tributary, the Ilz. What is more spectacular and unique is that the three water courses are distinctly different colours. The Donau is a blue, the Inn which originates from the Swiss Alps is a distinctive green blue due to the lime and the Ilz originates approximately 70km upstream in the Bavarian Forest and is a distinctive black due to filtering through peat. At one point all three rivers converge and it is fascinating to see the colours then blend as the waters then flow down towards the Black Sea.

The Donau originates in the Black Forest in Germany and then flows through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and Romania. River cruises understandably are very popular on the Danube and we took one which was terrific. We were blessed with splendid sunshine which lit up the Altstadt. We felt truly blessed and countless pics were snapped. We perused the brochures for cruises and a variety beckoned .

We stayed at Veste Oberhaus which was a castle fortress built in 1218 and for the most part was where the Bishop was housed. Napoleon at one point occuped it. It is a truly magnificent structure and is now part of the DJH (Deutsche Jugendherberge, part of the youth hostel network throughout Germany). For more information on its fascinating history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veste_Oberhaus

It was a great feeling to be able to open the windows in the hostel and have a magnificent view immediately below us to the Danube and the Altstadt. Amazing stuff.

We went walking around the old city yesterday and had Herr Rutz as our tour guide. He went to school in Passau as a teenager some years ago and he reminisced about the various parts of the city. It is a lovely city with many narrow streets and a mix of old and new. As we were crossing the main bridge into the Altstadt, I noted a couple of Australian voices immediately behind us. Being ever nosy, I ventured the question as to whether they were Aussies and it transpired that I was indeed correct. Not only that but they were the aunt and uncle of one of the Year 8 students at Bright.

Today we went to the Bavarian National Forest right next to the Czech Republic border. It was very picturesque and the Bavarian Government decreed that it would allow the forest to naturally regenerate and not allow any logging. It also endeavoured to preserve the wildlife that was once near extinct. Within very large, and natural, enclosures we could sight lynx, brown bears, wolves and wild boars. Well worth a visit.

We were really lucky with the weather both days, in other parts of Bayern it rained a fair bit, we only had the odd shower and that was tempered as it didn't really penetrate the canopy of firs, spruces and beech.

We arrived back in Bad Aibling just after 6pm and ventured back to our respective abodes much richer for experiencing another fascinating area of Bayern.

Beautiful & Interesting Germany

2010-09-28T11:05:00.001-07:00

I had my second day of school today, i really enjoyed it. It was very interesting to see the differences between the two schools.
I went for a bike ride with Magdalena, the scenery was really beautiful. I was very suprised when we stopped in a field where there are many flowers growing, there was a sign there & Maggy explained that you can pick the flowers but you must pay for them in the tin. I looked around & asked who checks to see if you pay the right amount, or if you pay at all. She explained that it had a system of trust. So we collected some flowers, paid & hopped on our bikes, heading for home.
I'm noticing many differences between Germany & Australia & many different customs too. Last night i went for a walk with Magdalena & my host mother, I saw two big pictures of Storks I asked what they were & it was explained that; when someone has a baby, these are put out the front of their house & people can come & put some baby things either in them or on them.
It's great to hear lots of interesting facts about the people, places & things in Germany. It hasn't even been a week & i'm having so much fun. I can't wait for the rest to come.

Sunday Brunch

2010-09-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

On our first Sunday in Germany all of the exchange partners and their host famlies went to the school in Bad Aibling for a Sunday Morning Brunch.
At 10 o'clock we all met our friends and their families at the Bad Aibling school. Frau Kreplin and Herr Lehrer updated us on what was happening and gave their famlies an up to date plan for the children.
We then sat down for something to eat and talked with our friends. It was a good way to meet all of the host famlies and have a chat.

After the brunch we all went our own ways, still feeling a little bit tired. Some of us went for a hike in the mountains or shopping in the towns or some of us just had a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful first Sunday for the Australian kids!!

First Weekend

2010-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the school at about 7 30 and went and met up with Herr Lehrer and Frau Kreplin in the school. We left our bags in a room and then went and had some breakfast and saw our host patners for the first time since they left Albury station a long time ago and it was nice to see them all again.

We were then taken by Herr Lehrer on a tour of the school we will be attending for the next three and a half weeks and it is a very nice, newly renovated school and it looked really good. We then made our way down to the local church and introduced ourselves twice to the students and staff.

After we met our host families and went to what will be our homes for the next three and a half weeks before going to Berlin, we spent the rest of the day getting to know them and our surroundings.

The next day I went to meet my host mother's parents and had something to eat with them which was nice. My host family then took me to an old car museum and that was really good to see all the German cars.

This morning we met up with all the families at the school for brunch and it was nice to see some Aussies again. I then went with my host family to Munich to do a tour of the Allianz Arena, home ground of FC Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. The stadium was amazing. It is very new and looks nothing like any other in the world. That will definitely be one of the highlights of my trip.

What a great start to the trip,
Nathan Gasperoni

First days in Germany

2010-09-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Melbourne Airport at 11:30 on Thursday morning, early for our scheduled 12:00 meeting as a group. “I wonder if my bag is over the weight limit” Ryan says to me. “Well, mine weighed 15 kg at home so I’ll be fine” I said to him. We were both over. My bag was 22 kg. I blame it on mum´s incorrect scales.

At 2:00 we met up as a group the second time, after checking in our baggage and began the process of boarding our flight. Our plane left at 3:45 and we were all excited to finally be on our way to Germany. The meals weren´t the best but you can´t expect plane food to be great.

After 8 hours on the plane we arrived in Singapore. It was only a 100 meter walk to the next boarding area from our plane, and luckily we only had a 1 hour stop-over period. We were all showing signs of fatigue, as it was the middle of the night in Australia, but we were determined to get our body clock into German time.

The 12 hour flight to Munich was a long one. After watching one in flight movie I tried to sleep, but was unsuccessful. The passenger next to me had a great 10 hour sleep, compared to the 3 hours I would have had. We were all awake well before we landed in Munich, at 5:00 local time. After our 1 hour bus trip we arrived in what many of us now call home, Bad Aibling.

The school treated us to a tour of their new facilities, which were great I might add, and we also bought some breakfast from the school canteen. After our tour we walked a short distance to a local church where we introduced ourselves to the school.

At 11:00 our host families picked us up from school and we made our way home. I spent most of the afternoon unpacking and also had a quick nap because I was to go on a tour that night.

After a short drive and walk my host family and I arrived at the light show walk, which was marked by the oldest water wheel in Germany. Although it was a long night of walking, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

After an 11 hour sleep from midnight German time to 11 am I had a meal ( I guess it was breakfast) and then at 1:30 Peter (my host brother) and I went to the train station and caught the train to Rosenheim. Rosenheim is a much bigger city than Bad Aibling, and is famous for its great shopping. We met up with some of the other exchange students and spent the afternoon walking the beautiful streets of Rosenheim.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip,

Max Carter

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Am Freitag war es soweit, die Austauschschüler sind gekommen!

Als wir zuhause ankamen packte Max, mein Gastbruder, seine Sachen aus und am Abend machten wir uns auf zum „Felsenzauber“. Hierbei wurde in Kiefersfelden die „Gießenbachklamm“ mit den Verschiedensten Lichtfarben und Effekten beleuchtet.

Am nächsten Tag ging es um 13:30 Uhr auf den Weg mit dem Zug nach Rosenheim, wo wir uns mit ein paar andern Schülern des Austausches trafen. Wir zeigten ihnen die Stadt, gingen Shoppen und aßen eine typisch bayerische „Bratwurst“.

Am Abend besuchten Max und ich noch eine Geburtstagsfeier.

Peter Haidacher

Wir sind hier !!

2010-09-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

The kids at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne

Finally we have arrived in Bad Aibling. After a 21 hour flight which thankfully was uneventful, we arrived in Munich at 5am. We were transferred to Bad Aibling by bus and shortly before arriving we were welcomed with a brilliant sunrise that illuminated the Alps.

Once at school we were welcomed by Frau Kreplin and Herr Lehrer. Some decided to have a little to eat for breakfast but most of us were still trying to digest the countless, regular feedings on the Singapore Airlines flight.

We were treated to a walk around the school and especially the new addition to the school. We were most impressed at how open it was and how much light it let in. A terrific feature was the acoustic pine/beech wall linings that adorned all the new classrooms, not only do they look tasteful but keep the noise both in and out. Interestingly, the wall panelling is actually a product for their school enterprise where students run a business with an international market.

The Aula (Assembly Hall) in the new part of the School

Our exchange crew walked the short distance to the local Catholic Church where we took part in two services to welcome students into the new year. We introduced ourselves to the student assemblies and then returned to the school where the families picked up our tired kids.

The weather was sensational yesterday, beautiful sunshine, warm and the Germans somewhat affectionately call it an "Altweibersommer", leave you to check it out on Babelfish. This morning we awoke to a fair bit of overnight rain and the prognosis is not too flash but I went for a walk in the afternoon through my favourite forest path and it was fine and the sun is shining brilliantly through the window as I type.

A church in a nearby village

Tomorrow we have a family get together at the school and Monday will be a normal school day so that our students can experience how classes operate.

Sydney Aufenthalt

2010-04-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

Am Mittwoch, den 31. März 2010, wurden wir von unseren Familien an den Bahnhof nach Albury gefahren. Nach einem tränenreichen Abschied stiegen wir in den Zug ein. Nachdem wir eine 8-stündige Fahrt hinter uns hatten, kamen wir müde in Sydney an. Unsere Jugendherberge war nur 5 Minuten vom Bahnhof entfernt und daher konnten wir einchecken und das YHA besichtigen. Unseren ersten Abend verbrachten wir auf der Hotelterrasse, die im 8. Stockwerk war und somit hatten wir einen schönen Blick über die nächtliche Skyline von Sydney.

Am Donnerstag, den 01.04. standen wir auf und machten uns fertig für's Frühstück. Um 9.00 Uhr holte uns unser Bus für eine Stadtrundfahrt ab. Wir fuhren mit dem Bus zur Harbour Bridge und waren überwältigt. Ebenfalls besichtigten wir das Opera House von Sydney, das ebenfalls sehr imposant auf uns gewirkt hat. Ein weiteres Highlight war der Strand Bondi Beach, der mit seinem weißen Sand dazu einlud, den Tag am Strand zu verbringen, aber wir mussten nach kurzem Stop weiter zur Hafenrundfahrt.

Die Hafenrundfahrt war für die Gruppe ein absolutes Highlight das wir sofort wieder machen würden.

Im Anschluss ging es zum Sydney Tower, wo wir eine faszinierende Aussicht über ganz Sydney hatten. Nachdem wir wieder den Boden erreicht hatten, hatten wir einen freien Abend am Darling Harbour, den wir zum Shoppen und essen nutzten.

Am Freitag, den 02.04. standen wir auf und gingen ausgeschlafen zum Frühstück. (:

Danach holte uns unser Bus ab und wir fuhren zusammen zum Featherdale Wildlife Park, wo wir Koalabären und Kangaroos streicheln konnten.

Danach fuhren wir zurück in die Stadt und hatten einen Nachmittag zur freien Verfügung. Am Abend trafen wir uns zu einem gemeinsamen Abendessen in einem Hightech Lokal in Chinatown.

Samstag, den 03.04. brachen wir nach dem Frühstück zum Fährhafen auf, wo wir auf eine Insel fuhren, um dort einen Strandtag zu verbringen. Leider hat es anfangs geregnet doch das Wetter wechselte sehr schnell und wir konnten einen schönen und heißen Tag am Strand genießen.

Am Sonntag den 04.04. gingen ins Aquarium, das sehr schön war. Danach fuhren wir noch einmal in das YHA zurück, um uns noch einmal frisch zu machen und unsere Koffer zu verladen. Kurze Zeit später holte uns unser Bus ab und brachte uns zum Flughafen Sydney.

Nach einem 14-stündigen Flug kamen wir übermüdet am Flughafen in Abu Dhabi an, wo wir sehr herzlich von Frau Kreplins Mann mit Wasser, Datteln und Obst empfangen wurden. Er organisierte uns eine sehr interessante Stadtrundfahrt durch Abu Dhabi und wir fuhren zur 3. größten Moschee und ihr Anblick war atemberaubend.

Wir mussten uns wie die moslimischen Frauen verhüllen, um in die Moschee zu dürfen. Im Anschluss fuhren wir zum Einkaufszentrum, wo wir uns etwas zum Essen kaufen konnten.

Danach fuhren wir nach etwas zeitlicher Verspätung zurück zum Flughafen um den 6-stündigen Flug nach München antreten zu können.

In München wurden wir am 05.04. um 19.00 Uhr sehr herzlich von unseren Familien begrüßt und verabschiedeten uns von unserer Gruppe.

Wir bedanken uns noch einmal sehr herzlich bei unseren Lehrern/Organisatoren/Freunden, die uns das ermöglicht haben.

Dankeschön

Angelina, Selina, Michael

Die letzten Tage in der Familie

2010-04-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Nun geht es endgültig dem Ende zu. Leider! In zwei Tagen geht es auf nach Sydney. Aber die letzten Tage werden wir, glaub ich, alle genießen. Auf jedem Fall ist Packen angesagt. Am Montag waren wir noch mal Baden im Fluss und Freunde besuchen. Am letzten Abend schlief noch einmal meine und Abbies Freundin Nicole bei uns. Es war ein sehr lustiger Abend. Die letzten Stunden brechen an. Früh aufstehen und den Rest einpacken. Noch einmal nachwiegen und dann auf nach Albury. Nach einem letzten gemeinsamen Mittagessen ging es dann zum Verabschieden an den Bahnhof. Voller trauernder Deutschen setzte sich dann der Zug in Bewegung Richtung Sydney. Nach acht Stunden Fahrt erreichen wir dann Sydney und die Jugendherberge. Ein trauriger Tag geht zu Ende. Wir werden unsere australischen Familien und Freunde vermissen.

Franziska Meier

Letztes Wochenende in Bright (27.-28.3.10)

2010-03-29T03:12:00.000-07:00

Diese Wochenende war das letzte mit unseren Austauschfamilien. Ich habe noch ein paar Dinge mit meiner Familie unternommen.

Am Samstag war ich Tandemparagliden mit einem Profi, dessen Eltern aus Deutschland kommen. Ich habe mich etwas mit ihm unterhalten und mich ein wenig über das Paragliden informiert. Der Start war etwas gefährlich, weil ich zu früh gesprungen bin. Im Flug war es dann eigentlich recht angenehm und ich hatte eine großartige Aussicht. Die Berge mit den ganzen Bäumen machten es zu einem einmaligen Erlebnis. Leider waren es nur 20 Minuten, weil die Thermik nicht so gut war. Im Flug hat mir mein "Pilot" dann erzählt, wie er steuert und was der Paraglider immer versucht zu machen. Die Landung war eigentlich ganz gut, ich bin aber ein wenig in die Knie gegangen, wie das jeder beim ersten Mal macht, hat mir dann mein Pilot gesagt. Am Boden hat mich dann meine Gastfamilie mit Peter und seiner Familie erwartet. Am Abend war ich dann mit meiner Familie noch in einem Restaurant und habe mir ein Schnitzel bestellt.

Am Sonntag war ich mit meiner und Peters Austauschfamilie auf der Deer und Emu Farm. Dort hatten wir dann Lunch (ich habe mir ein Hirschgulasch mit Semmelknödel bestellt). Nach dem Essen habe ich noch mit den andern Jungs eine Rundfahrt auf Englisch gemacht in einem alten Kampfjeep. Der Führer hat uns ein wenig über die Verhaltensweise der Hirsche und Rehe erzählt und über seine Familie, wie sie hierher gekommen ist. Nach der Rundfahrt haben wir uns noch die Jungen angeschaut. Am Abend gab es zum Dinner nur eine einfache Suppe, weil wir noch alle voll vom Lunch waren.

Wolfgang

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Today we went for a bike ride in the afternoon to see my cousin. On the way back home we stopped and had a look at some kangaroos which were relaxing on the hill. Tonight we had the farewell for the German students down at the shelter at Howit Park. It was a bit sad to know that the Germans were leaving on Wednesday. Mr Kusch, Mr Pryor, Herr Rutz and Herr Lehrer made some speeches and Herr Rutz's speech was very good and a bit sad. None of the Germans want to go home yet which is nice to know but still sad to think about them leaving. Everyone had a good night and all enjoyed themselves. Wednesday is going to be very sad and no one is looking forward to it.

Nathan Gasperoni

Unser letzter Schultag (26.3.10)

2010-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Am Freitag, den 26.03.2010, war unser letzter Schultag. Am Anfang gab es eine Assembly, in der wir verabschiedet wurden und unser Schuldirektor Günther Rutz auch noch etwas gesagt hat.

In den ersten beiden Stunden hatten wir normalen Unterricht, wir hatten Deutsch und Sport. Dann kam die kleine Pause, in der unsere Schulhemden von vielen Schülern unterschrieben wurden. Die dritte Stunde lief wieder ganz normal ab, wir waren wieder im Unterricht. In der 4ten Stunde gab es dann ein kleines Abschiedsbarbeque, wo alle Schüler und Schülerinnen der 7ten und 10ten Jahrgangsstufe dabei waren.

In der 5ten Stunde waren manche von uns im Unterricht und manche waren in der Bücherei. Nach der 5ten Stunde war dann Schulschluss und Ferienbeginn. Die meisten von uns kauften sich dann ein Eis, gingen in den Park oder bereiteten sich noch für das Impressions Projekt vor.

Wir mussten dann um 17:15 wieder in der Schule sein und um 18:00 Uhr unser Projekte vor unseren Austauschpartnern und unseren Gasteltern vortragen. Danach gingen wir dann noch mit den Lehrern und unseren Austauschpartner in den Park. Um 21:00 Uhr wurden wir dann alle von unseren Gastfamilien wieder abgeholt.

Adrian Schubert

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Ein ganz normaler Schultag (25.3.10)

2010-03-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Heute war es einmal ein ganz normaler Schultag. Jeder ging mit seinen Austauschpartnern in die Klassen. Ich hatte erst zwei Stunden Mathe mit allen meinen Freunden. Nach der Pause ging ich dann mit Nicole, der Cousine von Abbie, in Englisch. In den letzten beiden Stunden war dann Impressionsprojekt angesagt. Jede Gruppe arbeitete an seinem Projekt weiter. Nach einer langen Busfahrt nach Hause, sind Mark, mein Gastvater, und zum Angeln gefahren. Ich habe einen sehr grossen Fisch gefangen, nach 2 Minuten.

Franziska Meier

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Besuch in der Grundschule (25.3.10)

2010-03-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Am Donnerstag waren wir, Laura, Adrian, Herr Lehrer, Mr. Rutz und ich, in den ersten zwei Stunden, zu Besuch in der Primary School Harrietville. Die Schule hat nur 25 Schüler und 2 Klassen. In der einen Klasse sind Vorschüler, erste, zweite und dritte Klasse zusammengefasst, in der anderen vierte, fünfte und sechste Klasse. Zuerst hatten wir die "Kleinen". Zu Beginn haben wir uns vorgestellt und über unsere Zeit hier erzählt und wie es uns gefallen hat. Danach haben sie uns Fragen gestellt oder Geschichten erzählt. Danach wurden wir alle in kleine Gruppen aufgeteilt und die Kinder haben uns etwas vorgelesen. Dann haben Sie für uns Bücher rausgesucht, die wir ihnen dann vorgelesen haben.

Bei den "Großen" haben wir uns zuerst auch vorgestellt und dann wurden uns Fragen gestellt oder Geschichten erzählt. Danach haben wir eine Präsentation über Bayern und unsere Gegend gehalten. Danach sind wir alle zum Basketballplatz (deren neue Turnhalle, ein überdachter aber offener Hartplatz) und haben Cricket gespielt. In der kleinen Pause gab es dann Kuchen für alle, weil ein Mädchen Geburtstag hatte. Wir haben dann noch mit den Lehrern Kaffee getrunken und geredet. Anschließend sind wir wieder in die Schule gefahren und hatten die letzten 4 Stunden normalen Unterricht.

Magdalena Huber

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Ausflug zum Mount Buffalo (24.03.2010)

2010-03-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Heute Morgen wurden wir und unsere Austauschpartner nach der Homegroup von der Schule auf den Mount Buffalo mit dem Bus gebracht. Von dort aus gingen wir ca. eine halbe Stunde einen steinigen Weg bergauf. Am windigen Gipfel hatten wir eine schöne Aussicht. Nach einer kurzen Pause brachen wir dann zum Abstieg auf. Unten angekommen ging es mit dem Bus weiter zu einem See, wo wir dann zu Fuß weiter zu einem Lookout gingen. Dort hatten wir wieder eine wunderschöne Aussicht. Nach dem Lunch gingen wir noch zu einem Wasserfall. Von dort wurden wir dann wieder mit dem Bus nach Bright gebracht. Es war ein wunderschöner Ausflug.

Anna Juffinger
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Unfortunately Roisin Pryor was a bit sick, so she didn't join the group on the trip to Mt. Buffalo. We hope she is well again soon.

M. Lehrer

Australien von einer anderen Seite - Bush Art und SES (23.3.10)

2010-03-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Heute war ein etwas anderer (Schul-)Tag, denn nach der Homegroup, die jeden Tag stattfindet, sind wir in den Kunstraum gegangen um Dot Painting zu machen.
Nach diesen zwei sehr lustigen und entspannten Stunden hatten wir anschließend zwei Stunden Zeit, um an unseren Projekten, die wir schon diesen Freitag vorstellen müssen, zu arbeiten.
Nach diesen vier Stunden harter Arbeit hatten wir eine Stunde lunch, um dann bei Mr. Kusch Adrians 16. Geburtstag zu feiern. Nach diesem "Deutsch Unterricht" ging ich mit Holly, meiner Austauschpartnerin in eine weitere Stunde Deutsch, die aber sehr entspannt war, denn Herr Kusch redete nur mit uns.
Nach der Schule gingen wir zuerst in die Ice Creamery (bestes Eis in Bright) und dann in den Park. Um 19.30 trafen wir Deutschen uns beim SES (State Emergency Service) Shed (SES Haus), das ist so etwas wie das Technische Hilfswerk in Deutschland, um uns dort einen Vortrag über ihre Arbeit anzuhören und Einsatzgeräte wurden uns vorgestellt. Es war sehr interessant.

Angelina Schmidt

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Heute mal ohne Austauschpartner (22.3.2010)

2010-03-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Heute hat einiges in der Schule gefehlt. Für die Austauschpartner der 9. Jahrgangsstufe war es an der Zeit sich zu verabschieden, denn die brachen heute morgen zur Apollo Bay auf. Auch unsere lieben Lehrer hatten nicht vor, wieder in die Schule zu kommen, denn die legten ein verlängertes Wochenende an der Great Ocean Road ein. Deswegen leitete Mr. Kusch heute unsere Homegroup. Im Großen und Ganzen hatten wir einen schönen und interessanten Wochenanfang.

Laura Daxenbichler

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I´m going to Apollo Bay for the Year 9 Camp. Some of the activities are: Surfing, snorkelling, mountain bike riding, canoeing and camping. I´m staying with a host family for four nights. The bust trip to Apollo Bay takes 5 hours, but we have a stop at the beach at Geelong.

Capucine Webber

3. Wochenende in Australien (20.-21.3.2010)

2010-03-23T06:21:00.002-07:00

Am Samstag hab ich erst einmal ausgeschlafen, weil ich total müde von dem Ausflug nach Melbourne war. Am Nachmittag hab ich mich dann mit ein paar Freunden im Park getroffen. Wir gingen zur Eisdiele und haben das schöne Wetter genossen.

Um 6 Uhr abends waren wir erneut im Park, da wir für uns und unsere Partner ein Barbecue organisiert haben. Seppi hatte seine Gitarre dabei und spielte dann ein paar Lieder, auf die wir versucht haben, mitzusingen. Um 10 Uhr war es dann vorbei und wir wurden von unseren Gastfamilien abgeholt. Es war ein wunderschöner Abend, der hoffentlich allen gefallen hat.

Am Sonntag Vormittag bin ich mit meiner Gastfamilie nach Wangaratta ins Kino gefahren und wir haben uns den Film "Dear John" angeschaut. Er war wunderschön! Während der Fahrt war ich von der tollen Landschaft beeindruckt. Am späten Nachmittag spielten wir ein wenig Billiard und fuhren anschließend nach Bright zum Pizzaessen.

Sarah Reiser

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On Friday night I went out to dinner with my mum and my brother for my brother's birthday. As a result and because the bus came in early we were 45 minutes late to pick up Sarah. On Saturday Sarah went to the park to visit her friends whilst I got ready for my camp that week. That night Sarah and I went to the German Barbeque. Soon after I left to go to a family friend's house for a house warming. At 10 I and my mum went and picked up Sarah from the park. The next day, also for my brother's birthday, we went to the movies. My mum and my brother watched "Greenzone" and Sarah and I watched "Dear John". I really liked the movie but bawled my eyes out. Sarah did not cry but I don't think she understood the whole movie. When we got home we opened Adam's birthday presents. That night we went out to dinner at Il Centro with my dad for my brother's birthday. We had a fun time and also met another German, who was the waiter.

Elisha Romeril

Unser 3. Wochenende (20.-21.3.2010)

2010-03-23T06:21:00.001-07:00

Am Samstag organisierten Schüler um 6 Uhr ein BBQ im Howitt Park. Die Gasteltern holten uns gegen 10 Uhr wieder ab. Am Sonntag fuhren ich und meine Gastfamilie nach Beechworth. Wir sahen die berühmte Bäckerei und das Gefängnis von Ned Kelly an. Danach gingen wir ein wenig in der Stadt herum. Wir waren im "Lolly Shop", ein Geschäft, in dem man Süßigkeiten kaufen kann. Als wir wieder zu Hause waren, fuhren meine Gastfamilie mit Adrian, Josh, die Backpacker Jens und Ramona zu einem Pub in Harrietville. Es war ein sehr schöner Abend.

Seppi Lechner

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On Friday we got back from camp and went almost straight to bed. The next day we slept in, then had a leisurely day at home until 5 when we went to Adrian's birthday at the park. It was a lot of fun especially for one Australian... On Sunday we went to Beechworth for lunch and Seppi had his first pie. Lecker. We then went to the court house in Beechworth and visited the lolly shop. That night Adrian, Josh, Jensi, Ramona, mother, father and I went to the Harrietville pub, where Seppi played the guitar. It was a very nice evening.

Ryan Kupferle

Auf nach Melbourne - Year 10 Camp (17.-19.3.2010)

2010-03-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Am Mittwoch Morgen um 06:45 trafen wir uns alle am Busparkplatz der Schule, wo wir von den Year 10 students bereits empfangen wurden. Nach einer vierstuendigen Busfahrt machten wir Mittagspause am sonnigen Sandstrand von Melbourne. Danach besuchten wir ein Museum ueber den Holocaust, welches sehr interessant gestaltet war. Anschliessend ging es auf zum Shoppen. Am Abend, nach einem erfrischendem Schwimmbadbesuch, wurden wir in unserer Jugendherberge von unserem Schuldirektor herzlich empfangen. Danach vielen wir alle erschoepft in unsere Betten.

Morgens nach dem Fruehstueck ging es dann mit der Strassenbahn in den Zoo, wo wir aus naechster Naehe in Australien beheimatete Tiere bestaunten.

Folglich ging es dann zu einer Gedenkstaette fuer die Opfer des Weltkriegs. Von dort hatten wir auch einen wunderbaren Blick auf die Skyline Melbournes.

Im Anschluss dessen, besichtigten wir den etwa 300 Meter hohen EUREKA Tower, welcher uns einen atemberaubenden Ausblick auf die Stadt bot.

Danach folgte ein Besuch im Crowne Entertainmentcenter, wo wir reichlich Zeit zu unserer eigenen Verfuegung hatten und uns dann alle gemeinsam AVATAR im Kino anschauten.

Nach diesem erlebnisreichen Tag wollten wir alle nur noch in unsere Betten.

Am letzten Tag von unserem Trip besuchten wir noch den Victoria Market, welcher eine riessige Auswahl an verschiedensten Produkten bietet. Mittags fuhren wir mit einer nostalgischen Trambahn zum Hafen, wo wir mal wieder Freizeit hatten.

Alsdann machten wir uns auf den Weg zum Busparkplatz, und fuhren nach Hause. Es war fuer uns alle eine sehr wunderbare Zeit.

Selina und Michael

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On early Wednesday morning we departed Bright for a 5 hour bus trip to Melbourne. At about 12:00 we had lunch near St. Kilda Beach, at 1:00 we had a tour and speech at the Jewish Holocaust Museum. We all had an interesting time. Then at 4:00 we drove to Chapel Street and got dinner and shopped. After Chapel St. we went to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre and had a long and enjoyable swim. At 10:00 we went to the Backpacker's and checked in to the hostel and went to bed.

Thursday

On Thursday we got up at 7:00 and went down for breakfast. After breakfast we had a meeting on what would happen during the day. One group went to the Old Melbourne Gaol and had a tour and role play, the other group went and had a tour of the MCG. At 12:00 we had lunch and travelled to our next destination. The next group went to the Old Melbourne jail and had a tour and role play, the other group went to either Hairdressing Academy, National Art Gallery. At the end of the day we went to either ten pin bowling, ice skating, or the Eureka Tower. It was a real fun night. At 6:30 we went to the Crown Casino for Dinner and Movie, Alice in Wonderland, Avatar and the Blind Side. After the movie we went back to the hostel and went to bed. All in all a very busy day and we were all tired.

Friday

On Friday morning we had breakfast at 7:30. After breakfast we had a meeting and then we went to the Victoria Market for an hour. After Victoria Market we had a choice fo Defence force, ni tour and hospitality. Everyone had a great time. After lunch we had free time till 2:30. We had to meet at the Southern Cross Station to go home. We arrived in Bright at 7:30. All very tired and happy with the three days in Melbourne.

Abbey and Darcy

Hallo liebe Blogleserinnen und Blogleser (16.3.10)

2010-03-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

Wie an jedem Schultag hatten wir, bevor die Schule begonnen hat, unsere Homegroup, in der wir den Ablauf unseres Schultages besprechen. In den ersten zwei Stunden hatten wir dann normalen Unterricht mit unseren australischen Austauschpartnern.

In der 3. und 4. Stunde durften wir verschiedene Grundschulen in Porepunkah und Wandiligong besuchen, also wurden wir in drei verschiedene Gruppen aufgeteilt (Die 3. und 4. Gruppe wird nächsten Donnerstag die Grundschulen in Bright und Harrietville besuchen.) und 2 Gruppen fuhren zu den Grundschulen, die übrigen Gruppen nahmen normal am Unterricht teil.

Wir erzählten den Schülern anhand einer PowerPoint-Präsentation einiges über Deutschland, Bayern, unsere Traditionen, Bad Aibling und natürlich unsere neue Wirtschaftsschule. Die kleinen hörten uns aufmerksam und gespannt zu und löcherten uns danach auch noch fleißig mit vielen Fragen. Manche von ihnen hatten auch schon entschieden, irgendwann nach Deutschland zu kommen und auch am Austauschprogramm teilzunehmen, wenn sie im entsprechenden Alter sind Es war eine schöne Erfahrung für uns zu sehen, wie die Grundschulen in Australien aufgebaut waren, da in einer Schule nur zwischen 25 und 60 Schülern sind.

Nachdem wir wieder am P-12 College angekommen waren, hatten wir noch eine Stunde lunch und danach kamen wir wieder in den regulären Unterricht mit unseren Gastgeschwistern zurück.

Also im Großen und Ganzen ein sehr schöner Schultag!

Schöne Grüße aus Australien

von Christina Santl ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was a Tuesday, and it was pretty much a normal school day for the Australian students.

In the first two periods we had normal classes. I had Science and Civics, and my exchange partner Christina came into those with me. I'm pretty sure she found it interesting and different to be in one of my classes.

After recess the Australians had normal classes, while the Germans went to some primary schools and had a bit of a chat with the younger students. They came back for lunch and we had a German class with Frau Kreplin after that. It was nice to be taught German by an actual German citizen.

After German we had English. The Germans found something to do in that class while we did some work.

Overall it was a pretty normal day.

Samantha Young

Ein eigentlich ganz normaler Schultag (15.3.10)

2010-03-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

Heute war es eigentlich ein normaler Schultag. Wir hatten Homegroup, dieses mal im Freien, wo wird den Gewinner des heutigen Preises ausgelost haben (Dies ist unser tägliches Quiz, in dem wir ein Fragen über Australien beantworten müssen). Zum zweiten mal in Folge war es Peter. Dieses mal gewann er die Farben der australischen Flagge fürs Gesicht zum Anmalen. Nach der Homegroup sind wir in den Kunstraum gegangen und haben als erstes besprochen, wer was in den Gruppen für die Grundschulen vorträgt. Danach haben wir noch unsere Projekte 'Eindrücke' weitergemacht.

Nach der Pause durften wir dann erstmal unsere Partner suchen, da wir mit ihnen Unterricht hatten. Ich hatte mit ein paar anderen zwei Stunden 'Careers', das ist eine Mischung aus Sozialkunde bzw. Berufsvorbereitung. Das war eingentlich recht langweilig, weil wir nur stumm dasitzen sollten. In der zweiten Pause dann (Lunch) hab ich mich ein wenig mit Franziska Meier unterhalten. In der 5. und 6. Stunde waren dann zwei Junge Aboriginies da und ein Lehrer hat uns etwas übere ihre Kultur erzählt. Das war äußerst interessant.

Nach der Schule bin ich mit ein paar anderen in den Park gegangen, wo wir schnell ein Eis gegessen haben. Danach bin ich dann nach Hause gegangen. Am Abend gab's dann noch zum Dinner ein BBQ.

Wolfgang Radke

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Today was a fairly normal day for the Australian exchange partners. We had normal classes in the first four periods. Which included science, health and double civics. After lunch we were supposed to have double German, but instead Justin Crawley and two Aboriginal boys, Francis and Gilly, came to talk to the whole group of Australian and German exchange partners about the culture of the indigenous Australians known as the Aboriginals. Justin did most of the talking, but Francis and Gilly said a few things as well. As well as Germans the Australians learnt some things they didn't know which was good. Overall it was a fairly normal day, but interesting as well.

Nathan Gasperoni

Mein zweites Wochenende (13.-14.03.2010)

2010-03-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Am Samstag war ich vormittags mit meiner Gastfamilie in Bright. Während meine Gastmutter mit meinem kleinen Gastbruder, Oliver, einkaufen war und mein Gastvater mit einem Hund spazieren war, gingen Valeria und ich in die "Edelweiss Bakery" und ich probierte dort meinen ersten "Party Pie". Er schmeckt ziemlich eigenartig. Als wir wieder zu Hause waren, ernteten Valeria und ich die Weintrauben, die meine Gastfamilie selber anbaut. Abends gingen wir dann noch zu Peters Gastfamilie, da seine Gastmutter ihren Geburtstag nachfeierte. Außerdem waren noch Franziskas und Wolfgangs Gastfamilie da. Nachdem wir alle gegessen hatten, spielten wir Jugendlichen "Spotlight". Das Spiel ist eine Art Versteckspiel. Es findet im Dunkeln statt und einer hat eine Taschenlampe und muss dann die anderen in einem bestimmten Gebiet suchen. Derjenige, der dann gefunden wird, nimmt die Taschenlampe und muss weiter suchen.

Am Sonntag sind wir schon in der Früh losgefahren. Wir fuhren zuerst quer durch den Busch, was sehr schön war, und dann in eines der größten Skigebieten von Australien. Danach machten wir eine kleine Pause an einem Fluss, wo wir unsere Pause aßen. Wir sind dann auf die Berge "Mt. Hotham" und "Falls Creek" gefahren und haben uns dort die Landschaft angeschaut. Es war sehr schön die ganze Wildniss von Australien zu sehen, da man hier echt 100 km lang durch "nichts" fährt und kein Haus sieht.

Das gibt es in Deutschland nicht. Nach 6 Stunden Autofahrt waren wir dann wieder zu Hause. Dort habe ich noch zusammen mit Valeria mit meinen Eltern über das Internet telefoniert, was sehr lustig war. Abends fielen wir dann nur noch erschöpft ins Bett.

Stephanie Popall.

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Our Weekend,

On Saturday my family went into Bright in the morning because my mum had to do some shopping, so I took Stephanie to 'Edelweiss Bakery' where I previously worked.
There we bought some bruch and I bought Stephanie a Party Pie to try,
whilst I had a normal pie. I don't think Stephanie liked the party pie too much but she said it tasted interesting.
Once my mum was done with the shopping we went to the local Rubbish Tip in Porepunkah to drop off some old stuff.
We had one of our dogs with us, so Stephanie and I took it for a walk and she was amazed at how strong the dog was.
Later on at home we picked some grapes and sorted them out so later on my parents could juice them. On that night we went to Max and Peter's house to have dinner because it was Max's mum's birthday. Fanziska's host family, the Harris's (Kayla), Wolfgang's host family, the Gasperoni's (Nathan), and the Webbs also joined us, so there were lots of people there. We had a great night and once we got home, we were so tired we went straight to bed.

Sunday, the family went for a huge drive around the mountains so Stephanie could have a look at what it's like in the Alpine. We started off at Bright, went through Bogong and towards Falls Creek. Then we had a little break before continuing up Mt. Hotham. Both Stephanie and I were car sick, but the view of the mountains was great.

Once we got home (finally) we just hung around the house and that evening phoned Stephanie's family on Skype.
I got a tour of the house via webcam and the house was very interesting and pretty.
We had a lot of laughs and I even fell off the bed because I was laughing so much.

Valeria Krechet.

Ein sehr erlebnisreicher Tag! (12.03.2010)

2010-03-12T23:57:00.000-08:00

Um ca. 9:30 Uhr sind wir zum Kunstmuseum, der Bright Art Gallery, gegangen, wo wir uns ein sehr großes Bild anschauten, das die Geschichte des Aufstandes der weißen "Westerners" gegen die chinesischen Goldgräber, der Buckland Riot, erzählt. Der Künstler verwendete mitunter chinesische Symbole, die z. B. für Wasser, Luft, Erde, Holz und Feuer stehen. Das war sehr interessant.

Danach gingen wir durch den Busch entlang des Morses Creek, um zum Goldwaschen zu gelangen. Dort angekommen wurde uns zuerst erklärt, mit welchen Maschinen die Goldgräber früher gearbeitet haben. Anschließend durften wir es selber ausprobieren. Einige waren erfolgreich und fanden mehrere kleine Goldkörnchen. Ein Teil unserer Brotzeit vertilgten wir gleich dort. Anschließend ging es durch den Busch weiter zum Wandiligong Oval.

Der Wandiligong Oval ist ein riesiger Platz, an dem Toiletten, Pavillons und Trinkwasser vorhanden sind. Hier wurde der Rest gegessen und einige hatten Spaß bei einer Wasserschlacht, die sehr angenehm war, da es sehr heiß war. Ich spielte mit anderen Australian Football und Frisbee. Hier trafen wir die Australier, die schon vorgegangen waren. Nach einer ausgiebigen Pause gingen wir durch den Busch zurück zur Schule, wo wir erledigt um 16:40 Uhr ankamen. Der Busch ist sehr schön. Man hört hier sehr viele verschiedene Vögel und das Rauschen des Flusses, neben dem wir gegangen sind. Es war ein sehr schöner und erlebnisreicher Tag!

Franziska Lohse

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Today the Australian exchange students went to The Bright Battery, which is where the gold was mined in the early 20th century. While we were at the Battery we all had a turn at panning for gold. While we were gold panning, the German exchange students were visiting the Bright Art Gallery. Unfortunately, the Australian students didn’t have much luck with finding any gold. Once the German students got to the Bright Battery we gave our pans to them and we were off to the Wandiligong oval. It took us about 30 minutes to walk there. Once we got there we had some lunch and just relaxed while we waited for the German students to get there. They had a lot more luck in finding gold. Once the German students arrived, they had their lunch and we kicked the football and threw the frisbee and the boomerang. It was a nice and relaxing day.

Kayla Harris

Stadtrallye und "meeting" mit dem Bürgermeister (11.3.2010)

2010-03-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

Heute trafen wir uns erst einmal alle in der Homegroup, wo wir von Frau Kreplin, Herrn Lehrer und Herrn Kusch Anweisungen für den Tag und auch ein paar Fragen bekamen, die wir mit unseren Gastfamilien beantworten müssen.

Danach machten wir uns auf zur Stadtrallye, die im P12-College begann und beim Bürgermeister endete. Auf unserer Tour durch die Stadt bekamen wir viele Einblicke in das Leben hier in Australien. Als wir am Ende der Rallye beim Rathaus ankamen, wurden wir dort vom Bürgermeister herzlich empfangen.

Dieser erzählte uns etwas über Bright, die Umgebung von Bright und wie Bright gegründet wurde. Danach durften wir ihm noch ein paar Fragen stellen, die er uns dann beantwortete.

Vom Bürgermeister bekamen wir eine Tüte mit verschiedenen Broschüren und eine Trinkflasche. Danach gingen wir gemeinsam in den Park, machten dort Brotzeit, und besprachen unser Projekt "Eindrücke", das wir am Ende unseres Aufenthalts vortragen müssen.

Peter Haidacher

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Hello,

My name is Max Carter and I am Peter's host brother here in Australia. I was not with the group when they toured the local area, but I am sure that they know their way around now. Bright is a small town of about 3,000 people, but can be very busy in the summer holidays, reaching almost 10,000 - 12,000 peolpe here. It is a beautiful town in all seasons and I hope that some of our friends in Germany can visit one day.

I was with the mayor when he met our German students on Thursday, and he was very happy to welcome them to our area. He is a very nice man and he is very supportive of students. He does his best to help young people and he is happy to have an exchange program like ours in the area. Our mayor, Nino Mautone, comes from Italy, but he has never been to Germany. He has told us that he would like to visit the school in Bad Aibling if he can find the time.

All the best,

Max Carter

Feathertop Chalet - Kennenlern-Camp (9.-10.3.2010)

2010-03-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

Nach unserem ersten Schultag im P-12 Collage in Bright fuhren wir mit unseren Australiern nach Harrietville zum Kennenlernen in ein Camp - eine Art Landschulheim. Nach der Zimmeraufteilung, je drei Deutsche und ihre Partner, ging es dann hinaus zum Tennis, Minigolf, Schwimmen oder Klettern. Jeder ist einmal geschwommen oder hat sich im Tennis mit den Australiern oder Lehrern duelliert. Nach gemeinsamen Stunden Sport, Relaxing und Fun gab es dann Abendessen. Bei Reis, Gemuüe und Fleisch, das keiner indifizieren konnte, fanden wieder gemeinsame deutsch-englische Gespräche statt. Darauf hatten wir wieder Zeit für uns und unsere Partner. Wir bewunderten den Sternenhimmel, spielten Minigolf oder kletterten. Am späten Abend traf sich die gesamte Gruppe im Gemeinschaftsraum und wir spielten ein Quiz. Deutsche Schüler mussten australische Ausdrücke erraten und Australier mussten "boarische" Begriffe erraten. Um elf Uhr war Bettruhe.

Am nächste Morgen trafen wir uns alle etwas übermüdet zum Frühstück.Nach einer Wanderung zu einem Goldgräbersee - ein sogenanntes Dredge Hole - gab es wieder die Möglichkeit mit unseren neuen Freunden etwas zu unternehemen. Um 12 gab es Lunch. Kurze Zeit später wartete der Bus zur Rückfahrt nach Bright, dort wurden wir nach einer kurzen Besprechung nach "Hause" entlassen.

Franziska Meier

Mein erstes Wochenende und unser erster Schultag (6.-9.3.2010)

2010-03-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

Am Samstag Nachmitag fuhr ich mit meiner Gastschwester, Roisin Pryor, nach Bright, wo wir uns mit ein paar Freunden im Park trafen. Am Abend kamen Selina und Abby, Chrissi und Sam, zwei weitere Austauschschülerinnen mit ihren Gastschwestern, zu Roisin und mir um zu zelten. Davor gingen wir gemeinsam zum Park in Porepunkah.

Nach einem Regenschauer zeigten mir Roisin und ihr Vater einen Platz, dort wo ich einen wunderschönen Blick auf einen Berg mit einem großen Wasserfall hatte. Dieser Wasserfall fließt besonders schnell nach einem Regenschauer, erklärte mir Roisins Vater.

Am Abend war das Begrüßungsgrillen (BBQ) im Park von Bright. Dort trafen wir uns alle das erste Mal wieder, nachdem wir angekommen sind. Jede Familie brachte etwas zu essen mit. Wir saßen gemütlich beim Essen zusammen und später auch teilweise am nahe gelegenem Fluss.

Am Dienstag war unser erster Schultag im Bright P-12 College, der mit einer großen Schulversammlung, der Assembly, begann. Jeder deutsche Austauschschüler musste sich kurz vorstellen. Danach bekamen wir eine kleine Führung durch die Schule, wo wir Kängurus auf einer Wiese der Schule sahen. Nach dieser Führung musste jeder mit seinem Austauschpartner in den Unterricht gehen.

Anna Juffinger

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Hey my name is Roisin Pryor im hosting Anna. On Monday 8th of March we had a little gathering bbq to welcome the German into a our beautiful country. The weather was pretty awful but it still went ahead. After everyone had some food, we went and had a little hoedown in the rain. Which was quite fun. The experience was good, and it was nice to get to know the german students.

Peace out,

Roisin Pryor :)

Sicher angekommen!

2010-03-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

Etwas traurig, jedoch voller Vorfreude begab sich die Austauschgruppe nun endlich am Donnerstag, den 4. März 2010, auf die lange Reise nach Down Under. Die lange Flugreise (etwas mehr als 30 Stunden von Haustür zu Haustür) mit Etihad Airlines war sehr komfortabel, da beide Maschinen nicht ausgebucht waren und wir somit mehr als ausreichend Platz hatten, um den langen Flug zu überstehen. Viele von uns fanden etwas Schlaf und konnten somit größtenteils den Jetlag "übergehen".

In Melbourne angekommen erwarteten uns einige Eltern und Big Al (etwas mehr über diesen Mann erfahren Sie sicher noch im Laufe dieses Austausches), die uns sehr herzlich empfingen und dann mit den Autos und dem Gemeindebus im strömenden Regen sicher nach Bright fuhren. So wurden wir in viele Winde versteut und das Wochenende begann für alle von uns erholsam in den Familien.

Das Wetter war trotz des Regens am Freitag sehr angenehm. Es war sehr feucht und warm tagsüber (um die 30° C) und sehr mild am Abend (noch ca. 20° C). Was für eine tolle Ankunft!

Mehr in Kürze...

Martin Lehrer

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G'day everyone!

We want to thank everyone involved in the program for your warm welcome and hospitality. Also many thanks for picking us up at the airport. We've already pretty much settled in and feel very very comfortable.

In this blog everyone interested can follow the exchange visit with all the reports from the German kids and also some comments of their Aussie partners. So, fortunately, not only in German.

All of us are looking forward to all the activities and the great time we will have here in Bright.

To be continued...

Cheers!

Martin Lehrer and Christiane Kreplin

Science Experimente

2010-03-03T02:04:00.000-08:00

Im Fach "Wissenschaft" haben wir verschiedene Experimente mit dem Bunsenbrenner gemacht. Wir haben den Brenner auf die kleine blaue Flamme gedreht und verschiedene Materialien darüber gehalten. Wenn die Materialien in Pulverform oder zerkleinert waren, haben wir sie darüber rieseln lassen, um zu sehen welche Reaktion mit Feuer entsteht.
Aluminium ist geschmolzen. Aluminiumpulver ist in der Flamme explodiert und das hat ausgesehen etwa wie Wunderkerzen. Dann hielten wir Stahlwolle über die Flamme und sie hat nicht wirklich gebrannt. Es sind aber nur die äußeren und dünnsten Fäden abgebrannt.
Magnesium sollte eigentlich ein ganz starkes, gleißendes Licht erzeugen, darum sollte man nie in die Flamme schauen, sondern in eine andere Richtung. Leider hat es nicht funktioniert und ich weiß auch nicht warum.
Wir haben noch Eisen, Eisenpulver, Kupfer, Kupferpulver, Hydrochlorid Amid und Marble Chips ausprobiert. Das war wirklich sehr interessant.
Nächste Woche wollen wir kleine Explosionen erzeugen. Das wird sicher auch total cool und ich freu mich drauf.

Magdalena

Huggins Lookout

2010-02-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

Mein fünftes Wochenende verlief ziemlich ruhig. Am Freitag kam ich von der Schule nach Hause und war glücklich, dass es Wochenende war. Am Samstag war das Wetter dann nicht ganz so gut, aber es hat wenigstens ein wenig abgekühlt. Am Abend war dann eine Liveschaltung von Deutschland zu uns, da die Wirtschaftsschule Alpenland einen Tag der offenen Tür hatte, wegen ihrem 60jährigem Bestehen und der Einweihung des neuen Schulgebäudes. Danach war ich dann noch auf einem 18ten Geburtstag eingeladen, der richtig lustig war. Am Sonntag zeigte mir meine Gastfamilie dann noch den Huggins Lookout, dort hatte ich einen tollen Überblick über ganz Bright.

Adrian

Mein 4tes Wochenende

2010-02-21T01:07:00.000-08:00

Ich war vom Donnerstag bis zum Sonntag in Melbourne. Am Freitag war ich in der Stadt, dort sah ich viele interessante Dinge, wie z. B. den Queen Victoria Markt, wo man sehr viele verschiedene Sachen und Souvenirs kaufen kann. Am Samstag war ich dann in Ballarat, in Sovereign Hill, eine nachgebaute Goldgräberstadt. Sie ist auf einem 25 ha großen Grund einer früheren Goldmine angelegt. Dort konnte ich viele Dinge von früher erfahren, selber Gold in einem kleinen Fluss suchen und auch die alten Maschinen anschauen. Man kann dort auch zusehen, wie ein 80.000 $ Goldbarren gegossen wird, oder wie die Geschäfte früher aussahen, etc. Es ist sehr interessant und empfehlenswert. Am Sonntag sind wir dann wieder nach Bright gefahren.

Adrian

Mein Wochenende

2010-02-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

Am Samstag sind wir nach Shepparton zum Shoppen gefahren. Da gibt es voll die lange Shoppingstraße mit ganz vielen coolen Shops. Ich hab auch noch die zwei anderen Schwestern von Eleisha, meiner Austauschpatnerin, kennen gelernt

Am Sonntag war ich auf der Deer- und Emu Farm, ganz bei uns in der Nähe. In der Mitte des Geländes gibt es eine Wirtschaft und drum herum auf einer Weide jede Menge Hirsche, Emus und Ziegen. In einem extra Bereich sind die ganzen Jungtiere.

Da waren Emubabys, Zicklein, Hennen und Küken, ein Bambi und ein Schaf. Die durften alle frei rumlaufen, bis auf 3 Zicklein, da diese sonst davongelaufen wären. Das eine Zicklein wurde allerings mit der Flasche aufgezogen, weil ihre Mutter es verstoßen hat und deshalb ist es ganz handzahm und durfte frei rumlaufen. Wir haben sie natürlich auch noch gefüttert. Das hat voll Spaß gemacht.

In der Wirtschaft kann man auch Emu- und Hirschfleisch essen.

Magdalena

Der Schulalltag

2010-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

Ich steh um halb 8 auf, frühstücke, meist Cornflakes oder Toast und fahre anschließend mit dem Bus zur Schule. Diese beginnt um 10 vor 9 mit einer „Homegroup“ und dauert bis 10 nach 9. In dieser Zeit wird alles Wichtige besprochen, es werden z. B. Mitteilungen ausgeteilt oder eingesammelt, Events und Meetings angekündigt.

Anschließend sind 2 Stunden Unterricht à 50 min. Danach eine halbe Stunde „Break“ und dann nochmal 2 Stunden bis zur großen Lunch Pause (1h und 30 min). Nach der Pause nochmal 2 Stunden Schule. Danach fahr ich entweder gleich mit dem Bus heim oder ich geh noch in den Ort. Dort geh ich dann entweder Einkaufen oder Eis essen.

Hier ist alles total easy und voll cool und die Lehrer machen auch jeden Schmarrn mit. Das ist total witzig. Vom Stoff her ist es leichter als bei uns, und ich komm damit auch gut klar. Allerdings ist es anstrengend, dass man den ganzen Tag da in der Schule hockt. Und vor allem die langen Pausen, weil man da nicht weiß was man anfangen soll.

Science ist total cool weil man fast keine Hefteinträge macht und dafür jede Menge Theorie und Experimente. Gestern haben ich und Adi z. B. Cookies testen dürfen, die auf verschiedenen Materialien gebacken wurden und dann sollten wir unsere Meinung dazu sagen; manche wurden auf Backpapier, die anderen auf Backspray, Aluminium und auf ganz normalem Backblech gebacken.

Magdalena

Zweite Schulwoche

2010-02-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

So nun ist schon die zweite Schulwoche vorbei, in der ich wieder viel erleben durfte. Die Schule beginnt immer um 9:00 Uhr in der Früh und endet um 15:30 Uhr am Nachmittag. Meistens gehe ich mit meinem Austauschpartner nach der Schule zu seinem Cousin und schwimmen dort im Pool oder gehen nach Hause und spielen Xbox oder ähnliches. Am Freitag fuhr ich mit meiner Gastfamilie nach Wangaratta. Wangaratta ist die nächstgrößere Stadt in der Umgebung, dort zeigte mir meine Gastfamilie einen Teil von der Stadt und danach gingen wir zum Essen.

Adrian

Erste Schulwoche

2010-02-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Am 01.02.2010 ging das neue Schuljahr am Bright P-12 College los. Das neue Schuljahr begann zuerst mit einer Klassenleiterstunde und dann ging der normale Unterricht los. Am zweiten Tag war eine große Versammlung von allen Schülern und Schülerinnen in der Turnhalle, wo wir uns vorstellen mussten. Die Schulfächer auf dem Bright P-12 College sind oftmals die gleichen wie in den deutschen Schulen. Die erste Schulwoche war eine sehr lustige aber auch sehr lehrreiche Woche.

Adrian

Abschied am Flughafen München

2010-01-24T01:58:00.000-08:00

Magdalena und Adrian wurden am Samstag, dem 23. Januar 2010 in der Früh am Flughafen München von ihren Eltern und Geschwistern sowie von Frau Kreplin auf die lange Reise über Abu Dhabi mit Etihad Airlines nach Melbourne verabschiedet. Nach ca. 24 Stunden Reisezeit sind sie sicher in Australien gelandet. Nun wünschen wir ihnen einen guten Start und viele tolle Erfahrungen in Down Under.

Martin Lehrer und Christiane Kreplin

Blog Opening

2010-01-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

G'day everyone!

Dieser Blog wurde erstellt, um unsere Schülerin Magdalena Huber und Adrian Schubert auf ihrer Reise in Australien zu begleiten. Mit diesem Blog kann jede/r Interessierte sowohl ihre Erfahrungen teilen als auch mit beiden in Kontakt bleiben. Ich lade daher alle herzlich dazu ein und bitte die Netiquette zu wahren.

Viel Spaß!

Martin Lehrer

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This Blog was opened to accompany our students Magdalena Huber and Adrian Schubert on their journey to Australia. Everyone who is interested has the opportunity to share their experiences as well as stay in touch with them. I invite everyone to this bog and kindly ask you to observe the netiquette.

Enjoy!

Martin Lehrer