The Summer 2005 unit has returned, but we'll leave the pictures and stories here.
Sat, 9 Apr 2005Willkommen in Jena!
Ankunft in Jena!
Erste Woche (first week)
Ich bin ein Berliner!
The walk ended at the Reichstag, the home of Germany's federal government. The most recent addition to this lovely building is the glass dome where tourists can look out over the city.
The next day, the group woke up and made their way to the Pergamon Museum which is famous world-wide for it's exhibitions of classical Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and Islamic art and architecture.
Our next stop was the Berliner Dom, a neo-Renaissance church. The Dom houses the crypts of some of the members of the Hohenzollern family, the Prussian nobility.
After hours of museum- and church- hopping, the students had lunch at Berlin's famous 12 Apostles Pizzaria, under the arches of the Friedrichstrasse Station. Some preferred the understated taste of the Matthew and Mark while others went for the spicy Judas pizza.
The students also got to see what remained of the Berlin Wall and the graffiti covering it. The city remembers the people who lost their lives attempting to cross the heavily-guarded border.
The students were given a few minutes to explore Fassbender & Rausch, one of the world's most famous chocolate stores, where chocolate artists have made edible models of some of the city's most beautiful buildings and even one of the Titanic.
A boat ride down the Spree gave us all a different perspective of the architecture of the city.
Berlin and Beyond
We have since taken trips to Erfurt and Weimar. The latter included a disturbing and moving morning spent at Buchenwald. Pictures from these excursions will be posted in the near future.
Prag Blog
Goethe, Schiller, Bach and Luther There are a couple pictures in there, too, of Laura's 24th birthday bash. The students are setting off today (the 13th) for their Praktikum (service assignments). Pictures of the Keims visiting the students at the sites are forthcoming.
Day Trip Photos
Jena in the Spring
Praktikum (Service Assignments) Matt H has made quite a few friends over the past couple of weeks at Kindergarten Regenbogen in Jena. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with some of these kids but Matt is enjoying himself.(Fact: the idea of the kindergarten originated in Germany) Marianne is also doing her service work with children (although they are somewhat younger) at Kinderschirm in Jena. Kinderschirm is a day care program for younger children whose mothers work during the day. Matt G and Alice are enjoying their work in the bustling city of Berlin. They lend a hand at Feierabendheim, an assisted living house for the elderly. Matt and Alice spend the day playing games and talking with the older folks. They are eager to tell Matt and Alice their stories- sometimes two or three times! Brittni works at Stoffwechsel in Dresden, an organization that has outreach and after-school programs for kids. She helps out in the kitchen and interacts with the kids, too. Kristin has some new experiences in Kiel in northern Germany. She lends a hand in making playground equipment. Laura and Becca work together at Jugendwerkstatt Bauhof in Halle. This program helps youth that have dropped out of school to learn employable skills, such as carpentry. We will have further updates on the rest of the service assignments in the next couple of weeks.
Praktikum (Part II) Rebecca hangs out with a sister at Christusbrudergemeinschaft in Selbitz. At this Lutheran convent, she works in the garden, teaches piano, and tutors people in English. Aaron and Amanda are working together at Hedwig-Pfeiffer Haus in Weimar. They help out in the kitchen, work in the garden, and do some housekeeping. Craig is at Bittelbronn, near Mockmuhl. Craig works as a regular farm-hand at Bioland, an organic farm and dairy. The students seem to be very happy with their service sites as well as the work they are doing there. And that makes Prof. Keim very pleased with himself.
Praktikum (Part III) Prof.Keim made a trip to Bad Pyrmont where four Goshen students are lending a hand at Missionsgemeinde, a church has does youth out-reach. Dagan, Katie, Leah, and Travis work with the kids and help out with yard maintenance. We also took a trip to the beautiful city of Leipzig where Molly and Sarah are working for die Heilsarmee (the Salvation Army). The Salvation Army is known all over the world for helping the less fortunate. With the record high unemployment rate in Germany, they are very much needed right now. This particular one has a youth cafe and has beds available for the homeless. The girls help sort used clothes, furniture, and appliances. They also designed and made a banner to decorate the youth band practice room. Kristin's second service site is at Streetwerk right here in Jena. It serves as an after-school program for teenagers. Kristin hangs out with the kids, who were delighted to find that she draws in her spare time. A few of them even commisioned pictures from her, including one of her co-workers (pictured here). Kristin is also pictured sitting on a bench she painted for the patio. All Goshen students will be returning to Jena on Saturday. On Sunday, we have an Abschlussfeier (Going-away Party) to say good-bye and thank you to the host families. We will bring you photos of the celebration in a few days. Aufwiedersehen!
Die Abschlussfeier The students also entertained their guests with some music. Molly and Craig played a couple of songs on mandolin and violin. Then all the SSTers gathered to sing a round of 606. Some of the students have become very close to their host families over the last few months. Laura and Aaron are pictured with their host parents. Die Abschlussfeier also reunited the students, most of whom haven't seen eachother in six weeks. It gave them a chance to see how they've grown, not only personally and spiritually, but also how their beards have developed over the past few months. Aaron and Travis realize they have a lot to learn from their mentor, Prof. Keim, about facial hair, but some knowledge just comes with age. The students have two more days to hang out with their families and say good-bye before they leave early Wednesday morning for the Frankfurt airport.
International Education Office
Kevin Koch
kevinak@goshen.edu
+1 (574) 535-7346