Language Camp

Of the 50 of us who were chosen to come to Germany, I'm not sure if any were fluent in the language and only a handful had the basics down and were able to function in German. As for the rest of us....language camp is more than just school. It's three weeks to help us learn how to function--even if its like five year olds--in a language we barely know.

 The camp is three weeks long and held each weekday from 9:30-3:30 in Dusseldorf. I wake up around 6:30 each morning and leave one hour later to catch the 7:53 train to Dusseldorf. I arrive at 9:08 which gives me just enough time to rush downstairs, catch the first metro, and come screaming into the building at 9:29. The 18 of us are split into two classes based on our language ability and, of course, I'm in the beginners group. Our teachers are wonderful though and not only there to teach us German, but to help us integrate into the culture and so they have done some short orientations with us as well.

 

My favorite day of language camp was Wednesday when our teachers prepared an Amazing Race style scavenger hunt for us to do around Dusseldorf's harbor. My group consisted of five people and between the five us we were competitive, smart, and could communicate fairly well in German. Our team rocked that scavenger hunt and were not only the only team to finish--we finished with 45 minutes to spare. Amazing Race here we come :-)

At the beginning of the week, we had a hard time finding our way around the city but once we got the hang of it we enjoyed spending time there. 

 On Friday, I stayed in Dusseldorf with some friends and explored the city a little bit. We had so much fun and I found that dusseldorf is a very beautiful city. We had a great dinner, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and old European architecture of the old city. We also visited a five story bookstore and of course, H&M (a very popular store)

I'm looking forward to my next two weeks of language camp and hoping that by the time I leave to settle into my permanent family, I've have enough of a foundation in German to communicate....at least with my four year old brother. :-)