Nervousness. I think that is what I felt before leaving my house. Getting into the right mood was a hard job for me as it was my first time out of the country. Slowly excitement took over and all the tension dissipated as me and my family waited for the arrival of the whole group. Talking to my aunts and my mother was interesting as they showed another kind of nervousness, they were scared and excited at the same time. But as the group gathered the tension seemed to be erased. “Goodbye”, “Be careful” and “Take care” were the phrases used by our loved ones as we got into the van that took us to Cluj.
After a two hour drive to Cluj, we arrived at the hotel where we spent the night. It seemed that phones kept ringing and even now mothers, fathers and loved ones kept telling us to take care and have fun in Germany. It was only then when I realized that I was really going to another country. Thoughts kept coming and leaving my head. After the phone finally went to “sleep” it was my turn to sleep.
We woke up at 4 in the morning to get the plane. We got at the airport in Cluj at half past five with a smile on our faces. As time passed by we kept talking and changing impressions of the “adventure” that was about to unfold in front of us. Being the first time I travelled by plane, it was really exciting for me as I experienced the sensation of flying. I guess you can compare it to a car that drives at 800 kilometres per hour. During our flight we all kept talking, some of us tried to sleep and it seemed it was all in preparation of touching the German ground.
We arrived in Dortmund at about 8 o’clock, we took the bus to the train station where we took the train to Hannover, the city where we would discuss about immigration, emigration and integration. I guess at the train station was the place where we had a taste of German hospitality as a nice lady gave us some pointers regarding our trip to Hannover.
As time passed by when we travelled by train, we were getting more and more excited as we were preparing for the moment when we would meet our hosts. We arrived in Hannover at around 12 o’clock where we met them.
It was then when Armin greeted me with a great smile and I felt relaxed and almost like home. It seemed that somehow this new and exciting place for me slowly became like a familiar spot where I usually came to visit friends.
When we arrived at Armin’s home I was greeted by a man with a smile that was full of warmth and he introduced himself as Armin’s father. Because I was tired I went to sleep in order to be more active and more focused during the project reunion.
It was after my short nap when I really got to see how open Armin and his folks were. I was welcomed into the family as a friend and not as a stranger. So I have to thank the Bernsee family for making my stay in Germany an extremely pleasant one.
The first day of the meeting was another reason of excitement that took over us as we were the first group that presented their interviews. So after getting over the anxiety and butterflies that seemed to keep flying around in our stomach, we managed to deliver our introduction speech and the short film was seen by the participants. It was still on this day that the Polish and Italian group presented their work and we could all see that everyone worked hard for this conference. After that we were given a very nice tour of the school by out German hosts, consisting of Armin, Esther, Saskia and Sarah which we have to thank.
After the meal we had at school we left for a tour of Hannover where Mr. Albrecht and Mr. Winkler acted as our guides showing us Hannover’s beautiful architecture and history. After the tour we all went home and prepared for a nice evening out with everyone and some international bonding. WE all talked and exchanged opinions and impressions.
The second day a presentation of the situation of immigration and integration in Germany was presented to us. It was interesting as it presented statistics that some of us didn’t know about and as we tried to see how the integration problem could be solved we realized that we all had the same problem regarding integration of immigrants, the only thing that was different was the number.
It was on this day that we had a very interesting interview with Ms. Lotte Henz, an ethnic German (aussiedler) who lived in Romania until the age of 24 and after that she came to Germany. Hearing her story was really interesting as she told us that she had no problems integrating as she knew the language, but for other immigrants this couldn’t really apply. So she considered herself blessed and privileged for her smooth integration in the German society.
Again stage fright took over me as we had to present our interview to the participants again. But the international team that was made I think managed to deliver an interesting presentation of the interview.
On the third and last day of the conference we had to write a presentation of the interview, an activity that all the members enjoyed as everyone had their input and the product of this multicultural team was introducing himself with pride as a good result of a tiring day. After this group work the interview with a journalist and two parents took place regarding the integration of Turks in German society, the interview was multilingual and sometimes hard to follow but nevertheless interesting and informational.
On our last day in Hannover, we took a trip to the “BallinStadt” Museum of Immigration in Hamburg, where we could see the place where immigrants came into Germany and the emigrants left. The introduction was really informational and interesting as it was very thorough and presented by an immigrant. The museum was well organized presenting the evolution of the migration phenomenon in Hamburg. I found it all very interesting as it was new for me and it got me captivated. After a short visit in Hamburg we had to go back to Hannover as we had to leave for Dortmund and after that to Romania. We swiftly took off to catch the train and we were bound to Dortmund. I think it was then when homesickness really took over and we really felt tired for the first time in the last week.
The next day when we arrived in Cluj, the phones started ringing again.
Overall the conference was a success and we all had to learn new and interesting things regarding the migration phenomenon in Germany, but we still have to start accepting all persons that immigrate to our country as we are all human beings that feel and breathe. We all have the same problems, but the difference is that they are on another level.
I have to thank Armin’s family for showing me kindness and accepting me into their home for a whole week, the Georg-Büchner-Gymnasium in Seelze for hosting the conference, the participants for taking a step towards integration, even if it is only a small one,. And last but not least to my form teacher for giving me the chance to participate in this reunion and the teachers that acted as our guardians in this trip.
Paul-Cristian Craciun
Romania, Maramures, Baia Mare
“Mihai Eminescu” National College
After a two hour drive to Cluj, we arrived at the hotel where we spent the night. It seemed that phones kept ringing and even now mothers, fathers and loved ones kept telling us to take care and have fun in Germany. It was only then when I realized that I was really going to another country. Thoughts kept coming and leaving my head. After the phone finally went to “sleep” it was my turn to sleep.
We woke up at 4 in the morning to get the plane. We got at the airport in Cluj at half past five with a smile on our faces. As time passed by we kept talking and changing impressions of the “adventure” that was about to unfold in front of us. Being the first time I travelled by plane, it was really exciting for me as I experienced the sensation of flying. I guess you can compare it to a car that drives at 800 kilometres per hour. During our flight we all kept talking, some of us tried to sleep and it seemed it was all in preparation of touching the German ground.
We arrived in Dortmund at about 8 o’clock, we took the bus to the train station where we took the train to Hannover, the city where we would discuss about immigration, emigration and integration. I guess at the train station was the place where we had a taste of German hospitality as a nice lady gave us some pointers regarding our trip to Hannover.
As time passed by when we travelled by train, we were getting more and more excited as we were preparing for the moment when we would meet our hosts. We arrived in Hannover at around 12 o’clock where we met them.
It was then when Armin greeted me with a great smile and I felt relaxed and almost like home. It seemed that somehow this new and exciting place for me slowly became like a familiar spot where I usually came to visit friends.
When we arrived at Armin’s home I was greeted by a man with a smile that was full of warmth and he introduced himself as Armin’s father. Because I was tired I went to sleep in order to be more active and more focused during the project reunion.
It was after my short nap when I really got to see how open Armin and his folks were. I was welcomed into the family as a friend and not as a stranger. So I have to thank the Bernsee family for making my stay in Germany an extremely pleasant one.
The first day of the meeting was another reason of excitement that took over us as we were the first group that presented their interviews. So after getting over the anxiety and butterflies that seemed to keep flying around in our stomach, we managed to deliver our introduction speech and the short film was seen by the participants. It was still on this day that the Polish and Italian group presented their work and we could all see that everyone worked hard for this conference. After that we were given a very nice tour of the school by out German hosts, consisting of Armin, Esther, Saskia and Sarah which we have to thank.
After the meal we had at school we left for a tour of Hannover where Mr. Albrecht and Mr. Winkler acted as our guides showing us Hannover’s beautiful architecture and history. After the tour we all went home and prepared for a nice evening out with everyone and some international bonding. WE all talked and exchanged opinions and impressions.
The second day a presentation of the situation of immigration and integration in Germany was presented to us. It was interesting as it presented statistics that some of us didn’t know about and as we tried to see how the integration problem could be solved we realized that we all had the same problem regarding integration of immigrants, the only thing that was different was the number.
It was on this day that we had a very interesting interview with Ms. Lotte Henz, an ethnic German (aussiedler) who lived in Romania until the age of 24 and after that she came to Germany. Hearing her story was really interesting as she told us that she had no problems integrating as she knew the language, but for other immigrants this couldn’t really apply. So she considered herself blessed and privileged for her smooth integration in the German society.
Again stage fright took over me as we had to present our interview to the participants again. But the international team that was made I think managed to deliver an interesting presentation of the interview.
On the third and last day of the conference we had to write a presentation of the interview, an activity that all the members enjoyed as everyone had their input and the product of this multicultural team was introducing himself with pride as a good result of a tiring day. After this group work the interview with a journalist and two parents took place regarding the integration of Turks in German society, the interview was multilingual and sometimes hard to follow but nevertheless interesting and informational.
On our last day in Hannover, we took a trip to the “BallinStadt” Museum of Immigration in Hamburg, where we could see the place where immigrants came into Germany and the emigrants left. The introduction was really informational and interesting as it was very thorough and presented by an immigrant. The museum was well organized presenting the evolution of the migration phenomenon in Hamburg. I found it all very interesting as it was new for me and it got me captivated. After a short visit in Hamburg we had to go back to Hannover as we had to leave for Dortmund and after that to Romania. We swiftly took off to catch the train and we were bound to Dortmund. I think it was then when homesickness really took over and we really felt tired for the first time in the last week.
The next day when we arrived in Cluj, the phones started ringing again.
Overall the conference was a success and we all had to learn new and interesting things regarding the migration phenomenon in Germany, but we still have to start accepting all persons that immigrate to our country as we are all human beings that feel and breathe. We all have the same problems, but the difference is that they are on another level.
I have to thank Armin’s family for showing me kindness and accepting me into their home for a whole week, the Georg-Büchner-Gymnasium in Seelze for hosting the conference, the participants for taking a step towards integration, even if it is only a small one,. And last but not least to my form teacher for giving me the chance to participate in this reunion and the teachers that acted as our guardians in this trip.
Paul-Cristian Craciun
Romania, Maramures, Baia Mare
“Mihai Eminescu” National College
1 comment:
Wow, a very interesting and accurate description of your working trip to Germany! Thank you for such a feed-back, Paul, and congratulation to all teams for a successful project reunion!
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