Sprachwoche New Jersey – N.Y.C der 7B

New York, New Jersey, New Experiences – beautiful memories

Host Family

One of the best experiences I had, was staying with a host family in suburban New Jersey. It was their first time hosting somebody as well, but I couldn’t imagine them having done a better job. I was welcomed in such a heartwarming way and was incredibly sad when we had to leave again. Though not a perfect match-up, the host girl I was staying with shared quite a few interests with me, so we were able to do a lot of things we both enjoyed, like watching movies, playing Monopoly, going shopping, etc.

Kittatinny High School

Visiting the school was another huge experience for us. We’d never been to an American high school before and didn’t know what to expect, but we were welcomed with open arms and met a lot of very friendly and helpful people. Aside from making new friends, we also witnessed another form of teaching and a different school system. There were a few similarities in the curriculum, but also a lot of differences, including other subjects, how the teachers taught, etc. I also thought it was funny some students referred to their teachers with nicknames sometimes, and was kind of shocked at the personal level the students were taught on, though somehow retained respect for their peers.

Going into New York

The morning started out quite painfully, since all of us had to catch a bus at 6:55 a.m., and not all of us are morning birds. Also, for most of us at least, it was very hard to have to say goodbye to our host families, whom we had really grown to; most of us wanted to stay longer. The bus ride was pretty long, though everyone got immensely excited as soon as we saw the skyline (and were stuck with the exact same picture for ages while sitting in traffic). The weather was great, so after we got to the hotel, we took a long walk through Midtown Manhattan, including going through Central Park, Rockefeller Center and Tiffany’s. We went to Times Square for dinner (the Hard Rock Cafe, in fact) and walked out of it when it was dark outside; though not to be taken literally, since standing in Times Square during nighttime is not much different to being there during the day.

Top of the Rock

After going to the American Museum of Natural History on the second day, the cherry on the top was visiting the top of the Rockefeller center and enjoying a gorgeous sunset and nightlife skyline. It was very, very cold, I admit that, and extremely windy, though we were strong troopers and loved every moment of watching such a beautiful city from above.

Night on the Town

Though not an attraction, just walking around New York City’s Manhattan and going shopping, or catching something to eat and taking the subway or bus everywhere, was a great experience by itself. It’s amazing how easy it is to get around New York and the great stores and buildings that there were were just an added bonus.

Lower Manhattan

Seeing something else other than skyscrapers and yellow cabs was quite a relief when we went down to the different parts of Manhattan (Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo, etc.), though some of us had to learn the hard way that the streets in the South are not as in order as the Midtown streets and avenues. Beautiful weather was just a huge advantage to further enjoy it.

Museums

If I had to write every highlight with the detail I’d want to, this article would never end. However, every museum was a crown jewel in one way or another, and there was something everyone could enjoy at every attraction, whether it was the American Museum of Natural History with its huge collection of dinosaur fossils and an amazing planetarium, the Museum of Modern Art with its somewhat wacky, though interesting exhibitions or the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the ginormous exhibitions of armor, an Egyptian temple and Greek Statues.

Final Verdict

All in all, we had a really great time. It was a new experience for everybody, even for the people who’d already been to the states before. We had a lot of fun and I was amazed at how much freedom we had; free time that was usually spent more productively than I would have thought (one group of people even took their time to go to the Flatiron Building!). I think there were things that not everybody agreed on or felt like doing, but in the end there was something for everybody. A bit of tweaking wouldn’t be bad for next time around (background checks on the host families, for example), but after all, this was a pilot project and a first-time for this school, so there’s definitely room to improve, but despite it being such an unusual language week, one that hasn’t been done before with the people involved, it went fairly smoothly and I think certain problems and mishaps could really not be avoided (somebody forgetting their passport, another getting called in by security, the toilet incident…). 

Bericht von Melina Kapl, 7B