Quick Update

To My Wonderful Readers:
   I will be on an 8 day vacation and will not be able to update my blog during this time.  I know, tragic really but never fear upon my return I will finish my promised posts and include one about my travels.  Yesterday was the official 2 Month mark.  I can not believe how fast time has flown by.  Frequently I forget that Fall is approaching until I ride my bike to school and see my breath or the thick blankets of fog. There are some things that remain the same though.  Like the group of blue overall bedecked people always standing smoking on the bridge by the locks when I bike by in the morning.  Sometimes I wonder what they think of me or if they even notice that I bike by every morning except Thursday.  My school schedule has stayed the same I have not added or dropped any classes and yet I still don't know my Tuesday or my Thursday schedules.  I have met my fellow District 1940 in-bounds, visited Berlin twice, Potsdam three times and Neuruppin once.  My German has improved in leaps and bounds though I still feel woefully uneducated.
Good Travels Until Next Time,
Hanna

Protest for Free Schools

(31.8.11)
    Today I went to Potsdam to Protest for Free Schools with my school.  Funny thing, I didn't protest in Idaho when it came to Education Reform but here in Germany I do.  Perhaps it's because the school supports its students being active in politics, where in Idaho it really didn't help the cause.  So instead of going to school I went to the train station and met up with fellow classmates.  Then we enjoyed the train ride to Potsdam.  At which the fun began.

The Infamous Poster

     We walked from the train station to the building where the ministers work.  We stood and held our signs.  I can honestly say that us FES had the only sign written in English.  And everyone who read it repeated it out loud until they understood.  After about an hour of standing around waving our posters we proceeded to march to a wide open square.  Several people gave speeches, there was a Chinese Dragon dance of sorts and then it was suppose to be over for our school.  However a minister was going to speak about the Education changes and many of the students from the Domgymnasium wanted to hear her so we managed to convince our headmaster to let us stay for her speech.  This required moving locations once again but unlike last time we weren't a solid mass of people stretching on as far as the eye could see, though we still blocked streets.

     Once we arrived at this new location I felt slightly uncomfortable.  We were by an abandoned building covered in graffiti and there were kids everywhere.  At first I followed my friends onto the abandoned building because it had the best view and it was already covered in students.  And then the police arrived and I suddenly remembered what my host mom promised me.  "If you get arrested I will bake you a cake."  (It took me a while to get the joke but when I finally did I couldn't stop laughing).  No one was arrested they just politely told us that we were not allowed on the building and to please move our bottoms to a different location.  When the minister finally arrived to give her speech there was some chanting.  I did not understand any of her speech but I did manage to take some pictures to two rather good looking boys so it wasn't a totally boring. At one point the minister said something that greatly upset the students and angry yells and more chanting ensued.  At that point I was very, very glad I was not the minister because it was a tad frightening.

The Minister (in green) and the MC

     After the speech was done we headed back to the train station waited for a couple of minutes and then boarded the train.  The ride was uneventful and fairly boring.  Lucky for me I had no more classes that day and was free to go home.  Most of my friends were not so lucky.