Endlich wieder Englandaustausch

Nach zwei Jahren Coronapause konnten wir uns im letzten September endlich wieder mit einer großen Gruppe von 38 Schüler:innen aus den Jahrgangsstufen 9 und EF auf den Weg nach Enfield machen. Und das gleich zu einem historischen Zeitpunkt! Denn mitten in unserer Austauschwoche fand das große Staatsbegräbnis von Queen Elizabeth II statt, was man an der Atmosphäre in der Stadt deutlich während unserer gesamten Austauschwoche spürte: sie erschien sehr ehrfürchig und ruhig.

So musste nicht nur das Progamm etwas umgeschmissen werden, da der Montag zum Nationalfeiertag ausgerufen wurde, sondern man hörte immer wieder interessante Geschichten von Menschen, die extra zur Staatsbegräbnis der Queen nach London gereist waren, sich stundenlang vor der Westminster Hall in die Schlange gestellt hatten, um der Queen die letzte Ehre zu erweisen oder am Straßenrand übernachtet hatten, um der Prozession beizuwohnen. Aber natürlich gab es neben dem historischen Ereignis auch wieder jede Menge andere tolle Programmpunkte: neben einer Sightseeing-Tour durch das Regierungsviertel (Trafalgar Square, Downing Street No. 10, Changing of the Guards, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace) haben wir den Tower of London besucht, sind mit dem London Eye gefahren, konnten Eindrücke von unseren Partnerschule gewinnen, haben im Londoner West End das Musical "Wicked" besucht und einen Ausflug nach Cambridge gemacht. Genauere Eindrücke nun anbei. Viel Spaß beim Lesen und Fotos schauen!

Text und Fotos: Caroline Amft

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My weekend in London

What we did on Saturday and Sunday:
On Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast. French toast with honey strawberries and blueberries, which was a really tasty breakfast. After breakfast we walked to the Lloyd park, which was nearby and had a large lawn for playing football and picnicking, there was also the typical Saturday market. They offered dishes from many different cultures like Mexican, American, Indian, and even more. Next to the park, there was an Art Museum called Winns Gallery Artist's studio. It was very cool to join in and the entry was free! After the walk we had lunch, pasta with Bolognese sauce. We took the tube to Kings Cross and walked past the Harry Potter shop, it was really full. After the Mikros floor we drove to Camden Market with Sophia and Milena and their two exchange partners. We ate a lot there, mostly chicken and chips, smoothies and American candy. I bought a London sweater there. On Sunday we started with a sandwich for breakfast and drove to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studios. But that wasn't even the highlight, because after that we drove to Leila's grandma and grandpa. Her cousins were there, too. They served what was considered typical English food for Leila. For me, however, it was typical German food, baked potatoes with chicken, peas, boiled carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. After the meal we all played charades and then drove home.

Mara Kalinke

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On the 21 of September, we met at the Latymer School. Since the visit of the school on Monday got cancelled, because of the Queen’s death, we got the opportunity, to have a small tour through the school. We didn’t have much time, so we only saw some parts of it. We got split up in two groups, both groups got a teacher to guide them. We visited a lesson in German and answered questions about the exchange and school in Germany, we also saw things such as the break room for the older students. At the end both groups met in the hall were concerts and similar things are hold. We were told, that you need to do a test in this room, to get accepted in the school, this test includes Mathematics and just regular think exercises.After the short tour, we went to the Tower of London, where we could see the Crown Jewels or the armour of knights. We also got some time before and after the visit, before we took photos of the Tower Bridge and a group photo. After our time at the Tower of London, we had the opportunity, to walk around on ourselves, some got food, others went shopping and after about an hour and thirty minutes, we met up again. As a group, we all went to the Apollo Victoria, where we watched the musical “Wicked”. It’s about the witches of Oz, the show was about two hours. After the show ended we went back to the school, some of us were welcomed by their exchange partners on the way. Since it was the last day, before we drove back, almost everyone did something great with their exchange partners. Many of us went bowling, while the other ones went to the IFS Cloud Royal Docks.

Berit Knudsen und Paula Manthey

On Wednesday, we visted the musical "Wicked" - Here are some information:

General Information

-‘ Wicked’ is a musical of 2003
- Duration: about two and half hours),
- written by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzmann
- Located in London at: Apollo Victoria Theatre, 17 Wilton Rd, London, United Kingdom
- based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; this based on the characters and setting of the 1900 novel: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and further based on the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz

- Original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards

- In 2013, the Broadway production broke its own record again, earning $3.2 million

- In 2019, the musical surpassed ‘Les Misérables‘ (6,681 performances by then) to become Broadway's fifth-longest running show

Story

The novel, which writes about the nature of good and evil, is set in the "Land of Oz". It’s a story of two unlikely friends,
Elphaba, a smart, but misunderstood and wild girl with green skin, who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda, the beautiful, blonde, popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good Witch of the South whose relationship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints

Galinda and Elphaba were best friends - and even roommates - when they were at school. At first the two are as different as day and night and see themselves as archenemies. But despite their contrasts, a deep friendship develops between the two witches. However, their friendship must withstand Elphaba's longing for respect and recognition and Galinda's desire for popularity

In the end, Elphaba accepts her reputation as a wicked witch. She decides to surrender and the two women forgive each other for all their faults. Elphaba leaves the Land of Oz; they must say goodbye forever, realizing how much they've changed, because they knew each other so well. Glinda promises the people of Oz that she will earn her title as "Glinda the Good".

My Opinion about Wicked:
I personally enjoyed the musical "Wicked" very much. It was a great pleasure for me to be able to experience it. At some points it was slightly difficult for me to understand what the different characters were saying, but that's probably just me. Thank you very much for letting me be part of it. I also liked the overall story presented. (Lukas Lüersen)