Jg. 11 – 25 volunteers from all three “Englisch-Grundkursen” 
Impressions from our educational stay in Andover/England,
16^th - 24^th  March 2003

Sunday, 16^th March

I had never  been in England before, and I couldn´t believe it was England, as it didn´t rain “cats and dogs” when we arrived. The sun was shining, all trees were already green and all streets and parks were full of daffodils. Streets and houses seem to be a little smaller in England.  Of course it was England, because everybody was speaking English, all cars were driving on the left side and most young people were wearing jogging trousers, some even in pink!   
(Ina Friesen)

 Our journey was fun, even if we were a little bit tired when we arrived in Andover. Waiting in George Yard Car Park we were very excited, because we would soon meet “our” family. There she was, our host mother Hill, and she and her dog Honey  took my friend Patricia and me to her house in Enham Alamain near Andover. We  went to bed very early.  
( Sabine Bönig)

Monday, 17^th March

At  9.15 we met at the Andover Central Club, our meeting place for the next days. First we were informed about the most important things for our week in Andover. At 10.30 a police officer told us some interesting details about his job. He also warned us of drinking alcohol because drinking alcohol under 18 is not allowed in England. The only sentences he knew in German were “Ein Bier bitte!”, Guten Tag, wie geht´s?” and “Pizza, Pommes frites und Salat”. Policemen in England just have a truncheon and a pepper spray, no weapon.    
(Nadeschda Klippenstein)

Later Richard, our “escort of the week”, talked to us about stereotypes, i.e. about what the English think about the Germans. They think, for example, that all Germans eat a lot (They have breakfast, they must eat at ten o´clock, they have lunch, “Oh! Three o´clock – Let´s have just a little something!”, they have evening meal,  they have something just before going to bed because they could die at night!), that all Germans love Sauerkraut, that all Germans wear “Lederhosen” and use their towels to book the chairs next to the swimming-pool. We added on the other hand  that the Germans think that all Brits drink tea at 5.00 pm, that all Brits are polite, wear jogging trousers, spend much time in pubs drinking beer, look like Becks (=David Beckham) or Robs (=Robbie Williams), eat odd food at odd times, have red hair and freckles, play cricket and of course that all Brits love the Royal family.
We also learned a lot about the English language. So if you want to say “Sch…” in English, don’t say “shit”, because it´s a very rude word. It is much nicer to say “crap”. When you want to say that something is very very very good, it is “awesome.”     
(Stefanie Schröder/Sabine Bönig)

After our lunch break  Richard and Pauline, our escorts of the week, made a tour of Andover with the group. Because the Major of Test Valley couldn´t come this afternoon we had a lot of time for ourselves after our guided tour. Most of us went to the park in the town centre because of the brilliant weather – we had so much sunshine during our stay! At 5.00 pm our official programme ended and we went back to our host families.    
(Patricia Rother)

Tuesday, 18^th March

We met at the Andover Central Club at 9.00 am. Today we should listen to a prison officer who was to tell us about real life in British prisons. After having introduced himself he talked about the prison of Winchester, which was built in 1876. At the moment 596 prisoners live there, from 21 years upwards, having to stay there from 10 days up to life sentence. He told us that life in prison is very  boring; if the real prison life was shown on TV, nobody would watch this programme! The structure of the day is the same every day. He also pointed out which disagreeable procedure takes place for every prisoner after his (or her) arrival: The officers control him and search for things he is not allowed to have to make sure that there´s nothing which could hurt the officer or the prisoner himself. It´s not nice, he said, because it´s violating their privacy, but it´s a “must”. After this report we were allowed to ask questions. He answered all questions in a very detailed way. So we came to know that women in prison are allowed to keep their babies until they are three months. After that time the mothers have to have them adopted or name someone who can take care. The prison officer also  made clear to us that when you go into prison you lose your  freedom and you lose your identity because you become a “number”, as your name isn´t interesting any longer.
After these impressive and interesting hours with the prison officer we had enough time to eat and drink before Richard told us something about the British way of life.
In the afternoon we visited the Andover “Iron Age Museum”.  Then the programme finished and we had time to do things we wanted to do. Our  group and our teacher arranged a meeting in a pub called “The Globe” for the evening. It was very funny!     
(Daniela Niestrath)

Wednesday, 19^th March

It was a beautiful Wednesday morning when we started our trip to Winchester. The day before Richard had already explained to us that Winchester is the county town of the county of Hampshire. On our way we drove through Wherwell, a small village near Andover; Richard told us that the cottages with straw (or  thatched) roofs, built about 200-250  years ago, are very typical of this village. 
In Winchester we first visited the Crown Court, a really big impressive building near the town centre. We were divided into three groups, because the public gallery has only seats for approximately ten people. So, every group had a different case to attend. In our case, there was a man, probably about 60  years old, who had raped his stepdaughter back in 1988. Then he was arrested but released a few months later and the police destroyed every evidence they had. Now, 15 years later, his stepdaughter accused him again. But the difficulties now were that he couldn´t be accused of something he had already been in prison for before. Apart from that, it was not as interesting as we all had hoped. It was just the first day of the law-suit and no really hot discussion was going on. In the second case  there was an architect  whose documents about a building weren´t right, but he denied everything. One word to the court rules and the impressions we got: Of course we had to be as quiet as possible; otherwise the judge would have had the power to send us to prison for one day, as we interrupted the legal proceedings. We all enjoyed the visit. With the funny wigs the advocates have to wear in Great Britain and the strict rules and sometimes the difficulties of the British law system it was really interesting, though not as thrilling as on TV, but nevertheless it was a nice experience.
Next to the  Law Courts is the Castle. We had a look around the Great Hall and saw a huge round table hanging on a wall. It was built like the famous table of King Arthur who invented a round table so that nobody sits at the end of it, which would give him or her a higher position. In fact, this table is only a remake and not King Arthur´s real table.  After that we were allowed to visit the garden of Queen Eleanor, a former English queen. First we were surprised how small it was, but it had a respectful and decent atmosphere, so it was nice for a little chill out, especially because of the good weather and sunshine.
Then we went to the Eastgate of Winchester, where we learned some further details about the history of Winchester, for example that by this gate the French weren´t able to get into town. We also learned that from 800 to 1200 Winchester was the capital of England. In the afternoon everybody was allowed to go into town for shopping (Although to go shopping is almost too expensive for “normal” pupils.) or having a meal instead of eating our packed lunch . 
Later everybody met at Winchester Cathedral to have a guided tour with a German-speaking guide. Winchester Cathedral is a very famous and of course huge cathedral, though in fact many other cathedrals in England, Europe and all over the world are a few centimetres taller. But it is as long as two football fields, and so it is very impressive. In the cathedral you find a mixture of architectural styles, because it was built during a long time over the centuries and even today some artists restore it, for example the statues, or they add other works of art, so that the cathedral is still alive! There is a beautiful atmosphere inside, as the whole building is decorated with figures, altars and the graves of dead popes, kings and other important people for the church in the Middle Ages. We also got to know that the cathedral is located on the deepest place of Winchester, so it is often flooded. An inspection hole for a diver was built, and this diver worked for five years every day. Altogether he used 28.000 cement bags to put the concrete under the slanting place. We all were very tired but happy when we arrived home at 6.00 pm. This was one of eight  nice days in England.  
(Sebastian Vennebusch/Matthias Greiwe/Sarah Guttmann/Verena Weinzierl/Ina Fritzler)

Thursday, 20th March

 Okay then .. Thursday was our fourth day, and until now it was very interesting and exciting. We leant many things, for example that the weather isn´t always bad in England, as we had nice weather all the time we were there, only sunshine and – no fog. The English cooking is also not as bad as they say. The “First Eleven” (=a typical English breakfast at the local supermarket) is very tasty and so are fish and chips with salt and vinegar … “mmh lecker”, as Richard said. Richard by the way was a very funny and interesting leader. We enjoyed spending our time with him … but now let me tell you something about the day.
We all met at Andover Central Club at 9.00 am and the first thing we did was watching the “most exciting”  Stonehenge Show you can imagine: Nobody knew more about Stonehenge after it. Never mind!
After the show Richard told us something about the British educational system, and after that we did an Andover quiz which was good fun. We went into shops and asked the people who worked there and also the people in the streets, and everybody helped as much as they could. After we had handed in our question sheets we were allowed to go back home; later some of us met at the market place and went to “our” park. It was very beautiful there; all of us liked it very much,  and so it became “our” park, where we spent much free time. At 10.00 pm we went home looking forward to the next exciting day of our educational stay in England.  
(Dimitri Heil)

Friday, 21st  March

In the morning we met at 9.00 o´clock at George Yard Car Park , and at 9.15 the bus left for Salisbury. On our way we paid a visit to the Army Flying Museum near Andover which was a little bit difficult and scary for us to visit as the Iraq War had begun, and a few of the helicopters that could be seen in the museum had just been shot down. We talked about our feelings and impressions within our group.
When we arrived in Salisbury, we first went altogether to Salisbury Cathedral which was very big and beautiful. After that we had a lot of free time to look around the shops or to eat (!).
On our way back  to Andover we passed Stonehenge. A lot of us thought it looked so small and boring, but I think it  was interesting to see for once.
Back in Andover a few of us spent the evening in a pub, but that wasn´t as good fun as in Germany, because the music and the atmosphere in this pub were terrible; I didn´t like it. (Nadine Tiekötter)

Saturday, 22nd March

On our sixth day in Andover we set off to visit a city which is well known for its famous university. After one hour and a half we arrived in Oxford. When we left the bus, we assembled in front of a huge building, and on the opposite side there was already a college: It looked fantastic! It was huge and stood there majestically.
We started the day within the whole group by visiting Christ Church College, the largest college in Oxford. To visit this college was for most of us an amazing experience, as we could not believe that such a huge and beautiful building is a real place where students live. Totally impressed by the old building we visited Christ Church from the inside. Parts of the college has been used for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. In the films you can for example see the dining hall and the staircase of Christ Church. You really sensed an incredible atmosphere, and Hugh Grant or Margaret Thatcher maybe once stood where we were standing, because both of them studied here and of course many more people who are really famous today. We also didn´t miss the 12^th-centrury cathedral, and it gave us an impression of the Christ Church students´ pride in their college. We realized the enormous size of the college, and we enjoyed a special atmosphere which I have never sensed before. The college connects old and new in an exceptional way.  So after this tour through Christ Church College, we had a completely new impression of colleges and of course a totally new one of Oxford.
After having visited the college we sat down on the grass and ate our packed lunches so that all people could see how much Germans eat!!! Later we did a quiz about Oxford and enjoyed the most important sights, for example Oscar Wilde´s place of study, the beautiful Magdalen College with its many parks and forests. We also saw Oxfords own Bridge of Sighs, the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera. Before we went on a shopping tour around one of Oxford´s main shopping streets we climbed medieval Carfax Tower for excellent views over the city´s monuments. We took a lot of photos of the spires that once gave the poet Matthew Arnold the idea of calling Oxford the “City of Dreaming Spires”. Also a nice experience was our visit to Blackwells, a huge bookstore where books can be found on several different floors. You can see  students everywhere near the colleges or getting out of their cars with their luggage ready for a new term at university. We realized how close old and new lie together in this town.
In my opinion Oxford is one of the most beautiful cities where tradition and modern spirit meet in a charming and incomparable way. It was a really great day in Oxford, and perhaps now some of us have the aim to come to Oxford again as a student at Christ Church College. I hope I`ll get the chance to go to Oxford again!  
(Katharina Bratvogel/Nina Sauerwald/Anika Zörner)

Sunday, 23rd March

We got up, and when we came downstairs we saw presents on the table, two bracelets! Then we had breakfast with Pat and Martin, our host parents. They were so nice!  After breakfast they took us to the bus station. It was sad to say goodbye to them. But we will keep in contact with them!
(Wiebke Burkhard)

Just like the whole of last week it was a lovely sunny day. We were ready to depart from Andover at about half past nine, after our luggage had been packed into the coach, and we had said goodbye to our host families. We had stayed in Andover for a week and had really enjoyed it. The days had passed quite quickly, and it was a shame that we had to return to Germany so soon, a few class tests waiting for us. But we also had been looking forward to this day, because we would drive home via London where we were going to stay until 6 o´clock in the evening.    
(Philip Gater-Smith/Daniel Stefanik)

So we drove to Victoria Bus Station in London. It took us about two hours to get there. Then we walked with our teacher, Mrs Ledendecker, through London. On our way to Buckingham Palace we saw a lot of expensive cars which you can´t easily see in a small town like Bünde!  
(Ömer Dural)

At Buckingham Palace it was really nice but also very crowded because they were just changing the guards. It was really interesting to watch this scenery. After that we went to Trafalgar Square. Our teacher told us something about its history and we took many photos with the lions there. Then we went to Leicester Square, where we could eat Häagen Dasz” ice-cream and watch the handprints of stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pierce Brosnan. Then we walked through Chinatown, which was so interesting, because the shops there were really much different from shops we know.   
(Jessica Mester)

We walked on to Covent Garden. From then on we could do(within our group) what we wanted to do for the next three hours. My group was very hungry, and so we got a huge fish and chips meal, it was very tasty with salt and vinegar! After that we walked around and just enjoyed London.   
(Ömer Dural)

We explored the area. The two of us joined up with Katharina, Wiebke and Ina. At first we walked along the streets between Soho and Leicester Square and looked around the shops. At about 4 o´clock we headed  towards the River Tames again. On the way there we caught a glimpse of Downing Street, but of course the gates were shut, so we weren´t really able to see anything or anyone.  After having taken photos of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament we sat down on a bench next to the River Thames and admired the scenery.   
(Philip Gater-Smith/Daniel Stefanik)

At 5.00 pm we met the whole group at Big Ben. Everybody was there on time! From there we walked back to Victoria Bus Station and listened to all the interesting stories. Some of us, for example, “visited” the MI-6 London Headquarters at Vauxhall Bridge. … and dreamt of Pierce Brosnan and maybe Sean Connery. In the end it was a great day with short glimpses at many interesting things.         
(Cristian Dicks)

Of course you can´t explore London within one day! But I was glad that we could see so much. It was very very interesting! If someone wants to visit a big city I certainly will recommend London to him!      (Ömer Dural)

Let  me draw a conclusion: It was a most enjoyable trip due to many favourable circumstances such as beautiful weather, interesting sights to visit, competent people in charge of our group, friendly host families, and so on. But last not least  I must say that our group was excellent – very reliable and interested in a lot of things! That was very helpful and made the trip a pleasure!
Just as a little thank-you  let me add the song texts of “Richard´s songs”; there certainly will be an occasion to sing (and act!!) them!     
(Gudrun Ledendecker)

  Songs (Andover 3/03)  - “Richard´s songs!”

1)            London´s burning, London´s burning,
Fetch the engine, fetch the engine,
Fire, fire, fire fire,
Pour on water!                          (=round; zum Schluss jede Stimme einzeln abwinken!)

2)            I am the music man,
I come from down your way,
And I can play …
      What can you play….?
I can play the …… piano/trombone/guitar/big big drum/ violin/ harp/flute/…
                                                (Instrumente immer wiederholen!)

3)            My bonnie lies over the ocean (= a good-looking man),
My bonnie lies over the sea,
My bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh bring back my bonnie to me.
Bring back, oh bring back,
Oh bring back my bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, oh bring back,
Oh bring back my bonnie to me.  (b: sit down, b: stand up + v.v.)

 4)           Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Where the flowers grow.
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Where the breezes blow.
Turn, turn your back on trouble,
Reach up to the sky.
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain,
You and I.           

(climb: marschieren, flowers grow: Fingerbewegungen,
nach “blow”: pusten, turn your back: umdrehen,
reach up to the sky: Arme nach oben strecken,
you and I: auf jemanden zeigen, der auch nach vorn kommt > immer mehr,
bis zum Schluss alle vorn sind.)