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Flavia Mormann, teacher of English at the Paulinum was a Fulbright exchange teacher at a high school in San Diego, California, where she taught German and some French. Flavia Mormann and her exchange teacher Judy Stout in San Diego, swapped flats, cars and telephones. It had always been her wish to go to California, although people at home weren't quite sure why she wanted to go there. She found Americans very patriotic. The children were already familiar with Western traditions. Guns have their place in school life - in the military training corps. At school in America, every teacher has her own classroom. So every room has its own character. The disadvantage was that she rarely saw her colleagues. Miss Mormann found that she had to change her style of teaching to suit different mentalities and a different school system. Every school has its own colours. Even going to football matches was fun even you were not interested in it - because of their accompanying activities, such as the cheer leaders and bands. School dances were also important; the girls spent a lot of money on their hair and dresses. Girls tended to choose French. Boys learn German, because of its military associations and cars and beer. Flavia found that giving the pupils projects was more motivating than just ordinary class work. She showed us the remarkable results of some of these projects on slides. There were awards for excellent work. Some students, who were not eager to learn grammar, etc. learnt the Viennese waltz in two days seeing it as part of German culture! Californians also know how to enjoy life. Typically Californian is the beach culture, which includes sunbathing and surfing.Americans are less resistant to change than Germans. They love machines - especially in the kitchen. Christmas is different too: it is more like a party and the decorations have to be seen to be believed. They also celebrate St Patrick's Day and, in some parts, the Octoberfest. On a trip to Las Vegas Miss Mormann found that the hotels had reproduced capital cities, such as Paris, Venice and Rome and that they were, all a short distance from another. The Americans love German culture or what they think it was German, such as the chicken dance! To conclude this well presented and entertaining talk, we were shown slides of the Californian countryside. It is extremely difficult to give to an audience who might not have been to America, an idea of the dimension of the countryside, but Miss Mormann certainly succeeded in doing so with her illuminating slides. Peter Ilisch |
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Crossing Continents and Cultures … |
