Die Marienschule betreibt bereits seit längerem einen regen Austausch mit dem
Havergal College in Toronto / Kanada.
Auch in diesem Jahr war bereits wieder eine Schülerin bei uns in Münster zu Gast.
Für mehr Informationen über Havergal:
Ceilidh Cunningham (16) kommt aus Toronto und geht dort auf das Havergal College for Girls. Im Februar war sie für drei Wochen in Münster und hat an der Marienschule die Jahrgangsstufe 11 besucht.
Hier
ist ein kurzer Bericht über ihre Erlebnisse.
My
first impression of Münster and the Marienschule was that they were smaller
than what I was used to. However, I am quite sure that because of the size I was
able to get comfortable in my new surroundings more easily. As well, the
students at Marienschule and my host family helped me by clarifying things for
me when the German language, customs, and rich culture overwhelmed me. Although
my ears quickly adjusted to the sound of a foreign language, the culture shock
that I had upon my arrival lasted. I think Münster has its long history to
thank, since Canada’s only goes as far back as the 1600’s. I do not think
that Toronto has a house older than 200 years, while Münster and it’s
surrounding area has many truly historic castles and churches, which it can be
proud of.
In
terms of unique customs, I will say that I have almost been run down by people
on bicycles more times here in one month than I ever been in my whole life in
Toronto. The bicycles can be menace to people unused to them, as can a crowd on
the day of Carnival, especially when one is visiting Köln! I think that the
only things that I did not need to adjust to were the friendly, hospitable
people and the city with its genuinely beautiful surroundings and sites, which
were unlike any that I have ever seen or experienced.
I
think that there is a certain mentality to the people I met in Muenster. Not
anything bad, but I felt almost like people were a bit more reserved. It made me
fit right in, since I'm not the crazy type or a typical "crazy canuck,"
(Canadian.) It's really hard to stereotype all the people I met into one
grouping, though, since everyone's different. I think that in Toronto people are
more willing to make perfect fools of themselves in front of a crowd, (sometimes,
but not always a blessing.)
I
think that the most visible difference between the two schools is our uniforms.
I must admit that I missed not having to think about what I was going to wear at
all in the morning. What I really enjoyed was that I got home from school at
2:00. In Toronto I don't arrive home until at least 4:15. The schedules at the
Marienschule were really foreign to me. I'm so used to having a nice long fifty
minute lunch break at noon. I could never really adjust to the two fifteen
minute breaks.
I'm
not sure that anything really surprized me, except that I had always though
Germany was larger, no offense. It's strange, because when you're a Canadian,
all of Canada is your home, and I never really thought of it being that large.
It's probably because I'm so used to it. I found it funny that people think
Canadians do not really mind driving large distances for a long time. It's funny
because it's true and I never really realized it before. In Germany everything
seemed to be within walking distance. I really enjoyed my stay, but I think the
greatest thing I learned on my exchange was what my home is like. It's probably
because my mind I was constantly making comparisons between the two cities. It
was hard to say whether there was a German mentality. I'm sure that there's a
definite one but I don't always pick-up on those things as easily as others. I
think it's easier to describe Canadians. Canadians are just a bit more loud, but
not as loud as Americans.