Making connections.

[sister_luck]

Just a quick note to say that yesterday was my day for intercultural exchange and I got to speak English for most of the day. In other words: I accompanied the group of students who are participating in the German-English exchange. I'm very grateful for the colleague who set it all up, who put a lot of work into organising it. It meant all I had to do was show up and then help out a little. Our English partners are a great bunch and it was heart-warming to witness German and English students interact, from working together and flirting to conflict resolution.
When Chelsea gave Katharina a hug because she had opened up about her problems at home, I nearly teared up. The evening before Katharina had been due to take Chelsea and one of the English boys to her house, but they went to her boyfriend's place first where they played football in his garden and visited the horses. Chelsea didn't understand what was going on and the next day she told her friends and then the meddling started... There were tears on both sides, but when Katharina explained in halting English that she just wasn't getting along with her parents and when Chelsea said that she had enjoyed staying with Katharina at her house, it was all good again. (There was also the promise of home-made pizza and Singstar and Katharina and her mom were finally talking..)
Also, I loved getting compliments for my English.