Win For Germany

On Suday we spent the day with our host families. Band members traveled, visited monasteries, went to church services, and enjoyed much needed rest. I enjoyed a barbeque with several others with the host families of several other students. This was held the Bietigheim canoe club. We swam in the river and enjoyed great food. We also played Maxle tishtennis, were the player run around a ping pong tabe playing both sides. The food was fantastic, form the tee (tea) to the sausages to the kuchen (cakes). We then watched Germany beat Denmark at football. After the game (hosted in public on volleyball courts) the Germans flooded the streets in celebration. The roads were filled with cars honking and trailing German flags.  The cacophony of vuvuzelas and air horns continued late into the night, until the dual toned sirens of the police ended the celebration. 

A Rich Culture and Friendly People Too!

In preparing for this trip, I have made a special effort to make myself culturally aware.  I come from a large Italian family (pasta four times a week) and I understand the Italian culture and language fairly well, but the culture of Germany was completely veiled before this trip. Over the last week I have begun to learn more about the German culture and history. It is truly a country of rich heritage, fine food and beautiful art and music.

I still need to work on my German though. In an email to my host family a few weeks ago, I decided that instead of looking up the translations in a German dictionary, I would just use Google translate. However, I neglected to check the translation afterwards. So instead of writing "there are no oboes in American marching bands" I sent "in America the oboe is unimportant." My gracious host student, Magdalena, acted as good sport throughout the whole thing and only offering to correct my spelling. The members of the band and I are so excited to meet our host families when we arrive next week. I am especially excited to use the new German translation book my neighbor lent me so that I “don’t say anything too rude"....

How are students placed in host families?

One of the most common questions asked this evening was "How are the students placed in host families?"

We're glad you asked!

D99 students will be asked to fill out a personal card that describes their background, and shares some of their personal interests.  They will then be matched to a German host family by the faculty at the Musikschule in Bietigheim-Bissingen.  Their staff makes every effort to pair our students with a German student that has similar interests, is the same gender, and close in age.

We are sent the names and contact information for the host family approximately one month prior to departure.  Your family will have the opportunity to communicate with the German host family through email before your child travels to Germany.  Students often become 'Facebook friends' before they actually meet in person!

It is also important to note that every host family includes persons who speak English.  Your child will not need to speak any German in order to communicate, however students typically have fun learning some basic key phrases with their hosts during the week-long exchange.