Chicago - our last two days in the States

After the amazing time we had in the first two days, we spent another wonderful day and a half in Chicago. On Thursday, we began at 9.30 in the morning by touring the Museum of Science and Industry, where we first saw a very interesting movie on engineering in the 'Giant Dome Theatre'. This is basically like a normal cinema, although the canvas is shaped in a concave waoy, this lets you see the movie with your whole field of view - it's a truly exciting experience. After about half an hour of free time, we headed to the coal mine, where we got an idea of how coal was won back in the day. This left us with a good hour to grab lunch from the restaurant and have a small look around this huge building, before we left for the amazing and strongly recommended Chicago Crime Tour. The bus took us along Streeterville on the trail of the likes of George Streeter, John Dillinger, the Chicago Black Sox or the infamous Al 'Scarface' Capone.
After 3.45 pm we were headed for Michigan Avenue to go for the last really large shopping round. We were all (still impressed with the Mall of America in Minneapolis) evermore impressed to see such a thriving line of stores and restaurants, all lined with the vibrance of a mega city. Packed with bags from the shops, we went to a pub next to our hotel, where we had a very nice evening, that set a fitting end to our trip, though it left us all with a sense of melancholy at leaving this beautiful city and the feeling that we had only scratched it's surface.
On Friday, we got up early and then left our hotel for good and got on the bus. Our last big event was the Chicago Lake & River Tour. We boarded the ship near the base of the monumental Wrigley Building. Leaving the Chicago harbor towards Lake Michigan, we went along Chicagos fabulous Navy Pier and right through the Chicago Harbour Lock. It regulates the amount of water coming out of the lake and flowing down Chicago River since 1938, the five minutes we spent in its chamber were a nice opportunity to have a look at the cities glorious skyline. Thanks to our guide, we got a lot of information on Chicagos most prominent buildings such as the Willis Tower or the Lake Point Tower. We also used the opportunity to get some snapshots of the whole group in front of Chicago.

After the end of the tour we went to Navy Pier one last time, enjoyed a beautiful view of Chicago and said farewell to this wonderful city. This left us with a long and also kind of depressive bus ride to Chicagos O'Hare international airport, where we boarded our plane home. 

United for the last time at Bremen international airport, tired, exhausted and also a bit sad that a brilliant four weeks had to come to an end so soon, we quickly engaged in a group hug at the baggage claim and gave a last cheer:

                                                        'Here's to GAPP 2k17!'

Our trip to Chicago (part 1)

Tuesday morning was a really sad day for all of us, because it was our last morning with our hostfamilies. Our bus left at 7am- at least that was the plan, but saying "Goodbye" to them was harder, than it seemed at first and so it was very sad for all of us, in St. Ansgar as well as in Charles City. At least we will see them again in summer...
After that we had another 8 hours of bus driving before we arrived in Chicago, Illinois. We checked in  at our hotel for the next days, the "Comfort Suites Chicago" and brought in our lugage, we drove downtown to Willis Tower, Chicago`s highest building. It took us 60 seconds to get to the top, were we took some amazing photos of Chicago`s  skyline. We also had the opportunity to walk on a glassfloor hundreds of meters above the ground and to take some more photos.
Back at our hotel we bought ourselves food for the next day, because we had a lot to do:
First we went on a tour through chicagos old town and learned about the German`s history in Chicago. We also visited a church that was built by german immigrants and looked like a european church.
Then we visited  the Chicago Art Institute,  which had many interesting pieces like a room on medival armor. It was really big but a tour gave us an overview of the most interesting pieces. Next to the Art Intstitute there was Millenium Park with sights like "The Bean" and  a great view on the skyline.
The last location we visited was Navy Peer, a place named after its use in the past, which nowadays serves as home for a little Ferris wheel, a few shops and the Shakespear Theater, our next target:
At 7pm we visited a performance of shakespears "The taming  of the shrew", set in the 1990s wemon rights protests ( suffrage movement). It lasted about 3 hours, but it was very entertaining, so we were happy to visit it.
So the first two days in Chicago passed by in next to no time-At least we felt so!

Time to say Goodbye😭❤️

After our long bus trip back to St.Ansgar and Charles City, everyone was picked up by his hosts and went home. Julian, his host Carter and I had a great supper and played some pool games and went to bed later. On the next day, my host mom, host brother, Julian, Carter and I watched the Iowa State football game against Kansas where we spontaneously met Jella and Julia with their host from St.Ansgar. It was a very rainy day but even though, ISU won 49-0 which seemed pretty easy. Our day ended with a trampoline park which is called sky zone where we spent our last energy of the day.
On Sunday, me and my family did nothing special. I began to pack my things and in the evening we had a thanksgiving dinner where everyone of us Germans and their families were invited. It was pretty sad because we had to say some of our best moments in front of them, which was very emotional especially for Amelie. This dinner ended with the chicken dance and a video of our trips which was maxed by Sebastian. The last thing on this day was a typical American halloween thing: Pumpkin Carving!
On our last day, Monday, the Charles City students were splittet into groups and visited the local primary schools. I was in a group with Louis and Svenja and we were allowed to go to the catholic primary school which is untypically till 6th grade. It was very different and we had to talk a lot about Germany, especially the Autobahn and Money.
Sadly Tuesday was our day to say goodbye. Everyone didn’t want to leave but we had to. After a ton of tears, hand wavings and hugs we entered the bus to Chicagoooo!

Our adventure in South Dakota continues! 😍

Hello again! Let me tell you more about our trip to beautiful South Dakota…

On Wednesday morning we ate self-cooked breakfast including bacon, toast and scrambled eggs and were visited by some deer in our garden before we left for the Jewel Cave National Monument near Custer. The Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world (it has more than 290 km of mapped passageways!) and is located in the Black Hills. We were able to learn a lot about the cave’s history and formation before we went on a guided tour through a part of the cave. Even though we had to climb more than 700 steps of staircases it was worth it because of the amazing and unique sight we experienced.

 

Afterwards we drove to Custer, a small town nearby, to get some lunch and continued our journey to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It’s a monument that is supposed to show the Oglala Lakota Indian leader Crazy Horse riding a horse but so far only Crazy Horse’s head is finished because the works are expensive and the responsible persons are refusing to receive federal or state funding out of respect for the Indians. But even the head is gigantic, it’s about 27m high, and I can’t imagine how big the entire monument will be when it’s finished.

Our next destination was the famous Mount Rushmore National Memorial or simply the Mount Rushmore. For those who don’t know this memorial, it’s a sculpture of the heads of 4 U.S. presidents carved into a Mountain. There we had the chance to take lots of pictures in front of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln which was really fun.

Then we started the way back to the lodge but our bus driver Jo was so nice and drove us a bit through the National Park we’re staying at (Custer State National Park) so we were able to see the beautiful landscape and lots of different animals before we arrived ‘home’.

For dinner we made a simple but delicious meal out of chicken and salad along with garlic bread. The rest of the evening we enjoyed our last night at the wonderful lodge while playing games and just talking about our experiences so far.

The next morning started with a similar breakfast to the one from yesterday but a bit later because we just had to leave at 9am. Most of us were really sad because the days at the lodge passed by so quickly and our trip to South Dakota was slowly coming to an end. After packing all our things we left the lodge and started the long drive to the Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, an igneous rock.  A lot of us were surprised by the sheer size of the Devils Tower because it’s huge. A few of us went on a hike around the Devils Tower but the majority of our group stayed at one spot along the trail to take some pictures in front of this gigantic rock. 

Afterwards we headed to a city called Hulett where we ate late lunch in a western style bar and were able to try some delicious Bison burgers. Sadly this was the last thing planned for our South Dakota adventure and so we started the way back to Saint Ansgar and Charles City. After stopping at a motel in Wall for the night we continued the journey and were welcomed by our host families at the High Schools in Saint Ansgar and Charles City in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the day with them.

Overall I really enjoyed our trip to South Dakota and I’m very happy that I got to experience the beautiful nature and various sights there. 😍
- Svenja 

Bisons in the Custer State National Park

At the Crazy Horse Memorial

Mount Rushmore

Devils Tower

The western style bar in Hulett where we ate lunch

Spending an amazing time in South Dakota

Hey guys, here we are again!

It is hard to believe that more than half of our time in the US is over. We have seen a lot of that wonderful country. But unfortunately time passes by so fast. Early on Monday morning we set of to one of the  most exciting trips: We went to South Dakota! I for my part can say that in advance I really looked forward to these days.

After an eight hour bus ride we finally arrived safely Wall which was our first stop. Wall is a delightful, small town with its famous drug stores and lovely shops. For dinner most of us went to a restaurant in the manner of country furnishing. All of us spent a great evening. There were just one funny incident, more or less: The waitress debited the total amount just of Jette’s credit card so that she paid for all of us. But we solved the problem 😀. At the end of the day we all sank wearily into bed.

The next day we had to get up early. After breakfast in a motel we started out to Badlands National Park which was an amazing adventure. The forces of erosion that created the landscape of the present-day Badlands are incredible. Added to that they are offering a range of activities like driving with the bus the badlands loop road and stopping at overlooks. Of course, we took some souvenir photos of the cross-section with its amazing cultural and natural history. Prairie dogs and pronghorn antelope are just some examples for animals which are native in the Badlands. After that we went for lunch to Rapid City, a neighbouring town. Some of us ate burgers, others enjoyed delicious ice cream and yet others passed their time in the Memorial Park.

In the evening we finally arrived in our wonderful, comfortable lodge which is placed in Custer State Park. There we cooked spaghetti, played games and just had a social get-together. So far, we are spending a great time in South Dakota😍!

We will soon let you know more about our trip!
Yours, Hannah!

Memorial Park in Rapid City

Badlands National Park

Ice cream shop in Rapid City

UNI-Game

On Saturday the 7th the whole group met up in cedar falls to watch the UNI-homecoming game against West Illinois.

After a bit of shopping and a lunch at a mall we drove to the dome. The weather was stormy but after running into the stadium everybody was just exited to witness the great atmosphere.

The homecoming started with a show by the UNI-marchingband, that formed a tunnel after some songs and variating formations for the UNI-athletes.

The home team had a bad start in the first quarter with west Illinois having the lead.

After the two following quarters being relatively balanced UNI fought back and lead the game 29-18 in the last fifty seconds. Everybody was just cheering and clapping, but I guess that was the mistake because west Illinois scored a touchdown in the last Eleven seconds. The game ended at 29-38.

For us germans it was an astonishing experience although ,,we” lost, because most of us never saw something similar to this event.

Even when you do not know the rules it is more than worth it to be a part of such a great game.

It was very cool to see how the players still stood on the field to take pictures with many people and to talk to the people who just payed money to see you playing.

Also I think everybody enjoyed the unity behind the University of northern iowa.

It is crazy to see the difference to Germany because normally you do not fill stadiums for a division I team and study at a college at the same time.

The UNI-Homegame

On Saturday the 7th our Gapp group drove to the UNI-Homegame. The UNI team played against the WIU team. Everyone was really excited and the atmosphere was awesome. The UNI Marching Band started the game with good music and an impressive choreography. None of us really knew about the football rules but it was still funny. For every touchdown of the UNI some American soldiers made pushups on the field. In the first two quarters the UNI team was close behind the WIU score. Then from the 3rd to the middle of the 4th quarter the UNI team made serveral touchdowns and became the leader of the game. The atmosphere was unbelieveable and the UNI's kept on going to win. Only 11 seconds left to win the game for the UNI but the WIU team didn't give up and made a touchdown in the last 6 seconds. It was clear for everybody that the UNI team couldn't make a touchdown in 6 seconds. A bad ending for such a great football game the UNI college team lost the game against the WIU team.

The 2nd week in Charles City - Chapter 2

The Wednesday started like every other school day, but after school we were invited to visit the fire department in Charles City. This is only one out of more departments in the whole Floyd County, which means that all the fire departments aren’t that big. It was very interesting and the thing everyone didn’t expected is that every department has ambulances and lifeboats which belongs to them. After that, our host moms picked us up. My host mom, my younger host sister and I went to Dairy Queen for ice cream and drove home. That was my first day off, with no other activities.
On Thursday was the last school day for the CC students. First we got our Comets sweatshirts with our name and number on it which was very important for us to get them. After that, we went to Expeditions for the last time. Mister Pittmann seemed quite sad, that’s why he decided that we should build a tent outside to do something special in his lesson, which we won’t ever forget. In our last German lessons everyone was very surprised that this is already our last day and it was hard for us and them to leave each other. We spent a lot of hours there with teaching, helping and of course having fun. I think I’ll speak for everyone of us that we will miss them a lot! After school some of us went to the Mexican restaurant or to the Y to workout. In the evening my host mom took Kristin, Laura, Joana and me to a trip to Target in Mason City were we surprisingly met Jella and Julia. It was a very crazy day.
On Friday the whole Charles City schools had a day off. Some of us did a trip to Minneapolis to do some shopping in the MOA. Julian and I stayed in Iowa and went on a trip to the John Deere Museum in Waterloo/ Cedar Falls. In the Evening, my host brother was supposed to play American football but the game was delayed because of a lot of rain. The game after them was stopped for a long time, that’s why we decided to stay home and watch some movies.
I’m very glad that our families give us so many opportunities here and it was the best week so far.☝

-Jette

The 2nd week in Charles City- Chapter 1

We have been in Charles City now for almost two weeks and I would say that we have settled in pretty well. The life in our host family's started to feel normal, we found friends in school, we got used to our schedule and eating in the big cafeteria doesn’t feel that strange anymore… The first school week flew by really fast and the weekend was just great.

Saturday some Germans and their hosts met at the bowling center. The teams were found pretty fast and we began to play. None of us are real bowlers but still we had a lot of strikes. Especially Kelly proved his bowling skills by showing us his famous backwards bowl. It didn't work out well but it at least inspired some of the Germans to try it by themselves for fun.

In the evening we met again but this time in Katlyns garage. Everyone brought something to eat, blankets and pillows and we watched movies late into the night.
On Sunday we met again and drove to Mason City, which is half an hour car ride from Charles City. First we went to a restaurant and had lunch. After that our little group went to the movies to watch “It”. To say the least, it was creepy.
To finish our little trip we went to Target, which was a lot of fun.

Our second week in high school started with an average school day.
Every morning we meet in the German room to talk about our program for the day and share our experiences/plans. After that we go to our classes that are all really interesting and definitely different from german classes. My school day always ends with two hours of German. Honestly, that's probably my favorite class because it's just so much fun to talk with the Americans in German and help them. Also, I found some really nice friends there.
After the school some of the us went to the YMCA which is kind of a local fitness center. It's always nice there because they have a lot of different activities and you can also play games.

On Tuesday we didn't go to school, at least not to the high school. Together with our teachers we visited a Mennonite School. The Mennonite are people that live without modern technology. It was a great experience and we were welcomed very warm. First we went to the school: two teachers, the classes 1 to 8 and all in one building. The girls were wearing dresses, the boys were dressed in overalls and their hats hung neatly on the wall. All in all it looked like a different time. We were allowed to walk around and talk to the kids. They were really curious and answered all our questions gladly. One of them showed us their german books and we were surprised that it was written in traditional german style. Even some of us had problems to decipher the words. They also sang a song for us and we returned the favor and sang “Auf der Lauer” for them, even though their choir was definitely better. After playing soccer with the kids we were invited by the local bishop to stay at his house. We stood in his kitchen together with some of his kids and he told us about the main ideas of the Mennonite and answered every question we had. He explained that they lived that way because they think that technology kind of destroys the family unit and because their religion is the center of their lives. They call themselves anabaptists and believe in Jesus and his teachings. He also explained that they accept neither homosexuals nor remarriage and wouldn't vote. But if someone wanted to leave their community they would always accept it.
After that we drove back to Charles City and got a tour through the local police department. It was really cool to see how American police officers work. To end our trip there, the captain showed us a police car. Some of us even took pictures sitting inside.
When we were taking pictures in front of the car, a school bus from St. Ansgar arrived and our friends announced their arrival by singing St. Ansgars Song. Since we hadn't seen each other for quite a long time everyone was really excited and happy. Together we made our way to the Floyd County Courthouse.
First we met the sheriff who explained his duties and work to us. Basically he is a police officer, who is in charge of the whole county. After that we got the chance to visit the jail. A women from the jail stuff gave us a tour and talked about her work. We even got to see real inmates and one of them scared the heck out of us by looking out of his cell. The women told us that she even had an inmate charged with first degree murder. Nonetheless she explained that she loved her job, but would take a hundred males over one woman, because they are ”nasty and mean”.
Then we visited the court. It was impressive to see the beautiful room. The sheriff explained how a court in america works and how a jury decides if the defendant is guilty or not.  Soon we started to talk about differences between the american and german court and justice, which was fairly fascinating. Among them the jury, driving permit and alcohol. To sum it all up, it was an awesome trip.
For some of us the day ended with a Comet Volleyball game. It was thrilling even though they won easily. We stood in the student section and cheered them on. It was really cool and is always great to experience their team spirit.
-Kristin

My first weekend with my host family

The first week in high school went by really fast and each day I was getting even more excited to spend the weekend with my host and her family! My Saturday started with waffles and bacon for breakfast😋.I mean how can a day start any better?! After getting ready, we started our 1 1/2 hour trip to the aunt of my exchange student. We picked her up to drive to the Center Grove Orchard. That's a working farm and apple orchard. There are animals and some activities on this farm as well, for example the Jumping Pillow and the Super Slides. We drove with a tractor to the corn maze where we got lost🌽. After finding our way out of the corn maze we were ready to pick some apples🍎. We were getting hungry so we decided to drive to Zombie Burger. Zombie Burger was absolutely amazing! I ate a Mac n' Cheese Burger and I drank a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shake. This was by far the most delicious Burger I've ever eaten in my life🍔! What's the best thing to do to end a day? Right, go shopping! And that's exactly what we've done🛍! After this amazing day we went straight to bed💤.
With the apples we've picked on Saturday my host and I made apple crisp! We decided to make ice cream on our own as well but it turned out to be harder than we thought. Whatever, we were proud of of our end product and it was really delicious!
All in one: it was a wonderful weekend with my host and her family and we had a lot of fun!😊
Greetings from America🇺🇸
Amelie

A weekend with caves and cows

I am staying with Josina at the Wold's and our weekend started quite early on saturday morning. At 7am we left the house and headed for the Quad Cities which is a region of four counties in Northwest Illinois and Southeastern Iowa. There we met Abby's grandparents on her mother's side who turned out to be lovely and open-minded people. After making some typical american light conversation all of us went to the Cinnamon Ridge Dairy Farm where the cows are milked by robots. And we could cuddle with some new hatched out chicks who were simply adorable.
Next we boarded the Mississippi water taxi to Moline, Illinois to eat lunch and enjoy the shining sun on the cloudless sky. For supper we went to Whitey's which is a well-known store for ice cream in this region. Surprisingly the milk shake I ordered had a really solid consistency so that I had to spoon it up. Afterwards I learned that this is just the way they do their shakes in the US.
On sunday we we're hiking through the woods to visit the Maquoketa Caves. First we had some problems to find them which definitely could be explained by the bad map we were given and not by our missing sense of direction. The caves were just beautiful and it felt good to have some outdoor exercises. I enjoyed our whole trip and I am already looking forward to all the other activities we will do within the next days.

The first week of school in Saint Ansgar

Every morning we drive to school. After arriving at school we always meet in Mrs. Larsons German room. The first week of school I mainly followed my host to her classes. Each day we had at least one German lesson where we helped the students with their exercises. On Tuesday we went on a scavenger hunt around the school, where we were in 4 different teams. Each team had at least one american student in it so we got to know them a little better. That was really fun! On Thursday we went to the local hardware store to design and order our hoodies, which we wanted to get for us in Saint Ansgar.
Overall the week was really fun and interesting and we got to learn a lot about the american school system and its differences to the german one. 

The first day of school in Saint Ansgar

I had to wake up as early as I usually do. My host mother drove us to school.
We had to follow our hosts during the blocks til lunch.
After lunch the GAPP-students met in Mrs Larson's German/Spanish room, where she introduced herself and told us about school.
On one side of the room were a bunch of folders, which contained our schedule, the meal plan, a list of all classes available and the Pledge of Allegiance. Each of us received one.
Afterwards Mrs Larson was so nice and offered to give us a tour of the entire facility. First she showed us the Highschool, then the middle school and the elementary school, which also contained kindergarten.
They had a gymnasium for each school, a kitchen and a large crafting room in the Highschool. The teacher, who teaches in the crafting room,  explained what exactly the students could do there and showed us a few of the machines.
We returned to Mrs Larson's room to collect our things and rejoin our hosts to go to their last block.
When school was over we took a yellow schoolbus to get home.

Our American host family 🇺🇸

After we had an exiting day in Minneapollis, our bus driver Joe drove us to our host families in Saint Ansgar and Charles City.
Then we met our host family for the first time and our family is very nice .
Jella and I staying with the same family in Saint Ansgar.
So when we were at our new home, we met their little crazy dog Max 🐕. Besides that we got a house tour and Jella and I hoped not to get lost in this big house.
At the next morning we could sleep long and our host father made typical american Pancakes🥞.
Our host mum said that we are like children and not like guest for the two weeks we stay in this family.
So we are very happy to be staying with this family and we will have a great time with this them.

LIFE IN ST. ANSGAR ⚜️❤️🇺🇸

10 days have passed since we took off to our four week adventure! After a great stay in Minneapolis and a visit to MOA (Mall of America) we drove to our partner schools and host families in St. Ansgar and Charles City.
My host family lives in the small town of St. Ansgar with a population of about 1000 people.
So far we've been able to see a lot like an Eagle Center in a town called Washaba and a larger city close by named Rochester.
When we arrived on Saturday evening last week (the 23rd) everything seemed quite unrealistic because we were still pretty tired from jetlag and the trip to Minneapolis. So after ordering pizza from the local and most likely only store in town called "Casey's" we quickly went to bed. In the morning we woke up to typical American Pancakes🥞
In our first school week we spent most of our time in the different classes or in gyms watching our host sisters volleyball practices and home or away games for example in Northwood which is 20 minutes away from where we live. I've started to learn more and more about volleyball and right after the first week we felt like real Saints fans and everyone intergrated us really well. Especially our host family made us feel welcome and just like home right from the start!
Julia and I are staying with the same family and we're happy we get along so well with our hosts! We feel comfortable at home, the house and food is great and especially one member of the family already made sure that we'll never forget him again..it's their little and crazy dog Max who loves to chase squirrels all day long!🐶
Our family likes to cook and bake so we already made Pumpkin-Pies, Apple Crisp and lots of other delicious foods. For lunch at school our host mom always packs us lots of different things. We've had several lunches like salads, wraps, pasta and more.🥗🎃
I'm very happy with the family I'm in and I'm sure there couldn't have been a better start to this adventure!😇
I don't even want to think about having to leave here again some time but until then there's still a lot of time left!🇺🇸

The first school week in Charles City

The High school has a big parking area and like most of the kids we are going to school by car every day. Every first lesson the German students meet in the german classroom with Mr Bleischwitz and Mrs Buttjer. Tuesday morning two police men showed up in our classroom and introduced us to their jobs.
The school is not as big as ours in Walsrode. It has just one Floor so there are no stairs. After studying for 42 Minutes you have 4 Minutes to find the next room where your class will take place. After the first 4 lessons the bell rings a second time after 4 more minutes. During this lunch break you have to look up in your computer whether a teacher wants to meet you. Every student has an own laptop and the school has free wifi. In this lunch break the students aren't allowed to leave the school premisses. They may bring their own food or buy someting in the cafeteria. There always is a choice between vegetarian or normal food and pizza. They are offering salad and fruits every day too.
After one hour of lunch break you have to go to your final four classes.The subjects can be really different from those in Germany such as government, expedition or advanced american literature. A major difference from German schools is that what we know as Maths is split up into more sections such as algebra or geometry.
In the german class we help the studens to improve their skills. They learn about the human body or read a German book. Everyone was kind of impressed with our ink pens because they are used to write with pencils. Another difference to our school in Germany is that while we are used to having a daily changing schedule, the American system has the same order of classes every day. So eventhough we had no change, we had a ton of fun.