IREX Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Exchange Program: Daily Itinerary Overview

This blog post will seek to summarize the daily activities of our IREX trip to Germany. I will be adding links to related topics that are mentioned as I write them.

* This post will be updated daily until the trip's completion.

** Adding photos will be done after the trip's completion.

Pre-Program Travel:

IREX arranged to have all participants fly out of two major US destinations: Chicago and Denver. Fortunately for me, I was just a short car ride from ORD airport. Almost all other participants were flying in from around the country including Michigan, Georgia, DC, and Maine. Additionally, we were blessed with a very generous "travel stipend" so any accommodations outside the planning were covered (extra luggage, seat choice, lunch at the airport, etc.) plus extra meals and incidentals during the entirety of the trip.

Day 1: Arrival and Intro to Bonn

While in Bonn, our accommodations were a stay at the Hilton Bonn, very close to the city center. This hotel is significantly more luxurious than almost all of the hotels I've stayed at while doing work-related trips. My room was ready upon arrival and I needed a shower to refresh myself after 10 hours of travel by air + customs/immigration + travel by bus to Bonn. After my shower, the group had a fantastic buffet brunch at the hotel. Later, we took an open-air double-decker bus tour around Bonn, which was informative and gave us a working knowledge of the city and its limits. Later, we had dinner at a brewery. On the way to dinner, we walked past Beethoven's original home. Yes, Beethoven was born in Bonn and you can walk right up to his home! Tours are available for purchase. I had a veggie burger. Most people had assorted schnitzels and wurst, but unfortunately, my being a vegetarian isn't the most German dietary restriction.

Day 2: The DAAD & Drachenfels

Before diving into school visits, we spent time with the DAAD (The German Academic Exchange Program). We sat through a variety of 5 workshops about the German education system, UNESCO schools, vocational schools, STEAM programming, etc. I found these all to be very informative and helpful regarding my guiding research question (that's for another blog post). For lunch, we had Australian pies which were quite similar to British hand pies- they were so good.

After the informational sessions at the DAAD, we went to the "Drachenfels" which are castle ruins. Most of the group opted to take the cable car to the top, but I thought I could handle the hike with a few others. I did it, but it was so tough! If you're looking for a workout to break up the monotony of a day of sitting, I highly recommend it. The hot temperature didn't make it any easier, but I can't imagine it's much easier on a cooler Autumn day. The incline was fierce! If you can't handle the whole thing, there's a stopping point midway up the mountain and you can hop on a cable car. At the top, there were picturesque views of the Rhine River.

Dinner was at another German restaurant. I had a salat mit Käse aka salad with [goat] cheese. I am quickly learning that German food is not my forte, but there are still elements that work for me (hello soft pretzels). Plus, the produce here is very fresh because it doesn't go through the same chemical process that our American produce endures (pesticides, etc.).

Day 3: Cologne

Hello to the hottest day of the trip, where we will take a walking tour in Cologne, Germany's 4th largest city. We took a bus from Bonn to Cologne, and upon arrival, we broke up into 2 groups for a walking tour. My group leader, Antje Schulz, started our tour by letting us know it's not called Cologne (Col-Ohn), it's Koln (Kuhl-n). We toured the Cologne Cathedral, the world's second-largest church, but the world's #1 largest two-spire church. Admittedly, the interior looked like many other large Catholic cathedrals with impressive stained glass and sanctuary spaces to light candles and say prayers to specific saints. My favorite part of this cathedral is that when I visited there was a live mass going on with a full accompanying. orchestra. Another favorite part of this tour was seeing the remains of a Roman mosaic tiled floor that is in pristine condition in the Cathedral's museum's compound. It was too hot for me to climb the spire towers and go to the top of the tower, but several group members did so. After the tour, many of us hung out at a local restaurant to cool off and drink cold water. Believe it or not, it is almost impossible to get free ice-cold water in Germany. Though most of the tap water is drinking quality, restaurants do not hand out free water nor do they provide ice (and when you do get ice, it might be 2 or 3 pieces).

We ate dinner at another German restaurant where I had another goat cheese salad. After dinner, we were all totally drained (walking + humidity + extreme heat + long day = exhaustion). We had to call our chartered bus to come back earlier than expected and nobody felt cheated by a night that was shortened by one hour.

Day 4: Boat Tour & Koblenz

Hello to another long, hot day. We took a scenic Rhine River boat tour from Koblenz to St. Goarshausen, 3 hours each way. The trip was extremely long, and again, in the open air, with the heat, it was a lot. However, our fearless leader, Kelsey, told us that boat tours have been a quintessential part of all TCG trips this year- everybody's doing them! Along the way, we got some great photos of castles and quaint villages along the Rhine.

Afterward, we had an independent dinner, meaning that it was not pre-scheduled for us, and we should use our fellowship stipend to pay for it. I went to an Italian restaurant with 3 other colleagues. I had tortellini in brodo as an appetizer and a carbonara pasta. There were a lot of leftovers, so I took them back with me, only to find out that the hotel doesn't have a microwave for guest use.

Day 5: Vocational School

Vocational school is very near and dear to my heart. I am a first-generation college student from a family of vocationally trained workers. In Germany, students have the choice to attend vocational high schools in lieu of comprehensive secondary schools (there are other types of options for that track too). The vocational school had young adults from a wide age range and it is funded by the government, not like American trade schools which are either absorbed by a local school district for parter programs or at cost after high school graduation.

We had lunch on our own in the city center. I opted for a quiet lunch at a kebab restaurant (falafel plate, yum), then did some shopping at Primark where I ran around like I was on Super Market Sweep, grabbing items quickly.

Afterward, we went to the PAD (Germany's International Exchange Centre for Schools). This seminar taught us all about the programs that Germany offers for students, pre-service teachers, and teachers to promote and internationalize the education system. I was familiar with a few of these programs and plan to apply for these next year, and to share with my students so that they can embark upon their own travel experiences too!

Dinner was on our own again and I found a cheap Asian wok spot that was quick and tasty, or as the Germans say, schnell und lecker.

Day 6: School Visits Day 1

My group, which included 4 other colleagues, took a 30-minute walk down the Rhine River to get to our host school, Clara-Schumann Gymnasium (pronounced: gihm-na-see-um). Compared to most other school assignments, ours was the closest commute. We were warned by our host teachers that today would be "prank day" and we met across the street from the school because teachers were not really allowed at school while the kids had their fun (this would never fly in America, but more about this in another post). Our host teachers got us exclusive access to see some of the goings-on, but we shortly exited again and hung out at a nearby cafe for about two hours. Upon our return, the school was cleaned up, and classes were back in order.

We observed a chemistry class and an "international" class (which was the German version of ENL - English as a New Language class). I had so much fun in the international class. The kids were diverse, middle school-aged, and eager to meet the American teachers. All of them were either immigrant by choice of their family and/or refugees by necessity. We met several Ukrainian students who have immigrated as a result of Putin's current war against Ukraine.

Afterward, we had lunch at the local kebab shop near the central commuting area and walked home. Later that evening, our host teachers invited us back to the school for a school play by the 5th and 6th-grade chorus. Per IREX, we were not obligated to attend, but we felt so compelled because of the great day we had with our host teachers. Afterward, we had dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant across the street from our hotel.

Day 7: School Visits Day 2

Another day at Clara-Schumann. This day was quite different from our first day. This day was full of observations and panel discussions. But we started our day off by attending the first group church mass since covid in 2020! More about this later, but it was a very special experience, even though I am not protestant.

In school, the students across grade levels were very interested in our experiences as American teachers, what schools were like, etc. We asked them questions too! My colleagues asked a lot of questions about their schooling preferences, etc. However, I asked them the *important* stuff; Do you like American Music? (Travis Scott); Where should we eat dinner tonight in Bonn?; What's the best and/or fastest car? (Best: Nissan or Porsche, Fastest: Bugatti).

We had lunch at a local pizza shop. I took a nap. Then we went out for drinks at a local Bier Garden on the Rhine. Four of our host teachers showed up, and our program leader came with us too. We were so glad our program leader could meet our host teachers because we have enjoyed them very much and hope that they will continue to partner with TCG in the future. Additionally, we are building friendships and partnerships with these teachers and hope that we can collaborate between our USA and German school in the future :)

Dinner was very late, but I grabbed something quick and light at the same Vietnamese restaurant as a few nights prior. I had some time to Facetime my mom, then it was time for bed.

Day 8: School Visits Day 3

Our last day at Clara-Schumann! All members of my group opted for the museum field trip with the older kids, but I chose to attend the Animal/Wild Park with the international class. Another blazing hot day and I chose to wear all black! I can't say that I was very well prepared for this trip because it turned out to be a wilderness park on a mountain. This involved hiking and petting/feeding wild animals. There were goats, ponies, sheep, donkeys, Scottish cattle, deer, and boar. Can you guess which was most exciting for me and the reason why I wanted to attend (hint: oink)? Despite a physically taxing day, I had so much fun. The kids were kids, they were joyful and leaned into experiences; they were not afraid to get dirty and they like to take risks. Not to mention, we took public transport, even on crowded standing room only trains, parsed out amongst multiple train cars, and everything was just fine! There's a lot more trust in students and teachers in Germany compared to American schools. Being on the train and not obsessively counting kids and scrambling to herd them into one train car was such a difference, America would never!

After we all returned from our trips, we said our goodbyes and shared our gratitude with our host teachers. We presented them with a Fulbright certificate and many tokens of appreciation and swag from our schools/regions. I was happy to leave a set of 8 books, my students' favorite, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Even better, Frau Miriam's class will be reading that book next year in German, but the kids are excited to have English copies as well. I promised I would find the movie on DVD to send to her because they can't access it on streaming here.

Lunch was at a sushi restaurant. I ordered a lunch special, which included a "special roll" and I knew this would be a risk, but it was good! The meal was plentiful and for a good price! (13 euro for 1 special roll, 2 nigiri, 1 crispy roll, soup, and a soda).

I had to rest once I returned from school because I was totally beat. It's a good thing school ends at 1:15 pm here because you still have enough time to nap, live out your day, then go to bed at night. Later, I did laundry at a local waschsalone and stopped by Mcdonald's for a quick dinner because they have a vegan burger here! Unfortunately, to my chagrin, the McD veggie burger did not live up to the hype. It was so disappointing. Crispy, crumbly, and spicy. I could (and probably will) write an entire blog about my dissatisfaction with this long-awaited essen (meal).

Day 9: Dusseldorf- Cancelled!

At this point, I'm well past being adjusted to the time change. However, my body is still not used to the amount of go-go-go combined with the hot summer heat. We were originally scheduled to go visit the city of Dusseldorf today to meet with the Education Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW is the state where Bonn is located). Unfortunately, due to Covid and an impending rain storm, our travels were canceled and our conference was rescheduled as a virtual meeting.

For our conference, we learned about what NRW is doing to prevent violence and psychological, cyber, and physical (sexual) abuse against students, as well as how they are managing the influx of Ukrainian refugees into their school systems (more on that in another blog post).

A colleague and I bounced around Bonn for lunch with a visit to a gelato shop, kebab shop, a Bäckerei, and the European equivalent to the American dollar store (Euro Shop). Like in America, the dollar store prices have increased with inflation and most items are more than a buck, but I got a few treasures and postcards to share as souvenirs.

TBC....

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14