Dear School Community,
On Wednesday, April 10th, at 2 a.m., our journey to Hamburg began – our study trip in Germany. After the flight, we took the S-Bahn to the Blankenese district, where our host families warmly welcomed us.
The next morning, we visited the high school of our host siblings and discussed the topic of colonialism and post-colonial times. During the break, we all tried Franzbrötchen for the first time, a Hamburg specialty. Our day ended with a harbor tour on a ferry.
Our Friday started with a visit to the Technical University of Hamburg (TUH), where students gave us a tour of the campus. We met Aman and Kamau (graduates of our school from 2024), who told us about their courses of study and experiences. Afterward, we enjoyed our first shared Döner lunch in Germany. Then we explored Hamburg’s city center and visited the Elbphilharmonie. Besides the expansive view, we were impressed by the 82- 82-meter-long curved escalator, the longest escalator in Western Europe. We also visited the Speicherstadt, the town hall, and the many shopping arcades.
On Saturday, Jesse and Tom played a friendly match for the Blankenese team and won 7:2. Jesse scored a goal and was titled the “Kenyan Wonder Kid” by the coach. In the evening, some of us attended the promotion match of Mr. Edler’s former basketball team. Fortunately, his old team won and secured promotion to the league.
Our Sunday started together on the train heading to the St. Pauli football match. The full stadium was very exciting for many of us, especially with the enthusiastic fans around us. Unfortunately, FC St. Pauli lost 4:3 against Elversberg, with 6 goals in the second half. Later, we visited the Hamburger Dom (an amusement park), but quickly left because it was so crowded.
On Monday, we went to the university for the second time. We often got lost on the campus but eventually found our selected lectures. After that, we visited the NDR. We were shown a lot, such as the makeup, preparing for a live show, and the studios. Unfortunately, we were not allowed into the Tagesschau studio, but we saw the various moderators listed on a wall. Of course, Susanne Daubner with the youth’s words was the most famous.
The last full day in Blankenese began with us leaving Blankenese again and going to Hamburg to learn and debate about colonialism at the University of Hamburg’s center for reappraisal. Shortly afterward, we went to one of the many Bismarck statues in Hamburg. From there, we made our way to spend the rest of the day exploring the city.
Wednesday morning, everyone headed to the Blankenese S-Bahn station to travel together to Berlin. After a 4.5-hour journey, we all arrived safely. However, there was no break as we headed straight to the Bundestag. There, we met a member of parliament to talk about her profession and the Bundestag as a whole. Afterward, we were allowed into the Bundestag to learn more about the entire principle. From there, everyone went their separate ways, which had become customary.
On Thursday, we had breakfast together at a nearby bakery before heading to the first activity of the day. Berachah, Jaro, and Shanice visited the Berlin Wall Memorial with Mr. Edler and discussed the GDR and the West and the consequences of building this border. In the evening, we met our former headmistress, Ms. Seite, and our new physics teacher at the Gorki Theater.
The last day in Germany started again at the same bakery, where we were already seen as regular customers. But then, Tom, Kris, Raphael, and Mr. Edler went to Wannsee to visit the House of the Wannsee Conference, which is now a museum. After that, we headed back, of course with a Döner in our stomachs, to meet the others. Then everyone packed their bags in the evening because the next morning we had to leave the hotel early for the airport.
Class11
