Unsere GAPP-Austauschgruppe in Mankato hat inzwischen viele weitere Eindrücke gesammelt. Neben dem Schulalltag an der Mankato West High School standen in den vergangenen Tagen gemeinsame Unternehmungen, amerikanische Sportevents, ein Musicalbesuch und typisch amerikanische Herbsttraditionen auf dem Programm. Gleichzeitig arbeiten die deutschen und amerikanischen Schüler*innen gemeinsam an einem wichtigen Thema: nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung in Freiburg und Mankato.
Wie die Jugendlichen ihre Tage in den USA erleben, erzählen sie am besten selbst. Deshalb gibt es auch diesmal wieder einige ihrer Tagebucheinträge im englischen Original.
Ein Schultag in Mankato – und „Mean Girls“ am Abend
Diary 09/29 – Lotte
Dear Diary, Today was another nice day at Mankato West High School. In the morning, we had peer tutoring first. After that, we had a group meeting with Miss Merkle and Mr McClleland. Then it was time for lunch. We drove to Jersey Mike’s and got some delicious sub sandwiches. After lunch, we had History and Art class. At the end of the school day, we had Physics, where the students had to take a test. Our last class was Math, and then school was finally over. After school, we went to Froyo with Amy and her exchange partner. It was really nice to spend some time together. After that, we went home. In the evening, we went to a musical at MSU. It was based on the movie Mean Girls and it was really funny and very well done. Anton and Arwen also had their birthdays, so it was a really nice evening to celebrate together. I really enjoyed the musical and had a lot of fun. After the musical, we went to Chipotle for dinner. When we got home, it was already late, so we went to bed pretty soon. Overall, it was a long but really fun day, and I enjoyed spending time with everyone.
Lotte
Schule, Freunde und ein Abend in der WoW Zone
Auch Yade nimmt uns in ihrem Tagebuch mit durch einen amerikanischen Schultag. Am 1. Oktober standen unter anderem Orchestra, German, History, Chemistry, English und Math auf dem Stundenplan – bevor es nachmittags und abends gemeinsam weiterging.
Diary Entry 1 October 2026 – Yade
Today was my fourth day of school in America, and it was a really relaxing day. We had a small vocabulary session in the first lesson of the day. After that, we had orchestra, where we had a nice talk with the teacher. It turns out, that he speaks really good German and he offered to bring us some chocolate cake because he said his wife makes the best chocolate cake. I thought that was really nice. After that, we had German, where we also worked more on our presentations and talked about our day. The rest of the school day was pretty chill. I had history, then lunch, and after that we had chemistry, which was also really nice because chemistry is one of my favorite subjects. For the last two lessons of the day, we had English and math. In English, I could read a bit more in my book because we have a 10-minute reading time at the beginning of the lesson. After school, I went with my friends Marlene and Ella to her home, where we just chilled for a couple of hours before we went out to Chick-fil-A to eat something. We still had a bit of time left, so we went to Barnes & Noble to look at some books before we went to the Wow Zone. The Wow Zone was a huge arcade where you could go bowling, play different video games, and also have fun with laser tag. One of my teachers, Mr. McClelland, was really close to beating the record there, and he also won a pug plushie. My friend Marlene also got hungry, so she had some wings at the Wow Zone. After that, Ella and Marlene brought me home. I talked with my host parents about how my day has been, and then I just read a bit more and went to bed.
Yade
Sustainable Cities: Local Action, Global Impact
Neben dem Schulalltag und den vielen gemeinsamen Erlebnissen steht auch die inhaltliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen den deutschen und amerikanischen Schüler*innen im Mittelpunkt des Austauschs. Unter dem Titel „Sustainable Cities: Local Action, Global Impact“ präsentieren unsere Schüler*innen zunächst Beispiele aus Freiburg und beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, wie Nachhaltigkeit auf lokaler Ebene umgesetzt werden kann. Anschließend arbeiten sie gemeinsam mit den amerikanischen Schüler*innen im Team. Dabei erkunden sie Orte und Projekte in Mankato und untersuchen, wo nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung vor Ort bereits sichtbar wird. So entstehen nicht nur neue Perspektiven auf Freiburg und Mankato, sondern auch auf die Frage, welchen Beitrag Städte und ihre Bewohner*innen zu den globalen Nachhaltigkeitszielen leisten können.
Eishockey, Homecoming und Football
Auch amerikanischer School Spirit gehört selbstverständlich zu einem Austausch in den USA. Am Freitag, den 2. Oktober, begann der Tag zunächst ganz normal in der Schule. Danach ging es zum Eishockeyspiel der Mankato Mavericks gegen die Manitoba Bisons, anschließend zum Homecoming und am Abend noch zu einem Footballspiel. Auch diesen Tag hat einer unserer Schüler*innen in einem Diary Entry festgehalten:
Diary – Friday, 2 October
Dear Diary, on Friday 2 of October we had an very exciting day. First we went normal to school until 10:30. then we went to an ice hockey game Mankato Mavericks vs. Manitoba Bisons. Both are teams from universities. The game end with an 3:1 for the Mavericks. After the game we went to homecoming where the homecoming queen candidates showed a little presentation about themselves and did some challenges which were also showed in a short movie. They also danced with a teacher. The event endet with crowning the homecoming queen. At the evening we went to an American football game from our school. We lost. After a long, exciting day we went at home and everyone did their own thing.
Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Carving, Hayride und S’mores
Ein weiteres besonderes Erlebnis war ein gemeinsamer deutsch-amerikanischer Herbsttag. Bei Ella wurde Thanksgiving gefeiert – natürlich mit einem typisch amerikanischen Essen. Anschließend ging es auf eine Pumpkin Farm zum Kürbisschnitzen, S’mores am Lagerfeuer und einem Hayride.
Auch dazu gibt es einen Tagebucheintrag:
Diary – Thanksgiving & Pumpkin Farm
Dear Diary, On Sunday, I went to Ella’s house with some people of the GAPP group, where we celebrated Thanksgiving. There, we ate turkey and ham with sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes and squash. For dessert, we had apple pie and something like chocolate pudding. After that, we went to a pumpkin farm and carved some pumpkins.
We also had some snacks, like marshmallows by the bonfire, and went on a hayride. After that, we went to Culver’s to end this great day with some delicious food. It was a really fun day and I enjoyed spending time with everyone!
Viele Erlebnisse – und noch mehr Begegnungen
Ob im Unterricht, bei der gemeinsamen Arbeit zum Thema Nachhaltigkeit, beim Musical, beim Eishockey und Football oder beim Pumpkin Carving: Die Tage in Mankato zeigen, wie vielfältig ein Schüleraustausch sein kann. Neben neuen Eindrücken vom amerikanischen Schul- und Familienalltag entstehen vor allem persönliche Begegnungen und Freundschaften. Und genau davon erzählen die Diary Entries unserer Schüler*innen besonders schön. Wir freuen uns schon auf die nächsten Berichte und Bilder aus Mankato!
