26.11.2007 Scoring High on TOEFL ITP

This group of senior students at our Goerdeler Gymnasium has good reasons to smile: they achieved mostly high scores on their TOEFL ITP test...it is one thing to receive in-house teacher feedback about where one stands and it is quite another adventure to submit oneself to the rigid testing conditions of the official TOEFL ITP test..... congratulations to all of them - they mastered the different sections well - and placed themselves quite high in relation to the other worldwide test takers.

No wonder Dr. Wortmann - on the very left - is all smiles. I am posing on the very right as the test supervisor and Mr. Ikenmeyer in the middle is pleased as well...providing the test to our students was his idea and his initiative....where will these seniors apply their skills after graduation? Some hinted they may want to investigate studying in the USA - beginning with a "free and easy" summer session in June 2008......yes: GO FOR IT! It will enrich your lives and provide you with challenging opportunities....

25.11.2007 A new camera and many wrinkles

Somehow my blog writing ideas seem to depend on having a photo available - no photo - not much enthusiasm...now that I purchased the Olympus SP 560 UZ as a replacement for my lost Olympus SP 350 ( I recently left it at the train station in LeMans when boarding the Paris bound TGV ) - I feel "qualified" to continue this adventure....so far I haven't found the central theme yet - no wonder my morning face has all these wrinkles...so please bear with me......

11.11.2007 Good news: the 3 kids are back in PB

This morning I got up very early in order to monitor the return flights of our three youngsters from St. Louis via Chicago,Frankfurt and then onwards to Paderborn. All were on time so I rushed to the airport to meet the parents.There were smiles of relief when the small plane touched down safely while battling strong head winds at 8:33 a.m.

It took almost 25 long additional minutes before the luggage appeared on the belt inside the arrival hall and yet there was one final hurdle to be mastered: German Customs.Interesting objects had been purchased in the US and now German VAT had to be paid.Once those dues had been collected the door swung open and the last member of our gleaming TRIO stepped out and into the loving arms of the parents amidst friendly cheers from the rest of us.All families were now reunited again and what had been started some 90 days ago in August found its glorious ending on this wet November morning.

From what I overheard everyone sounded positive and thankful as we discussed the arrival of their USA host partners by the end of May/early June in 2008.

When we left the building we knew we would be together again shortly during DAFK's special Thanksgiving Dinner on November 22.

I hereby wish to extend once more my/our sincere gratitude to all of you who support and actively help us in carrying these exchanges forward.Let us continue with our efforts so that an ever increasing number of families and their students will be able to enjoy the benefits of these wonderful 90 Days Homestay arrangements between our sister - cities.

6.11.2007 coming home - reichlich beschenkt

Today is Tuesday and in just five short days our three Paderborn exchange students will be back - touchdown!

All three of them will have great stories to tell and probably all of them - and especially Nils - would have liked to extend their stay.

What a smashing success for all of us who were involved in this program.We feel motivated to soon start a new recruiting phase for the 2008 exchange.

Although they are not quite here yet it is a good time to start thanking them,their parents and especially their host parents in Belleville,including our busy bee friends and teachers at BSC for their loving care and attention.

The photo shows Jan Schulze receiving a high quality quilt from Mayor Eckert during a ceremony in the Belleville City Council chamber.

29.10.2007 Structures and their consequences part 2

I found this revealing school schedule lesson plan at http://www.germany.info/ and there is a close link to my last blog photo - incidentally it shows the mail slots in a typical teachers lounge....do you see the similarities? The present school system breeds fragmention and "encourages" separation not deliberately but it "splits" and "divides" nevertheless and it does so in a 45 minutes rythm.

I have two DVDs in my shelf that show film clips of those few schools which have successfully overcome the negative consequences that are inherent in the box-like structure.The more far reaching one is called: Treibhäuser der Zukunft - or Incubators of the Future. It can be ordered at: http://www.archiv-der-zukunft.de/ . The other one stays closer to the existing framework of the present school policies of our State North-Rhine Westphalia and it has the defensive title of: It can be done ( ....inspite of the system's flaws ) - the italics are mine. It can be obtained free of charge at: http://www.selbststaendige-schule.de/ It has just been released and it provides very accurate background information about various types of schools and subjects. Both films make the learners, the teachers and the principals look human and very likable.

My prediction is that one far day the teachers themselves will use - or have to use - their own power in order to help create the kind of schools where not only the kids,the parents and the teachers want to belong but the sponsoring (business) community as well. These new schools will invent their own underlying structure which will then be free of the confining box structure ( see both photos ) - to make life enhancing learning and "thinking outside of the box" a common normality.

27.10.2007 structures and their consequences

When I read the blog entries of our three exchange students - who have only two more weeks to go in Belleville,Illinois - I can almost feel their enthusiasms and I am happy for them.Jan Schulze states that he prefers the US school system to the one here - it will be interesting to learn what exactly he is referring to.

Both systems have the same underlying structure and the attached photo may serve as a metaphor.The American system and the German system both rely on a number of boxes ( subjects ) that are taught without any links to each other i.e. the geography teacher may talk about the Arctic whereas the English teacher has Wales as his main theme and "the two shall never meet."

Even the layout of the schools in both countries are very similar.Long corridors with doors to wall enclosed classrooms one next to the other separated only by a wall (again see photo ).

What are the implications: Systemic Thinking can hardly be achieved in a school system based on such a fragmented and compartimentalized structure;the concept of Belonging in the sense of we are all ONE will be very difficult to achieve as well and strategies such as integration and holistic learning will most likely not get very far.

In America the National Center on Education and the Economy has just published a report which the commissioners titled:Tough Choices or Tough Times. In the report they press for dramatic changes in the entire field of education by stating :" we can get where we must go only by changing the system itself". Now that I am actively teaching again I am convinced that the German "box-based"system will also have to be replaced entirely.

21.10.2007 Dogs and Blogs

When I first discovered this cartoon in the latest edition of our popular Stern magazine I had to smile because I felt " ertappt" - for there is a certain truth in the picture when the dog compares his "marking-off territory" activity to the one we bloggers engage in. Bloggers want to leave their marks with high tech - dogs prefer to keep it low.

First we google and they sniff, then we post and they pee.....finally we wait for feedback and they for the wiff....doing it low-tech style only seems to be not very efficient for it certainly gets better results.

21.10.2007 A much awaited photo

Today I received this happy photo as an email from Dr. Allendorf....it came as an attachment to a mail that he had sent out to our three parents whose kids continue to benefit from their stay in Belleville.Apparantly our DAFK delegation had a safe although slightly delayed return trip from New York City - their second destination- yesterday. Dr. Allendorf's text states that our Paderborn youngsters are receiving high marks for their social skills and academic achievements.So pleased and also so relieved.

The photo shows from the left: Linda Driesner ( German teacher at Belleville East );Nils Sifrin ( Pelizaeus Gymnasium - his host partner Kyle Pointer - student at Belleville East - is unfortunately not in the picture);Katie McDowell ( German teacher at West Belleville Highschool );Robert Dahm ( principal of West Belleville HS );Doris Roach ( member and exchange coordinator at BSC ); Abigail Ernst - student at Belleville West; Bernd Broer ( President of DAFK ); Carolin Sale ( Pelizaeus Gymnasium - she is hosted by Abigail's family ); Jan Roland Schulze ( Goerdeler Gymnasium ); Jan's host partner - leaning on to the counter - is Luke Eckert - student at Belleville West.

I understand that we shall receive more details shortly and I look forward to post a photo of our entire delegation - including our smiling Landrat Mr. Manfred Mueller.

16.10.2007 Matsch Brötchen and Sloppy Joe

The other day I saw this sign at the counter of a small coffee stand at our central train station.What a great combo! Kids buy it.They finger a whole into the bread and stick the chocolate covered eggfoam into it.That's all they need for their next pausen-snack.

When I was at student in Eugene,Oregon I used to eat dinner on campus a lot - it was cheaper there and I enjoyed the company.One of my preferred evening dish was: sloppy joe - chopped up meat ( kind of Hackfleisch ) served on a toasted bun....I would add lots of pepper and ketch-up.

Now, if I were to prepare my "sloppy joe" dinner here in the evening and then follow it up with a serving of "matsch brötchen" the next morning would I then end up with a meshed brain by noon?

7.10.2007 The joy of giving

Each year I receive a certain letter from my former university.....it usually arrives in the summer.....well in time before the Fall trimester starts.This year's letter was no different and it began with: Dear Mr. E. Thank you so much for your ---- years of giving.Your support is very important to the University of Oregon etc.

At first these letters always seem to come at the wrong time.I usually let them sit - wishing they would just go away....but for some reason they linger on until they finally get my real attention.Today was such a moment.I didn't hesitate to enter my preferred amount, my credit card number and the designated purpose of my financial gift: in this case it is for the renovation of the International Center Project Fund.

I sealed the envelop and put on the needed stamps.Nothing more to do.And all the while I felt really good.Here I was - sending off hard earned euro/dollars to my former university - having feelings of appreciation and achievement.

It was so obvious once again: it may look like a paradox - I am sending away money that I could well use for myself - and it occurred to me that the very act of giving allows my mind to have the feeling that I can afford to do so - that I do indeed have these funds to spare.I realized once again it is the act of giving that creates the real joy...here, however, is the best part of this process: I believe that what you freely give to others will come back to you in even greater "numbers".

6.10.2007 Today is German - American Friendship Day

Some 20 short years ago President R. Reagan set aside October 6 to mark the friendship between the United States of America and of Germany ( then it was still called West-Germany ).The Wall was still up,the Euro hadn't been invented and the exchange rate of the Deutschmark was very much in favor of the US dollar...and just one year later the Deutsch Amerikanischer Freundeskreis - the DAFK - was founded.

Today we seem to live in a very much different world.We use the Internet and our mobile phones,we engage in virtual travels and yet when it comes to fly to the US it seems the excitement and anticipation haven't changed - as the delegates of our upcoming tour to Belleville and New York City will readily attest.May they have a great time during their explorations of the state of our current German-American friendship and a safe return.

1.10.2007 One hundred revised questions

Let us suppose one of our present exchange students from Paderborn wanted one day to immigrate to the US - live and work there for about at least five years and then he or she would want to apply to become a naturalized American citizen.Here are ten new and original questions from the one hundred he or she would have to study and then hopefully answer correctly.

How would they score on this test if they took it today?For the correct answers please visit www.iht.com/americas - that's where I found the questions as well.


10 Questions From the Redesigned Naturalization Test
Instructions: Read the following questions and write down your answers.


1. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
2. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
3. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
4. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
5. What are two rights only for United States citizens?
6. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
7. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
8. Who was President during World War I?
9. Name one U.S. territory.
10. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

How well did you - the reader - do?

1.10.2007 The joy of winning

A long time ago - when I received my Green Card at the American Consulate in Frankfurt I felt that I had struck gold:in that moment I had become a member of the winning team..a dream had come true....I was leaving my old Europe for a bright future with unlimited opportunities ahead of me....I would soon see the Statue of Liberty in New York - my city of choice...

And what a friendly welcome it was....no immigration hassles,no fingerprints, no intimidating questions and no fear of being sent off to prison or of being returned.I didn't have to worry of saying the wrong " lines "....the whole process at Norfolk Harbour took less than five minutes.I had arrived in the country of hope and her can- do attitude.

When I read the blogs of our three brave exchange students who are currently in Belleville,Illinois I am moved because one of them even states in his texts that he is having the best time of his life!( www.jan-in-da-usa.blogspot.com ) So apparantly there are two camps in the US right now: one that fears more 9/11 disasters and its negative consequences while the other continues to inspire and to attract.

When our Paderborn delegation arrives in our sister city on October 12 I know that they and their hosts will joyfully celebrate - for my America has been and always will be a welcoming place.

30.9.2007 Grenzenlos - borderless

I find the photo inspiring: the Bavarian lion and the Austrian eagle facing and embracing each other for a peaceful present and an even more prosperous future....isn't that what sister cities are designed to help create as well?

How are Paderborn and Belleville stimulating each other to create valuable outcomes that better serve both cities and their folks? How could we add to these efforts? What visions and attitudes would be beneficial?

Tourists and natives alike pose in front of this wooden sign in a forest between Mittenwald,Germany and Leutasch,Austria indicating the demarcation line where the old border used to be.Now it has grown into a borderless region with fantastic scenery and endless hiking opportunities.No passport required here - not even a friendly "Grüß Gott" is needed for the border is no more - here the United States of Europe is a lived reality - the lion and the eagle are finally having a ball.

21.9.2007 And the operator says: 40 cents more...

I love to sing along when I shower and one of my favorite songs right now is "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook .....it is about a caller who is desparate to talk to his ex-girlfriend - Sylvia - one more time from a phone booth and there is this voice from the operator asking him to deposit another forty cents for the next three minutes...those times of operator interrupted calls are long gone - today forty American cents would be roughly 28 European cents, enough money to allow for a ten minute international,overseas phone call between Carolin's mother here and her daughter in Belleville...now that's really good news to sing about.

20.9.2007 Spellbound - in one direction only?

Recently the school where I am currently teaching had its 40th anniversary and it was a busy day for teachers, students and visitors alike - many interesting projects had been prepared and there were speeches,performances and reunion tears as well.

Everyone was in a somewhat elevated mode - there was a much different energy in the building as busy bees were roaming the hallways offering fresh fruit snacks and tips on where to go to next....

I ended up in one classroom of a fifth grade class - they proudly presented their English project: the 50 States of America - I stopped at the description of Oregon first and then I saw the Illinois and Kansas posters...and the eagerness of the two students who had drawn them warmed my heart...they had memorized their data and they could name the capitols of each and it was as if they were ready to be beamed across the Ocean to experience their treasures in reality.

I left that room wondering what it would take for us here to create the same fascination in the Illinois fifth graders for them to want to draw up a poster of our Northrhine-Westphalia highlights and then to long to make it over here?

15.9.2007 Left Brain - Right Brain

Being a foreign language teacher is what I really enjoy doing.There are always some new challenges.Like this one: In one of my seventh grade classes all the boys sit on the left side from the center aisle ( when I face them ) and all the girls seated themselves on the right side.And there is this wide gap space - the middle aisle - which separates the two "blocks". Their seating arrangement reminds me of the attached mind-map drawing depicting the typical assumed activities of the left brain and those of our right brain.I found the drawing in a wonderful book on mind-mapping by Nancy Margulies called: Mapping Inner Space.

So on my left side I face the boys with their energies and needs and on my right side are the girls with their colors and dreams....and I guess if I somehow put up the former Berlin Wall between the two groups both sides would cheer me on - that is how far apart they are in their behaviors,needs and learning styles.

Our English text book is only of limited help. For the next lesson the authors provide us with two main texts: one about the game of rugby ( I guess to satisfy the boys' interests ) and one about a leisurely bicycling tour through Northern and Southern Wales ( catering to the girls ?).

But just as our brain has an interface to allow for a collaboration between its two parts I will try to use a third text item to stimulate the interest and cooperation of ALL class members: it is an article about fat couch potatoes and what can be done about overcoming and preventing child obesity.

Although the two topics on sports and the one on nutrition may help me to get the attention of all my seventh graders it will most likely be a fleeting one - for their gender based division is a visible and felt fact and I phantasize that it might be far more effective if the system allowed the foreign language teacher ( and other subject teachers as well ) to instruct each group individually - during this and probably the next two grades as well.I know this is being tried out with some success mostly in private Highschools in the US - we as teachers and as parents here don't have these options - as of yet.

9.9.2007 A sweet promise - from the other side

When we get involved in facilitating exchanges of people there are many "official" functions and roles awaiting us: Our Deutsch-Amerikanischer Freundeskreis ( DAFK ) for instance has a President,a secretary,a projectmanager, a treasurer,a webmaster etc. and our sister - city counter part in Illinois the Belleville Sister City organization ( BSC ) offers similar positions to its members as well.

Recently two other ones were added or reactivated: the matchmaker and the mailman.Let me explain:A delegation from Paderborn will soon travel to Belleville in mid-october and folks there agreed to act as hosts for our delegates. Making these matches here, our secretary Dr. A. matched up our delegate Giesela Sch. of Paderborn with her Belleville host Nancy M. and since Giesela Sch. doesn't have email access as of yet Nancy M. sends her emails addressed to Giesela to my computer and I then act as the mailman and deliver the print-outs to Giesela Sch.'s mailbox via the old fashioned " sneaker net" - that is I walk or pedal to her house.

Now here is the fun part: In a letter to me Nancy M. - who was a guest at our house here two years ago - comments about her exitement about having Giesela Sch. as her guest.And she repeats the promise which she had made to Giesela earlier: we will have such a good time. (Click on Nancy' wonderful text - and yes, I asked for Nancy's permission to post it here.)

This reminded me of an expecting mother who makes a promise to her yet unborn child:"when you are "here" I will love you and care for you even more than I do now - and we will have such a good time while you are here."

And aren't we as mature adults also aware that those loved ones who are no longer among as are sending us their promises as well? I hear my father whisper to me: "Jay, we will have such a good time - when you get here. "

8.9.2007 Ueberstreichen - Redecorating

In Germany we have the expression: "Einfach überstreichen". It translates into English as: if you don't like your tired looking wall colors anymore, just get some fresh paint and a brush.

Well,the kids of the class my daughter attends - were moved upstairs into a new classroom at the beginning of the new school year a few weeks ago and they resented their green walls from the start.

So last night a few parents - assisted by two very supportive teachers and three eager students - met and we started to redecorate the classroom - we used some nice yellow paint to ueberstreichen that strange green.About two and a half hours later we congratulated ourselves on the great and clean result we had achieved.The pictures show the students and two smiling and artistic women: the head teacher and the elected PTA parent - would you guess who is who?

This was the second time that I was involved in repainting a classroom.The first one happened when our daughter was in first grade.The other parents spoke of similar experiences - I find it intriguing that our city authorities encourage parents to do small school improvements by themselves. I know, basically, it has to do with a lack of funds and yet what a mental stretch to hand over the Überstreichen activities to us - a happy bunch of (well intended) amateurs.How would the Belleville schools handle a local request such as ours?How would we find out?

6.9.2007 Being honored

It is not very often that a good neighbor- friend receives such an honor.But it did happen a few days ago when our very active neighbor Fritz Buhr received a federal medal honoring his unselfish engagements for environmental and social causes.The newspaper article even called him the "ecological conscience" of our city.

At times - and probably even today - it must have been so frustrating for Fritz ( and for his wife as well ) being way ahead of the rest of us in terms of ecological awareness and anticipation of the changes that we are now witnessing locally and on a global scale. It is a small wonder that Fritz has remained an optimist and a model of the goodness and integrity that most of us are striving for. Thank you, Fritz, for your help in steering us, our local politicians and planners into the right direction and then to encourage us to remain on course.

The photo shows our county commission chairman Mr. M. Mueller ( on the left ) and Fritz Buhr during the award ceremony in the county building assembly hall where 125 people had gathered to celebrate the occasion.Mr. M. Mueller will join a DAFK delegation in mid-october when they fly to Belleville,Chicago and New York City.Maybe we should invite Fritz to come along as well - he would certainly have new ideas for some of our American friends who drive to their local Wal-Mart store in a Humvee!

6.9.2007 Here I go again

Two days ago I signed a work contract with our State authorities. The contract allows me to teach ten classroom hours of English at a local Highschool. The principal assigned me two seventh grade classes and today was my second day at work. I am so exited to be back "on stage" - the last two years righted the old pun that teachers don't die - they just lose their class. By not actively teaching any more I became aware of how I was slowly losing that part of me which previously had given me vital energy for all those years ( see photo ).

So now I am once again surrounded by eager learners. And my seventh graders have such sparkling eyes and clean approaches. Have you ever stopped at a red light when the motorcyclist in the other lane reved up his engine again and again in hurried anticipation of the lights to change from red to green?

It is wonderful to be a part of this reving-up dance once again - and I especially appreciate the giving and the taking aspects of it.The love you put in is returned the very same moment. My heart probably knew this secret from the first day I began my studies - my head,however, had to wait many years before the message finally sank in.Now on my new assignment I finally get to congruently use both:mein Herz und meinen Verstand - my heart and my mind.What a precious gift - received just at the right time.

31.8.2007 Tote Hosen and Sagging Pants

Now here is an interesting news item that caught my attention today.In his article in todays International Herald Tribune the writer, Niko Koppel, talks about how the authorities are struggling with Southern mostly Afro-American teenagers who love to wear their jeans hip-hop style.

In case you need some help with this take a close look at the photo.These two youngsters have allowed their pants to sag thus showing parts of their underwear.What would happen if some of the kids here in Paderborn were to imitate this latest US fashion? Would the police stop them? Would they be fined?Which law would be evoked to make them pull their pants up higher?

Well,the article goes on to inform the reader that in a small town in Louisiana wearing sagging pants is a crime and it carries a fine of as much as $ 500 USD or up to a six-month sentence in jail.Wow.I was thinking that if our German rock group the Toten Hosen came on stage with their pants way down we would have a double whammy! and then what?

So - just how safe are our three Paderborner teenagers in Belleville from being exposed to low hanging jeans? If we here allow folks to sunbathe in the nude in the Englischer Garten in the heart of Munich surrounded by strolling tourists and locals alike we will certainly be able to handle sagging - but I wouldn't be too sure about it.

30.8.2007 Mail for Doris

Yesterday this Airmail envelop was returned to me.I wrote Doris R. an email about it and she wrote back ( it only takes seconds for these messages to zip along the datalines ) that she was living at 45 Whiteside Drive....the Belleville Postoffice was unable to deliver this letter - can you detect why? Now I am resending it again by snailmail for two euros or some USD 2.66 - if Doris mailed such an envelop my way the postage would come to less than one dollar - you wonder why we here get charged so much.The good news: it will take only five days to get to Belleville.

Long ago - some short two hundred plus years - when George Washington was serving as the first American President he had Benjamin Franklin as his ambassador in Paris,France...and when George W. requested to receive the latest news from France it took a total of about 45 days for the round trip of these two documents......so we accelerated from 45 days to ten days,to 10 seconds....and yet my heart can send out love to our three kids in Belleville and that energy will be received in less than one - the reason? We are all deeply interconnected and yet still so very far apart.

30.8.2007 An Invitation for Kaffee und Kuchen

Now that our four blogs are "up and running" at our dafk homepage ( thanks to our President Mr. B. Broer and our Webmaster Mr. H. Steege ) it will be more interesting and easy to follow up on the unfoldings of our three young Paderborn delegates in Belleville,Illinois.

All of this would not have been possible without the active involvement of their wonderfully supportive parents.And there is a warm sense of anticipation within me this very moment I am writing these lines: we all have been inivited for Kaffee,Tee und Kuchen at the house of Carolin's parents on September 9,2007 at 15:00.How classic and how typical of our culture.And there will probably be nice Chinaware, ( maybe even some family Sammeltassen? ) a perfectly ironed tablecloth and elegant silverware plus ( home-made ? ) Kuchen and other goodies.Yammi.It has been a long time since I have enjoyed to such a traditional Kaffeeklatsch gathering....and yes Ms. Sale I will bring along some courtesy flowers....plus I promise a photo of this special setting for later publication.

27.August 2007 The Day After

According to my local newspaper the 1. NRW Day this last weekend in Paderborn was a smashing success.The biggest crowd gathered for an open air concert with Sasha in the heart of our city.15000 fans had come to hear this nationally known performer.He praised the talents of our local Paderborn group the Peachbox who had the honors to lead him into his franctic performance.

When I locked our front door that Saturday night at about midnight I reflected on the major events that had left their marks on my nervous system while I was a student in the USA - there were quite a few but none can surpass the concert of the Grateful Dead in Eugene,Oregon.

Never ever have I witnessed Paderborn brimming with so many activities and friendly folks.A big compliment is due for all those helpers,organizers, participants and visitors - it seems as if our Deutschländchen has discovered a new way of "lightness" - a new way of celebrating its own creativity.

It is my hope that our three brave students in Belleville might live through an event while there that in itself is so meaningful that they will want to recall it as their helpful inner resource whenever needed.

26.August 2007 Northrhine-Westphalia Day in PB

What a wonderful party:Paderborn hosted the very first NRW Day - from now on each year hereafter one city in our State gets to host this special 2 days event.This year Paderborn was the lucky city to be selected to start this new "tradition".The organizers expected between 400.000 and 500.000 thousand visitors....I was there, I was that hero because I volunteered to participate at our DAFK booth and it was indeed an endless stream of folks that flooded by our table.

Some had heard about our exchange programs and inquired about how to register their teenager for the 2008 tour,others took an interest in our brochures and the very daring ones stepped up closer to read the blogs of our present three students which I had printed out and pinned to the board. ( see attached photo showing the blogs with Dr. Allendorf ).

During these two days we rotated our booth duties among these motivated members:Mrs. Brunhilde Konersmann;Willi Bökamp;Heiner Sprengkamp;Bernd Broer - our President; Dr. Otmar Allendorf and myself....this way time went by quickly and since nobody was allowed to smoke inside the Historic City Hall where we had been permitted to set up - I was able to provide information throughout my time allotted slot without ever sounding coarse. I will read the Monday papers and see if I can scan a photo that describes best the festive spirit and the perfect weather.

Paderborn may have many problems at hand - but this event was certainly a huge and welcome success - and I am a bit proud that we at DAFK did our small share.

24.8.2007 Help - what happened to my blog?

Blog writing is a creative and a fun activity as long as things work out well....this morning I was entering dafk-jay.blogspot.com into Google as usual and the message said that nothing by this name could be found....just as with Nils blog ( dafk-nils.blogspot.com ).There too, at first I was able to access his text and then a few days ago - same thing: Google was unable to link to his blog...what would love do now?Please help if you have any idea..and there is always the chance that maybe tomorrow it will work again,unless it isn't.

22.August 2007 Experience leads to being

Today our three young delegates Caro,Jan and Nils are spending their third day at their respective Highschools and there are probably a million questions in their heads.....and I wouldn't be surprised to hear them mutter to their new host friends: if only I had known about this or that in advance I would have been better prepared etc. This is just to show that reading or hearing about a new culture is very much different from having first hand experiences in that new environment....and the more experiences we have the easier it will become to actually BE a part or a member of that culture....so the path of our three adventurers takes them from knowledge to experience and finally on down to beingness - how close will they get to achieve the final step in their less than ninety short days?And what about the passing of these days?Will it be felt as a gradual stream of days by counting them down from now on to departure day? Or will it be a fluid process that can speed up,slow down or even go into reverse - will they biologically - not chronologically - be younger when they get here because of the effect certain special experiences had on their cells in their bodies - will life in Belleville have been something like jumping into a Jungbrunnen?

The photo shows Linda Driesner ( Belleville East HS ),Katie McDowell ( Belleville West HS ) and myself during a lunch meeting in 2005.These two dedicated teachers are again actively helping our three students to settle in and to get adjusted.Thank you Linda.Thank you Katie.

In my next blog I want to talk about this important sentence:"In the absence of which I am not,that which I am is not." Now wouldn't that make a great Abitur topic???

20.August 2007 Second Thoughts

Today our three students in Belleville will begin their regular first week.There may still be some feelings of jet lag and the newness of it all may at times overwhelm their senses.

I remember a preparatory meeting here where we spoke of the importance to suspend one's judgement for the first 24 or even better 48 hours in order to avoid any initial negative imprints that would slant one's perception for the rest of the stay.Did they follow this time proven advice? Did they keep all channels wide open?Were they able to calm the internal dialog?What mental sorting styles are they using?Are they looking for similarities between our two cultures or do they enjoy sorting for differences?

As I pondered the above thoughts a more disturbing one kept me awake.I wondered if we here at DAFK were really doing these kids and their families a favor by sending them to the USA - a country that clearly has been in major distress about so many issues for what seems to be almost a decade or more?

And as a certain sadness began to set in about all the negativity we hear,see and read about the US - a place that once inspired me so wildly as a student in the sixties and early seventies and later on in my professional life as well - I reminded myself that reading about a country is always much less objective than living there for a certain amount of time while gaining one's own often uplifting experiences as our three kids are now doing.

This then led me to todays picture.It shows our 2005 students with their host friends free and easy at a Borders bookstore in Belleville.All are smiling and you sense there is happy energy all around.This then is the great gift for this years youngsters as well: as their first regular week unfolds they are invited to create some eighty plus inspiring days for themselves and those around them - so that we here in Paderborn may hear and read about nothing else than their happy unfoldings. PS can you tell the German kids apart from their American friends?

8.August 2007 The official farewell meeting

We are about one week away from departure day of our 2007 delegation.We are so pleased to have been able to recruit three wonderful young students AND their active parents as well.

Today we have been invited to the office of our county commissioner Landrat M. Mueller for the official farewell ceremony.

Mr. Mueller gave a friendly pep talk and expressed his eagerness to meet with our three kids in Belleville in mid-october again when he gets there as a member of the 2007 DAFK delegation.This trip was again initiated by our President Bernd Broer and DAFK's secretary Dr. Allendorf. The latter will once again act as the watchful and experienced guide.One mission of the tour is to deepen our ties with our sister city Belleville and to also try to find a way to put our 90 days homestay - and the teacher exchange programs on a more permanent and stable basis.

16.August 2007 Departure

Thursday August 16,2007

I left the house early in order to be at our local PAD airport in time for the departure of our 2007 participants. Ealier this year we had chosen three very promising students for our second 90 Days Exchange program: Carolin S. and Nils S. ( both attending the Pelizaeus Gymnasium )and Jan Sch. ( attending the Goerdeler Gymnasium ).

The Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was scheduled to leave at 9:05 and when we gathered at 7:45 we realized that we had arrived much too early.This gave us time to fill out additional, more stable baggage labels and to exchange some final " do this and please don't do that" vows.There was exitement and anticipation in the air.I took a last photo of our trio and we all wished them luck as they walked through security.Their hopefully fanstastic voyage had finally begun.

When I was driving home I felt thankful and relieved.Everything had worked out well in the end:our friends in Belleville had found three open-minded host families,the schools here and there had cooperated and DAFK had successfully managed the selection and logistics processes.The parents had bonded a bit as well through an initial meeting at the friendly home of the Schulze family.Doris R. from Belleville happened to be in town and was thus able to provide all of us with important details and documents.Robert Berns, a member of our very first delegation, stopped by as well and thanks to his brilliant DVD based slides the 2007 team was able to share the experiences Robert,Felix,Gesa and Maren had had in Belleville back in 2005.

19. August 2007 First Reactions

Sunday August 19,2007

When I activated my computer this morning I knew exactly what I wanted to do: to thank the parents for their feedback about the flights to Belleville and to read the blogs of our three adventurers.

The good news were that all three had successfully cleared immigration and customs - and there were also posted concerns because one of them had been singled out for a more in-depth questioning...and you wonder why....I assume these officiers followed strict rules and procedures and that all acted with good intentions....but it leaves you wondering if an American teenager arriving here at Frankfurt Airport for a short visit with perfect papers and documents would have to go through the same somewhat intimidating process?

And continuing with the good news: all three were able to catch the delayed flight to St. Louis where they were eagerly awaited by their families and taken home from there....wow! this whole journey from here to there must have been longer than 23 hours.....

Jan Sch. writes about his short trip to Kentucky...the sister of his new friend Luke went off to college there this weekend accompanied by her entire family - a great ceremony in the life of any parent.Even the University of Paderborn will have its parents week this upcoming November...and it leaves me wondering to what campus I will be accompanying my own daughter in about six years or less....I was also pleased to read that two of our students had been over to their schools to get either aquainted or to collect materials.

Writing this blog in English is fun and I wonder as I type away who will be the readers of my thoughts and how transparant and real can I be before I step on somebody's "holy" toe??