Bilbao

On the 02/21/2010 at 8:15 we   -27 students of 10b+c-   left Koberg by coach to Hamburg airport. As there was a little chaos during the departure, Mrs. Jaenecke and Mrs. Figueroa were probably wondering if everything would go well. But when we arrived in Bilbao in the evening we were all tired but full of strength and healthy.

At the airport, our exchange students were waiting for us curiously and observed us through a pane of glass at the baggage claim.When we came into the hall we were welcomed by our exchange partners and their families. Some of us were having difficulties with the accent of the Basque but this stopped after a few minutes. Then, each of us went with his or her host family home and spent the first evening. It ended for almost all of us with a pretty big fancy dinner and a joint meeting in the city where everyone could get to know each other better.

The first 5 days of the week we spent the mornings with organized excursions and tours of the city and in the afternoons we usually met in the city or in a bar.

Our weekend did not look much differently. Directly after getting up, some of us were invited to eat by their host parents and after that went straight to the get-together with the class mates to go to the beach together and some even went swimming.

The weekend passed quickly, and the second week had already begun. We spent the mornings at school preparing our projects in the computer room. The general topic was "small coastal cities" but different groups worked on different aspects, e.g. architecture, ecology, culture or immigration. The presentations were held on Thursday in the school library. Our exchange partners also listened to what we had found out about their city.

The day of departure came too quickly and after a tearful farewell to the host families and later with our partners at the airport it could only comfort us to know that we´d all meet again in a week when the return visit would be.

Sarah Wüst, 10c