Kenya High and Lenana Students in Germany on Exchange

Lenana and Kenya High Students at Gesamtschule Recklinghausen-Suderwich
The group during a visit to the Mayor’s office.

Last month saw Lenana and Kenya high students visit their partner school in Recklinghausen for three weeks.

An exchange program that has been running for close to a decade or more between students at the Lenana and Kenya high schools in Kenya and the Gesamtschule Recklinghausen-Suderwich. But who better to share the experiences than the students taking part, below a report by students:

Gesamtschule Recklinghausen-Suderwich

Wir befinden uns zurzeit in der dritten Woche des seit vielen Jahren stattfindenden Kenia-Austauschs an der Geresu. Und wie jedes Mal haben wir eine Menge Spaß und wir haben schon eine Menge von dem Programm hinter uns. Zu dem Programm gehört beispielsweise ein dreitätiger Ausflug nach Bonn, wo wir das Konrad-Adenauer-Haus sowie das Haus der Geschichte besucht haben und an einer Rheinfahrt teilnehmen durften.Zudem haben wir einen Ausflug in die Kletterhalle nach Bochum gemacht, welcher stark zum Teambuilding beigetragen hat. Dort haben einige Kenianer ihre Angst vor der Höhe überwunden und andere das Sichern erlernt.

Und nicht nur die Kenianer, auch wir Deutschen lernen eine Menge interessante Dinge über unser Heimatland. Außerdem trägt der Austausch dazu bei, dass sich die Englischkenntnisse verbessern.
Und das wohl wichtigste, bereits nach dieser kurzen Zeit haben sich Freundschaften entwickelt, die sicherlich auch über die weite Entfernung bestehen bleiben.

 

Bericht von Kyra und Marisa

Kenya High Lenana Students at Gesamtschule Recklinghausen-Suderwich
The Kenyan team performing a song during their visit

The Lenana School and The Kenya High School

It was on the chilly Sunday evening that we were outside the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. We waited for all our friends to arrive as all our parents talked among them and with the teachers; sadly we bid them goodbye and in some minutes we boarded the Emirates flight towards Dubai. Some slept while others watched some movies on the flight. We arrived in Dubai and waited for some few hours then took our next flight towards Dusseldorf.

In some hours we arrived in Dusseldorf finding most of our hosts waiting for us. They welcomed us warmly. We were first amazed by the size of the airport as we were on our way towards our host’s house. Since we were tired on that day all of us rested due to the fatigue.

We were also privileged to meet the mayor of Recklinghausen. He formally welcomed us to the town by giving us two town flags for each of our schools. (The Lenana School and the Kenya High School.)

Some journalists interviewed one of us and we all took socialize with our exchange mates.We spent our weekend in Bonn for a seminar. We also got to see some important buildings there and also had a chance to shop. We also went to the museum and gained some important information about Germany. We also visited Konrad Adenauer’s house where we got to know his role in politics in the country and also his personal life which many did not know of thanks to our guide.

On the second week we were involved a lot in the lessons which were very interesting. We introduced ourselves in the classes we went and made new friends. We also got a special welcome from the school principal who was very nice we also took some pictures. The German students were very friendly.

We noticed very many differences in relation to our school. This was in terms of the technology used, the facilities provided and also the fact that it is mixed. The fun we were having was so much that time was moving so fast. We also celebrated the birthday of one of our exchange student’s from Kenya with much joy. We also had the chance to go for swimming for free at the Maritimo thanks to the manager.

We also had the chance to go to a match at Bochum but unfortunately it lost to the other team. Some of us also got the chance to see a Borrussia Dortmund match and this time we were not disappointed we won two goals to zero against Frankfurt thanks to our favorite players in Borussia, Shinji Kagawa and Pierre Aubemayang.

Compiled by;
Joe Njoroge, Tarryll Adams.

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