On
February 5th a group of 5 students from the CBS and 51 from the
Loreto Secondary School travelled to Baden Württemberg in Southwest Germany.
They were taking part in an exchange with St. Ursula’s Secondary School which
is situated in Villingen- Schwenningen in the beautiful Black Forest region.
The
students arrived to sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow. This was perfect
weather for sledging down the Feldberg Mountain the next day.
After
a weekend spent with the host families eating German food and hopefully
speaking lots of German, the students rose early on Monday morning in order to
be on time for the first class at 7.40 am. The first half of the day was spent
meeting some of the students at St. Ursula’s and touring the Ursuline convent
which gave rise to the school.
In
the afternoon a trip to the local ice – rink meant more bumps and bruises and
freezing hands and feet!
The
remainder of the week flew past. The students were lucky to be in Villingen –
Schwenningen during “ Fastnet” or “Fastnacht” . In this strongly Catholic
region of Germany the tradition of Fastnet dates back to the Middle Ages and
involves parties and parades with costumes handed down through the generations.
Historically, Fastnet was viewed as the last chance to enjoy yourself before
Lent began and the Germans, believe it or not, do know how to enjoy themselves!
We
look forward to reciprocating the hospitality shown to us when the German
students travel to Wexford in September.
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