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The International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) program in the United States is conducted by CD International Program Services, L.L.C., in support of 4-H programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture- Extension Service and the U.S. IFYE Alumni Association. |
Vol. 2 No. 4 November 1998
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Liebe 4-H friends and family,
Greise Gut! I hope all is going well in West Virginia. I can't believe it is already autumn! Where has the time gone? Since my last newsletter, I have moved to Southern Germany to the Bundesland (state) of Bavaria. My host family lives 18 kilometers, or 27 miles, from Munich. Munich is the third largest city in Germany with 1.3 million inhabitants. During the last part of September, I was able to speak to a total of nine English classes at two schools. I think I learned as much as the students! The students asked many questions about different stereotypes they had about the United States. In each class, someone asked about President Clinton. Another frequently asked question was, "Do Americans only eat fast food?" I was very impressed with the students' English abilities. Their English was better than my German. Sept. 27 was a big day for Germany--its election day. This election was an important one for Germany, since the office of chancellor was decided. In Germany, the political parties are elected to the parliament. The party with the majority appoints the chancellor. For this election, there were at least six different parties; this is one of the differences from the U.S. political system. The chancellor of 16 years, Helmut Kohl, was defeated by Gerhard Schroeder. My fifth family, the Mayers, have a biological farm of approximately 230 acres or 96 hectares. About 30 hectares (75 acres) are in crops. The main crops are wheat and potatoes. The remaining land is forested. The family also has a small store where they sell biological products and their potatoes. The farm and store are truly a family business! One of my jobs is to help sort potatoes. A crate of potatoes is dumped into a machine that sorts the potatoes into various sizes. After the potatoes have been sorted, they go onto a conveyor belt. While the potatoes are on the conveyor belt, I help sort out the bad ones and the stones. The good potatoes are sacked and sold; the small ones are kept for planting next year. The bad ones are sold to a company that will make industrial alcohol from them. My first weekend in Bayern (Bavaria) was the last weekend of Oktoberfest or Weise (viza) as the natives of Munich call it. Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival that is more than 180 years old. The celebration is in honor of King Ludwig I's marriage; a horse race was held in a field called Theresianweise. The people had so much fun the celebration was held year after year. Since the site of the festival is Theresianweise, the locals refer to it as Weise. Bavaria is the home of lederhossen (leather pants), so I was able to visit Oktoberfest with my host-brothers who were wearing their lederhossen! | The festival consists of two parts--one is a carnival and the other is tents sponsored by local breweries. There are approximately 10 tents, each holding 10,000 people! The beer is served in liters. Another unique point is the beer at Oktoberfest, which is specifically brewed for the festival. The highlight of the day was when the band in the tent I was in played "Almost Heaven" by John Denver!! It was quite amusing to hear 10,000 Germans sing the song!
I've been able to do a little sightseeing. Last weekend I traveled with two of the other U.S. IFYEs to Neuschwanstein. This is a very famous and beautiful castle about two hours away from Munich. The castle was built in 1869, but was never completed due to the death of King Ludwig II in 1886. It is the model for the castle in Disneyland. On our trip, we met up with six other "English speakers." We all toured the castle and had dinner together. We were a true international group! Two persons were from California, one Australian, one South African, a Canadian, a New Zealander, and three U.S. IFYEs! It was fun to hear each other's adventures. It was very nice to spend a day speaking English. That doesn't happen very often here. One of the more difficult questions I've had posed is, "What is a typical American or West Virginia meal?" As I thought about it, the two things that came to mind were apple pie and hamburgers! I hope I'll be able to make an apple pie before I leave. Most of the foods are similar to what we eat-- potatoes, pork, chicken, beef, and vegetables. The one big difference is when the main meal is served. In Germany, the main meal is served at noon. The various regions of Germany each have a different dialect. It has been interesting trying to understand each dialect. I was warned about the Bayrish (Bavarian) accent since my first family. This accent is comparable to a southern drawl in the United States. To make things more interesting, Bayrish is almost another version of German! I'm thankful my family will explain the words I don't understand. I hope all is going well with each of you! I always appreciate news from West Virginia and 4-H happenings. It's hard to believe how fast time has flown by!!
Until my next letter, Viel Spa und Auf Wiedersein!
Love and How-How, Gretchen E. Riley, IFYE |
