This blog began when I got the opportunity to live in Aachen, Germany, which happens to be 5000 miles away from my home state of Oregon. Although I am back in the US, I'm continuing the blog to keep friends and family all over the world updated on my life in America.
Spring has sprung and that can mean only one thing at a German Gymnasium-- Abi time. The Abitur, or Abi for short, is the final test many students take after completing K-12th grade. It's sort of comparable to IB or AP tests. The main point right now is that all the twelfth graders at Viktoriaschule just finished their last week of school before diving into Abi exams. And they definitely went out with flair-- a whole week of it!
The school is haunted-- by the Q2!!!
The twelfth grade, aka "Q2," celebrated their final days with a spirit week, which is officially called Mottowoche. It reminded me of Homecoming Week at South with every day designated to a different theme and people dressing up accordingly, except at Viktoriaschule only the Q2 is permitted to partake in the spiritedness.
Who's spookier? Me or Wiebke?
All the other Gymnasiums in Aachen had their Mottowoche this week, too, but every school has different themes. A popular one is "first graders," where everyone dresses up like 6- and 7-year-olds. It was a bit odd, though, seeing what looked like a first grader lighting up his Marlboro on the way to school Monday.
"Make love not war." -Several signs being waved around school by hippies Monday
Viktoriaschule's Mottowoche started out with the theme "hippies". Lots of flower power, bright patterns and flowing hair. There was an assembly that morning and a number of the Q2 refused to use chairs, but opted instead for sitting cross-legged on the floor. During our break between classes, they all sat out in the courtyard singing and drumming.
"Oh no! Sunlight!" -Sebastian the Vampire
Tuesday was "horror". Kudos to everyone for getting so into character and embracing the theme, but frankly it was pretty unsettling being surrounded by so many people with red, black, white, purple and whatever other unnaturally colored eyes. To add to the authenticity, there was a large splattering of blood all over the Q2.
Dance parties are a must during Mottowoche.
On the bus Wednesday morning I sat next to the Q2 class president and was surprised she happened to have two babies in her lap. Okay yes, they were dolls, but still, it was a bit unexpected. The theme was "Asi," which is pretty hard to describe to someone who doesn't live in Germany. The term Asi comes from the word "asozial" (or "asocial" in English). Someone who's an Asi isn't well integrated into society, doesn't necessarily contribute to society in a positive way and is often characterized as "trashy". The students in this clip are an example:
It wasn't my favorite theme, but apparently it's tradition and every year the Q2-ers automatically expect it as a part of Mottowoche. If anything, it looked like "80's Day" thanks to all the neon, high ponytails, sweat pants, animal print and spandex. On the way to school the Q2 class prez and I chatted a bit about the theme, but at one point she pointed out the window at a building with all the flags at half mass. Since Tuesday, all media outlets here have been overwhelmed with the devastating German Wings crash in France.
There were 16 German exchange students aboard on their way home to Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The class president told me she felt guilty partying with her classmates in the shadow of this kind of tragedy. We took a minute of silence in school Thursday at 10:53am, the time of the crash. The more facts and details that surface, the more saddening and unbelievable it all feels. Life is very precious. This event made it blatantly apparent how little control we have, even in our own, individual worlds. It's strong encouragement to fully thrive in the opportunity of now and to allow others to do so as well. In the midst of it all, I felt like no one showed more love for life than the Q2 throughout their week-long grand finale of school. Although there is a dark cloud over Germany and Europe in general at the moment, the Q2 has earned this time to celebrate and after talking to the class president, it's clear they're still conscious of the bigger picture.
And they said old dogs can't learn new tricks!
Thursday the final theme day was "senior citizens". In the girls' bathrooms there was a thin fog of gray hairspray paint in the air before first period as all the grannies were primping. There were major traffic problems on the stairs because all the Q2-ers were fully in character and moving at about 0.05 mph. However, once Turn Down For What started playing during break, the dear seniors suddenly could move quite nimbly. That's my kind of Krankengymnastik!
Sorry kids, no children allowed in Viktoriaschule today.
When I arrived at school Friday morning, the doors were all blocked off and the Q2 was standing guard making sure no one got in the building. There was a driveway blocked off leading up to the main entrance. After a little while, some dude from the Q2 drove up in his little white VW and who pops out of the back seat acting like Tom Cruise waving to his fans with Sandstorm blasting in the background? None other than one of the Q2 advisors! He got a special escort complete with three Q2 body guards and a handful of Q2 paparazzi pawing to get closer. A bit later a retro red Beamer pulled up with the other Q2 advisor. Eventually we were also let in and headed up to the auditorium for the show.
Lights, projectors, a full band, comedy, tuxes, awards-- what more could you want?
The 2015 Viktoriaschule Abi theme was "Swabirowski," like the glass diamond company Swarovski. I think it was also a play on the names of the two Q2 advisors. Anyway, they put on this awards show called the "Diamonds," complete with live music, diamond medallions (made out of aluminum foil), a Breaking Bad parody film, feeding one of the class advisors pudding from a very long spoon, a biology quiz, PE teachers dancing and other random shenanigans. Mottowoche was a silly, unexpected little journey, and I wish the Abiturienten the best of luck with their upcoming tests. Have a wonderful two weeks of Easter Break everyone!
