Gymnasium Carolinum School Schedule

Greetings to all,

It's a very exciting time for me right now: weekend! *laughs* I am very worn out after a long week. I always tell people that during the week I leave when it is dark outside and I come home when it is dark outside. Despite may days being rather grueling though, they are quite fulfilling and my German is progressing very nicely.

I've adopted a no English policy. That means that I no longer speak an English. Ever. Nor do I understand it (this has obvious exceptions, such as me writing this post now). I may have to start telling people that back in Michigan, we speak some other language that is not English. Preferably some language that doesn't even exist so no one will know it and catch me in my lie. I think this policy has been working for me so far, though. Almost all German people can speak English, so it is important for my learning of German that I don't fall into the trap of just speaking English. My goal is full integration into the culture. To do that, I recognize the first step to be learning the language. So, I toil and toil on language, and after three months, I am making noticeable progress. =]

I'd like to give a better idea of what school is like for me as I attend the Gymnasium Carolinum. First of all, the school itself is 1205 years old, which after 3 moths I still cannot even comprehend. Unlike in America, students have different classes each day of the week here in Germany, and on some days I have more classes than on other days. Each class lasts 50 minutes. I'll show you what I mean by posting my schedule below:

Monday:

European Politics (2)

20th Century German literature (2)

Physics

The History of the French Revolution

Tuesday:

The History of the French Revolution (2)

Physics (2)

English - History of Ireland

Wednesday:

English - History of Ireland (2)

Calculus I (2)

Tennis (2)

European Politics

Thursday:

Religion (2)

20th Century German literature

Calculus I

English - History of Ireland

Physics

Friday:

Art Theory (2)

European Politics

The History of the French Revolution

Calculus I

**(2) indicates a double period lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes

As you can see, I have some pretty interesting classes. My schedule will change slightly next semester. Most notably, my history class will be focused on the Russian Revolution rather than the French Revolution. I enjoy my classes very much, actually. There are many options and ways to get a specialized education at my Gymnasium, which I thoroughly appreciate.

Servus,

Alex

A view of my school, to the right is the small school cafeteria