“Toll” (German for “terrific”) German-American Day field trip to McDaniel: Photo of the Day 10/18/16
After a long day, Linganore students wait for the bus at the chapel.
October 18, 2016
According to McDaniel College, nearly 1,000 students high school students from 20 schools across Maryland and central Pennsylvania attended the 22nd annual German American Day from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. at McDaniel College. Among those attending were German students led by Frau Freimute (Ms. Joanne Freimuth).
Once students arrived, they walked with their respective small group, to the chapel where the winner of the t-shirt design contest was announced. Audrey Cole of Gettysburg Area High School won the grand prize and her design is in the gallery below.
Students were then dismissed from the chapel and directed to split up into two groups. One group consisted of German 1 students and the other group was German 2-5 students. Those in German 1 were required to attend two specific workshops while German 2-5 had more flexibility in their schedules.
German I students attended a workshop where they heard a Holocaust survivor, Rubin Sztajer, tell his powerful story.
Rubin tells his story only to the youth because he believes that young people are the future leaders of the world and are the ones who can really prevent the atrocity of the Holocaust from ever happening again. After telling students his story, he impressed upon his listeners the importance of seizing the opportunities they are given and not to take anything seemingly unimportant for granted.
When this session concluded, German 1 students were handed green lunch tickets and directed to report to the newly renovated Englar Dining Hall on campus at 11 a.m. for lunch. Since it was German American Day, students were fed a hearty German lunch consisting of cooked green beans and carrots, an Americanized version of Reibekuchen/Kartoffelpuffer (German for potato pancake), bratwurst on a ciabatta bun, sauerkraut, and a giant piece of black forest cake for dessert. For those with dietary restrictions, a salad bar was available and students were allowed to bring their own packed lunch.
In the afternoon, students attended their second workshop. Students in German 2-5 had participated in various activities such as German folk dancing, fantasy face painting, pretzel decorating, pin the crown on the frog, and the Maypole dance.
For German I students, Workshop B was an informational session about the benefits of attending McDaniel College, studying abroad at McDaniel, and majoring or minoring in German. However, this was not a traditional college information session.
The session was student-led by two graduates of McDaniel who interviewed five current attendees of the college. All students had majored or minored in German and had some experience with studying abroad.
It was interesting to hear students’ personal accounts of their time studying abroad in Germany and their dedication to learning the German language and culture.
In addition to receiving pins and lanyards, attending the conference will give German students the opportunity to apply to McDaniel free of charge.
“Listening to Rubin speak really made an impact on me, but, at the same time I’ll never forget that amazing ciabatta roll we had at lunch,” said German 1 student, Terra Davis.
In a tweet, @McDanielCollege said, “Danke fürs Kommen! Auf Wiedersehen!” In English, this translates to, “Thank you for coming! Until we meet again, goodbye!”
For more information, check out McDaniel’s recap video of the event. Watch closely to see Linganore students Jack Adams, Christian Howard, and Greyson Grunwald appear briefly in the video.
