Edison Wildcats

The Edison- Hamburg Exchange 2012 is officially underway as our visitors arrived in Vancouver today! A tired, nervous and excited group of German students walked through the gates to an anxiously awaiting group of American hosts hoisting welcome signs, flags and brandishing broad smiles. After a few quick words of welcome, we were southbound for the states. After a less than uneventful border crossing which took longer than expected to the chagrin of everyone involved, we were officially in America on a beautiful day, welcomed by an epically majestic Mount Baker. Everyone has arrived to their host homes safely and I am sure they are very soundly asleep at this hour. We arrived back in the Skagit Valley at approximately 4am Hamburg time after a very early start the day before for our visitors. Our American ... read more

Well, here we go again! In just a few weeks the Edison- Hamburg Exchange 2012 will begin! Below is the countdown to arrival. Be sure to spread the word that the blog is up and running once again. Encourage those who would like to keep up to date with the exchange to subscribe to the blog so that they will receive notifications when a new blog post is added. Arrival In ... read more

All of the pictures used on the blog are now available HERE. There are currently 140 pictures available to view and download from the Germany leg of the exchange! I'll add more in the coming days and I will also post the pictures from the Washington leg here as well. If you would like to add pictures to this site for others to view and download, please email me, BDavidson@be.wdnet.edu, and I will help make that happen! I hope everyone is over the jet lag and enjoying the comforts of home!... read more

Friday was a free day here in Hamburg. Some students went swimming with their partners, some headed up to the Baltic Sea for the weekend. A group of us met at the Rathaus for a great behind the scenes tour and a fun day in the city. The day started when Heidi and I got to meet up with a student from the last exchange. Annika and her mom treated us to a fine hour of coffee and cake while reminiscing about the past exchange. We met as a group at the city hall for a very interesting behind the scenes tour. We got to see original state rooms as well as the senate and representative chambers. There is a lot of interesting history to that building! The amount of plush artistic décor was truly impressive! ... read more

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Heide- Park ROCKS!!! It was a great day today! The weather was awesome and the crowds were thin. We arrived at about 10:30, after about an hour on a very comfortable charter bus. I know the bus was travelling at the same speed they do in the states, but the combination of the anticipation of a fun day at the park and the fact that German cars were zipping past us like we were standing still on the autobahn made it seem like we were stuck in slow motion. The kids fanned out around the park immediately and the fun ensued. Seven hours of brilliance in the sun! The biggest change was that we arrived bit later and stayed until close by American request. At 4pm, other ... read more

Today was the last day of school for the students of Hanhoopsfeld. It was also the last day working in education for two teachers and the schools principal. As such, we were privy to quite an exhibition as the students said their goodbyes. The entire school met in the gym and surprised the principal, who has been at the school for many years. Each class performed some sort of show of thanks as a way to say farewell. Poems were read, songs were sung, and one students performed a solo beat box routine. Every class also had a gift for the departing administrator. Gifts were also given to the teachers who are leaving. Every student in the school was given a flower and they all paraded up to give it to one of the departing educators. ... read more

Today we shifted gears from carefree fun in the sun, to a sobering, enlightening and very educational experience at Neuengamme Concentration Camp . We arrived on the same bus as our guide and walked through the gates. It was a beautiful morning, but the emotion of this place served to humble us all. Ms. Herder had already given a brief preview of what we were to see, and what had gone on here. The students were very respectful and kind to our guide, and the memory of this site, throughout the tour. We were given a guided tour of the grounds starting with the displays in one of the main buildings. We listened to a short audiovisual presentation of an interview with two camp survivors. We were then able to look over artifacts from the camp ... read more