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Published: July 19th 2016
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We are here in Germany enjoying the wonderful fellowship of our hosts, the incredible landscape and architecture of the region, and also the great weather. This experience is meant to broaden perspectives, help our students step out of their comfort zones in order to grow as a person, and also most certainly to educate. We want our students to learn from this experience simply by living here, but also by providing them with specifically engineered opportunities to learn. As such, we have a very clear and obvious theme on this trip. The central theme of this exchange is "Culture".
Culture includes the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a group or society. One of the major manifestations of culture in a society are the artistic and oral traditions of story telling and mask making. During the North American portion of this exchange, we visited the University of British Columbia's Anthropology Museum and learned about these traditions as they are practiced around the world, from the Makah of Washington to the Maori of New Zealand. Our German guests also attended the Hibulb Cultural Center to learn about Tulalip Native culture and mask making. Last week in Germany, we were fortunate to
visit a local mask maker in a neighboring village.
It is amazing how central and similar these oral traditions paired with mask making are in societies all around the world. Many of our students can trace their lineages back to a European root. They very well may identify more with the mask making and stories that we have experienced here in Germany than the ones which we viewed in Washington. Nevertheless, the expression of culture within this incredible art is obvious and amazing.
We left last weeks mask making presentation inspired! We all know that once Heidi is inspired by something, incredible events are sure to ensue. So, today, we began the process of making our own masks! While the native masks here in Germany are made of intricately hand carved wood, our desire to return our students home to their families with the same number of fingers with which they departed negated the carved wood option. As such, things got a little messy, and fun!
Heidi and the German teachers were able to round up dozens of rolls of plaster wrap, like what is used to make casts for broken limbs. The task was thus simple,
dip the plaster wrap in water and apply it to your partners face, leaving the under side of the nose clear of course. Then, build up the layers upon one another until the face was completely covered and a smooth mask. Simply relax in the sun for about ten minutes, and then remove. The American students had their masks applied first and it worked great! The process was quickly repeated for the German students. During the application, kids were strewn about on the grass adjacent to the soccer field with their partners hovering over them. Taking in the scene in its entirety, it looked like field triage after a major battle. It was a sight to be sure. It elicited a few quizzical looks from the PE class and the primary school kids during recess time. The process overall was a lot of fun for the kids, and pretty darn funny to watch for the teachers!
Next week, we will meet once again as a group to decorate the masks. Whether they will be able to be transported home will remain to be seen. Regardless, once again our resident art expert Heidi has blown us all away with her
creativity and intrepid "make it happen" attitude!
Beyond a cool activity that ties in directly with native mask making that we have been studying, it was a wonderful and fun bonding activity between the exchange partners. Kudos to the kids to trust and participate! I look forward to seeing the final results next week!
The afternoon for most on this hot and sunny day was spent at the outdoor pool on campus. I am sure the students enjoyed it immensely. Heidi and I explored the nearby town of Balingen while the German teachers had their year end conferences. Heidi explored an art exhibit and I explored the incredible architecture of this very cool town. What we think of as Disneyland Magic, Leavenworth Touristy, or fairytale storybook looks, are actually real here, and just normal everyday scenery. I love it!
We are off to Stuttgart tomorrow in the midst of a legitimate heat wave. It is supposed to reach the mid 90's here on Wednesday! We'll tour the main soccer stadium in the morning, and then head over to the Mercedes Museum to explore the evolution of this classic German brand from horse drawn carriages to the most
modern of race cars. It is an amazing display! We'll then head to the city center for some much anticipated shopping time in the afternoon. It promises to be a very full and fun day!
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