h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

School starts back today. All over Nordrhein Westfalen schools open after the long summer holidays*. Today I have #2 going into the 10th grade (last year at secondary school - she has school leaving exams at the end of the year. If she does well - as well as last year would be great - she can go to the gymnasium, do her Abitur and hopefully have the chance to go to Uni. More options anyway).

#1 finished 10th grade last year and is now going to the Berufskolleg (technical school) to do what they call the FachAbi - which should give her more time to think about what she wants to do, and apply for apprenticeships etc.

Yes. The World Famous Gruesome Twosome aren't the cute little girls that some researchers have met. They are young ladies. And sometimes they are a complete and utter pain in the rear end. But they are lovely at other times.

I took today off because I was under the impression that I should go with #1 but it seems not. Usually I'd get up with #2 and go to the bakery to get the bread rolls to make their lunches, but she told me to stay in bed and went to get the rolls herself. She even brought me a cup of tea at 7 just before she left.

#1 has to go in a bit later and since it's nice and i have the day off and a few errands to run, I'll jump on my bike and head off to town to see what it looks like on a weekday.

Tomorrow all the shiny new first graders will start. The parents go, they get a huge cardboard cone (their mums make them usually - ocassionally a dad does it and one or two people buy them) filled with the things they need for school and a few sweets or presents. Usually there is a short church service, or some kind of welcome ceremony and then the children meet their teacher and classmates for about half an hour while their parents have coffee and cake. It's Germany. Of course there is coffee and cake.

After that the families usually go out for lunch together or something. It's quite lovely.

I remember my first day at school: my mum waved me off on the school bus with all the other children going to the army school in Hobart Barracks, Detmold. And that was it. On the whole I prefer the German way, even though it did make me

* German Länder stagger their school holidays so the entire country isn't off at the same time. The intention being to minimise problems on the Autobahn and at airports.

Nice description, Sho

- - -

I remember my first day. Since I went to one of the Danish minority's schools we didn't follow any German traditions, of course - so no cone for me

It didn't matter that much to me, though, there was so much else to be excited about. And if I remember correctly I did get some compensation later in the day.

Following my own kids to school and watching them receiving their student caps 12-13 years later was something else

No student caps or graduation ceremonies here. School leaving is a tremendously emotional event. I'm welling up thinking about my three, and all the ones in between (my husband is frequently involved in them, having taught the classes, and I know lots of the kids).

But when son No 1 "graduated" he just got an unceremonious envelope in the post to confirm it. Even though his University was one of the German equivalent of an Ivy League establishment - there is just no tradition for it.

When he gets his PhD (He's still at the same university), I doubt it'll be much different.

Their first days at school went much as Sho describes, although we didn't make much of a thing of it in the family.

Go Gruesomes! They'll do well. They have a head start with the two languages and both have a winning personality which will ensure them a great future.

V jealous of the cup of tea in bed. Doubt I'll get that tomorrow as I have Osh, in addition to my own two gruesomes, and it's his first day at secondary school. He will need fortifying with fried eggs. Or actually I might do pancakes as a treat. We're having steak tonight to build up our strength for the new term.

And I too have taken the first day of term off - mainly to clean the house, which has as usual turned into a cesspit over the summer.

Mol

well they both survived re-entry which is good. #1 came home with a bag full of books - she has psychology as a new subject and ... she has to learn Dutch. hahaha - finally she gets to suffer like the rest of us and have to learn vocab and grammar. Although speaking English and German I don't think dutch will be too much of a problem. Maybe I'll learn alongside her.

#2 is v. excited about having philosophy this year, she's reading my comic book about Karl Marx right now. No doubt will now immediately teach her the Monty Python song.

And since I was home all afternoon I decided to... cook. *faints*
Nothing spectacular. I made the chili & lime ice lollies for tomorrow (it's going to be hot again) using the spiffy new Kitchen Aid hand blender. Then I made vegetable quiche, carrot & orange salad, potato salad and green salad. Too healthy!