BY AILEEN MURPHY
Life in the Collegiate Grammar School, Enniskillen took on a European flavour over the last year, with a staff member from Switzerland, and a student from Germany adding to the international 'mix' at the school.
Teresa Lutta, from Zurich, spent the last three weeks of term in the school as part of a partnership scheme between the University of Zurich and the Western Education and Library Board. It allows Swiss teachers to develop their language and teaching competencies in local schools. Teresa was based in the History and Geography departments.
Collegiate school life was already enhanced by an added European dimension, as Anna Dettmann, 17, from Berlin, spent last year in the Collegiate as a Year 13 student.
Her warm and humorous personality, and her positive determination to make the most of the opportunities offered to her won her the respect and admiration of staff and pupils alike. She returned to Berlin just in time to join in the World Cup celebrations.
Anna spoke about some of her impressions of Fermanagh: "I had to leave my family behind me, which was hard at the beginning, but I lived with my guardian Colin, whom I met for the first time when I was four when he worked with my dad," she explained. "The good thing was he could correct my English or, when I didn't understand I could ask in German.
"When I first came, I was impressed by the green countryside and the amounts of cows, and I had never seen so much fog in my life! It is different to the city. In Berlin, we don't have country roads and I live in a flat on the sixth floor. Living in blocks of flats over 21 storeys high is normal for Berliners," Anna continued.
"At the Collegiate, I was part of Year 13 and chose the subjects Art, History of Art and Design, English Literature and ICT, but I dropped ICT within a few weeks to concentrate on the other three. There were so many subjects available I had never heard of before, like Technology, History of Art and Design, Home Economics, Religious Studies, Government and Politics, Health and Social Care and even ICT.
"On the first day, it was strange to see all the girls in uniform. In Germany, we don't wear uniform and, here I didn't have to think about what I wanted to wear in school in the morning. My friends at home laughed at me, but in my opinion it just feels more like school and I noticed here there is much more discipline in the classroom than in Berlin.
"Also, the relationships between pupils and teachers is really relaxed and you still learn something. I will miss the quiet classes with only about 15 pupils. In August I will start in a new grammar school in Berlin with 30 pupils, and I have to do every subject again, about 12 in all. Another difference is we only have mixed schools in Germany and three types of secondary schools," she added.
"The first month it was hard to understand English, as the girls spoke too fast, and with an accent. But now I don't have any problem understanding the girls or talking to them. The funny thing was that I started to dream in English, and I wrote all my letters and e-mails in English, except to my grannies, because English is an easier language than German - you don't need as many words and it is faster to write."
Fermanagh people have left a lasting impression on the German teenager, as Anna explained: "What I really appreciated was the kindness of people. One time when it rained I got a lift from an elderly couple I didn't know. In Berlin people just wouldn't do that. When I got onto the Lisnaskea bus another time I didn't have enough money to pay, then a woman at the front paid for me.
"The people are so friendly and chatty! I will miss that. I have learned so many things here, I even know the difference between Belfast, Fermanagh, Cork and London/English accents.
"Also this year without my family made me much more confident as a person and in speaking and writing English and I have to thank Miss Armstrong for making the year at the Collegiate possible," Anna concluded.
"I will never forget this year. It was a part of my life ,and I am happy I had the chance to go abroad to learn English."
