Gottingen according to Maggie

Comparing to Berlin,it is much smaller and less crowded.In fact,a lot of your schoolmates might live in the same district or neighborhood with you.So people always recognize each others.Moreover,bike is the most convenience transportation.Since the city is small and has a small centre,bike is almost available for everywhere.

#### **(2)Biking**

*Bike is probably the most popular vehicle in Goettingen.*

To start with,going bike riding is dangerous in some crowded cities.However,unlike these big cities,people in Goettingen has built their own bikeways so that riding bike can be safe and convenience.In addition,almost everyone in Goettingen has bikes and they travel every place in the town by it.To be specific,numerous students ride bike to school everyday and adults also go to work by bike as well.From my perspective,bike is my favourite vehicle because it doesn't pollute the environment and it can be a great way of exercise.

#### (3)Young-population

*Unlike China and Japan,the average age of the population in Goettingen is young.*

It is surprising that there is one college student in every four people.As a large amount of people are youth,there are many great universities and high schools.Every body here are all well-educated.As a result,you can notice people discussing the scientific topic such as climate change and the news reported lately.The reason why I really admire here is because the city provides a good studying atmosphere.

#### (4)Diverse

*Goettingen is also a diversified city.*

It is not only a well-developed city,but also has a spectacular natural and rural surroudings.So living in this city may be very relaxing.Futhermore,there are various options for everybody.Everything seems alternative here,so you can choose whatever you like in every aspect.

#### (5)Good-geographical-location

*Located in the centre of Germany ,Goettingen has a good geographical location.*

If you wanna travel from Goettingen to Berlin,it would only takes about two hours' ride,which is really fast and convenience.Consequently,it is easy to take a trip to other cities of Germany living in Goettingen.And that is impossible to be done in Kunming because every city seems to be far away from each other.Secondly,the best part of the good- geographical-location of Gottingen is that your relatives and friends can visit you any time easily.Since going to each other's city doesn't take much time,people can visit each other more frequently.To conclude,the nice location of Goettingen really brings a lot of benefits to the city.I truly hope that I can live in the centre of my country ,too.

### **Summary**

After hearing my partner Emma's description of Goettingen,I was impressed by the city and really want to visit there.The most important reason is that there are a lot of great colleges that I admire and dream to go.Even imagining going to school everyday by bike and riding a bike around the city can be a relaxing and impressive experience.What a unique and extraodinary city Goettingen is!

## ***Part 2:School Life in Goettingen***

### **1.School Life**

#### (1) Number of the students in a class

Unlike the situation in China, the number of the students in one class is different in different school system.Take high school as an example, there are usually about 30 students or below in one class.However, in elemantary school, there are only 12 to 25 students in one class.

I think the number of the students in one class in Goettingen is much smaller than that in Kunming. And this brings a lot of advantages.For instance, with fewer students in one class,the teacher can have more interactions with each student. As a result, the class will be more productive.

#### (2) Course subjects

The subjects that the students in Goettingen study is actually similar to the situation in China.To begin with, all the subjects are divided in to two parts.The first one is the main subjects that is ver vital and every student would have to study. And the other part is the regular subjects which is less necessary than the main subjects.

For the main subjects, there are English, German, math, the second-foreign language, and natural science.To be specific, the second foreign language includes French, Latin, and Spanish. And you can choose what you like among these three. Second of all, the natural science includes biology, chemistry, and physics. And what different from the school system in Kunming is that the German students don' t study all three subjects mentioned above in one semester. In stead, they only study one of them in one semester and change another one to study in the next semester.

And the regular subjects are history, politics, religions, value and norms, PE, art, music, geography, and digital competence(which is comletely new). Some of these subjects such as religion doesn' t even exist in the school system in China, so I think learning all these subjects at the same time is also quite challenging.

From my perspective, I really like that the Goettingen students can learn the three subjects included in natural science separately. Since in the 9th Grade in Kunming, students have to take all these challenging lessons in natural science. Consequently, a big amount of students become stressed out because of this. However, if we take turns studying them, it will be more flexible and effective.

#### (3) School day schedule and activities

Students in Goettingen get up early at about 6:30 on school days because the first class starts at 7:50. After that, they will have 3 to 4 lessons a day according to the schedule. And each lesson lasts 90 minutes(double lessons), which is twice longer than that in China. After each class, there would be twenty minutes' break. If there are only 3 lessons a day, students can have two breaks and the class ends at one o' clock in the afternoon. And when there are four lessons a day, there would be three breaks and the school ends up at three o' clock in the afternoon. For my partner Emma, she usually go home by bike with her friends.And if the school ends up at 4pm, she will go to pick up her brother.

Comparing to the school schedule in Kunming, I think Goettingen students are less busy because Chinese students study in school three to four hours longer. And I truly admire the school schedule in Goettingen for the reason that I really want to have more leisure time so that I can spend more time reading and do the things I like.

#### (4) Homework

The amount of the homework in Goettingen schools is quite flexible, which means they don' t have a certain number of how much time the homework is going to take.For most of the time, they spend 30 minutes to 2 hours doing homework and it depends on the classes they take.

In addition, they will have more homework to take online classes during the COVID-19 epidemic.

#### (5) Options after graduation

Normally, students will go to college after they graduate from high school.And it takes 4 years ti study in a university. After graduation, some of them will move in to the society and find a job, the others will take professional trainings in other schools for 3 or even more years on order to get futher education and get a higher degree. What' s more, the another option is to take a internship. This can help students to get better understanding of the position of the job and get better prepared before finding a job.

## ***Part 3:A One-Day Excursion***

### **1.Activities**

#### (1) Morning

Since bike is the most convenient transiportation in Goettingen, it is the best way to rent a bike to go around the city. And people usually rent bikes for hours to days next to the train station. So at nine o'clock, the first spot that we are going to visit is the school where Emma is in. After what seemed for an hour, which is around ten, it' s time for us to ride a bike to the downtown and the center of the town. The highest buiding in the town is the tower, which is also a part of an ancient traditional church. When you climb to the top of the tower, the whole town would be inside your view, which means you can see almost every corner of the town. Imagining the sight, I bet that it is going to to be extremely extraodinary and gorgeous and I would like to visit there at once. Later on, we could just walk around the town. Along the road stand a great number of ancient styled houses such as half-timbered houses which is a characteristic building full of typical western style. In the middle of the town located a sculpture and a fountain. It is also a very well-known symbol of the town. In addition, it is very interersting to know that after graduation, a lot of doctoral students kiss the statue in order to express their gratitude, which has also been a local tradition.

#### (2) Afternoon

After lunch, at around one in the afternoon, we could ride the bike to the small lake named “Kiessee" and have a picnic by the lake. This is also great time to chat and relax. Everyone could discuss the place that we visited in the morning.

Afterwards, at 4 p.m, visiting the botanic garden near my partner Emma' s school is a good choice. The garden is located at the edge of the town, and go there by bike is the fastest and greenest transportation.

#### (3）Evening

At 5:30, we could walk around the campus.There would be some guides to show you around the road, so you can get a better understanding of the place.

After what seemed to be an hour, at about 6:30, it' s time to go to the park called"Schillerwiesen" not far from here. In the park, everyone could have barbecue and have a quick review of the day. It would be fun to chat and discuss the place we visit and something interesting we have seen.

I believe the whole visit to Goetingen would be enjoyable and fun. I think the excursion desighed by Emma is truly great not only because I can have a brief understanding of Goettingen, but also because it is very nice to the environment since we visit everywhere by bike. Hope I can visit Goettingen as soon as I have a chance.

## ***Part 4: Food In Goettingen***

### 1.Basic information about the food

#### (1) Name of the Food

The food that my partner Emma loves is pasta with tomato sauce, which is also known as a famous kind of noodles in Italy. Although this is not a very traditional and special food in Goettingen, a lot of peole there love to eat it. And they also have their own special way to cook this dish. As somehow a very common dish, it can also be very delicious if you put the right seasonings and cook it in the right way.

#### (2) Ingredients

In order to cook this dish, you will have to use a lot of ingredients. First of all, the main ingredients you will have to use are noodles, tomato sauce, puree and vegetables. And the vegetables include zucchini, eggplant, one or two onions and peppers.In addition, you can put some other vegetables which are not so necessary if you like. For Emma, she sometimes add some dried oregano in it. Secondly, you also have to some seasonings including garlic and grated cheese.

#### (3) How to cook this dish?

Step 1: On the preparation part, you need a big pot of hot water. And you need to put it on the stove to boil.

Step 2: While the water is boiling, cut the vegetables and some seasonings. To be specific, you need to cut the garlic and onions into pieces, and chop the vegetables as well. But it is crucial to pay attention that do not cut the vegetables too small.

Step 3: After that, put a pan on the stove and add some oil in it. Then, you need to waite the oil to heat up. Once it starts to boil, add the garlic and onion pieces that you have cut in to the pan.

Step 4: After what seemed to be a few minutes, put the vegetables into the pan. After the vegetables are well cooked, it is time to add the tomato sauce and seasonings( you can out pepper in it as well). Later on, put the lid on the pot in order to preserve the heat and turn it down.

Step 5: On the other side, when the water in the pot starts to boil, you can put the pasta in it. Normally, you cooked it for amount of minutes.Specificly, it takes around seven to thirteen minutes. And the cooking time depend on the different kind of pasta.

Step 6: Put the pot off the stove and pour off the water and leave only pasta in it. Next, put some olive oil in the pasta and mix them evenly.

Step 7: Finally, the last step is to put the pasta and vegetables you have cooked previously in to the plate. But do not forget to add the cheese on top so that the dish can be even more delicious.

Although it takes as many as 7 steps to cook this dish, it is actually not as complicated as it seemed to be. Pasta with tomato sauce is known and served all over the world, but different regions have their own unique way to cook it which make it special and diversified.

#### (4) Color and taste

The chief color of pasta with tomato sauce is yellow since it is the color of noodles. Beside that, it also have the color of tomato and vegetables, which are red and green. So what about the taste of this dish? Since th dish is cooked with tomatoes and garlic, it may taste sour and sweet. If you also add some pepper in it, it wloud also be a little spicy which may make it taste even more delicious.

To conclude, I really like pasta with tomato sauce because it is the most popular western food in China and I fell in love with the taste of it ever since I tried it in a restaurant for the first time. Beside, the ingredients of this food is very easy to find and it is not hard to cook as well, so it would be very convienient to cook it at home.

### 2. Will pasta with tomato sauce be popular in Kunming?

In fact, pasta with tomato sauce is already pretty popular in Kunming instead. So from my perspective, it become popular for the following reasons.

To start with, with the developement of globalization, foreigners established their restaurent in Kunming and the western food are completely new to local people. Consequently, a lot of people go to these restaurents and try the different western dishes due to their curiousity. As the most delicous western food, pasta with tomato sauce became popular immediately. Moreover, the main ingredients of this dish is noodle and Chinese people love noodles very much. So pasta really fit our appetite. In addition, although Chinese people are familiar with noodles, they hardly ever eat noodles without soup. So pasta is also quite new and fresh to us as well. And the last reason is that the tomato sauce and cheese have also make the pasta taste even better.

## ***Part 4: Festival***

### 1.Chrismas

Chrismas Day, which is known as the most important and meaningful festival in Germany as well as other Western countries, falls on the December 25th and lasts for two weeks( 3 days officialy ) every year. It is on Chrismas that people united together to celebrate and welcome the coming year.

As the biggest festival of a year, there is a big amount of traditions and ways of celebrating the festivals．

It is interesting to find that people consider December 24th which is the Chrismas eve as the most important day of the festival even if the formal Chrismas falls on December 25th. So on Chrismas eve, it is the time for people to united together and get prepared of the big festival. As for my friend Emma, her relatives including her grandparents and her aunt’ s family who doesn’ t live in Goettingen would come and visit her family on Chrismas eve. Since there are already six people in Emma’ s family, when all her relatives arrive, there would be twelve people in total (which is a really big family).

Afterwards, in the evening, people usually go to the church as a tradition of Chrismas because it is the birth of Jesus. Most people in Western countries are Christians so they celebrate Chrismas Day and go to the church for the reason of the religion factor. However, it is different for Emma because she is not a Christian and she goes to church merely becasue her father is the leader of the choir and he goes there to meet other people. After visiting the church, there would be a big dinner well prepared waiting for them. The dinner is always a significant part of the festival so almost every family members will take part in preparing the dinner. The dinner is often different from each year, but the common point is that it is really delectable and nearly everyone is included in preparing the dishes. Being seperated from each other for about a year, people chat a lot with one another about the year that is going to past with missing and excitement.

At night, people will exchange their well-prepared prepsents, which is the best part of Chrismas in my opinion. I think that giving presents is very similar to giving lucky money on Spring Festival. However, what different is that lucky money is only given by the elders and recieved by kids, which means you cannot get any lucky money when you grow older. Normally, people will unwarp the gifts tomorrow which is on December 25 th instead of doing that tonight. Nonetheless, the situation in Goettingen is an exception, people there just unwrap the gifts as soon as they recieved them. At this special day, decorating the Chrismas tree is definitely a very crucial activity. And not only families decorated the small Chrismas tree, you can also see a lot of large and fancy Chrismas tree on the streets and squares.

As the biggest festival of a year, a lot of activities are holded in the city.For instance, Chrismas market will open on the middle of December and continued until the festival is over. It is in the Chrismas market that people buy food stalls and presents. The school that Emma is in would also hold a Chrismas concert to celebrate this festival.

In Emma' opinion, although Chrismas is a religion festival and a lot of people celebrate it because they are Christians, she consider Chrismas as a time for people to get together and express their affections to one another. And she also enjoys the activities of Chrismas such as decorating the tree and preparing gifts.

### 2.Do you want your festivals to be celebrated in othe countries?

With the development of Globalization, it is already pretty common to see that many local people are celebrating foreign festivals. Take China as an example, young kids these days really love Holloweens and Chrismas somehow more than traditional festivals. So living in a country which has a long and charming history like China, we have many unique and various traditional festivals which the Western people don' t know. Consequently, I definitely want our festivals to be celebrated in other countries. I think that it would be good for the foreigners to learn something about the Chinese festivals,customs, and culture. And I bet that they are going to love these magnificent festivals.