1. What is the population of Detmold Outlet?
We don 't know really, but we estimate that Detmold has approximately 70.000 inhabitants. If you mean the number of students in our school department/branch/outlet here in Detmold: it's twenty (2 classes).
2. Is it a rural area?
Yes, it is. The area around Detmold is very rural, because Detmold is a small town, as you can see here:
3. What are the sources of employment?
The main sources of employment in Detmold are the industries of wood and metal. We also have
universities of music and architecture, services and the headquarters of the
district government. So you can see Detmold is a small, but not unimportant town.
4. How far do you need to travel to a major city?
The next major city is 25 km from Detmold and is called Bielefeld, the city
where our teacher of English lives. You get an impression from this view on the city here:
5. Do you visit larger towns or cities often and if so why?
We usually visit larger cities for shopping, to go to a bigger cinema, to see
friends who live there, to go to a better disco or to an event at the weekend, as for example the
loveparade in Berlin.
6. Are there many immigrants in Germany?
Yes, there are a lot of immigrants with different nationalities. Especially in
these day of the Kosovo-War, Germany takes a lot of refugees of this area.
7. Is it difficult to immigrate to Germany?
For People who are in misery and are victims of war it is it not so difficult to immigrate, because
there are some possibilities in Germany for them. Also there are a lot of chances
for students. We have no immigration legislation so far (immigration laws, Green cards
etc.)
8. What countries do the people immigrate from and why?
They come from Russia, Poland, Africa, other East-European countries (Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Rumania), Asia, because the economy is worse than in Germany or there are threatening human rights problems in their homelands because of the breakdown of the Communist block. Poverty is a main issue in Eastern Europe and the frontiers are open now. Balkan ehtnics, Kurds and Turks ask for political asylum, because in their countries there is war. Many people think that most of them come to Germany to take advantage of our welfare state, highly comfy social security. People of West-Europe come to study in Germany. There is a strong German minority in the area of the former Soviet Union called Russian Germans (Russlanddeutsche) who come here now because of discrimination in Russia; there is also a strong German minority in Schlesia, a formerly German region, which now is Polish; also those people benefit from rather generous reintegration measures and come back home to Germany by the thousands; all this leads to a high amount of discussions and even unrest, because Germans are not used to intercultural or multiethnic conditions in their so far mostly exclusively German society; a new Nazi movement is seen on the rise by quite a few due to those openings and developments.
9. Why is it important for you to study English if your country is German speaking?
We learn English, because it's the world language and in the case of computers
English is necessary and at any secondary, even sometimes primary school, English is a main subject from the beginning of the first class.
10. Is it necessary for you to learn English to attend a university in Germany?
Yes, because without English, you can't get an admission to the universities, which are also completely free of any fees or admission charges.
11. Do you have to pay to attend the schools in Germany?
No. Schools are public institutions. They are funded by taxes.
12. Do you have four seasons in Germany?
Yes. From March to May it's spring-time. All flowers and trees are in full blossom. In
our poems we paint a picture of that. This photo gives you an impression; it shows a rapeseed field in full blossom:
The temperature then is 32° F to 50° F. In summer, from
June to August, the weather is fine. The temperature is 59° F to 68° F. From September to
November it 's autumn. The weather is very rainy then. The temperature is 32° F to 50°
F. In winter from December to February it 's cold with snow and ice. The temperature is
5° F to 32° F.
13. Does it get really cold there?
Yes. Sometimes we get - 4° F in winter. You may get an impression from this photo:
14. Do you get paid vacations from your jobs?
Yes. Most of us get 5 to 6 weeks paid vacation a year.
15. How many weeks or days are you allowed for vacation?
Most of the people in industry, business and services have 30 days paid vacation per year.
16. How many hours is normal for a full time job?
People work 38 - 40 hours per week normally.
17. Where do you like to go for your vacation?
We like to go to France for our vacation. This aim is clearly not the only one! Watch out for completions in the near future!
18. If we were to visit Germany where would you suggest we go and what should we do?
If you were to visit Germany, you could go to Detmold, where there is a famous
historical monument , the Hermannsdenkmal:
You can drink the native beer "Detmolder". That is very good. But also this suggestion will not be the only one. Watch out for completions soon!
19. Would we have problems traveling in Germany, because we do not speak German?
You would not have problems traveling in Germany, because most of the people here
speak English at school
20. Do most of you live with your families or have your own places?
No, most of us don 't live with our families, when we have finished vocational
training. There are lots of singles in Germany and in our class.
Here are some responses to your intros and answers which we wrote down on Friday, May 28, 1999:
A lot of thanks for your statements about similarities and differences. It is very interesting to read your information, but in some points we still have questions.
First you write that English is a second language in the US. Is that right that you mean English is the second language for the whole US? In Germany there are also many pupils from other countries. We think our class looks like your classes. The numbers of students in our adult-classes are dependent on the population of the city in each case. For example the classes in Bielefeld have approximately twenty students. Moreover we want to describe the employment more specifically. We also have a lot of people who work in services and the headquarters of the district government. You write to us that immigration is difficult in the US. Can you explain that more exactly. Germany is not cold all the time of year . Now we have 80°F. So you can see, now it is a good time for a summer holiday. Is that really correct that you have only two weeks of paid holiday a year? Or do you mean your freetime only in the summer? We are looking forward to your answer, in which you explain these statements in a more detailed fashion.
Dear friends! We are very happy about your very friendly and interesting answers to our questions. We are proud that we have such a good communication with you. The last lesson we read and discussed your response. For example we have found the answer from Leslie full of feeling and so we discuss the questions. Is Leslie a girl or a boy? Poor Leslie Lozano. What are you doing right now? What can you do later? What is your job perspective? Your text moved us a lot. It‘s really a pity being forced to be away from everything you have had. Our sympathy is always with you. We hope that you have tons of good luck and happiness in the future.
Another example of an interesting answer is the passage by Luis A. Gomez. He tells us about his neighbours and we'd like to hear more about them.There must be a very good feeling in his neighbourhood and we are sure that there are a lot of good stories there. Please let us hear more about Mr. and Mrs. Dinucci and Mr. Leonard Thompson and his family. Your biographies are impressing. They have helped us to shorten space between our classes to get to know each other heart to heart. All the best (we have summer holidays from June 16 to August 2) and let us go on in August and the new semester! Your class 50 of the Detmold outlet of the AG Bielefeld.