intermediate program summer site : conversations : second session



	anne-kathrin from germany (8/5) Anne-Kathrin is really happy to be back in America for her second summer at Explo. She's getting ready to enter ninth grade and is hoping that by tenth grade she'll be enrolled at a school in New England. Anne-Kathrin loves to play piano and tennis and horseback ride while at home in Germany but here she loves kayaking and learning Mandarin! So how did you find Explo? Well, I really like America. I’ve been to America a couple of different times and I also lived in Canada, so we traveled a lot to America. I just like the country, and I also like the language and the people . . . I just really like the country. And my father, he knows a guy who sent his daughter to Explo, too, and the girl really liked it and my father also knew a couple of people from Wellesley and they said the summer program is really nice so then he sent me. How do you like it? I really like it! It's so much fun. This is my second year. I just like the whole campus and the main events and stuff. What’s your favorite main event? Well, last year I really loved Cruise Night, so I’m excited for Wednesday. And I’m excited for the film festival and to see all the movies on Friday. So how do you like your living group? I really like it. We’re always together doing activities together and we do lots of activities together. Sometimes we just sit in the hallway painting our nails, listening to music, reading, just being together. What are you taking for classes this year? I’m taking “Mandarin Matters” and “Pixel Productions”. How is “Mandarin Matters”? It’s so much fun. I really like my teacher, Dan, and also learning Mandarin is so much fun because we learn how to speak basic sentences and count the numbers, I can now count to ninety-nine. What made you take that course? Well I’ve never been to China, but I heard the language is really nice. I think it’s an important language also for the future, and I think it’s important to experience a different language. And “Pixel Productions”, how’s that? Yeah it’s digital photography. It’s really fun too. I love taking pictures. Have you done a lot of photography before? Not really, but I like to experience it a bit and it's really much fun. What mini-courses are you taking? Well, actually, I was in tennis but I can’t take that any more because of asthma, so now I’m in jewelry-design, which is really much fun, too, and I really like it. We’ve made really nice things. We can basically make whatever we like. What did you make? I made a necklace, I made a bracelet and a ring out of beads and things. And my other mini-course is painting. Have you done a lot of painting before? Not really. I have done some at a friend’s house. We can paint whatever we want to. I made two projects so far, and on Wednesday I’ll do another. Have you been encouraged to try something new this year at Explo? Yeah, definitely. I’ve been able to do Mandarin and I’ve tried lots of other things too, like kayaking and sailing and canoeing. How have you liked those? It’s been very fun. What are some things you like to do when you’re not at Explo? I like to play the piano and tennis and I dance and also do horseback riding! You sound busy! Did you do the horseback-riding trip this weekend? No, Yesterday I did the cooking stay-back. We made Mediterranean food and a cheesecake. What other trips have you done? I went to the Ikea trip on Saturday. It was very fun because first we came there and there were two women from Ikea that showed us a power point presentation. They showed us how Ikea started and why it’s popular and they talked about the environmental side of their business and how they try to be green. And then we came back and made solar-ovens. What are you going to miss most about Explo? I think most I’m going to miss my classes and all the activities, the staff, and especially my living group because they are like my family. Do you think Explo is preparing you for high school? Yeah, definitely. I want to go to school in America in 10th grade, especially in New England because I really like New England. It’s lovely. Yeah, me, too . . . except the winters! If Explo had a mascot what would it be? I think it would probably be an orange smiley, because every one is happy and having fun all the time and orange because orange is everywhere here! more conversations > first session \| second session