YES 2011 Deutschland € 1,50 • Österreich € 1,70 • Schweiz Sfr 3,50 • BeNeLux € 1,85 • Dänemark € 2,30 • Türkei TRY 3,45
A World without Borders - A European Dream? Eine Welt ohne Grenzen - Ein Europäischer Traum?
YES! MAG
Vol 1, July 5 2011
Was macht ein Austauschschüler, in den der Regen sich mit unendlicher Leidenschaft verliebt hat und einfach nicht davon abhalten kann, ihn den ganzen Tag mit dicken Tropfen liebzukosten? All den jungen Länderreisenden am Werbelinnsee, die sich zusammentrafen um das Ende ihres Austauschjahres zu erleben und zu feiern, konnte selbst die schlechte Wetterlage im Norden Deutschlands nicht das Lächeln von den Mundwinkeln und das Glitzern ihrer Augen zum Erlöschen bringen. Austauschschüler aus 30 verschiedenen Ländern in Europa sind vom 1. bis zum5. Juli 2011 zusammengekommen, um Erfahrungen auszutauschen, über Grenzen zu schreiten, Spaß zu haben und ihr unvergessliches Austauschjahr zu einem erfolgreichen Ende zu bringen. Austauschschüler, die den Mut hatten „YES“ zu sagen zu einem der größten Abenteuer ihres Lebens, „YES“ zu Herausforderungen, „YES“ zu einer neuen Sprache und einem unbekanntem Land, „YES“ zu Veränderungen und „YES“ vielleicht selbst zu einem neuen Ich. 435 Austauschschüler haben hier am Werbelinnsee zusammen das „YES“ erlebt.
So, here we are. Another YFU generation, another exchange year, and – of course – another YES. Over 400 young Europeans decided to cross many borders, not just geographical ones, and to change their views of the world. Exactly this was the main topic of this year’s YES – borders, and how to cross them. You could feel the great atmosphere all around. We took part in workshops about different types of borders that we had to cross in our exchange year. And we learned how that was actually the key of a successful cultural exchange – to be open and be prepared to cross borders. Congr atulations to all of you! YES, we did it! Now you can enjoy this year’s issue of the YES!Mag and all the interesting and funny reports about what happened from the 1st to the 5th of July in Werbellinsee.
Editorial
Young Europeans‘ Seminar 2011
On behalf of the YES! Mag Team Marija Ceketic (Serbia) Alina Lebherz (Deutschland)
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YES 2011
Keep breaking borders Meeting you at the YES convinced us that young people want to cross borders. All of the 434 students meeting up outside a city defined by its border, Berlin. For 28 years, this city was divided by the Berlin Wall. A wall which was torn down before most of the YES-participants were even born. That is why it is important to learn from history to keep this from happening again: Freedom depends on being courageous. We hope that you will take the best from your host country and introduce it at home. Think bigger than just telling your friends and family about your experiences: If you really want to make a difference, you also have to reach out
to the people you disagree with. Never be afraid to challenge the reactionaries in your society and open their minds to new ideas. That is the path to a world without borders. You have made many friendships, both during your exchange stay, and during the YES. With continually building friendships across borders, we can hopefully resolve future conflicts. You will play an active role in breaking down the borders between people: Both on the geographical level, the socio-cultural level and the personal level. We believe you can make a difference, if you dare! Thank you very much for making this a great YES!
Kristian Risager and Pernille Christensen Content Team Coordinators
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Coordinating countries of this year‘s YES! were:
content editorial greeting interview vox pop YES in numbers freetime activities one day at the yes YES picture workshops parliament portrait crossword puzzle working after dark language problems YES by night
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YES 2011
The past makes the present Interview with Jens Hüttmann By Ida Baek (Denmark)
lecture in the plenary session, he posed the question whether it can be possible to have a common European schoolbook one day. However, he still stresses the importance of each country knowing its own history. “You need to learn about other countries in order to know your own. National history is essential, but it should be taught in an international context”, Hüttmann says.
Sunday morning at the YES 2011, Dr. Jens Hüttmann came on stage as a guest speaker during the plenary session. His lecture was about the teaching of European history in different countries. The YES! Mag had the chance to talk to him about his work, European borders and himself. Moving to Eastern Germany Jens Hüttmann is the educational leader of The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship. The aim of this Foundation is to spread knowledge about the German Democratic Republic and its influences on the German society. Hüttmann was born in Hamburg and went on an exchange to Houston in the USA. Later, Hüttmann chose to go to university in Leipzig in the former GDR, which was still in reconstruction after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. For him, it was like coming to another country and everything was in constant change. This experience pushed Hüttmann towards the job he now has, where he lectures in schools and creates materials destined to educate about the former division of Germany, European history and the differences between democracy and dictatorship. Borders to be evened out When asked how the situation in Germany is now, Jens Hüttmann answers that despite great progress during the past 20 years, there are still some differences like poverty and the unemployment rate who have yet to be
Borders within Europe
evened out. “The distance we have in time might not provide a solution, but it may allow us to understand the conflicts better,” he says and continues to explain: “The past isn’t just the past and you shouldn’t learn history because you must. History becomes interesting the moment you can relate the historical events to our modern culture and see its influence”, Hüttmann says.
Talking about the European Union, Jens Hüttman is positive about a set of common European policies, but he doesn’t think that Europe is even close to being borderless ― culturally speaking. In his opinion, the difference between eastern and western Europe is still quite distinguishable in economy and culture, even though the EU makes it less visible. “The European Union secures a common and stable system, and the differences between its countries aren’t that important when you look at the peace that the Union has brought”, he says. Hüttmann also describes how he thinks that we shouldn’t let our differences get in the way, but try to understand each other’s culture: “Understanding other cultures and their history gives us a chance to make conflicts appear smaller than they are and thereby avoid certain problems”, he explains.
European history books? Hüttmann tells us that even though the history of all the European countries is intertwined, every country has their own history books, their own version of how events happened. During his
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YES 2011 By Helena Heitzer (Germany) and Eduard Barhan (Romania)
Sarah Buch (Deutschland): „Beim Theaterkurs vorzusprechen.“ “I was in France, and I ate snails.”
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Christoph Feistritzer, (IGL, Österreich): „Zum ersten Mal mit dem Orchester öffentlich aufzutreten.“
“The first time I talked in Estonian.”
“To go with strangers into the sauna naked.”
Simona Antohe (Rumänien): „Mein erster Schultag.“
“To talk to strangers”
Christian Vasile (Rumänien): „Meine Gastschwester so zu akzeptieren wie sie ist.“
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“To ask my host mum to wash my underwear.” “At home I am a single child and sometimes it was hard to cope with my 2 host siblings.”
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“I was in the Netherlands, and I was really scared when I first did ‘wadlopen’ It is kind of walking over the water, like Jesus.”
“I had to move from a big city into a small village.”
“To tell my host family that I want to change families.”
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“In the winter, I went swimming in a frozen lake.”
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“It was the first time in my life that I was without my parents longer than a week, and I managed it.”
“I went into the wild on a school trip for four days : No phone, no nothing.”
“I ran a marathon.” “My host family is extremely different from my biological family. I had to change a lot to fit in.”
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“Before my exchange, I felt fear when talking to disabled people. In Russia, I overcame it.”
“To accept the culture of the Norwegian youth.”
Katia Skripal (Ukraine): „Die deutsche Mentalität zu akzeptieren.“
Corina Leah (Moldawien): „Die Regeln meiner Gastfamilie zu akzeptieren.“
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Petar Bankov (Bulgarien): „Dass ich mich öffnen musste.“
What was the biggest border you had to overcome during your exchange year?
“To shave my head.”
Laurits Bromme (Deutschland): „Ich habe am Anfang gar nichts verstanden.“
“I started belly dancing.”
Max Jentsch (Deutschland): „Ich hatte Angst vor Hunden und meine Gastfamilie hatte einen.“
Cretu Andrei (Rumänien): „Mit meinem Gastbruder im selben Zimmer zu schlafen.“
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“After half a year I had to change my school, and I went to a really tough Hungarian music school.”
YES 2011
YES! in numbers
By Lucas Teichert (Germany) and Mia Pennanen (Finland)
Here are some fun facts about the YES 2011. Persons attending
431 Students 317 Girls 114 Boys
Germany (127) France (45) Finland (37)
111 Volunteers 72 Vegetarians Home countries with most Students
Germany: 143 Finland: 35 Switzerland & Estonia: 30 each Home countries with fewest Students
Host countries with fewest Students
Romania (1) Bulgaria (2) Moldova (4) Age
Stuff in stock after the YES! 2010 (small selection)
1 package of Bath Salt 261 Tampons 18 Condoms 6 Tooth Brushes 2 Blue Jeans 7 Unidentified things (from the lost & found box) 4 Coffee Machines 1 Christmas Light 24 Brushes 955 Pens
Oldest student: 20 Years Youngest student: 15 Years Economy
Chile: 1 Mexico: 1 Ukraine: 1 Buses arriving:
Host countries with most Students
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Budget: 107.780€ YES! Mag: 1.500€ Parliament Chairs: 1.250€ Food and Accomodation: 50.300€
photo: Patrick Kubbutat 15 buses took 431 students plus their IGLs safely to the YES!
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YES 2011
By Mia Pennanen (Finland) and Gökce Kaya (Turkey)
Freetime Activities Even though it sometimes may seem like it, the YES is not only about workshops. We have a lot of free time during the day. The interesting free time activities organized by Turkish YFU volunteers make the YES even more fun and unforgettable. This year there were many options that address everyone. People who liked sport could have fun playing basketball, volleyball or football with friends and participate in tournaments. If anyone felt like just relaxing, a tent was set out. Here you could find cards and games to play or just chill and listen to music. Also, there were games such as frisbee, rocca, kubb, and sack-race, tug of war and slack line. A bunch of movies were shown, and you could do paintings. Last but not least, and in spite of weather, some students went swimming in the lake. Below you can see some of the pictures that were taken.
The Freetime Activity Tent provided everything a sports interested person could ask for. Das Freizeitzelt ließ keine Wünsche offen und die Herzen aller Sportbegeisterten höher schlagen.
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YES 2011
One day at the YES
YES, we did it!
1 Breakfast! 2 Oops! 3 Time to work 4 Yummy! 5 Shopping 6 Migration-workshop 7 How can I help you? 8 Siesta! 9 Dinner 10 YES!
Text and pictures by Gökce Kaya (Turkey) and Mia Pennanen (Finland)
By Helen Strauss (Austria)
What would you say, dear student? Was the YES an end or a beginning? Doesn‘t a door get opened When another one starts closing? Are you happy, are you afraid? Are you sad or excited? Here on the YES-camp you could find A variety of people and nations. And every single one of them Shared your hopes, fears and expectations.
You could meet friends here, old and new. And they‘re not the same anymore. They‘ve grown mature. Yes, it is true! Because the‘d so much to explore. I don‘t think anyone here does regret This exchange experience. We‘ve experienced things that we‘ll never forget And learned and made new friends. Yes, we did it!
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YES 2011
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YES 2011
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YES 2011
At the YES, each student attended three workshops. In total, there were 15 different ones to choose from not an easy choice, that’s for sure. The workshops were divided into three categories:
Workshop Impressions
socio-cultural borders
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personal borders
geographical borders
Here are some impressions from two days of hard work, inspiration and fun.
YES 2011
Being E.U.ropean – or not In this workshop, the students discussed what it is like to live in a country that is a member of the European Union. Most of the students said that being in the European Union means having more comfort, like having drinking water, electricity, and the security that your country will get help if it is in need. Countries in the EU have to follow high standards in the production of food and daily goods.
In the second part of the work shop the participants worked in small groups and talked about what both EU members and non-members think about the E.U. In the end, they came to the conclusion that there are four different types of countries that are not yet 100 % members of the EU. There are hose which would like to be in the EU, but are no candidates right now, like Ukraine.
By Helena Heitzer (Germany)
Then there are those which would like to become a member of the EU, and who’s potential membership is being discussed at the moment, like Turkey. Also, there are countries that do not wish to join the EU, like Switzerland. Last but not least, there are countries which are EU member states but don’t participate 100%, like Denmark.
The Migration Experience by Leon Fried (Germany)
About 100 students and 12 YFU volunteers met in the Plenary Hall for the “Migration Experience”-Workshop. The Plenary Hall was divided into two parts which represented two countries. Suma, a democracy, and Ramus, a country whose citizens suffer from a corrupt regime and civil war. The students represented the refugees and immigrants, and also staffed for example the police, the embassy and the
migration office. The goal of every refugee and immigrant was to pass the border, get a visa, find a job and start a new, better life. However, that turned out to be very difficult. The students had to find their complicated way through all the institutions. Some of them had to pay smugglers to get to Suma. After about two hours the Danish workshop leader Maria Juhl Andersen
Being blind for one day Helpless like clumsy penguins is what the twenty students participating in the workshop „blind for a day“ looked like when they had their first walk without seeing anything. Step by step, slowly and carefully, they needed to walk. Being blind is one of the most difficult personal borders one can imagine. The participants felt completely shiftless, destitute and confused. Everything was dark, they didn’t know where they were and whom they were talking to, and it
was difficult to walk straight when not knowing what the people around were doing. This workshop was all about the everyday life of a blind person. Can you imagine sitting down at a table you cannot see? Drinking a glass of orange juice? Going to the toilet? It may well happen that you ask a window instead of a person for the time, or you might put your hand into a bin because you didn’t know what it is. You
stopped the simulation with the words “I hope that you enjoyed the game. Be glad that it was only a game and not reality.” She gave the participants the possibility to discuss their experience in small groups. In her eyes the workshop reached its goal: to display the difficult and frustrating situation that many refugees experience. The workshop showed everyone that it can be difficult to cross a border.
By Alina Lebherz (Germany) would probably run against a wall or door. To save you from these difficulties, and overcome your personal boarders (like being blind), you need people you can trust in. That's the experience everybody made during his and her exchange year: Breaking personal borders, trusting in people and experience the world with other senses, from a different perspective –step by step.
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YES 2011
YES! Parliament On Monday July 3rd, the students at the YES experienced being part of a parliament and making „real“decisions. The YES Parliament represented Euroland, a fictive, wealthy country situated in central Europe. At the Parliament, the decision on the issuing of residence permits was to be made. The students were divided into five parties: the Social Party, the Economic Party, the Humanitarian Party, the Conservative party, and the Nationalist Party. Each party had different opinions on the immigration issue.
The Parliament had to come up with a solution as to who should be granted residence permits. Throughout the day, the students discussed the issue in smaller committees and did speeches in the plenary hall. In the end, they had to decide on the issue both individually and as part of their party. “We are the country who gives most charity aid already.”
“We are humans, not meat!”
“We do love to help, but we have to worry about ourselves, too.”
The Conservative Party wants to have as many people who have the same values as the population of Euroland to immigrate. The Economic Party want as many skilled and wealthy people to migrate to Euroland. It does not support other immigration.
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The Humanitarian Party is to issue as many residence permits to humanitarian refugees as possible.
The goal of the Nationalist Party is to stop all new migration to Euroland.
“It doesn’t matter which culture people are from. We’re all humans.”
The Social Party wants to issue as many residence permits as possible to migrants on grounds of economic and social reasons.
YES 2011
Triplets on the road
By Gerben Groeneveld (Holland)
Three sisters from Germany went away for one year, all choosing a different country. On the 15th of April 1994 the family Boertz, living in the United States at that time, welcomed three new members to their family. Maya, Alyssa and Sarah were born. Eight years later they moved to Germany and another eight years later they all decided to travel abroad living the life of an exchange student. Maya chose Sweden, Alyssa Finland and Sarah went to the United States. The YES!Mag team had an opportunity to interview all three of them: Maya and Alyssa are with us on the YES this week and we spoke to Sarah on the phone.
Maya “It was nice growing up as a triplet. We always had the same topics to talk about because we were going through the same things. Of course we fight too but I guess all siblings do that from time to time. We knew it was special being a triplet because when we were younger people always used to smile and point at us. I remember how a friend of my mother had an Au-pair living with them, and this later inspired me to become an exchange student. My sisters wanted to go abroad too but we promised each other not to choose the same country. We had always been compared to each other so we decided to pick a country that would define ourselves personally. Sweden was my first choice even though the only thing I knew about Sweden were the colours of the flag… Well, I just wanted to go somewhere cold and I had a great year.”
Alyssa “Like Maya I wanted to go north. I chose Finland and lived in a place called Hyvinkää. In school I had the opportunity to play a lot of music; I play the bass and the piano myself. It was all nice, but things really started to be fun when I changed my hostfamily and moved to a place called Järvenpää. I changed my school and made awesome friends that really made this year unforgettable. Now at the end of the year I am excited to see how my sisters and I have changed from our experiences we made.”
Sweden Finland USA
Sarah “You might think that we are similar because we are born on the same day; this is not true. We are non-identical triplets which means we are not born from the same egg. Maya and Alyssa are both quite short while I am a lot taller. Also, we all have really different personalities. I chose to go back to the United States for a year and had a lot of fun. I can imagine that my year was quite different from my sisters’ because American people are so outgoing while the Scandinavians seem to be more shy. It was great to be back in the States! The only thing that was a shame is that I could not go to the YES! with them. I am home already.”
After the YES the triplets will be united again.
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(for the trip home)
Timekiller
by Marie Corpataux (Switzerland)
YES 2011
Across
Down
6 Sat, 15-17:30 8 We come here to learn and have fun 10 Signification of the „U“ of YFU 16 Adjective, an exchange between two different cultures 18 We did not drink it 19 Part of our identity 22 We had none 25 Can be represented by a house or an iceberg 26 Has a parliament, but is no state 27 Song by Daniel Merryweather 28 General concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing
1 Mayor of flensburg 2 International language 3 Describing the exchange of information, messages and thougts by speech or writing 4 It‘s in the bushes 5 Keeping us alive 7 We are singing there 9 Beneath the stage 11 Little things that can remind you of your exchange experience 12 Mean of communication 13 Adjective, an experience that will always be remembered 14 I‘m blue da ba dee da ba daa 15 Haha... 17 The topic of the YES! 20 It‘s in your hands 21 The YFU way to wake up 23 Place to have a bath in the sun 24 Three times a day you get it
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YES 2011
Working after dark
By Anna Harjans
Find out what happens on the campsite when the day is over YES! Café The YES! Café is where both students and team members could go after a long day to relax and have some fun. Nina Olausson and Christian Vasile worked really hard to entertain the students all night long. Besides the work at the YES-Café, there are also other jobs the teamers have to do when the sun has set. Night guards I’m sure all of you have seen volunteers walking around with flashlights at night: They are the night guards. Night guards begin their work at 10pm and usually go to bed at 4:00 in the morning – but in general, they have to work until all the
students are in their rooms. It’s their job to care about sad people and see to drunken people. They also make sure that nobody is going into the bushes or has a swim, and that it’s quiet in the corridors! The keydesk Maybe you didn’t know that there is one more job which the teamers have to do 24 hours a day – it’s the key-desk. The IGLs and Freestylers are working there in two shifts at night. The first one is from 10pm until midnight and the second one from midnight until 7am! Students are picking up and bringing in the keys all day. In general, all the keys are with the students at 2am (but
As one of the Café coordinators, Christian Vasile was the DJ for a couple nights.
it doesn’t mean that everybody’s sleeping at that time) and coming back right before breakfast.
Language problems in the borderland Many students who go on exchange experience language difficulties. Below are listed some of the funniest ones.
A girl from Switzerland wanted to hug her friend in Hungary. Instead of asking „Can I hug you“, she asked: „Can I kill you?“ (In Hungarian megöeni means to kill and megölelni means to hug). A girl from Lithuania impressed her host family by skiing down the mountain in one straight line. Actually, her host mother told her to take it slowly and go downhill in nice and easy slaloms but Madeline was not patient enough and rushed down the mountain very fast. She realized her mistake and screamed while rushing down: „undskyld, undskyld, undskyld!“ („sorry, sorry, sorry!“).
A girl in Estonia surprised her friends when they wanted to know what she would do on vacation. She said: „ma tahan suitsetada“ (I want to smoke) instead of „ma tahan suustama“ (I want to ski). She convinced her surprised friends: „Yes, I have never done it before“. An exchange student from Germany stayed in Turkey and was eating soup with his host family. Soup in turkish is çorba.When he wanted to say “the soup tastes good”, he said ”the çorap is tasting good” which means ´”my socks are tasting good”
By Leon Fried (Germany) Yael Oettli (Switzerland) and Kaisaleena Yrjänä (Finland)
Konsta, a boy from Finland was in Austria. In the beginning he used to introduce himself like „ I scheisse Konsta“ instead of „Ich heisse Konsta“ („I shit Konsta“ instead of „I am Konsta“.
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YES by night
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YES 2011