On Tuesday, September 14th 2010, a group of excited students, parents and teachers from the German School of San Francisco met with other students from the entire Bay Area at the German Consulate General in the beautiful building on Jackson Street. The occasion: A reception in honor of the students who had taken and passed the very difficult German Language Diploma, Deutsches Sprachdiplom 1. The DSD 1 assumes a good command of German with approximately 600-800 hours of instruction. Students who master this language exam can be admitted to a Studienkolleg (preparatory course) at a German university.
General Consul Peter Rothen, the representative for German Schools Abroad, Elke Rühl, and Karl Pfeiffer, President of GASANC (German American School Association of Northern California), gave heartfelt speeches. Consul Rothen stressed the point that Germany wants to foster friendships around the globe. Students who study German and who go on to study in Germany carry in their hearts good will for Germany. This is still important today and no other country is offering as many scholarships to make a study visit to Germany possible. Elke Rühl was commended for taking the fear factor out of the strenuous two day exam for teachers and students alike. The number of students doubled under her patient guidance.
Karl Pfeiffer thanked all the teachers and students for their hard work. Mr. Pfeiffer stressed how studying German can open many doors for you! He proceeded to give the example of a student who passed the DSD 1 last year and is now the proud recipient of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (Parlamentarisches Patenschaftsprogramm). After some weeks in Bonn for additional language training, the student will live in Berlin and volunteer at a German theater. What a wonderful and live altering experience this must be!
Almost all of the German School of San Francisco’s ten proud DSD participants were able to make it to San Francisco on a school night. After trying out the great selection of appetizers, everybody went home, holding the beautiful diplomas in their hands, as well as a bold 2010 Deutschland t-shirt. One of the students said: “ I am really excited to be here today. I studied so hard for many years, missing out on many sports activities. Today, I feel good, well, recognized.”
Pictures below.
Submitted by Claudia Windfuhr
