My Work Experience Exchange : Caroline Smith

My Work Experience Exchange : Caroline Smith
Ich habe eine Woche des Praktikums im Schauspielhaus im Bochum Stadtzentrum
teilgenommen, das Malersaal Schauspielhaus heiβt. Ein typische Tag began um neun Uhr,
and es beendet um drei Uhr. Wir haben den ganzen Tag ausgemalt, und wir haben nur für
das Mittagsessen um eins Uhr gestoppt, das wir oben in einem kleinen Zimmer aβen. Am
ersten Morgen ziegt Frau Wutke uns die Hauptbühne, und dann haben wir ein
Sicherheitgespräch über die Geräte und eine schnelle Einführung.
Before I went on the exchange I was expecting it to be fairly difficult to speak German
quickly and also understand the particular words associated with the work experience that I
would be taking part in. A previous exchange to Germany had already prepared me for large
amount of concentration that it would take for me to understand another language for a
week however there was still an initial shock when talking to fluent Germans and it took me
a day or two to get used to listening and understanding without needing to ask for the
question to be repeated. I think that I have greatly improved my German speaking skills,
which I was not so confident in before the exchange. Spending time in Germany really
helped me to think more in German so that I am now able to reply more readily instead of
translating my thoughts from English to German and taking much longer to answer a
question or reply to someone.
The project highlight for me was getting to see what went on behind the scenes of a
theatre, which was very interesting despite having already had some work experience in a
theatre in Britain and being involved with productions both in and outside of school. The
sheer size and amount of work that goes into creating scenery for each production really
surprised me and has also made me more aware of how difficult it is to create a production
from scratch as each piece of scenery and every prop must be made specifically for the
production.
I hope to stay in contact with my exchange partner through social media and messaging her
on a regular basis. I believe that it is important to have contact with people from other
cultures and countries because it is always useful to have a friend should you decide to
travel there again. It also improves your knowledge of the world and would further help to
improve my German language skills. Children should go on a trip abroad with their school
because this way they are able to gain some independence which they might not achieve on
a holiday abroad with their family. The children must think more for themselves and having
taken part in this exchange, I know that I will treasure these memories for the rest of my
life, especially the friends that I have made.
In order to make the most out of this exchange, the skills that I used the most were very
specific to the work experience placement. Because we were working in the scenery
department of a theatre, it was important that I was interested in art and had some painting
and drawing skills, however these did not need to be excellent because the aim of the
experience was to learn more about the type of jobs that are available in that industry. I felt
that it was also important to learn the words specific to the work experience, such as those
connected to painting and any painting equipment. If I had not learned these quickly, then I
would not have understood most of what was being said to me throughout the week.