 | Die Studienfahrt nach London 2001 |
| London 2001 – or: Where were you when Kennedy was shot? Von Karl-Heinz Graas | People who were old enough then will never forget where they were. My own memory of that day is still awfully vivid. We were told of the assassination when we were leaving the gym in Bönen after a handball match. I was 13. 1 don’t remember if we had won or lost. Even in those days of black-and-white television the historic dimension of Kennedy’s death hit hard and instantly. Nor will I ever forget that it was in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral that I first learned about the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Against such a background, other impressions of our recent week in London must simply fade. But perhaps our little collection of reports can help to save some of our other common experiences from oblivion. And that is why I want to tell you something about a comparatively new sport that I discovered for myself in the early hours of Monday, September 10, 2001. For some reason, I had packed a pair of jogging shoes. The idea was to get some fresh air now and then, outside the tube and several yards away from the exhaust clouds of Cromwell Road and the like. In Glücksburg, a morning run has meanwhile turned into a standard offer which is rather frequently accepted. Well, Glücksburg is for kiddies But would the late teens of Year 13 even take notice of such a sado-masochistic suggestion? They did. You did. That is, four out of 22. Not bad, after all. Now what’s new aboutjogging? Listen, you eighteen abstainers, it’s in the fine print. Doing Kensington Gardens is just a piece of cake, very much like trotting along our beloved river at home. The real thrill comes with the people crowding the pavements of Kensington High Street even that early in the morning. There is a name to that new sport. I have christened it pedestrian dodging. It requires considerable skills in flexibility, coordination and the like. No risk, no fun. In the end, it was this practice that enabled Anja to lead her team to the meeting point on Thursday evening only 12 minutes behind schedule. Please, do not mention the word mobile phone in this context, Ffille. That first run lasted about half an hour, just like our second on Thursday. Remember, Michael? In between, I tried my feet at tackling the perimeter of Hyde Park. Not completely without success, I may add. That lap took as long as a complete soccer match. On my way, I met (or was overtaken by) runners of all shapes and sizes, ages and sexes. Both, in fact. Some were even carrying rucksacks, most, however, only CD-players and earphones. Which did not prevent them from the occasional companionable smile, by the way. This is how we met London on the run. I wish we could have run from that other experience. |
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Stand: 29.09.2001 | Aktuelles | Schulprogramm | Projekte | Beschäftigte | Arbeitsgemeinschaften | Ehemalige | Schüleraustausch | Freunde und Förderer | Kontakte | Wissenswertes | Chronik | Wegweiser |
