“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”
The snow is falling, there is a fire in the fireplace which warms the house, the family is sitting on the couch, drinking hot chocolate and decorating the Christmas tree. That’s Christmas for me. With minus 5 degrees and a real Christmas tree, that was chop off in the forest. But that must seem odd for most of the Australians. As odd as it is for me to celebrate Christmas with 36 degrees.
So, I guess, it’s not that big of a surprise that I almost forgot about Christmas. But no matter what I am used to, there is one big advantage of having Christmas in summer: The East Melbourne and German Language Centre was able to have a Christmas Party outside, in the Park, without someone freezing. Although of course in Melbourne you never know which weather to expect. Luckily the weather was way better than we thought it would be and we celebrated Christmas and the end of the year in Fitzroy Gardens with our teachers and students from the East Melbourne Language Centre.
Under the shining sun, we enjoyed a lot of food, specialities from all over the world and interesting conversation with our students, colleagues and their families. I was amazed by the range of different people who got together because they all learn a language at the East Melbourne and German Language centre. No matter if they learn German, Spanish or Mandarin, everyone was pleased to be there. We had beer and wine, our French teacher brought some homemade French specialities, our Arabic teacher made baklava, we had doughnuts, cupcakes, crackers, cheese, dips and much more, if that isn’t proof enough, that learning a new language is worth it, I don’t know what else to do.
I guess the one thing that unites us all at the East Melbourne and German Language Centre is the fact, that we are all interested in other languages, cultures, people and countries. There are different reasons to learn a language but every single one has some connection to the language that they learn. Maybe just a good VCE score, maybe family, maybe a holiday destination, maybe history… but whatever it might be it brings people together to learn a new language. We love Christmas, probably for a lot of different reasons but, I suppose, we can all agree that it is a time for giving. So, we were really thankful for all the giving. Not just only for the variety of food that was given at the Christmas Party but also for our teachers who work really hard to teach their language in the best way possible, who do not only teach grammar and spelling but also the culture and the lifestyle of the country.
And we are also very thankful for our students, who come to our centre and give their best to learn a new language. And this can definitely be a challenge sometimes. But no matter if the students learn German or learn Arabic or learn French or another language out off the many that we offer, it’s always amazing to see all these people coming together and having a good time.
For me personally, this is my first Christmas overseas and my first Christmas with 36 degrees, so it actually didn’t really feel like Christmas at all, but at our Party, surrounded by wonderful people and delicious food, it was at least a little bit like Christmas. Discovering all the different cultures and the different ways of celebrating Christmas was awesome and, what can I say, when the East Melbourne and German Language Centre celebrates something three things are for sure going to happen.
- There will be a lot of good food, from all over the world. So, in order to try specialties from different countries, you don’t necessarily have to go there. Just come to the East Melbourne and German Language Centre. ;D
- You will have a lot of fun. There are guaranteed nice people and you can have wonderful chats about probably everything.
- You will learn something new. Besides the food and the people, you won’t leave with at least learning one new word in another language, I guess that’s just what happens when so many people, speaking and learning different languages come together.
But even if you weren’t there, don’t worry the good thing about annual things is… well they happen every year. And until then the East Melbourne and German language centre Team wishes you…
Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnachten, Selamat natal, Buon Natale, 聖誕快樂, с Рождеством, Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, عيد ميلاد سعيد
… and a happy new year! We hope we see you again next year at the East Melbourne Language Centre.