Greetings, everyone! It's a very exciting day because I have a new letter! You've probably
heard me talk about my dream of traveling to every country in the world. That'll come,
that'll come. But I think, for now, the best thing I can do is learn as much as I can about as many
different places as I can, so I've been writing letters to kids all around the world to find out
what life is like for families and kids, just like you, who live in different countries. And today is
super exciting because I have received yet another letter! I'm going to share it with you, and I'm
super excited! Let's get right into today's episode of... Let's Take a Journey: Germany!
Are you ready to learn about Germany today? I know I am! I'm super excited
to hear about it straight from a child who actually lives there. Okay, here we go.
Hi Justin, thank you for your letter. My name is Emilia. Hi, Emilia! Thank you for
your letter. I live in Germany. Ah, so Emilia lives in the country of Germany,
which is in Europe. Europe is a continent, much like how North America and Africa are continents.
There's lots of different countries within Europe, like Italy, Spain, France, and of course, Germany.
Germany is very beautiful. It has lots of green hills and countryside. It also has big,
snow-covered mountains called the Alps. There are lots of castles in Germany. Wow,
look at that! I wonder what it must be like to walk around in all that. I
can't even imagine what's inside it! Do you think it's got, like, hidden doors?
Okay, okay, back to Emilia's letter. My hometown is Göttingen. This is a picture
of a sign at our train station. This is a picture of the city.
There's a big university here. This is one of the university's many buildings.
Ah, of course, Göttingen University! Do any of you have schools or universities near where you live?
I think Emilia is probably too young for college though. I wonder how old she is.
I am seven years old and in the second grade. Ah, well,
there you go. Definitely going to be a little while before she starts going to college.
This is a picture of me on my first day of school last year. In Germany, we start school at 6 years
old. We also have kindergarten, but in Germany, that's actually the name for preschool. Weird,
huh? We begin school in the first grade. To celebrate this big step, parents give
their kids a big paper cone called a schultüte. It's filled with sweets and other fun things!
That's really interesting! I did not know that. I also didn't know that they started school in the
first grade. That's a bit later than what usually happens in the U.S. Let's see what else she has
to say about her school. I like my teacher! Her name is Frau Müller. Ah, okay, so "Frau" is the
German word for "Mrs." So instead of calling her teacher "Mrs. Müller," she says "Frau Müller."
There are 24 kids in my class. I have a best friend. Her name is Hannah. She likes to
play fussball. That's what you call soccer. Ah, we've seen this before, haven't we? Uh,
we call it "soccer." Other countries call it "football," or in this case, "fussball."
I like to go to Hannah's house. We play Himmel und Hölle on the sidewalk or in the park. That
is what you call "hopscotch." Ah, hopscotch! Have any of you played that game? I've tried. I'm not
very good at it... Anyway, let's see what else Emilia has to say about what she likes to do.
After school, I do my homework, and then I play video games. Ah, video games! Just
like kids in the U.S. When it's nice out, I ride my bike with my friends. My mom and dad
let me ride in our neighborhood. Hannah and I go to the corner store and buy candy with my
allowance. Sometimes I have to take Mia with me. I get an allowance for cleaning my room,
brushing our dog, and helping my mom around the house. Do you get an allowance?
I used to get an allowance when I was a kid. I had chores too. I took out the trash,
cleaned my room, stuff like that. Now as a grown-up, I still have to do all those things,
but... no one's paying me for them. My family lives in an apartment. It is small
but just big enough for the five of us. This is what I see out my window. Oh,
that's a really nice view! She gets to see all those bushes and trees from her apartment.
I have a dollhouse in my bedroom. I have to share my room with Mia, but we have fun playing
together. Do you know the band Deine Freunde? They're my favorite band. I have a poster of
them on my wall. "Deine Freunde" means "Your Friends." Huh, you know, I haven't heard of them,
but right after this, I'm going to look them up and listen to some of their music. Thank you,
Emilia, and thank you for teaching us how to say "Your Friends" in German.
My mom is a physical therapist. Dad works for the TÜV. it has something to do with
safety and technology or something like that. This is a photo of my mom and dad on holiday,
hiking with their friends. They like to go to the mountains. Ah,
it could be hard to describe someone's job, right? I know a physical therapist is a special kind
of doctor that helps with people after they've suffered an injury or gone under an operation.
Let's keep reading about Emilia's life! This is super interesting, don't you think?
I usually like school. My favorite subject is math. I help my younger sister, Mia, out
with her numbers, and my older brother, Manuel, helps me with my social studies. This is Manuel
riding his bike. Mia was a little too shy to take a picture, but I do have a photo of our two dogs!
Aren't they cute? Their names are Hans and Fritz. We start learning English in the first grade.
My brother Manuel is helping me write this letter. I hope my English is good! Emilia,
your English is great! I only know a few words in German. I know "Frau," which we talked about
earlier. That means "Mrs." And I know "nein," which is German for "no." Oh, and I also know
"Danke" means "Thank you." And we just learned that "Deine Freunde" means "Your Friends"!
Let's keep reading. My school teaches us a lot of lessons in art and music. I'm now learning to play
the piano. My brother Manuel plays the guitar. I like to sing too. Sometimes we play our music
together. Last year, on holiday, my family went to the Black Forest. It is very beautiful! In German,
it's called Der Schwarzwald. Oh, wow, that is beautiful! What a neat place to visit.
Do you know what this is? It's a cuckoo clock! This is the one we have on our kitchen wall.
There are plenty of shops that make and sell cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest.
Look at all these cuckoo clocks! My dad took this picture when we were on holiday there.
Cuckoo clocks! Ah, they're quite different from the digital clocks a lot of people have nowadays.
Every hour on the hour, a little wooden bird pops out and goes "Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" to announce
the time. They're so fun! My grandparents had one when I was younger. I would just
sit there and wait for that little bird to "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" I remember that!
Let's continue. My dad and brother like to watch fussball. Lots of people in Germany are big fans.
This is a picture of my cousin, who painted her face the colors of our flag: yellow, red,
and black. You know, I like to watch the German teams play fussball, or soccer. I'm a fan!
I also like to go swimming. It's a lot of fun when we all go outside to the public pool. Here, it's
called freibad. There we go, another German word: "freibad," which means outdoor swimming pool.
Oh, now we're going to start to hear about what Emilia eats over there. I wonder if food
in Germany is very similar or very different from the kinds of food that we eat here in the United
States. Let's find out! Do you like hot dogs? My favorite food is bratwurst. It's like a big hot
dog or a sausage. My dad buys them fresh from the local market and cooks them with sauerkraut and
potatoes. Yum! Oh, I do like hot dogs with sauerkraut and sausages and potatoes, ah!
Oh, my tummy's rumbling now. Oh, you're making me hungry, Emilia.
We also like to eat schweinebraten, which is a pork roast, and sauerbraten. It's a kind of
sour-tasting roast, but it's so good! My mom cooks it with gravy, red cabbages, and potato dumplings.
We always get fresh bread at the bakery. We get pretzels too as a special treat, and they're still
warm! Wow, all this food looks so good! And fresh pretzels, right out of the oven? Oh, delicious!
So I hope you learned a lot about what my life is like here in Germany. Will you please write
me back? I'd love to learn about what your life is like in America! Your friend, Emilia. What
a nice letter! I learned so much about what life is like for Emilia and her family in her country.
What do you think about Emilia's life is different from your own life?
Can you think of some things that are pretty much the same?
So that about wraps up today's journey to Germany. Ready to stamp our passport?
So, my friends, I will see you all again soon. But in the meantime, remember to always be clever!