Last weekend, the Grade 10 German class had the opportunity to dive into German culture by attending Oktoberfest, one of Germany's most famous traditional celebrations. We bought our tickets the week before and left school at 1:30 PM, arriving at 2:00 PM at Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), where the festivities were held.
Since we arrived early, we got a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Oktoberfest's setup process. This added to our excitement as we prepared to experience German traditions firsthand. The event introduced us to various aspects of German culture, including traditional German and international food and beverages, and we were thrilled to hear live performances from “Die Kirchdorfer,” a brass band flown in directly from Munich.
We tasted authentic German treats like pretzels and döner kebabs, which gave us a delicious insight into Germany’s culinary heritage. Oktoberfest's food in Windhoek is much more international than in Germany, and we got to taste some other food from different countries.
We also learned some cool facts about Oktoberfest and German culture. The traditional clothing for men during Oktoberfest is Lederhosen and Dirndl for women. The special thing about the dirndl is the bow. If the bow is on the right, the wearer is married and if the bow is on the left, the wearer is single. Finally, if the bow is in the middle, the wearer does not want to show their relationship status. Another interesting fact about Oktoberfest is the beer, where people consume about 7.7 million liters of Bavarian beer in Munich/Germany.
Our class is incredibly grateful to the school for allowing this experience. We made videos and did interviews to enhance learning. We want to thank Mrs. Maggie & Mr Ethan for their support. A special thanks also goes to Frau Christina for accompanying us and making this immersive experience possible. Oktoberfest gave us a memorable way to live the language and culture authentically, enhancing our German studies in a way that only firsthand experience can.
Written by Leah Rooney, Gr 10
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