A day on the other side. Visiting Mamer as a Kirchberg student – How is it?

I am sitting on the bus, feeling excited. It’s 8.40 and I’m going to the European School in Mamer. Through the window, I slowly start to see a brown building appearing in front of me. As soon as the bus arrives, I grab my bag and go towards two girls, Aimée and Maeve who are waiting for me. We introduce ourselves and walk to the school. The first lesson is sports. I’m quite nervous, as it will be with people I have never met, but at the same time, I enjoy meeting new people. We go to the gym, and I have already discovered a difference; you walk through the canteen in order to get into the main school building. I’m also surprised that the canteen and cafeteria are connected and are therefore open all day. Stepping into the building, we first see the swimming pool, it’s quite small but practical, as it is on the school property and this is also different from Kirchberg. Ever since middle of Primary, I’ve been swimming in Coque. We quickly get changed and go into the hall. I look around and see another difference; they’ve got a climbing wall. I feel jealous but try to hide it. We play volleyball during the entire double sports lesson and then there is suddenly a break. Another difference from Kirchberg, where the break is an hour later.

During the break, the girls show me their lockers and take me to their French classroom. The bell rings and the lesson begins, sadly, I don’t know any French, so I’m sitting at the back of the class doing some homework. 45 minutes later, I prepare myself for the next lesson, but get interrupted by my friend saying we have lunch. I start to think, “Lunch? At 11.30 AM?” I’m used to eating lunch at one o’clock, so I’m not hungry, but we head to the canteen. Whilst standing in the queue, I realize that people use their phones. I curiously ask if it’s allowed to use them during lunch, and Aimée says yes very confidently. Another difference that I quickly note down and once again, I feel jealous. I also notice that the food options are different from Kirchberg; they have no vegetarian option and they don’t have any “Street food” option. During lunch, I ask some questions to Maeve and Aimée.:

What do you like about Mamer?

Both reply quickly that it’s easy to access Mamer and the staff is helpful. They think it is easy to find the classrooms and that the courses are interesting. Last but not least, it’s great to have Belle Etoile close to the school, and I must agree, having Auchan near me is amazing.

What do you want to see in Mamer in the upcoming years that hasn’t been implemented yet?

They reply that they’d like to see more greenery around the school, and that there should be solar panels installed.

The next lesson is Latin. I laugh a bit to myself, thinking it will be interesting to participate in a Latin lesson in French. Two things that I’ve never had. I take notes about my day and suddenly the bell rings. The school bell in Mamer sounds like you’re at an airport,; very modern and completely different.

Next up is L3, German. Finally, a subject I have. I sit together with Maeve and I think about how the atmosphere is different from Kirchberg. I get the feeling that Mamer has more space around the school but is smaller inside.

One lesson later, it’s time to have two free periods. We study for a bit, and then me and Maeve decide to go out. When we walk, I notice similarities, such as the small library and the big music classrooms.

 The last lesson is chemistry. I must say I would prefer to be in this class, even if it is in French, as we’re actually in a lab. My class is too big to fit into our classroom, so we use a computer room. Despite the language barrier, follow the experiment and try to understand what’s going on.

Suddenly the bell rings it’s 16.30, I wonder if my watch is wrong, but Aimée explains that they end five minutes later than Kirchberg does. I pack my things, walk together with Maeve and Aimée towards the bus and thank them for a great day.

This day has shown me that even if both are European schools, there are many big differences: schedules, food, classes and much more. I’m happy to be a Kirchberg student but we could definitely learn things from Mamer!

Emma Vowles / S5SVA / EE Luxembourg 1