Another year, another Deutschfest! I carpooled with Lorren to the classic OnCue in OKC and then we drove with Dr. Bangor to OSU campus. 

Deutschfest is an annual event hosted by the OU, OSU and UCO German departments which hosts high school German students from high schools around Oklahoma in a day long field trip. We provide lunch and opportunities for learning challenges and competitions. Students have the option to submit a piece of artwork or a baked good to be judged, or participate in music performance or poetry recitation competitions, which they prepare for ahead of time. The other challenges include vocabulary tests, listening comprehension, and grammar focused jeopardy. 

This year I was the host of the “Draw What You Hear” station, and it was honestly lucky that I am as proficient in German as I am, because the pre-recorded tracks we were meant to play were nowhere to be found, so I just read the passages aloud. The task was to listen to each passage read aloud 3 times, and color in a worksheet or draw the scene described. There were 4 different rounds which varied in difficulty. Students at the easiest level had to fill out a family tree, and at the hardest had to draw a complicated scene of a vacation on a beach. I had fun, graded the drawings to award prizes, and got to present the awards. 

During lunch we also were able to sample what was left of the baked goods, view the art, and chat with professors and high schoolers. They also had a scavenger hunt they could fill out to win a prize, which included asking volunteers from each school a fun fact about their university. As always, I had a lot of fun, and will be helping out again next year when it returns to UCO!