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I Am a Swimmer Matthias from Germany Photo from Matthias I was standing on that block, shaking all over, afraid of losing my goggles, afraid of doing a false start, of everybody watching me. Every stroke I took I was thinking how crazy I was, everybody else two lanes in front of me...   One of the best experiences I had here was joining the swimming team. Although it was exhausting and extremely hard, I had the best time of my stay. The team was great and I did not expect to find such a good way into it—especially because I had no experience in swimming at all. My first meets were horrible. I was standing on that block, shaking all over, afraid of losing my goggles, afraid of doing a false start, of everybody watching me. Every stroke I took I was thinking how crazy I was, everybody else two lanes in front of me... But these feelings changed quickly. When I swam, everybody stood at the end of my lane, screaming and cheering for me. When I came out of the lane, they were there for me, put their hands on my shoulder. "Great job, Matt!" Although I finished all of my first races last, they inspired me every single time, and as time went by I grew more and more self-confident and now, as swimming is over, I feel that I accomplished something. I learned how to do a flip-turn, how to do freestyle, improved my 100 yard breaststroke by 50 seconds (!) and much more. And I even made it in the announcements, the daily news spoken over the speaker system in every class during second period. Photo: Matthias When I was named the whole hall seemed to cheer. It was so amazing loud, it was as if not one single person would stand still during these seconds. I could not believe it! And it became even better: One time I brought German music to the morning practice (we always practiced before and after school.). One track on that CD was 'die Leude' by 'Fünf Sterne Deluxe'. Well.... 'keen leuden' was the newest expression, used in every context possible and when we cheered before a meet started, we screamed our school name followed by 'keen leuden'! My senior night then was awesome. Senior night is the last home meet, where the seniors are honored and introduced to the crowd. When I was named the whole hall seemed to cheer. It was so amazing loud, it was as if not one single person would stand still during these seconds. I could not believe it! And finally on the banquet, when I hold a short speech, talking about my first meet, my approvals and thanking everybody. Everybody clapped their hands after I was done. And when I was back at my seat and turned around everybody had stood up and still was giving me a great applause! I had to stand back up and it was just great. The banquet was such a thing. Everybody got so-called gag gifts, a small thing to take home to make fun of him. Some got Britney Spears dolls or safety helmets. Well, I got a camera because often I took pictures when we had meets. I was on the newspaper and wrote for the yearbook and also I wanted to have lots of memories of my great swimming experience. But for David I became the German spy... \ Photo: Matthias Joining the swimming team was the best decision I made the whole stay! I found lots of new, good friends, kept busy and in shape and just had a great time. And I want to thank everybody for helping me. Photo: Matthias Everybody shaved his legs, arms and head !!! Yes, even the head. This is tradition. The school and team spirit was just awesome ! And we did some crazy stuff. One thing was the shaving down before the Western Big 6 meet. Everybody shaved his legs, arms and head !!! Yes, even the head. This is tradition. Everybody expects the swimmers to shave their head, and you get a strange look if you don't. But did I shave my head?—Yes, I did! And I don't regret it! This is just another thing that I would and could never do in Germany. And as a symbol of school spirit, freedom and craziness I did shave my head. Also, I am very proud of having gotten a note from Paul on the last day. Paul was the guy who swam in my lane and grew to be a good friend to me through the season. He wrote: Hello Matt, I had to leave kind of early from the banquet, so I thought I would write you a letter. I just wanted to tell you that it has been really fun hanging out with you at swim practice and outside of practice. I consider you a friend and I hope you really enjoyed the swim season. I just wanted to tell you it has been a lot of fun and you've been an inspiration to me. If it had not been for you, I probably would not have improved at my breaststroke so much. Thanks for all you have done for me, and the team. I hope we can continue to hang out and be good friends. Paul Barker. As I said, joining the swimming team was the best decision I made the whole stay! I found lots of new, good friends, kept busy and in shape and just had a great time. And I want to thank everybody for helping me. I want to thank Jimmy, who actually convinced me to join the team and inspired me every day. I want to thank Alex for showing me how to do a proper start, Harry for showing me how to turn, Brad for helping me with my breaststroke, and everybody for giving me such a great time on the team! I loved the way everybody cheered for each other and it was great to feel a part of the team! Return to: Part 1: Coming Together with My New Family | Part 2: My First Days at School Foreign Exchange Students | Experiences Learning English | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine ©1997-2008 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com