Students experience a different culture at Christkindlmarket

Students recently had an opportunity to experience a different culture and talk with native German and French speakers at Christkindlmarket in Chicago.

In this downtown market, the many shops represent cultures from all over Europe, including Germany and France. German teacher Amber Wozniak had the students complete a scavenger hunt where they had to “find different cultural items, speak to all of the vendors, try the food, and talk to people in German” in order to find some of the items on the list.

She added that the schedule for the trip was to visit the Christmas tree in Millennium Park, where the students had to sing a version of “O! Christmas Tree” in German and then walk down to the market for the scavenger hunt.

Lea Cejvan, ‘17, believed that, “The best part about the market was the food. Every year that I went, I’ve always gotten the potato pancakes with sour cream, Kinderglühwein, which is like a hot and spiced nonalcoholic wine, and Berliner which are filled donuts.”

The French students also went in the trip because the school D211 partners with for the French exchange is located in the city of Strasbourg. French teacher Vicki Chriske-Hines explained,”Strasbourg is the location of the oldest Christmas market in Europe,” called Christkindelsmärik, or the market of the infant Jesus, and is why Strasbourg is known as “Capital of Christmas.”

The market, at the Daley Center, is open from the day after Thanksgiving until Dec. 24. There are a variety of activities for families, students, and people wanting to stroll through the market. Because of the market’s growing popularity, it has opened a branch in Naperville this year.

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