2nd place for Cameroon at the International German Olympiad from July 15 - 28, 2018 in Freiburg, Germany
Congratulations, Eya'a Souga!
For the first time in the history of the International German Olympiad, a participant from Cameroon or Africa-Sub-Saharan has won second place in the A2 category!
And despite the fact that Eya'a Souga, a pupil from the scientific branch of the Government school Mefou near Yaoundé, only learned German for two years during his school career. But this was years ago at a PASCH school in West Cameroon, where his passion for the German language began alongside his penchant for computer science.
"That is really a mad success judges the accompanying teacher, Mrs. Meyo, in view of the fact that many participants from other world regions learn under much better conditions and to them the examination format is much more familiar.
"I wanted to win," says Eya'a Souga after his return, "but when I arrived in Freiburg and saw what was expected of us, I put myself under a lot of pressure and was very nervous. He smiles shyly and adds quietly: "But at least I made it to second place".
The program of the Olympics, in which 140 students from 73 countries took part, was hard Tobago for the two participants from Cameroon. Creating wall newspapers in a short time, presenting a topic independently and working on picture stories in a group are tasks they are not used to from the Cameroonian school system and which are difficult to organise in classes of up to 120 pupils with little material and aids.
On Eya'a Souga and Dountio, the second participant from Cameroon who goes to school at Lycée de Mendong in Yaoundé, the stay in Germany and the experiences at the IDO left a lasting impression. Dountio is very excited when he talks about Freiburg: "The first time out of Cameroon, my first flight, so many bicycles in Freiburg, meeting young people from all over the world, the Europapark, pedalo riding on Lake Titi, the concerts - everything, everything was great". The accompanying teacher nods and asks: "And was there nothing that you didn't like? - No, nothing," answers Dountio like a shot from the gun. - Yes," Eya'a Souga says decidedly, "the food. "Well, I liked it," Dountio happily replies, hesitates briefly - the accompanying teacher is standing next door - and then chats with a mischievous smile from the sewing box: "I also liked the German beer - I absolutely had to try it, of course not in the youth hostel, but outside. "And", Dountio gets enthusiastic, "how did I enjoy freedom? Going out without supervision, meeting with God and the world, strolling in the city". - Words that make the accompanying teacher, Mrs. Meyo, a little nervous and make her say apologetically: "We were separated", whereupon her two students begin to grin broadly.
Both students have made many friends all over the world and Mrs. Meyo also raves about the program for the accompanying teachers and the opportunity to meet so many colleagues from all over the world.
When the language comes on the country evening, all three burst out laughing. "We couldn't even talk about it," Mrs. Meyo snorts. "Yes", Dountio agrees with her, "everything went à la camerounais: completely different than planned". Eya'a Souga nods in agreement at first, but begins to snort outraged when he remembers that the accompanying teacher had suggested performing a traditional dance. "It's like being in a box of clothes a hundred years ago," Eya'a Souga explains, "such a crazy idea - people must think that we're pretty retarded! So he put on music from "Tenor", a hip Cameroonian rap star. And Dountio, who couldn't remember the agreed programme item on stage, took advantage of the opportunity and started rapping with the words: "We like to dance in Cameroon". - The evening was really was in a cheering and dancing atmosphere, and our three protagonist agreed on it, just like the whole stay.
For the first time in the history of the International German Olympiad, a participant from Cameroon or Africa-Sub-Saharan has won second place in the A2 category!
And despite the fact that Eya'a Souga, a pupil from the scientific branch of the Government school Mefou near Yaoundé, only learned German for two years during his school career. But this was years ago at a PASCH school in West Cameroon, where his passion for the German language began alongside his penchant for computer science.
"That is really a mad success judges the accompanying teacher, Mrs. Meyo, in view of the fact that many participants from other world regions learn under much better conditions and to them the examination format is much more familiar.
"I wanted to win," says Eya'a Souga after his return, "but when I arrived in Freiburg and saw what was expected of us, I put myself under a lot of pressure and was very nervous. He smiles shyly and adds quietly: "But at least I made it to second place".
The program of the Olympics, in which 140 students from 73 countries took part, was hard Tobago for the two participants from Cameroon. Creating wall newspapers in a short time, presenting a topic independently and working on picture stories in a group are tasks they are not used to from the Cameroonian school system and which are difficult to organise in classes of up to 120 pupils with little material and aids.
On Eya'a Souga and Dountio, the second participant from Cameroon who goes to school at Lycée de Mendong in Yaoundé, the stay in Germany and the experiences at the IDO left a lasting impression. Dountio is very excited when he talks about Freiburg: "The first time out of Cameroon, my first flight, so many bicycles in Freiburg, meeting young people from all over the world, the Europapark, pedalo riding on Lake Titi, the concerts - everything, everything was great". The accompanying teacher nods and asks: "And was there nothing that you didn't like? - No, nothing," answers Dountio like a shot from the gun. - Yes," Eya'a Souga says decidedly, "the food. "Well, I liked it," Dountio happily replies, hesitates briefly - the accompanying teacher is standing next door - and then chats with a mischievous smile from the sewing box: "I also liked the German beer - I absolutely had to try it, of course not in the youth hostel, but outside. "And", Dountio gets enthusiastic, "how did I enjoy freedom? Going out without supervision, meeting with God and the world, strolling in the city". - Words that make the accompanying teacher, Mrs. Meyo, a little nervous and make her say apologetically: "We were separated", whereupon her two students begin to grin broadly.
Both students have made many friends all over the world and Mrs. Meyo also raves about the program for the accompanying teachers and the opportunity to meet so many colleagues from all over the world.
When the language comes on the country evening, all three burst out laughing. "We couldn't even talk about it," Mrs. Meyo snorts. "Yes", Dountio agrees with her, "everything went à la camerounais: completely different than planned". Eya'a Souga nods in agreement at first, but begins to snort outraged when he remembers that the accompanying teacher had suggested performing a traditional dance. "It's like being in a box of clothes a hundred years ago," Eya'a Souga explains, "such a crazy idea - people must think that we're pretty retarded! So he put on music from "Tenor", a hip Cameroonian rap star. And Dountio, who couldn't remember the agreed programme item on stage, took advantage of the opportunity and started rapping with the words: "We like to dance in Cameroon". - The evening was really was in a cheering and dancing atmosphere, and our three protagonist agreed on it, just like the whole stay.
