Waldsee (camp)
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Waldsee, "Lake of the Woods," is a German language village, which has a permanent site located near Bemidji, Minnesota. German is one of 14 languages offered by Concordia Language Villages and is America's oldest and largest immersion program for German language and culture.
Waldsee is an immersion program in German language and culture. Founded in 1961 and located at a culturally authentic site on Turtle River Lake north of Bemidji, Minnesota, Waldsee offers one-, two- and four-week living and learning experiences in German language and culture for beginning through advanced 7- to 18-year-olds. In the summer sessions and during weekends throughout the academic year, over 1,550 young people come together from all 50 of the United States and many foreign countries to participate in Waldsee's unique immersion experience.
Waldsee is one of 14 Language Villages sponsored by Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota, a private, four-year liberal arts institution. Concordia Language Villages annually serves over 13,000 young people and is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. The educational philosophy behind Waldsee’s immersion learning experiences is summed up in the mission of the Concordia Language Villages: to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community.
The goal of Waldsee and each of the Language Villages is not to ask participants to trade their American ethnocentrism for a German one, but to use language and cultural immersion to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. This global perspective infuses all activities at Waldsee, and includes a variety of cross-cultural, political and social simulations and role-playing to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the role of Germany and the United States in the wider world.
The German Language Village has been cited as a model of innovative education by a wide variety of educators and organizations, including the American Association of Teachers of German and the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes. It has also been featured in such media as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Basler Zeitung, ZDF German Television, CBS American Television, The New York Times, Time, German Life, Oskar's and Deutschland magazines, and been the subject of award-winning journalistic essays and various doctoral dissertations.
Waldsee enjoys a continuing "sister city" relationship with the German town of Bad Waldsee, located in Baden-Württemberg. American high school participants can spend four weeks each summer with host families in Bad Waldsee, and receive the equivalent of one year's worth of high school German credit for their experience.
Horst Köhler, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the official patron (Schirmherr) of Waldsee, as was his predecessor, Roman Herzog. Many German Ambassadors and other dignitaries have visited Waldsee. World leaders have endorsed Concordia Language Villages, notably United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea attended Waldsee for six summers.
Waldsee also offers a wide range of European sports from Fussball (soccer) to Fechten (fencing). Of course, there is also traditional American "camp" activities like: Schwimmen und Kanufahren am Strand (swimming and canoeing at the beach). Waldsee also has a few giant Schach (chess) sets and a giant Mühle game.
Currently, programs are offered for:
Youth, 7-18
Families of all ages
School Groups (during the academic year)
Adults
High School Abroad
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[edit] Waldsee Trivia
Older "Betreuer" are often jokingly referred to as belonging to "Altsee"
[edit] Locations
[edit] Waldsee Bemidji
The Waldsee permanent site is located at near Bemidji, Minnesota on Turtle River Lake, along with 6 other CLV sites. Founded in 1961, this is the largest of the 14 language villages in terms of people. The site is styled after a typical German village and is centered around a Marktplatz, which is the center of most activity at Waldsee. The Bahnhof is a large building near the entrance of the village that houses class and administrative rooms. The Gasthof is another building that serves as a dining hall and houses most indoor activities. The first building on the campsite was "Haus Katja," which is a log cabin that was built by a group of villagers. The first professionally built building was the Schwarzwaldhaus, which can house 64 people in four units as well as several more in separate sleeping rooms on the first floor. A twin to the Schwarzwaldhaus is the Max Kade Haus, which was built a few years after the SWH and is very similar in design. There is an artists' colony, named Worpswede, which has about 6 small cabins and houses the arts and crafts activities. Two new medium-sized residences have been recently built. The Markel Haus (Oberammergau and Unterammergau) has room for 24 people in two units. The Robert Bosch Haus houses the healthcare center (Heilbronn) and another residence (Stuttgart). The newest building at Waldsee is the BioHaus, the first certified Passivhaus in North America. The BioHaus is an integrated environmental learning center and residence for up to 24 people plus a small apartment upstairs. There is also Café Einbeck, where villagers can sample candy, softdrinks, and other foods from Europe (it even has a Jukebox that plays German music). If you want to have a souvenir, you can stop the Waldsee Laden (store) and make purchases using real Euros.
In all, Waldsee can house up to 240 people (typically, there are about 170 students and 40-50 counselors).
[edit] Waldsee Vergas
Although the permanent site opened in 1982, Waldsee has also operated at leased sites since its founding in 1961. Waldsee has been located in Alexandria (MN), Vergas (MN), and Cass Lake (MN). Waldsee departed from Vergas in the summer of 2006 to make room for the newest addition to CLV, Al-Wāḥa, the Arabic language village.
[edit] Waldsee Abroad
Waldsee has gone abroad as well, traveling to Montana (not exactly abroad, but not in MN), Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
