Silke Hansen was a student at the German School Singapore (DSS) from 1972 to 1977 from Grade 1 to Grade 5. Here she tell us about her time at the DSS.
When we were children, my brother and I moved to Singapore with our parents in 1972. At that time, the German School did not yet exist, at least not officially. I spent my first day at school in a room with Miss Smith as my teacher. Since we could not pronounce the “th” sound yet, we always called her “Miss Miss”.
Later, we moved into a “Semi-D”, which housed the German kindergarten downstairs and the first classes upstairs. During the breaks, we enthusiastically played “Robbers and Gendarmes”, much to the chagrin of our Chinese neighbors. The number of students grew steadily, although of course families kept leaving Singapore. The teachers also changed and brought new teaching methods from Germany, which was not necessarily appreciated by us students.
My parents were very involved in the DSS (Deutsche Schule Singapur) parent community. My mother (Mrs. Niemann) and Pastor Hägele founded and led the Scouts. So we also met after school on the school grounds and had a lot of fun together. We also took a trip with the Scouts to Cameron Highlands, which I still have fond memories of.
I was at DSS from Grade 1 to Grade 5. After that I went to UWC SEA for two more years. Those school years were the best years of my entire school life.
When I visited GESS in 2015, I thought, “Oh, this is what it was like at UWC! There are even school uniforms here now!” When we moved back to Hamburg very suddenly in 1979, Singapore was an exotic country for most of my classmates, one that few had ever heard of. The first question was always “What do they speak there? Say something in Singaporean!” They were slightly disappointed when I then answered in English.
Carnival Celebrations 
Let’s Go Camping!
After a total of seven years in Singapore, I really missed the school uniforms. Now I first had to see what one was wearing in Hamburg and especially what one or even two sweaters felt like on the skin.
When I organised a “Reunion of DSS Students from 1972-1977” in Hamburg in 2008, there were 12 alumni. And the first question we asked each other was not about what we had made of ourselves after school, but “How did you fare when you came back to Germany?” Surprisingly, they all had very similar experiences to mine.
The best thing about my time in Singapore was the carefree childhood, the weather that was always warm so you do not have to bother with thick sweaters or long pants. Overall, in Singapore, our parents were not as busy and could also be more spontaneous, which was certainly also due to our parents’ and friends’ lifestyles. After all, most of them had an Ah Mah (used to refer to a domestic helper) who did the housework.
The wonderful scents everywhere and the friendly nature of the people, their diversity in peaceful coexistence are precious aspects that shaped my childhood.
The years in Singapore had a big impact on my entire life and still do to a certain extent. My horizons were greatly broadened and I learned about intercultural life at an early age.
This sparked my interest in the development and uniqueness of each person, which leads me to my profession. Today I am a social educator and systemic coach for lifeline balance. I deal a lot with people finding their identity, which is probably also a result of my own life story. I wish for all future GESS graduates, and of course also the current students, to see the experiences they get during their time in Singapore and the learning at GESS as an enrichment. For us “Third Culture Kids -TCK” it is not easy to integrate impressions and experiences that are part of our normal daily life in Singapore into our future lives outside of Singapore. But with a lot of attention and a keen heart it is possible and that offers us a great opportunity!
