Food was spread out on the table as people filed into the cafeteria. Those who arrived at the potluck earlier helped set up and prepare the atmosphere. Students brought in dishes as they walked in and the pots or pans were hurriedly set on the long table near the front. Just like every other school day, this area was one of high activity. Frau Cervi ran amidst the tables and chairs, making sure everything was perfect: sweets were on one table and the main courses on another. Teachers as well as students were present, and all were chatting with one another. Two distinct languages were heard: German and English, side by side. A reporter from the Journal Courier arrived early on to interview students and collect pictures.

With a quick introduction by the only German IV students this year, the visitors from Uelzen were released to eat first. After them came the German Club students and the teachers who attended. For a while, conversation died down amidst fruits, macaroni and cheese, and other foods, though the cafeteria, like usual, never dropped its volume below an excited hum. While everyone ate, German songs began to play over the loudspeakers.

Eventually, a signal is made by Frau to cut the cake (and partake in the other sweets on the cake table). A line soon manifested for cake, cookies, and s’more brownies, and more time is allotted to eat. However, that is not all of the celebration.

Another announcement was made to begin the scavenger hunt, and the teachers increased morale by offering candy as a prize. Every group needed a German student due to the directions having been written in German rather than English, and then everyone was off, sprinting down the darkened hallways that many American students knew well. The hunt covered the entire school from the music hallway to the math hallway. Some to the things the groups were to search for were awards, plaques, and paintings. The hunt was easy, that is, if one knew where things were and could run faster than the other groups. For a while all students ran in the shadows, but then someone decided to switch on the lights. Perhaps that made the scavenger hunt easier, but there was something exhilarating about being able to run amok in the darkness. The first team reported back to the cafeteria only a few minutes after they left; the winner was established. Of course, everyone ended up getting candy no matter what order they came in.  

After a few more minutes for socialization, the celebration suddenly came to an end. People gathered their dishes and containers, and everyone realized that the sun had gone down, too soon for most. As quickly as it began, the potluck is over, though it is doubtless that everyone enjoyed themselves, or at least, enjoyed the food.