Today marks 3 months since I left the USA! I haven't been as active on this blog as I thought I'd be, but things have been going really well.
Some highlights from the past month:
-I had a YFU meeting and got to meet other exchange students nearby (including another girl from Michigan!)
-I finally ate Spaghetti Eis
-My best friend Doris came down to visit, and I went to her house over fall break ❤
-I went to the Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg with Doris
-The Big Band club had a concert last Friday
School is pretty decent - in the end, it's still school - and classes are getting easier. I'm finally understanding more than just English class, and actually making some friends! Besides English, I think my favorite class is Social Studies - a class I hated in America. I'm not particularly crazy about learning about the Government, but I have a really nice teacher, and she makes everything easy to understand. My least favorite is definitely German. I can't really participate, because our topic right now is "Agnes" by Peter Stamm, and I don't know enough German to read it. My teacher gave me a easier book to read though, and it's pretty nice to be able to read in German!
My favorite part about school is the clubs. I'm in the Big Band club, the Astronomy club, the Ultimate Frisbee club, and the English Literature club. Big Band is a lot of fun, and it's just like band class at home, except only once a week. We had a concert a few days ago, and it went great! English Literature is my favorite, and my English teacher is in charge. She's definitely one of the best teachers I've ever had! We watched the movie for "Jane Eyre", and now we're reading "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde. Most people in the club are really interested in the USA, and it's really great to have the chance to talk about my country!
German is getting a lot easier, and I'm amazed at my progress. It's slowly making its way into my thoughts and dreams, and (most of) my classmates have finally stopped trying to speak English with me. Before I left, I didn't even want to do my speaking assignments for my German class (which was online - nobody but my teacher would hear me!), and in my orientation I was basically dead the whole week. Speaking a foreign language all day was really draining, I had no confidence in myself, and everybody had to say something multiple times before I could understand it. I never wanted to say anything, because I knew I would say it wrong.
Then one day, I just stopped caring about if it was right or wrong. I think that's one of the most important things I've learned here. It's not that I don't want to be right, but speaking more freely has really built up my confidence. There's been so many times where I thought I couldn't say something, only to find out I knew how all along. It's okay that I speak slowly, it's okay that I pronounce things wrong, that there's so many words I don't know, that I have an accent, that I can't understand everything all the time. Learning the language is part of why I'm here in the first place, and that takes time!
This Friday I'm celebrating Thanksgiving with my family (accidentally a week early), and on Saturday I'm going to see the Magic Flute with my music class. In December I have a weekend meeting with YFU, and we're going to the Heidelberg Christmas market!! 3 months went by so quickly, and sometimes it feels like it should still be September. I'm really looking forward to what the next 7 1/2 months have in store!
Tschüß!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Deutsche Schule
This post is loooong overdue. Since school started I've been super busy, and I've had a lot of work to do (I don't even get grades and I still do it - what a Streber!). I figured in this post I'd talk about some of the I've noticed differences between German and American school! Of course, I can only speak for my experiences; every school is a little bit different, and I've heard in Germany it varies between the states. I'm in the 11th grade here.
German school is harder:
I expected this one. I'm sure the language barrier makes a huge difference (I really don't understand anything in German class), but we do a lot of stuff that would be difficult in English too. In my first Social Studies class, we got an assignment that was worth 1/3 of our grade, and our current topic in math (derivatives) was never even taught at my school in America. Participation in class also counts toward your final grade.
Schedules vary every day:
In America, we have the same classes at the same time, Monday through Friday. Here your schedule changes every day, and just because you have English at 10 on Tuesday doesn't mean you'll have it at 10 on Friday. If your first class isn't till later in the day, you simply don't have to come till then. Classes here are often two periods long, with a five minute break in between. At my school, we have a ten minute break after the second period, a twenty minute one after the fourth, and ten minutes after the ninth.
So on Mondays I have two hours of German, two hours of math, and two hours of music, and then I can go home. I no longer have chemistry, because I never took it in America and it would be way too hard. Tuesdays I have two hours of geography, two of Social Studies, and two of music. Wednesdays are one hour of German, one of English, and two of math. On Thursdays I have two hours of English, two of gym, and two of ethics. I have two hours of history, one of English, one of German, and two of physics on Fridays.
Hours per week vs. credits:
Most schools in the USA require you to have a certain number of credits to graduate, e.g., four credits of English, three of math, etc. It doesn't really matter what order you take the classes in, as long as you complete everything you need. Here in Germany, students are required to have a certain number of hours of class per week. At my school it's 32 (I actually only have 28), and you can have up to 36. You have German, English, and math for four hours per week, and then pick two more for four hours per week. Students usually take these subjects for their Abitur (graduation exam). Then you pick the rest of your classes for two hours per week.
Nobody cares if you leave during the day:
If you don't have class or it's the lunch break, you can literally just leave. There's no papers to sign, you don't have to tell anyone where you're going - nobody cares as long as you're back for class. If you have enough time, you can even go home for a while! People often leave and go to the bakery in town for lunch, because apparently the school food sucks.
No teacher = no class:
Germany just doesn't do substitutes. If the teacher isn't there for some reason, you don't have class. You can really do whatever you want in the time till your next class.
Clubs are during the school day:
School clubs here are called AGs, and I have no idea what that stands for. They always meet during the school day, which means if you want to be in a certain club, you can't join if it meets when you have class. Most meet during lunch though, when nobody has class, but that might also be your only time to eat.
School is longer:
My school starts at 7:30 am, meaning class actually starts then, so you need to be there earlier. Each period is 45 minutes long, and there are 11 periods, including the lunch break. That means school ends at 5:15pm. That's almost 11 hours of school!! My host sister has class from first period till the last period on Thursdays, which means she has to leave at 7am and doesn't get home till almost 5:45.
No lockers:
That's kind of a lie. Lockers do exist at school, but they're very small and you have to pay for them. Most people just carry all their stuff for to each class.
Basic classes are with the same people, in the same room:
At my school here we all have a "Tutor". It doesn't mean someone who helps you with your homework; I guess they'd be the equivalent of a homeroom teacher back in the States, but there's no homeroom here. There's 22 other people who have the same Tutor as me, and I have English, German, and math with those students. Those classes are also in the same classroom, which brings me to my next point:
Teachers and students change rooms:
In the USA, teachers have their own classroom and the students move around throughout the day. Here, a classroom is just a room, and the teachers move during the day too. For me, math, English, and German are in room 259, history and politics are in room 293, and social studies and ethics are in room 234. Of course, classes like physics, chemistry, and music have special rooms. Sometimes a note will be posted saying class is in a different room that day, for no apparent reason.
People knock on the desk instead of clapping:
In my second week of school a girl gave a presentation in Social Studies, and when she was finished everybody started knocking on the desk while I started clapping. Why do they do this??? Apparently nobody knows. It's just a German thing, I guess.
There's definitely more I could talk about, but I don't want to write a novel. Everything has been going great, and I think I even have some friends now! The teachers at school are hard to understand, but hopefully that will change as my German improves.
Bis später!
German school is harder:
I expected this one. I'm sure the language barrier makes a huge difference (I really don't understand anything in German class), but we do a lot of stuff that would be difficult in English too. In my first Social Studies class, we got an assignment that was worth 1/3 of our grade, and our current topic in math (derivatives) was never even taught at my school in America. Participation in class also counts toward your final grade.
Schedules vary every day:
In America, we have the same classes at the same time, Monday through Friday. Here your schedule changes every day, and just because you have English at 10 on Tuesday doesn't mean you'll have it at 10 on Friday. If your first class isn't till later in the day, you simply don't have to come till then. Classes here are often two periods long, with a five minute break in between. At my school, we have a ten minute break after the second period, a twenty minute one after the fourth, and ten minutes after the ninth.
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| My schedule |
Hours per week vs. credits:
Most schools in the USA require you to have a certain number of credits to graduate, e.g., four credits of English, three of math, etc. It doesn't really matter what order you take the classes in, as long as you complete everything you need. Here in Germany, students are required to have a certain number of hours of class per week. At my school it's 32 (I actually only have 28), and you can have up to 36. You have German, English, and math for four hours per week, and then pick two more for four hours per week. Students usually take these subjects for their Abitur (graduation exam). Then you pick the rest of your classes for two hours per week.
Nobody cares if you leave during the day:
If you don't have class or it's the lunch break, you can literally just leave. There's no papers to sign, you don't have to tell anyone where you're going - nobody cares as long as you're back for class. If you have enough time, you can even go home for a while! People often leave and go to the bakery in town for lunch, because apparently the school food sucks.
No teacher = no class:
Germany just doesn't do substitutes. If the teacher isn't there for some reason, you don't have class. You can really do whatever you want in the time till your next class.
Clubs are during the school day:
School clubs here are called AGs, and I have no idea what that stands for. They always meet during the school day, which means if you want to be in a certain club, you can't join if it meets when you have class. Most meet during lunch though, when nobody has class, but that might also be your only time to eat.
School is longer:
My school starts at 7:30 am, meaning class actually starts then, so you need to be there earlier. Each period is 45 minutes long, and there are 11 periods, including the lunch break. That means school ends at 5:15pm. That's almost 11 hours of school!! My host sister has class from first period till the last period on Thursdays, which means she has to leave at 7am and doesn't get home till almost 5:45.
No lockers:
That's kind of a lie. Lockers do exist at school, but they're very small and you have to pay for them. Most people just carry all their stuff for to each class.
Basic classes are with the same people, in the same room:
At my school here we all have a "Tutor". It doesn't mean someone who helps you with your homework; I guess they'd be the equivalent of a homeroom teacher back in the States, but there's no homeroom here. There's 22 other people who have the same Tutor as me, and I have English, German, and math with those students. Those classes are also in the same classroom, which brings me to my next point:
Teachers and students change rooms:
In the USA, teachers have their own classroom and the students move around throughout the day. Here, a classroom is just a room, and the teachers move during the day too. For me, math, English, and German are in room 259, history and politics are in room 293, and social studies and ethics are in room 234. Of course, classes like physics, chemistry, and music have special rooms. Sometimes a note will be posted saying class is in a different room that day, for no apparent reason.
People knock on the desk instead of clapping:
In my second week of school a girl gave a presentation in Social Studies, and when she was finished everybody started knocking on the desk while I started clapping. Why do they do this??? Apparently nobody knows. It's just a German thing, I guess.
There's definitely more I could talk about, but I don't want to write a novel. Everything has been going great, and I think I even have some friends now! The teachers at school are hard to understand, but hopefully that will change as my German improves.
Bis später!
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Sommerferien ist Vorbei
This was the last week of summer vacation for Baden-Württemburg. My state is one of the last to start school; states in the north started in the first days of September! I'm pretty sure Bayern starts school tomorrow too.
On Tuesday we woke up early and went to Ludwigsburg to see the Schloss. Clara and I walked around the garden in the front for a while, and we thought there wasn't anything else to see. But when we were walking towards the exit, we saw a map of the Schloss and apparently there was a giant garden in the back! They had a "Fliegen" pumpkin exhibit, and had a bunch of things related to flying made out of pumpkins, like space ships and planes. There was also a Märchengarten, which was for kids. It had little houses that played recorded fairytales, like Snow White and Cinderella. It was really cute!
Wednesday was pretty uninteresting, but on Thursday Clara and I went to work with Susanne! She teaches German as a foreign language (which is what I want to do with English!!) at a school nearby. Since school hadn't started yet, we just helped her set up the classroom. Later Clara and I took the train home, and we rode our bikes to the next town over. There's a church on the top of a ginormous hill, and we climbed all the way to the top of it. It took ages, but the view from the top was beautiful, and you could see really far away! After dinner that night we watched Howl's Moving Castle, thankfully with German subtitles. It was a really cute movie, and I understood a lot! Ghibli movies usually aren't too complicated, and the subtitles really helped.
On Friday we all went to Karlsruhe and Clara and Andreas played street music. Clara plays the harp, and Andreas plays the flute. They were pretty good, and made almost 30 Euros! After dinner Clara and I went back to Karlsruhe to meet one of her friends, Anna-Lena, at a bar. We didn't order any alcohol; just some fruit drink. Anna-Lena is really nice, and she likes k-pop too :) Later we went to the movies and saw Hitman: Agent 47. It was really weird, and Clara said it was terrible. It was dubbed in German so they had to talk pretty fast, and I didn't really understand anything at all. I couldn't tell who was the bad guy and who was the good guy the entire time, and people kept dying! It probably wouldn't've made much more sense in English. One weird thing was that popcorn here is sweet, not salty. Clara and Anna-Lena said pretty much nobody in Germany likes salty popcorn. It tasted good, but I wasn't expecting it!
We cleaned the whole house on Saturday after breakfast, and then Clara and I went to school to see if the class lists were posted. I'm in class 11a, and there's 93 people in my grade! It's not an outrageous number, but still a lot more than Centreville. I'm actually kind of excited for school; I miss having friends!! I like Clara's friends, but hanging out with them makes me miss mine back home.
Today was the last day of vacation, and we went to Bruchsal for the Heimatstage parade! Every Landkreis (kind of like a county) was represented, and almost every single one had a marching band and a group in traditional clothing. It was a lot of fun, and really interesting to see all the different places from Baden-Württemburg! Each Landkreis was similar, but different at the same time. There was an Asparagus Queen, real lederhosen, a float handing out fresh apple juice, and even a float giving out some kind of alcohol. I'm still moving the pictures from my phone to my computer (I took almost 300...), so those will be added later.
School starts at 8am tomorrow, and judo starts tomorrow too!
On Tuesday we woke up early and went to Ludwigsburg to see the Schloss. Clara and I walked around the garden in the front for a while, and we thought there wasn't anything else to see. But when we were walking towards the exit, we saw a map of the Schloss and apparently there was a giant garden in the back! They had a "Fliegen" pumpkin exhibit, and had a bunch of things related to flying made out of pumpkins, like space ships and planes. There was also a Märchengarten, which was for kids. It had little houses that played recorded fairytales, like Snow White and Cinderella. It was really cute!
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| Ludwigsburg Schloss |
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| The back (maybe it was the front?) of the Schloss |
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| The view from the church |
We cleaned the whole house on Saturday after breakfast, and then Clara and I went to school to see if the class lists were posted. I'm in class 11a, and there's 93 people in my grade! It's not an outrageous number, but still a lot more than Centreville. I'm actually kind of excited for school; I miss having friends!! I like Clara's friends, but hanging out with them makes me miss mine back home.
Today was the last day of vacation, and we went to Bruchsal for the Heimatstage parade! Every Landkreis (kind of like a county) was represented, and almost every single one had a marching band and a group in traditional clothing. It was a lot of fun, and really interesting to see all the different places from Baden-Württemburg! Each Landkreis was similar, but different at the same time. There was an Asparagus Queen, real lederhosen, a float handing out fresh apple juice, and even a float giving out some kind of alcohol. I'm still moving the pictures from my phone to my computer (I took almost 300...), so those will be added later.
School starts at 8am tomorrow, and judo starts tomorrow too!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Gastfamilie
So now I've been in Germany for about 3 weeks, and a lot has happened. In my last week with Kristina's family, I went hiking in the Black Forest, went shopping in Lahr, went to Freiburg and saw a really old church, went swimming a lot, learned a lot of games, rode their horse, ate a lot of Döner, and did some kind of sport thing with Kristina, Diego, and Ragna.
The church in Freiburg was really beautiful, and you could go all the way up into the bell tower and a viewing platform. You could see the entire city!! It was really hard to get a nice picture though, since there were wire gates on all the windows. The stairs to the top were really small, and there was like 170 of them. I was scared I was going to fall the entire time, but luckily I didn't. I really wish I would've gotten a good picture, though.
I'm not really sure what the sport thing I did was called (they told me like 3 times and I still forgot), but I had to swim 25m, 800m, do a standing long jump, and a running long jump. Since I used to be on a swim team I though 800m wouldn't be a big deal, but I quit the team like 5 years ago... I was basically dead after 100m. I finished it in 20 minutes though! Not bad for how long it's been since I swam like that. I couldn't jump far enough for the standing long jump, so I had to jump rope 20 times instead. I think I at least got the bronze medal, but I honestly have no idea when I'm getting that information.
On my last day at Kristina's I went hiking with Christof, Julius, Jeanette (Julius' girlfriend), and Maria in the Black Forest (at least I think so). It was soooo hot; I pretty much died. It was really worth it though, because the view at the top of the mountain was beautiful. Christof tried to teach me the names of some trees, but I kept forgetting five minutes after he told me. After dinner he took me riding in the forest!! It was really fun, and the forest around Friesenheim is really beautiful. After dinner Ragna came home from work, and they gave me a present!! A travel Wizard game and a bag of Haribo candy :) I also got lots and lots of books, mostly kids books (because I can't understand much else).
The church in Freiburg was really beautiful, and you could go all the way up into the bell tower and a viewing platform. You could see the entire city!! It was really hard to get a nice picture though, since there were wire gates on all the windows. The stairs to the top were really small, and there was like 170 of them. I was scared I was going to fall the entire time, but luckily I didn't. I really wish I would've gotten a good picture, though.
I'm not really sure what the sport thing I did was called (they told me like 3 times and I still forgot), but I had to swim 25m, 800m, do a standing long jump, and a running long jump. Since I used to be on a swim team I though 800m wouldn't be a big deal, but I quit the team like 5 years ago... I was basically dead after 100m. I finished it in 20 minutes though! Not bad for how long it's been since I swam like that. I couldn't jump far enough for the standing long jump, so I had to jump rope 20 times instead. I think I at least got the bronze medal, but I honestly have no idea when I'm getting that information.
On my last day at Kristina's I went hiking with Christof, Julius, Jeanette (Julius' girlfriend), and Maria in the Black Forest (at least I think so). It was soooo hot; I pretty much died. It was really worth it though, because the view at the top of the mountain was beautiful. Christof tried to teach me the names of some trees, but I kept forgetting five minutes after he told me. After dinner he took me riding in the forest!! It was really fun, and the forest around Friesenheim is really beautiful. After dinner Ragna came home from work, and they gave me a present!! A travel Wizard game and a bag of Haribo candy :) I also got lots and lots of books, mostly kids books (because I can't understand much else).
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| The view from the Black Forest (the mountains in the back are in France!!) |
On Monday my permanent family came to pick me up!! I was super nervous, and meeting them was kind of awkward. We all had lunch together, and then we left for home. Clara and I went swimming after I unpacked, and after dinner we went with Susanne and one of Clara's friends to get ice cream and walked around Weingarten a little bit. They said it's small, but it's still a lot bigger than Centreville! I really like the city, and I think living here is going to be great :)
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| The front door when I got home - it says "Herzlich Willkommen" ♥ |
Then on Tuesday I biked to Stutensee with Clara, and she showed me the school. We couldn't go in though, because they were doing construction. After we got back, some of Clara's friends came over. They're a little bit weird, but still really nice. One of them brought some really good cupcakes! I also met Magda, my other host sister. On Wednesday we went to Karlsruhe with them to see the Schloss and go shopping. I actually bought a shirt - but I can't really wear it now because it's getting colder :( Thursday morning I went to Karlsruhe again with Susanne to get registered at the immigration office. I really didn't understand anything they said to me, but I guess it all worked out. Then Clara and I went swimming in the lake again, and we talked a lot. In the evening we watched Sherlock, dubbed in German. It was super weird to see their mouths speaking English, but hear German. I could understand a little of it, since I've seen it before, but it'd be better if there were subtitles. They just talk too fast!
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| Karlsruhe Schloss |
Friday morning morning I made ~American breakfast~, but it didn't really turn out like normal. I made biscuits and pancakes, but the biscuits needed to cook longer and the pancakes were too sweet. They don't have liquid vanilla here - only vanilla sugar (as far as I know). It was still good, but I think I need different recipes. Then Clara and I went to Bruchsal to see the Schloss! We took the train there, but took our bikes with us. We rode around the city a little bit, got ice cream, and went to the library. They have a couple shelves of English books, but none of them were very interesting. Then we rode back to Weingarten. I think it was 12km, which is about 7.5 miles. In the evening we went to Karlsruhe again for a light show on the Schloss for the city's 300th anniversary. It was really cool, and I met Johannes, my host brother, and his fiancee (whose name I forgot).
On Saturday we had breakfast, and then went to Biberach to visit my host grandparents. They all live in the same town - even on the same street! We had lunch with Susanne's dad and her brother, had dinner with Andreas' parents, and then took a walk with everybody. I talked a lot with Clara, mostly complaining about German. We spent the night at Susanne's dad's, and then went to visit her other brother after breakfast. He lives on a farm, and has some really adorable kittens! We went back to Susanne's dad's for lunch, and then went back home. When we were saying goodbye, I thought it was really weird that everybody shook hands instead of hugging. Don't people normally hug their family? I guess it's just a German thing. When we got home I skyped with my family before dinner, and then we all watched Tatort afterwards. I watched it at Kristina's too, but I didn't understand any more than before. It's a crime show, and it's super dramatic. Like 7 people died in the last episode.
Today I went to Stuttgart with Clara! We visited Andreas at work and helped him organize his office (I think maybe he moved?), and then he bought us Döner for lunch :) I still don't know what he does exactly, but it sounds important. Clara and I walked around the city for a while, and saw two (!!!) castles, and I bought some birthday presents for my mom.
Everything has been going really well so far. German is getting a lot easier, and I'm getting more comfortable with speaking. Before I left even asking for water made me nervous, but I can actually have real conversations now. I haven't really been homesick; I think I miss my cat more than my family...maybe that's bad. I miss Kristina's family, but I really like Clara, Susanne, and Andreas. School starts one week from now. I'm really excited because I want to make some friends, but I'm also a little nervous. I have Chemistry class, but I never took it in America... I'm not getting any grades anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.
Some of the things I think are different from the US:
- The post office sells food??????
- The light switches aren't switches, but box things instead
- Nobody has boxes of kleenex; they use the little travel packs
- The toilet flusher isn't on the toilet; it's a box thing on the wall
- Lunch is the big meal instead of dinner
- Apparently you can't get liquid vanilla
- There are cigarette vending machines everywhere - so many people smoke here!
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Ich bin in Deutschland (und Frankreich)!
After a long flight, I finally made it to Germany Sunday morning! I was on the plane with twelve other CBYX students, and we all flew together. My luggage weighed 22.8 kilograms, and the maximum is 23; I was so close! But in security, I dropped my computer, and now the screen is totally broken. So I'll either have to buy a new one here, or get it fixed sometime. Otherwise, everything went great. I sat next to a Swedish couple during the flight, and they were really nice. I didn't sleep at all though, and I think I was awake for like 34 hours.
We had another flight to Hamburg, and then went to our orientation at the Jugendherberge in Lauenburg. I shared a room with another girl from America, a girl from Turkey, and a girl from France. There were 34 students from Mexico, Turkey, Venezuela, Ecuador, France, Russia, China, and the USA, and 10 "Teamers". Teamers were people who were in charge of the orientation, and had all been on exchange with YFU. We had small groups with three or four students and a Teamer. My Teamer was named Thomas, and he went to Nebraska for his exchange. Max (USA), Serra (Turkey), and Viktor (France) were in my group. Serra and the other Turks were really great, and I got pretty close with them. Serra even lives near me, so hopefully we'll be able to hang out sometime this year! During the orientation we talked about important things like communication, school, etc. We had free time from 4pm to 6pm, and could go into the city. It rained almost everyday, but it was still a lot of fun. We ate Italian ice cream, Döner, found an internet cafe, and walked along the Elbe river. It was so beautiful!! The Elbe is in the Altstadt, which is the old part of town. All the buildings were so old, and the streets were cobblestone. I walked in the Altstadt for a long time with Jack (USA) and Meric (Turkey).
On the last day of orientation we had a Buntesabend; a party for the Teamers. We all decided to have a kind of expo, and show something about our country. Most of us showed a dance, and the Americans did the Cha-Cha Slide. We learned the Salsa, a Turkish wedding dance, a Belgian dance (from the Turks), and a Russian dance. The Mexicans also made Loteria games, which is kind of like bingo, but you have to fill up all the spaces. Then we just played some music and had a dance, and it was really fun!
In the morning we packed all our things, had breakfast, and went to the train station in Hamburg. It was really hard to say goodbye to all the friends we made. I got pretty close with two Americans, Jack and Hannah, and the Turkish students, especially Serra, Beril (my roommate), Meric, and Doruk. The train was pretty cool though, and I had a window seat. I was on the same train as Devon (USA), Viktor (France), Serra (Turkey), and Nickolai (Russia). Nick had the seat next to me, and we talked about school for a long time. He lives nearby too, so maybe we can also hang out! My train ride was 6 hours, and then my host cousins picked me up from the train station. We had pizza for dinner, and I learned how to play Wizard. It's a little bit like euchre, so it wasn't too hard to understand. My host aunt and uncle are named Paul and Kristina, and they have four kids: Ragda, Christoff, Julius, and Maria. Ragda is married to Diego from Mexico, and they're living with Kristina and Paul for this month.
This morning I woke up and had breakfast, and then Diego and Maria took me to France!! We went to Strausbourg and spent the whole day there. It was so beautiful! We went in the cathedral and watched a video about the clocktower, had lunch at the river, ate ice cream, and walked around a lot. It only took 40 minutes to get there on the train, and I didn't even need my passport! I took a lot of pictures, but most of them are on my camera, not my phone.
Tomorrow we might go swimming, and on Monday Diego and Maria will take me to Freiburg. I still can't believe I'm here; it feels like a dream!
Bis später!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Flying Far Away
I'm leaving for Germany tomorrow!!!!! My bags are (barely) packed, and soon my family and I are driving to Chicago to spend the night.
I still can't believe that this is actually happening. I can't wait to be there, but at the same time I'm a little sad to be leaving my home for a year. I really don't know what I should be feeling, and I'm basically just screaming in my head.
I'm so excited for my orientation camp though, and I've already met a few people who will be there with me. In 33 hours, I'll be boarding the plane and on my way!
Bis dann!
I still can't believe that this is actually happening. I can't wait to be there, but at the same time I'm a little sad to be leaving my home for a year. I really don't know what I should be feeling, and I'm basically just screaming in my head.
I'm so excited for my orientation camp though, and I've already met a few people who will be there with me. In 33 hours, I'll be boarding the plane and on my way!
Bis dann!
Friday, July 31, 2015
My City
So the city I'll be living in is Weingarten, Baden-Württemberg. It's a "small" city near Karlsruhe, with about 10,000 people. From what I can find on Google, there's a vineyard, lots of restaurants, a few hotels and markets, a small river, a lake, and a train station. I found a ton of pictures, which are under the cut (all of them are from here)! I can't believe there's only two weeks till I leave, and four weeks till I'm actually in Weingarten! I can't wait to see everything in real life!!
Friday, July 17, 2015
Skyping
On Sunday I was finally able to skype with my family! Magda and Johannes weren't there, but they don't live at home (I think). So my parents and I skyped with Clara, Susanne, and Andreas. The first thing they did was ask me how tall I am, which I tried to say in German but the more I think about it, the more I think I said the wrong height. From then on we spoke English, because my parents wanted to talk too. They're going to have a bike for me, but I think the parts are still in the mail. Andreas showed me all his instruments and played the guitar for me, and he's really good at it! Besides the guitar, he plays flute and the drums. Somebody plays the piano, but I don't know who. He also tried to tell me about his job, but I don't understand at all. Something about preparing for the future?
Clara showed me my room, which is basically the attic. It used to be Magda's room, and then their Chinese student's, and soon it will be mine! It doesn't seem too large, and you have to go through Clara's room to get to it, but I think it'll be nice. I thought I was going to share a room, but technically I get my own. We talked a little bit about school, and she said my geography teacher is also the math teacher. She said he's really strict, but geography is ~his passion~, so it won't be that bad.
My family is so nice, and I think they're really perfect for me! I really like Andreas so far; he's cute (not in a weird way) and seems very excited about music and his job. Apparently Clara and Susanne are both vegetarians, so he was happy to hear that I like meat.
I got a few more presents for my families (and future friends), but I'm having trouble thinking of more personal gifts. What I have so far is:
-A Michigan cutting board
-A Michigan cookbook and measuring cups (for Kristina)
-5 Centreville magnets
-8 Michigan postcards
-A Michigan picturebook
-Petoskey stone playing cards (for Kristina)
-Centreville t-shirts
-3 Centreville water bottles
-A photo album with pictures from home
I also want to bring pancake/biscuit mix, some American candy, food from my town's Amish store, and graham crackers for s'mores. Altogether it seems like a lot, and I guess it kind of is. I really want to bring personal gifts though, and I don't know my family well enough to do that. Clara might like a shirt from my judo dojo, and I want to get Andreas something from the music store, but I've barely talked to Susanne, and I've never spoken to Madga or Johannes. Hopefully they'll be there if we skype again.
I have 29 days left in America, and things are starting to piece together. I got my suitcase this weekend, and I need to start packing soon. Tomorrow I'm going to Alexis' going away party, and she's leaving for Japan on August 1! My birthday is also in 5 days! I wish I could have my birthday in Germany, but I can't really do anything about that. It's too late in July to stay, and there's no way I could leave this early. Time is going by really quickly now, and I feel like I'm wasting what I have left. This update turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be.
Bis später,
Sarah
Clara showed me my room, which is basically the attic. It used to be Magda's room, and then their Chinese student's, and soon it will be mine! It doesn't seem too large, and you have to go through Clara's room to get to it, but I think it'll be nice. I thought I was going to share a room, but technically I get my own. We talked a little bit about school, and she said my geography teacher is also the math teacher. She said he's really strict, but geography is ~his passion~, so it won't be that bad.
My family is so nice, and I think they're really perfect for me! I really like Andreas so far; he's cute (not in a weird way) and seems very excited about music and his job. Apparently Clara and Susanne are both vegetarians, so he was happy to hear that I like meat.
I got a few more presents for my families (and future friends), but I'm having trouble thinking of more personal gifts. What I have so far is:
-A Michigan cutting board
-A Michigan cookbook and measuring cups (for Kristina)
-5 Centreville magnets
-8 Michigan postcards
-A Michigan picturebook
-Petoskey stone playing cards (for Kristina)
-Centreville t-shirts
-3 Centreville water bottles
-A photo album with pictures from home
I also want to bring pancake/biscuit mix, some American candy, food from my town's Amish store, and graham crackers for s'mores. Altogether it seems like a lot, and I guess it kind of is. I really want to bring personal gifts though, and I don't know my family well enough to do that. Clara might like a shirt from my judo dojo, and I want to get Andreas something from the music store, but I've barely talked to Susanne, and I've never spoken to Madga or Johannes. Hopefully they'll be there if we skype again.
I have 29 days left in America, and things are starting to piece together. I got my suitcase this weekend, and I need to start packing soon. Tomorrow I'm going to Alexis' going away party, and she's leaving for Japan on August 1! My birthday is also in 5 days! I wish I could have my birthday in Germany, but I can't really do anything about that. It's too late in July to stay, and there's no way I could leave this early. Time is going by really quickly now, and I feel like I'm wasting what I have left. This update turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be.
Bis später,
Sarah
Thursday, July 9, 2015
37 Days
I can't believe I have less than 40 days left in America. I'm getting kind of scared, but I'm so excited at the same time. I feel really unprepared though; I don't even have a suitcase yet! I've been talking to my host family a lot, and we're getting along really well. Today is Andreas' birthday, so we talked while he was on the train home
Bis später,
Sarah
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Host Family
They sound absolutely perfect for me! The only thing that disappoints me is the fact that they live almost six hours away from my best friend, but that doesn't mean we won't get to see each other eventually. I emailed them this evening, and can't wait to hear back! It feels great to have an actual destination in mind, rather than just knowing what country I'm going to.
I don't have much yet for host family presents, other than a cutting board in the shape of Michigan. Everything I can think of involves food! I wanted to bring t-shirts though, and knowing who I'll live with makes that a lot easier. Hopefully I'll think of something else soon! I'll also need to get presents for Andreas' sister's family, who will be taking me in for 10 days while my family is on vacation.
Bis dann,
Sarah
Friday, June 12, 2015
Local Pre-Departure Orientation
I'm happy to finally have an update after so long!
I had my Local PDO last weekend in Grand Rapids. There were only seven of us there; I really though there would be more. Apparently the other locations had tons of people, and they took forever. We were ahead of schedule most of the day, and it lasted about five hours. Five of us were CBYX winners, and the other two were going to France and Japan for the summer. We had to do a really weird skit called "Albatross" for our parents at the end. We tried to get out of it by hiding the directions when the people in charge left the room, but it was unsuccessful. It was supposed to be about experiencing different cultures, and how things might not be what you assume, but it was honestly really strange. We had to "speak" in clicks and hums, the women had to be barefoot and sit on the floor, while the men sat in chairs, and at the end we had to pick the girl with the biggest feet ("Ms. Big Feet"). It seemed like the women were "lesser" than the men, but in reality, the ground was holy, and only the women were allowed to touch it. They picked Ms. Big Feet because she touched the most ground. The rest of the day was pretty good. It was great to meet others who will be in Germany with me, and I learned some good information from a guy who just got back from Germany.
This morning I got an email from YFU saying I tested out of the three week language camp orientation, and will instead be attending a five day culture orientation near Hamburg! I didn't think my German was that good, but maybe I just need to be more confident. Because the camp will only be for one week instead of three, my tentative departure date is August 15th, and I'll be staying in a hostel instead of a temporary family. I'm really excited to be near Hamburg, since one of my best friends lives in the area, but it's unlikely that we'll get to see each other during the week. I'll be busy most of the day, and she'll be leaving for a visit to America a few days after I arrive.
I still have no information about a host family, but hopefully it will come soon!
Bis dann!
Sarah
I had my Local PDO last weekend in Grand Rapids. There were only seven of us there; I really though there would be more. Apparently the other locations had tons of people, and they took forever. We were ahead of schedule most of the day, and it lasted about five hours. Five of us were CBYX winners, and the other two were going to France and Japan for the summer. We had to do a really weird skit called "Albatross" for our parents at the end. We tried to get out of it by hiding the directions when the people in charge left the room, but it was unsuccessful. It was supposed to be about experiencing different cultures, and how things might not be what you assume, but it was honestly really strange. We had to "speak" in clicks and hums, the women had to be barefoot and sit on the floor, while the men sat in chairs, and at the end we had to pick the girl with the biggest feet ("Ms. Big Feet"). It seemed like the women were "lesser" than the men, but in reality, the ground was holy, and only the women were allowed to touch it. They picked Ms. Big Feet because she touched the most ground. The rest of the day was pretty good. It was great to meet others who will be in Germany with me, and I learned some good information from a guy who just got back from Germany.
This morning I got an email from YFU saying I tested out of the three week language camp orientation, and will instead be attending a five day culture orientation near Hamburg! I didn't think my German was that good, but maybe I just need to be more confident. Because the camp will only be for one week instead of three, my tentative departure date is August 15th, and I'll be staying in a hostel instead of a temporary family. I'm really excited to be near Hamburg, since one of my best friends lives in the area, but it's unlikely that we'll get to see each other during the week. I'll be busy most of the day, and she'll be leaving for a visit to America a few days after I arrive.
I still have no information about a host family, but hopefully it will come soon!
Bis dann!
Sarah
Monday, April 6, 2015
Accepted!
It's official: I'm going to Germany!
Last Thursday I got an email from YFU during school, confirming my acceptance and offering me the CBYX scholarship. I'm beyond excited! It's hard to believe that in less than five months, I'll be more than 4,000 miles away from home, living with people I've never met and speaking a new language.
Now all that's left to do is wait for more information from YFU and try to focus on school.
Tschüß,
Sarah
Last Thursday I got an email from YFU during school, confirming my acceptance and offering me the CBYX scholarship. I'm beyond excited! It's hard to believe that in less than five months, I'll be more than 4,000 miles away from home, living with people I've never met and speaking a new language.
Now all that's left to do is wait for more information from YFU and try to focus on school.
Tschüß,
Sarah
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