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 31, 2015
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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