So I write this to you all gazing out of the window looking at the lovely English weather... a.k.a. rain, wind, and pretty much no sun.
Fun, no?
Despite the faulty weather conditions, this week has been amazing. Ok, so I've only been here for three full days, but still... I suppose I'll do a bullet style day-by-day format, as that seems to be the quickest and most efficient way of informing you all what I have been up to. Oh, I'm staying with Bret, Sharon, and their kids... by the way :)
Sunday
We made our merry way to Liverpool, which is about an hour and a half away from Lancaster, where I am currently staying. This, as I hope most of you know, is the "birthplace" of The Beatles, so naturally we went to the only permanent Beatles museum in the world. I found that was completely amazing, and of course, I had to buy a t-shirt and some patches for my Rotary blazer... along with some other things, of course. Also in Liverpool was a Ferris wheel, which was pretty fun, and the Albert Docks, which held many interesting stores, museums, and other sights. We were in Liverpool from lunchtime to about 3.30 pm, as that is when all starts to get dark here in England. All in all, a lovely day.
Monday
This day was a bit more laid-back than Sunday. Bret had to teach, so Sharon and I went into town and went grocery shopping. English grocery stores are so different from German ones -- a bit more warm and friendly. I suppose that's just the difference in the people... not saying that Germans aren't nice, of course, but they're just a bit more reserved. Then Sharon and I went to see New Moon, the latest film release from the Twilight saga. I suppose I should explain my love/hate relationship with Twilight: I think the books are decent, honestly, for teenage girls. They're not great works of art, like Lord of the Rings, or books by Jane Austen. But they are truly entertaining. So we went to see the movie, which I enjoyed simply because it was two hours in which I didn't have to particularly concentrate on much.
Tuesday
Oh man... well, Bret and Sharon and I went to the oldest pub in Lancaster (called The Three Mariners), and had a lovely lunch. I had the BEST double cheeseburger of my LIFE, and the barkeeper was actually rather adorable. I suppose this is definitely helped by the fact that he had a lovely accent. Then, Bret split to go buy coffee and get the kids, and Sharon and I went shopping!! This was especially good because I have been losing weight, and the vast majority of clothes I brought to Germany are getting loose. So, yeah, we shopped. It seems that things are cheaper here in England, which is very good, considering I purchased the following: two pairs of jeans, a pair of (PURPLE) boots, three scarves (VERY popular in Germany), and a leather jacket (also very popular). Overall, a lovely time.
And today is Wednesday... so...
Well, we're prepping for Thanksgiving. Which reminds me, I should go and help! So until the next...
LG
Signe
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Germa-Deutsch-No, Just German.
I've realized recently that one of the most commonly asked questions of me is "How's your German?"
Answer: Pretty good. I can understand the vast majority of what is said to me, and can carry on everyday conversations. In class, I can follow along what is being talked about, and can generally glean the main points from texts. Some days my German is awesome, other days I can barely even form a simple sentence.
But lately, what has been really, really cool is actually thinking and dreaming in German. The only problem is (especially with the thinking) is that I often get confused and will say stuff in both languages. For example...
"Jaah, wir sind nach Hamburg gegangen, which was total toll."
And it's not even like I don't know the German for that, but both languages just get confused.
Oh, and another cool thing. There are two Mexican exchange students in my school, and I've realized that I've started translating what they say in Spanish into German. Cool, no?
My writing skills in German, though, are still pretty bad. My teachers allow me to do a lot of my work in English, and sometimes have me translate it later. One good example of this was from today in my Deutsch class, we read "Kleine Fabel" (Small Fable) by Franz Kafka. Our teacher charged us to write a story with a similar message in the end (Please don't ask me to explain what that is)... so Vedashree and I, somewhat aided by Marcos (Veda is from India, Marcos from Mexico) wrote the following story (I'm posting it because I thought it was pretty good):
He stared around the room... that bleak, concrete cell that he had been stuck in for the past sixteen years. A knock on the solid metal door was followed by a flash of light, accompanied by the warden bringing his evening meal -- the usual; a hard stale roll and tasteless soup. The warden ssettled himself on the one chair in the room and quickly fell asleep, leaving the door open. The beam of light beckoned him to venture outside those cold concrete walls. The thoughts ran through his mind:
"Should I run? Should I risk the little life I have left for a breath of fresh air? Or shall I remain in my place?"
Half-standing, he began to move torwards the door. Suddenly, the warden woke, and seeing him moving, said,
"What are you doing?"
He sank down on the bed, resigning himself to his fate.
-end-
Surprisingly, once it had been explained in German, it got quite a lot of feedback. Apparently, it had some sort of "deep meaning", which I found hilarious, considering Veda and I wrote it in five minutes or so.
Well... that's all for now...
So yeah. Tschüß and such.
LG
Signe
Answer: Pretty good. I can understand the vast majority of what is said to me, and can carry on everyday conversations. In class, I can follow along what is being talked about, and can generally glean the main points from texts. Some days my German is awesome, other days I can barely even form a simple sentence.
But lately, what has been really, really cool is actually thinking and dreaming in German. The only problem is (especially with the thinking) is that I often get confused and will say stuff in both languages. For example...
"Jaah, wir sind nach Hamburg gegangen, which was total toll."
And it's not even like I don't know the German for that, but both languages just get confused.
Oh, and another cool thing. There are two Mexican exchange students in my school, and I've realized that I've started translating what they say in Spanish into German. Cool, no?
My writing skills in German, though, are still pretty bad. My teachers allow me to do a lot of my work in English, and sometimes have me translate it later. One good example of this was from today in my Deutsch class, we read "Kleine Fabel" (Small Fable) by Franz Kafka. Our teacher charged us to write a story with a similar message in the end (Please don't ask me to explain what that is)... so Vedashree and I, somewhat aided by Marcos (Veda is from India, Marcos from Mexico) wrote the following story (I'm posting it because I thought it was pretty good):
He stared around the room... that bleak, concrete cell that he had been stuck in for the past sixteen years. A knock on the solid metal door was followed by a flash of light, accompanied by the warden bringing his evening meal -- the usual; a hard stale roll and tasteless soup. The warden ssettled himself on the one chair in the room and quickly fell asleep, leaving the door open. The beam of light beckoned him to venture outside those cold concrete walls. The thoughts ran through his mind:
"Should I run? Should I risk the little life I have left for a breath of fresh air? Or shall I remain in my place?"
Half-standing, he began to move torwards the door. Suddenly, the warden woke, and seeing him moving, said,
"What are you doing?"
He sank down on the bed, resigning himself to his fate.
-end-
Surprisingly, once it had been explained in German, it got quite a lot of feedback. Apparently, it had some sort of "deep meaning", which I found hilarious, considering Veda and I wrote it in five minutes or so.
Well... that's all for now...
So yeah. Tschüß and such.
LG
Signe
Monday, November 2, 2009
The last... month?
Let's start with Holland.
In Germany, we have a two week holiday in Autumn called Herbstferien. I did a couple of things, but the highlight was definitely going to Holland for a week with my host parents and my host sister Rike. We were at a lovely resort called Hof van Saksen, which was absolutely gorgeous in all respects, and oriented torwards families with smaller children.
My host sister and I are 17 and 16, respectively, but we still managed to have fun, I believe. We rode bikes, swam in the resorts' five pools plus outdoor heated water slide, and watched Prison Break and Scrubs (in German, of course!). We also went to a couple random cities in Holland: Emmen for the zoo, Groningen for shopping, and we were in Assen briefly as well. Pretty sweet.
The food was EXCELLENT, I definitely ate waaay more than I ever should have. Especially with the whole cream puff thing... every night at dinner, there were cream puffs. Every night, I would try to beat my record from the previous night. Can we say seventeen in one sitting? I could have done more, but sadly, the week ended...
Next, we move onto this past weekend. I went to Kiel to visit Jon Norwich, another outbound from my Rotary district back home. This was awesome, because I haven't actually seen anybody from Gettysburg since August (as was expected, of course), so it was nice for that. We ended up not spending so much time in Kiel, but instead went to Hamburg for a Rotex day in his district. I met a LOT more exchanges, which is always a good thing. We basically just walked around the entire day, and ended up on ReeperStraße (or Reeper Bahn, I can't quite remember). This is Hamburg's red light district. I have never seen anything similar to that before, so it was most definitely one of the most interesting things that I have ever seen in my life. I'm not really sure what I can say to keep it all G-rated here, but rest assure I took plenty of pictures to laugh at later.
Other than go to Hamburg, Jon and I basically chilled out and caught up from the past months. Nothing worth repeating there.
And now for a funny story!
It's true. And it happened today.
So I was in gym class today, as I am every Monday morning. Everyone in my class knows that I am totally incapable of doing sports, and we always have a good-natured laugh when I fail. Today was no different. We ran a little, did our fitness stations (which is where people laugh at me the most), and since we had time left, we played soccer. I'm sure some of you readers out there remember my soccer days, and how I would just basically stand there and watch the ball go by. It's no different in Germany. But somehow, the ball landed in front of my feet today, so I closed my eyes and gave it a kick. Guess who scored a goal? And guess whose team won?? Yeah, ME and MINE! My whole class was shocked, I think, and they all cheered when it happened. Best thing that happened on any Monday.
In Germany, we have a two week holiday in Autumn called Herbstferien. I did a couple of things, but the highlight was definitely going to Holland for a week with my host parents and my host sister Rike. We were at a lovely resort called Hof van Saksen, which was absolutely gorgeous in all respects, and oriented torwards families with smaller children.
My host sister and I are 17 and 16, respectively, but we still managed to have fun, I believe. We rode bikes, swam in the resorts' five pools plus outdoor heated water slide, and watched Prison Break and Scrubs (in German, of course!). We also went to a couple random cities in Holland: Emmen for the zoo, Groningen for shopping, and we were in Assen briefly as well. Pretty sweet.
The food was EXCELLENT, I definitely ate waaay more than I ever should have. Especially with the whole cream puff thing... every night at dinner, there were cream puffs. Every night, I would try to beat my record from the previous night. Can we say seventeen in one sitting? I could have done more, but sadly, the week ended...
Next, we move onto this past weekend. I went to Kiel to visit Jon Norwich, another outbound from my Rotary district back home. This was awesome, because I haven't actually seen anybody from Gettysburg since August (as was expected, of course), so it was nice for that. We ended up not spending so much time in Kiel, but instead went to Hamburg for a Rotex day in his district. I met a LOT more exchanges, which is always a good thing. We basically just walked around the entire day, and ended up on ReeperStraße (or Reeper Bahn, I can't quite remember). This is Hamburg's red light district. I have never seen anything similar to that before, so it was most definitely one of the most interesting things that I have ever seen in my life. I'm not really sure what I can say to keep it all G-rated here, but rest assure I took plenty of pictures to laugh at later.
Other than go to Hamburg, Jon and I basically chilled out and caught up from the past months. Nothing worth repeating there.
And now for a funny story!
It's true. And it happened today.
So I was in gym class today, as I am every Monday morning. Everyone in my class knows that I am totally incapable of doing sports, and we always have a good-natured laugh when I fail. Today was no different. We ran a little, did our fitness stations (which is where people laugh at me the most), and since we had time left, we played soccer. I'm sure some of you readers out there remember my soccer days, and how I would just basically stand there and watch the ball go by. It's no different in Germany. But somehow, the ball landed in front of my feet today, so I closed my eyes and gave it a kick. Guess who scored a goal? And guess whose team won?? Yeah, ME and MINE! My whole class was shocked, I think, and they all cheered when it happened. Best thing that happened on any Monday.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Brief Taco Interlude
As mentioned in my previous post, I made tacos for my host family today. It was more amusing than I had reason to expect.
As you know, a taco is traditionally eaten with one's hands. I explained this to my host family, and walked them through the taco-making process.
My host father took one bite, then set the taco down, and started eating it with a fork and knife. My host sister did that from the start. My host mom was the only one to stick it out until the end. Go, Elke! :P
Then, my host father ate a second taco. This time, he put mustard on it along with everything else.
Yes, mustard.
We also ate Oreo Dessert, but nothing eventful happened there.
So this is all for today.
Bis Dann
Signe
As you know, a taco is traditionally eaten with one's hands. I explained this to my host family, and walked them through the taco-making process.
My host father took one bite, then set the taco down, and started eating it with a fork and knife. My host sister did that from the start. My host mom was the only one to stick it out until the end. Go, Elke! :P
Then, my host father ate a second taco. This time, he put mustard on it along with everything else.
Yes, mustard.
We also ate Oreo Dessert, but nothing eventful happened there.
So this is all for today.
Bis Dann
Signe
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
All The Small Things
Well, here we go. All of the little insignificant facts about Germany that you never really wanted to know.
^^ And that rhymes!
My German comprehension varies from day to day, especially depending on how much sleep was gotten the night before. For example, yesterday, I was able to understand most of my classes (except for one tiny mishap in Deutsch where I had to summarize stories in German that had been read out loud five minutes previously), while today, I acquired a serious headache in my one class. It would seem that the ancient Greek political system structure is difficult to understand, even in one's native tongue. Or maybe the vocabulary was just over my head. Either way, I do learn more every day, which helps. I hope to be pretty much fluent by February, if not sooner.
School is probably something that many of you wonder about. The German school system, I find, is a lot more intense than the American school system. I'm in a 'gymnasium'. German kids go to school together from 1st to 4th grade, then are sent to different schools:
Hauptschule: goes until 16, students generally work and only go to school 2 days a week as they get older.
Realschule: Basically a vocational school. Students learn a trade while continuing their education.
Gymnasium: As I see it, it's basically college preparation. It goes until 13th grade, when one is 19 or 20.
The cool thing about going to Gymnasium is basically all the morons who don't care about learning are weeded out. But this also makes for harder classes, since teachers know that the students are capable. Free periods are generally spent studying, only a little socializing is done. Interesting, no?
Also, in my school, students are not allowed to have chalk. This makes me wonder what possibly could have happened to make this a rule...
FAQ's
Do you drink a lot? No, basically not at all. Don't want to be the drunk American, dontcha know.
What's your favorite thing about Germany? Could you be any more vague?
Favorite food? Well, I had previously thought brötchen, but now... I am totally and completely in love with Döner. Look up pictures on Google, and you will see why.
How do you say the the name of town where you're living? Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is Bahd Noy-en-ahr- Ahr-vi-ler. Not that hard.
What do you do in your free time? Whatever I feel like. Listening to music, playing games, writing...
And I believe that is all for now. I am introducing my host family to tacos today. Wish me luck!
I miss and love you all.
Liebe Grüße,
Signe
^^ And that rhymes!
My German comprehension varies from day to day, especially depending on how much sleep was gotten the night before. For example, yesterday, I was able to understand most of my classes (except for one tiny mishap in Deutsch where I had to summarize stories in German that had been read out loud five minutes previously), while today, I acquired a serious headache in my one class. It would seem that the ancient Greek political system structure is difficult to understand, even in one's native tongue. Or maybe the vocabulary was just over my head. Either way, I do learn more every day, which helps. I hope to be pretty much fluent by February, if not sooner.
School is probably something that many of you wonder about. The German school system, I find, is a lot more intense than the American school system. I'm in a 'gymnasium'. German kids go to school together from 1st to 4th grade, then are sent to different schools:
Hauptschule: goes until 16, students generally work and only go to school 2 days a week as they get older.
Realschule: Basically a vocational school. Students learn a trade while continuing their education.
Gymnasium: As I see it, it's basically college preparation. It goes until 13th grade, when one is 19 or 20.
The cool thing about going to Gymnasium is basically all the morons who don't care about learning are weeded out. But this also makes for harder classes, since teachers know that the students are capable. Free periods are generally spent studying, only a little socializing is done. Interesting, no?
Also, in my school, students are not allowed to have chalk. This makes me wonder what possibly could have happened to make this a rule...
FAQ's
Do you drink a lot? No, basically not at all. Don't want to be the drunk American, dontcha know.
What's your favorite thing about Germany? Could you be any more vague?
Favorite food? Well, I had previously thought brötchen, but now... I am totally and completely in love with Döner. Look up pictures on Google, and you will see why.
How do you say the the name of town where you're living? Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is Bahd Noy-en-ahr- Ahr-vi-ler. Not that hard.
What do you do in your free time? Whatever I feel like. Listening to music, playing games, writing...
And I believe that is all for now. I am introducing my host family to tacos today. Wish me luck!
I miss and love you all.
Liebe Grüße,
Signe
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Different Kind of Patriotism
Before I begin, allow me to first apologize for not posting for awhile. Generic excuse: I've been busy.
You will be pleased, though, to know that I haven't been wasting my time with partying and sleeping. No, in the past several weeks, I have been observing my fellow classmates, especially in my English class, where we are discussing the United States. This in itself is very interesting, especially when they have opinions that differ from mine.
One of the huge differences that I have taken note of is, at first glance, the distinct lack of German patriotism. I first noticed this one day when people where attacking the United States for its egotism and self-absortion, so being the good little citizen that I am, I raised my hand and said something along the lines of "We like other cultures, and we incorporate them into our own, but in the end, we're proud to be Americans... I think that every culture has some sort of pride and patriotism for itself."
This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. Well, maybe "wrong" is a bit of a strong phrase to use in this situation, but the vast majority of my classmates disagreed with me. My teacher then went on to explain how Germans were perhaps a bit more modest than the United States, for example, because of World War II and the hurt that still caused throughout the culture. The students all nodded and added little anecdotes: "We don't want to seem to proud, as the Germans during the reign of the Third Reich were", or things along those lines. Only one student argued the opposite: "I'm proud to be German, we have a good country now and that's nothing to be ashamed of." (please note, these quotes are not exact. At all.).
This lead to my reflection today. What I see here in Germany is a nation that is back on its feet after a long run of being broken apart. Things are definitely not perfect, but they could be so much worse. I feel that Germany doesn't have the national pride that the United States does (which, ok, I admit can be over the top). Instead, they choose to quietly get over themselves and continue on, trying to make their country the best place possible. Like I was always told at orientations, "It's not better or worse, just different." And so it is.
You will be pleased, though, to know that I haven't been wasting my time with partying and sleeping. No, in the past several weeks, I have been observing my fellow classmates, especially in my English class, where we are discussing the United States. This in itself is very interesting, especially when they have opinions that differ from mine.
One of the huge differences that I have taken note of is, at first glance, the distinct lack of German patriotism. I first noticed this one day when people where attacking the United States for its egotism and self-absortion, so being the good little citizen that I am, I raised my hand and said something along the lines of "We like other cultures, and we incorporate them into our own, but in the end, we're proud to be Americans... I think that every culture has some sort of pride and patriotism for itself."
This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. Well, maybe "wrong" is a bit of a strong phrase to use in this situation, but the vast majority of my classmates disagreed with me. My teacher then went on to explain how Germans were perhaps a bit more modest than the United States, for example, because of World War II and the hurt that still caused throughout the culture. The students all nodded and added little anecdotes: "We don't want to seem to proud, as the Germans during the reign of the Third Reich were", or things along those lines. Only one student argued the opposite: "I'm proud to be German, we have a good country now and that's nothing to be ashamed of." (please note, these quotes are not exact. At all.).
This lead to my reflection today. What I see here in Germany is a nation that is back on its feet after a long run of being broken apart. Things are definitely not perfect, but they could be so much worse. I feel that Germany doesn't have the national pride that the United States does (which, ok, I admit can be over the top). Instead, they choose to quietly get over themselves and continue on, trying to make their country the best place possible. Like I was always told at orientations, "It's not better or worse, just different." And so it is.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The New and (hopefully) Improved Schedule
So, after a couple days, it crossed my mind that perhaps taking one foreign language (Latin) in another foreign language (German) is not such a wonderful idea. Plus. I realized that perhaps I should take up a few sciences courses, so after talking to my new advisor today, here is my new schedule...
MONDAY
1. Sport
2. Sport
3. free
4. Mathe
5. Mathe
6. Englisch
7. free
8. Chemie
9. Chemie
10. Geschichte (History)
11. Geschichte
TUESDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Musik
4. Musik
5. free
6. Chemie
7. free
8. Deutsch
9. Deutsch
10. Englisch
11. Englisch
WEDNESDAY
1. Geschichte
2. Geschichte
3. free
4. free
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
THURSDAY
1. Englisch
2. Englisch
3. free
4. free
5. Physik
6. free
7. free
8. Musik
9. Musik
10. free
11. free
FRIDAY
1. Physik
2. Physik
3. Mathe
4. Mathe
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
Also considering picking up an art course, but this might not happen, as German is slightly difficult :P
Today was actually a pretty good day, considering. This morning, I got on the wrong bus, and ended up wandering around Bad Neuenahr for awhile before I found school. Luckily, I left on an earlier bus so I was pretty much on time for math. I was pleasantly surprised to be ahead of my entire math class -- turns out that since I got put in the grund-kourse (ground course), I'm actually two years ahead as opposed to two years behind. I find this very, very good.
Aside from that, my best classes are Musik and Englisch, are we surprised? Yesterday we did rhythm dication for about half an hour in Musik, and I was the only person in class (granted, there are only seven of us) who got them all right. I must remember to thank Mrs. Bowman for drilling that into our heads, haha. My other classes are kind of difficult, especially considering the whole language barrier. I'm sure it will get easier with time. After all, I am learning and remembering an average of 30 new words per day. This is what I can remember off the top of my head :)
I am meeting some very nice people. Everyone is very helpful -- multiple times today, fellow students came up to me and asked me (sometimes in English, sometimes in German) if they could help me with where I'm going, if I wanted to sit with them and hang out, if I wanted to share their chocolate... I feel quite welcome.
Other than that, not much is going on. I play a lot of piano, and tonight is my first night with a local orchestra, who will hopefully be able to get me a french horn.
That's all for now....
Liebe Grüße.
I love and miss you all
Signe
MONDAY
1. Sport
2. Sport
3. free
4. Mathe
5. Mathe
6. Englisch
7. free
8. Chemie
9. Chemie
10. Geschichte (History)
11. Geschichte
TUESDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Musik
4. Musik
5. free
6. Chemie
7. free
8. Deutsch
9. Deutsch
10. Englisch
11. Englisch
WEDNESDAY
1. Geschichte
2. Geschichte
3. free
4. free
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
THURSDAY
1. Englisch
2. Englisch
3. free
4. free
5. Physik
6. free
7. free
8. Musik
9. Musik
10. free
11. free
FRIDAY
1. Physik
2. Physik
3. Mathe
4. Mathe
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
Also considering picking up an art course, but this might not happen, as German is slightly difficult :P
Today was actually a pretty good day, considering. This morning, I got on the wrong bus, and ended up wandering around Bad Neuenahr for awhile before I found school. Luckily, I left on an earlier bus so I was pretty much on time for math. I was pleasantly surprised to be ahead of my entire math class -- turns out that since I got put in the grund-kourse (ground course), I'm actually two years ahead as opposed to two years behind. I find this very, very good.
Aside from that, my best classes are Musik and Englisch, are we surprised? Yesterday we did rhythm dication for about half an hour in Musik, and I was the only person in class (granted, there are only seven of us) who got them all right. I must remember to thank Mrs. Bowman for drilling that into our heads, haha. My other classes are kind of difficult, especially considering the whole language barrier. I'm sure it will get easier with time. After all, I am learning and remembering an average of 30 new words per day. This is what I can remember off the top of my head :)
I am meeting some very nice people. Everyone is very helpful -- multiple times today, fellow students came up to me and asked me (sometimes in English, sometimes in German) if they could help me with where I'm going, if I wanted to sit with them and hang out, if I wanted to share their chocolate... I feel quite welcome.
Other than that, not much is going on. I play a lot of piano, and tonight is my first night with a local orchestra, who will hopefully be able to get me a french horn.
That's all for now....
Liebe Grüße.
I love and miss you all
Signe
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
School is Back in Session ...
Hello all... Greetings from Deutschland and from one tired girl.
Today, obviously, was my first day of school, and I am comletely and totally EXHAUSTED! Today for me, I had classes from 9 to 5, which I think is a bit intense. Luckily, I did have a three hour break in between Musik and Deutsch... thank God. In this break, David and I went into Bad Neuenahr to get ice cream. Yes, you can leave school grounds at any given time, as long as you're back in time for your next class.
Everyone was really, really nice. I met a couple of people that showed me some of the important things in PJG, like the list which tells you when teachers aren't going to be there so you don't have to turn up for class. This is lucky, because it turns out that I only have one class on Thursday due to one of my teachers being in London.
I'm sure you're all dying to know what my schedule is, so here goes... and by the way, every period is about 45 minutes long, give or take. And the first period starts at eight. So, here goes...
MONDAY
1. free
2. free
3. free
4. Mathe
5. Mathe
6. Englisch
7. free
8. Sport
9. Sport
10. Geschichte (History)
11. Geschichte
TUESDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Musik
4. Musik
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. Deutsch
9. Deutsch
10. Englisch
11. Englisch
WEDNESDAY
1. Geschichte
2. Geschichte
3. free
4. free
5. Latein
6. Latein
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
THURSDAY
1. Englisch
2. Englisch
3. free
4. free
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. Musik
9. Musik
10. free
11. free
FRIDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Mathe
4. Mathe
5. free
6. Latein
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
I know it seems like I have a lot of free periods, but those are used for studying and such. You might also notice that I have no science, as it was impossible to fit in with all of my other classes. Don't worry -- I only need a math OR science credit in school.
Overall, I'm really excited, but still scared. Being in all-German all the time classes today was a bit like running into a brick wall... I'm glad that Englisch is entirely in Englisch. My teacher in that class has been really nice, and has me do other stuff, like work on my German throughout. We're actually studying the US now, and she always has me voice my opinion throughout. It is quite interesting to hear the European view on the States.
That's all for now, I'm probably going to go sleep..
Liebe Grüße
Signe
Today, obviously, was my first day of school, and I am comletely and totally EXHAUSTED! Today for me, I had classes from 9 to 5, which I think is a bit intense. Luckily, I did have a three hour break in between Musik and Deutsch... thank God. In this break, David and I went into Bad Neuenahr to get ice cream. Yes, you can leave school grounds at any given time, as long as you're back in time for your next class.
Everyone was really, really nice. I met a couple of people that showed me some of the important things in PJG, like the list which tells you when teachers aren't going to be there so you don't have to turn up for class. This is lucky, because it turns out that I only have one class on Thursday due to one of my teachers being in London.
I'm sure you're all dying to know what my schedule is, so here goes... and by the way, every period is about 45 minutes long, give or take. And the first period starts at eight. So, here goes...
MONDAY
1. free
2. free
3. free
4. Mathe
5. Mathe
6. Englisch
7. free
8. Sport
9. Sport
10. Geschichte (History)
11. Geschichte
TUESDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Musik
4. Musik
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. Deutsch
9. Deutsch
10. Englisch
11. Englisch
WEDNESDAY
1. Geschichte
2. Geschichte
3. free
4. free
5. Latein
6. Latein
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
THURSDAY
1. Englisch
2. Englisch
3. free
4. free
5. free
6. free
7. free
8. Musik
9. Musik
10. free
11. free
FRIDAY
1. free
2. free
3. Mathe
4. Mathe
5. free
6. Latein
7. free
8. free
9. free
10. free
11. free
I know it seems like I have a lot of free periods, but those are used for studying and such. You might also notice that I have no science, as it was impossible to fit in with all of my other classes. Don't worry -- I only need a math OR science credit in school.
Overall, I'm really excited, but still scared. Being in all-German all the time classes today was a bit like running into a brick wall... I'm glad that Englisch is entirely in Englisch. My teacher in that class has been really nice, and has me do other stuff, like work on my German throughout. We're actually studying the US now, and she always has me voice my opinion throughout. It is quite interesting to hear the European view on the States.
That's all for now, I'm probably going to go sleep..
Liebe Grüße
Signe
Thursday, August 20, 2009
First Week!
So, I suppose it took me awhile for me to get this set up. Es tut mir leid... but I have been very, very busy. Where to begin...?
The flight over was slightly hellish. My first flight to Detroit was delayed because of thunderstorms over Ohio, so when I got there, I had to sprint through the Detroit airport to catch my flight to Amsterdam. This occured with a VERY heavy backpack and an ostentatious jacket (for those of you who know the Rotary jacket, I'm sure you sympathize). Luckily I made it on time, and then made my flight to Köln with ease. In Amsterdam, I actually met another Rotary exchanger on her way to Switzerland. It was pretty cool.
Anyway, when I arrived, I was greeted by the RYE chairs for the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Club, Herr & Frau Hansonis, and my host grandma and host sister, Line. We drove home -- Germans drive CRAZY, by the way -- and I ate some soup, got a shower, and slept. When I woke up, I met my host parents, ate some more food, and then... slept some more. Unfortunately the next morning I had to wake up at nine to get into the city on time to take care of some business i.e. bank account, living permit, etc. I met the other American exchanger that's here in Bad Neuenahr with me, David. He seems pretty ok, as of yet :)
What all have I done? I will number them and then describe.
1) Gone to the Heimersheim Weinfest
This was pretty cool. I live in a wine-producing region, so most little villages have wine fests during this time of year. So anyway, this place was CRAZY, so many people were dressed up in medieval costumes, and so much wine... I have never before seen so many people publicly drunk. I went twice -- during the day with my host mother Elke and host sister Line, and then at night just with Line and her friends. I preffered it better during the daytime, as there was more interesting things than people drinking. It was also really crowded at night... You could hardly go one step without running into someone. Even with that, I still had fun. Twas a good experience, methinks, for being introduced to the culture here.
2) Gone to Köln for a baptism
This was also cool. I didn't understand any of the service, but the baby was cute, haha. It was actually quite different than a traditional baptism in the U.S.A., but unfortunately, I cannot properly describe it.
3) Gone to Bonn
I think this was my favorite out of all. First, I got to visit the Beethoven Haus -- which is where the aforementioned famous composer was born. There was so much to see there... some of his original instruments, old letters, his ear trumpets (he was deaf), and even some original scores! Post BH, my host grandma and sisters Line and Rike (who got home on Sunday from Barcelona) and I went to get ice cream. Ice cream here is so much better than at home, let me tell you. More cream then ice, and so much richer. I took pictures of random points of interest around town, and we went shopping as well. Rike got a new pair of shoes, and I got an awesome purple handbag that I am absolutely in love with.
4) Gone to the local swimming pool
The Bad Neuenahr public pool is SO much nicer than ANY American pool I've ever been to. I went with my host sisters, their friends, and David. They have both indoor and outdoor pools, and water slides. Yes, in plural. Viele Spaß :)
5) Explored Ahrweiler, the medieval town
This I actually did today with David, after our German lesson. We originally just went so I could post some letters and get school supplies, but we ended up buying ice cream and basically wandering around for awhile. It's really cool, it's a walled city... pictures of which are to be posted on Facebook at a later date.
There has been so much more, here are some quick highlights.
*Kirchdaun, the village in which I currently live, has about 350 people and 200 cows.
* There is one other exchange student in my club, Vedashree from India, but she has yet to arrive due to problems with her visa :( She should arrive Saturday.
* School in my state starts Monday, but we Austaschschüler don't start until Tuesday. Schweeeet.
* Today, one of Rike's friends came over and brought me flowers welcoming me to Germany :) I thought that was very, very nice.
And lastly, but most definitely not leastly...
THE FOOD HERE IS AMAZING!
Brötchen... käse... Mineralwasser... Apfelschorle... Würst... Nutella... Eis... mmmm
I am thinking that this is all for now.
Liebe Grüße,
And I love and miss you all,
Signe
The flight over was slightly hellish. My first flight to Detroit was delayed because of thunderstorms over Ohio, so when I got there, I had to sprint through the Detroit airport to catch my flight to Amsterdam. This occured with a VERY heavy backpack and an ostentatious jacket (for those of you who know the Rotary jacket, I'm sure you sympathize). Luckily I made it on time, and then made my flight to Köln with ease. In Amsterdam, I actually met another Rotary exchanger on her way to Switzerland. It was pretty cool.
Anyway, when I arrived, I was greeted by the RYE chairs for the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Club, Herr & Frau Hansonis, and my host grandma and host sister, Line. We drove home -- Germans drive CRAZY, by the way -- and I ate some soup, got a shower, and slept. When I woke up, I met my host parents, ate some more food, and then... slept some more. Unfortunately the next morning I had to wake up at nine to get into the city on time to take care of some business i.e. bank account, living permit, etc. I met the other American exchanger that's here in Bad Neuenahr with me, David. He seems pretty ok, as of yet :)
What all have I done? I will number them and then describe.
1) Gone to the Heimersheim Weinfest
This was pretty cool. I live in a wine-producing region, so most little villages have wine fests during this time of year. So anyway, this place was CRAZY, so many people were dressed up in medieval costumes, and so much wine... I have never before seen so many people publicly drunk. I went twice -- during the day with my host mother Elke and host sister Line, and then at night just with Line and her friends. I preffered it better during the daytime, as there was more interesting things than people drinking. It was also really crowded at night... You could hardly go one step without running into someone. Even with that, I still had fun. Twas a good experience, methinks, for being introduced to the culture here.
2) Gone to Köln for a baptism
This was also cool. I didn't understand any of the service, but the baby was cute, haha. It was actually quite different than a traditional baptism in the U.S.A., but unfortunately, I cannot properly describe it.
3) Gone to Bonn
I think this was my favorite out of all. First, I got to visit the Beethoven Haus -- which is where the aforementioned famous composer was born. There was so much to see there... some of his original instruments, old letters, his ear trumpets (he was deaf), and even some original scores! Post BH, my host grandma and sisters Line and Rike (who got home on Sunday from Barcelona) and I went to get ice cream. Ice cream here is so much better than at home, let me tell you. More cream then ice, and so much richer. I took pictures of random points of interest around town, and we went shopping as well. Rike got a new pair of shoes, and I got an awesome purple handbag that I am absolutely in love with.
4) Gone to the local swimming pool
The Bad Neuenahr public pool is SO much nicer than ANY American pool I've ever been to. I went with my host sisters, their friends, and David. They have both indoor and outdoor pools, and water slides. Yes, in plural. Viele Spaß :)
5) Explored Ahrweiler, the medieval town
This I actually did today with David, after our German lesson. We originally just went so I could post some letters and get school supplies, but we ended up buying ice cream and basically wandering around for awhile. It's really cool, it's a walled city... pictures of which are to be posted on Facebook at a later date.
There has been so much more, here are some quick highlights.
*Kirchdaun, the village in which I currently live, has about 350 people and 200 cows.
* There is one other exchange student in my club, Vedashree from India, but she has yet to arrive due to problems with her visa :( She should arrive Saturday.
* School in my state starts Monday, but we Austaschschüler don't start until Tuesday. Schweeeet.
* Today, one of Rike's friends came over and brought me flowers welcoming me to Germany :) I thought that was very, very nice.
And lastly, but most definitely not leastly...
THE FOOD HERE IS AMAZING!
Brötchen... käse... Mineralwasser... Apfelschorle... Würst... Nutella... Eis... mmmm
I am thinking that this is all for now.
Liebe Grüße,
And I love and miss you all,
Signe
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