It has been a long time since I have written in my Blog. I was finishing up my college applications and that took up a lot of my free time. I got them all done on time and now I can't wait to find out what school I will be going to next year.
My Christmas in Germany was very nice. Every little town in Germany has an outdoor Christmas market in the weeks before Christmas. They are so nice. I went to one in a town called Esslingen with Rotex. I don't know if I fully appreciated that one enough because it was so cold outside the day that we went. The other exchange students and I ate some sausage, drank some kinder punsch, walked around a little, and then went to a warm cafe and sat down. My town had a Christmas market of its own, though. It was little, but it was so cute. It was in the street at the bottom of the hill that the castle in my town is on. They even had a donkey and some lambs in a pen just so you could get the feeling of Christmas. You could buy homemade Christmas ornaments and many other things. On the last day of school before Christmas we had a Christmas party. We did a gift exchange, played games, and ate plätzchen. We took a picture with the whole class. It was so nice. I actually feel like I am part of the class now and not just an exchange student. I also went to my Rotary club's Christmas party. It was actually quite funny. Ivanna from Ecuador ended up going to the meeting of the other Rotary club in our town. She called me and told me that she was at the party. She wanted to know where I was. I told her no I am at the party. Then I had to try to explain in German to the president of the club what the problem was, and I found someone to go pick her up. It was so funny. She ended up getting two free dinners, though. She ended up as the lucky one that night. I celebrated Christmas with my first host family. My older host sister, my host grandparents, and an old lady named Gerta came to our house on the 24th. She is a friend of the family I guess. She was really funny. We ate some Christmas cookies. Later, we had a typical German Christmas dinner. We ate sausage, kartoffel salat, green salad, and bread. After dinner, we called my host sister who is on exchange in the U.S. this year. We talked to her for a long. She listened to us open our Christmas presents. In Germany, they open their presents on the 24th in the evening. My host grandma gave me a cookbook that was in German and in English with food from Germany in it. I am really excited because now I can cook all the good German food that I have been eating this year when I get back to states. I gave everybody stockings for Christmas. In Germany they don't have the tradition of Christmas stockings. They all loved them. My host dad kept singing Christmas socks...Christmas socks. He told my host mom that she has to save his and fill it again next year. I put a little cow in my host dad's stocking because he loves cows so much. He named it after me. He was like you know Julia I don't think you are a cow, although I do love cows, I just want you to know that I will never forget you. It was so nice. I am glad he named the cow after me. I went to church with my host parents and my host sister that evening. It felt nice to be back in church again. I have been to church a few times since I have been here, but in the U.S. I went to church every Sunday. It isn't one of the things that you think an exchange student would miss, but I actually do. I really miss going to church every Sunday. Maybe I will try to start going more often here. The next day my host grandparents came over again. We ate some cake and talked in the afternoon. I then went to skype with my family. I ended up skyping with them for about two hours. It was nice. I got to talk to all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I also watched them all open their Christmas presents. My brother from Germany got a blanket from my aunt with a picture of West Virginia on it and it said almost heaven. I want a blanket or something like that with Germany on it. It was so cool. My cousin was also yelling at my sister because she taped Florian's name over my stocking. I don't care though. I know how much my family loves me and now I just have a lot of new family in Germany. I think I will get to go visit Florian's family sometime this year. My cousin who took German in high school also tried to talk German to me. She asked me what my name was in German, but she thought she was asking me how I was. It was funny. I love my family so much. After I was done skyping, I went down and had dinner with my family. We ate Raclette. Another typical German Christmas meal. It is so good. It is a little bit like fondue. It is this hot stove that you put on the table. You have your own little dish, and you fill it with whatever you want. A little bit of meat or some vegetables and then you cover it with cheese and put it on the stove. The cheese melts all over everything. It is delicious. I want to eat it again. Maybe I can talk my family in the U.S. into getting one. The next day my older host brother who I hadn't met yet and his girlfriend came. My friend from Ecuador named Ivanna also came to spend the night. It was so much fun. We all played games and talked. My Christmas in Germany was very different than how my Christmas in the U.S. is. We did a lot of different things, but overall it was still the same. It was family and friends spending time together. That is what makes Christmas so special.
On December 30th, I changed to my second host family. I really liked my first host family, so I miss them a lot. I really like my second host family, too. Our house is actually in Heidenheim. It is kind of cool. I can see the castle from my window. I wake up every morning to a view of the castle. It is so beautiful. I also have a host dog who I take for walks. It is actually kind of good for my German. The dog only understands German, so I have to speak German to him. I am never afraid that he will make fun of me either. I spend the whole walk talking to him. My host dad is also a surgeon. That is so cool. I think I will get to go to the hospital with him sometime. I am so excited. It is really weird switching host families. You have to start all over again. I think it is almost harder to switch host families than to leave your really family at the beginning of your exchange because you know you will be going back to your real family again, but you don't know if you will ever be with your host family again. It is also good because now I have two German families. They are very different, but I can get along with either one and learn things from them. My first host family took me out to dinner on my last night with them. I had duck for the first time in my life. It tasted pretty good. On the way home, my host dad kept pushing my older host sister in the snow. It was funny.
I went to a party at a friends house for New Year's. We had a snowball fight and climbed a fence to get into a playground. I actually ended up getting stuck on the fence. One of the exchange students from the United States had to help me get loose. Then she got stuck on the fence, and I had to help her get loose. We set off a ton of fireworks on New Year's. In Germany, everyone sets off fireworks. I have never done that in the U.S. before. We watched The Hangover in English, and then we watched Zombieland in German. That was an interesting movie to see dubbed in German. We all stayed up until six o'clock in the morning to watch the ball drop in New York City. It is kind of cool to think that everyone around the world has a new year at a different time.
Now for the updates. What have I been doing for the past several months? My host parents took me to Neuschwanstein. It is pretty, but it is even more amazing to see the Alps for the first time. They are gorgeous. I was in the car asleep, and then I woke up and saw them. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I could never imagine living in a castle like that. My host family and I ate pretzels at the bottom of the hill looking up at the castle before we climbed up there. It was the perfect German experience. I am so glad they took me. My second host family took me to Wurzburg. We saw some castles and churches. If you love castles and churches, you will never get bored in Germany. We also saw the house that the first x-ray was done in. I think that is so cool. I want to try to travel and see as much as possible while I am here.
Now for some funny stories. One Wednesday, we got to the Rotary meeting early. A man that worked at the hotel where our meetings are started talking to us. He had a funny English accent. He said that his favorite English word is enchanted. I thought that he said hello my name is chad. I was like oh nice to meet you. He asked if his English was good, and I was like yes your English is very good. He was funny. He kept singing songs about the food that we ate at the meeting, too. I hope he is there for the next meeting. He is entertaining. I stayed with one of the other exchange students host family for three days because my host parents went out of town. The first day I was there I had a cold. The next day the other exchange student's host mom asked me if my cold was better in German. I thought she asked where are your host parents today. I was like Munich. Everyone started laughing and she was like no. Then she said it again and I understood her. When you are learning a new language, you make mistakes like that every day pretty much.
My time as an exchange student has really taught me that the world is a good place. There are good people wherever you go. They will try to help you and make your life better. I know that there are good people in the United States, in Germany, in South America, in all of Europe, and all over the world. It will be so hard to leave all of my new friends at the end of the year, but then I will know that no matter where I am in the world I have somebody there if I need them. I am not alone.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Friday, November 5, 2010
Differences
1. When you go to a grocery store to buy something here, the checkout line is different. The cashiers don´t stand. They sit in chairs. I think it is a good idea. If I was a cashier, I think I would rather sit than stand.
2. Commercials. German television has an annoying amount of commercials just like American television, but they are spaced out throughout the program a little differently. In the U.S., we have a little bit of the program and then a little bit of commercials. In Germany, they have the program without commercials for a really long time and then they have a long time of commercials. The commercials last for like 10 minutes or more. Without commercials as often, if you have to go to the bathroom and you don´t want to miss the show you have to hold it for awhile.
3. People take their dogs everywhere with them. Dogs are allowed in places here where they are not allowed in the United States. People take their dogs with them to the bank, to the grocery store, and to other stores. The other day I went to the shoe store to look for a pair of shoes and there was someones dog just laying there on the floor waiting for its owner to pick out shoes. No one was holding it or anything.
4. Many public restrooms here are not free. You have to pay to use the restroom. I was going to use the restroom in a shopping center once, but then I saw that you had to pay and I turned around and walked back out of the restroom.
2. Commercials. German television has an annoying amount of commercials just like American television, but they are spaced out throughout the program a little differently. In the U.S., we have a little bit of the program and then a little bit of commercials. In Germany, they have the program without commercials for a really long time and then they have a long time of commercials. The commercials last for like 10 minutes or more. Without commercials as often, if you have to go to the bathroom and you don´t want to miss the show you have to hold it for awhile.
3. People take their dogs everywhere with them. Dogs are allowed in places here where they are not allowed in the United States. People take their dogs with them to the bank, to the grocery store, and to other stores. The other day I went to the shoe store to look for a pair of shoes and there was someones dog just laying there on the floor waiting for its owner to pick out shoes. No one was holding it or anything.
4. Many public restrooms here are not free. You have to pay to use the restroom. I was going to use the restroom in a shopping center once, but then I saw that you had to pay and I turned around and walked back out of the restroom.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
One Month
I have been in Germany for a little over a month now. Wow! I cannot believe it. The time really does go by so fast. It is amazing all of the different things you feel and experience as an exchange student. Those feelings and experiences are really hard to explain, and only other exchange students can fully understand them. Sometimes you feel so happy and excited about everything, and sometimes you feel lonely. The lonely times are still filled with an amazement that you are really living in another country. Every time I look at a map, I see where Germany is and where West Virginia is and I am like "Wow. I am in Europe." It is unbelievable. In my month here, I have already started to notice small changes in myself. You do things you would never do in the United States. It is kind of like you lose all fear. You aren´t afraid to try to speak to other people in another language and make mistakes. You know you will make mistakes, but it doesn´t really matter. You are not afraid to go up to complete strangers and ask them for help. You are not afraid to go up and make friends with kids in your school who you don´t know. You are not afraid that your questions will sound stupid. All of these things, I would have hesitated before doing in the United States. Now I do all of these things without even thinking about it. I have also learned that most places in the world probably look better on postcards and in travel books than in real life. The things that you don´t get to see on postcards or in travel books are the people who live in all of these places and their lives. I have learned that the people and what they do makes a place special. I am so lucky that I am getting to experience the lives of people in another part of the world. I am getting to learn about them, their history, and why they do the things they do, and therefore I am learning about the place they live in as well. I love just talking to my family and friends here. They learn a little about me and I learn a little about them. It is funny to see all of the differences in the way we live. In the end, we realize that we can still get along, live together, and have fun together. One of the things I love about my family and friends here are that they are different. They can help me learn new things, and I can teach them new things as well.
I had a discussion with my host parents the other night about things German people think about the United States. Here is a list of things they told me Germans think of when they think of the United States.
The United States is only made up of big cities with skyscrapers. They didn´t know that small towns like Kingwood, West Virginia existed until they found out I was going to be living with them.
People in the United States only eat white bread. Germans don´t think you can buy dark bread in the U.S.
People in the U.S. only eat fast food. They don´t eat apples or bananas.
Everyone in the U.S. is always chewing gum.
All people in the U.S eat for dinner is steak and all they eat for breakfast is eggs.
Everyone in the U.S. has big cars.
There were a lot more, but that is all I can remember right now. It was so funny hearing all of this.
I also tried German McDonalds in my first month here. It is pretty much the same as McDonalds in the U.S. They don´t have as wide of a selection I would say. You can choose between two different types of fries at German McDonalds. You can choose German fries or American fries. The fries we have at McDonalds in the U.S. are like the German fries. I don´t know where they got the idea of these American fries. We don´t have them at our McDonalds. My host parents thought that was cool.
Ok. Now for some funny stories from my first month here. One night I was waiting for the train to go to swimming club. Me and about five other people waited and waited, and the train never came. All the other people finally went home. It had been about an hour since the train was supposed to come, so I decided to go home too. Then this group of about 15 guys came up to me and started saying things in German. At first I was a little worried because there was so many of them and nobody else was around. They turned out to be really nice. I told them I didn´t understand what they were saying. They asked me if I was from England. Everybody here asks me that when they hear me speak English. I am like does it sound like I have a British accent. I told them that I was from the United States. They asked me if I was from California. I said that I was from West Virginia. Then they started singing Country Roads. Everybody here knows that song. I think more people in Germany know it than people in other parts of the United States. They asked me why I was in Germany. I told them I was a Rotary Youth Exchange student. They said I was crazy for choosing Germany because it was so cold here. I told them I liked Germany. They were then trying to explain to me that they are lumberjacks. There English wasn´t great, so they did not know all the words. They were acting it out. They said they take the train to the forest and then they were using their arms to pretend to cut down trees. One of them also asked me if I had a boyfriend. After I told him no, he kept getting closer and closer to me. I kept backing farther and farther away. Then they had to go, but they told me they hoped I had a wonderful year in Germany. It was so nice. The whole way home I was laughing. I just kept thinking that I met a group of German lumberjacks at the train station. Haha. Ok. Time for the next story. There is a castle in my town from the 1200s. It is up on a hill above the town. It really is beautiful. After our German lesson, all of us exchange students usually go do something. One day we decided to walk up to the castle. There was a big pile of leaves, so we told the girl from Ecuador that she had to jump in it because in Ecuador the leaves don´t fall off the trees. The leaves were wet, so she didn´t want to get her clothes dirty. I gave her my jacket to use because I didn´t care if it got dirty. She was just about ready to jump and then she stopped. She said no that it doesn´t look like that much fun. Then I jumped in the pile of leaves. I jumped off of this stand that was beside the pile, and I went face first into the leaves. They were all laughing so hard. Apparently I had dirt all over my face and didn´t realize it. The boy from Guatemala then jumped into the leaves. He also had to use my jacket because he didn´t want to get his clothes dirty. It was so much fun. That evening I told my host parents what I did that day. My host dad was laughing and said he wished he would have seen that. Luckily, they videotaped me jumping into the leaves so he will get to see it.
It has been a great first month with many memories. I am excited for all the months to come.
I had a discussion with my host parents the other night about things German people think about the United States. Here is a list of things they told me Germans think of when they think of the United States.
The United States is only made up of big cities with skyscrapers. They didn´t know that small towns like Kingwood, West Virginia existed until they found out I was going to be living with them.
People in the United States only eat white bread. Germans don´t think you can buy dark bread in the U.S.
People in the U.S. only eat fast food. They don´t eat apples or bananas.
Everyone in the U.S. is always chewing gum.
All people in the U.S eat for dinner is steak and all they eat for breakfast is eggs.
Everyone in the U.S. has big cars.
There were a lot more, but that is all I can remember right now. It was so funny hearing all of this.
I also tried German McDonalds in my first month here. It is pretty much the same as McDonalds in the U.S. They don´t have as wide of a selection I would say. You can choose between two different types of fries at German McDonalds. You can choose German fries or American fries. The fries we have at McDonalds in the U.S. are like the German fries. I don´t know where they got the idea of these American fries. We don´t have them at our McDonalds. My host parents thought that was cool.
Ok. Now for some funny stories from my first month here. One night I was waiting for the train to go to swimming club. Me and about five other people waited and waited, and the train never came. All the other people finally went home. It had been about an hour since the train was supposed to come, so I decided to go home too. Then this group of about 15 guys came up to me and started saying things in German. At first I was a little worried because there was so many of them and nobody else was around. They turned out to be really nice. I told them I didn´t understand what they were saying. They asked me if I was from England. Everybody here asks me that when they hear me speak English. I am like does it sound like I have a British accent. I told them that I was from the United States. They asked me if I was from California. I said that I was from West Virginia. Then they started singing Country Roads. Everybody here knows that song. I think more people in Germany know it than people in other parts of the United States. They asked me why I was in Germany. I told them I was a Rotary Youth Exchange student. They said I was crazy for choosing Germany because it was so cold here. I told them I liked Germany. They were then trying to explain to me that they are lumberjacks. There English wasn´t great, so they did not know all the words. They were acting it out. They said they take the train to the forest and then they were using their arms to pretend to cut down trees. One of them also asked me if I had a boyfriend. After I told him no, he kept getting closer and closer to me. I kept backing farther and farther away. Then they had to go, but they told me they hoped I had a wonderful year in Germany. It was so nice. The whole way home I was laughing. I just kept thinking that I met a group of German lumberjacks at the train station. Haha. Ok. Time for the next story. There is a castle in my town from the 1200s. It is up on a hill above the town. It really is beautiful. After our German lesson, all of us exchange students usually go do something. One day we decided to walk up to the castle. There was a big pile of leaves, so we told the girl from Ecuador that she had to jump in it because in Ecuador the leaves don´t fall off the trees. The leaves were wet, so she didn´t want to get her clothes dirty. I gave her my jacket to use because I didn´t care if it got dirty. She was just about ready to jump and then she stopped. She said no that it doesn´t look like that much fun. Then I jumped in the pile of leaves. I jumped off of this stand that was beside the pile, and I went face first into the leaves. They were all laughing so hard. Apparently I had dirt all over my face and didn´t realize it. The boy from Guatemala then jumped into the leaves. He also had to use my jacket because he didn´t want to get his clothes dirty. It was so much fun. That evening I told my host parents what I did that day. My host dad was laughing and said he wished he would have seen that. Luckily, they videotaped me jumping into the leaves so he will get to see it.
It has been a great first month with many memories. I am excited for all the months to come.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Oktoberfest
When people think of Germany, Oktoberfest is probably one of the first things that comes to mind. It is a part of German heritage that makes Germany famous. That is one of the reasons I am so glad I got to go. It was another part of German heritage that I got to experience, and experiencing German culture was my whole reason for coming here. I actually believe that the first Oktoberfest was a wedding reception for King Ludwig. He was the king of a part of southern Germany. On Saturday, my host parents took me and Ivanna(she is an exchange student from Ecuador) to my older host sister´s house near Munich. We then took the train into Munich. We saw the city hall of Munich. It is so beautiful, and it has an artpiece on it of little people that dance every time the bell rings. We got to go to an outdoor market called Virtualmarkt. ( I think that is what it is called) At the market, we ate Bavarian pretzels with some kind of cheese dip. Yum! We got to see some famous churches in Munich and Maximillianstraße, which is kind of like 5th avenue in New York City. We tried to buy a dirndl to wear to Oktoberfest the next day, but the cheapest ones we could find were 100 euros. We also got to try beer flavored ice cream from a famous ice cream place in Munich. The first half of the ice cream cone tasted good, and then the second half kind of tasted disgusting. I think just normal beer tastes better. We tried to eat dinner at Hofbrauhaus, but it was way to crowded. The Hard Rock Cafe right across from it was way to crowded too, so we ended up going back to my host sister´s house to have pizza. The pizza place was called the Orange Octopus. I thought that was funny.
The next day was Oktoberfest. We got to the festival at 10:30 in the morning, and actually managed to get a place in the Hofbrauhaus beer tent. The beer didn´t even taste that much like beer because it was mixed with lemonade or something. The beer tent was so pretty, though. The ceilings had artwork on them and plants hanging from them. It was funny to see all the people chugging beer that early in the morning, and it was a lot of people. I had German sausage for lunch. I love German food! There were so many people at Oktoberfest that you had to walk shoulder to shoulder. There were lots of rides, food, and games. It is like the Buckwheat festival in my town except much bigger, and instead of being focused around buchwheat cakes, it is focused around beer. It was also funny to see all of the people wearing traditional German clothes. I think all the clothes are so beautiful, though. That is why I tried to buy one, but they were too expensive. Ivanna and I rode this rollercoaster with about five or six loops in it. It was amazing. One of the most fun things I have ever done. The whole way I was screaming and then laughing and then screaming again. Ivanna said my face was hilarious. I want to do it again! We rode some other rides too, but nothing compared to that rollercoaster. We bought some cool Oktoberfest souvenirs and then headed home. The next day my host parents told me that 6 million people attended Oktoberfest this year, and that 7 million liters of beer were consumed. At first I thought my host dad said 70 million. I was like holy crap, but 7 million is still a lot. I am so glad my host parents took me. They are the best. I love Munich.
In one of my earlier posts, I said I went to a little festival in Nödlingen. That was wrong. It was Nördlingen.
The next day was Oktoberfest. We got to the festival at 10:30 in the morning, and actually managed to get a place in the Hofbrauhaus beer tent. The beer didn´t even taste that much like beer because it was mixed with lemonade or something. The beer tent was so pretty, though. The ceilings had artwork on them and plants hanging from them. It was funny to see all the people chugging beer that early in the morning, and it was a lot of people. I had German sausage for lunch. I love German food! There were so many people at Oktoberfest that you had to walk shoulder to shoulder. There were lots of rides, food, and games. It is like the Buckwheat festival in my town except much bigger, and instead of being focused around buchwheat cakes, it is focused around beer. It was also funny to see all of the people wearing traditional German clothes. I think all the clothes are so beautiful, though. That is why I tried to buy one, but they were too expensive. Ivanna and I rode this rollercoaster with about five or six loops in it. It was amazing. One of the most fun things I have ever done. The whole way I was screaming and then laughing and then screaming again. Ivanna said my face was hilarious. I want to do it again! We rode some other rides too, but nothing compared to that rollercoaster. We bought some cool Oktoberfest souvenirs and then headed home. The next day my host parents told me that 6 million people attended Oktoberfest this year, and that 7 million liters of beer were consumed. At first I thought my host dad said 70 million. I was like holy crap, but 7 million is still a lot. I am so glad my host parents took me. They are the best. I love Munich.
In one of my earlier posts, I said I went to a little festival in Nödlingen. That was wrong. It was Nördlingen.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Differences
1. Water. When I ask for water here, the first thing that people give me is this mineralwasser that is carbonated. They have still water too, but the carbonated water is more common. At first I didn´t like the carbonated water, but now I have gotten used to it, and it tastes okay. My host mom drinks still water, so I always have it in the house to drink too.
2. The bed. No one uses sheets here. They have a fitted sheet over the mattress, but they do not have any sheet that goes over you. They just use a comforter. The pillows are also different. They are a lot bigger and not as thick. I really like my bed here though. I sleep good.
3. The windows. None of the windows slide up and down. They all open like a door. If you have the handle facing down, then the window is closed. If you have the handle pointed to the side, then the window opens like a door. If you have the handle facing up, then the window opens at the top. It took me awhile to figure this out, but it has gotten so cold here now that I never open the window anymore.
4. The restrooms. All of the toilets go into the wall. They do not have a tank, and the button to flush it is on the wall. I kind of like these toilets better than the ones in the U.S. None of the bathrooms ever have paper towels. They all have the stationary hand towels. You can press a button to try to find a dry spot, but you can hardly ever find a dry spot. These paper towels kind of gross me out. I always use my hand sanitizer that smells really good after touching these towels.
2. The bed. No one uses sheets here. They have a fitted sheet over the mattress, but they do not have any sheet that goes over you. They just use a comforter. The pillows are also different. They are a lot bigger and not as thick. I really like my bed here though. I sleep good.
3. The windows. None of the windows slide up and down. They all open like a door. If you have the handle facing down, then the window is closed. If you have the handle pointed to the side, then the window opens like a door. If you have the handle facing up, then the window opens at the top. It took me awhile to figure this out, but it has gotten so cold here now that I never open the window anymore.
4. The restrooms. All of the toilets go into the wall. They do not have a tank, and the button to flush it is on the wall. I kind of like these toilets better than the ones in the U.S. None of the bathrooms ever have paper towels. They all have the stationary hand towels. You can press a button to try to find a dry spot, but you can hardly ever find a dry spot. These paper towels kind of gross me out. I always use my hand sanitizer that smells really good after touching these towels.
Monday, September 20, 2010
First Week in Germany
My first day of school was good. I am in Klasse 10c at Werkgymnasium. Another exchange student from Minnesota is in that class too. I get on the bus every morning at 6:50. I ride this bus from Königsbronn to the bus station in Heidenheim. I then have to wait for about 15 minutes, and I ride another bus. Luckily, several people from my class ride the same bus, so I just follow them and never get lost. All the kids in my class are very nice. They help me with whatever I need and are starting to become really good friends. My school starts at 7:45, and then I leave with the two other Rotary exchange students at my school at 12 to go to German lessons. We have German lessons at Hellensteingymnasium from 1:00 to 3:30 every Monday through Thursday. At school, I am taking German, Geography, English, Music, History, Math, Chemistry, Art, Sports, and Religion. My class also takes French, but during that time, all the exchange students go to the library to study German. The only classes I can keep up with are Chemistry, Math, and English. Our English teacher lets all the kids in the class ask me and the other exchange student questions about the US. When I said I didn´t really like Obama, one of the boys in the back of the room shouted out racist. He was just kidding though. It is funny to hear all the questions people ask about the US. Some boys also asked me to explain binge drinking. I went to a swim club practice on Wednesday night. I had never been on a swim team before, so it was hard. I enjoyed it though. I got to meet other kids from my school who are my age. All the kids in my class are 16. The people on the swim team were like little fish. They were so fast, and I was so slow. They would do six laps and I would do four. I think I am going to continue going to swim practice. By the time I come home, I should have massive arms. On Thursday night, I went to a pilates class with my host mom. I think I will continue to go to this too. I think I will lose weight while I am on exchange because people here eat so much healthier than in the US, and I am exercising a lot here. Friday night was so much fun, I finally got to go out with kids my own age. The kids in my class invited me to go out with them. We went in to town and just went from restaurant to restaurant hanging out. On Sunday, my host parents took me to a historic festival in Nödlingen. I guess it is one of the only cities in Europe to have a wall surrounding the entire city center. The festival was very interesting. Everything here is so much older than in the US. That is one of the things that I love about Europe. The history.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First few days in Germany
On my journey to Germany, I met 7 other exchange students. It was nice getting to talk to them. We were all so excited for our exchange to begin. My host parents picked me up from the airport in Stuttgart with some German chocolate as a present! It was about an hour drive to their house from the airport. We stopped at my host dad's parents house on the way there. At their house, they also had flowers and a Steiff teddy bear for me. The first night at my house I slept for 13 hours. My second day in Germany I got to go to a football game with my host dad and our neighbor. At the game, I sat with two of my host sister`s friends. (My host sister is in the US this year) They told me that I didn`t want to sit with old men, so they took me with them. The game was fun, but our team played very bad and lost. My host dad and neighbor were very sad. They are going to take me to another game in two weeks. That evening all the neighbors came over for dinner. They are all so nice. I showed them pictures of the US, and they tried some of the Sarris chocolate covered pretzels I brought with me. On Sunday, we went to a bird show with friends, and then we went with them to a grillen (barbecue). The food was very good. It was a lot different than a barbecue in the U.S. I got to try a banana that was grilled with chocolate inside of it. Yum! I haven`t tried anything I haven`t liked yet. Tomorrow I start school. Hopefully that goes well.
Koenigsbronn and Heidenheim look a lot like West Virginia. Lots of mountains and trees, and the road from Heidenheim to Koenigsbronn is little and windy. On the way from the airport the other day we got stuck behind several tractors on the road, and there are chickens outside right underneath my window. I think I am fitting in well here. I feel right at home with my host parents and this town. It is amazing how fast I am starting to pick up some German words. I can`t speak in German yet, but I am starting to understand some things. I guess it is from hearing German all the time now. The other day I was trying to think of something in English, and I couldn`t remember the word. So far, I am loving it here in Germany.
Koenigsbronn and Heidenheim look a lot like West Virginia. Lots of mountains and trees, and the road from Heidenheim to Koenigsbronn is little and windy. On the way from the airport the other day we got stuck behind several tractors on the road, and there are chickens outside right underneath my window. I think I am fitting in well here. I feel right at home with my host parents and this town. It is amazing how fast I am starting to pick up some German words. I can`t speak in German yet, but I am starting to understand some things. I guess it is from hearing German all the time now. The other day I was trying to think of something in English, and I couldn`t remember the word. So far, I am loving it here in Germany.
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