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.
Friday, November 5, 2010
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.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Departure day
In 5 hours, I will be leaving from the Pittsburgh airport to start my journey to Germany. I have my two suitcases all packed and am ready to go. The process to go on this exchange has been a long one and I can hardly believe that it has finally come time to depart. It has been hard waiting all summer to leave, but I made sure to pack my summer schedule full. I got to take a trip to New York City and the Outer Banks in North Carolina for the first time ever. The thought of going to Germany was always in the back of my mind through all of this. Everybody keeps asking me if I am nervous, but so far I haven't felt any nerves at all. I have just been thinking that even if some bad things happen while I am gone I still am getting to stay in Germany for a year. I have always wanted to go to Europe, and this year is going to give me the opportunity to see a good bit of it. So far, I really love my host family. I can't wait to meet them because I think I will like them even better in person. Sitting here now, I can't even imagine all of the things I am going to get to experience this year, and I have a feeling that in a year I won't even be able to remember all the wonderful experiences I had. Well here I go. It is time to start my adventure!
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