11 October 2010
25 July 2010
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My year has come in a full circle. This afternoon, my parents, Sally, and I went to our ASSE Area Rep’s house for the pre departure orientation. It’s hard to believe that one year ago, I was one week away from flying off to the begin the best (but sometimes the hardest) year of my life.
We’ve done everything with my sister that my mom did last year with me. We’ve been shopping for clothes and host family gifts. We’ve had goodbye parties and my sister has started to pack her two suitcases.
Sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that I was packing my bags and leaving to spend a year in a foreign country, and other times I feel like all that happened was in another lifetime. I made so many memories in that one year that it will take me years to process everything. Like my host parents said, there was only one Sunday during the entire year when I didn’t leave the house. Almost every weekend, I played soccer or traveled with my host family. There are no words to express how grateful and appreciative I am of my host family for exposing me to their German culture and treating me as a member of their family. I never felt like a temporary guest, which made me feel so good. I am also very thankful for how much they helped me and encouraged me to travel. Without my host family, I would never have made it to Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, England, France, Luxembourg, and Austria. They also exposed me to the highly competitive sides of two of my passions, soccer and skiing. I was able to see nearly every Alemmania Aachen home game during the 2009-2010 season. As with skiing, I shared over 14 days of fantastic skiing in Zillertal, Austria with Ralf, Sven, and Meike. In addition, I had the opportunity to attend a World Cup ski jumping event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on New Years Day. Through help from my host family, I was able to do a three week internship with a language school, play soccer on a women’s team in the area, and take the SAT in Dusseldorf in early May. As you can see, they have done so much for me in the past year and my entire host family in Germany has, and will always keep, a special place in my heart.
It was a big challenge to leave my host family and friends. I made several friends on my soccer team and at school. Until a month ago, I never knew how hard it is to say goodbye. After the end of my sophomore year in America, I said goodbye to everyone with dry eyes. After all, I was going to be back in a year. It’s not like I was leaving forever. Leaving Germany was very different. I am planning to return in the next year, but anything can happen. Lives change, things happen, and there was the thought in my head that I may never see some of these people again. These were the people I had laughed and cried with; the girls who had helped me with German homework, my host mom who taught me how to make Schnitzel, Hackfleisch Brotchen, and Nudelauflauf, my soccer teammates and coaches, my host father and brother who took me to Alemmania Aachen games, and my host sister who made our walks to the bus stop always entertaining! There is no doubt that I miss Germany and the lifelong friends I made there. However, in this age of technology, there are no difficulties in keeping in touch with German friends!
My last couple of weeks in Germany were packed with activities. One of the highlights of that time was spending June 9-12 in Berlin. The CBYX end of the year seminar is always in Berlin at the beginning of the year and this year it was no different. I flew with a couple of friends to Berlin (only 125 Euros for roundtrip on Air Berlin-cheaper than the train!) We (47 ASSE CBYXers) spent 4 days taking Berlin by storm. We participated in “Re-Entry to the U.S.” seminars, sat in on a congressional meeting in the Bundestag, participated in a Q and A session with the Bundestags President and other German government officials, and were hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Germany (Phillip Murphy) and his wife at the newly built American Embassy on Unter den Linden next to the Brandenburg Gate. During the evening, we would take the subway into Berlin and visit the sites Berlin is so famous for! I also had the opportunity to meet up with a pen pal of mine who lives in Berlin. Fritzi and I have been pen pals since 2007, so it was fun for us to meet up. She showed me her home city and I told her all about my experiences in Germany. Maybe someday Fritzi can come to Seattle!
Here we are. My blog is done. There is a lot more I could say. I could talk more about my experiences or reflect more on my year, but I think I have done that. This is weird. Once I post this, it is a definite end. It doesn’t make sense for me to post about football games, staying up late doing homework, and hanging out with friends. And who wants to read about my experiences while applying for college?
I am entering a new stage in my life. It’s my senior year in high school. For some reason though, I don’t feel like a senior. I feel older. I feel more responsible, independent, and self confident. I did something crazy; applied for the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, got it, lived in Germany for an entire year, and returned a different person. Germany taught me to put away my fears, to speak up, and to stand out. Remember, you’re not going to get anywhere in life by worrying what other people think about you or worrying if you are saying or wearing the right thing. Don’t worry about making a mistake when you are trying something new. After all, we learn from our mistakes and they only make us stronger.
Do something for yourself that you never thought you would ever do in your life. You will be glad you did it…I am.
We’ve done everything with my sister that my mom did last year with me. We’ve been shopping for clothes and host family gifts. We’ve had goodbye parties and my sister has started to pack her two suitcases.
Sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that I was packing my bags and leaving to spend a year in a foreign country, and other times I feel like all that happened was in another lifetime. I made so many memories in that one year that it will take me years to process everything. Like my host parents said, there was only one Sunday during the entire year when I didn’t leave the house. Almost every weekend, I played soccer or traveled with my host family. There are no words to express how grateful and appreciative I am of my host family for exposing me to their German culture and treating me as a member of their family. I never felt like a temporary guest, which made me feel so good. I am also very thankful for how much they helped me and encouraged me to travel. Without my host family, I would never have made it to Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, England, France, Luxembourg, and Austria. They also exposed me to the highly competitive sides of two of my passions, soccer and skiing. I was able to see nearly every Alemmania Aachen home game during the 2009-2010 season. As with skiing, I shared over 14 days of fantastic skiing in Zillertal, Austria with Ralf, Sven, and Meike. In addition, I had the opportunity to attend a World Cup ski jumping event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on New Years Day. Through help from my host family, I was able to do a three week internship with a language school, play soccer on a women’s team in the area, and take the SAT in Dusseldorf in early May. As you can see, they have done so much for me in the past year and my entire host family in Germany has, and will always keep, a special place in my heart.
It was a big challenge to leave my host family and friends. I made several friends on my soccer team and at school. Until a month ago, I never knew how hard it is to say goodbye. After the end of my sophomore year in America, I said goodbye to everyone with dry eyes. After all, I was going to be back in a year. It’s not like I was leaving forever. Leaving Germany was very different. I am planning to return in the next year, but anything can happen. Lives change, things happen, and there was the thought in my head that I may never see some of these people again. These were the people I had laughed and cried with; the girls who had helped me with German homework, my host mom who taught me how to make Schnitzel, Hackfleisch Brotchen, and Nudelauflauf, my soccer teammates and coaches, my host father and brother who took me to Alemmania Aachen games, and my host sister who made our walks to the bus stop always entertaining! There is no doubt that I miss Germany and the lifelong friends I made there. However, in this age of technology, there are no difficulties in keeping in touch with German friends!
My last couple of weeks in Germany were packed with activities. One of the highlights of that time was spending June 9-12 in Berlin. The CBYX end of the year seminar is always in Berlin at the beginning of the year and this year it was no different. I flew with a couple of friends to Berlin (only 125 Euros for roundtrip on Air Berlin-cheaper than the train!) We (47 ASSE CBYXers) spent 4 days taking Berlin by storm. We participated in “Re-Entry to the U.S.” seminars, sat in on a congressional meeting in the Bundestag, participated in a Q and A session with the Bundestags President and other German government officials, and were hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Germany (Phillip Murphy) and his wife at the newly built American Embassy on Unter den Linden next to the Brandenburg Gate. During the evening, we would take the subway into Berlin and visit the sites Berlin is so famous for! I also had the opportunity to meet up with a pen pal of mine who lives in Berlin. Fritzi and I have been pen pals since 2007, so it was fun for us to meet up. She showed me her home city and I told her all about my experiences in Germany. Maybe someday Fritzi can come to Seattle!
Here we are. My blog is done. There is a lot more I could say. I could talk more about my experiences or reflect more on my year, but I think I have done that. This is weird. Once I post this, it is a definite end. It doesn’t make sense for me to post about football games, staying up late doing homework, and hanging out with friends. And who wants to read about my experiences while applying for college?
I am entering a new stage in my life. It’s my senior year in high school. For some reason though, I don’t feel like a senior. I feel older. I feel more responsible, independent, and self confident. I did something crazy; applied for the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, got it, lived in Germany for an entire year, and returned a different person. Germany taught me to put away my fears, to speak up, and to stand out. Remember, you’re not going to get anywhere in life by worrying what other people think about you or worrying if you are saying or wearing the right thing. Don’t worry about making a mistake when you are trying something new. After all, we learn from our mistakes and they only make us stronger.
Do something for yourself that you never thought you would ever do in your life. You will be glad you did it…I am.
06 June 2010
(A very very late) PARIS
Paris was amazing! There is absolutely nothing normal about the city. Everything, from the subway (Metro), to the imposing old stone palaces, to the glitter of the Eiffel tower at 11:30pm on a rainy Paris night is one-of-a-kind; wonders I had the opportunity to see on a quick nine and a half hour stay in Paris on May 8, 2010.
Originally, I had wanted the trip to Paris to be just my host sister and me. But, since both of us have no knowledge of the French language, we came to the realization that our plans needed to be adjusted. Then, we found out that Meike had to take two class tests on the two days after we got back from Paris. Since the trip lasts from 8am on Saturday until 5:30am on Sunday, we decided that it probably wouldn’t be such a good idea for Meike to take part. I was really disappointed because Meike and I had wanted to go to Paris together for awhile, but school is naturally a higher priority.
In the end, I ended up going with a German friend of mine and her mother. The mother is from Belgium and she speaks fluent French, so we were able to get by just fine in Paris. Corinna also has had lots of French in school and went to elementary school in Belgium so she also speaks a fair amount of French and understands quite a bit, too.
Just like on my trip to London, I traveled with Tusculum Busreisen. We left Aachen at 8:30am on Saturday morning and drove across Belgium. We were almost to the French border when a motorcycle cop pulled us over to a truck stop, where we had to wait for 45 minutes while the police checked to make sure the bus driver was taking enough breaks! The only entertaining part about that delay was that we got to watch the Belgian policemen hang around and do nothing; while wearing these pretty much normal uniforms with ridiculous hats. After we finally crossed the French border, the bus driver decided we should immediately take a 45 minute break! So here we are, sitting at a gas station/café on the French border with nothing to do for 45 minutes! And we were already behind schedule! Finally, at about 2:30pm, we reached the center of Paris and parked at the Arc de Triomphe. On the drive in through the suburbs, we had already caught glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur.
To start off our adventure, we went into a Paris “drugstore”. This place wasn’t anything like Bartells or Walgreens! This place sells everything from Cuban cigars and Prada baby clothes, to handbags and wildly expensive jewelry. Maybe the fact that this “drugstore” is just down the Champs Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe has something to do with its wares! After continuing our stroll down the Champs Elysees, we went to the first Metro station and took the subway to the Moulin Rouge. We ended up taking the wrong subway at first, but it turned out to be a good thing because we got a great view of Paris from the elevated tracks. It was quite shocking coming up out of the subway at the Moulin Rouge and seeing a street lined with sex shops and cabaret show theaters, although considering the nature of the shows in the Moulin Rouge, it all makes sense. Then, we headed up the hill towards Sacre Coeur. On our way, we stopped and bought I Love Paris t-shirts and postcards (which we proceeded to write while drinking café au lait in the Café des Deux Moulins, made famous by the French film, Amelie). As we entered the Montmartre (artists quarter), we marveled at the paintings and caricatures made in the Place du Tertre, the famous little square close to the base of Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur turned out to be one of my favorite places on the trip. The huge, but elegant white cathedral reminded me a bit of the Taj Mahal. Inside, there were burning candles everywhere and the stained glass windows shined brightly in the sun. There were a lot of tourists walking around, but also some people were praying. Outside on the white steps, tourists and Parisians chatted, picnicked, and relaxed in the sun as African immigrants attempted to sell miniature plastic Eiffel Towers and Paris key chains to naïve tourists. Needless to say, I was not caught up in their scheme.
After Sacre Coeur, we walked down the hill and along a boulevard until we got to the next Metro station. From there, we rode the Metro to the Hotel de Ville, the city hall and center of politics in Paris. We checked out a couple of shops, but even the GAP in Paris was crazy expensive! After that, we tried to get to Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. We asked a bunch of people, but still ended up going in the wrong direction. However, it turned out to be ok because we got to see the Saint-German-des-Pres quarter of Paris. There were so many one of a kind shops and cafes! The 6th Arrondissement is the home of Saint-Germain-des-Pres and is the former Art and Literature quarter in Paris. After we spent an hour in the rain walking in the wrong direction down tree lined streets along the Seine, we finally got the right directions to Notre Dame Cathedral. Although we didn’t go inside, the outside of the cathedral was quite the impression in itself. The building is older than Sacre Coeur; one can tell from the architecture and materials used. Truthfully, Notre Dame reminded me a bit of the Aachener Dom. The stones and carvings are similar on both structures. Another connection to Aachen that we found at Notre Dame was a statue of Charlemagne on his horse! After our quick stop at Notre Dame, we walked across Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge in Paris. Do not ask me why it is called Pont Neuf! Haha I do not know! There was a lot of boat traffic the day we were in Paris. Even in the evening when it was raining and cool, there were dinner cruises and sight-seeing boats all over the place.
Following our walk on Pont Neuf, we strolled past the courthouse in Paris and entered a tiny square that comes across at first as quite unassuming, but is actually the home to many of France’s most famous celebrities. No, we didn’t see any of them. And if we did, we probably wouldn’t have recognized them anyways! Walking further parallel to the Seine, we came to the Louvre. Unfortunately, the museum was already closed for the day, but we took in the palace like structure and walked through the big arch onto the plaza with the famous glass pyramids. On a clear day, one can see all the way from the Louvre down to the Obelisk and even farther down the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe. It was raining when we were there, so we could only see as far as the Obelisk and the giant round about packed with cars around it, but that alone was astonishing!
If I remember correctly, the one of the city planners for the early Washington D.C. was a Frenchman, L’Enfant. His city plan for Washington D.C. copied the strong points of the city of Paris and influenced the later city planners to use L’Enfant’s design. One can see the similarity today between the Washington Mall (Capitol-Washington Memorial-Lincoln Memorial) and Voie Triomphale “The Grand Axis of Paris” (Louvre-Obelisk-Arc de Triomphe). That really interested me, because I have been to Washington D.C. twice and I find the layout of the city so practical and people friendly.
Our second to last stop on our whirlwind Paris tour was the Statue de la Liberté (Statue of Liberty), a scale copy of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. The statue in Paris faces west, towards her sister statue across the Atlantic. We reached the climax of our last stop, the Eiffel tower, at 11:30pm; half an hour before the bus was set to leave from Arc de Triomphe! The rain and cold didn’t stop us from going up to the second level and enjoying a wonderful view of Paris at night. The nighttime view from the Eiffel Tower was definitely an experience I will remember for as long as I live.
After descending the STAIRS of the Eiffel tower (340 stairs in the dark rainy night=a little dangerous I think) we raced across the street and up the stairs to Place du Trocadéro, now home to the Palais de Chaillot, and originally built for the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris. On the other side, we caught the Metro and arrived a couple of minutes later at Charles de Gaulle Etoile Metro station on the Champs Elysees. After ordering burgers and fries from the most elegant McDonalds in the world, we raced back to our bus and arrived (the last ones) at 11:58pm. Some of our fellow travelers had already been sitting on the bus for a half an hour!
Our trip home ended at 5:30am in Aachen with no delays or weird police checks!
Thank you all for being very patient with me and my not-so-regular blog posts. I am very behind on this one (Paris was a month ago!) but I have been very busy here lately, finishing up my Berlin project and getting ready to go home in 2 and a half weeks!
I have a lot more about the last month to tell you all about (soccer games (mine and professional), HAMBURG, Holland on the North Sea), but I’ll let it wait for a couple of days until after I come back from Berlin next Saturday!
Originally, I had wanted the trip to Paris to be just my host sister and me. But, since both of us have no knowledge of the French language, we came to the realization that our plans needed to be adjusted. Then, we found out that Meike had to take two class tests on the two days after we got back from Paris. Since the trip lasts from 8am on Saturday until 5:30am on Sunday, we decided that it probably wouldn’t be such a good idea for Meike to take part. I was really disappointed because Meike and I had wanted to go to Paris together for awhile, but school is naturally a higher priority.
In the end, I ended up going with a German friend of mine and her mother. The mother is from Belgium and she speaks fluent French, so we were able to get by just fine in Paris. Corinna also has had lots of French in school and went to elementary school in Belgium so she also speaks a fair amount of French and understands quite a bit, too.
Just like on my trip to London, I traveled with Tusculum Busreisen. We left Aachen at 8:30am on Saturday morning and drove across Belgium. We were almost to the French border when a motorcycle cop pulled us over to a truck stop, where we had to wait for 45 minutes while the police checked to make sure the bus driver was taking enough breaks! The only entertaining part about that delay was that we got to watch the Belgian policemen hang around and do nothing; while wearing these pretty much normal uniforms with ridiculous hats. After we finally crossed the French border, the bus driver decided we should immediately take a 45 minute break! So here we are, sitting at a gas station/café on the French border with nothing to do for 45 minutes! And we were already behind schedule! Finally, at about 2:30pm, we reached the center of Paris and parked at the Arc de Triomphe. On the drive in through the suburbs, we had already caught glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur.
To start off our adventure, we went into a Paris “drugstore”. This place wasn’t anything like Bartells or Walgreens! This place sells everything from Cuban cigars and Prada baby clothes, to handbags and wildly expensive jewelry. Maybe the fact that this “drugstore” is just down the Champs Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe has something to do with its wares! After continuing our stroll down the Champs Elysees, we went to the first Metro station and took the subway to the Moulin Rouge. We ended up taking the wrong subway at first, but it turned out to be a good thing because we got a great view of Paris from the elevated tracks. It was quite shocking coming up out of the subway at the Moulin Rouge and seeing a street lined with sex shops and cabaret show theaters, although considering the nature of the shows in the Moulin Rouge, it all makes sense. Then, we headed up the hill towards Sacre Coeur. On our way, we stopped and bought I Love Paris t-shirts and postcards (which we proceeded to write while drinking café au lait in the Café des Deux Moulins, made famous by the French film, Amelie). As we entered the Montmartre (artists quarter), we marveled at the paintings and caricatures made in the Place du Tertre, the famous little square close to the base of Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur turned out to be one of my favorite places on the trip. The huge, but elegant white cathedral reminded me a bit of the Taj Mahal. Inside, there were burning candles everywhere and the stained glass windows shined brightly in the sun. There were a lot of tourists walking around, but also some people were praying. Outside on the white steps, tourists and Parisians chatted, picnicked, and relaxed in the sun as African immigrants attempted to sell miniature plastic Eiffel Towers and Paris key chains to naïve tourists. Needless to say, I was not caught up in their scheme.
After Sacre Coeur, we walked down the hill and along a boulevard until we got to the next Metro station. From there, we rode the Metro to the Hotel de Ville, the city hall and center of politics in Paris. We checked out a couple of shops, but even the GAP in Paris was crazy expensive! After that, we tried to get to Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. We asked a bunch of people, but still ended up going in the wrong direction. However, it turned out to be ok because we got to see the Saint-German-des-Pres quarter of Paris. There were so many one of a kind shops and cafes! The 6th Arrondissement is the home of Saint-Germain-des-Pres and is the former Art and Literature quarter in Paris. After we spent an hour in the rain walking in the wrong direction down tree lined streets along the Seine, we finally got the right directions to Notre Dame Cathedral. Although we didn’t go inside, the outside of the cathedral was quite the impression in itself. The building is older than Sacre Coeur; one can tell from the architecture and materials used. Truthfully, Notre Dame reminded me a bit of the Aachener Dom. The stones and carvings are similar on both structures. Another connection to Aachen that we found at Notre Dame was a statue of Charlemagne on his horse! After our quick stop at Notre Dame, we walked across Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge in Paris. Do not ask me why it is called Pont Neuf! Haha I do not know! There was a lot of boat traffic the day we were in Paris. Even in the evening when it was raining and cool, there were dinner cruises and sight-seeing boats all over the place.
Following our walk on Pont Neuf, we strolled past the courthouse in Paris and entered a tiny square that comes across at first as quite unassuming, but is actually the home to many of France’s most famous celebrities. No, we didn’t see any of them. And if we did, we probably wouldn’t have recognized them anyways! Walking further parallel to the Seine, we came to the Louvre. Unfortunately, the museum was already closed for the day, but we took in the palace like structure and walked through the big arch onto the plaza with the famous glass pyramids. On a clear day, one can see all the way from the Louvre down to the Obelisk and even farther down the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe. It was raining when we were there, so we could only see as far as the Obelisk and the giant round about packed with cars around it, but that alone was astonishing!
If I remember correctly, the one of the city planners for the early Washington D.C. was a Frenchman, L’Enfant. His city plan for Washington D.C. copied the strong points of the city of Paris and influenced the later city planners to use L’Enfant’s design. One can see the similarity today between the Washington Mall (Capitol-Washington Memorial-Lincoln Memorial) and Voie Triomphale “The Grand Axis of Paris” (Louvre-Obelisk-Arc de Triomphe). That really interested me, because I have been to Washington D.C. twice and I find the layout of the city so practical and people friendly.
Our second to last stop on our whirlwind Paris tour was the Statue de la Liberté (Statue of Liberty), a scale copy of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. The statue in Paris faces west, towards her sister statue across the Atlantic. We reached the climax of our last stop, the Eiffel tower, at 11:30pm; half an hour before the bus was set to leave from Arc de Triomphe! The rain and cold didn’t stop us from going up to the second level and enjoying a wonderful view of Paris at night. The nighttime view from the Eiffel Tower was definitely an experience I will remember for as long as I live.
After descending the STAIRS of the Eiffel tower (340 stairs in the dark rainy night=a little dangerous I think) we raced across the street and up the stairs to Place du Trocadéro, now home to the Palais de Chaillot, and originally built for the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris. On the other side, we caught the Metro and arrived a couple of minutes later at Charles de Gaulle Etoile Metro station on the Champs Elysees. After ordering burgers and fries from the most elegant McDonalds in the world, we raced back to our bus and arrived (the last ones) at 11:58pm. Some of our fellow travelers had already been sitting on the bus for a half an hour!
Our trip home ended at 5:30am in Aachen with no delays or weird police checks!
Thank you all for being very patient with me and my not-so-regular blog posts. I am very behind on this one (Paris was a month ago!) but I have been very busy here lately, finishing up my Berlin project and getting ready to go home in 2 and a half weeks!
I have a lot more about the last month to tell you all about (soccer games (mine and professional), HAMBURG, Holland on the North Sea), but I’ll let it wait for a couple of days until after I come back from Berlin next Saturday!
07 May 2010
May Rain
You might have guessed from the title that it is raining here in the Eifel. This morning I woke up to a mixture of snow and rain coming down outside my window. I have to confess, it has dampened my spirits a little. Of course I am used to spring rain (being from Seattle), but snow along with it, in May no less, is going a bit overboard.
I am sitting in the Selbst Lern Zentrum (Self Learn Center) at my school. I look out into the courtyard and decide that I am going to miss this place. I'll miss the maze of hallways and the classrooms where one can still see the walls because they are not yet covered with posters detailing the rise of the Ottoman Empire or the functions of the different parts of a cell. I'll miss the Brötchen pause after 2nd period where one can go buy a pastry for 60 cents. I'll miss the orderly ding-dang-dong of the bell at the end of the period. I've gotten used to my life here at St. Michael Gymnasium. I've made friends and improved my self confidence. I am able to raise my hand in class and contribute to the discussions in German. Whenever I try to speak English, I seem to make grammar mistakes and I always want to stick a German word in where an English word must go. I don't mind though...this just shows that I am coming closer to my goal of being completely immersed in the German language.
It's crazy when I think that I only have 6 and 1/2 weeks left here in Germany. The time has gone by so fast. I have been here for 9 months and they have been the fastest 9 months of my entire life. Everyday I have experienced something new and I think that is the reason why the time has flown by. In America, I have a fairly regular schedule...day to day it's pretty much all the same. Here, each day is new and different...I have a different school schedule everyday and I never know what will come when I wake up in the morning. It's an exciting life when one can live in spontaneously instead of with the knowledge that day after day everything is the same. Of course I have nothing against my life in America. It is exciting in its own way and I am never bored there either. However, there is no doubt about it that these two lives are very different and I will have to find a way to balance the two of them when I return on June 23.
Last Saturday, I took the SAT in Düsseldorf at the International School there. I was pretty well prepared and it was pretty easy for me. I hope I did well. I'm planning to take it again this fall, so that is good. The International School in Düsseldorf is a beautiful school on a tree lined street near the airport. I think I would love to go there. There are a fair amount of American students there because their parents are military, government officials, or have business in Düsseldorf. After my test, Ralf, Sven, and I walked along the Rhein and went up to the top of the Rhein Tower in the center of the tourist area in the city. It reminded me of the Space Needle because of its similar design and rotating viewing platform. It's ironic to me that I went up in the Rhein Tower before the Space Needle. Hint hint Mom and Dad!
Tomorrow I am going to Paris for the day with a German friend of mine and her mother. We are leaving Aachen at 8am and driving to Paris in a travel bus (the same company with whom I went to London) and getting there at about 1pm. We will tour the city until 12am when we will begin to drive back to Aachen. I am so excited to see the sights of Paris. I can't wait to see the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Couer, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, and the Champs Elysees. I never imagined going to Paris, just because I thought that it wouldn't happen for many years, but now I am excited beyond belief.
My last weeks here are packed with more new experiences. Next week, I have Thursday and Friday off from school. On Thursday, I am going to watch the German men's national soccer team play against Malta. On May 24 and 25, we have no school and we might be going to somewhere on the sea in northern Holland. The next week I have no school on Thursday and Friday and 5 days later I will fly off to Berlin with Kayla and Leilani for our CBYX seminar. A week and a half after I get back to Berlin, I will be flying home to Seattle!
I am so happy to be going home, but at the same time, I don't want to leave. I love my host family and my friends at school. I love my soccer team and how happy I am when I play with them. I love Aachen and the narrow cobblestoned streets in the Innenstadt and around the Dom. The flowers are starting to bloom and everything is green again after a long, hard, winter. At the moment, I can't believe that I will be going home. It hasn't registered that in less than 7 weeks I will be sleeping in my bed, meeting my puppy for the first time, and seeing my family again. Weird...
Now that I have probably confused you with all of my grammar and language mistakes, I'll let you go. I have to go to Catholic Religion class anyways!
I am sitting in the Selbst Lern Zentrum (Self Learn Center) at my school. I look out into the courtyard and decide that I am going to miss this place. I'll miss the maze of hallways and the classrooms where one can still see the walls because they are not yet covered with posters detailing the rise of the Ottoman Empire or the functions of the different parts of a cell. I'll miss the Brötchen pause after 2nd period where one can go buy a pastry for 60 cents. I'll miss the orderly ding-dang-dong of the bell at the end of the period. I've gotten used to my life here at St. Michael Gymnasium. I've made friends and improved my self confidence. I am able to raise my hand in class and contribute to the discussions in German. Whenever I try to speak English, I seem to make grammar mistakes and I always want to stick a German word in where an English word must go. I don't mind though...this just shows that I am coming closer to my goal of being completely immersed in the German language.
It's crazy when I think that I only have 6 and 1/2 weeks left here in Germany. The time has gone by so fast. I have been here for 9 months and they have been the fastest 9 months of my entire life. Everyday I have experienced something new and I think that is the reason why the time has flown by. In America, I have a fairly regular schedule...day to day it's pretty much all the same. Here, each day is new and different...I have a different school schedule everyday and I never know what will come when I wake up in the morning. It's an exciting life when one can live in spontaneously instead of with the knowledge that day after day everything is the same. Of course I have nothing against my life in America. It is exciting in its own way and I am never bored there either. However, there is no doubt about it that these two lives are very different and I will have to find a way to balance the two of them when I return on June 23.
Last Saturday, I took the SAT in Düsseldorf at the International School there. I was pretty well prepared and it was pretty easy for me. I hope I did well. I'm planning to take it again this fall, so that is good. The International School in Düsseldorf is a beautiful school on a tree lined street near the airport. I think I would love to go there. There are a fair amount of American students there because their parents are military, government officials, or have business in Düsseldorf. After my test, Ralf, Sven, and I walked along the Rhein and went up to the top of the Rhein Tower in the center of the tourist area in the city. It reminded me of the Space Needle because of its similar design and rotating viewing platform. It's ironic to me that I went up in the Rhein Tower before the Space Needle. Hint hint Mom and Dad!
Tomorrow I am going to Paris for the day with a German friend of mine and her mother. We are leaving Aachen at 8am and driving to Paris in a travel bus (the same company with whom I went to London) and getting there at about 1pm. We will tour the city until 12am when we will begin to drive back to Aachen. I am so excited to see the sights of Paris. I can't wait to see the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Couer, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, and the Champs Elysees. I never imagined going to Paris, just because I thought that it wouldn't happen for many years, but now I am excited beyond belief.
My last weeks here are packed with more new experiences. Next week, I have Thursday and Friday off from school. On Thursday, I am going to watch the German men's national soccer team play against Malta. On May 24 and 25, we have no school and we might be going to somewhere on the sea in northern Holland. The next week I have no school on Thursday and Friday and 5 days later I will fly off to Berlin with Kayla and Leilani for our CBYX seminar. A week and a half after I get back to Berlin, I will be flying home to Seattle!
I am so happy to be going home, but at the same time, I don't want to leave. I love my host family and my friends at school. I love my soccer team and how happy I am when I play with them. I love Aachen and the narrow cobblestoned streets in the Innenstadt and around the Dom. The flowers are starting to bloom and everything is green again after a long, hard, winter. At the moment, I can't believe that I will be going home. It hasn't registered that in less than 7 weeks I will be sleeping in my bed, meeting my puppy for the first time, and seeing my family again. Weird...
Now that I have probably confused you with all of my grammar and language mistakes, I'll let you go. I have to go to Catholic Religion class anyways!
18 April 2010
Easter Break
So here I am, sitting in the sun with a t-shirt and shorts on. You’re probably thinking, oh, she went on a trip to Italy or Spain…but no, I am sitting in the front yard of my house and writing this! I missed the sun and the green grass and trees so much this winter that I have to make up for I by going to such lengths as updating my blog outside! Oh, and I am trying to make my German pale skin go away! I don’t think I’ve been this pale in my entire life!
All in all, everything is going really well here. I am very happy, but as busy as ever. That is one thing that very few people realize about an exchange year…that there is no boring time, no “oh I have 2 hours to watch tv or go on facebook” time. In America, I love to read. Here, I don’t have the time to read. In addition, the English books here are expensive. However, if you are an exchange student and you DO happen to have time to read, see if you can check out ebooks for free from your local library. There is normally a huge variety to choose from and they are simple and easy to download with an Adobe Reader program.
Easter break in North Rhein Westfalia was March 27th to April 10th this year. Ralf, Sven, Meike, and I drove down to Austria on Saturday the 27th. The drive was quite entertaining because in order to avoid traffic, we took a detour in northern Baden-Wurttemberg. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any maps and the GPS was also not much help! Haha, but it was really interesting for me to see part of Germany that is really off the beaten track. This is one of those experiences that I will definitely always remember because I saw countryside and a lifestyle that most visitors in Germany never see.
After we got to Zillertal on the 27th, we skied twice before driving to Munich on Thursday to pick Karin up at the airport. Before we picked her up, we went and visited the Allianz Arena. Germany’s most famous, most loved, and most hated soccer team, Bayern Munchen, plays in this arena. Munich has a soccer team in the 2nd Bundesliga, 1860 Munchen, and they also play in the stadium. The stadium is really cool because at night, it lights up in the team colours of whoever is playing in the stadium at the moment. So when Bayern plays, the stadium in red and when 1860 plays, the stadium is blue. After we picked Karin up, we drove into the central area of Munich and walked around a bit. We saw the world famous Hofbrauhaus (no we didn’t go in), the Glockenspiel, and many other famous sites in Munich. I can’t wait to go back someday because I know there is a lot more I have yet to see and I would love to see more of the city.
Over the break, we skied a total of 6 days. We skied 4 days at Kaltenbach (Hochzillertal), one day on the Hintertuxer Glacier, and one day at Penken (a huge ski area near Mayrhofen and also in Zillertal). Skiing on the glacier is an experience I will never forget. It was a beautiful sunny day and even at 2 miles above sea level, was it above freezing. At the highest point reachable by gondola on the glacier, one is 3200 feet above sea level and the panorama terrace allows people to take in unbelievable views of the Alps and the Dolomites. Skiing at Penken was also interesting, but not as good as at Kaltenbach. The snow at Penken was either really icy or mushy and there was already a lot of brown patches on the slopes. Hari Kiri, with 70% grade the steepest slope in Austria, was already closed for the season, but we rode by it on the lift and it looked pretty insane, but doable. One of the gondolas that connects Mayrhofen to Penken is quite the exciting ride. Starting in the valley floor at Mayrhofen, it goes directly up to the top of the mountain without any support. At the top of the mountain, the gondola continues its free hang across another valley to the top of another mountain. It’s definitely pretty freaky and not everyone’s cup of tea!
We also took a day trip up into Bavaria. Starting in Zillertal, we drove north and across the border into Germany. We got on this tiny narrow toll road that winds through the German Alps. We came out in Wallgau, which is close to Mittenwald and a little farther down the road is Garmisch-Partenkirchen (yeah, where we went for ski jumping). The mountains there are huge and rocky and covered with snow. I take pictures, but I really feel that there’s no way to capture the feeling you get seeing the mountains for the first time, in a photograph. After driving through Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we went to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is the site of the world famous Passion play which is put on every 10 years by villagers. This year is a play year and the play will be running from May to October. The buildings in the town are covered in paintings, many of them depicting scenes from the Bible. I’m not religious, but I was pretty in awe of the work and detail put into the paintings. On our way back to Austria, we took a quick stop at Kloster Ettal. “Kloster” is the German word for monastery and Ettal is the location (directly translated: Et Valley). The building is huge and very imposing, with intricate stonework. It looks practically more like a palace than a monastery. Kloster Ettal is currently very high profile in Germany because many of the monks were recently accused of child abuse. To finish off our little road trip, we drove over the mountains from Mittenwald down into Innsbruck. It never ceases to amaze me how close everything her e in Europa really is!
This past week at school was pretty good. I got my math test back and that wasn’t exactly positive, but das Leben ist kein Ponyhof! I have been thinking a lot about my end of the year project for my CBYX seminar in Berlin. I’m trying to figure out what to send home in my big box and what to keep here to take in my suitcases. That job is not going to be fun…I have acquired so much stuff here!
I’ve only got a little over two months left here in Germany. I’ve already got so much planned, but there is still so much I want to do! I regret not starting to travel more in the fall. I realize that this is not a travel year, but I still want to see Rome, Barcelona, Paris, and much more and I am sad because I know that I won’t be able to see all of that! So if you are reading this Sally, remember to start your travels early!
Speaking of Sally, she is coming here next year with CBYX! Most of you already know the details of course, so I won’t write those, but it’s pretty exciting for her! Of course it will be weird only seeing her for a month this summer after I come home and before she leaves, but we’ll catch up a lot then. I’m going to miss her a lot next year though! I hope to come pick her up in June 2011, but we’ll see.
My parents are calling soon and I got to post this blog before they call!
All in all, everything is going really well here. I am very happy, but as busy as ever. That is one thing that very few people realize about an exchange year…that there is no boring time, no “oh I have 2 hours to watch tv or go on facebook” time. In America, I love to read. Here, I don’t have the time to read. In addition, the English books here are expensive. However, if you are an exchange student and you DO happen to have time to read, see if you can check out ebooks for free from your local library. There is normally a huge variety to choose from and they are simple and easy to download with an Adobe Reader program.
Easter break in North Rhein Westfalia was March 27th to April 10th this year. Ralf, Sven, Meike, and I drove down to Austria on Saturday the 27th. The drive was quite entertaining because in order to avoid traffic, we took a detour in northern Baden-Wurttemberg. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any maps and the GPS was also not much help! Haha, but it was really interesting for me to see part of Germany that is really off the beaten track. This is one of those experiences that I will definitely always remember because I saw countryside and a lifestyle that most visitors in Germany never see.
After we got to Zillertal on the 27th, we skied twice before driving to Munich on Thursday to pick Karin up at the airport. Before we picked her up, we went and visited the Allianz Arena. Germany’s most famous, most loved, and most hated soccer team, Bayern Munchen, plays in this arena. Munich has a soccer team in the 2nd Bundesliga, 1860 Munchen, and they also play in the stadium. The stadium is really cool because at night, it lights up in the team colours of whoever is playing in the stadium at the moment. So when Bayern plays, the stadium in red and when 1860 plays, the stadium is blue. After we picked Karin up, we drove into the central area of Munich and walked around a bit. We saw the world famous Hofbrauhaus (no we didn’t go in), the Glockenspiel, and many other famous sites in Munich. I can’t wait to go back someday because I know there is a lot more I have yet to see and I would love to see more of the city.
Over the break, we skied a total of 6 days. We skied 4 days at Kaltenbach (Hochzillertal), one day on the Hintertuxer Glacier, and one day at Penken (a huge ski area near Mayrhofen and also in Zillertal). Skiing on the glacier is an experience I will never forget. It was a beautiful sunny day and even at 2 miles above sea level, was it above freezing. At the highest point reachable by gondola on the glacier, one is 3200 feet above sea level and the panorama terrace allows people to take in unbelievable views of the Alps and the Dolomites. Skiing at Penken was also interesting, but not as good as at Kaltenbach. The snow at Penken was either really icy or mushy and there was already a lot of brown patches on the slopes. Hari Kiri, with 70% grade the steepest slope in Austria, was already closed for the season, but we rode by it on the lift and it looked pretty insane, but doable. One of the gondolas that connects Mayrhofen to Penken is quite the exciting ride. Starting in the valley floor at Mayrhofen, it goes directly up to the top of the mountain without any support. At the top of the mountain, the gondola continues its free hang across another valley to the top of another mountain. It’s definitely pretty freaky and not everyone’s cup of tea!
We also took a day trip up into Bavaria. Starting in Zillertal, we drove north and across the border into Germany. We got on this tiny narrow toll road that winds through the German Alps. We came out in Wallgau, which is close to Mittenwald and a little farther down the road is Garmisch-Partenkirchen (yeah, where we went for ski jumping). The mountains there are huge and rocky and covered with snow. I take pictures, but I really feel that there’s no way to capture the feeling you get seeing the mountains for the first time, in a photograph. After driving through Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we went to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is the site of the world famous Passion play which is put on every 10 years by villagers. This year is a play year and the play will be running from May to October. The buildings in the town are covered in paintings, many of them depicting scenes from the Bible. I’m not religious, but I was pretty in awe of the work and detail put into the paintings. On our way back to Austria, we took a quick stop at Kloster Ettal. “Kloster” is the German word for monastery and Ettal is the location (directly translated: Et Valley). The building is huge and very imposing, with intricate stonework. It looks practically more like a palace than a monastery. Kloster Ettal is currently very high profile in Germany because many of the monks were recently accused of child abuse. To finish off our little road trip, we drove over the mountains from Mittenwald down into Innsbruck. It never ceases to amaze me how close everything her e in Europa really is!
This past week at school was pretty good. I got my math test back and that wasn’t exactly positive, but das Leben ist kein Ponyhof! I have been thinking a lot about my end of the year project for my CBYX seminar in Berlin. I’m trying to figure out what to send home in my big box and what to keep here to take in my suitcases. That job is not going to be fun…I have acquired so much stuff here!
I’ve only got a little over two months left here in Germany. I’ve already got so much planned, but there is still so much I want to do! I regret not starting to travel more in the fall. I realize that this is not a travel year, but I still want to see Rome, Barcelona, Paris, and much more and I am sad because I know that I won’t be able to see all of that! So if you are reading this Sally, remember to start your travels early!
Speaking of Sally, she is coming here next year with CBYX! Most of you already know the details of course, so I won’t write those, but it’s pretty exciting for her! Of course it will be weird only seeing her for a month this summer after I come home and before she leaves, but we’ll catch up a lot then. I’m going to miss her a lot next year though! I hope to come pick her up in June 2011, but we’ll see.
My parents are calling soon and I got to post this blog before they call!
26 March 2010
Three Months Left
I can't believe I am going to be in Germany only 3 more months! Wednesday the 23 of March was the 3 month mark. I am already starting to think about everything that I will miss here: my host family, friends, my school, the food, the beautiful sights of Europe. Of course, I am also incredibly excited to go home, but it will definitely be a little weird for the first couple of weeks back in the States!
I am at school right now in a free period. I had an English test 1 and 2 period and now I've got 3 and 4 period free before Catholic Religion 5 and 6 period and Math 7 and 8 period. Doesn't sound too exciting, but Religion is pretty interesting and maybe we will talk about the test we took on Tuesday in Math.
Tonight I have soccer practice and since it is raining today, the field should be pretty muddy. I don't think I'll be wearing shorts to practice! I was so excited last Friday and on Wednesday because it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts to soccer! That hasn't been the case since October!
Tomorrow, Ralf, Sven, Meike, and I are driving to Austria. We will be there for two weeks on Easter Break. Next Thursday, we will drive to Munich and pick up Karin at the airport. She is flying down from Köln/Bonn. We are going to go skiing at HochZillertal and on Hintertuxer Glacier (I'm super excited about that because I have never skiied on a glacier). We'll also go to Innsbruck and probably drive a bit around Tirol. I love going to Austria and Bavaria because the mountains and lakes are beautiful and the scenery is so different from here in the Eifel.
For the past couple of weeks, I have had 90 minutes of German lessons every Thursday. A woman who is friends with the lady I did my Praktikum with is giving me lessons. Just when I thought I was getting a grip on the German language, I found out how much more complicated it really is! Past, Past Perfect, Present, Future...everything is very challenging! Nevertheless, I find it is always better to simply speak without thinking and not to focus on all of the mistakes. Chances are, you won't be making that many mistakes!
I hope everyone is doing well!
Carrie
Monschau, Germany
March 26, 2010
I am at school right now in a free period. I had an English test 1 and 2 period and now I've got 3 and 4 period free before Catholic Religion 5 and 6 period and Math 7 and 8 period. Doesn't sound too exciting, but Religion is pretty interesting and maybe we will talk about the test we took on Tuesday in Math.
Tonight I have soccer practice and since it is raining today, the field should be pretty muddy. I don't think I'll be wearing shorts to practice! I was so excited last Friday and on Wednesday because it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts to soccer! That hasn't been the case since October!
Tomorrow, Ralf, Sven, Meike, and I are driving to Austria. We will be there for two weeks on Easter Break. Next Thursday, we will drive to Munich and pick up Karin at the airport. She is flying down from Köln/Bonn. We are going to go skiing at HochZillertal and on Hintertuxer Glacier (I'm super excited about that because I have never skiied on a glacier). We'll also go to Innsbruck and probably drive a bit around Tirol. I love going to Austria and Bavaria because the mountains and lakes are beautiful and the scenery is so different from here in the Eifel.
For the past couple of weeks, I have had 90 minutes of German lessons every Thursday. A woman who is friends with the lady I did my Praktikum with is giving me lessons. Just when I thought I was getting a grip on the German language, I found out how much more complicated it really is! Past, Past Perfect, Present, Future...everything is very challenging! Nevertheless, I find it is always better to simply speak without thinking and not to focus on all of the mistakes. Chances are, you won't be making that many mistakes!
I hope everyone is doing well!
Carrie
Monschau, Germany
March 26, 2010
12 March 2010
News óf the Month
I can't really think of anything earth-shaking and totally exciting to say, so I'll just give an update of what I've been up to since I got back from Weimar:
Ralf, Sven, and I went to an Alemmania Aachen game once and we're going again tonight. Alemmania is 13 out of 18 in the 2nd Bundesliga, but it is still fun to go to the games and experience the atmosphere.
Last Sunday, we went to Roermond in The Netherlands. There is a huge outlet shopping center there that a lot of Germans go to because it is open on Sundays (unlike stores in Germany). It was pretty cool because when we were driving there, we drove on a street that is right on the border of Germany and The Netherlands. Where we were driving was Germany and the people driving the other direction were driving in The Netherlands. Ralf told me that before the EU had open borders, there used to be a little barrier down the middle of the street so the cars couldn't cross over. The Windhorsts also took me to see the house that they lived in when they lived in The Netherlands.
I have been going to school like normal. On Monday, my Geography class went to an above ground coal mine about an hour away from our school. It was pretty interesting to see all the complicated and huge machines that make the whole process work. Today I had English 1st and 2nd periods, then 4 free periods, and then I will have Math 7th and 8th period. There is not enough time to ride the bus home during the 4 free periods, so I have to stay at school. It's actually ok though, because there are lots of kids to hang out with and talk to. I also have access to a computer and I can do homework too.
On Sunday, I have a soccer game in Stolberg (about 30 minutes away from my house). I hope that we win and that we don't freeze!
It has been really cold and windy here for the past week or so. The past few days have been cloudier (and warmer), but it has been snowing some. I am so tired of the snow all over the place. I can't wait for the flowers to start blooming and for it to be finally warm enough that I can wear a t-shirt outside (or even just a sweatshirt!) I am really looking forward to this summer, no matter how hot it might get in Fall City!
Well I have to go get ready for Math. I am really looking forward to 90 minutes of my favorite subject!! Everyone who really knows me is laughing right now...you know what I mean.
Carrie
Monschau, Deutschland
Ralf, Sven, and I went to an Alemmania Aachen game once and we're going again tonight. Alemmania is 13 out of 18 in the 2nd Bundesliga, but it is still fun to go to the games and experience the atmosphere.
Last Sunday, we went to Roermond in The Netherlands. There is a huge outlet shopping center there that a lot of Germans go to because it is open on Sundays (unlike stores in Germany). It was pretty cool because when we were driving there, we drove on a street that is right on the border of Germany and The Netherlands. Where we were driving was Germany and the people driving the other direction were driving in The Netherlands. Ralf told me that before the EU had open borders, there used to be a little barrier down the middle of the street so the cars couldn't cross over. The Windhorsts also took me to see the house that they lived in when they lived in The Netherlands.
I have been going to school like normal. On Monday, my Geography class went to an above ground coal mine about an hour away from our school. It was pretty interesting to see all the complicated and huge machines that make the whole process work. Today I had English 1st and 2nd periods, then 4 free periods, and then I will have Math 7th and 8th period. There is not enough time to ride the bus home during the 4 free periods, so I have to stay at school. It's actually ok though, because there are lots of kids to hang out with and talk to. I also have access to a computer and I can do homework too.
On Sunday, I have a soccer game in Stolberg (about 30 minutes away from my house). I hope that we win and that we don't freeze!
It has been really cold and windy here for the past week or so. The past few days have been cloudier (and warmer), but it has been snowing some. I am so tired of the snow all over the place. I can't wait for the flowers to start blooming and for it to be finally warm enough that I can wear a t-shirt outside (or even just a sweatshirt!) I am really looking forward to this summer, no matter how hot it might get in Fall City!
Well I have to go get ready for Math. I am really looking forward to 90 minutes of my favorite subject!! Everyone who really knows me is laughing right now...you know what I mean.
Carrie
Monschau, Deutschland
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