23 August 2009

My First Three Weeks In Deutschland

I can't believe I have already been in Germany for over three weeks! Sometimes it seems like I just arrived and still have a lot to adjust to, and other times I feel like I have lived here forever. I know some of you are wondering what exactly I do everyday, so I'll give you a little run down of my daily life.

7 am: Karin wakes me up. Ralf, Meike, and Sven have already gone off to work and school so it's just the two of us. I have breakfast; usually one or two pieces of toast brot (basically American sandwich bread, but a little different) with peanut butter (hard to find here!) and jelly or Nutella. Nutella is pretty much the best thing ever...you just have to remember not to look at the nutrition facts!

7:15am: Karin leaves for work and I have the house to myself. I usually go get dressed and get my bag packed for the day. When I go to the Jugendherberge, I bring my iPod, German dictionary, money, bus pass, hand sanitizer, gum, pen, and notebook, all in my ASSE bag.

7:50-7:55am: I leave for the bus. The bus stop is about 5 minutes away walking, so it's nice. It's right at the church in Lammersdorf. I like walking to the bus at that time because I get to see all the little kids going to school at the Grundschule (kindergarten to third grade maybe??). They are so cute!

8:09am: This is what time the bus is supposed to come...of course it is always about five minutes late. It's weird though, because I'm the second or third stop...so why should the bus be late? I ride the SB63 to Aachen Bushof. In English, that would be the express bus to the main bus station in Aachen. I ride the bus with Kayla, another CBYX girl who lives in Simmerath, but in a different neighborhood. I'm glad she's there because then I have someone to talk to! She will also be going to St. Michael Gymnasium with me. It's funny though because we are the only ones on the bus in the mornings who talk, and on top of that, we're speaking English. So I think the other riders think we are kind of weird.

9:03am: The SB63 arrives at the Misereor stop in Aachen. Kayla and I get off and run across the street to the Misereor stop for buses going the opposite direction. A couple minutes later, the number two bus to Preuswald comes and we get on that. Usually there are a couple other CBYX kids on it heading to the Jugendherberge for Sprachcamp.

9:15am: Hopefully this is the time when we finally get to the Jugendherberge and start our Sprachkurs for the day...Kayla and I have missed the number 2 bus at 9:05am twice and haven't gotten to the Jugendherberge until 9:35am. Since the class is supposed to start at 9:00am, that isn't so good.

noon: We get an hour and 15 minute break for lunch! Haha it's one of the highlights of the day. The Sprachcamp is good, but it's too long and can get really boring. We get 10 minute breaks every hour which helps some though. We get a hot lunch from the Jugendherberge...it's usually pretty good. A lot better than what we'd get at a youth hostel in America!

1:15pm: Our Sprachkurs starts up again and we continue until 3:00pm.

3:00pm: Everybody goes down to the bus stop and catches the number 2 bus...which probably annoys all the riders. A bunch of loud American teenagers all speaking English...yay. I get off the bus at Misereor and a couple minutes later I catch the SB63 to Simmeratch Bushof. The bus is not fun in the afternoon because it is very hot and crowded and it's a long ride.

4:15pm: I get home and hang out with whoever is around. Sven and Ralf are home and most of the time Meike is too. Depending on the day, I will have soccer practice around 6 and I will get home around 9 or so. My days are busy, but that's good I think. I don't have a lot of time to talk with my friends from America which is sad, but I haven't gotten homesick yet...probably because I am so busy doing other things! I still think about you guys everyday though. I know it seems like I never update anything, but I'll work on it.

Now for some very different things I have come across here in Germany:
1. ALL the cars are stick shift. The only ones that aren't are the big vehicles like trucks and vans.
2. Awesome window shades that come down over the windows at night or whenever you push the button. They completely black out the room and almost everyone has them.
3. No one drinks tap water. People go to the store and buy bottled bubbly water...or in my case, bottled still water!
4. The Germans think Americans eat lots of food and in big portions...in my opinion, Germans eat way way more food and in larger portions than Americans! I was told that I "eat like a bird". Not true!
5. Soccer. Germans get their shorts, jerseys, and socks for the games when they are at the field. Each team has a Kabine (locker room) where they get dressed. After the games and practices, we all go in and take showers and, if it's a gameday, pile up our socks, jerseys, and shorts. Very different than in the States!

Two days ago, when I arrived back at the main train station in Aachen (Aachen Hauptbahnhof), Sven and Ralf picked me up and we went to the Netherlands and Belgium. First we drove about 10 minutes to Holland and got gas. Then we drove up this hill to the highest point in Holland...and also the Dreilanderpunkt. Germany, Belgium, and Holland all come together at the top of this hill. I put one foot in Holland, one foot in Germany, and one hand in Belgium! Then we drove down the hill and went shopping in Belgium for some junk food and stuff for Sven to take on his class trip to Paris (he leaves at 5:45am tomorrow).

Today, Ralf, Karin, Meike, and I went to Liege, Belgium. It definitely wasn't a beautiful city (at least the part I could see), but there was a nice river flowing through it, and we went to a gigantic outdoor market. It was insane. People were selling everything from whole cured pigs to knock off designer bags. I guess it's the largest outdoor market with in 100 km in each direction. Which is pretty far when you're talking about Belgium. We also went to Spa, Belgium...the town that made thermal springs famous. It was pretty, with lots of flowers and fountains. Very popular with tourists (there's a casino and lots of other attractions) and next weekend there is going to be a big Formula 1 race there.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my last week at language camp. After that my last connection with Americans pretty much ends. Of course Kayla and Leilani will be at my school, but who knows how often I will see them. I'm looking forward to this huge party in Cologne in September though. It's for American exchange students in Germany, German students who have studied in America, and host siblings if they want to come. I heard it's pretty cool, so hopefully I'll meet up with lots of kids!

I've got so much more to say, but this post is already long enough! Hopefully you didn't get too bored. I'm sorry if you did! I have not been posting pictures on here because Facebook is easier...hint hint Kaylee you should get a Facebook!!!

ciao
Carrie

3 comments:

bmiller.dragonfly said...

Carrie:
So good to read your blog. The photos are fun, too. Can you label some of them. The photo of the kids sitting at the tables by the windows - where is that? I am glad you told me about the Sport Museum, too, because I would really be wondering about the boxing, esp the girls boxing!!! lol

Kaylee G said...

CARRIE!!!! I miss you so much!! I am so thrilled to see your updated post!! :)It sounds like you are super busy, but sounds like a lot of fun too! Thank you for posting!!

<3 Kaylee

bmiller.dragonfly said...

Carrie, so mjuch fun to read what you are doing and how you are doing all of it. Keep up the good work. Gram S.