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
24 February 2010
Zillertal and Weimar
Today is no school so I thought I would update my blog. If you are wondering why we don’t have any school, I’ll tell you. First of all, it’s only my school, St. Michael Gymnasium, that doesn’t have school today. Second of all, today is basically a teacher work day, but who knows what is actually going on. One thing that is a bit interesting is that there aren’t really school districts here like in the States and each school is more independent. I’ll take my free day as an opportunity to fill you in on the last two weeks.
Four days after getting back from London, Sven, Ralf and I went to Austria. We got there on Thursday the 11th and returned on Tuesday the 16th. The trip down to Zillertal took 10 hours! A lot of that had to do with the weather conditions. Normally, there is no snow on the Autobahn because so many cars are traveling so fast and the snow simply melts. That day however, it was snowing like crazy all over Bavaria and the snow was sticking on the Autobahn. Luckily, we made the trip safely! The skiing in Austria was amazing. We skied three days in Kaltenbach (Hochzillertal/Hochfügen) and every day was sunny! We could not have lucked out more on the fantastic weather and snow conditions. The snow was not very fresh, but once the sun and the people softened it up a little bit, it was like a dream. The crowds were huge however, and sometimes waiting in the lift lines can be pretty hectic. We also skied the two “Talabfahrts” of Hochzillertal. A Talabfahrt is a run that goes all the way from the top of the mountain to the valley (where the gondolas start, ticket counters are, and parking lots are). This is pretty special because most of the snow at the bottom of these runs is all artificial so the groomers have to work pretty hard to keep that well kept. Unlike at Christmas, the camping platz was covered in about 6 inches of snow. It was definitely pretty, but the snow is sometimes hard on the tents that are attached to the trailers. A couple of the poles on our tent had slipped a little bit under the weight of the snow, so we had to put them back into place again. I feel incredibly lucky that my host family takes me on trips to see places like Austria, Italy, Belgium, and Holland…places that I might not get to see otherwise (or as a tourist in 20 years).
After getting back to Lammersdorf at 5pm on Tuesday the 16th, I got up at 5:30am the next morning to go to Weimar. I was in Weimar from Wednesday until Sunday the 21st. Weimar is in Thuringen, one of the new (since 1990) states in Germany. You probably recognize the name from history class (Weimar Republic, etc.) I went to a seminar with 48 other Americans, all of whom are the CBYX recipients from ASSE (California, Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada). Every year, the scholarship recipients go to Weimar for a 5 day seminar. A lot of times it is called the half time seminar, but in reality, the half way point was January 14th and as of today, I have been in Germany for 6 and ½ months and have exactly 4 months left.
Anyway, Weimar is not especially well known as a city full culture and life, but I think it is a perfect place to visit if you don’t want to be in a huge city, but still want to get a good taste of history. Weimar was home to Schiller and Goethe, two of Germany’s most famous writers. In addition, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, and Hans Christian Anderson lived at some point in the city. More recently, the Bauhaus movement took place in Weimar. In the late 1920s and early 30s, architecture took a turn as extremely basic houses with horizontal lines instead of vertical lines and many intricate decorations began to be built. This part was interesting because we walked through a new development of these Bauhaus style houses in Weimar and they look very modern, so unlike the stereotypical German house. As you can tell, Weimar has a lot to do with culture and the arts of Germany and the entire world. On the other side of the culture spectrum, described by one of our German seminar leaders as “unkultur” or not cultural, is the former Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald, located on a hill above Weimar and about 10 minutes from the city center by bus. I had never been to a concentration camp, but I had heard a lot about them, from teachers, films, and books. Even when one thinks they know all about the horrors of these camps and how the prisoners were treated, all of that becomes more real when one actually visits a camp. I can’t describe what it is like to go to one of these camps, but I can only say that it is just something one has to do in life. Until you have seen the barracks, the cells where the prisoners stayed during their last night before going to the crematorium, or the crematorium itself, the horror of the time of the Nazis is just something there, but not quite real, not quite believable even though you know it’s true. This was a very sobering part of the trip, but as the next generation to lead the world, we must see was has been done so we can make sure that it happens never again.
In addition, we visited Erfurt, the capital of Thuringen. We sat in the parliament there and visited the Rathaus and the mayor. We listened to a talk about the government in Thuringen and some people asked a couple politicians questions about their opinions on certain problems. The mayor gave us a speech about her duties and what Thuringen has to offer in Germany. Erfurt was interesting for me because it has a street train, unlike Aachen which has buses.
I really enjoyed getting to see all the kids again. Of course I get to see Leilani and Kayla almost every day, and I have seen some of the kids from Aachen a couple of times, but being able to see some of the kids who I hadn’t seen since Washington D.C. was really fun. We had an 11pm curfew and that gave us the chance to go into the city of Weimar and hang out a little. It was definitely a crazy time, but I got to talk to lots of kids and that was really interesting.
It’s so weird for me to think that a year ago I had just done my interview and was about to find out that I had gotten accepted into this program. It’s sometimes weird to think that my sister could be here next year, sitting on her bed and writing a blog post about Zillertal and Weimar. Good Luck Sal!
I’d like to let you guys know that I know when I’m coming home. I’m really excited, but I still can’t comprehend how fast the time has gone and that I really only have 4 months left in Germany. I leave Germany at 12:20pm on June 23 and arrive in Washington D.C. at 3:00pm on the same day. No the flight is not 2 hours and 40 minutes…there is a 6 hour time difference. I’m hoping to fly out of D.C. at 5:50pm and arrive in Seattle at 8:25pm, but I’m not sure yet what will happen. Either way, I can’t wait to see all of you guys this summer!
Carrie
Lammersdorf, Germany
February 23, 2010
Four days after getting back from London, Sven, Ralf and I went to Austria. We got there on Thursday the 11th and returned on Tuesday the 16th. The trip down to Zillertal took 10 hours! A lot of that had to do with the weather conditions. Normally, there is no snow on the Autobahn because so many cars are traveling so fast and the snow simply melts. That day however, it was snowing like crazy all over Bavaria and the snow was sticking on the Autobahn. Luckily, we made the trip safely! The skiing in Austria was amazing. We skied three days in Kaltenbach (Hochzillertal/Hochfügen) and every day was sunny! We could not have lucked out more on the fantastic weather and snow conditions. The snow was not very fresh, but once the sun and the people softened it up a little bit, it was like a dream. The crowds were huge however, and sometimes waiting in the lift lines can be pretty hectic. We also skied the two “Talabfahrts” of Hochzillertal. A Talabfahrt is a run that goes all the way from the top of the mountain to the valley (where the gondolas start, ticket counters are, and parking lots are). This is pretty special because most of the snow at the bottom of these runs is all artificial so the groomers have to work pretty hard to keep that well kept. Unlike at Christmas, the camping platz was covered in about 6 inches of snow. It was definitely pretty, but the snow is sometimes hard on the tents that are attached to the trailers. A couple of the poles on our tent had slipped a little bit under the weight of the snow, so we had to put them back into place again. I feel incredibly lucky that my host family takes me on trips to see places like Austria, Italy, Belgium, and Holland…places that I might not get to see otherwise (or as a tourist in 20 years).
After getting back to Lammersdorf at 5pm on Tuesday the 16th, I got up at 5:30am the next morning to go to Weimar. I was in Weimar from Wednesday until Sunday the 21st. Weimar is in Thuringen, one of the new (since 1990) states in Germany. You probably recognize the name from history class (Weimar Republic, etc.) I went to a seminar with 48 other Americans, all of whom are the CBYX recipients from ASSE (California, Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada). Every year, the scholarship recipients go to Weimar for a 5 day seminar. A lot of times it is called the half time seminar, but in reality, the half way point was January 14th and as of today, I have been in Germany for 6 and ½ months and have exactly 4 months left.
Anyway, Weimar is not especially well known as a city full culture and life, but I think it is a perfect place to visit if you don’t want to be in a huge city, but still want to get a good taste of history. Weimar was home to Schiller and Goethe, two of Germany’s most famous writers. In addition, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, and Hans Christian Anderson lived at some point in the city. More recently, the Bauhaus movement took place in Weimar. In the late 1920s and early 30s, architecture took a turn as extremely basic houses with horizontal lines instead of vertical lines and many intricate decorations began to be built. This part was interesting because we walked through a new development of these Bauhaus style houses in Weimar and they look very modern, so unlike the stereotypical German house. As you can tell, Weimar has a lot to do with culture and the arts of Germany and the entire world. On the other side of the culture spectrum, described by one of our German seminar leaders as “unkultur” or not cultural, is the former Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald, located on a hill above Weimar and about 10 minutes from the city center by bus. I had never been to a concentration camp, but I had heard a lot about them, from teachers, films, and books. Even when one thinks they know all about the horrors of these camps and how the prisoners were treated, all of that becomes more real when one actually visits a camp. I can’t describe what it is like to go to one of these camps, but I can only say that it is just something one has to do in life. Until you have seen the barracks, the cells where the prisoners stayed during their last night before going to the crematorium, or the crematorium itself, the horror of the time of the Nazis is just something there, but not quite real, not quite believable even though you know it’s true. This was a very sobering part of the trip, but as the next generation to lead the world, we must see was has been done so we can make sure that it happens never again.
In addition, we visited Erfurt, the capital of Thuringen. We sat in the parliament there and visited the Rathaus and the mayor. We listened to a talk about the government in Thuringen and some people asked a couple politicians questions about their opinions on certain problems. The mayor gave us a speech about her duties and what Thuringen has to offer in Germany. Erfurt was interesting for me because it has a street train, unlike Aachen which has buses.
I really enjoyed getting to see all the kids again. Of course I get to see Leilani and Kayla almost every day, and I have seen some of the kids from Aachen a couple of times, but being able to see some of the kids who I hadn’t seen since Washington D.C. was really fun. We had an 11pm curfew and that gave us the chance to go into the city of Weimar and hang out a little. It was definitely a crazy time, but I got to talk to lots of kids and that was really interesting.
It’s so weird for me to think that a year ago I had just done my interview and was about to find out that I had gotten accepted into this program. It’s sometimes weird to think that my sister could be here next year, sitting on her bed and writing a blog post about Zillertal and Weimar. Good Luck Sal!
I’d like to let you guys know that I know when I’m coming home. I’m really excited, but I still can’t comprehend how fast the time has gone and that I really only have 4 months left in Germany. I leave Germany at 12:20pm on June 23 and arrive in Washington D.C. at 3:00pm on the same day. No the flight is not 2 hours and 40 minutes…there is a 6 hour time difference. I’m hoping to fly out of D.C. at 5:50pm and arrive in Seattle at 8:25pm, but I’m not sure yet what will happen. Either way, I can’t wait to see all of you guys this summer!
Carrie
Lammersdorf, Germany
February 23, 2010
11 February 2010
I LOVE LONDON
I am probably the only one who noticed, but did anyone else realize that I have been in Germany for over six months? I can hardly believe it. The time has gone by so fast. I remember going to the meetings before we left and in D.C. and every alumni said “oh yeah, you won’t believe how fast the time flies!” and I just thought “no way! That is almost eleven months! It can’t go by that fast!” However, it really does. As of today, I have just over four more months left in Germany. I’m a little surprised by how fast the time has gone, but I still have four months to learn more German, travel a bit more, play soccer, have fun with friends, and do my best at school.
My big piece of news is that I went to London! I went with Leilani (another CBYXer who lives in Seattle and goes to St. Michael Gymnasium with me) from February 5-February 7. It was pretty insane and once I describe it to you, you’ll realize why!
The trip was actually advertised by a bus travel company in the Rheinland (which includes Aachen). It was a 1.5 day trip to London, but without any overnight stay in a hotel. We left Aachen at 11pm on Friday (it was supposed to be 10pm, but our bus was late). We then drove partly through Holland, Belgium, and France before we got to Calais at around 3am. At Calais, we got on a ferry and took the 1.5 hour trip across the English Channel to Dover. I have never ever gotten sea sick on the Washington ferries, but my stomach sure was feeling a little funny on the crossing from France to England! It was really amazing once we got to Dover because while it was very dark, there were enough lights at the port that we could see the outlines of the famous Cliffs of Dover. I really want to go back to Dover sometime so I can see everything in daylight!
Once we got to London it was 6am London time and 7am German time. We then paid 10 Euros each for a 90 minute city tour given by our bus driver. If you ever go to London, I would strongly recommend taking a city tour. Normally, they last a couple of hours or so and then you have time to sightsee on your own and if you saw somewhere on the tour that you really liked, you can always go back. During our tour, we saw the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, the London Eye, Millennium Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and 10 Downing Street (where the Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, lives).
After the tour, Leilani and I went shopping for about an hour at Primark (sort of a WAY cheaper H & M) and I got a wallet and a long sleeve white shirt (both were 3 pounds each!) After our shopping excursion, Leilani and I found a couple of music shops on these really cool little side streets that Leilani had been to last year on a school trip to London. It was really interesting to wander a little bit off the beaten track (Oxford Street, the busiest shopping street in London) and see what happens.
Later in the morning, we bought a one day subway-, underground-, tube-ticket for the two central zones in London. This turned out to be a really great deal. The ticket was around 5.60 pounds and we used it a fair amount to get across central London. What really helped was that Leilani had been to London before and ridden the Tube so she knew most of the time where we were going and so on. Oh yeah and one interesting piece of info: I have never seen escalators so long as the ones in the London Underground. You stand at the bottom and look up and it seems like it goes on forever and ever. Haha just a random thing I wanted to add!
In the afternoon, Leilani and I went back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. The National Gallery is full of paintings from the 1300s or so until the 1900s. Famous artists such as Monet, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Manet, Cezanne, and many others have paintings displayed in the gallery. I even got to see Van Gogh’s Sunflowers! It was beautiful and I loved getting to see the original!
I also bought an Oxford University sweatshirt from a street stand. I told my parents that my aspirations keep on getting higher and higher!
I was a little worried about the weather in London because it is a city famous for its rain, cold, and fog (sounds a little bit like a mix between San Francisco and Seattle doesn’t it?), but it was clear and sunny the whole day. Yeah, it was a little cold, but warmer than Germany! Another plus was no snow!
In the late afternoon, Leilani and I went to Harrods. It is supposedly the most famous store in the world and I can really see why. They have EVERYTHING! All of the clothes, bags, shoes, and jewelry are designer. There are gigantic food rooms which include everything from vegetables, to cheeses, to fruits, to mushrooms, to fresh seafood and all sorts of meats. There is a huge tea, coffee, and chocolate room. There are rooms full of photographs, paintings, oriental carpets, home furnishings…everything that you can think of seems to be at Harrods. I bought a box of passion fruit black tea for my host family. Even if you have no plan to buy anything at Harrods, I would definitely recommend going there just to see the scale of everything and some of the beautiful and one of a kind things that are for sale. Maybe you’ll even hear a woman singing opera like we did!
After leaving London at 7:45pm German time, we arrived back in Aachen at 5:30 on Sunday morning. It was an extremely fast trip, but I got my first taste of London and I’m already hooked!
Well I’d better bring this post to a close. Ralf, Sven, and I are heading off today to Austria to go skiing for a couple of days. We’ll come home on Tuesday so I can go off the Weimar on Wednesday. It’s been a busy past week and the next couple of weeks will also be busy, but I love every minute of it!
I miss all of you guys and I can’t wait to see you all again when I get home!
My big piece of news is that I went to London! I went with Leilani (another CBYXer who lives in Seattle and goes to St. Michael Gymnasium with me) from February 5-February 7. It was pretty insane and once I describe it to you, you’ll realize why!
The trip was actually advertised by a bus travel company in the Rheinland (which includes Aachen). It was a 1.5 day trip to London, but without any overnight stay in a hotel. We left Aachen at 11pm on Friday (it was supposed to be 10pm, but our bus was late). We then drove partly through Holland, Belgium, and France before we got to Calais at around 3am. At Calais, we got on a ferry and took the 1.5 hour trip across the English Channel to Dover. I have never ever gotten sea sick on the Washington ferries, but my stomach sure was feeling a little funny on the crossing from France to England! It was really amazing once we got to Dover because while it was very dark, there were enough lights at the port that we could see the outlines of the famous Cliffs of Dover. I really want to go back to Dover sometime so I can see everything in daylight!
Once we got to London it was 6am London time and 7am German time. We then paid 10 Euros each for a 90 minute city tour given by our bus driver. If you ever go to London, I would strongly recommend taking a city tour. Normally, they last a couple of hours or so and then you have time to sightsee on your own and if you saw somewhere on the tour that you really liked, you can always go back. During our tour, we saw the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, the London Eye, Millennium Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and 10 Downing Street (where the Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, lives).
After the tour, Leilani and I went shopping for about an hour at Primark (sort of a WAY cheaper H & M) and I got a wallet and a long sleeve white shirt (both were 3 pounds each!) After our shopping excursion, Leilani and I found a couple of music shops on these really cool little side streets that Leilani had been to last year on a school trip to London. It was really interesting to wander a little bit off the beaten track (Oxford Street, the busiest shopping street in London) and see what happens.
Later in the morning, we bought a one day subway-, underground-, tube-ticket for the two central zones in London. This turned out to be a really great deal. The ticket was around 5.60 pounds and we used it a fair amount to get across central London. What really helped was that Leilani had been to London before and ridden the Tube so she knew most of the time where we were going and so on. Oh yeah and one interesting piece of info: I have never seen escalators so long as the ones in the London Underground. You stand at the bottom and look up and it seems like it goes on forever and ever. Haha just a random thing I wanted to add!
In the afternoon, Leilani and I went back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. The National Gallery is full of paintings from the 1300s or so until the 1900s. Famous artists such as Monet, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Manet, Cezanne, and many others have paintings displayed in the gallery. I even got to see Van Gogh’s Sunflowers! It was beautiful and I loved getting to see the original!
I also bought an Oxford University sweatshirt from a street stand. I told my parents that my aspirations keep on getting higher and higher!
I was a little worried about the weather in London because it is a city famous for its rain, cold, and fog (sounds a little bit like a mix between San Francisco and Seattle doesn’t it?), but it was clear and sunny the whole day. Yeah, it was a little cold, but warmer than Germany! Another plus was no snow!
In the late afternoon, Leilani and I went to Harrods. It is supposedly the most famous store in the world and I can really see why. They have EVERYTHING! All of the clothes, bags, shoes, and jewelry are designer. There are gigantic food rooms which include everything from vegetables, to cheeses, to fruits, to mushrooms, to fresh seafood and all sorts of meats. There is a huge tea, coffee, and chocolate room. There are rooms full of photographs, paintings, oriental carpets, home furnishings…everything that you can think of seems to be at Harrods. I bought a box of passion fruit black tea for my host family. Even if you have no plan to buy anything at Harrods, I would definitely recommend going there just to see the scale of everything and some of the beautiful and one of a kind things that are for sale. Maybe you’ll even hear a woman singing opera like we did!
After leaving London at 7:45pm German time, we arrived back in Aachen at 5:30 on Sunday morning. It was an extremely fast trip, but I got my first taste of London and I’m already hooked!
Well I’d better bring this post to a close. Ralf, Sven, and I are heading off today to Austria to go skiing for a couple of days. We’ll come home on Tuesday so I can go off the Weimar on Wednesday. It’s been a busy past week and the next couple of weeks will also be busy, but I love every minute of it!
I miss all of you guys and I can’t wait to see you all again when I get home!
29 January 2010
SnOw SnOw SnOw
You’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to for the past couple of weeks. Apart from trying to stay happy (haha the weather is depressive), I have been busy with soccer, school, and Praktikum.
My soccer schedule has been pretty crazy. We had about a month off from training and games and now we are training again before the season starts up again on March 7. I have Step Aerobics for an hour (8:30-9:30) every Monday evening, training outside every Wednesday (last Wednesday there were 6 inches of snow on the field), optional Spinning class every Thursday for an hour, training on Friday (outside or in a gym when we can reserve it), and a practice game, indoor tournament, or training on Sundays. Yeah, so insane, but the Step Aerobics is quite fun….Spinning is not really my thing, but it sure is a good work out!
School has been ok. I got an unfortunate grade on my last math test, but I’m going to spend a little more time going over notes and having people help me so I can at least understand everything. We have been doing a lot of stuff with quadratic equations, parabolas, circle functions, and polynomials. Not exactly my cup of tea! I also got a 2 on my last English test because I didn’t “dig deep enough” into the short story we had to read. So that was a little disappointing, but I’ll do better next time! On the more positive side of things, I finished my abstract painting in Art. It is very colorful and is made up of triangles, circles, quadrangles (?? That sounds so weird!), and other funky shapes. It is now hanging above my bed and I am trying to figure out how to get it home to America! One cool thing that I am doing with my school is playing in an indoor soccer tournament on February 9. My Sport teacher plays soccer and so she is putting together a couple girls teams to go to this tournament and play against other schools in our area. I think Meike and I would get to play together on the same team, which would be really fun! Also, now that the first semester is over, I am going to start taking two new classes. My new classes are going to be Catholic Religion and Biology. I am not Catholic or anything, but I believe it is always good to learn about religions and the Church….at least to be able to understand other people and why they believe what they believe.
Hmm…what else? I got my ears pierced on Monday the 14 of December. Now it has been a little over six weeks. A couple of weeks ago, I took my original earrings out and put in the ones I got for Christmas from Swarovski, but then one of the backs came off and my ear was bleeding a little so I decided it would be best if I put the medical earrings back in for a couple more weeks. No other weird piercings or tattoos or hair colors though…you don’t have to worry! It’s actually kind of interesting because here in Germany, ear piercings for girls are not actually considered piercings…they are called Schmuck. Just like a little piece of jewelry or something to make you look pretty.
On the other end of the spectrum, I bought my train tickets to Weimar and back for ASSE/GIVE’s half year seminar. I am really excited to ride the train there. It should be a little chaotic since I transfer in Cologne and Frankfurt (in both directions) but also a great experience. I am also 99% sure that our “flying home date” is set for June 23, 2010. The thing I don’t know is if we must fly home through Washington D.C. That would be a drag since I know United Airlines flies non-stop/direct from Frankfurt to Seattle every day! Another adventure coming up is that I am going to London with a friend from February 5-7. The funny thing is that it is actually a 1.5 day bus travel (with no overnight stay in a hotel or anything), but we spend the whole day of February 6 in London.
Ok, so by now you are probably really wondering what a Praktikum is. First of all, in case I already explained all of this in a previous post, I apologize. I can’t help it that I am a teeny tiny bit forgetful! Basically, my Praktikum is a two week internship at a German military barracks in Aachen. I am helping in a Specialised Ammunition Technician English class. There are eight men in the class. The youngest has been in the military for almost 4 years and a couple of the older ones have been in the Bundeswehr for over 20 years. Seven of the men are in the Luftwaffe (Airforce) and one of them is in the Army. They have been learning about IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), landmines, missiles, mortars, and other weapons. The entire class is taught in English because it is important for the men to learn the vocabulary and explanations in order to be able to work with American and British troops in the field. I know you are thinking “Wow, that doesn’t really seem like something that would interest a 17 year old American girl”, but it is actually quite fascinating and the men are intelligent and funny. Some of the things that I have helped with in the class are making tests, correcting tests, helping with vocabulary and grammar, and helping the teacher prepare for the next four week session.
It has been snowing like crazy the entire day. We have quite a bit of snow and it doesn’t look like its going to stop anytime soon! I miss the sun. Yeah, sometimes it comes out a little during the afternoon, but the light seems weak. I can’t wait for April and May when spring comes and we can ride around in the Golf Cabrio with the top down!
I've got to head off to a soccer meeting soon so I'd better be going. Hope all of you are doing well in the States and if any one of you is coming to Germany in the next 5 months, let me know and we’ll meet up in Aachen and have some Spaghetti Eis after we go see the Dom!
Carrie
My soccer schedule has been pretty crazy. We had about a month off from training and games and now we are training again before the season starts up again on March 7. I have Step Aerobics for an hour (8:30-9:30) every Monday evening, training outside every Wednesday (last Wednesday there were 6 inches of snow on the field), optional Spinning class every Thursday for an hour, training on Friday (outside or in a gym when we can reserve it), and a practice game, indoor tournament, or training on Sundays. Yeah, so insane, but the Step Aerobics is quite fun….Spinning is not really my thing, but it sure is a good work out!
School has been ok. I got an unfortunate grade on my last math test, but I’m going to spend a little more time going over notes and having people help me so I can at least understand everything. We have been doing a lot of stuff with quadratic equations, parabolas, circle functions, and polynomials. Not exactly my cup of tea! I also got a 2 on my last English test because I didn’t “dig deep enough” into the short story we had to read. So that was a little disappointing, but I’ll do better next time! On the more positive side of things, I finished my abstract painting in Art. It is very colorful and is made up of triangles, circles, quadrangles (?? That sounds so weird!), and other funky shapes. It is now hanging above my bed and I am trying to figure out how to get it home to America! One cool thing that I am doing with my school is playing in an indoor soccer tournament on February 9. My Sport teacher plays soccer and so she is putting together a couple girls teams to go to this tournament and play against other schools in our area. I think Meike and I would get to play together on the same team, which would be really fun! Also, now that the first semester is over, I am going to start taking two new classes. My new classes are going to be Catholic Religion and Biology. I am not Catholic or anything, but I believe it is always good to learn about religions and the Church….at least to be able to understand other people and why they believe what they believe.
Hmm…what else? I got my ears pierced on Monday the 14 of December. Now it has been a little over six weeks. A couple of weeks ago, I took my original earrings out and put in the ones I got for Christmas from Swarovski, but then one of the backs came off and my ear was bleeding a little so I decided it would be best if I put the medical earrings back in for a couple more weeks. No other weird piercings or tattoos or hair colors though…you don’t have to worry! It’s actually kind of interesting because here in Germany, ear piercings for girls are not actually considered piercings…they are called Schmuck. Just like a little piece of jewelry or something to make you look pretty.
On the other end of the spectrum, I bought my train tickets to Weimar and back for ASSE/GIVE’s half year seminar. I am really excited to ride the train there. It should be a little chaotic since I transfer in Cologne and Frankfurt (in both directions) but also a great experience. I am also 99% sure that our “flying home date” is set for June 23, 2010. The thing I don’t know is if we must fly home through Washington D.C. That would be a drag since I know United Airlines flies non-stop/direct from Frankfurt to Seattle every day! Another adventure coming up is that I am going to London with a friend from February 5-7. The funny thing is that it is actually a 1.5 day bus travel (with no overnight stay in a hotel or anything), but we spend the whole day of February 6 in London.
Ok, so by now you are probably really wondering what a Praktikum is. First of all, in case I already explained all of this in a previous post, I apologize. I can’t help it that I am a teeny tiny bit forgetful! Basically, my Praktikum is a two week internship at a German military barracks in Aachen. I am helping in a Specialised Ammunition Technician English class. There are eight men in the class. The youngest has been in the military for almost 4 years and a couple of the older ones have been in the Bundeswehr for over 20 years. Seven of the men are in the Luftwaffe (Airforce) and one of them is in the Army. They have been learning about IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), landmines, missiles, mortars, and other weapons. The entire class is taught in English because it is important for the men to learn the vocabulary and explanations in order to be able to work with American and British troops in the field. I know you are thinking “Wow, that doesn’t really seem like something that would interest a 17 year old American girl”, but it is actually quite fascinating and the men are intelligent and funny. Some of the things that I have helped with in the class are making tests, correcting tests, helping with vocabulary and grammar, and helping the teacher prepare for the next four week session.
It has been snowing like crazy the entire day. We have quite a bit of snow and it doesn’t look like its going to stop anytime soon! I miss the sun. Yeah, sometimes it comes out a little during the afternoon, but the light seems weak. I can’t wait for April and May when spring comes and we can ride around in the Golf Cabrio with the top down!
I've got to head off to a soccer meeting soon so I'd better be going. Hope all of you are doing well in the States and if any one of you is coming to Germany in the next 5 months, let me know and we’ll meet up in Aachen and have some Spaghetti Eis after we go see the Dom!
Carrie
07 January 2010
Happy New Year!
First of all, I’d like to wish everyone Alles Gute zum neuen Jahr! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year. Like I said in my last post, I would be normally celebrating these holidays with many of you who read this blog. I miss all of you so much and I can’t wait to see you all again in June!
As you know, my host family and I were in Zillertal, Austria for Christmas and New Year. We had so many great experiences and I know I will remember each and every one of them my entire life.
One of my greatest experiences was skiing five days-four of them in the sun! Normally, I ski at Brundage Mountain Resort in McCall, Idaho every year during Christmas. We ski most of the time six or seven days and we’re lucky when at least two are sunny! I’ve been skiing ever since I was 4 years old, and it has always been a dream of mine (far back in the depths of my brain because I never figured it could come true) to ski in the Alps. Back in May or June, as I was emailing my host family, I soon realized my dream would come true. Ralf, Meike, and Sven took me to Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen for four days and I went with Ralf and Sven to Zillertal Arena one day. Links to the websites are here: ski-optimal.at (Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen and zillertalarena.com (Zillertal Arena).
While there could have been more snow (there was a lot of ice and brown spots), the runs were great. The crowds were huge (15,000 people skied at Hoch Zillertal on the day after Christmas), but I always found my sweet little patch of corduroy lol.
What were really to die for however, were the views. From the top of Hoch Zillertal, the Austrian Alps went as far as the eye could see. From Zillertal Arena, we could look in the distance and see the Dolomites in Italy. The bright sun made the views even more memorable and it is my greatest wish to go back and ski there with my real family.
My new ski boots (that I bought in Innsbruck in the Fall break) served my extremely well. They are so comfy and warm inside. Those who have ever been skiing with me know that I have problems with cold hands and cold feet, but my feet were toasty warm (though that could also have something to do with the new ski socks-Thanks Mom and Dad).
Everything with my gear worked out as well. I had brought over my ski pants, long underwear, jacket, helmet, and gloves when I came here in August. Then I bought the ski boots in Herbst Ferien in Innsbruck. All I had to borrow from the Windhorsts were skis and poles. It worked out really well because the poles they had were my size and Sven’s old skis that I used are 159cm (the same as my K2 Misbehaved skis at home).
Christmas in the Wohnwagen was also an experience I will never forget. First of all, the whole gift exchange took place on Christmas Eve, known as Heilig Abend (Holy Night) auf Deutsch. After we did raclette (cooking your own meat and veggies on a hot stone), Meike and I showered and when we got back, all the gifts were piled up around the Wohnwagen. It made me feel almost as if I were sitting in McCall on the couch with the rabbit blanket. I received a couple very personal gifts from my host family that I will cherish for the rest of my life, as well as many thoughtful and beautiful presents from my family in America.
On January 1, we drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to see the round of the Vier Chanzen Tournee that took place over three weeks in Germany and Austria. Basically, it is a ski jumping tournament where the best ski jumpers in the world come together and have four chances to win the entire tournament. The jumpers acquire points according to how far they jump and how good the landings are. Sometimes it can be very exciting because while one person could win 3 out of the 4 rounds, it is possible that they do not win the tournament. Although a German did not win the whole tournament, an Austrian, Andreas Kofler, ended up winning. I can’t wait to see how well he does in the Olympics next month! What amazed me the most was that the youngest jumper was a 16 year old! The best German jumper during the tournament was Pascal Bodmer and he is only 18 years old! Crazy! Another highlight to the day was that I got to wave my American flag around (although the two Americans in the tournament hadn’t qualified the day before) and Meike and I got free Milka hats (They are purple with white cow spots and cow horns). I know what you’re thinking and I know you’re jealous.
We had a great vacation, but I’m glad to be back in the Eifel. It’s supposed to snow like crazy on the weekend and apparently Aachen doesn’t have any salt left for the roads…so Aachen will be a mess. I’m prepared to hang out at home this weekend!
I miss you guys and I’ll post again soon because I have lots left to say!
Love,
Carrie
As you know, my host family and I were in Zillertal, Austria for Christmas and New Year. We had so many great experiences and I know I will remember each and every one of them my entire life.
One of my greatest experiences was skiing five days-four of them in the sun! Normally, I ski at Brundage Mountain Resort in McCall, Idaho every year during Christmas. We ski most of the time six or seven days and we’re lucky when at least two are sunny! I’ve been skiing ever since I was 4 years old, and it has always been a dream of mine (far back in the depths of my brain because I never figured it could come true) to ski in the Alps. Back in May or June, as I was emailing my host family, I soon realized my dream would come true. Ralf, Meike, and Sven took me to Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen for four days and I went with Ralf and Sven to Zillertal Arena one day. Links to the websites are here: ski-optimal.at (Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen and zillertalarena.com (Zillertal Arena).
While there could have been more snow (there was a lot of ice and brown spots), the runs were great. The crowds were huge (15,000 people skied at Hoch Zillertal on the day after Christmas), but I always found my sweet little patch of corduroy lol.
What were really to die for however, were the views. From the top of Hoch Zillertal, the Austrian Alps went as far as the eye could see. From Zillertal Arena, we could look in the distance and see the Dolomites in Italy. The bright sun made the views even more memorable and it is my greatest wish to go back and ski there with my real family.
My new ski boots (that I bought in Innsbruck in the Fall break) served my extremely well. They are so comfy and warm inside. Those who have ever been skiing with me know that I have problems with cold hands and cold feet, but my feet were toasty warm (though that could also have something to do with the new ski socks-Thanks Mom and Dad).
Everything with my gear worked out as well. I had brought over my ski pants, long underwear, jacket, helmet, and gloves when I came here in August. Then I bought the ski boots in Herbst Ferien in Innsbruck. All I had to borrow from the Windhorsts were skis and poles. It worked out really well because the poles they had were my size and Sven’s old skis that I used are 159cm (the same as my K2 Misbehaved skis at home).
Christmas in the Wohnwagen was also an experience I will never forget. First of all, the whole gift exchange took place on Christmas Eve, known as Heilig Abend (Holy Night) auf Deutsch. After we did raclette (cooking your own meat and veggies on a hot stone), Meike and I showered and when we got back, all the gifts were piled up around the Wohnwagen. It made me feel almost as if I were sitting in McCall on the couch with the rabbit blanket. I received a couple very personal gifts from my host family that I will cherish for the rest of my life, as well as many thoughtful and beautiful presents from my family in America.
On January 1, we drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to see the round of the Vier Chanzen Tournee that took place over three weeks in Germany and Austria. Basically, it is a ski jumping tournament where the best ski jumpers in the world come together and have four chances to win the entire tournament. The jumpers acquire points according to how far they jump and how good the landings are. Sometimes it can be very exciting because while one person could win 3 out of the 4 rounds, it is possible that they do not win the tournament. Although a German did not win the whole tournament, an Austrian, Andreas Kofler, ended up winning. I can’t wait to see how well he does in the Olympics next month! What amazed me the most was that the youngest jumper was a 16 year old! The best German jumper during the tournament was Pascal Bodmer and he is only 18 years old! Crazy! Another highlight to the day was that I got to wave my American flag around (although the two Americans in the tournament hadn’t qualified the day before) and Meike and I got free Milka hats (They are purple with white cow spots and cow horns). I know what you’re thinking and I know you’re jealous.
We had a great vacation, but I’m glad to be back in the Eifel. It’s supposed to snow like crazy on the weekend and apparently Aachen doesn’t have any salt left for the roads…so Aachen will be a mess. I’m prepared to hang out at home this weekend!
I miss you guys and I’ll post again soon because I have lots left to say!
Love,
Carrie
22 December 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
It’s hard to believe there are only 3 more days until Christmas and 10 days left in 2009! This year has gone by so fast. At this time last year, I had already mailed my CBYX application off to ASSE. At the time, I had no idea that one year later I would be heading off to Austria for Christmas break.
We’ve been packing the car for the past couple of days. Sven and Ralf put our skis in the car top carrier and we’ve got all of our clothes packed in the car. The Christmas presents are waiting on the steps, ready to be taken out to the car. I’m going crazy trying to make sure I have everything packed: camera charger, Austrian SIM card for my Handy, ski goggles…you name it. We’re leaving tomorrow morning after 5th period-about 12:15pm. When everything is normal, we should be in Zillertal around 6:15pm. Can’t wait! We’re also planning to go skiing 5 or 6 days and we have tickets to see ski jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on January 1, 2010. We’ll drive home on January 3 and start school again on January 7. I’m definitely looking forward to the break!
I’d like to wish everyone who reads my blog a Merry Christmas. I see most of you during the holiday break every year and this year I am really going to miss visiting and catching up.
I’m thankful for all my friends and family who email me and read my blog/comment on my blog. Every time I hear from you it brightens my day!
Fröhliches Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr!
Carrie
Lammersdorf, Germany
December 22, 2009
We’ve been packing the car for the past couple of days. Sven and Ralf put our skis in the car top carrier and we’ve got all of our clothes packed in the car. The Christmas presents are waiting on the steps, ready to be taken out to the car. I’m going crazy trying to make sure I have everything packed: camera charger, Austrian SIM card for my Handy, ski goggles…you name it. We’re leaving tomorrow morning after 5th period-about 12:15pm. When everything is normal, we should be in Zillertal around 6:15pm. Can’t wait! We’re also planning to go skiing 5 or 6 days and we have tickets to see ski jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on January 1, 2010. We’ll drive home on January 3 and start school again on January 7. I’m definitely looking forward to the break!
I’d like to wish everyone who reads my blog a Merry Christmas. I see most of you during the holiday break every year and this year I am really going to miss visiting and catching up.
I’m thankful for all my friends and family who email me and read my blog/comment on my blog. Every time I hear from you it brightens my day!
Fröhliches Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr!
Carrie
Lammersdorf, Germany
December 22, 2009
08 December 2009
Seventeen Days!
The countdown to Christmas 2009 began December 26, 2008, but now there are so few days left, that it actually makes sense for one to announce to the world how long 'til Christmas.
I sent my 16.9 kilogram package to America on Saturday, November 21. According to an article in the newspaper the week before, people should send their packages by November 27th if they want them to get to America from Central Europe by Christmas. As of Sunday, my parents had not received the package, but hopefully it will arrive this week. The package cost 65 Euro to send. With an exchange rate of 1 Euro to $1.49, that comes out to a grand total of $96.85. A tip to anyone thinking of sending packages from Central Europe to the U.S.: Make sure to send them well before the date you want them to arrive, and think about sending only one big package the entire year. I will definitely not be sending 3 or 4 more $96.85 packages to America anytime soon! (And that total doesn't even count what I spent on the things in the package!)
So far, I have been to two Weihnachtsmärkte in Germany. My host family took me to the huge Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen twice, and on Saturday, my host family and I, along with my host dad's brother, sister-in-law, and niece went to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen seems huge to me, but I know there are bigger ones in Nürnberg and other places. The entire square in front of the Rathaus in Aachen and the entire place between the Rathaus and the Dom is filled with wooden huts and vendors selling jewelry, soaps, ornaments, clothing, shoes, roasted nuts, bratwurst, waffles, Reibekuchen (sort of like hashbrowns), pastries...basically every holiday themed thing you can think of is sold at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau is smaller, but nevertheless very popular with bus tourists from England, France, Belgium, Holland, and other parts of Germany. One thing I noticed about the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau is that it seems like more food is sold there than non-edible items. I always assumed there would be a couple stalls selling food, but everywhere I looked, there was another vendor selling Glühwein or Lachsbrötchen.
The night of December 5-6 is called Nikolaus in Germany. Check out this link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus#Celebration_in_Germany
Meike let me borrow one of her riding boots to put outside my bedroom door. When I woke up in the morning, there was a bag of chocolate ornaments, a chocolate Santa, and shinguard bands in the boot! I think I am probably a little old for this tradition (just like Halloween) but I loved it, and having never experienced Nikolaus before, it was another experience to add to my list.
This Saturday, we are going to Herne to see Christal and Willie one more time before we leave for Österreich. I love going to Herne and visiting them because it is so different from Lammersdorf. Lammersdorf is up in the Eifel, exposed to the wind and the rain and the snow. It's also a lot of farmland with tractors on the roads and farmers leading their cows to a new pasture. Herne, on the other hand, is made up of 8.4% Turkish people, has an U-bahn, and is in the huge metropolitan area that also includes Düsseldorf, Bochum, Essen, and Dortmund. Many people live in apartments and there is more diversity than in the part of the Eifel that I live in. In addition, Christal and Willie are so nice and I feel really comfortable around them. They remind me sometimes of my grandparents.
Well I will wrap this post up now. I am in the room at school where there are some books and 5 computers (3 that actually work). I wouldn't call it a library, but it is a study room for kids who have free periods.
I miss everyone and I hope you all are having a good holiday season.
Carrie
I sent my 16.9 kilogram package to America on Saturday, November 21. According to an article in the newspaper the week before, people should send their packages by November 27th if they want them to get to America from Central Europe by Christmas. As of Sunday, my parents had not received the package, but hopefully it will arrive this week. The package cost 65 Euro to send. With an exchange rate of 1 Euro to $1.49, that comes out to a grand total of $96.85. A tip to anyone thinking of sending packages from Central Europe to the U.S.: Make sure to send them well before the date you want them to arrive, and think about sending only one big package the entire year. I will definitely not be sending 3 or 4 more $96.85 packages to America anytime soon! (And that total doesn't even count what I spent on the things in the package!)
So far, I have been to two Weihnachtsmärkte in Germany. My host family took me to the huge Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen twice, and on Saturday, my host family and I, along with my host dad's brother, sister-in-law, and niece went to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen seems huge to me, but I know there are bigger ones in Nürnberg and other places. The entire square in front of the Rathaus in Aachen and the entire place between the Rathaus and the Dom is filled with wooden huts and vendors selling jewelry, soaps, ornaments, clothing, shoes, roasted nuts, bratwurst, waffles, Reibekuchen (sort of like hashbrowns), pastries...basically every holiday themed thing you can think of is sold at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Aachen. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau is smaller, but nevertheless very popular with bus tourists from England, France, Belgium, Holland, and other parts of Germany. One thing I noticed about the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau is that it seems like more food is sold there than non-edible items. I always assumed there would be a couple stalls selling food, but everywhere I looked, there was another vendor selling Glühwein or Lachsbrötchen.
The night of December 5-6 is called Nikolaus in Germany. Check out this link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus#Celebration_in_Germany
Meike let me borrow one of her riding boots to put outside my bedroom door. When I woke up in the morning, there was a bag of chocolate ornaments, a chocolate Santa, and shinguard bands in the boot! I think I am probably a little old for this tradition (just like Halloween) but I loved it, and having never experienced Nikolaus before, it was another experience to add to my list.
This Saturday, we are going to Herne to see Christal and Willie one more time before we leave for Österreich. I love going to Herne and visiting them because it is so different from Lammersdorf. Lammersdorf is up in the Eifel, exposed to the wind and the rain and the snow. It's also a lot of farmland with tractors on the roads and farmers leading their cows to a new pasture. Herne, on the other hand, is made up of 8.4% Turkish people, has an U-bahn, and is in the huge metropolitan area that also includes Düsseldorf, Bochum, Essen, and Dortmund. Many people live in apartments and there is more diversity than in the part of the Eifel that I live in. In addition, Christal and Willie are so nice and I feel really comfortable around them. They remind me sometimes of my grandparents.
Well I will wrap this post up now. I am in the room at school where there are some books and 5 computers (3 that actually work). I wouldn't call it a library, but it is a study room for kids who have free periods.
I miss everyone and I hope you all are having a good holiday season.
Carrie
25 November 2009
Newspaper Article
Want to read the newspaper article about Andrea, Kaitlyn, Courtney, and me?
Click on this link: http://snovalleystar.com/category/schools
Carrie
Click on this link: http://snovalleystar.com/category/schools
Carrie
20 November 2009
Holiday Season
It’s official. The holiday season in Germany has officially begun. You are probably asking how I know that. Hopefully with this post I can begin to give you some insight about the holiday season as I see it in Germany. During the next 5 weeks ( I know, can you believe there are only 5 weeks until Christmas!?) I’ll keep posting more about Christmas in Germany-a land famous for its Christmas spirit.
As I was reading the paper at breakfast this morning, I noticed a huge extra section of the paper. I had no idea what it could be. One glance at the cover and I knew the answer. This section of paper contained profiles and information on many of the Weihnachtsmarkts and Adventsmarkts in the area around Aachen and NRW. The Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt, for example, starts today and runs until December 23, 2009. It is open everyday from 11am to 9pm and people come from all over Germany and all over the world to visit the Weihnachtsmarkts in Aachen and Monschau. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau (where my school is) is very famous. Although it runs only on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, thousands of people converge on the village during the 4 Advent weekends in November and December. Here is a link to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau: www.monschau-weihnachtsmarkt.de.
In America, the Christmas season begins for me the day after Thanksgiving. Every year, we go out to the trees my parents planted and look for the perfect Tannenbaum to cut. By the end of the day, we have a beautiful, fragrant Christmas tree standing in our living room, glowing with lights and decorations.
Yesterday, I got home from school at noon to find the house transformed into a paradise for Christmas lovers like me. Karin has so many beautiful Christmas decorations and everywhere I look, I see another one that makes me smile. We don’t have a large Christmas tree, but we have small artificial tree that lights up. Meike told me last night that we will take it to Austria and put all the presents under it in the Wohnwagen! So, I don’t know if you did the math, but we’ve begun the Christmas season this year a total of 8 days before I do normally in America. But I’m certainly not complaining!
That’s not the mention the stores selling Christmas wares. I noticed holiday decorations and advertisements coming out with the Halloween things! I’m sure there are places in America where this is the same, but I have never really seen anywhere like this.
Now to the other side of the news spectrum.
I took a test in Geography yesterday. There were three parts and it was all writing, no multiple choice questions or short answer! Those were the good ol’ days. Part A of the first part asked me (in German) to describe the climate in Colombia. Part B asked me to describe the climate conditions bananas need to grow. The second part asked me to describe the development of banana export in Colombia from 1920-2000. The third part asked me to decide whether or not banana growing in Colombia is a good economic undertaking. We had a couple of graphs and diagrams from the teacher, as well as an atlas that included climate maps and the locations of banana growing in Colombia. Obviously the questions were not hard. The hard part was writing everything down in German! My vocabulary and grammar skills are fine for speaking in class or in normal conversations, but writing a Geography test is a little different! I think it was a good experience though. I wasn’t required to take the test, but I wanted to take it just to see what it was like. We’ll probably get them back next Wednesday or Thursday.
This is especially for Grandma and the others who are interested in the countryside. I will try to describe a bit of it for you and maybe add some pictures. We’ll see. Right now, the grass is very green, but wet and muddy. All of the large trees have lost their leaves, but some of the small trees have a few leaves left. It is very windy almost everyday and I can always see the windmills (like in Eastern Washington) spinning. The region where I live is called the Eifel. There are all sorts of funny things people say about the Eifel. Some say the weather is almost always bad (not true), others say that in the Eifel, everyone knows everyone else (sometimes seems true, but that’s probably because I have only lived here for 3 and a half months), and I once heard someone say “I’ve got a sore throat” and someone else said “I think the entire Eifel has a sore throat”. Although the Eifel is quite large, the small towns do seem very interconnected. In addition, we are up on a steppe/plateau above the flat land around Köln and Aachen. There are rolling hills here and a lake called the Rursee. A lot of the countryside is fields with cows or horses in them. There are a lot of cows here! Also, a common sight on the roads around here is huge tractors driving what seems to be (in my opinion) very fast. Sure, one might see a tractor driving every once in awhile on 202, but only for a short amount of time and not very fast. I definitely see new things here that I have never seen before everyday.
I don’t know if it is completely obvious in these blog posts, but sometimes I feel like I am losing my English. Not so drastic, but there are definitely some times when my sentences sound juvenile or have punctuation and grammar mistakes. Also, when I talk to Kayla and Leilani, sometimes the three of us have problems saying something in English! Another thing I always laugh about is how often, one cannot always directly translate a word from German into English. Sometimes, there is a word I know in German that would be perfect to use in an English sentence. But if I am talking to my parents on the phone and speak a sentence in English with a German word stuck in there, it would make sense to me, but my parents would be wondering what I just said!
Well I’d better go post this now. Aren’t you proud of me that I wrote 2 posts in one week?
Carrie
As I was reading the paper at breakfast this morning, I noticed a huge extra section of the paper. I had no idea what it could be. One glance at the cover and I knew the answer. This section of paper contained profiles and information on many of the Weihnachtsmarkts and Adventsmarkts in the area around Aachen and NRW. The Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt, for example, starts today and runs until December 23, 2009. It is open everyday from 11am to 9pm and people come from all over Germany and all over the world to visit the Weihnachtsmarkts in Aachen and Monschau. The Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau (where my school is) is very famous. Although it runs only on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, thousands of people converge on the village during the 4 Advent weekends in November and December. Here is a link to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Monschau: www.monschau-weihnachtsmarkt.de.
In America, the Christmas season begins for me the day after Thanksgiving. Every year, we go out to the trees my parents planted and look for the perfect Tannenbaum to cut. By the end of the day, we have a beautiful, fragrant Christmas tree standing in our living room, glowing with lights and decorations.
Yesterday, I got home from school at noon to find the house transformed into a paradise for Christmas lovers like me. Karin has so many beautiful Christmas decorations and everywhere I look, I see another one that makes me smile. We don’t have a large Christmas tree, but we have small artificial tree that lights up. Meike told me last night that we will take it to Austria and put all the presents under it in the Wohnwagen! So, I don’t know if you did the math, but we’ve begun the Christmas season this year a total of 8 days before I do normally in America. But I’m certainly not complaining!
That’s not the mention the stores selling Christmas wares. I noticed holiday decorations and advertisements coming out with the Halloween things! I’m sure there are places in America where this is the same, but I have never really seen anywhere like this.
Now to the other side of the news spectrum.
I took a test in Geography yesterday. There were three parts and it was all writing, no multiple choice questions or short answer! Those were the good ol’ days. Part A of the first part asked me (in German) to describe the climate in Colombia. Part B asked me to describe the climate conditions bananas need to grow. The second part asked me to describe the development of banana export in Colombia from 1920-2000. The third part asked me to decide whether or not banana growing in Colombia is a good economic undertaking. We had a couple of graphs and diagrams from the teacher, as well as an atlas that included climate maps and the locations of banana growing in Colombia. Obviously the questions were not hard. The hard part was writing everything down in German! My vocabulary and grammar skills are fine for speaking in class or in normal conversations, but writing a Geography test is a little different! I think it was a good experience though. I wasn’t required to take the test, but I wanted to take it just to see what it was like. We’ll probably get them back next Wednesday or Thursday.
This is especially for Grandma and the others who are interested in the countryside. I will try to describe a bit of it for you and maybe add some pictures. We’ll see. Right now, the grass is very green, but wet and muddy. All of the large trees have lost their leaves, but some of the small trees have a few leaves left. It is very windy almost everyday and I can always see the windmills (like in Eastern Washington) spinning. The region where I live is called the Eifel. There are all sorts of funny things people say about the Eifel. Some say the weather is almost always bad (not true), others say that in the Eifel, everyone knows everyone else (sometimes seems true, but that’s probably because I have only lived here for 3 and a half months), and I once heard someone say “I’ve got a sore throat” and someone else said “I think the entire Eifel has a sore throat”. Although the Eifel is quite large, the small towns do seem very interconnected. In addition, we are up on a steppe/plateau above the flat land around Köln and Aachen. There are rolling hills here and a lake called the Rursee. A lot of the countryside is fields with cows or horses in them. There are a lot of cows here! Also, a common sight on the roads around here is huge tractors driving what seems to be (in my opinion) very fast. Sure, one might see a tractor driving every once in awhile on 202, but only for a short amount of time and not very fast. I definitely see new things here that I have never seen before everyday.
I don’t know if it is completely obvious in these blog posts, but sometimes I feel like I am losing my English. Not so drastic, but there are definitely some times when my sentences sound juvenile or have punctuation and grammar mistakes. Also, when I talk to Kayla and Leilani, sometimes the three of us have problems saying something in English! Another thing I always laugh about is how often, one cannot always directly translate a word from German into English. Sometimes, there is a word I know in German that would be perfect to use in an English sentence. But if I am talking to my parents on the phone and speak a sentence in English with a German word stuck in there, it would make sense to me, but my parents would be wondering what I just said!
Well I’d better go post this now. Aren’t you proud of me that I wrote 2 posts in one week?
Carrie
15 November 2009
My week
I hope this is not a big repeat of something I have already written! (I also hope I am not boring you to death)!
In this post, I’ll try to give you a little taste of a normal week in the life of me in Germany (last week).
Monday: After sleeping in until 8:30am, I get up and have my breakfast of toast and coffee with extra foamed milk. Unlike at home with our good ol’ Mr. Coffee coffee maker, we have here an automatic coffee machine. Push the big cup on the touch screen and 30 seconds later, there’s your cup of coffee, freshly ground. My friends and family know I am not a big coffee drinker, but if I had one of these machines at home, I’d probably be a caffeine addict. Just kidding! I leave to walk to the bus stop at 10:55am and arrive there a couple of minutes early for my bus to come at 11:05am. After arriving at the Simmerath Bushof (transit center for busses), I meet up with Kayla and we get on the bus that goes to the Monschau Parkhaus. By the time the bus gets to Monschau and Kayla and I have trekked up the hill from the village to our school, it is 12:20pm and we are just in time for the beginning of 6th period, our first class of the day. One period of German and two periods of Chemistry later, it is 2:50pm and school is done for the day. After taking the bus from school back to Simmerath Bushof, I get on another bus that takes me home to Lammersdorf. After walking home from the bus stop, it is 3:50pm. Last Monday, Ralf, Sven, and I went to the Alemmania Aachen game against Hansa Rostock. It was a great game because Alemmania won 1-0. Since I now have a season ticket for the rest of the home games, it makes every game even more fun.
Tuesday: I get up with Sven and Meike at 6:00am. After having breakfast and making some food take to school, we leave to walk to the bus stop at 6:50am. Tuesdays are normally pretty good days. I have eight straight periods of school, but two of them are easy (Art and Sport) and the other two (Politics and Math) are also not bad. In the 15 minute breaks after 2nd period and 4th period, my friends and I hang out in the courtyard and try not to get run over by the little kids playing soccer with a tennis ball! After school, I do homework and sometimes go grocery shopping with Ralf and Meike and Sven. Tuesdays are also good days because one of my favorite tv shows in Germany comes on at 8:15pm. The show, Dr. Mertens, Tiere Ärztin, is one of my favorites because it is about animals at the Leipzig Zoo (although fictional) and because it is easy for me to understand.
Wednesday: I have Politics first period, Geography second period, and English third period. My Politics class is interesting, although often hard for me to understand. I always have to be on my toes however because my teacher started asking me questions after the Fall break! Geography is interesting because I have never taken the subject before and it is fairly easy to understand. We’ll see how well exactly I understand soon…I take a test on Thursday. :S English is hilarious. I sit next to a girl, Rebecca, who speaks vey good English and we like to play hangman and make fortune tellers when we are done with the class work. It is a little boring for me sometimes, but I am always impressed with the English speaking skills of most of the kids. After English, I wait for one period and then take the bus home. I usually spend the afternoon reading, doing homework, or hanging out with Meike and Sven. During the evening, I have soccer practice, normally from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.
Thursday: My first two periods of the day are not too much of a wake up for me! I have German and although I try to understand as much as possible and do what the other kids are doing, it is most of the time too challenging. Right now, we are learning about fables and writing our own. In addition, the kids analyze the fables and talk about the morals and lessons learned. I sit next to Rebecca from English class and she is always really helpful in explaining what we are doing. Third and fourth periods, I have Geography is good because I have friends in that class who help me when I don’t understand. I have 5th period free, and then Chemistry sixth period. Kayla and I have Chemistry together which is nice because we can help one another translate from German to English and we also do the class work together. Thursdays comes my other favorite tv show in Germany, Alarm für Cobra 11. It is about two police officers with the Autobahn polizei who are always chasing down the bad guys. Very exciting.
Friday: I have English first and second period every Friday and I have Math seventh and eighth period every other Friday. Not exactly the way I want to end my school week, with two periods of Math at the very end of the day, but my teacher is quite funny and the math is not too hard. I got a 2- on the first test. Speaking of tests, I got a 1 on my English test, so I was pretty happy about that.
Saturday: We usually go grocery shopping, do chores, do homework, and just relax. My host mom gets home from work in the afternoon, and sometimes, we go into Aachen and go shopping after that.
Sunday: Nearly every Sunday I have a soccer game, which takes up a lot of the day. In addition, we do chores, like clean out the rabbit hutch and laundry. By the end of the weekend, I am always ready for a new week and a whole round of new experiences.
My parents are going to call soon, so I’d better get this posted! Have a great week everyone and once again, thanks for all your comments!
Love, Carrie
In this post, I’ll try to give you a little taste of a normal week in the life of me in Germany (last week).
Monday: After sleeping in until 8:30am, I get up and have my breakfast of toast and coffee with extra foamed milk. Unlike at home with our good ol’ Mr. Coffee coffee maker, we have here an automatic coffee machine. Push the big cup on the touch screen and 30 seconds later, there’s your cup of coffee, freshly ground. My friends and family know I am not a big coffee drinker, but if I had one of these machines at home, I’d probably be a caffeine addict. Just kidding! I leave to walk to the bus stop at 10:55am and arrive there a couple of minutes early for my bus to come at 11:05am. After arriving at the Simmerath Bushof (transit center for busses), I meet up with Kayla and we get on the bus that goes to the Monschau Parkhaus. By the time the bus gets to Monschau and Kayla and I have trekked up the hill from the village to our school, it is 12:20pm and we are just in time for the beginning of 6th period, our first class of the day. One period of German and two periods of Chemistry later, it is 2:50pm and school is done for the day. After taking the bus from school back to Simmerath Bushof, I get on another bus that takes me home to Lammersdorf. After walking home from the bus stop, it is 3:50pm. Last Monday, Ralf, Sven, and I went to the Alemmania Aachen game against Hansa Rostock. It was a great game because Alemmania won 1-0. Since I now have a season ticket for the rest of the home games, it makes every game even more fun.
Tuesday: I get up with Sven and Meike at 6:00am. After having breakfast and making some food take to school, we leave to walk to the bus stop at 6:50am. Tuesdays are normally pretty good days. I have eight straight periods of school, but two of them are easy (Art and Sport) and the other two (Politics and Math) are also not bad. In the 15 minute breaks after 2nd period and 4th period, my friends and I hang out in the courtyard and try not to get run over by the little kids playing soccer with a tennis ball! After school, I do homework and sometimes go grocery shopping with Ralf and Meike and Sven. Tuesdays are also good days because one of my favorite tv shows in Germany comes on at 8:15pm. The show, Dr. Mertens, Tiere Ärztin, is one of my favorites because it is about animals at the Leipzig Zoo (although fictional) and because it is easy for me to understand.
Wednesday: I have Politics first period, Geography second period, and English third period. My Politics class is interesting, although often hard for me to understand. I always have to be on my toes however because my teacher started asking me questions after the Fall break! Geography is interesting because I have never taken the subject before and it is fairly easy to understand. We’ll see how well exactly I understand soon…I take a test on Thursday. :S English is hilarious. I sit next to a girl, Rebecca, who speaks vey good English and we like to play hangman and make fortune tellers when we are done with the class work. It is a little boring for me sometimes, but I am always impressed with the English speaking skills of most of the kids. After English, I wait for one period and then take the bus home. I usually spend the afternoon reading, doing homework, or hanging out with Meike and Sven. During the evening, I have soccer practice, normally from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.
Thursday: My first two periods of the day are not too much of a wake up for me! I have German and although I try to understand as much as possible and do what the other kids are doing, it is most of the time too challenging. Right now, we are learning about fables and writing our own. In addition, the kids analyze the fables and talk about the morals and lessons learned. I sit next to Rebecca from English class and she is always really helpful in explaining what we are doing. Third and fourth periods, I have Geography is good because I have friends in that class who help me when I don’t understand. I have 5th period free, and then Chemistry sixth period. Kayla and I have Chemistry together which is nice because we can help one another translate from German to English and we also do the class work together. Thursdays comes my other favorite tv show in Germany, Alarm für Cobra 11. It is about two police officers with the Autobahn polizei who are always chasing down the bad guys. Very exciting.
Friday: I have English first and second period every Friday and I have Math seventh and eighth period every other Friday. Not exactly the way I want to end my school week, with two periods of Math at the very end of the day, but my teacher is quite funny and the math is not too hard. I got a 2- on the first test. Speaking of tests, I got a 1 on my English test, so I was pretty happy about that.
Saturday: We usually go grocery shopping, do chores, do homework, and just relax. My host mom gets home from work in the afternoon, and sometimes, we go into Aachen and go shopping after that.
Sunday: Nearly every Sunday I have a soccer game, which takes up a lot of the day. In addition, we do chores, like clean out the rabbit hutch and laundry. By the end of the weekend, I am always ready for a new week and a whole round of new experiences.
My parents are going to call soon, so I’d better get this posted! Have a great week everyone and once again, thanks for all your comments!
Love, Carrie
03 November 2009
The Last Month
First of all, I’d like to apologize for taking over a month to update my blog. I know I said I was going to try to write a new blog post every week...I was so determined to do that in the beginning. I know you like to read about what I'm doing so my goal is to now do shorter posts but at least once a week. I know it has come to the attention of some who read my blog that it seems like I have a lot of free time. Although I have less school than the other kids and I don’t work, lots of free time is one thing I do not have. Just in case I was sounding like a slacker in some of my posts. :) So now I'll try to give the highlights of the past month in a relatively short post.
October 3: A bunch of the ASSE CBYX kids and their host families met up in Aachen. We had a tour of the Innenstadt which was interesting for the exchange students, but I think some of the German host families were a little bored. Aachen definitely has a lot of history and every statue/fountain/building you come across has a story behind it. Here is the wikipedia link for lots of info in English about Aachen. If you have any more questions about the city, I can also try to answer them for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen
October 10-24: We left for Austria at 5:30am on Saturday, October 10 and got back to Lammersdorf at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 24. I don't think I have ever been on vacation for two weeks straight, not even to McCall, but it was so nice. Some of the best times for me were:
Border crossings: They don't exist. I know that the European Union has an open border system, but it never ceases to amaze me when we simply drive from Germany into Belgium, Holland, or Austria. The only way I can tell we are in another country is because there is a sign that says "Willkommen in Belgien" for example.
Dirndls: Trying on dirndls at a huge dirndl and lederhosen store in Zillertal. Meike and I went there two different times and we probably tried on each a total of 7 dirndls. You guys know I'm not exactly a dress person, but the dirndls were so comfortable and so pretty. They would be great for Halloween or costume parties. A lot of people here wear them for Carnival apparently.
Camping Platz: The best "camp ground" I have ever seen. Personally, I have never seen anything like Camping Aufenfeld (the name of the camping platz we stayed at in Zillertal) in America, but maybe I have just never looked in the right place. J It is so cool at the camping platz because the whole thing is Wild West themed. Now maybe you are thinking an obnoxiously fake overdone décor theme, but it is actually very interesting. There is a “Western Fort” with “Sheriff Station”, “General Store”, “Saloon”, and “Goldwasch Camp” (where kids can pan for gold). Some other perks include a small turf soccer field, skate park, beach volleyball courts, lake/pond where people can swim in the summer, tennis courts, indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center, a couple restaurants, and a sauna/spa. So basically there is something for everyone. Maybe you are saying right now “oh Carrie, why did you write about that, it’s so boring”. But I was so amazed at the amenities and cleanliness…the whole aspect of camping is completely new for me. Everyone has trailers or camper vans and normally they have tents attached to them to add more room.
SNOW! I saw snow for the first time this season when we got to Austria (that’s not counting when we went to the ski halle…I’m talking about REAL snow J). The mountains were insanely high (or so I think) in Austria and they already were covered with snow on top. The first week were there, the snow fall lower and lower every night until one morning we woke up and there was a skiff of snow at the camping platz. One day, we drove up to the gondola base for the glacier in Zillertal, called Hintertuxer Glacier. I was so jealous of the people in their gear, carrying their skis, and ready to ride up to ski on the glacier. On the Hintertuxer Glacier, it is possible to ski/snowboard 365 days per year. Pretty awesome, I think. In addition, we drove past many other ski pistes in Zillertal. In my previous post, I attached a link to the Zillertal website, so you can get a better idea of how popular skiing is in this valley in Tirol.
Traveling: I am so appreciative of my host family taking me on so many day trips while we were in Austria. They had already been to almost all of the places we went to, but they were so happy to show me around and it really made me feel good. We went to Innsbruck twice, which was both times an adventure. The first time, we walked around the old town and I saw the Golden Dachl, a famous house in the city. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Roof. The second time, I bought a new pair of Salomon ski boots (they’re fuzzy and warm inside and completely amazing). I love them, but they are in Austria in the wohnwagen so I have to wait until Christmas to see them again. That day in Innsbruck, I also got to see the ski jumping facility from the Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976. I had never seen one before, but it is definitely interesting looking! In addition, we drove over Brenner Pass to Italy one day and saw a bit of South Tirol in Italy. The towns were so pretty and there were a lot of grapes growing on the hillsides. We also drove to a town called Zell am See in Salzburger Land. It was special for me to go there, because my mom also went there when she was 17 and on a trip with her German class. So of course I took lots of pictures for her! All together, my country count after this trip is Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Austria. Not bad, considering I have been here for 3 months!
McDonalds: Ok this might seem kind of weird, but McDonalds is not that bad here. In America, I go to McDonalds MAYBE once a year, if that. Here, all the McDonalds I have seen are way newer and modern looking, clean, and have more realistic portions. And I’m pretty sure they give you more for your money…like actually lettuce on the hamburger lol.
Last week, I bought a season ticket card for Alemmania Aachen. There are 12 more games left, so now I can go to all of them! I never thought I would like standing and watching 90 minutes of soccer so much, but I LOVE it. The fan energy level is so high and now when I watch games on television it’s just not the same. The only bad part is when the person in front of me smokes….which happens pretty much every time. But I’ve pretty much gotten used to it. I always go with Ralf and Sven and maybe some day I can be as big of an Alemmania fan as they both are! J
This week I got my Math and English tests back that I wrote before the vacation. I got a 1 (the best) on my English test and a 2- on my Math test. I could have gotten better on the Math, but I didn’t understand some of the questions and even so, I guess a 2- is pretty good.
I hope all of you who read my blog enjoyed this post. I’d love to get a comment from you and once again I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long. As always, I want to let my family and friends know that I miss you guys and love you so much!
Carrie
October 3: A bunch of the ASSE CBYX kids and their host families met up in Aachen. We had a tour of the Innenstadt which was interesting for the exchange students, but I think some of the German host families were a little bored. Aachen definitely has a lot of history and every statue/fountain/building you come across has a story behind it. Here is the wikipedia link for lots of info in English about Aachen. If you have any more questions about the city, I can also try to answer them for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen
October 10-24: We left for Austria at 5:30am on Saturday, October 10 and got back to Lammersdorf at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 24. I don't think I have ever been on vacation for two weeks straight, not even to McCall, but it was so nice. Some of the best times for me were:
Border crossings: They don't exist. I know that the European Union has an open border system, but it never ceases to amaze me when we simply drive from Germany into Belgium, Holland, or Austria. The only way I can tell we are in another country is because there is a sign that says "Willkommen in Belgien" for example.
Dirndls: Trying on dirndls at a huge dirndl and lederhosen store in Zillertal. Meike and I went there two different times and we probably tried on each a total of 7 dirndls. You guys know I'm not exactly a dress person, but the dirndls were so comfortable and so pretty. They would be great for Halloween or costume parties. A lot of people here wear them for Carnival apparently.
Camping Platz: The best "camp ground" I have ever seen. Personally, I have never seen anything like Camping Aufenfeld (the name of the camping platz we stayed at in Zillertal) in America, but maybe I have just never looked in the right place. J It is so cool at the camping platz because the whole thing is Wild West themed. Now maybe you are thinking an obnoxiously fake overdone décor theme, but it is actually very interesting. There is a “Western Fort” with “Sheriff Station”, “General Store”, “Saloon”, and “Goldwasch Camp” (where kids can pan for gold). Some other perks include a small turf soccer field, skate park, beach volleyball courts, lake/pond where people can swim in the summer, tennis courts, indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center, a couple restaurants, and a sauna/spa. So basically there is something for everyone. Maybe you are saying right now “oh Carrie, why did you write about that, it’s so boring”. But I was so amazed at the amenities and cleanliness…the whole aspect of camping is completely new for me. Everyone has trailers or camper vans and normally they have tents attached to them to add more room.
SNOW! I saw snow for the first time this season when we got to Austria (that’s not counting when we went to the ski halle…I’m talking about REAL snow J). The mountains were insanely high (or so I think) in Austria and they already were covered with snow on top. The first week were there, the snow fall lower and lower every night until one morning we woke up and there was a skiff of snow at the camping platz. One day, we drove up to the gondola base for the glacier in Zillertal, called Hintertuxer Glacier. I was so jealous of the people in their gear, carrying their skis, and ready to ride up to ski on the glacier. On the Hintertuxer Glacier, it is possible to ski/snowboard 365 days per year. Pretty awesome, I think. In addition, we drove past many other ski pistes in Zillertal. In my previous post, I attached a link to the Zillertal website, so you can get a better idea of how popular skiing is in this valley in Tirol.
Traveling: I am so appreciative of my host family taking me on so many day trips while we were in Austria. They had already been to almost all of the places we went to, but they were so happy to show me around and it really made me feel good. We went to Innsbruck twice, which was both times an adventure. The first time, we walked around the old town and I saw the Golden Dachl, a famous house in the city. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Roof. The second time, I bought a new pair of Salomon ski boots (they’re fuzzy and warm inside and completely amazing). I love them, but they are in Austria in the wohnwagen so I have to wait until Christmas to see them again. That day in Innsbruck, I also got to see the ski jumping facility from the Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976. I had never seen one before, but it is definitely interesting looking! In addition, we drove over Brenner Pass to Italy one day and saw a bit of South Tirol in Italy. The towns were so pretty and there were a lot of grapes growing on the hillsides. We also drove to a town called Zell am See in Salzburger Land. It was special for me to go there, because my mom also went there when she was 17 and on a trip with her German class. So of course I took lots of pictures for her! All together, my country count after this trip is Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Austria. Not bad, considering I have been here for 3 months!
McDonalds: Ok this might seem kind of weird, but McDonalds is not that bad here. In America, I go to McDonalds MAYBE once a year, if that. Here, all the McDonalds I have seen are way newer and modern looking, clean, and have more realistic portions. And I’m pretty sure they give you more for your money…like actually lettuce on the hamburger lol.
Last week, I bought a season ticket card for Alemmania Aachen. There are 12 more games left, so now I can go to all of them! I never thought I would like standing and watching 90 minutes of soccer so much, but I LOVE it. The fan energy level is so high and now when I watch games on television it’s just not the same. The only bad part is when the person in front of me smokes….which happens pretty much every time. But I’ve pretty much gotten used to it. I always go with Ralf and Sven and maybe some day I can be as big of an Alemmania fan as they both are! J
This week I got my Math and English tests back that I wrote before the vacation. I got a 1 (the best) on my English test and a 2- on my Math test. I could have gotten better on the Math, but I didn’t understand some of the questions and even so, I guess a 2- is pretty good.
I hope all of you who read my blog enjoyed this post. I’d love to get a comment from you and once again I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long. As always, I want to let my family and friends know that I miss you guys and love you so much!
Carrie
02 October 2009
8 Weeks in Deutschland!
I realize that I probably say in every post how fast the weeks go, but I'm going to say it again here. I cannot believe I have already been here for almost 2 months. I have just over 8 1/2 months left here in Germany. I don't know why the days and weeks go quicker here. Maybe it is because I am always experiencing something new or because every day at school is different. In America, I basically do the same thing every day; I go to the same classes, go home at the same time, have about the same amount of homework, and go to bed about the same time every night. Here, I have different classes everyday, different homework, and I live a different life.
So much has happened in the past 2 weeks since my last post and I wish I could write everything, but there is not enough time for that! So I will try to give some highlights.
Last Saturday, my host family and I went to the Starlight Express musical in Bochum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlight_Express
All the singing was in German, but the music, roller-skate tricks, and costumes were AMAZING. It was pretty expensive (38 Euro=56 dollar) but it was a once in a lifetime experience that was truly worth it.
This past week, we were working on group powerpoint presentations in Geography. All the groups were assigned either wheat, grapes, coffee, or bananas and we had to make a presentation about how they grow, their history, what they need to grow, and the world market. My group was assigned wheat from the Great Plains of the United States. It was great though, because I was able to participate. Meike helped me write the introduction to the presentation, and I introduced our presentation to the whole class. It was the first time I had actually spoken a fair amount of German in front of a large group of kids, but I was really proud of myself. After our presentation was over, my teacher was really nice and complimented me in front of the whole class on how well I did and then all the kids knocked their fists on the desks for me (instead of clapping)...so that made me feel really good.
Other good news is that I finally got my passport back with visa in it about 2 weeks ago. It took about 7 weeks in all from my first day here in Germany when we picked up the paper work until the day I got my passport back. A tip to anyone who ever needs a visa: Do NOT procrastinate and wait until your automatic 90 day visa is up. If anything happens and you get stuck without your passport (main form of identification) and your visa (allowing you to be in the country) that could be very bad. In addition, if you are planning on traveling somewhere, it is not very helpful when you don't have your passport! So plan in advanced when you are going to get your visa, and plan that it will take awhile. In addition, I made the mistake of paying for a 90 day visa to come to Germany. One reason was because I thought I would be able to get my permanent visa here in Germany faster if I had a 90 day visa. As you can tell, that is not the case. So my advice is to save your money and if you are an exchange student like me or are going to be staying in the the country for longer than 90 days, wait until you get to Germany to get your permanent visa. Check out the link below for more information.
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/04__Legal/02__Directory__Services/01__Visa/__Visa.html
Another thing I have found helpful here in Germany is making a list of all the money I spend. I had no idea how much I was spending until I saw everything together on one sheet of paper. I have not spent a lot of money, but the necessities I have needed to buy really add up. For example, I had to buy special shoes for P.E. that have non-color soles. In the gym, we are not allowed to wear black soled shoes because they scuff the floor. So there went 30 Euro ($43). A couple of weeks later, my soccer shoes were kaputt so I had to buy a new pair and there went 40 Euro ($58). So you can see how expensive things are here in general compared to America.
I've got to go back to school now for math, but I'll try to post again soon about Zillertal!
I miss all of you guys so much and I love reading your comments and blogs (Kaitlyn and Andrea :)
Love
Carrie
So much has happened in the past 2 weeks since my last post and I wish I could write everything, but there is not enough time for that! So I will try to give some highlights.
Last Saturday, my host family and I went to the Starlight Express musical in Bochum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlight_Express
All the singing was in German, but the music, roller-skate tricks, and costumes were AMAZING. It was pretty expensive (38 Euro=56 dollar) but it was a once in a lifetime experience that was truly worth it.
This past week, we were working on group powerpoint presentations in Geography. All the groups were assigned either wheat, grapes, coffee, or bananas and we had to make a presentation about how they grow, their history, what they need to grow, and the world market. My group was assigned wheat from the Great Plains of the United States. It was great though, because I was able to participate. Meike helped me write the introduction to the presentation, and I introduced our presentation to the whole class. It was the first time I had actually spoken a fair amount of German in front of a large group of kids, but I was really proud of myself. After our presentation was over, my teacher was really nice and complimented me in front of the whole class on how well I did and then all the kids knocked their fists on the desks for me (instead of clapping)...so that made me feel really good.
Other good news is that I finally got my passport back with visa in it about 2 weeks ago. It took about 7 weeks in all from my first day here in Germany when we picked up the paper work until the day I got my passport back. A tip to anyone who ever needs a visa: Do NOT procrastinate and wait until your automatic 90 day visa is up. If anything happens and you get stuck without your passport (main form of identification) and your visa (allowing you to be in the country) that could be very bad. In addition, if you are planning on traveling somewhere, it is not very helpful when you don't have your passport! So plan in advanced when you are going to get your visa, and plan that it will take awhile. In addition, I made the mistake of paying for a 90 day visa to come to Germany. One reason was because I thought I would be able to get my permanent visa here in Germany faster if I had a 90 day visa. As you can tell, that is not the case. So my advice is to save your money and if you are an exchange student like me or are going to be staying in the the country for longer than 90 days, wait until you get to Germany to get your permanent visa. Check out the link below for more information.
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/04__Legal/02__Directory__Services/01__Visa/__Visa.html
Another thing I have found helpful here in Germany is making a list of all the money I spend. I had no idea how much I was spending until I saw everything together on one sheet of paper. I have not spent a lot of money, but the necessities I have needed to buy really add up. For example, I had to buy special shoes for P.E. that have non-color soles. In the gym, we are not allowed to wear black soled shoes because they scuff the floor. So there went 30 Euro ($43). A couple of weeks later, my soccer shoes were kaputt so I had to buy a new pair and there went 40 Euro ($58). So you can see how expensive things are here in general compared to America.
I've got to go back to school now for math, but I'll try to post again soon about Zillertal!
I miss all of you guys so much and I love reading your comments and blogs (Kaitlyn and Andrea :)
Love
Carrie
19 September 2009
6 Weeks in Deutschland!
With Tim Lobinger, a famous German pole vaulter, in Aachen on my birthday (it was his birthday too!)
Liege, Belgium
At the meeting point of Holland, Germany, and Belgium
Lammersdorf Kirche(this is where my bus stop is)
At the highest point in HollandThursday marked 6 weeks in Deutschland for me! The time is going by so fast. Two weekends from now is October 3, which is Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or German Reunification Day. Also on that day, the CBYX kids in and around Aachen and their host families are meeting up in Aachen. It should be a fun day for everyone to see each other again and for host families to get to know each other. Three weekends from now is the beginning of the two week Herbst Ferien for Nord-Rhein Westfalen. So much is happening!
On Monday, I had school periods 6, 7, and 8. German 6th period and Chemie 7th and 8th periods. German is an ok class because while I don't understand very much, there are a couple of girls in the class who help me out and translate things for me. Chemie is also very difficult. I have never taken any sort of chemistry class, but I can usually follow what is going on if the teacher demonstrates an experiment or something. This week, the kids in Chemie were giving presentations on alcohol (they made alcohol with fruit juice and yeast as an experiment). Some of them talked about beer, others about wine, and one or two groups haven't gone yet. Our teacher is not going to be at school this coming Monday, so we won't have Chemie. That means I will only have one 45 minute class on Monday (6th period) and then I go home. Monday evening, I had soccer practice, which was fun, but the weather wasn't too great. It was cold, grey, and really rainy. Sounds a bit like Seattle sometimes huh?
Tuesday, I had Politik, Kunst, and Sport. I was supposed to have Mathe, but my teacher was sick. I don't know if I mentioned this, but for the Oberstufe, classes are canceled when the teacher is gone...as far as I know, we never get substitutes. We still had some math problems to do, however. I was hanging out during the two free periods with a couple of girls from my class and one of them had to go into the library/study area and write down the problems for us to do. A little different than sitting in class with a substitute and having a 40 problem worksheet to do! After school, Meike rode Amadeus and I ran along with them. It was way easier and more fun than running by myself! Plus, I got to see lots of cute cows, horses, sheep, and baby chicks :)
Wednesday and Friday I had soccer practice for an hour and a half each. Normally I have practice 2 or 3 times a week and one game on Sundays. I can tell that I am getting more in shape, which is good. Before I came here, I hadn't played soccer in 4 or 5 months!
Things have been going really well lately. I get a little homesick sometimes, but usually I am so busy that I don't have time to dwell on that. I am making friends at school and at soccer and my German is getting better.
Today, my parents and sister are getting our new puppy. It's hard for me to think that I won't see her in person for at least 9 months! :( But I can't expect everything to stop and remain the same while I'm gone. Life goes on, whether you are there to experience it or not.
Tonight I am helping Ralf make lasagna for dinner. Should be fun!
Hope you like the pictures. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see or hear about and I will try to post it.
Ciao,
Carrie
13 September 2009
School
Well I haven't exactly been very good at updating my blog regularly, but I am going to try harder. Right now I am sitting in my bedroom looking out at the rain and the wind blowing all the trees around. It's 8:35am and you're probably wondering why I'm not at school. On Mondays, I don't start school until 6th period! This morning I didn't sleep in, but it will be nice in the future when I am really tired.
School is going pretty well. I have 8 classes and most of the German kids have 12 or more. I take Politics, Math, English, German, PE, Chemistry, Geography, and Art. Each class period is 45 minutes and after 45 minutes there is a 5 minute passing period. I have about half block classes and half regular classes. The kids are all really nice and they are very helpful when I need something translated or explained because most of them can speak fairly good English. The school itself is pretty big and is split into separate buildings that are connected by hallways. It is a little confusing, but I think I've got the hang of it.
Since I am in the 11th year, we get a few perks. There is a room called the Oberstufe Raum, where all the kids in the 11th, 12th, and 13th year can hang out, play pool, do homework, or sleep :). So when I have a free period, I go there and read, listen to my iPod, or talk to kids. Also, when a teacher is sick, or for some reason can't come to school, the class is canceled. Every morning before school starts, all the kids go look at a piece of paper that says all the classes that are canceled for the day. There is quite the celebration when a teacher is gone!
My school is made up of grades 5-13, but there are supposedly only 800 kids. Year 11 has 80 kids, which seems like hardly any compared to the number of juniors at MSHS! I think I am older than most of the kids, but I'm not sure. It's pretty much like at home, where I am on the old end.
This is kind of a short post, but like I said, I'm going to try to write more often, so there'll be more soon.
Bis bald,
Carrie
School is going pretty well. I have 8 classes and most of the German kids have 12 or more. I take Politics, Math, English, German, PE, Chemistry, Geography, and Art. Each class period is 45 minutes and after 45 minutes there is a 5 minute passing period. I have about half block classes and half regular classes. The kids are all really nice and they are very helpful when I need something translated or explained because most of them can speak fairly good English. The school itself is pretty big and is split into separate buildings that are connected by hallways. It is a little confusing, but I think I've got the hang of it.
Since I am in the 11th year, we get a few perks. There is a room called the Oberstufe Raum, where all the kids in the 11th, 12th, and 13th year can hang out, play pool, do homework, or sleep :). So when I have a free period, I go there and read, listen to my iPod, or talk to kids. Also, when a teacher is sick, or for some reason can't come to school, the class is canceled. Every morning before school starts, all the kids go look at a piece of paper that says all the classes that are canceled for the day. There is quite the celebration when a teacher is gone!
My school is made up of grades 5-13, but there are supposedly only 800 kids. Year 11 has 80 kids, which seems like hardly any compared to the number of juniors at MSHS! I think I am older than most of the kids, but I'm not sure. It's pretty much like at home, where I am on the old end.
This is kind of a short post, but like I said, I'm going to try to write more often, so there'll be more soon.
Bis bald,
Carrie
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