Frohe Ostern!

This is the pleasant Easter treat I woke up to today. Milka chocolate! Breakfast was toast with Nutella and hard-boiled eggs. We dyed the eggs yesterday, and I showed my host family how you could draw on the eggs with white crayon first and make funny designs. Although my host family very rarely goes to church, we went to the Easter service. This time I was singing with the choir, and we all sat together in the balcony beside the pipe organ. There were also a few wind instruments that played too, including a couple trumpets and a flute and a clarinet. (However, most of the time a typical German church service only uses organ, and all the songs are hymns.) Afterwards, we went to visit the Oma. But one thing that made this Easter different is that we had about 2 inches of snow. I think the weather in Germany has Easter and Christmas mixed up. But it was still a happy Easter.

Turn up the music… let’s dance!

Exchange is about trying new things. Therefore, this year I decided to learn how to dance.

Pretty shortly after Christmas break, I signed up for a dance course with my host sister. And I’m loving it.

In Germany, it is very common to take dancing lessons at the age of about 15 or so. My host sister and a group of other kids in my class at school took lessons last year. For the last month or so, my host sister has been helping me learn to dance as well. She showed me some of the basic steps and figures. Sometimes when we’re chilling around the house, we turn on the music and just dance.

The dance school hosts a dance party almost every weekend. Unlike what you’d picture as a typical high school dance, this is more ballroom-style partner dancing… but with modern music. The party starts around 8pm and lasts until midnight. A couple of times, there will be a break when the windows are opened and people can get a breath of fresh air. Everyone dances in pairs, but the dancing isn’t only for couples; girls will dance with other girls as well. The atmosphere is fun and lots of people show up. It’s a great way to hang out with friends and meet new people.

Having an experienced dancer in the house as my dance partner naturally gives me an advantage when we go to our weekly one-and-a-half-hour dance class. Most of it up until now has been a review of what my host sister already showed me, so we have a fairly easy time of it. Since she already took a dance class, this time she’s signed up as a “man”. When the trainer asks for guys and girls to stand at opposing sides of the room, it’s funny because my host sister stands on the guys’ side, which has earned some funny looks.

Up until this point, here are the different dances we’ve covered: Cha-Cha, Disco, Rumba, Walz, Viennese Walz (Wiener Walz), Jive, and Tango. In class so far, we’ve just covered the basic steps. Now we just have one more dance to learn, the Quick Step, and then we can begin on learning the different figures.

One of the best things is that you can dance these traditional dances to modern music. Now, when I hear some pop music come on, instead of thinking up harmonies, I start to think of the type of dance steps that would match the beat. The majority of songs fall into the category of “Cha-Cha-Cha” or “Discofox” (Cha-Cha or Disco).

I’ve always been more of a musical kind of person, so I guess dancing is my newest musical outlet. I love that feeling as the rhythm pulses through my body and out my feet. It’s fun, it’s a way to meet new people, it’s exercise, and it involves music, so it’s a win-win-win.

It’s a German holiday season

Ok, I wrote this reflection about Christmas in Germany earlier but forgot to post it, so here goes…

******

Celebrating the holidays is always a special time of year, especially when it’s spent surrounded by the people you love.

This year, although the festivities and holiday cheer still abound everywhere, it feels emptier than usual.

It could be because I haven’t been hearing Christmas songs playing on the car radio nonstop. Perhaps it could be because I’m not super busy with choir rehearsals and concerts all the time. Or it could also be because the stereo isn’t constantly blasting Mannheim Steamroller through its speakers. It somehow feels a lot quieter than usual. I guess one thing that I most associate with Christmas is all the music and bustle that comes with it. December is normally filled with music playing the entire month: in the car, in the stores, at church, and at home. Wherever I go, there’s music, and when it’s not playing over the speakers, it’s stuck in my head. This year, where there would usually be tons of music and singing, there’s a lot of empty space. I’m not saying there’s not music anymore; there’s just… not as much of it. And it just makes me feel as if something’s missing.

The holidays also feel emptier because this year I’m not spending them at home with my family like usual. I miss putting up the fake tree with its lights, angel, and ornaments the day after Thanksgiving. I miss the cocoa, candy canes and eggnog. I miss watching the Muppets’ Christmas Carol and hearing the sound of my brothers’ laughter as they crack up during Elf. I miss the stockings and the cinnamon rolls and going over to Grandma’s house. I miss driving down Keller Street to look at the Christmas lights.

But nonetheless, no matter where in the world I’m at, Christmas comes as usual.

This year, the eggnog and Christmas lights are replaced by Weihnachtsmarkts, Plätzchen, and Kinder Punch. This year is a year of new traditions, all special in their own way. It’s still Christmas; it just happens to look a little bit different. But I guess that’s okay too. Christmas is Christmas, no matter where in the world you’re at.

In Germany, Christmas is mostly celebrated on Christmas Eve, and that’s when all the presents are opened. Then there are two more days of Christmas for visiting relatives.

On Christmas Eve, I attended a service at the church with my host family. Most people in Germany do not regularly attend church services, with the exceptions being for Christmas and Easter. The congregation is predominantly elderly folks, and perhaps a small group of kids who are doing their Confirmation this year and thus required to attend some services. But on Christmas Eve, all the seats were filled. Little kids acted out the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth, and hymns were mixed in between the readings. It was a lot easier to understand the service, in part because the verses were all already familiar to me. The other thing I remember about the service was this one toddler who kept crying out, “Baum!” (Baum means “tree” in German.) I even recognized a couple of the melodies we sang, although most were unfamiliar to me.

After the service, we drove to Oma’s house for Christmas dinner. We had steak and french fries with beer (but without the alcohol). When we returned home, it was close to 9pm. That’s when we opened the presents, with some Christmas music playing in the background. The two most popular Christmas songs in my town in Germany: Last Christmas, and War is Over. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone has heard of Mannheim Steamroller.

Christmas this year was bittersweet. It was fun sharing it with my host family, but at the same time, it felt so empty. I guess when you’re an exchange student, holidays=homesickness. I was so excited about seeing what a German Christmas looked like, but this year it almost didn’t even feel like Christmas. It was like it just snuck out the back door when nobody was looking.

I guess maybe I’m one of those people who likes traditions. Christmas means family and old traditions, right? It feels so weird without it.

The 25th was even stranger. It felt just like an ordinary day, as if it wasn’t even Christmas. The sun was shining and it was as warm as spring. There wasn’t even a sign of snow. I went for a walk with my host sister, but that was about as eventful as my day became. I skyped with my family, so I still got to see them, even if only through a computer screen.

Now, I’ll fill you in on some of the aspects that make up Christmas in Germany.

1. Advent calendars. There’s a lot more of them around here. There are different variations, but one of the popular ones is from the chocolate company Milka. There are a bunch of numbered doors with the number of the day on them, and every day in December you get to open one of the doors. Behind each door is a small treat, like a little piece of chocolate, and each day you get to eat a tiny treat, all the way up until Heilig’ Abend (Christmas Eve).
   

   My chocolate Milka advent calendar

2. Snow. Coming from the Pacific Northwest region of the US, snow is something that I’ve already seen plenty of in my lifetime. I still remember the year a few years ago when my city got snowed in overnight with 3 feet of snow in 2 days… So yeah, a little snow and cold weather doesn’t really constitute a freak-out. It snowed here in the beginning of December, but it all melted, so unfortunately we didn’t get a white Christmas this year.
   

   Sunset and snow

3. Christmas markets, or Weihnachtsmärkte. You can find these outdoor in basically every city you look. Lots of wooden stands are set up outdoors. A few of the things they sell include sausages, decorations, and Glühwein. Glühwein is a kind of hot Christmas drink, or mulled wine, with a bunch of spices in it, but it’s more of an acquired taste. The stands also sell Kinder Punch, however, which contains no alcohol. It’s sort of like hot apple cider, except it has other fruits and spices in it. I went to two of these Weihnachtsmärkte this year. My host family took me to Salzburg, Austria with them to visit the Christmas market there. I also visited a Christmas market in my town here. I felt like a kid as I looked around at all the stands and took pictures.
   

   At a Weihnachtsmarkt

   

   At the Weihnachtsmarkt in Salzburg, Austria

4. Plätzchen. These are delicious little Christmas cookies. The house smells delicious when a few batches are baking in the oven.
   

   These are some of the cookies we baked.

5. St. Nikolaus.  No, it’s not the same as the fat, jolly, red-clothed, white-bearded man who creeps down the chimney and fills the stockings every year at midnight on Christmas Eve. In Germany, St. Nikolaus comes on the 6th of December and brings little treats for the kids, who usually leave a shoe out for him to fill.
   

   St. Nikolaus came in the night and this is what he left.

6. The Christmas tree. At home, we usually have an artificial tree that we set up the day after Thanksgiving with all our mismatched personal ornaments. Here, most people don’t set up the tree until the week of Christmas, and usually just one person in the family hangs up the decorations. The string of lights looks like little fake candles, and red hanging balls are like the apples that people used to decorate the trees with in the past. On top, there’s a Spitze instead of a star or angel. I went with my host family when we picked out our tree this year: a live spruce.
   

   This was our Christmas tree, with decorations and all.

In school, the last week before break, everything was more chilled than usual. We sang a little music (“Last Christmas” and “War is Over”) and played a couple of games. The Thursday before break, there was a big school concert. The orchestra, choir, and band all performed a few numbers. The dividers between the 3 gyms were removed to create a huge auditorium and a stage was set up, and over 1,000 people were present in the audience. A line of kids said “Merry Christmas and a happy new year” in different world languages. Then something happened that I hadn’t reckoned for. In light of the recent shooting in an elementary school in Connecticut, the entire crowd stood up and took a brief moment of silence to send support to all the acquaintances and relatives of the victims. It really moved me to see how even this small town in Germany responded in sympathy to people halfway across the world. It goes to show that even in the darkest moments, light breaks through the darkness, and how small the world really is.

The day before Christmas break, the school also held a church service, something I wouldn’t even imagine my high school in the US ever doing due to the whole “separation of church and state” thing. The theme of the service was “to be a light for the world”. Kids read the situation of different continents and problems that the people there face. Short prayers, or Führbitten, were read. A couple of songs were sung. During the service, we thought on people less fortunate than us, who may not have a family or a home to go back to on Christmas. It makes me grateful for what I have: a roof over my head, plenty to eat, a family who loves me and will be there for me no matter what, the opportunity to receive a good education, and wonderful friends.

Okay, so Christmas in Germany might not be the big, loud, crazy, commercialized holiday that it is in America, but what is Christmas all about, really? In Germany, it happens a lot more quietly, with more focus on family than on things. It’s not about getting the biggest presents or the biggest, brightest decorations. It’s not about the money. It’s more about appreciating what’s truly important in life. It’s about giving, not receiving. It’s about thinking on other people.

Time to be thankful

Thanksgiving is a time I would normally be spending at home with my family, and like every family, we have our own special traditions. To eat, we have the traditional turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and butter, olives, and cranberry sauce. We also have a few of our own special dishes. Fruit salad is added on the side. But the two dishes that are my favorite Thanksgiving staples are my mom’s green bean casserole and yam/sweet potato dish. And, of course, my grandma’s homemade apple pie. What’s a Thanksgiving without green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and apple pie?

Thanksgiving is usually either at our house or our grandparents’ house. Sometimes our uncle joins us too. After sharing what we’re thankful for and stuffing ourselves full with as much food as our stomachs can handle without exploding, the conversation continues all afternoon, eventually followed by a game of Mexican Train (Dominoes).

That’s what Thanksgiving normally looks like.

This year looked a little bit different.

This year, I am halfway across the world from my family. But living in another country doesn’t mean I have to live without Thanksgiving. When I told my host family that Thanksgiving was coming up, they were thrilled about the idea of creating our own Thanksgiving dinner. I was thrilled about having the opportunity to share an important piece of my American culture with my host family, who had never celebrated a Thanksgiving before. My American family e-mailed me our staple recipes, and the entire week was spent planning how we would put everything together, and me doing my best to explain the recipes to my host mom in German.

Fortunately, my first experiment with trying to cook American food in Deutschland turned out to be a great success. That’s also despite the fact that it was the most I’ve ever cooked in one day before.

One of my first thoughts upon reading the recipes was, “Do we really use that much processed food in America?” It seemed more than I remembered. A can of this, a can of that. Wait, what? It seems like a lot more food is bought fresh in Germany, like bread, fruits & veggies, meat, and cheese. So we made a lot more from scratch. Of all the ingredients on the list, there was one “canned” thing that we still used a can for: the peaches for the sweet potatoes. That’s because peaches aren’t available in the winter.

I have absolutely no idea how you cook or carve a turkey. But my host mom has experience with cooking duck and chicken, so how different can it be with a turkey? The turkey and stuffing were done with inspiration from the cooking tips from my mom and grandma. Some chestnuts were also added into the stuffing mix and everything was chopped up very small, so it was slightly moderated but very delicious. (Although peeling all the chestnuts was a bit of a pain in the neck.)  I discovered that celery comes not only in stalks, but in balls too! The cranberry sauce used a recipe off the Internet with a little orange mixed in. My host mom made the mashed potatoes and gravy with her own recipe. I helped mostly with the sweet potatoes and green bean casserole, since those are my family’s specialties. It turns out that brown sugar is a lot different over here. Instead of the soft, distinct-brown sugar found in America, it looks more like regular sugar crystals with a slightly different color.

Other moderations: The French fried onions that top the casserole we made ourselves, and most of the cooking was done stove-top due to our fresher ingredient supply. Instead of rolls, we used slices of a baguette. Soft rolls cannot be found here; all the bread rolls have crunchy crusts and are a little bigger in size, and my host mom thought it would be too much, so we substituted a baguette of French bread. The olives had other plans so they weren’t able to make it to our feast. (Sorry, fingers, but I think your friends abandoned you.)

The cooking required a good amount of improvising and a lot more preparation, but the results were satisfactory for everyone and tasted just as delicious.

The table decked with food for our Thanksgiving feast

My host family invited the neighbors over and my host sister’s boyfriend came too. The neighbors brought the apple pie and ice cream. With our group of 8 people, it was still a merry Thanksgiving. It gave me a sense of home right here in Germany. Before we dug into the food, we all said what we were thankful for, in keeping with tradition.

Things I’m thankful for this year:

• My pocket German-English dictionary
• Nutella
• Kuchen [the German word for cake]
• Brötchen [and actually, all the German baked goods]
• Milka [and Swiss chocolate and Schokolade in general]
• Apfelschorle [like apple juice except carbonated]
• Füller [a.k.a. really cool fountain pen]
• Efficient public transportation systems
• Skype [which allows me to see my family even from halfway across the world]
• And of course, all the amazing supportive people in my life who are willing to help, both in Germany and in my community back at home.

Politics on a world scale

Yes, I know it’s old news and the election-time political buzz has pretty much fizzled out as people return to worrying about their normal routines. But have you ever wondered how a U.S. election is perceived in other countries outside of the US? Opinions seem to run strong when election time is high, thanks to our First Amendment right of free speech. So to add to the different perspectives out there, how about a little world perspective?

How are American politics perceived in other countries like Germany for example?

Election time looks a lot different when you’re abroad. For one thing, with a nine-hour time difference between the USA and Germany, the high point of the election happened in the morning, around the time I had to get myself ready and leave for school. Therefore I didn’t find out the winner until about 8 hours later. However, it was very easy to find out all I needed to know within the first minute of logging onto the Internet. News articles about Obama’s win and victory speech. Floods of political Facebook posts: delighted, bitter/wishing to move to Canada, and others poking fun at all the political posts. Lots of tension. It was easy to see how much people cared about who their next president would be.

Abroad, there wasn’t nearly as much debate or heated discussion as to who the winner ought to be. At least, not in Germany. Almost every German I knew was hoping Obama would win. Finding a Romney fan in Germany would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I’ve heard people voice that they find what Romney says a bit extreme sometimes; alternatively, Obama’s administration and policies seem to be quite popular here.

For starters, you’ve got the Obamacare system. In Germany, a national healthcare and insurance system is already in place. Every single citizen has healthcare insurance coverage, so that the people who can’t afford it still have access to healthcare when they need it. That way everybody can get the help they need. The healthcare reform that Obama has been trying to push through is very similar to the system already in place in Germany. Actually, Germany’s not the only one; most countries in Europe also have a nationalized healthcare system already in place. In Germany, it appears that most people are in favor of this system, and they think that America would also benefit from implementing a similar system.

Germans are also surprised that the issue of same-sex marriage is still being debated in the U.S.. In Germany, same-sex couples already have legal recognition.

Despite the fact that Germany and America are both democracies, the political systems still have differences. Instead of a simple two-party system, Germany has multiple political parties. The overall system also seems a lot more complicated, but the checks and balances help to ensure that one person cannot seize control of the whole system.

****

On a completely different note, still relating to how America is perceived abroad, the American flag appears to be trendy in the fashion world. Scarves carry the symbolic stars and stripes. So do swimsuits. And T-shirts. And winter boots?

Trick-or-Treat… or soccer?

Forget trick-or-treating. This Halloween was the year to break from tradition and do something totally different: go see a live soccer game!

Americans recognize football, basketball, and baseball as the most-beloved sports, but in Europe, soccer is king. The fans go wild. Observing the crowd participation is just as interesting as the game itself.

You could feel the energy as soon as you entered the stadium. The smell of cigarette smoke and sausage wafted through the air. Holding plastic cups of beer, fans were decked in black and red, coats and hats, and (of course) their red-and-white team scarves. (I think the Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter books must have been inspired by watching a European soccer game.) The entire stadium was a sea of red and black. Music played over the speakers. Flags waved in the air and fans from both teams were singing and chanting nonstop for the entire duration of the game.

I have no idea who the opposing team was, but the home team was FC Bayern München, which is the best team in Germany and ranked in the top 4 in Europe. It was definitely fun to watch.

From outside, the stadium was completely lit-up in red, and you could see it from the Autobahn. It was like this huge glowing red bowl, and I’ll bet from above it could’ve been mistaken for a UFO.

The stadium glows bright red from outside.

Seating is somewhat different from American sporting events I’ve observed. Rather than having specific assigned seats, seats are assigned to a section. Also, fans from opposing teams are separated with a barrier between to prevent fights from breaking out.

Pre-game, the music played and the crowd was abuzz with excitement. Then, the teams entered the field. One by one, the players were announced. Actually, it was more like a call-and-response. The announcer would read out just their first name, and everyone in the stands would shout the last name back. As the players walked out in line onto the field, each of the players was accompanied by an aspiring child soccer player. The players lined up on the side of the field. Then, the kids ran off and the players warmed up, and then… game time!

The definite highlight of the game was watching the crowd come to life every time a goal was scored. The crowd went wild! It was like a big party. The music played and everyone jumped to their feet, cheering and waving their flags and holding their scarves up in the air. “Tor für FC Bayern!” (Tor is the German word for “goal”.) The screen showed a replay of the goal and then the player who had scored. The announcer called out their number, and then their name was chanted out three times in the same call-and-response fashion as the pre-game introductions.Then the score was shouted out. Bayern? “VIER!” The opposing team? “NULL!” “Danke.” “BITTE!” Then the game continued.

The crowd goes wild when a goal is scored.

To further show just how crazy the fans can be, at one point late in the game, fans from the opposing team lit a fire in the stadium (which, of course, is prohibited). You could see the smoke and the orange glow in the spot where it was lit. It didn’t last very long, but it shows how much the fans get into it.

In the last half-minute of the game, after we regained possession of the ball, the fans started calling, “Auf Wiedersehen! Auf Wiedersehen! … ” Final score? 4-0: a win!

You know you’re an exchange student when…

• It feels weird to eat with your fork in your right hand.
• You’re thrilled when you actually understand what the teacher just asked.
• You are even more thrilled when you know the answer… but you still can’t answer the question because you don’t know the answer in the right language.
• Going to a foreign country just to go shopping isn’t a big deal.
• “Tired” might as well be another event on your schedule.
• You have a new obsession with scarves and baked goods.
• You do a lot more thinking before you speak.
• You’ve eaten something that you don’t even know the name of.
• Someone mentions a place and you have no idea where it is.
• You’ve been laughed at for saying something wrong.
• You have successfully gotten lost or missed a bus.
• When people talk about somewhere they’ve been or are going, you have no idea in which direction that is.
• The measurements don’t make sense.
• You haven’t seen another American in over a month.
• You’ve been asked how many guns your family at home has.
• You spend hardly any time alone.
• You spell words wrong in your own language.
• You aren’t nervous about the idea of riding a train or bus by yourself.
• You have friends from multiple countries.
• You look up a word in the dictionary in your own language and wonder why you can’t find it.
• You dream in a foreign language.
• You can’t pronounce a word in your own language.
• You get annoyed when people talk in English.
• You have difficulty forming complete thoughts in your own language.
• The things you find fascinating are completely normal to everyone else.
• You’ve taken photos inside of a store.
• “What does that mean?” is one of your most-used phrases.
• Finishing an assignment all by yourself is considered a big accomplishment.
• After a couple of months, you STILL can’t find all of your classes by yourself.
• When someone asks which teacher you have for English, you have no idea.
• You can never remember which classes you have tomorrow.
• By the time you get home, you’ve already forgotten which classes you had today.
• You carry a dictionary with you everywhere you go.

Ich lebe noch

That’s a quote I’ve learned in German. When a person has been away for a bit, even if only for a short part of the afternoon, upon return, sometimes another person will make the comment, “Es lebt noch.” In other words, “it’s still alive.” Why “it” instead of “he/she”? That’s a good question, but probably because it sounds funnier. I guess probably a more accurate meaning in English would be “you’re back”. Perhaps it could also relate (although maybe indirectly) to the famous English saying, “Long time, no see”?

At any rate, to stick with the idea of the German quote, I’m still alive.

Speaking of funny German quotes…

I have already learned quite a few different German sayings since I’ve been here. There are many that are the same, like “the early bird catches the worm”, but there are also some other ones that can catch you by surprise the first time you hear them. Here are just a few examples:

• If someone has “hair on their teeth” (Haare auf die Zähne), it means they’re schizophrenic.
• If you “had pig” (Schwein gehabt), then you had good luck. The four-leaf clover is not the only sign of good luck. Pigs, chimney sweeps [although not swimney cheeps like I just started to type] like you see in the movie Mary Poppins, and mushrooms are other signs of good luck.
• “Holding your own nose” (an die eigene Nase fassen) means recognizing your own mistakes before you start judging other people. Or, to say it in a more blunt fashion (in consistency with what I am coming to recognize as German culture), don’t be a hypocrite.
• “The pharmacy is open” (die Apotheke ist offen) actually has nothing to do with pharmacies or medicine. If you know the phrase “XYZ” (eXamine Your Zipper), this is the German equivalent, so to say that your fly is open.
• “I am blue” does not mean “I am sad.” It actually means “I’m drunk.” [My host family was actually surprised/slightly amused when I began to explain how in America colors can sometimes be associated with certain feelings, like blue= sad, green= sick/ envious, red= fury/ embarrassed. In Germany, they don’t really have such associations between colors and feelings.]
• “I am full” can mean exactly what it sounds like, when you’ve had too much to eat, but in German it can also sometimes take on the same meaning as “I am blue” (see above comment). When you are full after a meal and want to say so without people interpreting your comment the wrong way, you can also say it in slang (Umgangssprache): “Ich bin satt.”

Speaking of funny language matters, one of the biggest sources of language humor is language mistakes. Not every word sticks the first time you learn it. For example, I forgot a syllable when I tried to say the word for “envelope.” Instead of saying “Briefumschlag”, I said “Briefschlag”. What do you get when you punch a letter? (Or perhaps is it the other way around, when a letter punches you?) Ein Briefschlag!

This brings me to my next point of how the German language consists largely of smaller words smushed together to create bigger words. Most of the time, it makes sense, and it makes it easier to remember new vocab. However, there are also words that don’t make sense at all. “Baumschule”, when literally translated, means “tree-school”. Since when did trees start going to school? Although when you think about it, I guess growing plants in a nursery isn’t any better.

While we’re talking about language, I think that foreign language is invading my subconsciousness. I can never remember whether my dreams are in German or English, but whichever language it is, I just know I can understand what’s going on. Although, the weirdest thing happened to me once: I  heard someone say something in Spanish in my dream. How does that happen??? I have only had about two months of Spanish at my school in Germany, and if anything I ought to be dreaming in German because I am in Germany and using the German language without end. How is it that Spanish suddenly pops up in the middle of nowhere?

I am also slowly losing the ability to speak or think normally in my own language. Last week, I went to look up an English word in the dictionary so I could translate it, and instead of looking under “sh”, I found myself looking under “sch” and wondering why I couldn’t find the word I was looking for. When I Skyped with my family in America, a couple German words managed to sneak their way in. Instead of saying “and”, I kept saying “und”. Instead of saying “but”, I said “aber”. I also accidentally said to my family, “Ach so!” (When you don’t understand something and someone explains it, this is an expression you say to show that you understand it now. “Ohhhh, I see.”) Furthermore, I cannot complete a thought in English without German popping into my head. Sometimes I find myself trying to use German grammar when writing something in English. When I go back to America, people are going to laugh at me because I will probably be making mistakes in my own language!

Anyways… coming back to the title of this blog post and the idea of still being alive…

Where have I been for the last two months? In Germany. [Oh wait, duh, you already knew that.] More specifically, I have been attending school at a Gymnasium near Aachen, in the western area of Germany. However, I will talk more about school in a different blog post because there is so much I could say on that subject alone and this post is already long enough.

It is kind of weird when I think about the fact that I have already been in Germany for almost three months. Life has started settling into somewhat more of a routine now. My surroundings are beginning to appear normal to me. I don’t freak out over every little thing I see in the store. The brands appear more familiar. It no longer feels weird hearing myself speak in German. The idea of using public transportation – alone – doesn’t phase me anymore.

Actually, Monday was the first time that I was all by myself on the train. I have ridden the train before, but with other people tagging along. This time, I was on my own. Normally, I would be a little anxious undertaking such a task alone for the first time, but the funny thing is, it wasn’t even a problem. That is also despite the fact that it is the longest trip I have made completely by myself. Traveling between west Germany and southern Germany is not a short trip. Although, the distance didn’t really bother me since I am used to going on long road trips with my family, and I enjoy watching the scenery out the window. On the way, I rode on 5 different trains, one of which was an ICE bullet train that went at 100 mph! The ICE train even had internet access and refreshments (for purchase only, of course). Anyways, with the help of getting directions from a few strangers, I was able to successfully navigate the train system and reach my goal without any issues.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by a friend of mine. She was actually an exchange student in my city in America last year, and I met her during my interview during the CBYX  application process. Since then, we have stayed in contact, and I even went to her American graduation party last June, at which I was also able to meet her family. They had said that I could come and visit sometime. Now, our roles have reversed. I am now the exchange student, speaking her language, and visiting her country. “It’s a small world after all.” It has been nice to visit her. We rode the bus into the city and shared exchange-student experiences over a bite to eat and some coffee, which made for a pleasant afternoon. I have also discovered that southerners have a different word for Brötchen: “Semmel”.

I have decided that southern Germany is a very beautiful place and I hope someday I can come back to visit again.

Scarves and Red Squirrels

Here are some of the observations I’ve made about Germany so far.

1. The cake is really good. Actually, all of the baked goods are.
2. Most food is eaten with a knife and a fork, including pizza.
3. Recycling is important. There’s different places for food waste/compost, glass, paper, and plastic.
4. During meals you’re supposed to finish everything on your plate. It is said that if you don’t finish all your food, there will be bad weather the next day.
5. You can order an American at the bakery. I know what you’re thinking: are these people cannibals or something? Don’t worry, the “Amerikaner” is actually a kind of pastry; it looks something like a cross between a pancake and a donut.
6. There is a lot of organ music/hymns during a church service.
7. Grammar is hard.
8. People know how to dance. I’m not talking about the random, sloppy body movement you see at a typical high school dance; I’m talking about traditional dances like the tango, etc. It is actually fairly common for teenage girls to go to a dancing school and learn how to ballroom dance.
9. Scarves are common, perhaps because it gets colder in the evenings and in the winter. This is my new favorite fashion obsession. Scarves go with almost anything.
10. People drive faster.
11. Public transportation is way more efficient. Wanna head downtown? Just take the bus.
12. Some of the outdoor restaurants have blankets.
13. If you order water at a restaurant, they will give you Mineralwasser, which is carbonated water. This is what most Germans drink. If you ask for Stilleswasser (normal water), it costs even more than ordering a soda.
14. American DVDs don’t work in German DVD players.
15. Germans like American pop music too.
16. The squirrels are red.

Here is an example of a kind of pastry you can order at the bakery. It’s called an “Amerikaner”, so yes, it is possible to actually eat an American.

First Impressions

It’s hard to believe it’s already my fourth day in Deutschland. It’s a lovely country with many green trees and trains. When the plane first landed, I started freaking out a little on the inside. It suddenly hit that here I was, in Germany, just like I’d imagined for so long, but now it was actually happening. There was no going back now.

Once we started walking through the Frankfurt airport, my nerves vanished and I was filled only with joy and excitement, realizing that I could actually understand a lot of the signs and places I was seeing! I immediately begin trying out my German and trying to understand the new world through which I walked. We met our language camp teachers, who accompanied us to the Bahnhof (train station). We rode a train to Cologne, where some of the kids had their language camp. I waited with some of the other kids and our language camp teachers to board the train that would take us to Aachen. Jet lag was already taking its toll; I tried to sleep on the plane from Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt but with not much luck, although I at least tried to relax with my eyes closed. Oh yeah, and we rode an Airbus A380, which is a very large two-story airliner. (My brother is jealous!) During the train ride to our language camp city, every single one of us was tired and wanted only to sleep. I must have slept nearly a full 12 hours my first night here! I slept like a baby.

When we arrived at the Aachen train station, my temporary host family met me at the platform. They gave me a small flower bouquet and then we drove to the house. I will be staying with my temporary host family for three weeks during the language camp. I have a host mother and father and even a 13-year-old sister and a dog. The house is three stories tall with a nice backyard that has a trampoline and a water feature, and I even have my own room and bathroom on the third floor.

As far as language goes, during my first day I had to listen hard to catch a few words here or there in the conversation, especially when they spoke faster. However, I am picking it up very quickly. Today is my fourth day and I can already follow a conversation. It is true that you learn a language much faster by being immersed in it. My ears and brain have already adapted to my new surroundings. It has gone much better than I could have hoped for! My family knows quite a bit of English, but I have been trying to use as much German as possible. Turns out, I can now explain myself in THREE languages: English, German, and the one language EVERYONE can understand: body language. Between our combined languages, we are able to understand each other very well. I have been asking tons of questions. “What is that?” “How do you say that?” “What does that mean?” I have discovered new ways to explain just about everything; in fact, I think I can even explain things better in German than in English due to the concise nature of the Germanic language. I am learning so much from my host family and am also able to share some of my culture and language with them at the same time. My experience so far is so much better than I could have expected and not as hard as I thought it would be. Two years of German class have prepared me well. Haha, language barrier? Was ist das? 🙂 My family and I can already understand each other very well and I am learning so much.

Along with learning a new language comes mistakes as well. For instance, when I tried to say that something tasted delicious, I said “mir ist lecker” instead of “es ist lecker,” which of course resulted in a lot of laughter, and my family kept repeating “mir ist lecker” the rest of the day. It’s become somewhat of a new family joke. Also, this morning when I went with my host sister to get some cake from the bakery, I mixed up the words for “kitchen” and “cake.” What I MEANT to say is “There’s a lot of cake in the bakery,” but it came out as “kitchens”. My host sister laughed, and said, “Well, you could try to eat a kitchen, but it wouldn’t be so easy…”

Deutschland is actually not as different from America as one might think. They carry some brands here that I recognize from America, like H&M, Hollister, Maybelline NY, L’OREAL, and others. Twilight and the Hunger Games are popular here also, and even some American pop music. My host family likes to watch TV in the evening just like my family at home in America, and it is fun being able to watch the Olympics in a different country.

There are also a few noticeable differences. The toilet has two flush buttons: a bigger one and a smaller one. The cross-walk lights show two red men and one green man instead of an orange hand and a white man. I asked my host sister why that was, and she said probably because stopping is more important than walking; after all, it’s dangerous to walk when the light is red. Germans and Europeans use more public transportation because the busses and trains are more efficient here. My host family leaves the doors open when they go into the backyard and we eat our meals on the back patio. In Germany, people also buy baked goods every day. For breakfast, we eat Brötchen, which is a kind of bread roll. We eat it with butter, cream cheese and Nutella, cold meat (like salami) and cheese, or jam. I’m not sure about the others, but at least in my host family, we don’t really have lunch; we have cake & coffee a couple of hours later. Dinner is the cooked meal of the day. So far I am enjoying sampling the new foods. The baked goods are absolutely fantastic! I want to try all of them.

As far as spending time goes, my family loves to play Set, which is a card game that I believe is from America. In the backyard, we have a water feature; it’s a small rectangular pool just deep enough to dangle your legs into, with a square stone on the side where a person can sit and a small water-spout. My host sister and I like to dangle our feet in the water. The other things I’ve done so far have been tagging along on a trip to the grocery store or bakery, seeing downtown and getting a bus pass for the month, walking by the building where my language camp will be, and walking in the Eifel (a wooded area) despite the rain. Everything is so interesting and I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can about my new surroundings, like what things are called and why things are the way they are. I also learn a lot from observation, from signs and buildings and pictures, etc.

For those of you who have been wondering, life is going very well here and I believe I am learning how to adapt very quickly. It already is beginning to feel more and more like home. I will do my best to post updates when I’m able. For now, auf Wiedersehen!