2 Cool 4 School

So German schools are a lot different than American schools, and the schedules are way more confusing! Here's a look into my week:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
7:30-8:15	Computer Sciences	Sport		Physics	Math
8:15-9:00	Computer Sciences	Sport		Physics	Math
9:15-10:00	History	Economics	Math	German	English
10:00-10:45	History	Economics	Math	German	English
11:00-11:45	Accounting	Economics	Biology	Accounting	German
11:45-12:30	Accounting	Economics	Biology	English	German
12:45-1:30	Religion	Economics	Politics	English
1:30-2:15		Practice Firm	Politics
2:30-3:15		Practice Firm
3:15-4:00		Practice Firm

A few notes about my schedule:

• I only have computer sciences every other week, so the Mondays that I don't have it are my favorite because school starts late and is really short.
• Tuesdays are the worst because not only are they the longest but they also have FIVE times economics and then practice firm. But sport is actually fun!
• Practice firm is a class where you literally pretend to work in a made up office. I'm in the personnel department so I spend 2 1/2 hours every tuesday checking fake emails and sorting fake mail for a fake business. Today I even got to file fake taxes for our fake income. It's pretty bad.
• Wednesdays are also good days because they start late and are short. But Wednesdays are always good days.

A few notes about German School vs. American School:

• When your teacher can't make it to class, there aren't any subs so you just get to go home an hour early or have an hour of free time. 
• Kids and teachers cuss fairly regularly and it isn't a big deal, whereas in America you would get detention or ISS. 
• Baking a cake is a common punishment in Germany. I'm not sure it's much of a deterrent, but hey, I like cake so I'm not complaining. 
• There isn't a dress code in German schools, now given it's freezing most of the year so short shorts are only worn for a few weeks, but they are allowed those few weeks nevertheless. This also means there are lots of piercings and bright hair and exposed shoulders. It's a big change considering in America I wasn't allowed to wear sweatpants or leggings.
• Kids walk to school/take the train to school at (for me) a surprisingly young age. Seeing 8 year olds getting off the train by themselves always gives me a weird feeling.
• In German schools you get a 15 minute break between every 2 class slots. This break can be spent talking with friends, smoking in the parking lot (which a surprising number of the students do), going to the little restaurant across the street for a 1 Euro pizza, or picking up a snack from the cafeteria. This is a lot of free time compared to the one 10 minute break and two 5 minute breaks (which was barely enough time to get to class) I got in my American high school.
• You also don't eat lunch in German schools. I bring along a little sandwich that I eat during one of my 15 minute breaks. And on really long days I will sometimes buy a pizza, but no matter what time I get home from school I still go and eat lunch with my host mom. 
• Most of your classes are in one room. There are a few special classes (computer, biology, sport) that have to be taught in a particular room, but all of the other classes are taught in your class's classroom. It's the teachers who change rooms, not the students. 

And I guess that's everything. Or at least everything I can think of at the moment. 

Beginning Week 3!

If you could take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine the most stereotypical German evening, you may very well be seeing my Saturday night. If you imagined lots of German people drinking lots of German beer and swaying back and forth to their German songs, you would be right on par. The only thing that was lacking, quite to my disappointment, was the Lederhosen. 

Sunday we had the parade throughout our village. The German's idea of a parade involves lots of floats pulled by tractors, men dressed as women, and, of course, beer. It was interesting to say the least, though the candy was sparse. 

One of my favorite parts of the day is after my host parents have put Rahel (my host sister) to sleep and we all go sit in the living room. We talk, watch TV and movies, eat ice cream and chocolate, and end most nights in prayer together. Last night we watched Along Came Polly (...und dann kam Polly in German) and tonight we watched Everybody Loves Raymond (which unfortunately is only available in English, but it's an old favorite from back home so it was still good). I find myself often worrying that my host family will regret agreeing to have me stay or that I'm not being a very good host daughter, but after our time together at night I feel much better about things. 

Kirmes!

This weekend my village is having Kirmes. I'm not sure how to explain it, because there isn't really anything like it in America.

Thursday is the opening ceremony and lots of groups perform dances. Then Friday there's a parade for the kids and they all get these cool lanterns that their parents make and they march throughout the town. My host sister's lantern was a ballerina. After the parade there's a Kinderdisco, which is a dance for all the kids and it's really cute. 

I went to my friend's house and we all hung out before the dance for the teenagers/young adults started. It takes place in this huge tent and it's kinda similar to homecoming, only with better music, better dancing, and the alcohol is all legal. But then outside of the tent it's like a fair with lots of games and bumper cars, which are actually the most amazing thing in the world. There are all these fog machines and loud music and it's such great fun. It was one of the best nights of my life.

Tonight there is more music and dancing, but this time it's more geared towards adults. I'm going with my host family and hopefully gonna meet up with a few people from school. It should be fun! 

Don't Worry, Be Happy

My entire summer was spent worrying. Worrying about online classes and working and fitting in all my goodbyes and packing. But more than anything, I was worrying about leaving it all behind. I was worried I'd made the wrong decision when I accepted this scholarship. I'm not brave or strong or independent. I'd never washed my own clothes or gone more than a few weeks without my parents. My German really isn't too great and I have enough trouble making friends in my own language. When it came time to say goodbye to my parents I was scared more than I ever admitted. But after a few days with the other kids I began to make really good friends and a few of my worries began to fade and everything was so much fun. But by the end of camp those fears that had disappeared were replaced by new ones. I was about to leave all of my new friends and live with complete strangers and start going to a school where I knew no one in a town where I knew no one in a country where I knew 49 other kids. It was such a scary thought. I remember the last day of language camp we all walked around the room hugging and crying and we were all so nervous to meet our families.And then I met them and they were wonderful. Things were awkward and quiet, but I loved them and they were so incredibly nice to me and everything went so well. And then I had school and the kids were so welcoming and the teacher were so understanding and again, everything went so well. So it's finally dawned on me that all that worrying was really for nothing. I could spend my year worrying about everything that could go wrong (and there’s a lot that could go wrong!), or I could spend it being happy, and learning from my experiences when things do go wrong. And I think the latter is a much better idea. :)

And so it goes

I'm currently typing from my iPod because my laptop is experiencing technical difficulties, which is unfortunate to say the least. But life must go on.

This weekend was certainly a good one! On Saturday I got to climb this really big hill and look out over all of the villages around mine. It was so incredibly beautiful, even if the field smelled of manure (which honestly reminded me of my sweet home, Alabama). 

Then Saturday night I hung out with some girls from school and it was so much fun and I'm so relieved that I might be actually making friends. 

Sunday all the churches in town had a community service so it was like one really big church. I like the idea, but I much prefer the smaller church atmosphere from last weeks service. After church we all came home and took naps (which also reminded me of home because that's exactly what my family likes to do after church). Then we went to a car show which was actually just a bunch of cars and was pretty boring and cold. But we didn't stay long. We ended the weekend watching a movie together. It was lovely. 

Today was a good Monday because every other Monday school starts 2 hours later. My school schedule is quite confusing and one day I will take the time to write it all for you. 

I also got to meet the mayor today, and he gave me a cookie so I think I like him. And I guess that's all I have to say. Later!   

Life in the Fast Lane

I was really scared my first week here would be really hard, because I wouldn't of had a chance to make friend or join clubs and I'd have too much free time. Free time leads to facebook and thinking and missing and ultimately homesickness. Which is not what I want. But this first week has been so incredibly busy.
I start my day off at 5:30 am, breakfast is around 6:15, I leave the house at 6:30, and I'm at the train station at 6:45. When I get home from school I eat lunch with my host mom and usually take a nap (cause naps are the best and listening to German all day is exhausting).
Yesterday one of my teachers at school was sick, so we got out an hour early, which is an awesome thing about German high schools. We had dinner with my host mom's parents and then I went to youth group at church. Everyone there was so nice and the boy next to me spoke really good English and was able to translate for me when I got lost or couldn't understand. After the meeting I was talking to a couple of the youth and they found out that I had not eaten at a German McDonalds yet. So we all loaded up and I was able to experience my first international fast food restaurant (America's food is better and bigger and we have free refills, but the German restaurant is nicer. Also, there aren't trash cans, they throw it all away for you).
Today was Friday and Fridays are always good days because weekends and stuff. Except this morning started off rough. I forgot my purse and didn't realize until I was on the train and a lady was asking to see everyone's ticket. I was ticketless and moneyless and really scared, but I played it cool and hid in the corner and thankfully made it off without being asked about it. After school I went to the most beautiful lake with my host dad's younger brother and his friend. It was really cold, but totally worth it.
Tomorrow (technically today, since it's past 12 now) marks one week that I have lived with my host family. It's been an awkward and amazing week. I can't wait to see what adventures await me. <3

Gesundheit Tag!

So today was the health day at school. We did a variety of activities: from jump roping, to relaxation exercises, to learning about how to brush our teeth, to tae bo (which is in fact NOT taboo). It was a pretty busy day and ended with us pushing each other through an obstacle course on a baby bike with goggles on. It was certainly different than anything I've ever done in an american high school. I'd like to say more, but it's so late and I'm so sleepy.. I'll write more tomorrow! Tschau!

First Impressions

I had my first day of German high school today. I'm attending a Berufliche Gymnasium, which means it's a high school geared towards preparing students for their professions. I'm taking lots of business related classes, and that's very interesting. There's a lot of vocabulary that I don't know, but I'm sure with time it'll come to me.
My host mom knows a girl named Carina and I am in her class. We will ride the train together to school and have all of our classes together. She's incredibly nice and helpful, but I'm very worried I'm going to become more of a hassle than a friend.
Tomorrow, instead of our normal classes we have a Gesundheit Tag, which is a health day. So we go to different stations with our classmates and do different stuff, like play taboo and exercise. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun!
Also I got my German cell phone today! So I'd say overall it was a pretty successful and extremely draining first day! <3

Sunday, Fun day

Today feels like it went by really, really quickly and really, really slowly at the same time. We started off the morning with breakfast. They told me halb acht, but I forgot that that meant half an hour before 8 and not after. So they had to come get me. I felt really bad, but they were so nice about everything. 

We went to church and everyone was so welcoming. I couldn't understand much, but it was still a lot of fun. The youth meet on Thursdays and they invited me to come. I'm a bit nervous, but I plan on going and hopefully making a few friends. 

After church we went out to eat with my host dad's parents and it was wonderful. There was a parade while we were there and it was really odd and interesting. After lunch we rested and then walked around town. I found out where the train station is, which is how I will get to and from school. 

I was able to skype my parents and that was bitter sweet. Kaylee and Rahel got to meet and say "hello!" and "hallo!" I also received my first college acceptance letter.

 

School starts tomorrow. I'm kinda freaking out, but hopefully alles wird gut sein. I have to wake up pretty early, so I'm heading to bed. Gute Nacht!