Yes, that's right, folks! For two days in a row now, I've had internet access via my laptop and internet stick in my room in Saarmund!! It's amazing! It's unbelievable! (I'm glad I don't drink, or else I'd be a little bit worried, lol.)
Well, now, on to business... Today I went with a friend of my biological family's (hmmm, sounds like I'm adopted, lol!) to Schloss Sanssouci! It was soo much fun! We took an audio tour, which was really great, and now I'm having difficulty choosing between the 1600s and the 1800s as my favorite time period, hahaha!
I'm going to check out a youth orchestra in Potsdam on Monday. I hope all goes well! My PI Rep said that the director speaks less English than I do Deutsch. My response: "Uh-oh..." lolz.
On Tuesday I will help out in an English class for younger kids (I think they're about 5th graders?). Anyway, I think that will be really fun getting to be a teacher's aide. I like kids; they're less complicated to understand, lol.
Tomorrow (Sunday) is Halloween! I'm going to do my best to show my host family how much we enjoy Halloween in America. I hope it will be a fun day for all! Monday is also my Dad's birthday (which falls on El Dia de Los Muertos). Here's a shout-out to ya, and have a happy Day of the Dead on your birthday!! (Okay, that sounds just a TAD bit macabre..)
Now, for the continuation of my random observations of Germany and Germans: (I think we're on fifteen, yeah??)
15. At the school, instead of having handball courts, they have cement ping-pong tables. Weird... (I'm tolerant, but I just find it unusual, that's all, lol.)
16. Tons of people smoke, especially young people. I'm surprised by how many kids who go to my school smoke. I feel sorry for them, and I hope they find the strength to quit.
17. There are NO GREEN APPLES in Germany, whatsoever. I miss you, Granny Smith!
18. The teachers' writing in school is illegible. PERIOD.
19. Sales tax is included in the price. :)
20. The people who work in the Eis shops in the mall are really nice. They help you decide what you want, even when you stand there gawking at the ice cream. And they don't judge you just because your Deutsch isn't so gut. They are now some of my new heroes!
I watched The Devil Wears Prada with my host family. (In Deutsch, naturlich.) It was so funny to hear the voice-over for Meryl Streep saying, "Das ist alles." I also bought Over the Hedge and Hercules in Deutsch. I've already watched Over the Hedge, and I think maybe I'll get to watch Hercules tomorrow. Better to start with simple films I've already seen, lol.
Well, I think that wraps this up, for now! Oh, and thank you to my friends who have sent me letters and are staying in contact! Ich liebe u guys!!
TGWTC, running around loose in Potsdam (hehehe, be afraid, be very afraid). ;)
30.10.10
21.10.10
7 Degrees Celcius
Aaaarrrgggg! Silly internet just made everything kaput. Now I have to start all over again :(
Okay, so you read the title correctly, this morning until about 2 o'clock it was seven degrees celcius. Later it warmed up a bit- to 12 degrees celcius.. not very pleasant for a CA girl. Whosoever starts singing that Katie Perry song one more time may just disappear in the dead of night... jk, or am I?? O.o
Here's a few more points to add to my list of observations of Germans and Germany. (This is just as I've observed, so I'm just telling it as I see it.):
10. In restaurants, they only give you one glass of liquid to consume. And they don't refill that lonely, skinny glass without you paying for it, lol.
11. They never seem to eat as though they are hungary. I'm having difficulty eating as slowly, hahaha.
12. German birds are SCARY. Maybe it's because of the red glint in their eyes...
13. Hand disinfectant is BAD.
14. They really care about their windows.
Well, I think that's enough for now. Today is my host father's birthday; he really liked the flashlight we got him (Thanks my wonderful Mom and family in CA!!!)
TGWTC (with two German children staring at the screen, ah, privacy is so fleeting), tschuss!!
Okay, so you read the title correctly, this morning until about 2 o'clock it was seven degrees celcius. Later it warmed up a bit- to 12 degrees celcius.. not very pleasant for a CA girl. Whosoever starts singing that Katie Perry song one more time may just disappear in the dead of night... jk, or am I?? O.o
Here's a few more points to add to my list of observations of Germans and Germany. (This is just as I've observed, so I'm just telling it as I see it.):
10. In restaurants, they only give you one glass of liquid to consume. And they don't refill that lonely, skinny glass without you paying for it, lol.
11. They never seem to eat as though they are hungary. I'm having difficulty eating as slowly, hahaha.
12. German birds are SCARY. Maybe it's because of the red glint in their eyes...
13. Hand disinfectant is BAD.
14. They really care about their windows.
Well, I think that's enough for now. Today is my host father's birthday; he really liked the flashlight we got him (Thanks my wonderful Mom and family in CA!!!)
TGWTC (with two German children staring at the screen, ah, privacy is so fleeting), tschuss!!
19.10.10
My German Vacation
Oki-doki, so I would have posted something a bit earlier, but I conveniently happened to forget my log-in information for my blog, lol. (Sorry! I play the blonde card in my defense!)
I am still on vacation; the school is giving us two weeks in August, which is quite nice of them. My host family and I are currently staying in an apartment (Wohnung) in a town called Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel River. All along this region they're known for their wonderful wine. The vineyards are all over the place, stretching over the hills like a big patchwork quilt. (I should know; my host family and another family they know took us all on a three-hour hike yesterday, just for the fun of it! It's okay, you can laugh, it's amusing.)
There are lots of shops and cafes and whatnot here, and the cobblestone streets are really quite fun to traverse (if only we were interested in that and not hiking the hills, lol). When walking along, you can look up and see vines stretching overhead, and grapes hanging down in bunches. Later in the evening, when the lamps are lit, it looks a lot like something we in California would attempt to replicate with glue and plastic, lolz. (Referencing Disneyland, here.)
It's raining today-big surprise there, hahaha-and I don't even want to know what the temperature is. All that I need be aware of is that it is cold and wet, and I feel like a drowning cat. But no matter! We shall strive to perservere! Against the rain! Against the wind! We shall meet them on the land! We shall meet them on the sea! We shall-oops, sorry, got a little carried away there...
Oh, so here are a few differences I've found between Germans and Americans:
1. They have REALLY good bread which they eat with REAL butter and REALLY good jams.
2. They sit down to eat every meal. No on-the-go breakfasts here!
3. They don't pick up after their dogs. It's not very fun having to avoid all the caca on the street..
4. There is no distinction between a walk down the street and a walk to the end of the earth. Both are simply, "a walk."
5. There are no napkins at the table.
6. Preservatives and chemicals in food are BAD.
7. Television is to be watched sparingly if at all.
8. No shops are open on Sundays, unless it's in a really big city with lots of tourists. (This throws me off because I tend to do shopping on the weekends.)
9. They have a "coffee and cake" time every day. It's usually around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. (16:00 Uhr)
I'm only going to give you nine points right now, because ten would seem like a finished list, and I don't think I can tell you all about the differences between our two cultures in just ten points. So there you go, the gouda, the brautwurst, and the ulkig. (That was a bad pun.)
TGWTC, livin' it up ;)
I am still on vacation; the school is giving us two weeks in August, which is quite nice of them. My host family and I are currently staying in an apartment (Wohnung) in a town called Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel River. All along this region they're known for their wonderful wine. The vineyards are all over the place, stretching over the hills like a big patchwork quilt. (I should know; my host family and another family they know took us all on a three-hour hike yesterday, just for the fun of it! It's okay, you can laugh, it's amusing.)
There are lots of shops and cafes and whatnot here, and the cobblestone streets are really quite fun to traverse (if only we were interested in that and not hiking the hills, lol). When walking along, you can look up and see vines stretching overhead, and grapes hanging down in bunches. Later in the evening, when the lamps are lit, it looks a lot like something we in California would attempt to replicate with glue and plastic, lolz. (Referencing Disneyland, here.)
It's raining today-big surprise there, hahaha-and I don't even want to know what the temperature is. All that I need be aware of is that it is cold and wet, and I feel like a drowning cat. But no matter! We shall strive to perservere! Against the rain! Against the wind! We shall meet them on the land! We shall meet them on the sea! We shall-oops, sorry, got a little carried away there...
Oh, so here are a few differences I've found between Germans and Americans:
1. They have REALLY good bread which they eat with REAL butter and REALLY good jams.
2. They sit down to eat every meal. No on-the-go breakfasts here!
3. They don't pick up after their dogs. It's not very fun having to avoid all the caca on the street..
4. There is no distinction between a walk down the street and a walk to the end of the earth. Both are simply, "a walk."
5. There are no napkins at the table.
6. Preservatives and chemicals in food are BAD.
7. Television is to be watched sparingly if at all.
8. No shops are open on Sundays, unless it's in a really big city with lots of tourists. (This throws me off because I tend to do shopping on the weekends.)
9. They have a "coffee and cake" time every day. It's usually around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. (16:00 Uhr)
I'm only going to give you nine points right now, because ten would seem like a finished list, and I don't think I can tell you all about the differences between our two cultures in just ten points. So there you go, the gouda, the brautwurst, and the ulkig. (That was a bad pun.)
TGWTC, livin' it up ;)
12.10.10
Vacation? In October?!!
Yeap, you guessed it! Right now I'm on vacation! A marvelous break from school, and some time to catch my breath, do a bit of sight-seeing, and possibly relax, lol. So I'll give you a bit of a run-down of some recent events.
Thursday: After school, I took a little whirlwind trip to Sanssouci with a friend I made at school.
Friday: I took a test in Biology. Did my best, writing stuff in English and German. I think I may have passed, too. The test was about parts of a cell, my darkest hour of Middle and Elementary school revisited, dun, dun, dun... (just kidding) ;)
Saturday: Got skype to work with my family! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday: Host family took me into Berlin to see a few things there. Went by the Bundestag and the Brandenberg Tur (spelling?). Later that evening, I went to a friend's birthday party. For probably the 1st time in my life, I was one of the best at karaoke. Then again, the songs were in English...
Today: My host sister had a dental operation today (poor thing!), so my host mom dropped me off in Potsdam and then I had to decide what to do. I resolved to tackle my fear of using the German bus system in order to get to Brandenberg Film Park. It was fun, but I wish I would have gone in summer. (Brrrr, it's getting cold here!) The park was sort of like a miniature Knott's Berry Farm, only without roller coasters. Not half of what Disneyland is, but still fun! And to be honest, I didn't really want to look at yet another ancient and historic piece of architecture today, lol. (Tomorrow, maybe. I've still got eight months, after all.)
Well, that pretty much sums up what I've been up to lately. Thanks to everyone who's keeping in touch with me! (I know it's difficult, and I really appreciate it!) Thanks for tuning in! TGWTC, signing off!
Thursday: After school, I took a little whirlwind trip to Sanssouci with a friend I made at school.
Friday: I took a test in Biology. Did my best, writing stuff in English and German. I think I may have passed, too. The test was about parts of a cell, my darkest hour of Middle and Elementary school revisited, dun, dun, dun... (just kidding) ;)
Saturday: Got skype to work with my family! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday: Host family took me into Berlin to see a few things there. Went by the Bundestag and the Brandenberg Tur (spelling?). Later that evening, I went to a friend's birthday party. For probably the 1st time in my life, I was one of the best at karaoke. Then again, the songs were in English...
Today: My host sister had a dental operation today (poor thing!), so my host mom dropped me off in Potsdam and then I had to decide what to do. I resolved to tackle my fear of using the German bus system in order to get to Brandenberg Film Park. It was fun, but I wish I would have gone in summer. (Brrrr, it's getting cold here!) The park was sort of like a miniature Knott's Berry Farm, only without roller coasters. Not half of what Disneyland is, but still fun! And to be honest, I didn't really want to look at yet another ancient and historic piece of architecture today, lol. (Tomorrow, maybe. I've still got eight months, after all.)
Well, that pretty much sums up what I've been up to lately. Thanks to everyone who's keeping in touch with me! (I know it's difficult, and I really appreciate it!) Thanks for tuning in! TGWTC, signing off!
7.10.10
Houston, Wir Haben Internet!!!
Oh, my God! I have internet! Yaaahhhhoooo!!! I'm sorry I haven't been able to post anything since mid-August, but it really was nearly impossible, I swear! But now I finally have this funny device called a "dongle" and with it, internet!
So I'm living here in Saarmund (by Potsdam, that's where I go to school), and I'm attempting to learn German. I think it's coming along all right, if you ask me. My English grammar, however, is another matter. I need to try to keep it from deteriorating too badly before the year is up!
My host family is nice; I have a host mom, host dad, and two host sisters. (I probably already told you that, sorry!) I have my own room, furnished by IKEA, so thats not too terribly unfamiliar, lol. The bedsheets are actually the same as the ones I had back home. On the weekends we tend to watch movies together in German with English subtitles. (My spelling is already beggining to suffer; in German, the "ish" sound is spelled "isch," so English is actually spelled like Englisch.
School is coming along all right. I'm going to pass Englisch and Spanisch for certain, which is a good thing, because I would really love it if my English course here would count for back home, too. One funny thing, though. In Spanisch, I keep mixing up Deutsch and Spanisch, lolz.
Speaking of Espanol, I went on a field trip yesterday with that class. We went to a museum to see an exhibit of Teotihuacan, an ancient city in Mexico. I couldn't understand most of the tour, since it was all in German, but I did happen to see some very helpful plaques in English. I had been hoping to get a postcard for my brother back home, since he's liking Spanish so much, but the bookstore didn't look promising, and we had to leave to go to the Cancun Restaurant pretty quickly. When we got to the restaurant, it was such a neat sight to see. The inside was decorated to look like ancient mayan and aztec. I ordered a chocolate milk shake and quesadillas. Man, I hadn't realized how much I had missed Mexican food! (and milkshakes! lol)
I'm trying to deal with homesickness as well as I can, but it's still difficult. I keep trying to psych myself into dealing with the remaining time here as an extended vacation. It's not too long, only eight months (acht monat). This blog and facebook make me feel so much more connected to the world now. I hate that isolated feeling when you can't even let your friends and family really know what you're going through on a regular basis. But now I can keep in touch more easily. Its only the pond, after all! ;)
So I'm living here in Saarmund (by Potsdam, that's where I go to school), and I'm attempting to learn German. I think it's coming along all right, if you ask me. My English grammar, however, is another matter. I need to try to keep it from deteriorating too badly before the year is up!
My host family is nice; I have a host mom, host dad, and two host sisters. (I probably already told you that, sorry!) I have my own room, furnished by IKEA, so thats not too terribly unfamiliar, lol. The bedsheets are actually the same as the ones I had back home. On the weekends we tend to watch movies together in German with English subtitles. (My spelling is already beggining to suffer; in German, the "ish" sound is spelled "isch," so English is actually spelled like Englisch.
School is coming along all right. I'm going to pass Englisch and Spanisch for certain, which is a good thing, because I would really love it if my English course here would count for back home, too. One funny thing, though. In Spanisch, I keep mixing up Deutsch and Spanisch, lolz.
Speaking of Espanol, I went on a field trip yesterday with that class. We went to a museum to see an exhibit of Teotihuacan, an ancient city in Mexico. I couldn't understand most of the tour, since it was all in German, but I did happen to see some very helpful plaques in English. I had been hoping to get a postcard for my brother back home, since he's liking Spanish so much, but the bookstore didn't look promising, and we had to leave to go to the Cancun Restaurant pretty quickly. When we got to the restaurant, it was such a neat sight to see. The inside was decorated to look like ancient mayan and aztec. I ordered a chocolate milk shake and quesadillas. Man, I hadn't realized how much I had missed Mexican food! (and milkshakes! lol)
I'm trying to deal with homesickness as well as I can, but it's still difficult. I keep trying to psych myself into dealing with the remaining time here as an extended vacation. It's not too long, only eight months (acht monat). This blog and facebook make me feel so much more connected to the world now. I hate that isolated feeling when you can't even let your friends and family really know what you're going through on a regular basis. But now I can keep in touch more easily. Its only the pond, after all! ;)
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