A Very German Thanksgiving

So this Thanksgiving was a little different than normal. First of all I didn't over eat. Second there was no Turkey involved. And third it wasn't in the U.S. This morning I had History, only problem is that on Thursdays I get to sleep in (this is changing as of next week) a little and this morning I slept way to late. During my oversleeping I had a nice dream and there was definitely some German in it. So I in fact did not have History this morning. Opps. My next class wasn't until 2:30 so I was privileged with spending my morning reading and writing (and listening to 80's music). Once I arrived at school for my class I found out the teacher was sick, which meant as an exchange student I would have nothing to do because I don't speak enough German to successfully complete the tasks we were given. I also was informed that Sports was once again cancelled. So I came to school and did nothing. Not bad for Thanksgiving considering it's not a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in Germany. After school I went to Laura's and we listened to music from past years deciding it was by far better than anything that is coming out these days. And she straightened my hair. It's getting really, really long. She said I could be a mermaid. Then I biked home in the cold and found a lovely Thanksgiving meal waiting for me.

Lamb with Potatoes, Carrots, Corn and Peas

While we were eating I was asked what else we did besides eat on Thanksgiving. I was momentarily stymied until I said cook. And play cards. The asked how long it took to clean up and I said not long because most dishes go in the .... Spülmaschine. That would be dishwasher in German because I couldn't remember the English and almost said wash machine instead. I'm glad that there is some evidence that I am learning and using German.


All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving.


What I'm Thankful For:
- My parents (Todd and Karry Fischer)for supporting me in all of my mad adventures and taking care of me for 18 years.
-My sister (Ida Fischer) for being there when I need it and for putting up with me for 18 years.
-My grandmother (Manna) for spoiling me endlessly, even when I don't deserve it.
-My aunt (Kelly) for editing my first novel and my school essays (I'll miss that in college).
-My Host Family for being great and taking amazing care of me.
-My friends both in Germany and everywhere else, you guys keep me sane.
-All of the wonderful women who have shared their love of horses with me (Cindy,Gabrielle, Wanda).
-My fellow writers for sharing ideas and offering constructive criticism (Emily and Gabrielle)
-My fellow exchange students in Brandenburg (Noora, Laura, Dani and Tae-yeon ).
-Boise water, there's nothing else quite like it in the world.
-My houses (in the U.S. & Germany) for providing me shelter from the elements.
-Good food, the world holds many delicious cuisines.
-NaNoWriMo 2010 for allowing me to actually write and finish a novel after years of trying.
-JMO for allowing me to grow as a horseback rider and for being my Happy Place - where all troubles fall away.
-What Laura says sometimes - it puts a smile on my face when nothing else will.
-My imagination/My Muse

My Speech in English

Hello. My name is Hanna Fischer and I'm from Boise, Idaho in America. Boise is located in the western part of the United States. I have been in Brandenburg for three months. I'm eighteenyears old and I have finished school, after twelve years, in America. My father, Todd, is an engineer and a Rotarian. My mother, Karry, works in the library. My sister, Ida studies hydrology at college in California and she is twenty-one years old. I am in the eleventh grade at the Domgymnasium and am learning mathematics, physics, German, sports, history, art and English. My favorite subjects are math and sports. My hobbies are reading books, horseback riding and writing novels and I am a Girl Scout. I have already visited Berlin, Eisenach, Quedlimbug, Speyer, Heidelberg, Cologne and Duisburg. I found Cologne Cathedral, the Cathedral of Speyer, Heidelberg Castle and the Wartburg interesting. I like Döner and the architecture in Germany. I love Germany! 

The German Original:
Hallo. Ich heiße Hanna Fischer und ich komme aus Boise, Idaho aus America. Boise liegt im Western von U.S.A. Ich bin seit drei monaten in Brandenburg. Ich bin achtzehn Jahre alt und ich habe die Schule nach zwölf Jahren in America beendet. Mein Vater, Todd, ist ein Ingenieur und ein Rotarier. Meine Mutter, Karry, arbeitet in der Bibliothek. Meine Schwester, Ida, studiert Hydrologie an der Universität in Kalifonien und sie ist einundzwanzig Jahre alt. Ich lerne im Domgymnasium in der elften Klasse Mathematik, Physik, Deutsch, Sport, Geschichte, Kunst und Englisch. Mein Lieblingsfächer sind Mathematik und Sport. Meine Hobbys sind Bücher lesen, Reitsport und Romane schreiben und ich bin eine Pfadfinderin. Ich besuchte schon Berlin, Eisenach, Quedlimbug, Speyer, Heidelberg, Köln und Duisburg. Interessant waren für mich der Kölner Dom, der Dom von Speyer, das Heidelberger Schloss und die Wartburg. In Deutschland mag ich die Architektur und Döner. Ich liebe Deutschland!

Potsdam San Souci

(4.9.11)
     Once again I ventured to Potsdam, this time to tour the parks and palaces of San Souci Park.  My mother, father and I decided to bike through the park.  This would take less time than walking and would enable us to see more.  Unfortunately my mother's rear bicycle tire kept going flat so every time we stopped we had to pump it up again.  The grounds and buildings were beautiful but due to the time of day we went several of them were closing or closed.  So we just enjoyed the beautiful exteriors.

Take while biking, an art I perfected as the day progressed.

At the Chinese Tea House, my father,  mother & I.

The Chinese Tea House

Me at Sanssouci - Fredrick the Great's Palace

Apparently potatoes are left in homage to Freidrich der Große.

Fredrick the Great's 11 dogs, buried next to him.

They just don't make things tall enough for me.

The Church of Peace

The Obelisk - with fake hieroglyphs 

The other side of Sanssouci Palace

Orangery Palace

Belvedere auf dem Klausberg

A Post, Finally

     So as far as keeping my blog up to date I really suck at blogging.  It's a sad state of affairs considering I am a writer by trade.  So in the future I will attempt to stay more up to date.  Instead of having separate blog posts for some of the events that happened in the oh so distant past I think I will combine them.
     On 11.11.11 I celebrated my 100th day in Deutschland.  And I have to say as far as dates for your 100th day are concerned 11.11.11 is pretty darned cool.  Unfortunately I had class during 11:11 am and was asleep for 11:11 pm so the true awesomeness of the day was not fully realized.  Still it was a great day.

So a recap of the posts you should look for in the near future:
       Potsdam San Souci (✓)
       Berlin Again (Two visits to Berlin) ()
       Neuruppin! - Rotary District 1940 Inbound Orientation ()
       A Small Tour of Germany (✓)
       Paris ()

Paris Group, about 100 exchange students, at the Louvre

    On 27.10.11 Noora, Tae and I had a Rotary Youth Meeting with our club during which we had to give a speech in German about ourselves and a little about our family.  We also met two rebound exchange students who were very cool. Below is my speech in German - I challenge you to try and understand it without Google Translating it first.  I'll post the English translation in a few days.

Hallo. Ich heiße Hanna Fischer und ich komme aus Boise, Idaho aus America. Boise liegt im Western von U.S.A. Ich bin seit drei monaten in Brandenburg. Ich bin achtzehn Jahre alt und ich habe die Schule nach zwölf Jahren in America beendet. Mein Vater, Todd, ist ein Ingenieur und ein Rotarier. Meine Mutter, Karry, arbeitet in der Bibliothek. Meine Schwester, Ida, studiert Hydrologie an der Universität in Kalifonien und sie ist einundzwanzig Jahre alt. Ich lerne im Domgymnasium in der elften Klasse Mathematik, Physik, Deutsch, Sport, Geschichte, Kunst und Englisch. Mein Lieblingsfächer sind Mathematik und Sport. Meine Hobbys sind Bücher lesen, Reitsport und Romane schreiben und ich bin eine Pfadfinderin. Ich besuchte schon Berlin, Eisenach, Quedlimbug, Speyer, Heidelberg, Köln und Duisburg. Interessant waren für mich der Kölner Dom, der Dom von Speyer, das Heidelberger Schloss und die Wartburg. In Deutschland mag ich die Architektur und Döner. Ich liebe Deutschland!

Quick Update

To My Wonderful Readers:
   I will be on an 8 day vacation and will not be able to update my blog during this time.  I know, tragic really but never fear upon my return I will finish my promised posts and include one about my travels.  Yesterday was the official 2 Month mark.  I can not believe how fast time has flown by.  Frequently I forget that Fall is approaching until I ride my bike to school and see my breath or the thick blankets of fog. There are some things that remain the same though.  Like the group of blue overall bedecked people always standing smoking on the bridge by the locks when I bike by in the morning.  Sometimes I wonder what they think of me or if they even notice that I bike by every morning except Thursday.  My school schedule has stayed the same I have not added or dropped any classes and yet I still don't know my Tuesday or my Thursday schedules.  I have met my fellow District 1940 in-bounds, visited Berlin twice, Potsdam three times and Neuruppin once.  My German has improved in leaps and bounds though I still feel woefully uneducated.
Good Travels Until Next Time,
Hanna

Protest for Free Schools

(31.8.11)
    Today I went to Potsdam to Protest for Free Schools with my school.  Funny thing, I didn't protest in Idaho when it came to Education Reform but here in Germany I do.  Perhaps it's because the school supports its students being active in politics, where in Idaho it really didn't help the cause.  So instead of going to school I went to the train station and met up with fellow classmates.  Then we enjoyed the train ride to Potsdam.  At which the fun began.

The Infamous Poster

     We walked from the train station to the building where the ministers work.  We stood and held our signs.  I can honestly say that us FES had the only sign written in English.  And everyone who read it repeated it out loud until they understood.  After about an hour of standing around waving our posters we proceeded to march to a wide open square.  Several people gave speeches, there was a Chinese Dragon dance of sorts and then it was suppose to be over for our school.  However a minister was going to speak about the Education changes and many of the students from the Domgymnasium wanted to hear her so we managed to convince our headmaster to let us stay for her speech.  This required moving locations once again but unlike last time we weren't a solid mass of people stretching on as far as the eye could see, though we still blocked streets.

     Once we arrived at this new location I felt slightly uncomfortable.  We were by an abandoned building covered in graffiti and there were kids everywhere.  At first I followed my friends onto the abandoned building because it had the best view and it was already covered in students.  And then the police arrived and I suddenly remembered what my host mom promised me.  "If you get arrested I will bake you a cake."  (It took me a while to get the joke but when I finally did I couldn't stop laughing).  No one was arrested they just politely told us that we were not allowed on the building and to please move our bottoms to a different location.  When the minister finally arrived to give her speech there was some chanting.  I did not understand any of her speech but I did manage to take some pictures to two rather good looking boys so it wasn't a totally boring. At one point the minister said something that greatly upset the students and angry yells and more chanting ensued.  At that point I was very, very glad I was not the minister because it was a tad frightening.

The Minister (in green) and the MC

     After the speech was done we headed back to the train station waited for a couple of minutes and then boarded the train.  The ride was uneventful and fairly boring.  Lucky for me I had no more classes that day and was free to go home.  Most of my friends were not so lucky.

The Black Spot among other things...

First and foremost I would like to apologize for not posting in a while.  The sad thing is I don't even have a good excuse for this.  I have simply been lazy.  Though I secretly told myself I wasn't inspired enough to write entertaining entries.  Well I will leave you hanging no longer.  There will be four new blog posts within the next couple of days.  Two of them concern Potsdam, one Berlin and another Neuruppin.  I will try to stay more up to date in the future.  Even my host mother has been asking if I have posted anything new and then scolding me when I say no.

To make up for this horrible lack of German Hanna news I will give a brief update on how I am doing, not what I am doing.

Things that I like/love here:

-What my hair does in Brandenburg weather.  Many people know how much my hair aggravated me in Idaho, it was too crazy, to blah. Here it has nice curl/wave going on, not crazy one part of the hair wave but "uniform" waves.

Alla Natural - all I did was sleep on it.

-Brandenburg: this city is awesome.  Perfect size, close to Potsdam and Berlin, easy to get around on bike. So downtown is a little farther away than Boise's but still close.

-Math! I know you must be thinking I am crazy since two years I ago if you asked my opinion of Math it would have fallen in the "Hate it" category.  Last year, "Okay, I can see you can do cool things with math but still don't really like the stuff."  And now "LOVE IT!  SO COOL!"  See exhibit A and exhibit B.

Exhibit A - My Math Folder.

Exhibit B - My History Folder.
(that would be a function and  6 derivatives in rainbow colors)

-My friends, both fellow exchange students and Germans.  Everyone is so loving and supportive.

-My room.  Ever since I was a little girl I wanted a window with a balcony, and though the balcony is maybe half a foot wide I still love it.  And the slanted roof, which I have yet to hit my head on.

Things that are different/strange here:

-Not having a mircrowave

-Not having a dryer

-Having a wardrobe instead of a walk in closet

-School (big surprise).  Not having every class every day took some getting used to but I love it, and the fact that you can leave without needing a PTL.

-My bike, I have a cruiser here and love it but sometimes I miss my dual-suspension mountain bike, especially when confronted with really bouncing cobble-stones.

-The size of the pillows.  When I was in Neuruppin the fact that the pillows are larger than in the States made it challenging for me, being abnormally tall, to fit in the bed (it felt like it took up half of the bed).  At home it's not a problem because I have long bed.

-The water.  Germans like drinking mineral water, the kind with bubbles.  Occasionally I forget and take too big of a drink, the result - watering eyes and occasionally a very unlady-like burp.

Things I dislike:

-Biking in the rain, I ended up soaked to the skin after one particularly nasty rainstorm.

I was reading a fellow exchange students blog the other day and she mentioned how one of the things that she found really challenging was the lack of certain articles of clothing.  I pondered this for a while and could think of several items I wish I had, not to mention shoes.  But then I thought about it and it went something like this: Oh yeah, I wish I had that skirt and that shirt, oh and those shoes...wait a minute...in the grand scheme of life do clothes matter that much?...Of course not, why am I worrying about this...maybe I should join a nudest colony when I get home and say screw clothes altogether.  Yes, that was how my mind works.  I am strange and I believe it is my best quality.

Call me heartless, I don't mind, but I still do not miss Boise, Idaho, my family, my friends, my room.  Nothing.  Tonight at dinner I mentioned the fact that in 6 days I will have been in Germany (Deutschland) for 2 months.  And I couldn't believe it.  Time has been playing tricks on me again.  It doesn't feel like that much time has passed but they say time flies when you are having fun and drags when you're not. Well time certainly has been flying.  My exchange is 18.18% over.  YIKES!  Before I know it it will be 33.3% and then 50%.

And now to The Black Spot:

No I am not talking about Pirates of the Caribbean 2 where Captain Jack develops a nice black spot on his hand that indicates a large many-tentacled sea monster is chasing him down.  I was not nearly so fortunate as to have a cephalopod chase me across the seas in a wild adventure.  At least two weeks ago I noticed I had something on one of my front teeth while I was doing my hair.  It was black and I assumed it was some pepper.  So I went to brush it off and managed to lodge some of it under my gum.  Yes, under my gum, for the life of my I could not get it out.  So I just went about my day as usual, it wasn't noticeable unless I smiled really, really big.  However Neuruppin was approaching and I desperately wished for this Black Spot to disappear but the Rotary weekend came and went and still the Black Spot lingered.  I was very aggravated at this point.  Then I went over to a friends house and they mentioned something and so the story of the Black Spot was revealed.  I visited their bathroom to find that part of the Black Spot had emerged so I took a finger nail to it.  I could not get any more to come out but I managed to remove the little bit that showed.  Upon closer inspection it looked less like pepper and more like finger nail polish, which was distressing for multiple reasons.  1st - I do not own any fingernail polish at the moment, much less Black fingernail polish, 2nd - How the heck did something like that end up in my moth in the first place and 3rd - I hope I haven't been poisoned by this potentially toxic thing lurking under my gum.  In my attempt to remove more of the Black Spot I managed to do some damage to my gum, enough to make it bleed.  Over the next couple of days a little bit more of the Black Spot showed and I was quick to get it out of my mouth.  Finally the last of the Black Spot disappeared from under my gum.  And I sat pondering how such a substance ended up in my mouth, until I remember I had poked myself in the mouth with an un-capped Bic ball-point pen, which I know occasionally accumulate ink on the tips.  So perhaps that was what the Black Spot was made of, though it is no less comforting that mysterious black nail polish.

That's all for now, remember 4 posts are in the works, just have a little patience.  And now onto Math Homework!

Picture Time

This post will contain only pictures so you can see what Brandenburg an der Havel looks like.  And other things I have been doing.

Biking in Brandenburg

Heading into the "Old Town" part of Brandenburg

St. Gotthardtkirche (St. Gotthardt's Church)

St. Gotthardtkirche interior

View from St. Gotthardtkirche bell tower.

View from St. Gotthardtkirche bell tower.

View from St. Gotthardtkirche bell tower.

View from St. Gotthardtkirche bell tower.

Me in St. Gotthardtkirche bell tower.

Meine Schule

Heading downtown

Main square area: The Mall

Main square area: The Square

Main square area: Main Street

The Dom (Dom St. Peter un Paul)

Warehouse on the way to/from school

The way home from school.

The way home from school - 2nd Bridge

The way home from school - the unassuming hill, a hidden leg killer.

The way home from school - 3rd Bridge, The Locks

The way home from school - Hagelberger Straße

The way home from school - Hagelberger Straße

The way home from school - Hagelberger Straße

Mein Haus.

Panoramic View of Brandenburg (photo from Wikipedia) with labels.

Month One

(3.9.11)
    Today marks my first month in Germany.  Time has flown by, I can't believe I have been here for so long already.  But there is another part of me that feels like I have always been here.  That's a good thing right?  It has been an amazing month filled with lots of adventures.  An opera, going away party, the Brandenburg Bruckenschwimmen, canoeing on the Havel, visiting Belvedere auf dem Pfingstber in Potsdam, first day of German school, Berlin, shopping, listening to the Chancellor speak, Protest in Potsdam.  I have loved every minute of my life here.  Over the past past three weeks of school I have perfected my biking with no hands skill, quadrupled my German vocabulary, taught someone how to solve the Rubik's Cube and in general loved being a "Junior" again.  Senior year is the stressful year here, not Junior like Boise.

    Compared to my month long job this past summer at a camp my month in Germany has flown by.  I can remember telling myself only one more week, while working.  And that week dragged by.  Here, I have to pause and realize that a week has gone by.  Perhaps it is how my timetable is set up, perhaps it is because everything is new and different.  But time is flying by, which worries me a little, this exchange will be over before I know it.  So I will do everything I can to enjoy every minute of every day that I am here in Germany.
   I wish I spoke more German but am learning fast.  At school my friends talk to me in German and only clarify what the teacher said if I have a totally blank look on my face.  Math has quickly become my favorite class with Sports a close second.  Physics is still a complete mystery to me and German (think English for all you U.S. folks) is a little boring since I can't analyze texts I can't read.  I think I have been accepted by my peers and have several friends besides my fellow exchange students.
    I love my Host family!  They speak to me in German as well and are really supportive in my attempts to speak.  I can not for the life of me correctly pronounce the letter E.  This can be somewhat problematic, for example the difference between I live (Ich lebe) and I love (Ich liebe) I can not pronounce so I always say I love instead of I live.  Which isn't always a bad thing. 
    I have also had the pleasure of eating some traditional/specialty German food.  Such as Currywust and a Döner Kebab.  Both of which are delicious.  And I won't even mention all of the pastry and baked goods.  It's a good thing I bike to school.

Döner Kebab

Berlin!

(20.8.11)
     Today I went to Berlin!  It was perhaps an unconventional first tour of the grand city but it was amazing none the less.  After an interesting church service for new students to the Domgymnasium Laura, a Finnish exchange student, and Rachel, her host sister, asked if I would like to join them on an excursion to Berlin.  I weighted the options, see Berlin now or later with my Host family, I decided to jump at the opportunity and said YES!  The train ride was uneventful aside from the consumption of some sustenance.  And then we arrived.  We stopped by the Reichstag and tried to get in but, to stop terrorists, you have to give your name two days in advance.

Reichstag - Me, Laura, Rachel

    Then we wandered on to the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate).  On the way there was a woman making giant bubbles.  Laura and Rachel got so excited that they asked if they could try, good fun was had by all concerned.  The Gate was very awe inspiring, kind of like Machu Picchu and the Pyramids - it didn't really sink in that I was there.  I had my picture take with to men posing as soldiers from the US and USSR.  There was also a Storm Trooper lurking in the background.

    Next we ventured to the Memorial for Murdered Jews in Europe.  Where the three of us definitely had to much fun considering where we were.  Then we went to the museum, which was depressing.

   After that we took the subway back to the train station and met up with Florian, another classmate.  I enjoyed my first Currywurst!  It was delicious though not what I would have thought as traditional German.

YUMMY in my TUMMY!

   First thing we did with Florian was visit the Chancellors House.  Apparently it was 'Open Doors Day' or something similar where the public could walk around.  Unfortunately we had to check our bags and I forgot to grab my camera, so no pictures.  Then we began the 'shopping' adventure.  We walked to Potsdamer Platz and bought an eis (ice cream).  We also stopped in at a mall type building and I resisted the urge to buy clothes and shoes.  It was very challenging resisting this temptation.  And then we continued our trek to KaDeWe.  Both Laura and I had tired, sore feet and hoped the trip would be ending soon.  It took a couple tries to get off at the right Subway station but we finally made it... Just in time for closing.  And then we took the train home.  Laura and I were exhausted and nearly feel asleep on each other's shoulders.

Yay for tired exchange students.

   Did I forget to mention we went to Berlin at 1:30 and got home at 10:45?