School

(16.8.11)

      I can report my second week in Germany was not nearly as exciting or busy as my first week, hence the lack of blog posts. On the 13^th there was a gathering of Rotary Exchange students at one of the parents houses. It was purely for fun and was not affiliated with the club. I love my fellows, Noora from Laitila, Finland and Tae-yeon from Busan, South Korea. They are younger than me, I am two years older than the pupils whose grade I have joined. Talk about making me feel old, though Noora is 17 so I'm not that old.

      On the 14^th my family and I went to Potsdam to visit one site in particular:

Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg

It had an amazing view, you could even see Berlin in the distance. It was beautiful though I was having several Marilyn Monroe incidents because of the skirt I chose to wear (next time I will plan better). After enjoying the view we visited the Kolonie Alexandrowka. I ate a most delicious Russian ice-cream sandwich. Then we were caught in a torrential downpour and my white skirt was again a poor choice though this time for a different reason.

On the way up to see the view.

      On the 15^th of August, 2011 I started German Grammar School! Yikes!

1st Day of School!

The first day was like no other first day of school I have ever expereinced. First we had a prayer in the Dom, which is a very nice cathedral (and rather famous in Brandenburg a.d. Havel, and which my school is named after). Then we listened to a speech about, well, my German isn't that good so I have no idea what it was about. After which there was a small break and then our first classes. I had math for 1 hour and 35 minutes. I had no idea what was going on until the teacher started writing formulas on the board. I think we are just dealing with the different functions (linear, exponential, etc.) at the moment. Eventually, it appeared in the book, that we will get to differentiation and integration (at which point Dad I would like a refresher as to which is which). Then I had around three hours free and then 1 hour and 35 minutes of Englisch. It was very different sitting there being able to understand everything. We simply were discussing what books we might be reading, including a Shakespeare play. After that I was done – I survived and mostly understood what had taken place in my classes.

My Timetable (updated)

      Today (the 16^th) I had German, which was interesting, I think we were also discussing what books we would be reading. Then History, the class was packed with 27 of us, there are only 13 in my math class. We were just getting to know the textbooks today which was challenging because we foreign exchange students (hence forth FES) had to work with a fellow, German speaking classmate. It isn't easy trying to write about something in a foreign language when your partner is having some difficulty explaining what you are writing about. Then I had a three hour break and decided to go home to eat lunch. Then I had Physiks. I have no idea what happened in class or what we learned today. It was probably the most nonsensical hour and 35 minutes I have ever spent.

My physiks notes (though he didn't write anything down)

Can YOU Believe I've been in Germany a Week, because I Can't

   A Momentous Event took place today, I've been gone a week.  And you want to know a horrible little secret, I don't miss anyone.  It has only been seven days but it has been a very busy seven days.

Day 1 (2.8.11) - Left Boise, Idaho, met fellow Rotary Youth Exchange Students, left Newark for Berlin, Germany.

Day 2 (3.8.11) - Arrived in Berlin, Germany, learned my luggage didn't make it, met my new family, saw my house, ate, took a nap, went to the Opera.


Day 3 (4.8.11) - Woke up in my new bedroom, went to town, had a small tour (saw the mayor driving by), registered with the authorities, helped set up a tent.

Day 4 (5.8.11) - Went grocery shopping, my luggage arrived, Party time (Clara's going away party).

Day 5 (6.8.11) -  Said good bye to party guests, went to the Brandenburg Bruckenschwimmen with Josi (saw the mayor again), had ice cream, biked home with Josi and Willy, got my first hug, met my councilor, help set up the tent again (I'm getting to be a pro).

Day 6 (7.8.11) -Went to Jakob's hockey camp, ended up canoing, experienced my first headache here in Germany, stuffed myself at dinner (they seem to think I don't eat enough).

Day 7 (8.8.11) - Savored a very nice thunder/lighting rainstorm, helped recycle bottles, sipped my way through a Koffee Klatch, and watched Inception in German.

Day 8 (9.8.11) - Went and tried to register at another bureau but instead got more paper work to fill out, read some Harry Potter, enjoyed a strange fruit tea drink, devoured homemade pizza and bid Clara farewell and good luck on her exchange in South Korea.

  All in all I think it was a successful week.  Time has flown by and I have less than a week until school starts.  I have learned many things in my brief time here (including but not limited to: how to say onions in German, wishing I had packed a real notebook with me, sleep does not seem to be necessary for living anymore, and time has a mind of its own).

Clara, Hanna - Rotary Exchange Students taking the world by Surprise!

    And now for those of you who I am not missing (which would be all of you), that doesn't mean I don't love you, just keep this in mind "If you love someone, set them free.  If they come back they're yours forever; if they don't, they never were." (Richard Bach).  You just need to have a little faith that I'm a Homing Pigeon rather than a Bison (who follows the grass - or in my case the adventure).

Love you Lots, Hanna

Friends

(6.8.11)

    I believe first off that I have neglected to mention two things. They are #1. Mosquitoes & #2 Humidity. I have lost count of the number of bug bites I have gotten here but it is numerous and my slapping proficiency has doubled in the last four days.

My feet look like I have the chicken pox.  Ugh.

   Humidity and me don't exactly get along very well, my hair is mane like, I'm always sticky and the bug bites don't make the situation much better. Brandenburg doesn't normally get as much rain as it has this year so the river is high and the moisture level with it.

   This morning I was again awake before 7, I don't like this habit I have picked up – I need more sleep before school starts. I enjoyed a very awkward breakfast (one of the boys from last night was drinking coffee with Anna and I, when Anna left to go talk to Clara there was no talking). I decided against partaking in the breakfast rituals of the partiers because I knew they wouldn't speak English and I would just sit in awkward silence listening to them talk (which I suppose might improve my English). Instead I went up stairs and took a wee nap in the hopes of regaining some functionality. After my nap I wandered back downstairs to find that Josi was back, she told me about Brandenburg Bruckenschwimmen, which literally translates to Brandenburg Bridge Swim. [for pictures here is a link: http://www.havelstadt-brandenburg.de/album/category/183 for a short article in German: http://www.havelstadt.de/veranstaltungshinweise/21-brandenburger-brueckenschwimmen-steht-bevor-10581] People of the town swim from one bridge to another and back again (approx. 800 meters), the person who comes in first is given a trophy (this year there were 135 participants). Josi told asked me if I would like to go watch with her, I immediately said yes and went and ate some cereal for lunch. On the bike ride to the bridge she told me that Willy was going to be participating, as it is open to anyone young and old alike brave the chilly water. After we saw them start swimming we went for ice cream (along with another girl whose name I can't pronounce yet). I felt like I was in a movie that lacked English subtitles. We arrived back at the Havel just in time to see the first person make it back, the second place was a woman (Woot! Woot!). A little while later Willy made it in so we decided to cross the bridge and talk to him. It was funny really – we saw him and talked to him, then we talked to his father (or rather they talked and I listened & nodded). Then we said hello to Josi's sister and cousin.

    Eventually we found Willy again and sat down so he could eat the food he was given. I ended up sitting next to him which was funny because he does not like to speak English because he doesn't think he can. It was fun though, listening to them speak and I learned Lesson #6: German boys have ridiculously long eyelashes – they're so long it should be criminal. Willy got up to see if they had the listing of where people placed but they didn't, however he came back with this very tasty coconut cake stuff. I know this because he offered all of us a bite and so lesson #8 struck home, Lesson #7: Germans share drinks, food and silverware – no germaphobes here. I noticed this at the party but didn't know if it was an everyday occurrence. A small water fight occurred, apparently I am friend enough to be splashed, I took that as a very good thing. We sat there for awhile, then Willy offered us all gum. I said danke shön, he was really surprised and happy (and told Josi that he didn't think I knew any German, which I thought was funny since I was sure I had said thank you around him before). Then he asked me in English (after Josi insisted that he ask) if I knew my way home. I said not really then he asked if he could come with Josi and show me, which I thought was really cute & sweet. We were getting ready to go and Willy decided to put on another shirt, when he put his hat where we were sitting I picked it up and put it on causing them all to laugh. Then we went to our bikes, once there Josi and I discussed the Germans' fondness for hugging people goodbye. It is really common among close friends (though not just acquaintances), Josi gave me 2 weeks before I had lots of friends hugging me goodbye.

    Then we biked home, going by our school. I will be in the same grade as Josi and Willy, which is 11^th (they are only 16, which makes me feel really old). Willy was really funny biking on the way home, he would get really close and shake his handlebars like he wasn't in control, I think he didn't know I was such a biking pro. When we got home the rest of the partiers were leaving, which was nice to know that there was going to be peace and quite. Before Josi left she gave me a hug which made me do an internal happy dance and Willy shook my hand (because they always have to do something when they say good bye – at the party last night when people left they shook my hand).

    During dinner my councilor stopped by and we had a nice discussion. She also mentioned some of the classes that I could take so I could start thinking about what I wanted to sign up for. Anna and I went to drop off a tent to Jakob (pronounce the J as a Y) at hockey camp because he didn't have one and he wanted to sleep there with his friends. Also at the swimming I saw the mayor again, not bad 2 out of 4 days of being here. Here is a link to the webcam of the main square http://www.stadt-brandenburg.de/stadt-buerger/livewebcam/

Lessons

(8/5/11)

    Today was a day of learning and it wasn't the “this is how to say...” type of learning. It was getting in touch with my German side and understanding how Germans think. For me the day started out early at six something in the morning, heaven knows why I woke up but I did and could not fall back asleep. So I went downstairs and found Anna in the kitchen, she was up because she had to take care of the chickens so we had breakfast together. I gave them the Huckleberry Jam much to their delight, especially when they found out they were pronouncing Huckleberry Finn's name wrong. Then Andreas, Anna, Clara and myself went to the grocery store. Lesson #1: They sell everything at a grocery store from shampoo to mopeds to cheese to chocolate. It was fun though the store was packed full of people, Clara was having a 'Going Away' party so she wanted to buy food and drinks for that as well as gifts for her host parents in Korea. Then we met one of Clara's friends (Lina) at the train station to carry her luggage (she was biking). Lina is also going to be an exchange student so the party was her's as well, she is going to Estonia.

When we arrived home I was over joyed to find my luggage had arrived! So I started unpacking and putting my clothes away. Lesson A (general travel lessons): Perhaps doubling suitcases is not the best for overseas travel, though it does give you another suitcase. I opened my inner suitcase and there was a nice little pamphlet that said: “Transportation Security Administration NOTICE OF BAGGAGE INSPECTION,” I guess they thought I was hiding something in my double suitcase so they searched it. Which would explain why the lady in the Berlin airport said that they knew my luggage was in Newark, i.e. it wasn't lost, they kept it on purpose.

My wardrobe & all my clothes

   My unpacking was interrupted by lunch but I finished quickly afterward and changed out of three day old clothes. When I went downstairs again I found that some party guests had arrived. So I joined in, sitting there listening them speak German. Every now and then I understood a word but in general I had no idea what they were talking about. Then one of the girls (Josefine) started talking to me in very good English – she had gone to England for three months earlier this year. After that she would often translate or explain what the others were talking about. This taught me Lesson #2: I am young old – I might be able to drive (in the U.S. - something they can't do till they are 18 here) & legally drink (everything in Germany) but I am a baby without knowing the language fluently.

   Eventually more people arrived and Josefine (Josi) went to talk to them so I went inside and talked to Anna about Idaho and Boise. Eventually hunger pains called me back outside. Josi came and sat down next to me and explained what was happening and then would speak to me in English about other topics. It was really funny because a lot of the time everyone else would stop talking and listen – Lesson #3: They like listening to English and would often ask Josi and I to talk just so they could listen. After eating we went to the campfire but Willy (one of Josi's friends) and another girl were trying to get Josi to hook up with a guy she had spent a lot of time with at the beginning of the holiday (however she really didn't want to which made it even more funny). While we enjoyed the campfire Josi and I talked about English and funny sayings and going on exchanges.

   Then we went inside where I learned Lesson #4: They don't like speaking English around a native speaker because they don't think they will be able to talk correctly (which is sad, I enjoy speaking to people who learn English as a 2^nd language because you learn to simplify – so when I come back and can't use proper grammar you'll know why). After lesson #4 I learned Lesson #5: Germans know how to throw a party. When Josi went home at 1 something in the morning I went to bed because no one wanted to speak English. The others stayed up till who knows when and then camped in the yard.

The Adventure Begins

(8/2-3/11)

    My travels went fine I made all of my connections and found some fellow Rotary Exchange Students. However it seemed like one of the students didn't make the flight because there were only five of us instead of six. I watched several movies (Source Code, Transformers, Hanna) on the flight over and tried to sleep. After getting our passports stamped we waited for our luggage and it was just my luck that I was the only one whose bags didn't make it. As we were waiting there were windows looking into our baggage claim and I saw my mom and brother for the first time. They were so excited and so was I. After going through customs, which really didn't exist, I met them and explained that, alas, I had no luggage. So off we went to wait at the Lost and Found counter. Everyone else found their families no problems and headed off on their own adventures. My luggage was in Newark, I'm not sure why but it didn't make the flight but I should have it by Friday (fingers crossed). My mother and brother (Anna & Jakob) had taken the train and bus to come pick me up so it was kind of nice that I didn't have luggage. It took around 40 or 50 minutes to get home.

Looking in from the door

My bed, dresser & hanging chair

    The house is so colorful and welcoming. We ate “breakfast,” it was 11:40, outside in the garden which was wonderful. And breakfast was delicious too, there was 'cake bread' which was almost a sweet bread but not quite though it was amazing, bread/rolls, cheese and melon. Clara (my sister) gave me a tour of the house in German (she said each room in German and then in English). I love my room. Then I took a little nap, until 3:30 after that we ate lunch, which was salad, boiled potatoes, melon and an interesting herring beet salad. After that we headed off to an Opera that was held in the open air in the gardens of Fredrick the Great's palace in Rheinsberg. We had to arrive early because Andreas (my father) played in the orchestra. So the four of us wandered around the grounds (Anna, Clara, Jakob & myself). We had dinner sitting on the grass (which we found out wasn't allowed, after we had eaten), it was nice and light, but tasty none the less. Then they told me the story of the opera – it was the little mermaid, in German. We got home at around 1 in the morning, so I slept late.

(8/4/11)

     It was raining this morning but eventually stopped.  I went downstairs and Andreas explained where things were and what I could have for breakfast.  Then we waited for everyone and ate together (it was 11:40ish so more like lunch than breakfast).  Then Clara, Anna, & I went to town, so I could see the city and register with the local authorities.  First Clara and I went to the Tourist Information place so I could get a map.  Then we went to the mall to print out some photos and buy some things for Clara.  Then Clara went to a friend's house and Anna took me to register.  After that Anna gave me a little tour of the Town (including a church) and the City Hall-Rathaus, while at the Rathaus we saw the Mayor (Oberbürgermeisterin).  Lunch/Dinner was delicious, I set the table.  Dinner was fun because they were asking me to pass things in German - most of the time I got it right.  After that we went over the "Questions to ask the 1st Nigh," there were 43 of them but we made it through.  Then I went up stairs and started reading a book that is written in English and German.  Clara came and asked if I wanted to help them set up a tent for practice and I agreed.  It was fun trying to help them even though I couldn't speak the necessary German.  After that I read some more until Jakob asked if I had the book, then I took my computer downstairs and showed them pictures of the house and my family.  Then Clara went and played Piano and Andreas and I talked about music.  Eventually the three of us went to bed.