Weihnachtszeit Deutschland

Pfefferkuchenhaus!!!

     Weihnachten (Christmas) in Germany is a very special time, that's something that I've decided.  There's a whole different feel in the house.  Not really so much about how the members of the family act to each other, just.... I dunno, it's just different!!!  In a good way, that is.

On the way to pick up our tree

     In the weeks before Christmas, there are multiple Weihnachtsmaerkte (Christmas markets) all over.  Here, I went to the one in Hannover several times.  It is very convenient, I think; if I wanted to get together with someone, but didn't know what to do, I'd just suggest we go to the Weihnachtsmarkt and walk around, maybe savor some Schmalzkuchen, a Christmas specialty!
     This Christmas season has been very special in my family.  We went on Friday, the 23rd to pick up our Weihnachtsbaum from a neighbor's farm.  Since it's not that far away, we took a little wagon and just piled the tree on that.  The whole family went along.

The decorated tree (notice on the table at the right, the little
wood thing? That's a Pyramide, a traditional Christmas
decoration.  Just thought I'd say)

     On the 24th, the kitchen/living/diningroom was off-limits for us kids.  Mama and Papa set up everything for that evening.  So, we got to eat breakfast and lunch in the entranceway on a small table.  Larger than a card table, but definately smaller than our normal one.  About 2 pm Mathilde was in a Krippenspiel (Christmas pageant), and we all went to church for that.  At 5 was the traditional service.  Well, the one that the family traditionally goes to.  And, at 10 pm I played clarinet accompaniment to the songs.  And I played "Silent Night" and "The First Noel" as prelude and filler in the middle.  It must have been pretty good, cuz the people all clapped as soon as I finished each piece.  And afterwards I got a lot of compliments about it!  Frau Kretz, the organist who played, asked if I would be willing to play some other time, at normal services.  I said that of course I would do that!  Playing clarinet is always such a pleasure, and playing in church is a great way for me to use my talents to praise God.

Finally the tree is at home

     Between the 5 o'clock and 10 o'clock services we opened presents and ate supper (Hawaii Toast, another tradition in my family).  The gift exchange took a long time, but was interesting.  Every family has a different way they do that, I guess.  Here each person gave out all their gifts, one at a time. And everyone watches the one person open thier gift, and then the next person had their turn... Until all the presents were unwrapped.
     On the 25th we had the classic dinner with Ente, Kloese, Rotkohl, and Kartoffeln.  It was delicious!  Although we ate at 4 pm, I wasn't hungry until 12:30 that night when I got back from a party.  The party was fun--I went with Max and Konstantin.  There were a lot of people there, but I only knew about 15 or 20.
     Today I baked cookies with a neighbor and hung out around home with my family.  It's a strange feeling, saying the second half of that sentence....  But with each day it gets a bit easier.  Earlier in December I went through a homesick phase, but now that's over.  I am sincerely enjoying my time here!!!  I'm excited to see what the new year will bring for me.  After this Christmas, it is a whole lot easier for me to feel at home here.
     So, I'll wish you all a very Merry Christmas (even if it's late, you know) and a wonderful New Year!  Froehliche Weihnachten und Glueckwuensche in dem kommenden Jahr!!!!

After Thanksgiving is over

"What are you thankful for?" list from the Americans

     I survived Thanksgiving.  One holiday down, so now I've just got Christmas to survive yet, and then I think I'll be okay.  Well, Easter, too.  And 4th of July.
     As I said before, on Thursday I went to a Thanksgiving dinner with other Americans.  It was in a town nearby, only about 15 minutes away.  The best part (other than the party itself) was that I got off of school for the afternoon to go there.  I was picked up at 3 by the American family that had invited me to come along.


Thanksgiving dinner!



     Once we got to the church (we ate in a hall at the church), we delivered the foods to where they belonged.  I brought chocolate chip cookies (I know, not exactly "Thanksgiving", but... still delicious, and I'm definately thankful for them).  We chatted all together for about a half an hour as more people arrived, and then we all sat down at the tables and bombarded the buffet line.  I could hardly believe everything there was.  All the foods I had forgotten about, all the ones I had subconciously been missing but never realized it!  Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, canned corn....  There was so much that I just had to go back for seconds- I couldn't fit it all on my plate at one time!  And I didn't want to cut myself short of this chance to gorge on familiar foods.  : )  So, that's what I did.  I just sat there and enjoyed the meal, and met a whole lot of people at the same time.

     After I was finished, there was a bit of time left before the rest were done eating.  I guess that growing up in the Weiss Family household has taught me to eat fast while the food is there.  Luckily, there were some coloring pages there that we could color in.  Alright, so they were really meant for the kids, but everyone's a child inside, right?  I colored mine in, all bright and such, and later hung it up in my room.

     Of all the 35 or 40 people there, I'm sad to say that I was the only Lions fan.  A lot of them were Packers fans.  Which was a bit hard for me to swallow, since the Lions played the Packers on Thanksgiving Day.  We tried to watch a bit on the Internet, but the connection was bad and broke up.

      I somehow managed to forget about dessert.  As soon as I saw it, though, I knew that I had made a major mistake in not leaving room.  How could I have left out the most important part to a classic Thanksgiving dinner?!  Pumpkin pie....  apple pie.... pecan pie.... chocolate chip cookies.... (wait, that doesn't belong on a classic Thanksgiving table! haha)  It was terrible;  I was already full from the main dinner, and yet... I wasn't going to get the chance to eat any of these desserts again for a long while.  I'll admit it, I still managed to eat some more.  But you know what?  Thanksgiving comes but once a year.

     Unless, of course, you're living my life in the year 2011.  I had the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving twice!  Friday was the German version of this American tradition.  I didn't know how to stuff a turkey and all, so we changed it up a bit.  Mama had a recipe for turkey in an onion sauce, so that's what we made.  Mashed potatoes to go with it, as well as some pumpkin slices.  Which I'd never had before, never seen before, and never heard of before.  I tried two, but I didn't really like them a lot.  We invited some neighbors over to eat with us and share the memory.  They asked me why we even have Thanksgiving, and I told them about the Pilgrims and the Indians.... you know, the classic story.  I don't know how much truth there is to it, but I like it anyways.  Afterwards we sat at the table and talked into the night.

My favorite from the list of things to be thankful for (no, I
didn't write that on the board)

     In other news, yesterday there was no soccer practice.  In the winter, we only practice on Fridays, and that's inside a gym.  So, I went to choir with Mama instead.  She had heard me mention once that I enjoy singing and invited me to join her at the next practice.  I had a lot of fun!  The choir sings a capella, and it was a bit hard for me to find the right notes.  It was the first time I had sung together in a choir.  Well, not counting the school choirs back at St. Lorenz in 1-6th grade.  It reminded me a lot of Venner, the choir that used to be at Frankenmuth High School.  When I was in 8th grade and watched my brother and sister perform in that group, I had wanted so bad to be a part of the choir.  I never did join, but I still continued to love singing in church and to the radio.  Singing in the group in Haemelerwald was a wonderful experience, and I'm planning to go again next week!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

     Thanksgiving.  Such an American holiday.  The nearest thing you can get in Germany is Erntedankfest, but that's not the same.  First, it's in October.  Second, there's no big feast.  Third, the family doesn't get together, because (fourth reason) it's mostly just a church holiday.  We went to church, then came home and had a normal Sunday afternoon.  Nothing at all like the whole hubaloo we've got in the good ol' USA.  So where do you begin to explain this holiday to people who have nothing similar?  And how do you begin to recreate this traditional holiday when nearly everything is All-American?
     I guess I'd better start off with just explaining what we usually do in my family in Frankenmuth.  Scott and I get up bright and early and go to St. Lorenz Church to play in the band.  Mom, Dad, and Margie come, too, but we have to be there a while earlier, so we drive ourselves.  Once the service is over, we all drive over to Grandma and Grandpa's.  There, we have a huge Thanksgiving dinner, with all the trimmings.  Turkey (of course), mashed potatoes (also a necessity), ham, and corn are just a few of the dishes you can always count on to show up.
     Once we've all stuffed ourselves full, then we migrate to the livingroom and collapse on the couches.  I mean, what would Thanksgiving be without the football game in the afternoon?  Speaking of which, are the Lions playing this year on Thanksgiving?  They usually do, I think... I hear that they're doing relatively well this year.  Hahaha, for us fans that means that we've won a few of the games.  : )  (A bit of humor that is unrelated-- today in school a girl asked me to explain the point of tackling in football.  I basically just said that when one guy has the ball, everyone else just piles on top of him.  I mean, isn't that just about it?  Never really thought before about how pointless it sounds!)  We spend the rest of the afternoon chatting and talking.
     Now imagine that you're overseas.  Here, a turkey is next to impossible to find.  And even if I could find one, I really don't want to have to make one for the first time when I'm here, using all foreign ingredients and measurements.  Mama made a casserole before, when they had a different exchange student from the US.  And, to be honest, turkey isn't the number one thing on my list of things I'm craving right now, so I said that a casserole sounds great.  Pumpkin pie?  My host family tried it back then (with the other student), and didn't like it, so that's a no-go.  So, it's gonna be brownies and chocolate cookies instead.  Oh, and we're having Thanksgiving dinner on Friday evening and inviting neighbors over.  Thursday (tomorrow) I am going with an American family from Haemelerwald to a huge Thanksgiving party in the area.  Which should be fun!  I've been craving some specific foods, and I wonder if they'll show up there (it's potluck style, so there's a good chance it might happen).
     So, I'll be sure to keep my camera on hand and to take a lot of pictures for you!  Then I'll write next time about how it all went over.
     Right now my mind is stuck on Christmas, to be honest.  Because everyone here is already talking about it.  Since they lack Thanksgiving (and Sunday is already the first Advent), Christmas seems to come a whole lot earlier!  And, tonight Mama talked with me a bit about the Klee's family traditions.  I told a bit about how it's all done in my family.  So, I think that Thanksgiving might hardly seem to exist for me; I'm already in Christmas mode!  But that's not a problem, right?  I mean, I hear that 96 WHNN is already playing all-Christmas music already!  That means that " 'tis the season"!  : ) Merry Christmas, y'all!  Oh, wait, forgot about Thanksgiving again.  Ah well, I can't help it.

Klassenfahrt nach Berlin!

     My class took an extended field trip to Berlin on Wednesday.  We went to learn a bit more about how the government works, as well as some history of Germany.  The trip there, thanks to the great German public transportation system, took only a bit less than two hours.  The whole way, the pictures of what I expected ran through my mind.  My expectations were based on a few different factors.

      First, Berlin is (as everyone knows) the capital of Germany.  Alright, so it's gonna be like Washington, DC, right?  Okay, that's cool.  Second, it's also the main city of Germany, and where most tourists feel they need to go (well, maybe a few people would try to argue that they would rather go to Munich for the Oktoberfest, but we're talking in general here).  Alright, so what's a city in the US that all foreigners want to go to?  Uhhhh... That's a no-brainer.  New York City.  Alright, so now we cross NYC with DC....  And third, all German towns/cities/anything have a super-duper old history and are proud to show it off.  So now add a touch of Middle Age/19th century flair, and viola!  Berlin!  Right?

At Dunkin Donuts they're always glad to see you.

     Nope.  Not at all.  As soon as I stepped off the train and looked out of the train station, I knew I had made a mistake somewhere in my magic city-profiling formula.  If you've ever been to NYC, the first things you notice (you kinda can't miss them) are the skyscrapers.  All over.  You feel a bit like a mouse scrambling between trees.  Berlin, with the exception of the Fernsehturm, is relatively short.  Well, in comparison with NYC.  Average building height was 10 stories. Max.  A few were up around 40 or so, but there were a whole lot that only stretched up to 6 levels.  And the traffic was nothing compared to what I had seen in the Big Apple.  Seriously, my friends were so impressed when they were counting taxis and got up to 30!  And that was after an hour of walking around!  That was my first hint that Berlin was going to be something different than I had bargained for.  Whether it would be better or worse I couldn't guess right away.  But it was definately different.


The Brandenburger Tor (from the back)

       Alright, so it's not NYC.  So I assured myself that, although one-third of my guess-timating was wrong, the other two-thirds would surely be right on.  If not, then really close.  So, as to the last part, about Berlin having a sector of the city that was frozen in time around 1815 or so....  I must have somehow forgotten about a very important part of history that happened in the last two hundred years.  Namely, the Second World War.  Berlin suffered over 350 air raids between 1939 and 1945, from the British, Americans, and Soviets.  The result?  Many of the buildings were destroyed or damaged.  And when you're rebuilding a city, why would you build anything other than the most modern?  So, that was strike two.




 Der Deutsche Bundestag

     My last hope was that it would somehow remind me of DC.  Government buildings would be designed to look old, but yet impressive.  Even that was only halfways true.  Although the facades of the buildings sort of resembled my memories of DC, there was definately a modern twist on it.  For instance, when you stand up close in front of the Bundestag (picture at left), all you see are the columns that so often are found on governmental buildings.  But if you back up a bit, you can see the Kuppel (dome) on top of it.  And as soon as you see that, you know it's a modern building.  How?  The dome is completely built out of glass.  And there is not a single part about it that suggests that it is old.

     So, all of my predictions about Berlin were false.  What should I do then?  I really didn't have much of a choice, did I?  I had to keep my mind open and allow Berlin to build its own profile and paint its own picture itself.  Which is what I did.  And let me tell you, I sure am glad I decided to do that!

      Wednesday afternoon and evening we toured a prison that was used by the Staatssicherheit (Stasi) to contain enemies of the state.  A man who had been a prisoner there gave us a tour personally.  Walking around there, looking into the cells, and hearing a firsthand explanation of what life there was like was.... overwhelming.  To think of the ways that the Stasi used to coerce people into admitting to crimes they never comitted...  One thing that really struck me was the solarity in the prison.  You would be kept in your cell for nearly all the time, and when they took you out to shower or exercise, they made sure that there were no other prisoners in the hallways at that same time.  People would literally be there for months and years and never- never - talk with one of the other prisoners.  Just sitting alone that long would be enough to make you go insane!

     After that, we went back to the Jugendherberge, where we had rooms to sleep in.  A Jugendherberge is similar to a hotel crossed with a dorm room.  Rooms had two bunkbeds, a sink, and a shower that was shared with the neighboring room.  Toilets were shared with everyone on the same floor.  I ate some supper, and then my class got together and chatted, played cards, and just laughed with each other until everyone went to bed.

Listening to Herr Miersch.  Notice how much the
American sticks out among all the Germans?

      Thursday morning we met up with Mathias Miersch, the representative in the Bundestag (similar to Congress) from the Hannover area.  He explained a bit to us about how the Bundestag works, what the job of a representative is, and answered questions we had.  Herr Miersch is the representative who is my "sponser" for my scholarship through YFU.  For every exchange student, there is one representative who (you could say) agrees to support the student.  Basically, he supports the YFU exchange program and that there is a scholarship availible to help students get involved.  I also have a representative from the House of Representatives, with whom I met before I left the US.

      After that, we had a few hours of free time to go around Berlin in small groups.  I went with some friends on a city bus tour to all the important things.  For example, part of the Berlin Wall.  Or, the Brandenburger Tor.  There was commentary along with it, and I listened to it in German.  There was the option to listen to it in English, but it was a British style.  That kinda made me figure that I'd understand just as much of it in German (or maybe even more!).  Besides, the commentary was a conversation between two people, and I just thought it would sound better in the original German than in the translation.



Checkpoint Charlie



      When the whole group met up again, we went back to the Bundestag.  There, we listened to a debate about a proposed law.  I didn't understand a whole lot of that.  I think it was a combination of my tiredness, the way that the people talked (seriously, couldn't you sound excited to represent your people?), and the words they used.  Imke told me later on that even she couldn't understand some of the words that they threw around!  Once we stopped listening to the discussion, we all went up into the dome.  From there (because it was all out of glass, as I said earlier) you could see the Berlin skyline.  It was night when we were there, and so there were the lights from the traffic and buildings.  But not near as much as there is in DC or NYC at night!  That's German efficiency for ya.



Me in front of the Brandenburger Tor



     Friday we went to the Stasi Museum.  A lady talked with us for more than an hour about her life living in the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, more commonly known as East Germany).  I found that very interesting.  Again, it was scary to think of how the Stasi could get information and how much they knew.  At one point she told us about how the Stasi would sometimes go into people's homes and photograph everything or search for phone numbers the person should not have.  How did they know that the homeowner wouldn't come home while they were inside, you ask?  I asked that, too.  The Stasi had such an extensive system to know everything about a person--sometimes even 6 people on a "team" gathering information about one citizen!  They found out when the person was at work, and when he/she was expected to come home.  And in case he/she did come home early, they had a fireman stand in front of the house and intercept the person.  He would explain that there was a suspected gas leak in the house, and the person was not allowed to go in until it was solved.  Scary how they managed to do all that, huh?

     After that, we had some more free time.  I went with friends to a Ritter Sport store.  In case you don't know, Ritter Sport is a chocolate company.  Someone had heard that there you could make your own chocolate bar, and we decided that sounded like a lot of fun!  When we got there, it reminded me a bit of being at Subway, actually.  You pick out what type of chocolate you want (dark or milk), and then choose 3 from about 30 different ingredents.  I went for a cereal chocolate Tafel (bar) :  Corn Flakes, Honey Smacks, and Cocoa Crispies.  All wrapped up into rich milk chocolate... mmmmm!

     Unfortunately, all good things must end.  Before long, it was time to board the ICE train headed back towards Lehrte.  During the ride I played Ligretto, a card game, with Imke, Inga, and Anna.  Suddenly, we were home.  That night, even though I was dead tired from all the excitement, I still somehow managed to stay awake long enough to tell my family a basic outline of what I did and saw.

     All in all, Berlin was AMAZING!!  I'm already excited for next June, when I'll go with YFU there again.  And now I know the things that are definately worth seeing again.  Which is... everything!  : )

Zurueck zum Alltag

     It's been a while, I know.  I'm just starting to find it a bit difficult to make myself sit down and try to think of something to write about.  Because, in my opinion, there's not really anything too interesting going on.  So, you're lucky enough to get the chance to hear about my everyday (that's what Alltag means) life.  Well, at least about what's happened lately.
     The second week of break was borderline between boring and relaxing.  On Wednesday I got together with one of my friends and we made a pumpkin pie.  Or tried to.  Here they don't have pie pans, and so we had to use a cheesecake mold instead.  So the pie didn't bake all the way through.  It was still delicious, though!  Other than that, I finished a German novel (the third I've read here so far!), worked a bit on scholarships, and even got a bit of a jump on my senior year scrapbook.  And had plenty of time to just relax, go bike riding, or practice trumpet.
     On Saturday Oma came to visit, and I chatted with her for a while.  She stayed here until Thursday morning.  Sunday I helped her make Apfelkuchen.  Sort of a halfways cross between Mom's apple crisp and apple pie.  But yet, something totally different.  Still absolutely lecker (delicious), though!  I can't wait until Christmas, so I can get some recipes for cookies.  And yet, a part of me doesn't want Christmas to come.  I can't begin to imagine a Christmas without all of my cousins!  Without trips to the woods to cut wood, snowmobiling, snow forts.... It'll be strange, that's for sure.
     Tuesday I had an Erdkunde Arbeit (I guess you can say a geography test, if you prefer).  Out of 110 countries, I was asked about 24.  I had to know the name of the country, and the corresponding capital.  I was nervous about it, especially about Africa.  But when I got to it, there were only three countries I had to guess on, and four capitals that I had no clue about.  Which ones?  Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekastan, and Kazakistan.  So you can understand how I might have not known them all.  Still, I was pretty pleased with myself.  I think that if I had taken the test a year ago, I would have done way worse.
     On Wednesday Mama got back from South Africa.  She was part of an exchange with a partner church in Johannesburg.  She spent all of that evening telling us stories of what she saw.
     Thursday at soccer we played Tennis Soccer.  It was really funny!  Actually it was a cross between soccer, tennis (obviously), and volleyball.  For me, it was totally new, but that didn't make it any less intriguing.
     Last night Mama, Papa, Jonathon, Mathilde, and I played Siedler, a board game.  I lost, but it was fun anyways.  Afterwards we chatted for a little while, and then went to bed.  As I fell asleep, I remember thinking we were a (sort of) family.  It was a strange feeling for me.  Though they'll never be able to be quite what the Weiss Family is for me, the Klee Familie is still dear to me.  At that moment, I knew that it's gonna be hard to leave in July.  But until I get to that day, I'm going to enjoy every day I have here.  Because I'm already at more than 100 days in Germany, and I've only got about 250 left to make memories!

Herbstferien Urlaub nach Pepelow (Vacation trip to Pepelow)

     I'm writing this from Sievershausen, but it's about a totally different place.  This past week (a whole week, from Sunday to Sunday) I was in Pepelow, a town on the Baltic Sea.  Well, not directly on.  It's on a little bay, which is connected to the Baltic Sea.  But still, only about 4 miles from the sea.  We didn't all go, just me, Papa, Jonathon, and Mathilde.  But it was a lot of fun!

     The main reason we went was to be able to go sailing.  Jonathon and Papa each had a little sailboat they brought (not a bit yacht, just little ones that could carry maybe 4 people each).  And they sure used the boats a lot!  Nearly every day they went out on the water for at least 2-4 hours.  I don't blame them, either.  Mathilde and I went out three times, and I loved it. Usually it was sunny, even though it rained one day, and the wind off the water was so fresh!  I didn't even mind when the waves splashed up on me and I got soaked.  Haha, okay, maybe I cared a bit...  I mean, I was totally wet afterwards!  But still, I enjoyed it.

     And the times when Papa and Jonathon went sailing and we didn't go along, Mathilde and I usually rode our bikes around, or we played games.  Once we rode along the beach, where we discovered a little stream that flowed into the bay.  We, being us, decided to build a dam there, which took up quite a bit of our time.  And, I'm a bit sad to say, it didn't work all too well.  Whenever we got the water blocked, then it would just erode some sand away and go right around the whole dam.  But, it was really entertaining.  And I found some sea glass, as well as a 50 Pfennig  (that's from the Deutschemark, before Germany switched to the Euro) coin from 1990.  I was pretty excited about that, even though Jonathon informed me that it really isn't anything too special, because Germany only switched to the Euro in 2001.  Not like it's a rare Roman coin or something.  But still, that's 10 years ago, now.  So to me, it's pretty interesting.

     Before we left home, Mama had given me a kite to fly.  Good thing, too, because it was always pretty windy and we flew them quite often.  At first, I had some issues trying to control it (alright, so twice it landed in the water).  Sometimes, though, I was convinced that the Drachen (kite) was, for some reason, dead set on repeatedly ramming itself into the sand on the beach.  But once I got the hang of it, it was really easy.  I even managed to keep it from committing suicide and flying into trees, or doing a kamikatze dive into the water.

     Like I said earlier, it rained one whole day.  Originally, we had thought about going to an indoor waterpark in Wismar (next big city in the area).  Once we got there, though, and saw the long lines waiting to get in, we changed our minds.  Instead, we walked around Wismar and looked at... everything.  Papa studied here for two years, so he knew all the history of everything.  Even if a lot had changed since Germany's reunification (Wismar is in former East Germany).

     One thing we saw there was one of the three churches/cathedrals.  Well, we didn't really see the church itself, because it was mostly destroyed in a bombing raid in WWII.  Strangely enough, the bell tower wasn't destroyed, though.  So that's still standing, but there's nothing else.  Inside the bell tower is a

little museum about the style of building it was.  There is a nice little 10 minute 3-D movie about how the church was built.  Which I found really interesting.  They showed how the foundations were made, how the bricks were made, and finally, how the bricklayers eventually put it all together and made it into a beautiful building.  Now they are beginning to raise money to rebuild the church, so that there isn't the empty space there anymore.

     Whenever the weather was nice, we went to the beach.  Not to go swimming (the water was about 45 degrees), but to just walk along and enjoy it.  Mathilde picked up a whole bunch of stones, and Papa found a crystallized tree branch.  I think I might have found one, too, but... then again, I might just have tricked myself into thinking that.  You know what I mean; you can convince yourself to think anything if you try hard enough at it.

     And then it was Sunday again, and we had to leave.  I really had a lot of fun, but it's kinda nice to be back home again.  I've got one more week to just relax, and then it's back into school again!  Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention-- I'm on break now.  From last Monday until this Friday I don't have school.  Nice, right?  : )



Cows + living on ocean's edge = Spoiled bovine



<>

Thomas the Train!!! A steam engine we saw



My ticket to anywhere I want to go, as long as I've got the strength to get there: my bike



A normal school week

     I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my school schedule.  Which is pretty hard to try and explain.  You see, the thing about my schedule here is, every day I have different classes.  That means, Monday I can get homework that's not due until the next Monday.  Not too bad, right?  It just requires a whole lot more organization than I had at home.  I can't stand by my locker at the end of the school day (if I had a locker) and run through each class I had, and remember if I had homework in each one or not.  I have a planner like I did at home, but even then it's difficult to decide how to organize it.  Do you write the homework down on the day you get it?  Or on the day it's due? Or...???  What I've been doing is writing it down for the day before it's due.  That way, every night I can look at my planner, see what's due the next day and see if I've done it or not.  So far, it's been working pretty well.  I haven't forgotten anything. Yet.
     But I'm going to tell you about my schedule, not my homework woes.  I'll give you a basic outline for every day first, and then I'll fill in the classes and details later.
     I get up about 5:45, get ready, have breakfast, and leave the house at 6:48-ish for the bus stop.  The bus comes at 6:53, or there's a later bus at 6:56 if I'm a bit slow eating or something.  Usually I get to school after a 25 or so minute bus ride, so that's normally at 7:25.  First hour starts at 7:45 and goes until 8:35.  Five minute Pause (basically, a break where we can eat, drink, or go to the bathroom), then second hour is from 8:40 until 9:25.  15 minute Pause, and then third hour begins at 9:40 and runs until 10:25.  Another five minute break, then fourth hour is 10:30 until 11:15.  15 minutes to rest, then 11:30 until 12:15 is fifth hour.  Five minutes, then sixth hour is 12:20 to 1:05.
     For lunch we have a full hour.  I only have to stay after lunch on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Wednesday and Friday I get to go home for lunch, because I don't have any classes in the afternoon.  So... after lunch, we start again at 1:55 to 2:40 for seventh hour.  Five minutes, eighth hour starts at 2:45.  At 3:30 it's done, and then we have another fifteen minutes.  Ninth hour begins at 3:45 and goes until 4:30, when we have another break.  And finally, tenth hour starts at 4:35 and goes until 5:20.  Of course, all the times are rough, as really class only begins when the teacher gets there, and sometimes we take breaks early...  but as a general rule, that's it.
     Most of my classes are Doppelstunden, which means that I have two hours of the same class right after each other.  Monday:  1&2 hour, Physics; 3&4 free (I can't speak French or Latin, and that's what the class has then); 5&6 Religion; 7&8 Big Band (a club, really).  Tuesday: 1 German; 2 English; 3&4 Politics and Business; 5&6 Informatik (Computer programming); 7&8 Erdkunde (geography and information about the world's countries).  Wednesday: 1&2 Darstellendespiel (theater); 3&4 Math; 5&6 English.  Thursday: I get to sleep in, because I decided not to take Art 1&2 hour, and 3&4 hour is French/Latin!! :)  5&6 History; 7&8 Biology; 9&10 German.  Friday: 1&2 Chemistry; 3&4 Math; 5&6 PE.
     Phew!  That was a lot of numbers to type!  Hope it makes sense to some of you.  To the others, well... I guess that you'll just have to read what my classes are, and then just know that I'm working hard and learning a lot and still having a ton of fun!!!

     But beyond that...  I had my first Arbeit (test) today, and it was in English.  We had to read a selection and then write a characterization about the person in it.  So, I had it pretty easy.  But since we had 1.5 hours to do it, I took the time to take notes, write an outline, and then to write my essay.  I was so proud of myself for making an outline!  I usually don't do that, I just sit down and start writing, and re-read it later to see if it's organized or not (usually it's not, but, hey.).  And I still had a half an hour left at the end.  So, I wrote a shorter version of my characerization in German, too.  I turned that in as well, and Frau Schulz, my teacher, said that she would read it and correct my grammar for me.  Which is good.  Otherwise, how can I expect to ever get better at German?  Tomorrow is the next Arbeit, and that's for German.  We're going to have to analyze a text.  I'm pretty nervous for it!  I mean, the writing's not too bad, but first I've got to figure out what the selection says, then I'll have to think in my head what it means, and then I'll have to write that down on paper!  I'm getting the feeling that tomorrow's gonna be a day when I don't use an outline!  Cuz I'm definately going to be in a crunch for time.
     It's been a bit rainy and cloudy lately.  Okay, so just about every day in the past week it has rained or sprinkled.  Not too bad though.  Well, soccer practice on Tuesday was cancelled because it was raining and only 3 people showed up, but... I didn't want to have to train in the rain anyways.  I guess that it's this rainy all fall, and winter is mostly rainy, too.  Because it doesn't get cold enough usually for it to become snow.  So, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas", and I know that I'll see it "If only in my dreams".  But why am I quoting Christmas songs? It's only October!  (Although there are already Christmas cookies in the stores here)  But if I'm writing about Christmas, I think it's time to stop.

     Sometimes when I’m here, I start thinking about my future.  Especially about college.  Do I really want to go into baking?  Would it be a better idea to go into linguistics or engineering, and just keep baking as a hobby?  Or should I keep following my dream in spite of all these other thoughts???  What about paying for the education?  Will I be able to get enough scholarships to make it affordable for me?  And how about applying to colleges?  Should I just apply blindly, since I can’t really tour any of the campuses?  There doesn’t really seem to be any other option, you know?  Not like I can just fly home and see a college, and then come back.  Not really allowed with YFU.  And what sort of a college do I want?  A nice little friendly, neighborly campus, or a large university with something exciting going on all the time?  And what about…?



That's what I'm sometimes like (photo from: dannyschulz.com)



     See?  When you’re overseas, in a new country and a new home, spending every day with a family that you just met a few weeks ago, it tends to make you really stop and think about what sort of a college you want.  Atmosphere, major, friends… everything.  A part of me thinks of this exchange year not only as my senior year abroad, but also as a “practice run” for college.  I mean, look at it;  I’m away from my family for an extended time (a year is definitely extended, and is longer than any time I’d be away at college), going to school (so the grades are mildly irrelevant—except math—but I still have to do the homework , pay attention in class, take tests, and basically, I have to learn), making new friends (haha, couldn’t really pack my suitcase full of my buddies in Frankenmuth—they’ve gotta live their own lives and do school, too), and –most of all—I am learning to live together with people who are not my real family.  People who I’ve gotta learn to work issues out with.  And with different backgrounds/ cultures, that is a task in and of itself!

     And this all is teaching me valuable lessons for while I’m at college:  how to choose friends wisely; how to schedule my time responsibly; how to get along with formerly complete strangers living in the same house as I am…  The list goes on and on!  A major thing that I’ve found very important to everything here is the atmosphere I have in my new home.  ‘Cause no matter how full my schedule gets, I still have to come back home here to sleep.  And having a place where you feel comfortable is vital to being able to live life, and enjoy it.  Even cavemen had a cave they called home, right?  So every now and then, as I turn this thought to next year, and even years into the future, I put a lot of thought into what sort of a house and community I want to live in.

     My experience so far has been (and I’ve talked with some other exchange students I know who are here now) that it is easier to feel at home and to fit in when there are plenty of people your age around you.  I had figured that before I even came; that’s part of the reason why I specifically asked to be in a family with kids my age.  Now turn this thought over to college:  Why wouldn’t I want to live the first year on campus?  That’s a vital part of college, in my opinion!  That’s just how you get to know people, is by getting involved in clubs and everything.  But after that first year, who knows?  Maybe I’ll want to get an apartment somewhere.

     Another important thing to me is the setting of where I live.  A nice area to live in is always a plus.  I’d rather live in a friendly small town than in the middle of the chaos of a big city.  Not secluded and out in the middle of nowhere—just a nice, comfortable distance away from the next big city so I don’t have to constantly live in the stress that goes on there.  And with some kind of setting.  For nature, I mean.  So I’ll always be in awe of God’s awesome creation. Maybe some paths or trails so I can go walking, jogging, biking, whatever.

Photo from: culinaryinstitutemi.com

     Since I’m currently looking at going into Baking & Pastries at Baker College/ Culinary Institute of Michigan in Muskegon, that’s where I started looking at apartments.  And I found a great one on vacancy.com.  It’s not directly in Muskegon, rather in Spring Lake.  Which looks to be about a 10 minute drive or less from the college.  Easy drive to school, but still in a nice small town.

     Woodland Ridge… even the name sounds beautiful!!!  So I can just begin to imagine what it actually looks like around there.  Actually, the pictures that there are on the website are stunning.  And it's relatively close to Lake Michigan, which means that whenever I wanted to, I could ride my bike to the beach and just enjoy it.  There's also a paved bike trail, hiking trails, and a park all very close.  So I'd have plenty of outside activities.

     And as to fellowship and companionship--there are clubhouses and common kitchens where I could easily get to know people.  There are tennis courts as well.  Oh, and did I mention the swimming pool?  So I'd be able to find people there, too.  And a fitness center so I could keep fit when it's rainy outside and I can't do something else outdoors.

     The apartment rooms are available for one, two, or three people.  I would probably ask my friends from my first year at college if they would want to room with me, and then we would share a three-bedroom apartment.  Because having an empty home is just sad.... and lonely!

     What other people think of the apartments also is important.  So I looked at some of the reviews for Woodland Ridge.  The only negative things I read were that sometimes it's a bit noisy.  But I could live with that.  Actually, I'd welcome that.  When it's so silent all the time, then it's strange.  Kinda as though no one lives there, or something...  So I'd expect there to be some noise, since people actually do live there.

     So, let's go back to the criteria.  Great setting?  Check.  Comfortable distance from college?  Check.  People to meet?  Check.  Yup, looks like we've got a winner!!!  Of course, I don't know yet if I'd really take it.  That's just another one of those debates I'll get to have for the next year!  Great.

     Oh, yeah.  In case you wanted to see this apartment for yourself:  http://www.vacancy.com/michigan/spring-lake-apartments/woodland-ridge-apartment-homes/photos/ 

Neustrelitz bei Oma



The view from Oma's balcony

     Last weekend my family and I went to visit Oma, who lives in Neustrelitz.  That's in formerly East Germany, about 50 miles north of Berlin.  It was a 4.5 hour drive there, because we got caught in traffic.  But the drive was definately worth the time!  Cuz there it was absolutely breathtaking!!!

     Most of the time Jonathon and Papa went sailing.  I went with Oma and Mama to walk around the town, for a while.  We went through a park where there used to be a castle.  But, it began to get old, and no one renovated it.  So, eventually, it was torn down.  There was also a Russian soldier cemetery there, and Mama talked about how, when she was young and growing up there, some soldiers would march through on holidays and for festivals.  It was a really strange thought for me.  I mean, the thought that, just over 20 years ago, East Germany was still occupied by Russians, and where I was walking was where their soldiers marched just a few decades ago.  All of my life, there's only been one Germany, so I thought it was strange to think that this part of history happened so recently and still influences life here today, but that it had happened before I was born.  I guess that's probably how young kids feel about 9/11, though.

     So, as we kept going around town, Mama

kept telling me stories of her childhood.  And I tried my hardest to imagine what it must have felt like to live under Communist rule.  How it must have felt to never see the Russian soldiers (only officers and their wives were allowed to talk with the German citizens), but to still know that, if anyone tried to do anything against the government, there would be hundreds of soldiers there in very little time.  I guess that I'll never really be able to fully comprehend how it felt.

     Saturday afternoon, Konstantin, Jonathon, and I went to a flea market in the next village.  And there they found this remote controlled boat!  I thought it was pretty cool, too.  So, we brought it back to Oma's apartment (which is right on the water at the harbor) and they had a lot of fun driving it around.

     And what would a weekend on the sea be without a beautiful sunset?  All day was nice and warm, about 80 degrees. Without any clouds!  Before we went in to eat supper, Mama, Oma, and I went out to watch and wait for Jonathon and Papa to come in from sailing.  It was just perfect!  A wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend.  Haha, even though we were still there for half of Sunday... I just tend to think of sunsets as the end of something.
     And after another 4 hour drive, we were back home, safe and sound.
     Today is Mathilde's birthday, so Oma is coming here to visit and for the party.  But I'll write about that later.  Cuz now Mathilde wants to play Sequence, and I told her I'd be there in a minute or two.

A birthday party; visiting friends; Das Klimahaus in Bremerhaven; and more!

Me and the Luebben family

     This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to take a trip away from Sievershausen (not that it's boring here, but... alright, it doesn't change much, so it's a bit monotonous).  Deike, Hendrik's sister (she is far right in the photo, he is the tall guy in the back), was turning 25, and had a huge party to celebrate.  I was one of the lucky 80 people who received an invitation, so I was more than happy to go.
      On Friday when I got there, they weren't doing anything, just starting to set up for the party.  Some neighbors came over, and we talked the evening away.  Saturday morning breakfast was at the farm.  (I slept at Hendrik & Maren's house)  And, since the party didn't mean that all farmwork was put on pause, Hendrik had to go out to his fields as soon as we were finished to collect round bales.  This is the first year that he's tried round baling the grass silage instead of putting it into the bunker silos.  He's curious to see if it helps milk production, or if it has no effect whatsoever.

The tractor with the attachment to pick up round bales

     In the morning, I rode around with him, and we chatted about how everything is at home (in the US), how things are at home (in Sievershausen), and how things are in general (school, Germany, etc....).  We both enjoyed it; Hendrik had someone to talk to while working, so it went faster, and I got to practice my German listening and speaking.  And it's just always nice to see each other after so long, of course!  There were about 200 bales to pick up, so it took a while.  By the time I left on Sunday, they still weren't done.  In the two hours that I rode around with him, we managed to bring about 30 bales to the farm.

     In the afternoon I helped Deike finish setting up for the party.  We put some decorations on the tables, put up some balloons so people would notice where the party was, and then had to get the bathroom wagon all oriented and set up.  It's funny; instead of port-a-johns, they have little wagons with a mens' and womens' bathroom in it.
     By the time we were finished, the tent had gone from an empty room to a nice, welcoming setting, and I began to anticipate what the evening would bring.  There were still about 2 hours before people would begin arriving, so I read the paper for a bit.  Then I went outside and just enjoyed living on a farm again for a bit.  The little calves were really rambunctious!!  And the cows are just as shy as they ever were =)  I guess I didn't really notice how much I miss the farm.  And even the farmwork.  Here I don't really have any physical work to do.  Which is why I was so set on finding some sport club to join.

     On that note, I read an article in the paper about a man in the Netherlands who is selling perfume that smells like farm fresh air: either cow or pig variation!  I got a laugh out of that when I saw it.  It reminded me of all the little kids who come to Weiss Farm and then say something to the tune of "What smells so bad?!" or "Ugh!!!  It stinks!!"  Well, that aroma that Mom so lovingly called "the smell of money" is now actually going to be used to make money!  Too bad we didn't catch onto that earlier...!
     Anyways.... The party was nice.  Not quite what I had imagined, though.  I couldn't understand too well what all the conversations were about.  It was loud, and with 60+ guests, there were way more than a few discussions going on at once.  For me, it was a bit more than a brain overload, that's for sure.  I ended up leaving about midnight, and I had such a headache from trying to concentrate on one conversation.
     On Sunday Hendrik and I went to Bremerhaven.  We went to the Klimahaus, a museum that recently opened (alright, maybe two or three years ago, but that's recent!  For museums, that is).  It was definately not what I had expected.  I had heard that it was a museum about all the different climates on one line of longitude on the Earth.  And it was.  But it had a twist; all the places you went to were places where a man from Bremerhaven actually was.  He followed the 8. 34' degree east line of longitude around the Earth, meeting people and climates all the way.  And his experiences are shown in this museum.  It was awesome!  Every room was heated/cooled and humidified/dehumidified so that you got the feeling that you were actually in the climate.  For instance, in Niger it was really hot and dry.  In Camaroon, it was hot and humid.  In Antarctica, it was cold, dry, and there was a wind coming from somewhere or other (and there was ice all over!).  Not what I had expected, but way better than I had thought.
     And then I left in the afternoon, got on the train, and headed back here to Sievershausen.  But it was a nice break from the normal day-to-day life I've settled into here.

Niger in the Klimahaus

     Today it's been two months since I left my family and said farewell!  Strange thought...  I'm not gonna get into that now, though.  It's 11 p.m. and I've got school tomorrow.  I probably should've cut this whole entry shorter, anyhow.

My days are starting to fill up and get busy

     Well, this past week sure was a busy one.  On Tuesday I went to the soccer club for women over 16 years old.  They had a game on Wednesday (I didn't play there, since I had just started practicing with them), and I went to go watch.  We won, 2-1.  It started raining after a bit, and so it was a bit less than wonderful.  but it was still really fun.  They play well, but not so well that it's out of my league.  Well, after I practice a bit, that is.

      On Thursday morning I went to an 11th grade Math class to see if I could understand anything there.  What we're doing in the 10c (sine and cosine graphs) I learned this spring.  Since that is the only credit that I need yet to graduate from FHS, Mama and Papa (that is, my German host parents) want to make sure that I'm taking a challenging enough class that my principal will take the credit for the year.  So, I sat in on this other class to see if I would be able to take that class as well as the Math class from the 10c.  Unfortunately, I didn't understand what was going on.  After class I talked with the teacher, and he said that in the second half of the 10th grade we will learn some new stuff, and that's what the 11th class, of course, built onto.  It felt really good for me to come back to my regular class. I didn't realize how much I have gotten used to the people there!  I already kinda know who I hang out with, and I know everyone's names.  Having to start all over made me really grateful for the class where I know peoples' faces.   

     On Saturday there was a Kinderbibeltag.  Basically, it was Vacation Bible School.  Except that it was only one day.  I came as a late volunteer, so they didn't really have a place for me to go.  So I sorta just tagged along and checked out what all the kids were doing, and helped out when I could.  We made candles (pic at left), played games, and then we had a "last supper".  We cut up vegetables and fruit, and had some bread with that.  There were some tables set up in the church, and the lady pastor talked about how Jesus gave the diciples bread and wine as a sign of the new covenant.



Imke, Inga, and I at the concert



     After VBS, I had about an hour and a half to relax.  Then Imke's dad drove Imke, Inga, and I to a concert at the university where he teaches.  I didn't really like the first band, but the second was awesome!  It was the concert band there at the university, and they had lights and everything while they played.  All of the songs had some text with "stars" or something to do with outer space.  And, except for two of them, they were all English.  I couldn't quite understand all of the lyrics anyways, but I recognized some of them from the tune.

     And now I've got to get ready to go to JuRa (short for Jugendraum, the teen Bible study/ hang out that I go to).  It's a great way for me to start the week!

The concert band