Finally in Sievershausen!

     The train pulled into Hannover about 3:30, and as soon as I stepped off,  my family (the Klees) met me.  Then we took another train to Haemmlerwald, a town a few kilometers away from Sievershausen.  And before I knew it, I was at my new home!
     And then the introductions began.  My Papa (Rainer), Mama (Christiane), older brother (Konstantin), younger brother (Jonathon), and younger sister (Mathilde) were all very excited to welcome me into their home, and to show me around.
     Sunday Mama, Papa, Mathilde, and I all went sailing.  Don't ask me the name of the lake we went to, because I didn't listen close enough to catch it.  I just heard "segeln" (sailing), and that was enough for me to know.  When we left home, it was sunny and looked like a promising day.  Hahaha, I bet you're thinking that the next sentence will say that it didn't stay that way for long!  Well, it actually held this time!!  There were a few moments where it got cloudy and windy, but then it cleared out again.  Mathilde and I went swimming alongside the boat for a bit when there wasn't much wind.

Mathilde and I by the sailboat (Papa's in the background)

     Monday was my first "official" day of "actual" school here.  I put that all in quotation marks, because it depends how you look at it...  I've been going to a type of school for the last four weeks, but now it's in an actual schoolbuilding and I've got actual classes.  And, I only ended up going to two hours of class.
     At 9 Mama and I went to meet with Herr Hammerschmidt, the teacher who organizes all the classes and such for exchange students.  And after that we went to the Rathaus so I could "sign in".  That way, in case anything happens while I'm here, the US and German governments know exactly where I am in Germany.  That took a bit of time, and so, by the time I got back to school, there were only two more hours of school left.  And both were the same class: Religion.  And after those two hours were through, I got to see firsthand which bus I take to come back home.
     Today I went for my first full day of school.  Jonathon and I went together to the bus stop, and we nearly missed the bus!!!  It was really funny-- right as we came around the corner, the bus was there, and it was closing its doors already, and preparing to pull away.  We broke into a run, and managed to wave the driver down before the bus got anywhere.
     In school, I talked with a few of the other kids about basic stuff (i.e., how long I've been in Germany, where in the USA I'm from, names of other students).  It's pretty nice; my neighbor who lives just across the way from my house (her name is Imke) is in my class.  So, I have someone I can talk to in case I forget which bus I need or the homework or something.  And, of course, it's just nice that one of my classmates lives so close to my house!  So then maybe we can get together outside of class and do something.  It's sorta strange, though, to be honest.  I'm in the 10th grade here, so all the rest of the students are 15, and a few are 16 years old.  So when I say that I'm 17, they're all like, "What?!  Why are you here, then?"  And so I explain that it's just easier to be in this class as an exchange student and.....

     After school, Jonathon, Mathilde, and I played a pick-up game of soccer.  Mathilde and I were on a team, and Jonathon had to play alone against us.  He's really good, though.  Well, not REALLY good, but better than either Mathilde or I am.  He won the first game, and the second... well, he won that one too.  Ah well, what do you expect?  He's a 14-year-old German boy.  And, no, I'm not being stereotypical.  Just saying, the most of them are good at soccer.  He plays handball though, not soccer, in case anyone cares to know.  So not ALL Germans are absolutely obsessed with soccer and perfect soccer players.
     Tonight Mama and I walked around Sievershausen a little while.  I wanted to drop a letter in the post box, and I didn't know where it was.  And then we just walked around so the layout of the town starts to make sense to me.  We talked the whole time about general topics: about everything from my college/future  plans to how large dogs are slightly intimidating.  And then we came back home.  And now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go to bed so I can wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.  Except that I'll have different classes--every day is a different schedule.  More on that later.  If I get any feedback that that'd be interesting.  (This is where you click below on "Post a comment" and type something into the box)

Preparing to leave. Again.

Uwe, Martina, Uli, Gabi, and me

     Well, the time here has certainly flown by.  Now I'm to the point where I've gotta leave this family and head on to my new family.  This next time, though, I won't leave.  Until next July, that is.
     I just realized that I never put up a picture of me and my host family.  So, here we are, in Ulm!  My eldest brother, Jens, wasn't with us in the picture.  We all are there, other than him, though.
     Like I said before, the time has simply gone by way too fast.  Tomorrow morning I'll say farewell to the Schumachers and jump on the train and head up to Hannover!  And there I'll meet my new family, community.... everything.  The past four weeks here have really made me comfortable with my German.  Well, at least, more than I was before.  That's the good thing about this Orientation course; you are getting used to life in Germany, but yet you have a bit of contact with Americans yet.  And, if you are too nervous about your German, the teachers can help, because they all know English, and can give translations, and explain when you would use this word versus a different one.

The YFU students here in Mindelheim, and our teachers

     Even so, leaving the whole group of Americans is difficult.  I've grown close to them, and we all know each other very well.  We know what annoys one another, what we all like/dislike, and, for the most part where we're from in the US and where we're going in Germany.  They're all awesome, and even though there were a few times when I got fed up with some of them, I'll definately miss each and every one of them.  We have a lot of inside jokes, and I know we have even more memories that we've made.
     Last night, of course, was another party.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Germans love to have parties for all occasions!  This particular occasion was our departure.  Each of us students made an American dish to pass, and the Germans made some type of German dish, so we had a huge buffet with all sorts of foods, from peanut-butter cookies to Schwartzbrot.

     We sang some songs, and then us students did a little skit about school that we had prepared.  One of the host families also taught us a traditional Bayrish dance, as well.  So, we, of course, had to try it!
     Last week in Augsburg, us girls all bought matching T-shirts (I think I mentioned that, but just in case).  We had all agreed to wear them last night, and we did.  With the exception of one.  This picture isn't all of us, but it's more than half of us.  It was really a bit funny how we all came in and commented on each other's shirts, and everyone else was confused about how we all had the same shirt!!!!

     Now I'm mostly all packed, except for the outfit that I'm gonna wear tomorrow.  And the stuff that I'll still need before then (i.e. toothbrush, journal, Bible).  But that I can pack tomorrow morning.  I'll have time!  I hope.  : ) 

Augsburg and this past week

All of the girls at the train station who went on the field trip

     Sooooo....  Sorry I haven't been able to write something in the last week.  I've been pretty busy with stuff here.  I'll start off where I left off: last Wednesday.  The whole group had an Ausflug (relatively translates to "field trip"), and we went to Augsburg.  In this city, just about every building has a history to it, whether it's about something that's happened there or about how it was built.  Since it was school related, each of us students got one of these stories (each one is called a Sage), which we read, summarized, and then told to the group when we came to that building on our tour.  Mine was about a statue of St. Micheal and the devil, where the creator decided to make Michael move so that for every stroke of the bells (on the hour) he would stab his lance into the devil's throat.  Yeah, not particularly my favorite genre for reading, but...  homework is homework.
     After we finished the tour, we had four hours of freetime for us to do what we wanted.  Us girls decided to go shopping (yeah, not particularly my favorite pasttime, but... we'd decided to stick together, and that's what we did).  There was a huge shopping center near the old town, so we walked there and spent the remainder of our time wandering around there and puruising the stores.  We all got matching T-shirts that we're going to wear to the Farewell Fest on Thursday.

     Then our time was up, and we began the long trek back to the Bahnhof (train station).  Then, after a 45-minute ride, we were back in Mindelheim.

Gingerbread hearts and Apfelschoerle....  what a great combination!

      Friday night, we had a Bayrish Night at a local restaurant.  They put out a buffet of all-you-can eat Bayrish food!  And there were a ton of decorations- everywhere you looked, there was something or other that had the Bayrish flag pattern on it.  As soon as we came in the door, we were asked what we wanted to drink.  And then, as soon as we sat down at a table, we were given a gingerbread heart.  This, apparently, is pretty traditional for the region, and at every festival you can find them.  The whole evening there was Bayrish/German music, and there were more than one games we played.  The winner of each game was awarded a Bayrish hat, and in some cases, a little trophy to go with it.  Unfortunately, I never managed to claim one of these prizes, but I had a lot of fun trying!  Nearly everyone there was dressed in a dirndl or lederhosen, and I felt really out of place.  I left mine at home in the USA, because I figure that I'm only going to be here for four weeks, and I should use that space in my Koffer (luggage) for something that I can use the whole year.  I've heard that no one in the North wears the "traditional" German outfit, that it's just a stereotype Americans have of them.  Hahaha, I don't have a comment on that!

     This weekend my family and I went to a flea market.  It was huge!!!  At least 150 different people selling random stuff, and probably closer to 200!  I didn't find anything I really needed, but it was still fun to go see it.  We also went to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, which I found really interesting.  They had a lot of information to read, and it was, of course, all in German, so after a while I didn't read anymore.  Instead, I just looked at the exhibits, and when something confused me about what it should be, I would stop and read it.

Sarah tries her hand at one of the games!

     Yesterday I had a Fiertag, which meant I didn't have to go to school.  Don't ask me what the holiday was, because I didn't listen close enough.  At any rate, it was a day off, so I didn't really care!  We all went to the waterpark in Ulm, where we went a few weeks ago.  The day was sort of cloudy, and sometimes it would threaten to rain, so we spent the whole day at the waterpark.  It is mostly indoors, with only a part outside, so the weather didn't bother us at all.

     All in all, the whole week was exciting.  And now I've only got this one week left, and then on Saturday I get on the train and head up to my next family!!!  I can't believe that it's already been four weeks here...  That it's been a month since I left home at 4 a.m. and jumped on the plane headed for D.C.!  But that also means I'm 1/12 of the way done with this exchange, and I'm already excited to come home and tell everyone what I've done here!

Daheim in Deutschland.... A tour around Unterkammlach!

     Whether I want to take a letter to the post box, buy something from the bakery, or go for a run, I always end up going for a ways around Unterkammlach, my temporary "hometown" here in Germany.  So yesterday, I decided to take my camera with me and take some pictures.  I guess I kinda thought you would want to see where I'm living!
     I'll be honest, I don't really know how I should narrate travelling around Unterkammlach... I guess I'll just put up pictures...  Though I'll tell you a bit of the observations I've made from living here.

     First and foremost, Germans don't have a plain old lawn.  Sure, they have a small patch of grass, but, for the most part, they pride themselves on having a beautiful flower garden and  vegetable garden.  And you know what?  I think they have a really good reason to laugh at Americans' yards, especially in comparison to theirs!  They have a wide variety of different flowers of all colors possible.  And they arrange them in a way that makes it look so professional!  But each yard is done by the owners of the house.  Sometimes I find that a bit hard to believe.

  When I was walking around, I noticed this house.  One glance at it, and I actually thought for a moment that I was in Frankenmuth, looking at the Bavariann Inn Restaurant!  Of course, it would've had to be some years ago for the trees to be as small as the one in this yard.  The way it looks, though, with the wood on the second floor, and the little flower bed in front of the window, is just exactly like the general decorating style of the Bavarian Inn!  I had always thought that they had over exaggerated when they got to decorating, because I hadn't seen any houses that looked like Frankenmuth, but now that I've seen this one, I'm starting to think they weren't so far off after all!

     This, of course, is the Maypole.  Each city/town/village has one.  I've seen ones that are, like this one, normal in diameter and relatively tall.  I've also seen others in small villages that are very thin in diameter, and only about 3/4 as tall, as though it is the sapling of the tree instead of a grown one.  And then, in large cities, there are always gigantic Maibaueme.  Every year in May, the craftsmen of a town make a new Maypole.  They carve designs with the bark, and will often write the year and town in it.  The shields on it are from different Vereine (clubs) that are in the town.  Not like in Frankenmuth, where we have a permanent pole and characters adorning it.

     These are a neighbor's draft horses.  I've seen him driving them into the woods to get a new load of timber, which he uses for firewood, I think.  He puts them out to pasture here, in a small meadow near my house.  It is a bit strange to be walking through town, and then all of a sudden come across a patch of grass and some horses grazing there.  I mean, this is right in the middle of town!  Houses all around it (even though you can't tell in this picture).  From what my family has told me, in the winter he has a sleigh that he hooks them up to.

     Here is the small wall around the church and cemetary.  From the picture, you'd think it's really tall, but that's just because I crouched down to get the roses in the picture.  It's actually only about 5 feet tall, I'd estimate.  Here you can see again how much the Germans like to have flowers all around them;  there are flowers here by the wall, and at each gravesite there is a flowerbed.  The family of the deceased is responsible for keeping their patch up.  Therefore, families who don't live nearby and can't come periodically to weed and water generally just plant a bush or something.  That is a rarity, however.  For the most part, the grave is covered with lush flowers.

     The church is Roman Catholic, the predominant religion in southern Germany.  However, due to the small size of congregations, the priest is here only on select Sundays for Mass.  The other times, the service is held at a neighboring town, in a different church.

     An Ausblick (view) towards the center of town from just a bit down the street from my house.  The center is on a hill, so all the houses and barns appear to be built right on each other.  In the left center, you can see the clock on the tower of the church.  All the churches here ring on the hour.  And every 15 minutes.  So, even if you don't have a clock and can't see the clock on the tower, you can still know what time it is!

     And, finally, the town center.  Sparkasse is actually just the name of a common bank, one location of which is here.  Immediately to the left, you can see the door for the Feuerwehr (fire department).  They have a grand total of one truck here in town, but nearly every town has one, so the next one is a mere 3K away.  So, if there is a serious fire, all the neighboring towns work together to put it out, much like in America.  If it's a small enough fire, though, then the department can handle it itself.  All firemen here are volunteer; so, there is an alarm in the town which will ring in case of a fire.


     Well, that's about all of Unterkammlach!  Of course, there is more, but this is just a general overview.  You didn't really want me to take a picture of every step I take, did you?

Well, how am I going to fill my downtime?

A bench along the path, overlooking Kammlach

    There's a minor problem that I'm facing.  That is, while I'm here (at the temporary family), there's not really anything for me to do in my freetime.  When I'm at my year-long family, I'm going to play soccer, or at least get involved with something.  But here...  I can't get involved with a soccer team here because I'm leaving in 4 weeks, and no team would take a player for such a short time.  So, that leaves me with a lot of time that is empty for me.  And I'm not the type to want to sit around, doing nothing, so...

     One thing I've done is ask to ride a bike every now and then, and then I just head out and ride.  There's a little loop that I usually do.  It goes through the village for a little while, then goes through the countryside for a while, followed by a beautiful ride through the woods.  And then, right in the middle of the woods, there's a little pond.  It's sooooooo pretty, because it has a bit of green meadow around it, and then is framed by tall pine trees.  The path is really hilly, and sometimes a bit muddy, but that's fine by me.  It makes it more of a workout, and that way I don't feel bad about opting for a bike ride instead of running.

    I mean, who wouldn't love a view like this?  And the thought that it's only about a mile away from where I'm living....  It just makes me so happy, that God put me in such an area so I can enjoy his wonderful creation!  Even if it's only for 4 weeks (two weeks more!), I'm enjoying this while I have it.