Final Blog
I have now been back in the USA for a little over two months. I honestly couldn’t tell you which was harder…leaving for Germany, or returning back to America. Saying goodbye to my host family was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Over the course of my time there, I learned to love them as my own. Many tears on both sides were shed in the airport.
Upon landing in Washington D.C., I was overwhelmed with a sense of belonging. I was actually caught a little off guard with how friendly Americans were; random people would just smile at me and ask if I needed help finding my destination. When I finally arrived in my home state of Oklahoma, the thing that completely freaked me out was the accent! I had not heard an Oklahoman accent for over a year. As I sat there on the plane listening to all of my fellow Oklahomans talking, I couldn’t stop shaking. I was so anxious to see my mom, dad, and sister again. I finally exited the plane and began walking down the ramp. My family and I spotted each other immediately. Within seconds the flow of tears had begun and we could not all stop hugging each other.
The following weeks were actually really rough. I went through a process called Rush or Recruitment, that places you in a sorority at a university. Although it was a great experience, the culture shock and strenuousness of it really took a lot out of me. I slept for almost two days afterwards. Two weeks later, I began my freshman year at Oklahoma State University. Since school has started I have been non-stop busy. I am very grateful for this, because it did not give me a chance to really adjust…I just threw myself back into the life of a typical American college girl. If I had had idle time, things probably would not have gone as well.
Most freshman girls in college are away from home for the first time and have a really rough time adjusting. After spending a year abroad, I feel so much more prepared. I am loving my classes and doing especially well in German. My year abroad opened my eyes to so much. I have learned to be self-reliant, tenacious, and confident.
Although I have met lots of wonderful people, it is hard to really relate to girls my age. I just experienced this life-changing year, and no one can really understand, regardless of how sweet and interested they are. It is by no means their fault, its just difficult when you realize no one is ever going to understand what this year meant to you unless they have done something similar themselves.
Though I am glad to be back home, I am already planning my next adventure abroad. Last year was the most eye- opening experience of my life, and I can not wait to get out there again!
The people you meet
For some reason I always seem to get myself into the weirdest situations. You know those people that always have random strangers come up and talk to them? I’m one of those people.
My host sister and I went to Berlin. Before I was with my host family they had hosted another exchange student from Sweden. I don’t know what the circumstances were like, but it didn’t work out and she left after three months. At Christmas time she had written my sister a letter saying she would be here in Berlin with her German class for a week. We took the train into Berlin and the two of them met up. I decided I needed to do some gift shopping, so I let the two of them go off while I went shopping for gifts for my friends and family back in the USA. I found all kinds of great stuff, which I would write here except my family probably reads this.
I was a lot faster than I thought I would be, and I ended up having an hour to kill before I need to be back at the train station. The weather was great so I sat down at an outdoor café and ordered some coffee. When it was time for me to go, I asked to pay and the waiter came over and decided to make casual conversation. He asked if I was from Berlin and I said no, I was from America. He then got really excited and started asking me how I liked Germany and what I was doing here. As he left to go attend to someone he dropped my empty coffee cup and it broke into several pieces. He then yelled, “THE AMI DID IT! IT’S HER FAULT!” Ami is slang for American.
I started laughing and collecting my things, when another waiter came over and also wanted to talk with me all about America. I talked with him a while then said I had to go and as I was leaving yet ANOTHER waiter screamed “GOD BLESS AMERICA!” I laughed and said thanks then he said “AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!” I was kind of shocked by this. First of all, I am in East Germany and people never say anything referring to God, and secondly, the Americans aren’t what I would call disliked, but we aren’t exactly well-loved either. It was kind of nice to hear though.
As I was making my way back, this lady asked if I spoke English. All over this area of Berlin, there are people who beg for money. They are from another country. Anyway, women push around baby strollers with fake babies in them trying to get people to feel sorry for them and give them money. They always ask if you speak English. My host sister told me to just tell them I don’t. So, back to the story, this lady asked me if I spoke English and I shook my head and said no. Then she asked if I spoke German, I shook my head once again. Then she asked what language I spoke–and me thinking I was so clever– said French. I mean, what are the odds that a beggar person would speak 3+ languages. Boy was I wrong! She got excited and started spouting off in fluent French! I was thinking…oh crap! The only thing i rememberd from my 5 months of French was Je ne sais pas….meaning “I dont know.“ I kind of scooted away and was laughing my head off the entire way back.
Last little bit of info. Germany won Eurovision 2010!!!! Eurovision is like the Super Bowl of Germany…except it’s more similar to American Idol. Basically, all of the countries in Europe put forth a band or singer and all of Europe votes for who is the best. Obviously, they are not allowed to vote for their own country. Norway won last year, so it was held in Oslo, Norway. Germany won with Lena Meyer Landrut’s song Satellite. It was the first time Germany had won since 1982!
A few months remaining and festival fun
With a measly two months remaining, I am trying to cram in everything that I want to do before I go back to the US. A few weekends ago, I went to Baumblütenfest in Werder.
a ride at the festival
Baumblüte is a huge festival in Germany. It is the second largest in the country. Basically, it is the Oktoberfest of the north….except with wine instead of beer. The city that it is held in is about 30 minutes away by train from where I live. I left at about 2 PM with two friends. There were so many people on the train that we had to stand the entire time. When we finally got there, we had to walk about a half hour from the train station to get to the actual festival. I have never seen so much wine! Baumblüte is a celebration of the spring and the blooming of flowers, and ripening of fruit. The wines were all fruit wines…everything from strawberry to rhubarb to apple wine.
German police!
This is mainly in Berlin, but there are problems in other large cities too. There were police everywhere, in full-out knee pads, helmets, the whole she-bang. I heard a quote once that stated when Americans see police they feel safe…when Germans see police they wonder what is wrong.
It started out just me and two of my friends, but after an hour or so my friends’ boyfriend came with two of his friends. After another hour had passed, we had about 15 people in our group and someone had a brought a large boom-box.
the train station chaos on the way home
It was a really crazy atmosphere, but also a lot of fun. Getting home was pretty nuts too. There were hundreds of people at the train station, and somehow we ended up in front of them all. Ha, I wasn’t complaining.
Currently in my English class we are learning about India, and we might have the exchange student from India come speak to us. She is actually best friends with another exchange student who is from America. It’s great that they have formed such a tight friendship, but I also find it bad because they only speak English to one another. Due to this, neither of them have really learned German. To really improve, you HAVE to speak it with native speakers. There is another exchange student from China, and she spoke zero German before coming here. Now, her German is really good, but that’s because she made herself speak it. I was talking to one of my friends who is on exchange in Argentina, and she was saying how she heard that learning German in Germany is really difficult because so many can speak English. It is true that many can speak English, but most don’t want to. If you speak English, they will understand you, but more than likely, they won’t want to respond in English. I find speaking German is just all around a better decision. You get what you put into it, you know?
The end of the year is near
While school in America is approaching an end, classes here haven’t even started to wind down. It is May and I still have ten weeks of school left! I am so ready for summer vacation, but I know that when it comes, my time here will be at the end. I don’t think I am ready for that just yet.
I have had a lot of my friends here and in the USA ask me if I have been at all homesick. Overall, I would have to say no. Some points during Christmas were a little rough, but that was almost four months ago. I know a lot of exchange students have had a hard time, and one even went home after only four months because she was so miserably homesick.
some of my German friends
I think one of the reasons that I haven’t been is because I have a really great family and group of friends. Some people say that cutting off all contact with home is the key, and that could work for them, but not ever talking with my mom or friends would not work for me. I don’t have a regularly scheduled time to speak with my parents, but I usually call them every two weeks or so. My mom and I regularly message each other throughout the week. Staying busy also really helps. I don’t have a bunch of free time during the week to let my mind be idle. I am at school from 7-4 and I have to go to bed between 8 and 9 to be able to get up at 5:30 every morning. The weeks go by unbelievably fast this way. On the weekends, I either hang with friends or chill at home. It’s actually been a little annoying because I can’t sleep past 7! I am so used to waking up early, that I just can’t stay in bed that long. I get tickled hearing my friends in college complain about their 9 AM class and how they have 16 hours of classes this week. I am hoping college will be easy for me after going to school here….plus it will be in English.
Last week was absolutely crazy. It was the last day of school for the 13th class. They are now in the Abitur phase. Basically, they have a huge test every two weeks, but they are finished with normal class. On the last day of their schooling, it is tradition to go crazy. Everyone in that grade came to school dressed up.
the bike ride through the city!
We had people dressed up in everything from bananas to Teletubbies. There was a large assembly in front of the school building with DJs and everything. In previous years, students have completely pitted out the school building with toilet paper and honey. The teachers are basically at the will of the students and are made to play silly games and do embarrassing stunts. Near the end of the day all three Gymnasiums meet up and ride their bikes through the city center…causing havoc. It was definitely a sight to be seen.
The beautiful castle we visited!
A couple of weekends ago I went to Potsdam, which is a large city near Berlin. It was basically the city where all the kings and queens lived. I saw one castle called Babelsberg Schloss that was beautiful. There is so much to be seen in Potsdam. My host parents both work a ton, so traveling a lot isn’t really possible. I think that we are going to try to do a little bit before I leave. My host dad wants to take me to Dresden, which is in Saxon. I have begged to go to Wittenberg which is less than and hour north of where I live. It is the city where Martin Luther nailed his 99 thesis to the door of the Catholic Church. The movie “Martin Luther” is one of my favorite historical films and I would love to see where it all took place. There is also an amusement park similar to Six Flags several hours from here. I loooovvveeee roller coasters and so does my sister.
Time is just really flying by, after this weekend I have only 8 left! I will be in Europe until the 24th of July, but two days after school lets out, I am traveling to Norway to visit one of my best friends.
This is me and my best friend who lives in Norway
To do this, I am actually getting a two-week early release from the program. We are not allowed to travel alone while on program, and for good reasons. Many people opt to extend their time here when they are off-program. I didn’t want to do that. We are allowed to stay in Europe two weeks after school lets out, and I am using that time to do a bit of travel. I am getting really excited to go and see her and her family! She has come to visit me twice, once in October and once in March. I will remain in Norway until the 21st, and then I fly back to Germany and spend three final nights with my family before flying back to the USA.
Just thinking about leaving my host family makes me sad. I have come to really think of them as my own family. I honestly can’t believe how lucky I have been to be put with a family as good as them. I believe they might host another student after me and I hope whoever it is realizes what a good family they have and treats them with the respect they deserve.
The ordinary days
Time continues to fly by faster and faster. One of my good friends is in Argentina and she has begun her countdown of one hundred days until she goes back to the USA. My program last about a month longer than hers, but the end is steadily approaching.
Not a lot has happened since I last blogged. The excitement and mystery of being in a new country has definitely worn off, and things are now very routine. Sometimes I feel as if I have lived here forever. Winter is finally coming to an end and spring is starting to show its face. Sadly, spring in Germany, brings lots and LOTS of rain. There has been rain nearly every day, but it’s a nice kind of rain. It’s not the storms and scary weather that I am used to in Oklahoma; I guess the weather would better be described as gentle showers every day. I actually don’t mind it at all.
I have lived with this family for about five months now. I now know the family dynamics and what everyone’s little pet peeves are. My host dad can’t stand it if I have any clothes laying on my floor. I am kind of the “organized chaos” type, and that really irritates him. With a host family though, there really isn’t a little “give and take” like there would be with your own parents. You basically just have to do what you are told and if you dont like it, just suck it up. You can‘t forget that this is their home and despite you being “a part of the family”, you really are a guest.
In the last week or so, I have been reading a lot. I love to read, but in the beginning reading in German was too hard and I felt that if i read a book in English I would be cheating. Thankfully now, I can read in German! I finished my first book last week and I am working on my second. It really excites me that my German is good enough to read a normal book.
German weather and German dialects
About a month ago in my region we had Winter Ferien, basically winter break. It’s a little strange because it seems that we just had Christmas vacation, but since school goes until July we have more breaks. The next one isn’t until Easter, and then we have two weeks off for that. Spring break consists of just one day, and it’s the last break before summer vacation in July.
a typical snowy winter
The weather here has been ridiculous, with pretty much constant snow since the week before Christmas. It is cloudy almost every day, so the sun hardly ever shines. It is quite an extreme compared to Oklahoma where the sun always shines. Awhile ago, some alarms started going off in my city and my first thought was TORNADO! I ran into my host sister’s room and was kind of freaking out because everyone was just sitting around. She said it was just a winter storm bell, evidently we were having a blizzard and the roads were not safe. Ha, not tornadoes in Germany…duh.
Beverley from the AYUSA San Francisco office came to visit me and my family. I hope she enjoyed her time here in Germany. It was a little strange for me to talk to an American and not have to worry about using slang or anything like that. It was actually a little difficult for me to speak without interjecting German words like und (and), aber (but)…stuff like that. I had to think a little bit more. I can’t even imagine what it will be like in July! Then we all went to Potsdam and met up with the other exchange kids in the Berlin area. I was good friends with one of them when I was in Berlin. It was good to see him again. He speaks Berlinerish…the dialect of Berlin. The other one that was there speaks very good German, but he has been here longer than us. Even though his German was good, he still had a strong accent, which I found amusing to hear. I must sound that way to my friends.
I can definitely identify different German accents and dialects now. I would say that is progress.
Christmas in Germany and Ringing in 2010
So I have now been in Germany for almost 6 months. Sometimes it seems longer, and sometimes shorter. The last couple of weeks have been really hard for me. Holidays are always kind of a rough time anyway. I have actually been a little bit homesick for the first time since I have been here. My family here in Germany is amazing, and I love them, but I had never spent Christmas away from my real family. I called my family on Christmas Day, but it just seemed a little surreal. I don’t call home a lot because my parents don’t have a lot of time since they are so busy with work, and often it is hard for me.
Despite my homesickness, I really did enjoy Weihnachten (Christmas). It is a lot different from the way that Americans celebrate Christmas.
The city center at Christmas time
First off, it is celebrated on December 24 in the evening. Normally, in America, the Christmas tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving and comes down before the New Year, but for Weihnachten, we put up the tree on December 22, and it is currently still there. Instead of the presents being put under the tree as Christmas approaches and they are gradually wrapped, all are delivered at the door in a large sack by the Weihnachten man (Santa) at about 8 pm on the 24. We then open them after everyone has all their presents. As the presents are handed out each person must sing or recite something related to Weihnachten, such as a poem or a song.
The other large part of this holiday is eating! On Christmas Eve, I had a large meal with my family, and then the next day we were with my host dad’s family, and then the next day after that, we spent with my mom’s family. German food is great, but after three days, I was glad it was over. Thankfully, Germans are fond of walking and we would go for walks after eating. New Years was a bit different too. I went with my host dad, host sister, and host brother to the village party. There was tons of dancing and it was a great time.
School started back up and, as always, I am glad to go back. I can only remain home for so long before I get restless. Plus we have had so much snow that going outside isn’t much of an option. The first week was fun, but now I am SICK of it. We keep getting all this cold air coming from Russia. I am excited because in a few weeks we are traveling to Dresden in Saxon for the weekend. I can not wait to see more of Germany and hear a different dialect. I have heard that Dresden is definitely worth seeing.
me and some of my friends here
It, now being 2010, makes me look back on 2009, and where I was and what I was doing a year ago. In January 2009, I was still in my state of Oklahoma and trying to convince my parents to let me go to Germany. I know it sounds cheesy, but is seriously feels like just the other day. It is still hard to believe that in this time, I have graduated from high school, am now living in another country, learning a new culture, and mastering a foreign language. Not too bad. One problem, I am not sure how I am going to top that for 2010.
Changes and a New Host Family
I am glad to say that I LOVE my new family! I live in a new town called Roskow that only has about 600 people. It is so cute!
my high school
My new school and the majority of my time is spent in Brandenburg, which is a larger city about 20 minutes from me. It is so beautiful and very very old. I live on a farm here in Roskow. We have chickens, horses, dogs, doves, ducks, pigs, and rabbits! Every morning we have fresh eggs from the chickens and fresh meat every weekend. My first family were vegetarians, so going from a vegetarian famiy to one that kills its one meat was kind of an extreme, but one I was glad to embrace. My dad is a self-employed man and I‘m still confused as to what he does. I know that he buys beer and other drinks in bulk and then sells them, but otherwise I just dont get it! My mom works with premature babies. She loves her job and said its tough, but very rewarding. I have a sister who is 20 and is going to school, a brother who is 10, and another sister (whom I haven‘t met) whi is an aupair in California. She will be back in about a month and I‘m so excited to meet her!
I love having a younger brother and that I get to help him with his English homework. Yesterday, I worked with him on a passage from The Christmas Story. He has a really hard time with the “th“ sound, but he is getting it down! My new school is about 3 times bigger than my previous one. It is in a building that‘s over 100 years old. I kind of feel like I am going to Hogwarts! My German is finally starting to get good. As my German is getting better, I notice that my English is getting worse. It is really funny when I call home to talk to my mom and hear her Oklahoma accent. People here learn British English, and most of them speak with a British accent.
The only complaint that I have is having to wake up at 5:30 every morning! I take about 30 minutes to get ready, and then I have about 15 minutes to eat breakfast and it‘s off to the bus! It‘s dark here until about 8 AM, and then it gets dark again around 3:45 in the afternoon. I didn’t realize how far north I was until it started getting to be winter and I noticed a drastically lesser amount of sun.
I am just so happy to be where I am now, and I can‘t wait for Christmas!
Fall Break and Some Lessons Learned
So it has officially been 3 months and I have only 9 left! Sad! Time goes by so quickly.
My last two weeks here were my herbst ferien, or fall break. It was an amazing one. In the first part, my host mom’s brother and his kids came to visit. They remained here for several days. His two little girls were the cutest things I have ever seen! The older one spoke some English, but most of the time we spoke German. It was so much fun to talk with them. I think it is a lot easier to talk to a younger age group. Sometimes talking to people your age or older can get a little intimidating. Sometimes it gets frustrating whenever I go out and try to order food, or buy something in Germany. I will speak German with the cashier, but usually they realize that I am foreign and speak English with me. I just keep speaking German and hope that they get the hint.
At the end of the first week of my break, we went to Potsdam and saw a whole bunch of castles. They were pretty in their own way, but honestly the gaudiness of the decorations was a little sickening to me. One room was decorated entirely in sea shells. The designers of that time were so worried about how people perceived them that they spent tons of money and time building these absolutely extravagant castles and palaces. The only one I really liked was Schlosss Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference was held. The big three– Truman, Stalin, and Churchill– all met here to discuss the end of the war.
The last week of my break, my best friend from Norway came to visit me. She was an exchange student in my hometown city last year. It just shows what good friendships can develop while on exchange. I took her sightseeing and I was so proud that I actually knew Berlin well enough to show her around. The downside to her visit was that we spoke entirely English for a week. It was a little difficult in the days after to speak German again. But thankfully, it came back quite quickly.
There are several tips you should be aware of when exchanging. One is the money. Currently the exchange rate is terrible and it is very easy to spend too much money without realizing it. A bus ticket here, a coffee there……it all adds up before you know it. Second, is the fact that kids here love to party and go out. Of course, when your here you want to make lots of friends, and therefore you want to do what all of the typical German teenagers are doing. You can go out and have a good time, but you have to realize that you are representing your country, and you want to be a good representative. Third, is that Europe is, generally, not a very religious place. If you are, realize that it will be difficult to find want you want in any religious experience. Little things like praying before meals, which are so common in America, are rarely practiced here.
The weather has been so weird here lately. Yesterday we had a ton of snow, then today, it was rather warm. I got to school at 7 when it is dark, and by the time I come home it is starting to get dark again! By 5:30 in the evening, it is completely dark outside. Absolutely crazy!
Overall, I am still loving it here! I never want to go back home!
Making new friends
Berlin is unbelievable.
Berliner Dom
There are constantly activities and sights to be seen. I’ll be living here a year, but I think it would take many more to get a full grasp of everything that goes on here. Currently, the “Festival of Lights” is taking place. Basically all of the major landmarks are lit up with beautiful multicolored lights. The sight is absolutely breathtaking. The Brandenburg Gate and the Berliner Dom are just a few places where the lights can be seen. I was able to go to Berlin late one night with my family and witness this.
I feel that being an exchange student is teaching me so much as a person. Although I am surrounded by tons of people, I find myself alone quite a bit. It’s impossible to simply move and make tons of great friends off the start. Yes, you will meet lots of people, but friendships take longer to form. I have always been good at meeting people, but I feel that this has taken it to a whole new level. You have to learn to be more forward and just talk to people. You have to be the one to ask people to hang out. It’s tough, but once you have done it a couple times it’s not nearly as hard. I always feel that I am coming off as obnoxious or rude, but most people understand your position and don’t view it that way at all.
I have met people in the weirdest ways. I have recently become good friends with a girl who lives in Berlin. One Friday night, I didn’t have anything planned so I called one of the other exchange students I had met and I got together with him and some of his friends. I got to know my new friend through him. It is really strange how things work out.
the lights at the Brandenburger Tor
Today, Robbie Williams had a concert here in Berlin and it was free! No one in America seems to know who he is, but he is a hugely popular English singer. While I was there I heard someone speaking English. His English sounded fluent and he didn’t have an accent. After a while I just introduced myself and asked if he was American. He said no, he was actually Belgian, but had lived in Boston for quite some time. He was there with several other people from the Netherlands and Holland. During the concert we got to know each other and afterwards we all had coffee together and exchanged numbers. A few months ago I would never have had the nerve to start a conversation with a stranger at a concert, but at this point I just think “why not?” That’s really how you have to think about things. If you just sit back and wait for people to come to you, you are going to be lonely and disappointed. You have to get out there.
