First Beer

Also, yesterday after school I was totally dead, but instead of taking a nap (which I'm not really allowed to do) I went with my family to a bierfestival  in a town called Lohr a.M. (am Main), which is in Bavaria, we went in to the super huge beer garden tent and sat down, looked at the menu, which is very hard to do in a different country because you really have no idea what anything is, but luckily Caro was with us so she explained to auf Englisch what everything was.  So I ended up ordering a Radler, which is a beer with citrus, (later came to find out that it was actually half beer and half lemonade) and it was really good.  It was one Liter, and of the four of us, me and three Germans, I finished mine first so I felt pretty accomplished.  For dinner I had the most typical thing that you can have in Germany especially in Bavaria; Currywurst mit Pommes, and ein Brezeln.  It was super delicious, a lot better than I thought it was going to be.  One thing that is really weird is that everybody eats everything with a fork, I had fries.  I ate them with my hands for a while until I noticed that everybody else was using a fork, then of course I started using my fork, but it really just made it harder.  After we ate (and waited half an hour for everybody to go to the bathroom?) we went out and it was pretty much like a county fair, but not as many rides, but equally if not more dangerous.  We walked around for a while then we came upon a little stand that was selling chocolate covered stuff, so I went up, alone, and pointed to what I thought looked the best, didn't understand what the lady said to me, three times, then paid and walked away;  When I took my first bite I was surprised to find that it was chocolate covered hazelnuts (which I hate) that I had just paid 2.50 Euro for, but I was a trooper and I finished the whole thing.  We continued to walk (it was really small but we apparently just walked slow) and then went and played a game, I won a flower?   Then we went to a novelty tee-shirt shop and I bought one as a gift for someone, it's pretty funny.  My little host brother, Max, then said that he wanted to go on the bumper cars, so I said I'd ride along with him.  Let me tell ya', they are super dangerous in Germany.  In the USA when you're in a bumper car you have to fully seated, and buckled in; not in Germany.  You can totally be standing in the car and nobody would say anything to you.  Also there wasn't a fence or anything around the Track(?) so anybody could totally just walk through whenever they wanted while the ride was going.  Despite the danger it was really fun.  Then we left.

The Beers

Me with my first beer

Currywurst mit Pommes

Today at school we had a scavenger hunt which was a lot of fun, but it was the one day in the entire week that I wore pants and it was also the only day that it was hot and sunny.  So I was a little uncomfortable but it didn't totally ruin my day.  We went all around Bad Orb (which is where my school is, about 10-14 minutes away) it was a lot of fun, we got to talk to a lot of different people and see pretty much the entire town; and everybody was super nice to us, which is always a plus.  We eventually just gave up on the scavenger hunt after looking a for a bakery for a half hour.  But we went in to a few stores, I bought some super delicious chocolate, and then went to a bookstore where I was going to buy Breaking Dawn in German but it was really big, really hard to read, and most importantly really expensive.   So I instead bought three mini children's books, and one book which is narrated in German and has the dialogue in English.  Then we went to lunch, and back to school, which was really a drag, I thought...  We did the thing where you have an egg on a spoon and have to do an obstacle course, which was fun, then we went inside and up the three flights of stairs (which really suck) and made a collage of what we think Germany looks like in our minds using pictures from magazines. 

 My scavenger hunt group

After school I went to the bus station and got on the bus as I always do, but then like 1.5 km from home there was a bunch of anti nuclear energy people biking on the street like 150 so we had to stop for like 5 minutes and wait for them to get out of the way.  When I did finally make it home I was welcomed by two packages for me, one containing my new handy and the other with my new plug converters.  I threw the sim card in my Handy and walked to the store to buy a notebook and some candy.  Got back and decided that I should probably clean up the giant mess that had some how formed on my bed, and in the process I put some stuff in my video camera bag;  Which was lucky because when I opened it I was pleased to find my long lost plug converters that I thought were taken from my bag by the TSA sitting on top.  So I went from having no converters this morning to now having 4.  Pretty good day I'd say.

Tomorrow morning we're going to a party for my host mom's mom's (my host grandma's) 80th birthday, but it's really early, like 11:30 and it goes until 16:00.  After that though, I have zero idea what we're doing. 

If anything interesting happens I'll be sure to post something about it.  Tschüß!

In dem Eis Cafe!

So today, I went to school again, naturally.  This morning, however, I was in my room, putting on my hoodie, and my host mom came in and said, you have to go Christopher is gonna be late, and I asked her where he was, she said he was already in the car.  Ha.  I felt bad that I had him waiting, but I had no idea, had he had said something, then I of course would've been ready on time.

When we got off the bus (Rosemary, David, and I) we had a half hour before we had to be at the school so we decided to walk around the MarktPlatz (town square) for a while we came upon a bäckerei (bakery) and went in (which is a very German thing to do in the morning, so we felt pretty cool) and saw this pastry that looked super delicious so we just had to have one, it ended up being an apfelstrudel (apple strudel) und es war lecker!

School is pretty boring though, one of my teachers is very strict and doesn't really let us have a lot of fun while in class so it gets old really really fast.  But the other is a lot of fun, and is glad to answer all of our questions. 

At school yesterday we decided that we were all gonna go to the Eis Cafe (ice cream parlor) after school today.  So we all asked our host parents and checked the bus schedule to make sure we would be able to catch a bus home.  So today at school we were all super excited to go out in the city with out anybody to babysit us.  We went to the Eis Cafe and ate our Eis, and it was super delicious by the way.  But after that it was only 16:00 (04:00 for you Americans) and our bus didn't come until 17:27, so we walked around for a while but it isn't all that big of a city so there wasn't really that much to do, especially when you don't know anybody, or anything to do, or speak any German.  So we decided that we were just gonna walk to the bus station and wait for the bus, but I had to stop at the post office first, where we had another adventure with the automated stamp machine.  Then I was like, I want a drink, so we went to the store and I bought a Mezzo Mix, which is a mix of coke and orange fanta, it was good. Then we went to the bus station, and waited half an hour for the bus, when the bus arrived we asked the bus driver, as always, if he was going to stop in Mernes (where Rosemary and I live) and he said no(even though he was going straight through it), that the bus to Mernes didn't come for another hour; it did however go to the town where David lives so he left.  Then Rosemary and I were just sitting there, and it started to storm, so we went in the little house thing that they have at bus stops (there were some middle easterners that were like dancing in the rain in the street, it was weird) but the roof of it leaked so it was just dumb.  My bus did eventually come though, but I forgot my iPod at home so I had to ride it alone without music (Rosemary's parents were coming to Bad Orb so they told her to wait there).  But the night was very laid back, showered, ate, and talked with my brothers.

I've definitely noticed that I'm having a lot more trouble with my English however.  All of us Americans speak English with each other, just because it is faster and easier for us. But when we're talking at lunch, it takes me a long time to think of words, and yesterday it took me 10 minutes to come up with the word aggressive.  So yeah it's weird how fast my English skills are waning,    I no longer have to translate everything that is said to me, or what I say, it just comes out, which is really really nice, last night I talked to my host parents for 3 hours or so and it was soo easy for me.  It's really like English is now the foreign language that I really have to think about, not that my German is perfect or anything, it still needs a lot of work.  For my homework last night I had to write a summary of something, and I would be writing in English and then I would re-read what I had written and half way through the thought it switched over to German and I totally didn't even notice that I was writing it in German, it was cool be weird.

But that's enough for today, tomorrow should be pretty boring so I might not post anything, my camera will not longer be coming to school with me, the screen got damaged somehow today and I'm not very happy about it.  Egal.  Tschüß!

This is me posing with my ice cream

Ach so!

This is my school.

Ok, so today was day number two of school.  I rode the bus both to and from school today, and it went fine, which is good, the bus schedules are pretty confusing here.  But yeah I got to school 25 minutes early, so I did get to just sit around which was nice, ha.  We did actually do some learning today, but it was basically just review of stuff that we already knew.  We're starting pretty slow, but that is ok with me.  For lunch today we had Wiener Schnitzel and Pommes Frites (french fries) it was really really good, especially because we we're all starving to death.  Then we went back to school and did some more repetitive stuff.

Some thoughts about Germany.
Basically everything is smaller.  In my house at least.  The over is smaller, the fridge is smaller, there is no freezer.  Everything is smaller.

The light switches are cool though, they are like big things (picture to come) that you push down to turn the light on and you push up to turn off.   Also I thought it was weird that all of the doors are always shut, I guess it is for heating or something?  On the windows they all have like hurricane shutters(?) they are curtains that are out side of the window but you open and close them from the inside, and at first they are very very confusing.  The windows though are super cool.  They not only open in but you can also make it so that they top like falls in but the bottom stays closed, kind of like a vent (picture to come).

I've also decided that in general Germany smells bad.  The entire school, except for the bathroom, smells like a bathroom, and then when we got out of school today it smelled weird, can't really describe it.  Then when I got off of the bus it smells like manure.  So yeah.  Last night I ordered a new phone, and some plug converters, and they should be here Thursday or Friday, I guess shipping is really fast in Germany.

but yeah, that's all that I've got for today.  Pictures, possibly sometime today? We'll see.

 This is a view of Bad Orb from the school courtyard.

 This is my class room.

 Some houses in Bad Orb, really close to my school.

A 4-Door Smart Car

The bus station in Bad Orb

The inside of the Bus.

Out side of the Bus

First Day of School

So, today was my first day of language and orientation school.  It went pretty good.  We started out by going to breakfast at the Butchery, that Caro's father owns, it is in a city not far from mine that is called Bad Orb.  It was good.  Then after that we walked to the school, and did a few things to get to know each other, Then they wanted us to tell them what we expected from the class or what we did and didn't want them to do.  Then it was lunch time, so we walked back to the butchery, and had spaghetti, with 'tomato sauce'.  It was really thin, more like tomato soup.  Then instead of going back to school we went for a walk in Bad Orb through the park                                                                                          

  I went in the cold foot bath, ha it's weird, and then it started raining, so we we're kind of stuck there.  Then when it finally stopped raining we made our way back to the school, and then we we're done, so we went back down to the bus station, got on the bus, and rode it home.  All in all an uneventful day, it was nice to see the other exchange students, we spoke a lot of English, which isn't good, but it was nice.  It was nice, too, to hear what everybody else thought was weird.  Tomorrow, we're actually learning stuff, so it will be different.  Pictures from today are coming, but they weren't uploading very good from some reason.

Day 3

Today, Sunday.  It's so weird to think that I've only been here for three days, because it sure feels like it has been longer than that.  Egal.  Today we got up, a little earlier than yesterday.  Rudolf and Regina (parents) went on a 15km hike with the dog to the town of Bad Orb, about 15km from here.  Max and I got up and ate breakfast, then we went for a bike ride through the woods and through the town.  We came back here sat down for about 10 minutes then we got in the car with Thomas and drove to Bad Orb to meet with Rudolf, Regina, Christopher, and Karolina (Spelling??) for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, it was really good.  We were talking about America, and the owner came over and asked who was from America, I said I was and she couldn't believe it.  She thought that I was a German.  So it goes without saying that they all think that my German is great.  After lunch we took a walk around Bad Orb, because there is some kind of festival going on.  Then we walked to the Bus station so I could see where I would be going every day.  We then went to Regina's mothers house for a few minutes, and then loaded back up in the car and went home.  Now I'm just sitting around, and I finally got my cell phone working.

Yesterday evening! 
Since my plug converters got taken out I went to buy some new ones, got home and turns out that they are for American plugs to African plugs, not European. I also got an iTunes card, but you need a German iTunes acc...ount to use it, and you need a German credit card to make a German iTunes account. I bought a prepaid sim card for my phone, got home set it all up and it didn't work in my phone so I'll have to buy a new one. But I did buy an iPod charger and that works fabulous.  Also last night Christopher, Karolina, and I went to an open air movie theater on top of the mountain to watch Sherlock Holmes.  It was fun because it was in German and whatnot, but over all it was a terrible movie. ha.  


Tomorrow morning, at about 8.30 all of the kids in my language class are meeting for breakfast in Bad Orb, then we have school after that.  If I have time I will write something about it afterwords. 

Days one and two in Germany

After we left the Airport we stopped at a small cafe for breakfast.  I'm not sure what I ate, but it was good.  After that we went to their house, where I got the tour, and decided that I wanted to take a nap.  After I woke up I tried to make a collect call to my parents, but it just wasn't working out.  So I bought some skype credit and called them that way.  Then we ate lunch, we had fish, not my favorite but I somehow lived through it.  After lunch my brother Max and I decided to play monopoly, and he was bragging about how he was the best monopoly player in the world.  But as we soon found out, that wasn't true.  When monopoly was finished we ordered Pizza and some other stuff for dinner, it was a little odd how it worked.  But the food was great so there were no complaints.  Then we sat around and talked for a while, I got out a map of Minnesota and showed them where I lived, and they were just amazed by how big Minnesota was.  I then got out their gifts, which they loved, especially because they thought that the Map was their gift. ha.   Then I got ready for bed as it was proving to be a long long day. 

Today, Saturday, and day number two.  I got up, much later than I had thought I would.  But it's understandable considering I had basically been up for 30 some hours straight.  Got up, ate breakfast, unpacked my suit cases, only to find that the TSA decided that I wasn't allowed to have plug converters in my checked bag, so now I don't have those, I wasn't a very happy camper when I found this out.  And now I'm sitting here updating my blog and emailing folks.  Not sure what I'm doing for the rest of the day, aber es ist mir egal.

D.C. Day 2/3

On Wednesday we got up, got dressed, and went to the capital building where we listened to Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) speak.  After that we all went to go and thank our representatives for the scholarship.  I went over to the office building, took off my belt (again) and went in.  I went up to Michelle Bachmans (R-Minnesota) office but she wasn't in, so I thanked her secretary and and gave her a letter saying thank you to Michelle Bachman for her to give to Michelle Bachman.  I then went and stood in the rotunda for a while, waiting for the others to get back.  After we we're all done, we walked.  It was 92 degress, sunny, and we were all wearing suits.  We walked to the national sculpture garden where we ate lunch, and sat for a while.  After lunch we all loaded up and went to the state department, where we were lucky enough to stand out in the heat for an hour while the confirmed that we were supposed to be coming.  After that we listened to some people speak. It was pretty boring if I must say.  After that we all went back to the National 4-H Center, where we ate dinner and then talked about departure info, and we had a chance to ask the alumni questions.  We then had some free time, so I went and sat in the recreation room, and called my parents and hung out with some of the other exchange students. Bed. 

Thursday, woke up, ate breakfast and went to the German embassy.  After a nice long wait there too, we went in and listened to some people talk to us about the German political system and the relation ship between the U.S. and Germany.  This, while still not super exciting, was a lot more interesting than at the State Department.  After the Embassy we drove over to Georgetown University for lunch.  After that we drove to the Airport, took a long time checking in, went down to security, and went through, after of course going through my backpack again.  Got to the gate set our bags down and a couple of us went to wendy's for some lunch.  Got back sat around for a while and then got on the plane.   The flight was super long, and I was super uncomfortable, but it's whatever.  When we landed we didn't go to a gate, we just stopped on the Tarmac and got off the plane using stairs, and got on to buses.  Drove over to the Terminal, found our way to customs, which really isn't that bad.  Got my bag, and walked through a big door to find my host Family waiting for me. 

D.C. Day 1

Tuesday July, 20th.
I woke up at 03:00 to go to the airport.  Got to the airport and checked my bag, it was two pounds over weight but the Sun Country lady was nice enough to let it go with out me having to pay an over weight fee.  Went through security, where my back park was stopped and searched, because they didn't know what my power converters were; but it was not a huge deal.  After I got through security I decided to buy a coffee,  I sat down took a sip of my coffee, and I ended up spilling it on my nice new shirt.  So i cleaned it up a little bit, and took another sip, and again spilled it on my shirt.  Cleaned that up, took another sip and spilled even more on my shirt.  So I decided that the coffee had to go, went to the bathroom, and cleaned up and then threw away my coffee.  Sat at the gate for a while with some other YFU kids, when the lady at the gate got on the intercom and said that there were still some first class seats available, so I called my mama and asked her if I could up grade; and she was nice and said I could.  First class was nice, I had a full breakfast and a ton of leg room.  Landed in D.C. sat in the airport for a while, then we got in a van and drove for about an hour to our place that we're staying.  I took a nap, then got up and had dinner.  After dinner we did some like "getting to know each other" activities.   After that I went back to the room and got ready for bed and I noticed that the TSA decided to search my checked bag also, which was very nice of them.  Day two to come tomorrow!

Wait what? Only two weeks? Crap I better get going!!

I officially leave the great state of Minnesota at 07:10 am on Tuesday, July 20th and land in Washington D.C. at 10:25.  Once I arrive I will be going to the National 4-H Center, where I will be staying for two nights, and having a welcome orientation and a few other activities.

On Wednesday the 21st we're going to the capital and meeting with Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana, afterward we are meeting with the offices of our congressional representatives.  Next on the agenda of Tuesday is lunch at Union Station, after which we will be headed over to the state department and meeting with some officials there. Then we have dinner and have an opportunity to ask questions to CBYX alumni.

On Thursday the 22nd we wake up and eat, do our final packing, and load up to go to the German Embassy and then at 1:00 we are finally off to the Airport.

My flight leaves Washington at 05:05 pm on Thursday, it's an 8 hour and 5 minute flight, and I land in Frankfurt at 7:10 am on Friday.

After that I'm not too sure about what happens.  I know that I will, at some point not long after arriving, be going to my first host family and then not long after that, probably Monday, I will be starting my language classes.

In the last few weeks I've gotten my luggage, I ordered some voltage converters, I bought a camera, got a credit card, and did a lot more I'm sure, but I can't really remember it right now.

From YFU in the last few weeks I've gotten some more info about my host families, I also got a large packet of stuff giving me my DC itinerary, which you read above, and my insurance information.  This week I got another packet with my long awaited YFU luggage tags, a very attractive passport/money necklace thing, and also my international flight information.

This Sunday I'm having a going away party and then only one more week and I'm off.  From today I have 13 more days in Minnesota.