These days I'm feeling much more comfortable with my German. In fact I speak it all the time (save for my English and IB history classes which are taught in English). I can fairly easily hold a conversation in German with friends and family, speaking to new people no longer frightens me, and German has replaced English as the common language amongst the exchange students. I will admit, I don't speak perfectly. There are still grammatical errors and mispronunciations galore, and I occasionally have to ask for a translation of a word. But hey, I'm getting there. What's most important is that I'm understood.
After speaking and reading mostly German for the past few weeks, tonight I got the opportunity to speak only in English for a few hours. A neighbor and friend of my host family, attends a weekly English conversation group and she invited me to come with her tonight.
Before and after the lesson I spoke German with the neighbor, but she warned me that the teacher had a strict policy of speaking English only inside the classroom. I was absolutely fine with that. It was a bit strange at first speaking English with these people, and I often caught myself about to say a German phrase every-now-and-then, as it has almost become second nature.
Once I got used to the switch though, it was quite exhilarating. I'd almost forgotten that I do have a native language, and given the opportunity, I can and will talk someone's ear off.
The teacher told me to introduce myself and tell the people about where I come from and she let the class ask me questions. I ended up talking a lot about Vermont. I'd brought a map, a few postcards, and some brochures for Ben & Jerry's, Cabot Creamery, and so on. I shared a bag of maple candy too.
And so I talked and I talked. I talked until my mouth and throat were dry from talking too much. I was completely thrilled with my ability to simply think of what I wanted to say and then say it. This is a luxury I don't often get with German, when I have to worry about how to translate something first. I would compare the feeling to running with weights for a long time, and then finally getting to take the weights off and remembering how easy it is to run with nothing restraining you.
Finally we moved on to the next part of the lesson where each of us was given a prompt that we would then transform into a short anecdote to present to the class. The others had received their prompts the week before and had prepared some notes to help them. Despite my neighbor giving me my prompt a few days prior, I didn't bother to prepare anything. I only read it once and then left it at home. And why not? I speak English. I could just make up what ever I wanted right then and there. That's the beauty of having a native language.
When it was my turn, I took the seat at the front of the class and began to speak. My prompt was about the last time I bought a gift for someone. So I told them all about the Christmas present I'd bought for my host sister. When I was finished, the teacher said it was so good that she wished she'd taped it to use with other classes. No big deal, guys, but it turns out that I'm pretty good at speaking the language I've been speaking all my life. Who knew?
After the lesson, things switched back to German again. Before driving home, my neighbor treated me to some ice cream. There's always a large selection of sundaes you can order in an ice cream cafe in Germany. I couldn't resist ordering one sundae called Kartoffel (potato). Germany known for its ice cream made to look like spaghetti or pizza, but this was a new one for me. The sundae did look quite like a baked potato. It was made of hazelnut and chocolate ice cream rolled into a potato shape and the covered in a fine chocolate dust to give it the look of potato skin. The whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top were made to look like sour cream and gravy. Oh Germany, you never cease to amuse me.
Before I wrap up this post, I would just like to give a special birthday shout out to my friend and fellow exchange student Adriana. Happy Birthday! Alles gute zum Geburtstag! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Blog Marathon- Day Three: Harry Potter
I almost forgot to post today. Oops. For a moment when my laptop said that there was no WiFi connection, I considered not posting today, and instead I'd maybe post twice tomorrow and beg your forgiveness, but anyone who knows me well knows that I'm wicked competitive, especially with myself. That is why I will be posting today, however short this post may be, because I'd really like to go to bed now.
I knew that when I started this blog marathon, I'd have to finish it because I put my goal out there for the whole word to see. Once I say I'm going to do something, I do it. Which is why tonight, I'm going to tell you all about another goal I have.
On the second day of living with my new host family, told them that one day I'd like to read Harry Potter in German. I've loved the Harry Potter series ever since I was little. So I figured I'd love it equally as much in German. When I told my host family about this goal, I imagined it as something I'd accomplish towards the end of my stay, when my German was better. Instead my host mom told me that they owned the first book in the series and I could start reading immediately.
That kind of fought me off guard. My German wasn't nearly good enough to read such a long book filled with tons of words I didn't know. Nevertheless I took the book and began to read the first few pages. I didn't understand all of what I read. I had to skim over large chunks of the text. I could have used a translator or dictionary for when I came across an unknown word, but I knew that attempting to translate a 300+ page book would drive be insane and take forever. So I simply read. Some parts made no sense to me, but I'd read the book before so I know what happens.
I started out slow. The first night I read maybe five pages. But I forgot how captivating Harry Potter can be, even in a foreign language. I was amazed at how quickly the first 50 pages went by, then 100, then 200, then suddenly I had less than 50 pages to go.
Today I finished the first book. I was so proud showing my host parents how quickly I finished it. So this evening my host mom and I rode our bikes to the library so I could check out the next book. There they had the entire series, and my host mom explained that I could check them out anytime I wanted. She told me that she had learned Portugese by reading Harry Potter.
So here's my goal. I'm going to share it with you all, so you can hold me to it. I'm going to read the entire Harry Potter series in German. There. I said it. I mean, I have the second half of my exchange still ahead of me. That should give me plenty of time. And I'll be damned if I'm not nearly fluent in German after reading the entire Harry Potter series. Who knows, when I'm done, maybe I'll read the Hunger Games series too.
I knew that when I started this blog marathon, I'd have to finish it because I put my goal out there for the whole word to see. Once I say I'm going to do something, I do it. Which is why tonight, I'm going to tell you all about another goal I have.
On the second day of living with my new host family, told them that one day I'd like to read Harry Potter in German. I've loved the Harry Potter series ever since I was little. So I figured I'd love it equally as much in German. When I told my host family about this goal, I imagined it as something I'd accomplish towards the end of my stay, when my German was better. Instead my host mom told me that they owned the first book in the series and I could start reading immediately.
That kind of fought me off guard. My German wasn't nearly good enough to read such a long book filled with tons of words I didn't know. Nevertheless I took the book and began to read the first few pages. I didn't understand all of what I read. I had to skim over large chunks of the text. I could have used a translator or dictionary for when I came across an unknown word, but I knew that attempting to translate a 300+ page book would drive be insane and take forever. So I simply read. Some parts made no sense to me, but I'd read the book before so I know what happens.
I started out slow. The first night I read maybe five pages. But I forgot how captivating Harry Potter can be, even in a foreign language. I was amazed at how quickly the first 50 pages went by, then 100, then 200, then suddenly I had less than 50 pages to go.
Today I finished the first book. I was so proud showing my host parents how quickly I finished it. So this evening my host mom and I rode our bikes to the library so I could check out the next book. There they had the entire series, and my host mom explained that I could check them out anytime I wanted. She told me that she had learned Portugese by reading Harry Potter.
So here's my goal. I'm going to share it with you all, so you can hold me to it. I'm going to read the entire Harry Potter series in German. There. I said it. I mean, I have the second half of my exchange still ahead of me. That should give me plenty of time. And I'll be damned if I'm not nearly fluent in German after reading the entire Harry Potter series. Who knows, when I'm done, maybe I'll read the Hunger Games series too.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Blog Marathon- Day Two: Meine Neue Gastfamilie
I guess it's about damn time I wrote a post about my new host family. I mean, I've been living with them for ten days now.
My new host family consists of a mom, a dad, two brothers, more or less two sisters (I'll explain the "more or less in a moment"), and a dog. My host dad is an engineer and my host mom is a primary school teacher. The oldest child is Swenja, she is 17 years old and in her final year of Gymnasium. Next comes Hannah, she is 15. The reason why I said I had more or less two sisters is because she's currently in Brazil for an exchange year. I'll get to meet her shortly before I go home. The oldest of the boys is named Justus; He is 13 years old. Hans, at 11 years, is the youngest. And of course there's our lovely dog, Cadela, a yellow lab.
My host mom teaches at, and my host brothers attend a school nearby our home in Großen Buseck. Swenja goes to school in Gießen, although it's a different one than mine. Despite moving to a new town, I don't have to switch schools.
Fun facts about my family:
My new host family consists of a mom, a dad, two brothers, more or less two sisters (I'll explain the "more or less in a moment"), and a dog. My host dad is an engineer and my host mom is a primary school teacher. The oldest child is Swenja, she is 17 years old and in her final year of Gymnasium. Next comes Hannah, she is 15. The reason why I said I had more or less two sisters is because she's currently in Brazil for an exchange year. I'll get to meet her shortly before I go home. The oldest of the boys is named Justus; He is 13 years old. Hans, at 11 years, is the youngest. And of course there's our lovely dog, Cadela, a yellow lab.
My host mom teaches at, and my host brothers attend a school nearby our home in Großen Buseck. Swenja goes to school in Gießen, although it's a different one than mine. Despite moving to a new town, I don't have to switch schools.
Fun facts about my family:
- My host family has lived abroad in both China and Portugal for many years.
- They are very musical. Every child plays at least one instrument.
- They bake their own bread, and it is delicious.
- The dog's name, Cadela, means "dog" in Portugese.
- My host sister bikes 10 kilometers to school everyday (and back). I take the train.
As I mention earlier, we live in a town/village named Großen Buseck. Großen Buseck is much smaller than Wezlar, but still has almost three times the population of my home town in Vermont. There's a train station where the train comes twice per an hour in each direction on weekdays, and once per an hour or less on weekends.
Things have been going swimmingly since I've moved in with my new host family. They're all very nice and welcoming. I think I'm going to enjoy my time with them.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Blog Marathon- Day One: My Sports Teacher
Hey everyone! I've been slacking a little on the posting recently, haven't I? Well, I'd like to make it up to you. This week I'm going to try to write something everyday. That's right, EVERYDAY. Now, I'm not 100% sure that I'll meet this goal, but I guess I have to try my best now that I've put it out on the Internet for the world to read.
Well, here goes, day one of the blog marathon. I'm going to start you off small anecdote, because I don't want to overwhelm you with so much reading after such a long dry spell… Just kidding, that's not why. It's because I've waited until 11:16pm to write this and I want to go to bed. See? It's the first day and I'm already procrastinating.
So this is just a little story about a small thing that brightened my day today:
Today in my sports class—which was just a theory class, we weren't actually playing any sports—Nina brought in Mettbrötchen. Mettbrötchen is a typical German food consisting of Mett, a type of raw ground meat with spices, and Brötchen, bread rolls. Eat together as a sandwich with some onions, this is a strange yet tasty snack. She brought the meat and rolls into class and left them on a desk for us to assemble for ourselves. I let the other students go before for me as I was content reading Harry Potter (in German) as I waited. When I got up to get my Mettbrötchen, I saw that there was only Mett left, and no Brötchen. My sports teacher also noticed this and suggested that I just eat the Mett alone. I assume he meant that as a joke; eat plain, raw meat? No thanks.
So then my teacher called another student up to his desk, took out a euro from his wallet, and told the student to go buy me a roll from the cafeteria.
When the student got back with the roll I cut it open and began putting meat on it. I must have looked like I was struggling, because then my teacher came over, took the roll and knife from me and spread the meat on himself. He even sprinkled on some onions for me. He handed me the Mettbrötchen and I said, "Vielen Dank!" (Many thanks).
I was so touched that he'd gone to so much trouble to make sure that I got some Mettbrötchen. It was especially nice because I never really understand what's happening in his class and I end up just sitting there most of the time. This teacher always makes me feel like a part of the class. He's just a pretty awesome person in general. He often buys coffee for all of the students in our class. And even though he speaks hardly any English, he will occasionally say a few words in English, which always causes me to giggle.
So, many thanks to my sport teacher; I hereby dedicate this post to him. And here's to a successful blog marathon!
Well, here goes, day one of the blog marathon. I'm going to start you off small anecdote, because I don't want to overwhelm you with so much reading after such a long dry spell… Just kidding, that's not why. It's because I've waited until 11:16pm to write this and I want to go to bed. See? It's the first day and I'm already procrastinating.
So this is just a little story about a small thing that brightened my day today:
Today in my sports class—which was just a theory class, we weren't actually playing any sports—Nina brought in Mettbrötchen. Mettbrötchen is a typical German food consisting of Mett, a type of raw ground meat with spices, and Brötchen, bread rolls. Eat together as a sandwich with some onions, this is a strange yet tasty snack. She brought the meat and rolls into class and left them on a desk for us to assemble for ourselves. I let the other students go before for me as I was content reading Harry Potter (in German) as I waited. When I got up to get my Mettbrötchen, I saw that there was only Mett left, and no Brötchen. My sports teacher also noticed this and suggested that I just eat the Mett alone. I assume he meant that as a joke; eat plain, raw meat? No thanks.
So then my teacher called another student up to his desk, took out a euro from his wallet, and told the student to go buy me a roll from the cafeteria.
When the student got back with the roll I cut it open and began putting meat on it. I must have looked like I was struggling, because then my teacher came over, took the roll and knife from me and spread the meat on himself. He even sprinkled on some onions for me. He handed me the Mettbrötchen and I said, "Vielen Dank!" (Many thanks).
I was so touched that he'd gone to so much trouble to make sure that I got some Mettbrötchen. It was especially nice because I never really understand what's happening in his class and I end up just sitting there most of the time. This teacher always makes me feel like a part of the class. He's just a pretty awesome person in general. He often buys coffee for all of the students in our class. And even though he speaks hardly any English, he will occasionally say a few words in English, which always causes me to giggle.
So, many thanks to my sport teacher; I hereby dedicate this post to him. And here's to a successful blog marathon!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Frohe Weihnachten!
I know I'm a little bit late with this, but I wanted to write a post about celebrating Christmas in Germany.
**Disclaimer: this is simply how I've experienced Christmas in Germany. Traditions may vary from family to family. Also, not everything was fully explained to me, I simply observed and went along with what everyone else was doing, so I apologize for any gaps in my explanations or understanding.**
Christmas on the 24th?
German Christmas, or Weihnachten, is a bit different that American Christmas. The most importance difference would be the fact that in Germany, Christmas is celebrated over the course of three days, with the most important being December 24th. That's right, German Christmas isn't even on the same day as American Christmas.
December 24th is a day called Heiligabend (Heilig= holy, abend= evening). Basically, Germans celebrate Christmas Eve, the night of Christ's birth, rather than the following morning. Since Germans just celebrate in the evening on the 24th, some people still have to go to work that day. My host parents were quite busy in the butchery that day filling everyone's orders for Christmas.
So how do Germans celebrate on this day exactly? Some go to church services the way that some Americans go to a service on Christmas Eve, some just stay at home with family, there's usually a big meal involved, and this is the time for exchanging presents.
December 24th started for me by returning back to my host family's house after celebrating a friend's 18th birthday the night before. I wished by host parents a merry Christmas as I went up to the apartment above the butchery. I spent some time just relaxing, knowing that not much would be happening until that evening. I also took this time to finish wrapping Christmas presents for my host family. After my host parents closed the butchery, they rested for the afternoon (it was very well deserved, I might add, as things had been quite hectic in the butchery in the days/weeks leading up to Christmas).
In the evening I joined my host family in the living room. Some extended family came to celebrate with us. First we had our Christmas meal, which consisted of duck, red cabbage, knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), gravy, basically just some all-around good German food. I understand that this is a very typically meal to have on German Christmas.
After dinner we opened gifts. The adults joked that the children would have to sing before opening presents (or at least that was my interpretation. I'm still not to strong with the German), this didn't actually happen. In Germany, the children take turns passing out the presents (or maybe that's just how my host family does it?), that night all of the "children" were over eighteen or older. Nina, Sarah, their two cousins, and I took turns handing out the present. We went in order of age and we were required to announce whom the present is for, and who gave the present. After all the presents were opened we spent sometime talking, eating desert, and enjoying each other's company.
O Tannenbaum!
Like Americans, Germans typically have a Christmas tree in their home, hence the famous carol "O Tannenbaum" However, unlike Americans, Germans wait until just a few days before Christmas to get a tree. My host family didn't set up their tree until the day of. Mistaking this custom for having no tree at all, I told one of my friends how sad I was that my host family didn't have tree for Christmas. So this friend gave me a small plastic tree as a Christmas present and I keep it on my desk.
My host family did have a Christmas tree. It was small, plastic, and silver. It was cute, but not quite what I'm used to. It was a pretty stark contrast to the year my brother insisted we cut down a giant tree which took up half of our living room.
On the Second day of Christmas…
When I woke up on the morning of the 25th, I took a few minutes to open some of the presents sent to me by my lovely family; this was my own little way of honoring American Christmas. I'd opened a few of the other presents the night before. Then I had breakfast with my host family. When we'd finished eating my host mom told me that AFS had found a new host family for me and that they wanted to meet with me sometime after Christmas
**Sorry, if this is the first time you're hearing that I'm switching host families. I think that most people that read my blog know. Everything's okay. I'll write more about it later**
Anyway, that was kind of a nice Christmas present from AFS!
After breakfast I went for a run with my host dad, host sister (Sarah), and Fee. It was a perfect day for a run. The weather was 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). This was my first Christmas without snow.
That afternoon I skyped with my mom. I think we talked for almost two hours. I saved one of the presents she sent me so that I could open it in front of her.
That evening we went to my host grandparent's house for more present opening and more Christmas dinner. Some other family was there too, including two adorable little boy cousins that remind me of my cousins. Before opening presents the boys performed a little magic show for us (I'm guessing this was their alternative to singing for their presents), then the two of them handed out everyone's presents like we'd done the night before.
And then we had dinner, which, like the night before, was delicious. Also, I just wanted to include a small anecdote from that night: We were having desert and everyone was just sort of chit chatting when the younger of the two boys (who is seven, I believe) takes a sip from his mother's glass because he thinks it's apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with sparkling water, Germans LOVE it). Then all of a sudden he gets this horrible look on his face and shouts, "Ugggghhhh! Was war das?!" It was not apfelshorle that he drank. It was, in fact, his mother's beer. We all had a good laugh. (Clarification: was war das?= what was that?)
After dinner I played some games with the boys, including German Battleship. It's always fun to practice my German with kids because they don't really care how bad it is.
On the Second Day of Christmas…
The 26th was pretty low key. We had breakfast together, went to the gym, had a nice meal in the evening, and so on. And that night I got to skype my dad.
Random Christmas Facts:
Frohe Weinachten= Merry Christmas
Weihnachtsmann= Santa Claus
I'm not really sure what role Santa plays in German Christmas since no one in my host family is young enough to believe in him. There is a holiday earlier in December called Nikolaus. On the morning of this day children find small gifts in their shoes from Nikolaus. These gifts typically consist of sweets, clementines, and nuts.
The time leading up to Christmas is clued Advent. You probably already knew this, but I have to mention it because Germans really celebrate Advent. Advent calendars with a small present inside for each day is really common, especially for children. Some people will make an Advent calendar, some will buy one. Every Sunday during Advent, Germans will light candles on their Advent wreath.
**Disclaimer: this is simply how I've experienced Christmas in Germany. Traditions may vary from family to family. Also, not everything was fully explained to me, I simply observed and went along with what everyone else was doing, so I apologize for any gaps in my explanations or understanding.**
Christmas on the 24th?
German Christmas, or Weihnachten, is a bit different that American Christmas. The most importance difference would be the fact that in Germany, Christmas is celebrated over the course of three days, with the most important being December 24th. That's right, German Christmas isn't even on the same day as American Christmas.
December 24th is a day called Heiligabend (Heilig= holy, abend= evening). Basically, Germans celebrate Christmas Eve, the night of Christ's birth, rather than the following morning. Since Germans just celebrate in the evening on the 24th, some people still have to go to work that day. My host parents were quite busy in the butchery that day filling everyone's orders for Christmas.
So how do Germans celebrate on this day exactly? Some go to church services the way that some Americans go to a service on Christmas Eve, some just stay at home with family, there's usually a big meal involved, and this is the time for exchanging presents.
December 24th started for me by returning back to my host family's house after celebrating a friend's 18th birthday the night before. I wished by host parents a merry Christmas as I went up to the apartment above the butchery. I spent some time just relaxing, knowing that not much would be happening until that evening. I also took this time to finish wrapping Christmas presents for my host family. After my host parents closed the butchery, they rested for the afternoon (it was very well deserved, I might add, as things had been quite hectic in the butchery in the days/weeks leading up to Christmas).
In the evening I joined my host family in the living room. Some extended family came to celebrate with us. First we had our Christmas meal, which consisted of duck, red cabbage, knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), gravy, basically just some all-around good German food. I understand that this is a very typically meal to have on German Christmas.
After dinner we opened gifts. The adults joked that the children would have to sing before opening presents (or at least that was my interpretation. I'm still not to strong with the German), this didn't actually happen. In Germany, the children take turns passing out the presents (or maybe that's just how my host family does it?), that night all of the "children" were over eighteen or older. Nina, Sarah, their two cousins, and I took turns handing out the present. We went in order of age and we were required to announce whom the present is for, and who gave the present. After all the presents were opened we spent sometime talking, eating desert, and enjoying each other's company.
O Tannenbaum!
Like Americans, Germans typically have a Christmas tree in their home, hence the famous carol "O Tannenbaum" However, unlike Americans, Germans wait until just a few days before Christmas to get a tree. My host family didn't set up their tree until the day of. Mistaking this custom for having no tree at all, I told one of my friends how sad I was that my host family didn't have tree for Christmas. So this friend gave me a small plastic tree as a Christmas present and I keep it on my desk.
 |
| My little tree. Yes, it's sitting in a coffee mug. |
My host family did have a Christmas tree. It was small, plastic, and silver. It was cute, but not quite what I'm used to. It was a pretty stark contrast to the year my brother insisted we cut down a giant tree which took up half of our living room.
 |
| My host family's tree. |
On the Second day of Christmas…
When I woke up on the morning of the 25th, I took a few minutes to open some of the presents sent to me by my lovely family; this was my own little way of honoring American Christmas. I'd opened a few of the other presents the night before. Then I had breakfast with my host family. When we'd finished eating my host mom told me that AFS had found a new host family for me and that they wanted to meet with me sometime after Christmas
**Sorry, if this is the first time you're hearing that I'm switching host families. I think that most people that read my blog know. Everything's okay. I'll write more about it later**
Anyway, that was kind of a nice Christmas present from AFS!
After breakfast I went for a run with my host dad, host sister (Sarah), and Fee. It was a perfect day for a run. The weather was 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). This was my first Christmas without snow.
That afternoon I skyped with my mom. I think we talked for almost two hours. I saved one of the presents she sent me so that I could open it in front of her.
That evening we went to my host grandparent's house for more present opening and more Christmas dinner. Some other family was there too, including two adorable little boy cousins that remind me of my cousins. Before opening presents the boys performed a little magic show for us (I'm guessing this was their alternative to singing for their presents), then the two of them handed out everyone's presents like we'd done the night before.
And then we had dinner, which, like the night before, was delicious. Also, I just wanted to include a small anecdote from that night: We were having desert and everyone was just sort of chit chatting when the younger of the two boys (who is seven, I believe) takes a sip from his mother's glass because he thinks it's apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with sparkling water, Germans LOVE it). Then all of a sudden he gets this horrible look on his face and shouts, "Ugggghhhh! Was war das?!" It was not apfelshorle that he drank. It was, in fact, his mother's beer. We all had a good laugh. (Clarification: was war das?= what was that?)
After dinner I played some games with the boys, including German Battleship. It's always fun to practice my German with kids because they don't really care how bad it is.
On the Second Day of Christmas…
The 26th was pretty low key. We had breakfast together, went to the gym, had a nice meal in the evening, and so on. And that night I got to skype my dad.
Random Christmas Facts:
Frohe Weinachten= Merry Christmas
Weihnachtsmann= Santa Claus
I'm not really sure what role Santa plays in German Christmas since no one in my host family is young enough to believe in him. There is a holiday earlier in December called Nikolaus. On the morning of this day children find small gifts in their shoes from Nikolaus. These gifts typically consist of sweets, clementines, and nuts.
 |
| My Advent calendar |
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