Hello dear family and friends,
With my amazing exchange year quickly coming to a close I am starting the goodbye process of my trip. The goodbye process is the most feared part of my trip. This is the part of tight hugs that reluctantly let go. This is the part of bittersweet feelings. This is the part where the tears flow. This is the part of meditation on who we were before, who we have become, and who we aspire to be. It's during this period of my year when I remember who truly inspired me to travel and explore Germany: my Grandma.
The end of my departure seminar in Berlin began the process of goodbyes. Many of my friends who I have become so close with over the past year will be flying back with me on the 3rd of July, but some of my very good friends won't. I didn't comprehend, until today, how difficult it is to see somebody walk away not knowing how long you it will be until you see them; if at all.
This is just the beginning of the goodbyes to people who live significantly closer than those to whom I have yet to say goodbye to, and my heart is already breaking. I cannot say I am not looking forward to coming home, but I cannot say I am looking forward to leaving.
Although it pains me to leave, all good things must come to an end. Life demands that I must start my next step in life, no matter how much I would like to press the repeat button on this one. Just because I am moving on doesn't mean I will forget anybody who made my year unforgettable. As I have said before: Near or far, I will always remember you, no matter where you are.
Thank you for reading.
Aleksandra
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Weekly Post #29
Hey everybody!
14. February 2015:
We got up early Saturday morning to find our new hotel. Using the maps from the first hotel we succsessfully got lost for about an hour and half, before actually finding our hotel. Luckily our hotel was right on the boarder of the inner city. We picked up new maps at our new hotel, at which point I became the official tour guide. I determined we were not allowed to leave the circle of the inner city, in fear of getting completely lost. Getting lost in the inner city of Brussels was actually amazing though. We were lost probably about 70% of the time. The circle was big enough to fill our weekend with tons of fun. We headed into the innercity. Brussls has a unique combination of old and new buildings which create an enchanted atmosphere. As we arrived at the main square where our free city tour would begin our jaws dropped to the floor. It was a huge square with small restraunts surrounding it. The buildings were grand with gold sculptures and accents all over. Our tour started and it was just as amazing as the Grand Plaza. We learned so many about the quirky, random, everyday, and historical facts about the city of Brussels. I would highly recommend Sandeman's Europe Tours to anybody. If you are in Brussels get Ohno the tourguide he was amazing. We learned about Tintin who was born in Brussels. He, apparently, was pretty evil to native people in a colony in the first comics. Luckily the author revised these first comics to make him a much more sympathetic character. Brussels is known for its comics and there are tons of them all around town. I believe they have even set up some sort of city scavenger hunt to find them all. When King Louis IV decided he wanted to take over the city of Brussels he destroyed much of its crown jewel, the Grand Plaza. After the seige he made the civilians rebuild it all in his style. We also saw the world famous Mannekin Pis also known as The Little Peeing Boy. Somehow, there are many different tales, the boy, who was the little prince at the time, saved the city of Brussels at one point by peeing on something or somebody. Hence the name. He has in the city museum over 900 outfits and a special stylist. I am pretty sure he has more clothes than barbie. Ohno also told us how they make their hot chocolate, because Brussels is also known for chocolate. They use hot milk as normal, but instead of a chocolate powder or mix, they use a chocolate stick. I be we could do that with german chocolate as well. It was super tastey. After the tour we wandered around for awhile. We found a covered street type thing where there is just chocolate for sale. I think it's the birth place of Brussels chocolate. The tunnel thing reminded me of the movie Hugo. There was also a narrow street leading off of the chocolate street which had just seafood restraunts, becuase Brussels is also known for seafood. The street is so cool, but the waitors sort of heckle you into coming into their restraunts. Its awkward because you kind of have to run away so you don't end up spending your life savings at every one. This is probably my favorite thing about Brussels. The hidden streets which seem to make Brussels real and charming.
15. February 2015:
Sunday was sadly our last day in Brussels. Luckily we took the late bus back to Germany. Oh ya we also had no cellphone service in Brussels because it wasnt Germany. We survived without google maps. We spent the majority of the day roaming around Brussels just taking in the beauty. For lunch we went to a waffles place, because Brussels is ALSO known for waffles. Brussels is known for too many things. They are also known for their french fries. People swear by their outstandingness, but really they were just french fries. I was actually decently disappointed by that. But the waffles were as yummy as they said they would be. They are normally served with ice cream, whipped cream, and a fruit sauce of your choice. (Dad you gotta get up to speed on those belgian waffles for sunday mornings!) By the time we left I can say our Brussels trip was over all a success, but I was happy to be home again.
16. February 2015:
Monday I stayed home and did absolutely nothing after my last several days of crazy travelling.
17. February 2015:
Tuesday was back to school. In my gym class I was able to lead the warm up. Normally I like being a leader, but I have been so out of practice that it was a bit nerve racking. For the warm up we played sharks and minnows. I had to explain it to them and they understood because we started playing without any questions. I think they thought it was a fun game that they never heard of before.
18. February 2015:
Wednesday my mom taught me how to make Spätzle. It's super easy to make, you just need to have the time to shred (sort of) into the pot of boiling water. Here is the recipie for anybody who wants it (Katerina I expect you to try it!):
500g flour
6 eggs
200 ml Milk
Salt
Mix everything together. It should be sticky. Leave it for about 10 minutes. It would be a good idea to boild a big pot of water at this time. Shred the mix over the pot of hot water so small pieces of dough fall. When they float at the top they are done and you need to fish them out and dry. Then they are finished.
19. February 2015:
Thursday after school I took a walk through our neighborhood. The sun was shining and it was finally warmer. They say it is supposed to be about 70 degrees for my birthday. I can't wait to finally not have to wish for no snow on my birthday! I am working on not thinking about what other people may be thinking about me and how to handle my embarassing moments. The first I think is becoming a little bit better, but embarassing moments still get me.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
14. February 2015:
We got up early Saturday morning to find our new hotel. Using the maps from the first hotel we succsessfully got lost for about an hour and half, before actually finding our hotel. Luckily our hotel was right on the boarder of the inner city. We picked up new maps at our new hotel, at which point I became the official tour guide. I determined we were not allowed to leave the circle of the inner city, in fear of getting completely lost. Getting lost in the inner city of Brussels was actually amazing though. We were lost probably about 70% of the time. The circle was big enough to fill our weekend with tons of fun. We headed into the innercity. Brussls has a unique combination of old and new buildings which create an enchanted atmosphere. As we arrived at the main square where our free city tour would begin our jaws dropped to the floor. It was a huge square with small restraunts surrounding it. The buildings were grand with gold sculptures and accents all over. Our tour started and it was just as amazing as the Grand Plaza. We learned so many about the quirky, random, everyday, and historical facts about the city of Brussels. I would highly recommend Sandeman's Europe Tours to anybody. If you are in Brussels get Ohno the tourguide he was amazing. We learned about Tintin who was born in Brussels. He, apparently, was pretty evil to native people in a colony in the first comics. Luckily the author revised these first comics to make him a much more sympathetic character. Brussels is known for its comics and there are tons of them all around town. I believe they have even set up some sort of city scavenger hunt to find them all. When King Louis IV decided he wanted to take over the city of Brussels he destroyed much of its crown jewel, the Grand Plaza. After the seige he made the civilians rebuild it all in his style. We also saw the world famous Mannekin Pis also known as The Little Peeing Boy. Somehow, there are many different tales, the boy, who was the little prince at the time, saved the city of Brussels at one point by peeing on something or somebody. Hence the name. He has in the city museum over 900 outfits and a special stylist. I am pretty sure he has more clothes than barbie. Ohno also told us how they make their hot chocolate, because Brussels is also known for chocolate. They use hot milk as normal, but instead of a chocolate powder or mix, they use a chocolate stick. I be we could do that with german chocolate as well. It was super tastey. After the tour we wandered around for awhile. We found a covered street type thing where there is just chocolate for sale. I think it's the birth place of Brussels chocolate. The tunnel thing reminded me of the movie Hugo. There was also a narrow street leading off of the chocolate street which had just seafood restraunts, becuase Brussels is also known for seafood. The street is so cool, but the waitors sort of heckle you into coming into their restraunts. Its awkward because you kind of have to run away so you don't end up spending your life savings at every one. This is probably my favorite thing about Brussels. The hidden streets which seem to make Brussels real and charming.
15. February 2015:
Sunday was sadly our last day in Brussels. Luckily we took the late bus back to Germany. Oh ya we also had no cellphone service in Brussels because it wasnt Germany. We survived without google maps. We spent the majority of the day roaming around Brussels just taking in the beauty. For lunch we went to a waffles place, because Brussels is ALSO known for waffles. Brussels is known for too many things. They are also known for their french fries. People swear by their outstandingness, but really they were just french fries. I was actually decently disappointed by that. But the waffles were as yummy as they said they would be. They are normally served with ice cream, whipped cream, and a fruit sauce of your choice. (Dad you gotta get up to speed on those belgian waffles for sunday mornings!) By the time we left I can say our Brussels trip was over all a success, but I was happy to be home again.
16. February 2015:
Monday I stayed home and did absolutely nothing after my last several days of crazy travelling.
17. February 2015:
Tuesday was back to school. In my gym class I was able to lead the warm up. Normally I like being a leader, but I have been so out of practice that it was a bit nerve racking. For the warm up we played sharks and minnows. I had to explain it to them and they understood because we started playing without any questions. I think they thought it was a fun game that they never heard of before.
18. February 2015:
Wednesday my mom taught me how to make Spätzle. It's super easy to make, you just need to have the time to shred (sort of) into the pot of boiling water. Here is the recipie for anybody who wants it (Katerina I expect you to try it!):
500g flour
6 eggs
200 ml Milk
Salt
Mix everything together. It should be sticky. Leave it for about 10 minutes. It would be a good idea to boild a big pot of water at this time. Shred the mix over the pot of hot water so small pieces of dough fall. When they float at the top they are done and you need to fish them out and dry. Then they are finished.
19. February 2015:
Thursday after school I took a walk through our neighborhood. The sun was shining and it was finally warmer. They say it is supposed to be about 70 degrees for my birthday. I can't wait to finally not have to wish for no snow on my birthday! I am working on not thinking about what other people may be thinking about me and how to handle my embarassing moments. The first I think is becoming a little bit better, but embarassing moments still get me.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
Weekly Post #28
Hey everybody!
8. February 2015:
On Sunday I woke up at the crack of dawn to head out to Berlin with my political science class. As we walked into the entrance of the Dortmund train station we saw THE flying Ford Angela from Harry Potter. I took this as a very good sign for the upcoming visit. After a 3.5 hour train right we quickly packed our things into two rooms in our hotel which was right next to the Berlin main train station. After we had packet our stuff into the hotel we had a few hours of free time to roam around. I never realised how close everything is in Berlin. About a 5 minute walk from the train station we were standing in front of the Bundeskanzleramt. Kittycorner is the Bundestag. About another 2 minute walk and we were standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate. There are also several monuments within this surrounding area. You could see the majority in about 2 hours. Our first day in Berlin was so gorgeous. The sky was blue with big puffy clouds. The Brandenburg Gate, Bundestag and monuments looked outstanding. We met back at the train station to catch a Berlin city train (which leave every two minutes!) to East Berlin. There we visited, Hohenschönhausen, a DDR prison. Our tour guide was actually a previous occupant of this prison. It was difficult to understand him with his Berlin accent, but I could understand the conditions in the camp were grim. In the beginning the prisioners were physically and mentally tortured. Later on they were only mentally tortured with lack of sleep, rooms too hot cold, or wet, and the way the could sleep or sit. I never realised how serious the some of the conditions were in this time. After our school activities were over, my friends, Maja, Gina, Johanna, and I, went to the Brandenburg Gate again. It was even more stunning at night. It was even better that we were the only ones there. At least almost. As we were taking pictures a black car pulled up and none other than Kevin Hart got out to also take a picture with The Gate. I know who he is but don't follow him closely, never the less we took a picture with him for all of our friends who do.
9. February 2015:
Monday was our longest day in Berlin. My class visited the Paul-Löbe Haus, the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat, and the Bundeskanzleramt. I really liked both the Bundestag and Bundesrat. I feel like the Bundesrat is the part of the German Government people often look over. I don't think it can be truely compared to either the Senate, or House of Rep, which makes its existance more interesting, as well as complicated. The Bundestag is amazing. It's grand, detailed, meaningful, and a bit quirky. The Bundestag is grand just by how immense it is. The viewing globe thing on top is also a great feat of arcitecture, especially for back in the day. The Bundestag is detailed down to the color of the carpet, chairs and lights. Pictures show the main meeting room with purple-bluish chairs, gray carpet, and mostly natural lighting with help of high white/blue lights. Every part was thouroughly thought out. The Bundestag is quirky in a way that most people don't realize. Almost always the great bird at the head of the room is shown on its front side. Many don't realize the bird on the otherside is snickering. Later in the day as we were waiting to enter the Bundeskanzleramt I saw a woman in a cream blazer hurry into the Bundeskanzleramt from a car. My sources tell me (aka my CDU Bundestag member) may have been Angela Merkel. (That's my story and I am sticking to it) After our activities for the day were done my friends and I headed over to The East Side Gallery. (The Berlin Wall) Never in my whole life have I ever felt so small. The wall itself isn't so big, nor is it that thick. Opposite the wall is a huge road where cars speed along and right behind that are huge buildings. Walking on a small european sidewalk makes things seem so much closer. The wall, which is really supposed to be a dark part of history, starts to feel like a safe haven from what is happening today. It was a very eerie feeling. After that we headed down to Checkpoint Charlie. I love Checkpoint Charlie, even though it is a dinky building with really nothing to show I still appreciate it's history after looking around the museum. That night we also saw the Bombed WWII Church ruins. It's insane to look at, on top is completely hollowed out and looks in danger of giving way. On the inside there are cracks on the beautiful ceiling, but no other damage to be seen. The doorways look like they were never touched by the war. The weathered carvings sit there with no broken pieces. If buildings could talk I would love to hear this one's story. Right across the street was the world famous Berinale. Nothing was happening while we looked at the red carpet. I was disappointed by how small it was, the cameras always make it look much bigger.
10. February 2015:
Tuesday was a lot of WWII history. First we travelled to Schloss Cecilienhof. It was built by Prince Wilhelm II. Unfortunately they weren't able to live in it for too long due to the outbreak of the war. Many people know how the USA, England, and Russia met at the end of WWII. But not many people know where it was. I have seen pictures of the Potsdam Conference of 1945, but I never really considered the place on which the leaders were standing. To stand in the same spot where three of the most famous leaders of all time stood is an eerie feeling. It is a really beautiful house, with a combination of Prince Wilhelm's and The Potsdam Conference artifacts. For the other side of the war we visited The Wannsee Conference. This conference took place at the beginning of the war. I was suprised to find out that Hitler wasn't actually at this meeting to, "solve the jewish question." Disturbingly it only took 90 minutes for the Nazi leaders to smooth out the final wrinkles in the system. It's astonishing to see how these men thought that there was rational behind what they were setting out to do. Nazis even had scientists do 'experiments' on the human skull of Africans and Europeans. They, not suprisingly, concluded Europeans were undeniably more intelligent due to their measurements. We all know this cannot possibly be true. Anyway....After the day's activies we visited Charlottenburg Palace. Charlottenburg is like the Buckinham Palace of Germany. This thing is huge it is about .3 miles long (1/2 km). Although we didn't go inside, we were already asking ourselves why we didn't live there in that time. It's gorgeous, please just click on the link (or look at my pictures) and you will see what I mean.
11. February 2015:
Wednesday was our last day in Berlin. We started by visiting The Tear Palace. The Tear Palace was the place where, during the Cold War, people could cross the border from East to West or vice versa. Many more people from the West could move to the East, but there was very little movement from the East to the West. I was so tired I didn't understand much of what was being said. All I really remember was that there were some really odd things that weren't allowed to cross the boarder, and the little cubbies that people got their papers approved were tiny and the officials sat so high you could tell them if they had boogers in their nose even when they looked down at you. The last thing we did was to visit the Nordrhein Westfallen Landesvertretung. (It's basically the representation building in Berlin for my German state.) Everybody was so tired at least two people at ever table of five were headbobbing, and the others were staring off into space. Luckily it was the last thing we had to do before heading back to the train station. On the train back I got to sit next to my new friend, Renu, she is Indian. (From India) About half way through the train ride most of us were trying to make up for some of the sleep we missed, including myself. All of the sudden I am woken up by this blasting Schlager music. (German 'feel good' music. Example A: Atemlos) Some of the guys brought a little wireless boom box and were blasting music throughout the whole train car. Pretty soon everybody was singing and dancing to the music including the teachers and strangers in our train car. This was was the frosting on the cake for my trip. I have never experienced something as crazy and as fun as that.
12. February 2015:
Thursday was my meeting with my Bundestag member, Steffan Kanitz. It was interesting to talk to him, he was really helpful and seemed to want to make our year the best as possible. He said that many of the politicians in the Bundestag can be friendly with eachother outside of politics, and that they even have a cross party soccer club which gathers often. I thought that was really great that out of the office politicians can become friends. I think American politicians could take a page out of their book.
13. February 2015:
Friday I was up and at it again. Two of my friends from my YFU beginning seminar travelled to Brussels for the weekend. Friday night in Brussels was actually a nightmare. Luckily Meggie knows French (they are supposed to speak German, but nobody does) which helped us get around. When we finally got to Brussels we spent an hour in the trainstations trying to figure out where we were actually supposed to go. By the time we got to our hotel we found out it wasn't actually located in Brussels, instead in a shady area in the surrounding area of Brussels. We didn't have time to change hotels that night, but we took the time to find a new one on the web. Apparently they had just changed locations so what was supposed to be 5 minutes from the city center ended up being about 45 minutes. It makes an interesting story, even now.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
8. February 2015:
On Sunday I woke up at the crack of dawn to head out to Berlin with my political science class. As we walked into the entrance of the Dortmund train station we saw THE flying Ford Angela from Harry Potter. I took this as a very good sign for the upcoming visit. After a 3.5 hour train right we quickly packed our things into two rooms in our hotel which was right next to the Berlin main train station. After we had packet our stuff into the hotel we had a few hours of free time to roam around. I never realised how close everything is in Berlin. About a 5 minute walk from the train station we were standing in front of the Bundeskanzleramt. Kittycorner is the Bundestag. About another 2 minute walk and we were standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate. There are also several monuments within this surrounding area. You could see the majority in about 2 hours. Our first day in Berlin was so gorgeous. The sky was blue with big puffy clouds. The Brandenburg Gate, Bundestag and monuments looked outstanding. We met back at the train station to catch a Berlin city train (which leave every two minutes!) to East Berlin. There we visited, Hohenschönhausen, a DDR prison. Our tour guide was actually a previous occupant of this prison. It was difficult to understand him with his Berlin accent, but I could understand the conditions in the camp were grim. In the beginning the prisioners were physically and mentally tortured. Later on they were only mentally tortured with lack of sleep, rooms too hot cold, or wet, and the way the could sleep or sit. I never realised how serious the some of the conditions were in this time. After our school activities were over, my friends, Maja, Gina, Johanna, and I, went to the Brandenburg Gate again. It was even more stunning at night. It was even better that we were the only ones there. At least almost. As we were taking pictures a black car pulled up and none other than Kevin Hart got out to also take a picture with The Gate. I know who he is but don't follow him closely, never the less we took a picture with him for all of our friends who do.
9. February 2015:
Monday was our longest day in Berlin. My class visited the Paul-Löbe Haus, the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat, and the Bundeskanzleramt. I really liked both the Bundestag and Bundesrat. I feel like the Bundesrat is the part of the German Government people often look over. I don't think it can be truely compared to either the Senate, or House of Rep, which makes its existance more interesting, as well as complicated. The Bundestag is amazing. It's grand, detailed, meaningful, and a bit quirky. The Bundestag is grand just by how immense it is. The viewing globe thing on top is also a great feat of arcitecture, especially for back in the day. The Bundestag is detailed down to the color of the carpet, chairs and lights. Pictures show the main meeting room with purple-bluish chairs, gray carpet, and mostly natural lighting with help of high white/blue lights. Every part was thouroughly thought out. The Bundestag is quirky in a way that most people don't realize. Almost always the great bird at the head of the room is shown on its front side. Many don't realize the bird on the otherside is snickering. Later in the day as we were waiting to enter the Bundeskanzleramt I saw a woman in a cream blazer hurry into the Bundeskanzleramt from a car. My sources tell me (aka my CDU Bundestag member) may have been Angela Merkel. (That's my story and I am sticking to it) After our activities for the day were done my friends and I headed over to The East Side Gallery. (The Berlin Wall) Never in my whole life have I ever felt so small. The wall itself isn't so big, nor is it that thick. Opposite the wall is a huge road where cars speed along and right behind that are huge buildings. Walking on a small european sidewalk makes things seem so much closer. The wall, which is really supposed to be a dark part of history, starts to feel like a safe haven from what is happening today. It was a very eerie feeling. After that we headed down to Checkpoint Charlie. I love Checkpoint Charlie, even though it is a dinky building with really nothing to show I still appreciate it's history after looking around the museum. That night we also saw the Bombed WWII Church ruins. It's insane to look at, on top is completely hollowed out and looks in danger of giving way. On the inside there are cracks on the beautiful ceiling, but no other damage to be seen. The doorways look like they were never touched by the war. The weathered carvings sit there with no broken pieces. If buildings could talk I would love to hear this one's story. Right across the street was the world famous Berinale. Nothing was happening while we looked at the red carpet. I was disappointed by how small it was, the cameras always make it look much bigger.
10. February 2015:
Tuesday was a lot of WWII history. First we travelled to Schloss Cecilienhof. It was built by Prince Wilhelm II. Unfortunately they weren't able to live in it for too long due to the outbreak of the war. Many people know how the USA, England, and Russia met at the end of WWII. But not many people know where it was. I have seen pictures of the Potsdam Conference of 1945, but I never really considered the place on which the leaders were standing. To stand in the same spot where three of the most famous leaders of all time stood is an eerie feeling. It is a really beautiful house, with a combination of Prince Wilhelm's and The Potsdam Conference artifacts. For the other side of the war we visited The Wannsee Conference. This conference took place at the beginning of the war. I was suprised to find out that Hitler wasn't actually at this meeting to, "solve the jewish question." Disturbingly it only took 90 minutes for the Nazi leaders to smooth out the final wrinkles in the system. It's astonishing to see how these men thought that there was rational behind what they were setting out to do. Nazis even had scientists do 'experiments' on the human skull of Africans and Europeans. They, not suprisingly, concluded Europeans were undeniably more intelligent due to their measurements. We all know this cannot possibly be true. Anyway....After the day's activies we visited Charlottenburg Palace. Charlottenburg is like the Buckinham Palace of Germany. This thing is huge it is about .3 miles long (1/2 km). Although we didn't go inside, we were already asking ourselves why we didn't live there in that time. It's gorgeous, please just click on the link (or look at my pictures) and you will see what I mean.
11. February 2015:
Wednesday was our last day in Berlin. We started by visiting The Tear Palace. The Tear Palace was the place where, during the Cold War, people could cross the border from East to West or vice versa. Many more people from the West could move to the East, but there was very little movement from the East to the West. I was so tired I didn't understand much of what was being said. All I really remember was that there were some really odd things that weren't allowed to cross the boarder, and the little cubbies that people got their papers approved were tiny and the officials sat so high you could tell them if they had boogers in their nose even when they looked down at you. The last thing we did was to visit the Nordrhein Westfallen Landesvertretung. (It's basically the representation building in Berlin for my German state.) Everybody was so tired at least two people at ever table of five were headbobbing, and the others were staring off into space. Luckily it was the last thing we had to do before heading back to the train station. On the train back I got to sit next to my new friend, Renu, she is Indian. (From India) About half way through the train ride most of us were trying to make up for some of the sleep we missed, including myself. All of the sudden I am woken up by this blasting Schlager music. (German 'feel good' music. Example A: Atemlos) Some of the guys brought a little wireless boom box and were blasting music throughout the whole train car. Pretty soon everybody was singing and dancing to the music including the teachers and strangers in our train car. This was was the frosting on the cake for my trip. I have never experienced something as crazy and as fun as that.
12. February 2015:
Thursday was my meeting with my Bundestag member, Steffan Kanitz. It was interesting to talk to him, he was really helpful and seemed to want to make our year the best as possible. He said that many of the politicians in the Bundestag can be friendly with eachother outside of politics, and that they even have a cross party soccer club which gathers often. I thought that was really great that out of the office politicians can become friends. I think American politicians could take a page out of their book.
13. February 2015:
Friday I was up and at it again. Two of my friends from my YFU beginning seminar travelled to Brussels for the weekend. Friday night in Brussels was actually a nightmare. Luckily Meggie knows French (they are supposed to speak German, but nobody does) which helped us get around. When we finally got to Brussels we spent an hour in the trainstations trying to figure out where we were actually supposed to go. By the time we got to our hotel we found out it wasn't actually located in Brussels, instead in a shady area in the surrounding area of Brussels. We didn't have time to change hotels that night, but we took the time to find a new one on the web. Apparently they had just changed locations so what was supposed to be 5 minutes from the city center ended up being about 45 minutes. It makes an interesting story, even now.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Weekly Post #26
Hey everybody!
26. January 2015:
Monday started off with improv. in my Literature class. I am pretty bad at improv especially in another language. I just sat in my seat trying not to laugh so I wouldn't have to embarass myself in from of my whole class. In my English class we have started our American Dream unit. I am being used as the final say on American opinions. Often I am asked how Americans feel on specific events like the gold rush or the expansion of suburbs. Luckily I have had my American History class knowledge I can brush the cobwebs off. Although I cannot speak for the American people as a whole. I have only lived in Wisconsin for 18 years. I nor anybody else can speak for the whole American population. Due to this I always make sure to say that it is my opinion.
27. January 2015:
Tuesday I had my first individual presentation in my geography class. I had to talk about a new government in Rwanda and how they are handling the genoide problem there. In the afternoon I had my beginners rock climbing lesson. Another girl was there from Hong Kong who could only speak English. It was nice to speak English again. But I kept starting to say things in German. One time I didn't even realize which language I was speaking in until she gave me a funny look, telling me she didn't understand.
28. January 2015:
On Wednesday my German class went to the library in Dortmund city for information on their term paper. I misunderstood the information sheet given to us and waited outside of the Dortmund Mengede library for an hour. After I couldn't feel my toes anymore I called my friend who informed me they were in Dortmund city and that I should just go home. Which I did gladly.
29. January 2015:
In my Thursday English class I learned about a class meeting. Apparently in my school it is normal for classes to organise get togethers outside of school. I remember ever having meetings outside of school with my classes. I guess that will be a new adventure...
30. January 215:
Friday was report card day. Apparently I didn't get any grades, I think I may have to change that for YFU. I guess we will see about that. After our report card meeting we were all allowed to go home and celebrate, cry, or contemplate our lives, depending on our grades. Anita came over for the afternoon. We talked a bit about Niki Minaj. I guess she has multiple personalities since she was little. Maybe they were created to stay out of trouble when she was little, needless to say it explains a lot. Much of the time we spoke English, because our mother language is English. It's relaxing to speak with another fluent English speaker. But that didn't mean a German sentance didn't slip in there every once and awhile. I find it interesting how our brains do that. Even though we have spoken only English for so many years, after 6 months of speaking German it's hard to stay with English.
Thanks for Reading!
Sandra
26. January 2015:
Monday started off with improv. in my Literature class. I am pretty bad at improv especially in another language. I just sat in my seat trying not to laugh so I wouldn't have to embarass myself in from of my whole class. In my English class we have started our American Dream unit. I am being used as the final say on American opinions. Often I am asked how Americans feel on specific events like the gold rush or the expansion of suburbs. Luckily I have had my American History class knowledge I can brush the cobwebs off. Although I cannot speak for the American people as a whole. I have only lived in Wisconsin for 18 years. I nor anybody else can speak for the whole American population. Due to this I always make sure to say that it is my opinion.
27. January 2015:
Tuesday I had my first individual presentation in my geography class. I had to talk about a new government in Rwanda and how they are handling the genoide problem there. In the afternoon I had my beginners rock climbing lesson. Another girl was there from Hong Kong who could only speak English. It was nice to speak English again. But I kept starting to say things in German. One time I didn't even realize which language I was speaking in until she gave me a funny look, telling me she didn't understand.
28. January 2015:
On Wednesday my German class went to the library in Dortmund city for information on their term paper. I misunderstood the information sheet given to us and waited outside of the Dortmund Mengede library for an hour. After I couldn't feel my toes anymore I called my friend who informed me they were in Dortmund city and that I should just go home. Which I did gladly.
29. January 2015:
In my Thursday English class I learned about a class meeting. Apparently in my school it is normal for classes to organise get togethers outside of school. I remember ever having meetings outside of school with my classes. I guess that will be a new adventure...
30. January 215:
Friday was report card day. Apparently I didn't get any grades, I think I may have to change that for YFU. I guess we will see about that. After our report card meeting we were all allowed to go home and celebrate, cry, or contemplate our lives, depending on our grades. Anita came over for the afternoon. We talked a bit about Niki Minaj. I guess she has multiple personalities since she was little. Maybe they were created to stay out of trouble when she was little, needless to say it explains a lot. Much of the time we spoke English, because our mother language is English. It's relaxing to speak with another fluent English speaker. But that didn't mean a German sentance didn't slip in there every once and awhile. I find it interesting how our brains do that. Even though we have spoken only English for so many years, after 6 months of speaking German it's hard to stay with English.
Thanks for Reading!
Sandra
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Special Post # 4
Hey everybody!
WARNING: These views do NOT represent all of Germany. They are my views of what and who I have enccountered on my trip here. Please take everything that is said here with a grain of salt.
WARNING: These views do NOT represent all of Germany. They are my views of what and who I have enccountered on my trip here. Please take everything that is said here with a grain of salt.
Welcome to my fourth special post. In this post I will be talking about the discussions I have had in my English class. What I thought was only going to be a one day branch off discussion of cultural differences has turned into a whole unit. Although we don't always discuss, my class is still learning about cultural identities.
I think these discussions are really unique given we have Polish, Ukranian, Afghani, American, German, and Nigerian cultures all present in a small class. With so many many different backgrounds the sun never sets on how we all view culture.
During my training with YFU I learned several ways of diagramming how culture works and how foreigners discover and fit into new societies. One of these diagrams was a three pillar diagram.
History
History
With YFU we learned, as seen in the diagram above, the base of every cultures is history. I have seen a few examples of this in my history class. In my previous American history class we were told the American Revolution inspired the French Revolution. In my current German history class we are told the French Revolution inspired the German Revolution. If A=B and B=C shouldn't A=C? Why not say the American Revolution inspired the German revolution? Maybe it was because, at the time, The US had a lot closer relationship to France than Germany.
History also affects what we do and how we do it today. For example, how 9/11 affect the way many Americans see Arab people. Not all Arabs are terrorists. Not all terrorists are Arab or Islamists. The same goes for German history. I choose WWII just because it is easily comparable. Not all Germans are Nazis and not all Nazis are German. One could consider Nazis and Terrorists completely different cultures. They each have their own history to base the rest of their culture on.
There is a German songwriter who asks the question, "where have all the German folk songs gone?" Due to WWII some are afraid of showing national pride because of this stereotype of many Germans being Nazis. Which again (as I cannot stress enough) is untrue. I think my friend Maja put it well. How can the current generation of Germans be held accountable that happened before they were even alive? Their parents weren't even alive yet. Yet their generations are still affected.
In the same way we, as Americans, are proud of our history of winning wars, defeating, for example, communism and saving other countries from despair. Even though none of us may have done anything personally to help. This doesn't stop some of us from thinking we are the best culture in the world. This could be the affects of the time when North America was settled. Many European cultures came over and pushed their cultures upon the Native Americans, and settled America. Due to this some argue Americans still have this mindset.
There are three pillars that lay on top of history which support the overall idea of culture. Family, Religion, and Language. Aspects of these can be seen by foreigners and natives.
Religion
Religion
Many other countries outside of The United States have an official government religion. This includes Germany with Christianity. Even though the official religion is Christianity, from what I have seen in my area, it is less present here than in America. Granted the churches are bigger and grander here, but the people who attend, seem to be fewer and older. Granted I come from a family who goes to church every Sunday, so my view is skewed to how often people actually go to church. Due to an official religion means not all holidays are free. I have noticed very few Jewish or Muslim holidays are given free at my school. (Which made the beginning to my school year different.) There is also a mandatory tax in my area when people are part of the church. This is also a reason for people to turn away from the church. Of course this is probably opposite in German states like Bavaria.
Family
Different types of families can be found all over the world regardless of culture. Due to this I can only speak for my family. My family specifically is very open. As my host mom put it, "We probably wouldn't have hosted an exchange student if we weren't open." I believe this is a common trait that can be found in almost all host families and exchange students. If both parties aren't open to new adventures and ideas the exchange year would be much more difficult. I have been lucky enough to be apart of a big family who is supportive of each other. So many members of the family show up and celebrate birthdays and holidays all together. For example, there were a couple weeks around Chiristmas with several birthdays. Many aunts, uncles, and cousins showed up for each one, and still Christmas.
How are my two families different from each other? My family in America is always so busy everything has to be planned several weeks ahead to make sure we have time for it. My dad also likes knowing what events are coming up. He likes it more when we plan a couple days in advance when friends are coming over. I guess this is a trait I have picked up a bit on because I always seem to ask why we are going to visit friends and it is almost never planned a few days in advance. This is a point that my host mom brought to me.
Children, I have noticed, also have much more freedom. As a four year old I believe I was always either in the cart or at my mom's side in the grocery store. In Germany it seems much more normal for children to scuttle over to the candy isle and grab a bag of their favorite candy. Justus always runs over to the toy section in Rossmanns (Walgreens), stares at the toys for a few minutes, and then runs through the store looking for either my host mom or me. I think the reason for Americans holding onto their children so tight is that we are so afriad of one another. Again this can relate back to our history.
Once children are older they have much more freedom. I am suprised how the kids at my school know exactly how to navigate the bus system without a parent, and they are around 8. My school also has open campus. For field trips older kids are expected to find our way to the event on our own.
When we start dating I think the mindset in my area is, "They are going to have sex if they want to. It is our job as their parents to make sure they have safe sex." This is why my school hasn't had a pregnant girl for many years, where as there is one almost every year in my American school. Many people in America immediately assume the worst when the boyfriend/girlfriend sleeps over. This is considered completely normal where I live, although I am not quite sure why. I would assume it relates back to trusting children to do what it right.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
Special Post #3
Hey everybody!
As you may have heard there are some 'adjustments' being made the CBYX program (the scholarship I am currently on), which are endangering its future. For all of my readers who I may not be friends with on facebook or may not have a facebook here is my post:
The Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange is by far the most inspiring program I have ever participated in in my life. This program has been serving students every year like me since 1983. This program has helped to teach us all what is important in life and what we want from it. A lucky trait which some people search their whole lives for. I know it has helped me with these life questions. If you need more convincing that exchange students can give you; there have been research done on exchange student behavior in college. The reports have said students are harder workers, recieve better grades, they bring a new confidence in who they are, and overall they are refreshed and eager to learn in the next years of life. If you say, "How does this affect me?" Think about how exchange students are able and willing to change your future and ours in many wonderful ways. This will end up affecting you, your beloved neighbor, your children, and even your great grandchildren in the years to come. Please sign this petition, it only takes a moment of your time to affect the future.
Please sign Here to help us save the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship.
Thank you for reading!
Sandra
As you may have heard there are some 'adjustments' being made the CBYX program (the scholarship I am currently on), which are endangering its future. For all of my readers who I may not be friends with on facebook or may not have a facebook here is my post:
The Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange is by far the most inspiring program I have ever participated in in my life. This program has been serving students every year like me since 1983. This program has helped to teach us all what is important in life and what we want from it. A lucky trait which some people search their whole lives for. I know it has helped me with these life questions. If you need more convincing that exchange students can give you; there have been research done on exchange student behavior in college. The reports have said students are harder workers, recieve better grades, they bring a new confidence in who they are, and overall they are refreshed and eager to learn in the next years of life. If you say, "How does this affect me?" Think about how exchange students are able and willing to change your future and ours in many wonderful ways. This will end up affecting you, your beloved neighbor, your children, and even your great grandchildren in the years to come. Please sign this petition, it only takes a moment of your time to affect the future.
Please sign Here to help us save the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship.
Thank you for reading!
Sandra
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Weekly Post #25
Hey everybody!
19. January 2015:
On Monday I stayed home to make sure my stomache was 100% better. Unfortunately I missed my first day of being a ninja pigeon. I hopefully will not miss my monday tomorrow.
20. January 2015:
Tuesday I went back to School. I had Sowi which I learned a bit more about the Bundesrat. After that there was a Meeting for Facharbeit (preperation for college). I don't really understand why I had to be ther but I was there. Anyway my School day on Tuesday was pretty pointless. At least it wasn't stressful.
21. January 2015:
On Wednesday was the first of two Dortmunder Hochschultag (college) days. I tagged along with Noah to two classes. The first one was called codeswitching. It is basically what I am living with, knowing two languages and always flipping between the two. We were completely siked for the first one, but it turned out to not be so interesting. The class was about finished with the unit so we missed a ton of what they were studying. The second class was much better. It was called "The Do's and Don'ts of the workplace." I think this is the class where I have felt the most comfortable at speaking. The teacher has been all over the globe and knows about four different lanuages. This was one of the first times I volunteered to raise my Hand and participate in what was Happening. I really need to do more of this in my School, but I feel too much pressure and uncertainty of what is actually right in the class.
22. January 2015:
Thursday was the second Hochschultag day. I went to a Seminar on work study programs in college. The Seminar was so boring that People were getting up and leaving in the middle. We didn't though, I think that would have been too rude for me to do.
23. January 2015:
Friday was my longest day as per usual. We started talking about chairs. The first thing we talked about is what we associate with chairs. Then we talked about Projects we could create with chairs. I think the next Project is that we all need to bring in our own chair and create a Story with it. I already have a Story but getting a chair through the bus in the busy morning is going to be interesting. I volunteered my ideas for themes that I would like to use with my chair. I was the only one who volunteered right. That made me feel really good. I understood better than others! On Friday some of my host dad's friends came over to Play Darts. My mom and I joined in for a game and I won! I usually never win Darts but I guess I got lucky this time.
24. January 2015:
On Saturday I took a really Long slow walk on one of the trails by my street. I made sure to walk extra slow to look for good places to snap a Picture. Often I feel too rushed in taking a Picture. It was really Relaxing to have all the time in the world on my walk. I also explored a new Corner of my neighborhood. I found some new trails that I want to explore in the near future. It also snowed that morning which gave a wintery splash to my Pictures. I made sure to bündle up extra tight to make sure I didn't get sick from the cold.
25. January 2015:
Sunday is always a pretty low laid day. I watched Saving Mr. Banks, and I cried my way through that movie. I also realised I never used to cry during movies. I think ist becoming easier for me to cry. I don't know how I feel about that yet.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
19. January 2015:
On Monday I stayed home to make sure my stomache was 100% better. Unfortunately I missed my first day of being a ninja pigeon. I hopefully will not miss my monday tomorrow.
20. January 2015:
Tuesday I went back to School. I had Sowi which I learned a bit more about the Bundesrat. After that there was a Meeting for Facharbeit (preperation for college). I don't really understand why I had to be ther but I was there. Anyway my School day on Tuesday was pretty pointless. At least it wasn't stressful.
21. January 2015:
On Wednesday was the first of two Dortmunder Hochschultag (college) days. I tagged along with Noah to two classes. The first one was called codeswitching. It is basically what I am living with, knowing two languages and always flipping between the two. We were completely siked for the first one, but it turned out to not be so interesting. The class was about finished with the unit so we missed a ton of what they were studying. The second class was much better. It was called "The Do's and Don'ts of the workplace." I think this is the class where I have felt the most comfortable at speaking. The teacher has been all over the globe and knows about four different lanuages. This was one of the first times I volunteered to raise my Hand and participate in what was Happening. I really need to do more of this in my School, but I feel too much pressure and uncertainty of what is actually right in the class.
22. January 2015:
Thursday was the second Hochschultag day. I went to a Seminar on work study programs in college. The Seminar was so boring that People were getting up and leaving in the middle. We didn't though, I think that would have been too rude for me to do.
23. January 2015:
Friday was my longest day as per usual. We started talking about chairs. The first thing we talked about is what we associate with chairs. Then we talked about Projects we could create with chairs. I think the next Project is that we all need to bring in our own chair and create a Story with it. I already have a Story but getting a chair through the bus in the busy morning is going to be interesting. I volunteered my ideas for themes that I would like to use with my chair. I was the only one who volunteered right. That made me feel really good. I understood better than others! On Friday some of my host dad's friends came over to Play Darts. My mom and I joined in for a game and I won! I usually never win Darts but I guess I got lucky this time.
24. January 2015:
On Saturday I took a really Long slow walk on one of the trails by my street. I made sure to walk extra slow to look for good places to snap a Picture. Often I feel too rushed in taking a Picture. It was really Relaxing to have all the time in the world on my walk. I also explored a new Corner of my neighborhood. I found some new trails that I want to explore in the near future. It also snowed that morning which gave a wintery splash to my Pictures. I made sure to bündle up extra tight to make sure I didn't get sick from the cold.
25. January 2015:
Sunday is always a pretty low laid day. I watched Saving Mr. Banks, and I cried my way through that movie. I also realised I never used to cry during movies. I think ist becoming easier for me to cry. I don't know how I feel about that yet.
Thanks for reading!
Sandra
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