As some of you may know, I recently switched host families. Not for bad reasons, but my first placement was simply temporary. I will always be grateful to both my family and the friends I've made in Brüggen. The thought of Brüggen is bittersweet, in that I have so many wonderful memories, but that now I'm starting again. Until this year, I'd never been a new student at school. Now I've been a new student twice. In a new country. It's definitely hard to say I do things by halves. Overall, the past two weeks have been good. Stressful at times, and slightly awkward, but good.
My host parents here in Lemgo picked me up Oct. 16th, and it was an emotional day. My friends, Jana and Loreen, came to say goodbye. We talked and chatted for about an hour before the doorbell rang. I'm a little embarrassed to admit Jana had to remind me to breathe. I said my goodbyes, cried a little, and was on my way. The week passed slowly, adjusting to a new family and a new place. I met another exchange student, Julia, that Wednesday. It was nice to catch up, and startling to speak English with a native speaker again. It's reassuring to speak with other exchange students, in a way no "You'll get through this" will ever be. They understand what you're going through, and it's an emotional burden lifted to be able to confide in them. That's not to say I don't talk with my friends and family. I do, but there's a gap there. It's hard for someone who hasn't done an exchange to understand the struggles with the same weight. Whether it's how easy it is to feel lonely, the perpetual confusion, learning a new language, or just simply shifting to adjust to a host family. That Friday I went to "Mädelsabend" or girls night, at my family's church. I met a bunch of girls, learned two new line dances for cotton eye joe, and in general had a great time. The girls are really kind, and it was fun to just laugh and have fun. Sometimes I was a little lost, but people were very helpful when I looked too confused. My new host family is really nice. The kids like soccer, and it's endlessly entertaining to watch them interact. There's a boy my age, and two twins about five years younger. Watching them interact is scarily similar to my brother and I when we were younger. It's fun to watch, even if I can't always keep up with the conversation or don't understand everything. All in all, I think it's going well with them. I've stopped being the awkward tip-toe shy presence in the house, but I can't say I'm as relaxed as I could be. That will come with time. They speak a lot of english, which is both good and bad. Bad in that I speak more english than I should, but good in that they can explain grammar to me. Grammar is my best frenemy. I don't understand when to use genitive or dative yet, but I think I'm improving. I haven't made any leaps and bounds, but I understand more grammar now. School, has been an adventure. A fun, slightly stressful adventure. My first day, I went with Justin (my host brother) to his first class, and then went to an advanced english class. The teacher of the advanced english class helped me work out what classes I needed, and a tentative schedule. I then proceeded to get lost. I wandered around trying to find the office for a bit, found it, and asked for directions to Treffpunkt (where I catch my bus). I managed to turn just a little too early, and as a result, did not know where I was. I asked a stranger for directions, but I think I misunderstood them. I'm afraid my vocabulary when it comes to navigation is rather limited. I managed to go in the completely wrong direction, but managed to make it to the Treffpunkt about half an hour later. I got home, and went for a run to blow off steam. The next day, I had chemistry, which is fun except I'm still fairly lost. They're already well into the semester, and I've never studied chemistry before. It's like physics, but physics is math. Math isn't as hard. Since then, the week has gone fairly well. I've made some acquaintances, who will hopefully become friends, who are super duper helpful. I think I might broadcast my emotions on my face sometimes, because one of the girls in my english class told me "It looks like you have a question mark on your face. Are you lost?" today. I wasn't sure I was in the right hallway, and was very confused, but she helped me figure it out. School is more fun than I thought it would be. I'm studying calculus in my math class, because I've already learned what they're going over. My teacher just happened to have an american calculus textbook. It's very nice. I'm struggling to understand Chemistry and Physics, but that's what I have crash course and online guides for. It's been good so far, and I hope things continue to improve as I make more friends and learn more German. Also, if you ever get the chance, try Döner. Heaven, I swear. It's so good. It's a turkish specialty, and it's delicious. Ciao!
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Today, marks my fifth week in Brüggen, my eighth week in Germany, and one week left in Brüggen. So, my German has marked improvement to two months ago. Small conversations, introductions, and the typical "where are you from, how long have you been learning german" questions, are now answered with relative ease. Mostly I speak a mix of Englisch and Deutsch, or "Sprachen-Suppe", Language soup. My friend Loreen has been endlessly helpful, quizzing me on words, helping me with grammar, and in general putting up with me mangling the German language.
As I contemplate my time here, some things stick out to me. My growing collection of Kuscheltiere, the picture of Loreen and I that now decorates my desk, my wall of sugar cubes. Scrambling up onto hay bales (a fingernagel killer, just like bumper cars), watching Mrs. Doubtfire in Deutsch with Loreen, playing with Pira in Loreen's room, my Host Dad's love of jokes, Gina's bed hog status, and so much more. I didn't realize this until yesterday, but I've started knocking on the table when I sit down and people are already there. I didn't learn that in the U.S. I've slowly learned customs and just small tidbits that I never would have learned if I'd simply toured through the country. I understand more German than I think I would with an entire year in class. I think I might be more confident. I've started out right asking questions in my fumbling German, which I didn't really do in the U.S., even in Englisch. I've started forgetting English words faster than I can learn the German ones. Something I've become aware of is how much scrutiny the U.S. is under. I hear regular updates on the German news about our election. So many people have asked me "How has Trump managed to get to so much attention? How is he a serious competitor?" I can't tell you. He's a misogynistic ass, but apparently only now that blatant comments perpetuating sexual assault have come forward are some realizing that. The man has a history of misogyny, and he's proven to be a xenophobic ass. This is not the first time his demeaning treatment have come to light, and I don't understand how women can vote for someone who is not supportive of women. Enough about that though.On Friday, we had a trip to Hannover, where I took a million and one pictures. I was so obviously a tourist. We went into the Rathaus tower, with you could see practically all of Hannover from. People had written all over the inside of the tower, including but not limited to "See you in Hell", "Catalina is not Spain!", "*insert various cutesy declarations of love by couples", and last but not least, "Don't Slip." It was a lot of fun walking around the altstadt. On Saturday my Host Parents and I went to Helgoland, a beautiful little island in the north sea. We walked around and generally had a good time. It was a lot of fun. On Sunday I baked Chocolate Chip Cookies, admittedly with some substitutions. They taste great, so I'd say it was a success. I had to use honey instead of molasses, because i couldn't find brown sugar like what I needed. They were definitely a hit though, and the plate of cookies is rapidly shrinking. These past two months have been wonderful, and I'm sure the next eight will go well. Until next time, Tschüss! |
McKennaI'm originally from Virginia, I'm going to Germany via CBYX. The blog title is a reference to a beloved nickname from my mother. Archives
October 2016
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