The One with Surprises

Yesterday I started a ballroom dance (Standardtanz) class.... with 20 eighth-graders...and my 17 year-old boyfriend.

I'm not going to lie, as I walked into the classroom, my very first thought was "F***, what did I sign us up for? Why was I so damn set on taking a Standardtanz class??" Fast backwards to 20 minutes beforehand, when my boyfriend's exact words were (in German), "I'd rather put a nail through my finger or take an ice cold shower than go to this dance class." This is a very inaccurate representation of his normal demeanor, so you can tell that dancing in front of people is not really his thing. My (super friendly) response went a little like, "Shut up, I actually don't care  if you want to take this class. Get on your bike, we are leaving now." Honestly, I had my own doubts: I knew that people normally take ballroom dancing classes in Germany as a teen when they are in the 10th grade or younger. We'd also already attempted to do a dance class earlier on, but ended up being the only people there... Referred to by my boyfriend as a "sign from fate that we should not try again." Ah yes.

So when we walked into the room and saw a group of kids who were all 3 to 4 years younger than us, not to mention a dance instructor with a microphone as seen in '90's music videos, I was pretty much ready to admit to him that he was absolutely right. But then I realized something that has occurred to me many times throughout my exchange year: I don't know a single one of these people, therefore it is completely irrelevant if I look like a fool who missed the boat. On a dance class, on bike riding, on expressing myself in German, on almost anything. So I guess the first thing that this anecdote reminded me of was the empowering feeling of trying something out, being reminded that you perhaps look like an idiot, and then realizing that you actually don't care. I wanted to do a ballroom dance class because it is a big part of the northern German party and get-together culture. 14-year olds or no 14-year olds, this was a goal of mine which I wanted to get accomplished.

The second thing this dance class reminded me of was the incredible feeling of being pleasantly surprised. After the initial stage of slight embarrassment, the class was one of the most entertaining and fun things I have done in a while. The other students were extremely mature, the teacher was very effective and fair, as she gave us the first 2 hour lesson as a trial to see if we wanted to come back and pay the tuition fee next time, and we ended up having to dance and interact with everyone else to get a feeling for different people and dance styles. Now, I can't say that I received a whole lot of eye contact from the other guys, but they were all super polite and caught on very quickly. We took a break in the middle, where we were escorted back to our seats by our partners. The boys had to pay for drinks this week; next week is the girls' turn. I thought this was a fun way of integrating the cultural aspects of Standardtanz, rather than just showing us a few moves.

This isn't the only time I've been pleasantly surprised during my exchange year. A stereotype about northern Germans is that they are cold and unfriendly if you haven't know them for ages. I'd say, as most foreign visitors have said time and time again, that this is as far from the truth as possible. For example, the man who sells us pizza every Friday for English club chats jovially with my friend and I, giving us lollipops and saying "Bis morgen" every time we leave, as though he would genuinely be excited if we came in the next day. The lady at the bakery next to our school gave me a free brownie  the other day just for the hell of it, even though they normally cost 2 Euros. Bakery ladies in Westerstede are in general my favorite because they joke around with customers and are in general super lovely. Plus baked goods... Donuts... Bread... Yeah, you get the idea. What these examples prove is that the Germans are actually extremely devoted to their customers and friendly in a much less sicky-sweet way. Moreover, every time I experience something like this, I realize more and more what an open attitude and positivity bring. These things allow us to sort of "get high" off the feeling of exploring the good in people and in turn to become better humans who wish to make other people happy.

So when my boyfriend admitted, more than once after the class was over, that it was a wonderful idea of mine, I, of course, played it cool and told him "But of course." But we all know that I myself was happily surprised, which gave me a renewed dose of the feeling that I've really gained an appreciation for this year. And that is the simple awesomeness of trying something new, meeting new people, and learning new things without having to read 50 pages of a dry textbook. Simply by dancing with 8th graders, making not-so-small talk, and overall appreciating the little things.

How's that for sounding like a life coach? I hope I managed to tone down the inspirational thoughts of a 16 year old with a bit of humor and insight into the life of an exchange student. I have shamed myself many times over for not posting since Christmas (that's an eternity, I know) but have been "unterwegs" (on the road) a lot with traveling and also writing a 15 page paper in German... Excuses, excuses. I will give the hopefully not-empty promise to update more in the final 76 days I have here in Deutschland. Feel free to comment on what you'd like to hear from me!

Till then,
Hannah

The One mit Weihnachten in Deutschland

Weihnachten

Markt und Straßen stehen verlassen,

still erleuchtet jedes Haus,

sinnend geh ich durch die Gassen,

alles sieht so festlich aus.

An den Fenstern haben Frauen

buntes Spielzeug fromm geschmückt,

tausend Kindlein stehen und schauen,

sind so wunderstill beglückt.

Und ich wandre aus den Mauern

bis hinaus ins freie Feld,

hehres Glänzen, heil'ges Schauern,

wie so weit und still die Welt!

Sterne hoch die Kreise schlingen,

aus des Schnees Einsamkeit

steigt's wie wunderbares Singen.

O du gnadenreiche Zeit!

Joseph von Eichendorff

This evening I will recite this poem (memorized in front of my host grandparents' Christmas tree) before we open up any presents. For my American readers, the poem is very lovely and talks about how pretty everything looks in the Christmas time, all covered in snow. Yeah right, thanks global warming! As far as the weather goes, it could actually be the middle of spring right now. Yesterday I consider putting shaving my legs and putting on shorts. Okay that's a lie, but the fact that it's so warm out is very strange. I am, nonetheless, very excited to experience Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) with Sabine, Bennet, Opa Jan and Oma Trineke tonight. Christmas Eve in Germany is, as far as I can tell, extremely traditional. Santa Claus (der Weinachtsman) will come this evening, instead of tomorrow morning, while we are eating dinner and we will not be allowed to enter the living room to see the tree until around 8 pm. Then we will open all presents from the Weihnachtsman and from all other people one by one. Good thing we only have one kid with us, I can't imagine what kind of patience other children have to use to wait all the way until 8 and then open everything one present at a time. Normally, the Christmas tree is put up on the 23rd of December (sometimes it sits outside sad and alone beforehand) but Sabine and Bennet thankfully don't observe this tradition; we put our tree up on 2. Advent. Here is a picture of our lovely tree, very different from our tree in the states but I like the scraggly candle-lit look as well. Our candles are not real, but my host mom says that when they used to be real, people kept a water bucket behind the tree just in case... 

Christmas is, for me at least, not so terribly different because of my practically German mother, so it is more like taken up a notch in German-ness. Eli and I have always had an Advent's calendars, but here they are huge! You can buy one with Lego toys for all 24 days, with perfume and makeup, and of course with delicious chocolate. Mine was a cardboard Christmas tree with chocolate from Rittersport on the branches, but out in the open unlike most. My host mom calls it an "adult Adventskalender" because one must exhibit a good amount of self-control. Bennet gets a small gift from his fairy, Penny, in a little felt house my host mom designed and constructed. Voll süß! The decorations for Christmas here are not so bold and bright in comparison to in the states; they are all very old school and exclusively with white lights and green or red accents. I personally love this and find it so pretty to bike through the city center at night or in the morning when everything is so traditionally lit. 

Above all, Christmas in Germany is a family holiday. Normally people stay at home on the 24th with just their immediate family to enjoy a delicious dinner after going to church and singing lots of Christmas songs. Some eat goose, others bratwurst and potato salad, and for us Raclette, which is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve and consists of little pans on a double- tiered grill so that everyone can grill up what they would like and eat it on some toast. We are making an exception and driving up to my host grandparent's house on the North Sea because we thought it would be nice to have a couple more people to celebrate with. Then tomorrow Sabine's 3 siblings, their significant others, and children will drive up and we will celebrate the 25th all together, which is also very common in Germany. The 26th is also still a family celebration day, which I will spend at my boyfriend's house with his extended family and later we will head out with a group to the disco in Tange. 

It is a little strange not having my parents and brother to celebrate with this year, but I will see them very soon in Amsterdam. I am so happy to have such a wonderful second family with Sabine and Bennet and this will surely be a holiday season to remember. I think I have gotten my favorite present already; that is, all the wunderbare new people I have become so close with and the opportunity to branch out and have a new experience for Christmas. Besides, I will get to annoy my parents enough through Facetime tonight and tomorrow, pretty sure they are relieved not to have their barely-capable-of-speaking-English daughter at home. Na ja, I will hopefully update my blog regarding Silvester (New Year's Eve) as well, since it is also a super big party holiday here. Feel free to share any Christmas traditions in the comments and above all, I wish you all a fabulous and family-filled Christmas-time, no matter where you are in the world or how you celebrate. 

Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch in 2016! Hab euch lieb:)

Hannah 

May you all be as warm and snuggled in as our cat Balou, but not quite as grumpy:)

The One with 100 Days of Observation

100 Tage. 100 days. There is something about nice round numbers that make them resonate just a tad bit more. Sure, 98 days is a long time, but add in those extra two pretty normal days and out comes that three digit, crisp number 100. That is how many days I have been living as a German. I find it incredible to think that, coincidentally, exactly one year ago today my dad and I drove the airport to pick up my exchange student from Germany, darling Clara, so that she could spend a month seeing what it was like to live in Wisconsin. As I sit in my German room writing this blog post, I cannot actually picture clearly what my American house, street, town, family or friends look like, smell like, feel like... I conjure up pictures in my mind, but they somehow seem just as vague as when I attempted to predict what life would be like here. An ocean between, even if you have seen the other side of it before, just makes really difficult to truly comprehend how things are, were, or will be, even with the technological advancements of today. When you can't touch something, look someone in the eyes, or feel like a real part of a group, I find it hard to develop true feelings or a real outlook. On this note, I would like to use this cliche 100 Day post to share some of my observations and perspectives on the situation in Europe right now. In writing this, I will not try to make any whimsical political proclamations or attempt to say that I know how everyone in Europe feels right now, or that I even have a clue what sorts of things have happened or are happening; as a 16 year-old American living in Germany, I'd like to share my thoughts and experiences as a subjective human being in hopes that maybe some of you can feel closer to Europe through my words. After all, isn't that what writing and reading are all about?

Two Mondays ago I went on a memorial walk (Gedenkmarsch) for Kristallnacht, one of the most well-known and remembered pogroms in Germany and Austria. We went throughout Westerstede with lanterns, stopping by places like the graveyard, school and library, all of which correlated with the Jewish history of our town. It was fascinating to hear the stories relating to the different locations, and to see how a fair number of people came out in remembrance of an ugly phase of German history that could just as easily be pushed under the rug and disregarded. It certainly resonated for me, much more than hearing about it in a classroom setting in the United States. In relationship to my introductory remarks, it is so much more impactful to be there and see things in front of your face, as opposed to looking at the pages of a dry history book. But there is always a feeling that one is somehow divided or separated from the events of the past. This notion, however, is not apparent when one really feels as though they are a part of history, which has been brought to the surface due to the refugee crisis in Europe and the attack on Paris.

Before I get into some of my observations on the European response to the terrorist attacks, I'd like to touch on the refugee situation itself, which is most definitely and unfortunately affected by the assaults. Before coming to Germany, I had absolutely no clue how many refugees (Flüchtlinge in German) were moving to Germany, France, England and so on from countries like Somalia and Syria seeking any place that was not devastated by war. Often these people come to registration offices like the one I had to go to to acquire my visa unable to speak any German or English and cannot give the birthdate or age of their children. There are naturally also less extreme cases, like the refugee family my host mother and I brought from the train station to Westerstede after dropping Clara off. The Somalian family was made up of a mom, a dad and a 1 year old baby. At first, the woman asked in a mix of German and English if we could help them to find a bus that went to the Famila grocery store in Westerstede. My host mom Sabine and I looked for a bit at the bus plan, but then Sabine turned back to them and said instead that we would be happy to take them with us. They had with them only a stroller and a bag containing baby things, which we folded up and put into the trunk. We spoke mostly about the adorable little baby boy (his name, age and so on) and they also informed us, in pretty okay German, that they would be staying with cousins in Westerstede, who lived next door to the grocery store. That made them very fortunate in comparison to most other refugees, who, in Northern Germany, are housed together in gymnasiums, closed down stores, or vacation residences on islands like Borkum. This often means they are placed in the same room/ area with people with the same religion as those who are terrorizing the people in their home country. As we unloaded the car in the parking lot of Famila, I held the little baby and realized how normal the situation felt. Sure, the 3 of us came from Somalia, 1 from Germany and 1 from the United States, but we are all just people. People who are willing to help other people out when they need it, and people who are extremely grateful for this help. This is, for the most part, the vibe I get from my classmates, friends, family and teachers: refugees are people just like us, regardless of race, culture or religion, and deserve the chance to make a new home in a safer country.

In an effort to keep this post from getting extremely long winded (for those of you who know me well, this is always a struggle), I will leave out some of the information I would have liked to provide on the short story we are reading in my English course right now, which deals with the topic of religious differences and portrays the story of a young man whose father and mother immigrated to England. He decides to throw away all the western pleasures in his life and turn to radical Islam, completely baffling his father, who has adapted very well to the English culture. The short story is called My Son the Fanatic and is a 20 page, quick read for anyone interested in a piece of literature that mirrors the conflict in Europe right now unbelievably well. There is naturally a good amount of fear that the refugees that countries like Germany and France are providing shelter, food, and opportunities for share the same ideals as the Ali, the son from Hanif Kureishi's story; that is, that they detest all things western and believe that the real life for them begins after death.

With all of this in mind, I would like to get to the main observation I can give on this situation: the unity, involvement, and openness of the European people is truly astounding. When signing up for an exchange to Germany, I had not anticipated the close ties that all of the UN nations have with each other; I feel not only like a German, but also like a European. After the attack on Paris, it was clear that it was not only to been received by the public as an assault on France, but rather as an attack on all Europeans, particularly the Germans. It was not to be ignored that the opponent of the French soccer game targeted by the terrorists was Germany, which seemingly foreshadowed the discovery of explosives in an ambulance meant to go to the soccer game in Hannover, which was luckily canceled. Though this may be seen by some as an act of cowardice, I am amazed by how strong Angela Merkel has managed to show herself as the representative of Germany throughout the attacks and the refugee crisis. In general, I would also say that these events have shown me how aware the German people are of what is going on in the world and are always actively thinking about it. The group chat I have with my German friends was a discussion forum for the Paris attacks last Saturday, the dinner table with my host mom and brother also served a similar purpose. There is always a 15 minute news segment from 8-8:15 pm on all television channels, even ones geared toward children, before normal programming begins. Monday in the middle of my German course we took a moment of silence as a whole school. We spent time in my English class going over the possible actions and consequences in German before we started our normal lesson. The list goes on and on. One thing is extremely clear and a very eye-opening thing to be a part of: the people of Europe are not really broken up by language or borders. They are actively working together throughout this refugee crisis and threat of terrorism to band together as one well informed unit, free of Grenzen.

The length of this post got a smidge out of hand, but it was very difficult to get all of the thoughts that have been mulling around in my head into little black letters on a screen. I would be extremely interested to hear any of my American readers' opinions, thoughts, questions, or feelings on any of the topics I have mentioned, as this is definitely not a discussion reserved to Europe. I am intrigued to see what it will be like going to back to the US and observing everything once again from Wisconsin, but for 230 more days, I will attempt to soak in as much as I am able to in Deutschland.

Liebe Grüße,
Hannah

(Apologies once more for any crazy sentence structures or grammatical errors, it is a currently challenge to write in English with all the German running around in my thoughts...)

The One im Bett mit Clara

Cue the collaborative blog post with my favorite German blogger... Clara Lösel!!

Since we have two weeks off of school for Herbstferien (fall break) there was finally an opportunity for us to meet up again. Unfortunately Clara and I do not live very close to each other in Germany but because Hessen and Niedersachsen (the regions in which we live) have the same vacation dates, she could come up to Westerstede for a few days. She took the train like a proper German and when she first got off, it was slightly awkward and hilarious because we couldn't decide what language to greet each other in. It was just insane in general to see her in person since we hadn´t been together for around 10 months. We spent the car ride with my host mom speaking all in German which was normal and weird at the same time. We both remember another car ride we took to Madison in which my mom asked Clara to practice a bit of German with me. I could barely describe what I liked to do as a hobby or how the weather was! This time around, we could have a normal conversation in German without translating anything. It is so interesting to see how adding another language changed our relationship because I was so used to hearing her speak in English and helping her out a bit with that even though she doesn´t need much help at all. Now we can both help each other and confuse each other by speaking in a crazy mix of Deutsch and English that can only be described as Denglish. I frequently don´t realize what language we are speaking in unless I think it over once more.

Right after we got home from the train station we plopped down onto my bed and didn't get up for about 3 hours until dinnertime. Clara, knowing my weakness for Haribo gummies, brought with her a huge heavy box of different gummy treats which took up half of her suitcase and caused problems in the train. We mostly just chatted in German and read aloud from To Kill a Mockingbird, as Clara has to read it in English before the break is over. Clara says its "most awesome book on the whole world." Then we ate some bread and more bread with my host mom and snuggled back up into my bed. Talk about a stay-cation. 

Tuesday morning we woke up at around 10:30 since we had talked most of the night... Then we biked into the city center and I showed Clara a bit of Westerstede. She says that it is a cute village but looks nothing like where she lives in Germany. We drank a tea in the bakery and Clara was amused that she got to see an American eat an Americaner (a yummy pastry). Cue more talking in Denglish in a different setting. Then we went back to my house and did some school work in my bed like the try-hards we are. That night we went out to dinner with my boyfriend Fokko at a little Italian place in Westerstede. We all had a really lovely time even though I am sure it was a bit crazy for him to witness our half English half German relationship. The waitress did not bring the bill to us for almost 2 years so we had plenty of time to talk even more. Then we went back to my house and watched Die Höhle der Löwen, which is the German version of Shark Tank and uses the exact same music. Then my family FaceTimed with all three of us!! It was very insane to speak with my family and Clara because this time 2 of us are in Germany and 3 in the US. Poor Fokko was once again made to endure large quantities of Denglish. When Fokko went home, we naurally went back to my warm bed and did not sleep very much at all.

Hey! Okay since Hannah has to chat with her boyfriend now I'm continuing this blog post. Very kind of Hannah:) Wednesday was definitely the day we did most (as she already said the other days were mostly just lying in bed): We went to Bremen! Both of us had never been there. At this point I would like to thank Fokko or Hannah or whoever is responsible for the following. This person maintained it would take one about 25 minutes to bike to the train station in Ocholt. Yeah, well, what shall I say, unfortunately it wasn´t like this. After these promised 25 minutes we gone half of the way. Since our train was leaving about 5 minutes later, we had to do the second half of the way in about 3 minutes and run all the way to the train. Luckily there was a nice train attendant who waited for us. When we finally sat in the train soaked in sweat all he had to say was "Frühsport am Morgen vertretíbt Kummer und Sorgen" (German saying which basically means early exercise frees you from all worries). After taking the train and two "Straßenbahnen" we arrived at the Water Front with Primark. We spent the next hours shopping and left the store with some REALLY cheap goodies (That is what characterizes Primark: Bad quality clothes for prices that can be paid by poor students). After that we went back to the city center and headed to the "Weihnachtsmarkt" (IN OCTOBER- what the...?). But since we were both pretty hungry and it was mostly german Christmas food we spent the rest of our time in Bremen eating: Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (fried potato pancakes with apple sauce) gebrannte Mandeln (warm sugary almonds), heiße Maronen (hot chestnuts) and Lachsbrötchen (smoked salmon sandwich). Actually we also wanted to drink typical German "Glühwein" available when one is 16 but they wouldn't let us. Hard to believe but also in Germany they don't sell every kind of alcohol for little girls like us. In the evening we went all the way back with the train. When we arrived at the train station in Westerstede-Ocholt, we had not only to notice that somebody stole Hannah´s cover of the saddle which she bought in the Netherlands and loved a lot, but also that it was pitch black outside and we had to make the way home on our bikes nearly blind. This was kind of dangerous but also really funny. It took us about 45 minutes (not 25). Sabine was really happy to see us home safe.

That's it from me. We have to leave in  few minutes and Hannah is already beginning to cry (although we promised each other not to do so). At least we know we´re going to meet again in about two and a half month when our famlies will get to know each other. Love you people. Hannah will go over this part of the post later and not only correct me so you think my English is quiet awesome but I guess she will also cut out the parts she doesn't like (which will mostly be when I'm saying mean things about her). That's why you will never know what a beast Hannah really is and I can´t even be sure that you will read this. Good bye!

I left Clara's part pretty much unedited and only added a few commas because her English is superb and she's adorable. So so happy I got to see my Cler again and cannot wait for the next time!!

Liebe Grüße von Hanni und Clari❤️

The One with a Second Language

Language learning is insane. Komisch, einfach nur komisch. Before coming to Germany, I had so many misconceptions about what it would be like to be immersed in a new culture and a language I'd half-heartedly learned online for two years. Let's be real, "learned online" actually means my mom helped me with 70 percent of it and I complained the whole time. After two months of being here, which is feels like nothing but is a significant amount of time away from home, it's very difficult to remember what I could and couldn't understand or say before coming here. I had a basic understanding of German grammar, could probably give you the wrong article (der, die or das) for any given noun, and say that I was hungry or needed help, using the wrong verb tense or direct object. I could understand the general gist of a conversation and use context clues when reading to be able to text casually in German. However, I had very little practice actually conversing in German or thinking with German word order. Lots of Google Translate and literal translations from English were utilized. But after being completely bombarded with German for 2 months, I thought it would be fun to make a list of things I can do/say in German, and things that I hope to be able to do soon. 

Things I can (usually) accomplish auf Deutsch:

-I can make it through the whole day with my host family speaking only German. This ranges from normal things like talking about school and work to cracking jokes or talking about politics with my host mom.

-I can order things (bread, I know it's a shocker) from the bakery in front of hoardes of kids from school and have only asked once for an entire apple cake when I meant a piece. The word "Stück" was quickly noted. 

-I can write a one and a half hour long test essay with incorrect grammar on the Enlightenment, population development in Germany or the late Middle Ages. All of which my teachers said they would give me the texts we had to read to formulate our essays in English and did not deliver. Schade, but it wasn't all too shabby.

- I can flirt in German. Moving on...

- I can understand derivative calculus in German, and actually got a better than average score on the first test, which is actually crazy because I do not enjoy math and after the first day I was like soooo where is the closest exit from math in German?

-I can inquire about the well being of someone after I run into them with my bike. Which, as an update, I can ride with an umbrella now! One day I got my shoe lace caught in the pedal while holding my umbrella but we don't need to speak of that...

- I can read Pippi Longstocking (shoutout to those of you who know the books about her) in German without translating.

-I can dream in German and some phrases I think of come into my head in German first. Can't think completely in German yet...

- I can sort of magically put some words in correct word order but actually German word order is ridiculous.

-I can learn Spanish in German without going to English too, it's still a mess in my brain nevertheless (nevertheless, ah yes, a direct translation from "trotzdem" in German, which is an everyday staple here)

- I can really laugh from my stomach at jokes told in German, as opposed to the fake obligatory laugh I used for the first couple weeks like, "haha I'm sure that would be funny if I wasn't still translating what you said in my head"

On to things I cannot do in German/ like a German...

- I cannot yet text like a true German teen. Heavy on the emojis, low on the "haha" or "lol" which I normally use. The See No Evil monkey can be used on almost any occasion. 

- I cannot properly choose movies when they have German titles. Cue story where I accidentally end up watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in German...

- I still say random knee jerk reaction phrases in English, for example when I accidentally do something I still break out my Wisconsin "oopsie" or "oh boy" on occasion. 

-I cannot pronounce my friend Laura's name properly... I can roll my r's just fine but in the word Laura it's like a weird back of the throat thing which I either throw out all the way or it sounds like I'm gargling mouthwash. 

-I still answer people with many different intonations of the word "ja" which I'm very good at (who knew one word could be said at so many different levels or with so many different voices) but isn't practical for speaking practice. 

-I walk around barefoot in the house like a ragamuffin which is really not supposed to happen, but I just got some house shoes today which are all wooly and warm!

That's all for this post people, I've got to do some homework before I head to the Netherlands for vacation tomorrow! Next week Clara comes to visit me for a few days and I cannot wait! Hopefully a collaboration from us if you guys are interested?? I thought I'd throw in a couple pics at the end from the last few weeks too:) 

Schönen Tag euch!

Hannah 

The One Mit Einem Fahrrad

If I had a Euro for every time I've gotten rained on while riding my bike here, I could probably purchase a month's supply of Haribo gummy treats. Now this is not only due to the fact that Haribo is way cheaper here (both wonderful and awful), but also because it rains in the mornings and afternoons a lot. And by a lot I mean every day. Like I might look out the window in the morning thinking,"Wow, today it looks pretty nice out, I won't have to worry about getting rained on!" Then I step outside and it immediately starts drizzling, so I sullenly bike to school, cursing the weather and banishing any hope of my hair looking semi-decent. Halfway through the day I might be on my way to the pool for sport class and the sky is bright blue and the sun is out; an hour later, it begins to rain once again the minute PE ends. This is just how it is. So in this post, I'd like to share the joys and downfalls of having a bike and using it to go everywhere. 

Reasons why a "Fahrrad" is super:

1. In a medium sized town like Westerstede, I can zip around to pretty much any place within 10 minutes and feel like a real European doing so.

2. When we have free time in the school day, it takes about 2 seconds to get to a bakery to get some bread or a drink. Case in point, some people in my math class were talking about how they could really go for a coffee and how we should have a coffee machine in the room. Not only did my teacher say that we should definitely invest in a coffee machine, he was like "Yeah okay you have ten minutes to hit up the bakery for a drink." I love this. 

3. Being able to go places with my host brother and hanging out in town, even though neither of us can drive. It's so sweet to grab an ice cream with him or pick up some bread on a Sunday morning from a shop together. So many stories of mine include some form of bread, I'm slowly realizing...

4. Complete independence in general. It's going to be rough giving some of that up next year. 

5. Tricked out German bikes. They've got cool baskets, bike bells, bike racks, and a lock on the back wheel that you put a key in to release. 

Reasons why having a "Fahrrad" is also a struggle:

1. Showing up at home completely soaked to the bone. Pretty self-explanatory, but unlike in the US, no one is coming to pick you up from school when it rains. You had better ride quickly. 

2. The fact that children are either overly cautious or not cautious at all whilst riding their bikes or walking around. I've already run into one kid and nearly missed many others. 

3. Bike traffic. Highly unusual for me to experience in the US but here you have to really watch out for not only cars but pedestrians and other bikers. Bike bells are a complete must.

4. A lot of hopping around to get on and off my bike and looking like a loon. Short people problems for sure... 

5. Adding skinny jeans to the hopping around problem. Classic.

6. The perpetual decision of whether to wipe off your bike seat and have a partially wet coat or sit on it and have a wet butt. Both are not extremely appealing. 

I think that's about it for my bike riding observations thus far, but there will no doubt be more to come. I'm hoping my next biking adventure will be learning how to ride with an umbrella but I'm not sure my skills are that advanced quite yet... 

Bis zum nächsten Mal, 

Hannah 

The One Im Gymnasium

Before you get the idea from this post's title that I've been spending large quantities of time here in the gym, let me clarify that the German word for the type of high school I'm attending is "Gymnasium." I probably should hit the gym because of all the leckeres Brot (delicious bread) I've been consuming, but as we would say in German "es ist egal," which means it doesn't really matter. Anyway, on to the point of this post, which is my experience with school so far.

I started school here 2 weeks ago and received a traditional Schultüte from my host mum filled with yummy German candy.

I biked to school like I do every day now, and it takes me exactly 5 minutes when I go through the town center. I find the city Zentrum so cool because of all the little shops, red cobble stone streets and sidewalks, and the vast quantities of other students also biking to school. The bike stands at the Gymnasium are comepletely packed with bikes because we have about 1,200 students from 5th grade through 12th grade. This is also super crazy because walking through the halls is like a strange mix of being in a middle school and a high school at the same time. The school itself is in the middle of the city, which means that when you look out the windows in any given classroom, you can see lots of red-roofed houses and typical German scenery. Each classroom has a wall of windows, which filters in natural light and air; I find this to be super calming. 

I can't really go through a "normal" school day because of the fact that the Oberstufe (11th and 12th grades) are set up much like college in the U.S. This means that I have 3 to 4 one and a half hour long courses every day, but usually with gaps in my schedule. For instance, Fridays I have badminton beginning at 11:45 and nothing else before or after that. Here is a picture of what the basic time table looks like: 

My Prufungskurse or P. Fächer are English, German, geography, history, and math, which means I have them 2 times a week. Then I have Werte and Normen (like philosophy), music, water aerobics and badminton as courses that I have once a week. I think this type of schedule leads to a lot of independence, as I can bike home or leave school whenever I don't have class. As you can see on the schedule, our "lunch" break is 55 minutes long and there is no cafeteria that all the students sit in to eat. Students will instead head to local bakeries or go home if they don't have 7/8 hour Unterricht. 

The fact that I'm in the 11th grade here is a bit unusual for an exchange student, as most are put in the 10th grade regardless of how old they are. This is due to the fact that up until 11th grade, students are in a single class of 15 or so classmates who they have most classes with. In 11th grade you have new people in every class and lessons are taken a lot more seriously. In many ways, I'm very happy with fact that I'm in the 11th grade, as I really enjoy the college style lessons and subject material thus far. I'm surprised by how much I can understand from the things we discuss in class but I definitely can't add to the conversation in German yet. Reading text and anaylzing it is pretty much impossible at this point still. Super glad I took History of Imperial Europe because in German class our topic is the French Revolution (not confusing at all lol) and in history we will cover the late Middle Ages and Reformation this semester. 

The one thing about being in the 11th grade that is a bit stressful is that all of the students are beginning their preparation for the Abitur, meaning they are all very attentive and dedicated in class. At first no one really spoke to me during class, which I found very different to when we have an exchange student at my high school.  It has taken these two weeks to really get people to open up, but everyone is very friendly and will invite me places. I've joined an English club which will travel to Edinburgh, Scotland the weekend before Christmas and a choir group that is much smaller than I'm used to but is still very nice. Next week I start a Spanish night course because it seems like a grand idea to torture myself with yet another language;) I figured it would be cool to learn a bit for spring break in Spain and because I would really like to master it after German. 

I will be posting much more interesting and hopefully funny things in the future, but thought it would be good to clarify some basics about school here after not posting for three weeks. It's absolutely crazy trying to compile all of my impressions into words but will definitely be easier once I get into a routine of writing. For the two and a half of you reading this, let me know if there are any specific things you would like to hear about and ich werde das schaffen:) 

Schönen Tag und liebe Grüße,

Hannah