Wow... I've just got a little more than a month (to the day) left in this country, but I don't want to make a post about that just yet.
What I do want to post about is that I am 6 posts away from hitting the 100 mark. So, what I am going to do I make one post a week until I reach that mark.
This is sort of a lame, filler-week, but I also wanted to let you guys know about my up-coming plans for the next couple of days/weeks.
On Friday, I'm going to Cologne to visit distant relatives. I'll be there until Monday.
On the following Friday/Saturday, I'm moving once again. My current hostfamily will be going on vacation, and since they didn't plan on having a hoststudent when they planned the vacation, it would be strange for me to go with. So, I'll be moving in with a friend of mine until my departure date.
Also on that weekend, I'll potentially be meeting my roommate for next year at college. She's currently visiting a friend in Germany, and maybe we'll be able to meet up in Hannover.
Toward the end of July, the Polish students we visited in earlier this year will be coming to our town. We'll be staying in a hostel with them for a week.
After that, I have a little more than a week of summer vacation in Germany before heading back to the US.
Well, that's all I've got for this week!
Bis später!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Berlin... Du bist so wunderbar, Berlin!
I got back yesterday from my trip to Berlin. Let's just say it was amazing!
The hostel we stayed in was about a 5-10 minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie. Which not only means we had a pretty good location in the city, but also that we were right on the border of where the Berlin Wall was. I could see the line of paving stones in the street that marks where the wall stood.
We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and were kept pretty busy the entire time. We first got our rooms and had dinner. Then, it was off for short tour of some of the main sights in Berlin. We went to Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (giant cement blocks of various heights covering a block in the city - really incredible), Postdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate.
On Wednesday, we took a bus tour of the city, seeing some of the places that were just too far to walk to. We saw the mascots of Berlin, various scale models of the entire city, the largest airport in Germany (and Europe for that matter, I think - it was over a mile long), and various museums and important/old buildings. After dinner, it was time for the highlight of the week (possibly even my exchange): watching the German national team playing against the Netherlands in the Europameisterschaft (European Championship) at Germany's biggest public viewing event.
It was amazing! Before we left, we all dressed ourselves in the national colors. People even used the bit of free time we had beforehand to pick up some shirts, face paint, wigs and flags. Then we all gathered in the courtyard of the hostel and were on our way. Even walking to the Brandenburg Gate was cool. One of the other students had bought a vuvuzela (an annoyingly loud horn sometimes used by fans during the games - not traditionally a European thing), and as we were walking through the city, he would blast the horn and get people to honk their car horns or cheer with us.
When we finally got there, the place was already pretty packed. There were about 500,000 people there, on a Wednesday night. The atmosphere there was awesome. Everyone, except maybe five people, were cheering for the same team. When we scored both goals, everyone flipped out. Everyone sang with whenever we wanted to chant. One of my favorite parts was the various ways to cheer. You could sing with, saying the right words, or you could sing with, only using sounds that sound like the right words. Or, if your voice was too dead for real cheering, shouting out the name of the player on the screen was perfectly acceptable, too.
At the end of the game, the score stood 2-1. People went crazy. My friends and I stayed a couple of minutes after as various party songs were played and people danced like they were at a club. We would have stayed longer, but we had to meet back up with the group. I wasn't in bed until 1:30.
Thursday was spent in various museums. We had a choice of a Jewish museum, a Stasi prison or a tour of the underground bunkers in Berlin. I opted for the bunkers. It was really interesting, but also kind of creepy. The bunkers were made next to the subways. So, every time a subway train went by, the walls would vibrate and the sound echoed all over the place. There were some interesting collections of old items left by the people who used the bunkers - plates, toys, clothing - as well as a collection of old weaponry - guns, bombs and grenades. In one room, there was even a display of old gasmasks.
After the museums and after dinner, we had another choice of activities: watching a cultural movie, going to a ballet, or visiting the TV Tower. I chose the last option. We also had about an hour beforehand to go shopping at the big shopping location called Alexanderplatz. The view from the tower was amazing! We could see the Brandenburg Gate, the airport, approximately where our hostel was, as well as plenty of other major sites in Berlin. The sunset from 203 meters was really pretty!
I ended up having another really long night because I had volunteered to help make the gift we would give to the Bundestag the next day. I was in bed again at 1:30, but we needed to be up at 5:00 AM for the meeting on Friday.
Even though I was really exhausted, visiting the Reichstag was a cool experience. Unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras inside. So, I don't have any pictures from inside the building. We got to sit in and watch the representatives debate among each other, which was pretty cool. Then we met with some representatives and people who work together to organize and ensure the continuation of the CBYX program. We asked questions, gave speeches and presented our gifts. Then, we had lunch and got to hang out with all the other CBYX scholarship recipients (we were about 350 all together).
Afterward, we all went to the American Embassy. It was really interesting being there. The Embassy has a courtyard in the middle with a square of pure, soft grass. We were served American sodas (including Mug rootbeer, but I didn't get any...). There was music playing in the background. The whole thing just sort of felt kind of like a graduation party.
Friday night we played a few games as a big group and then had the opportunity to do pretty much whatever we wanted. I went with a group of friends into the couch room on our floor and watched movies until 2:30.
On Saturday morning, we all met up again for a final round of games and good-byes. Then, it was off to the train station and back to our hostfamilies. It was raining really hard as we left, which fit pretty well to the situation. We had to say good-bye to friends we had made and may never see again. Kind of a bummer. But, hey, I've still got 6 weeks!
Bis später!
P.S. Pictures from my time in Berlin will be added to my 365 Project (which, by the way, is almost done)!
The hostel we stayed in was about a 5-10 minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie. Which not only means we had a pretty good location in the city, but also that we were right on the border of where the Berlin Wall was. I could see the line of paving stones in the street that marks where the wall stood.
We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and were kept pretty busy the entire time. We first got our rooms and had dinner. Then, it was off for short tour of some of the main sights in Berlin. We went to Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (giant cement blocks of various heights covering a block in the city - really incredible), Postdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate.
On Wednesday, we took a bus tour of the city, seeing some of the places that were just too far to walk to. We saw the mascots of Berlin, various scale models of the entire city, the largest airport in Germany (and Europe for that matter, I think - it was over a mile long), and various museums and important/old buildings. After dinner, it was time for the highlight of the week (possibly even my exchange): watching the German national team playing against the Netherlands in the Europameisterschaft (European Championship) at Germany's biggest public viewing event.
It was amazing! Before we left, we all dressed ourselves in the national colors. People even used the bit of free time we had beforehand to pick up some shirts, face paint, wigs and flags. Then we all gathered in the courtyard of the hostel and were on our way. Even walking to the Brandenburg Gate was cool. One of the other students had bought a vuvuzela (an annoyingly loud horn sometimes used by fans during the games - not traditionally a European thing), and as we were walking through the city, he would blast the horn and get people to honk their car horns or cheer with us.
When we finally got there, the place was already pretty packed. There were about 500,000 people there, on a Wednesday night. The atmosphere there was awesome. Everyone, except maybe five people, were cheering for the same team. When we scored both goals, everyone flipped out. Everyone sang with whenever we wanted to chant. One of my favorite parts was the various ways to cheer. You could sing with, saying the right words, or you could sing with, only using sounds that sound like the right words. Or, if your voice was too dead for real cheering, shouting out the name of the player on the screen was perfectly acceptable, too.
At the end of the game, the score stood 2-1. People went crazy. My friends and I stayed a couple of minutes after as various party songs were played and people danced like they were at a club. We would have stayed longer, but we had to meet back up with the group. I wasn't in bed until 1:30.
Thursday was spent in various museums. We had a choice of a Jewish museum, a Stasi prison or a tour of the underground bunkers in Berlin. I opted for the bunkers. It was really interesting, but also kind of creepy. The bunkers were made next to the subways. So, every time a subway train went by, the walls would vibrate and the sound echoed all over the place. There were some interesting collections of old items left by the people who used the bunkers - plates, toys, clothing - as well as a collection of old weaponry - guns, bombs and grenades. In one room, there was even a display of old gasmasks.
After the museums and after dinner, we had another choice of activities: watching a cultural movie, going to a ballet, or visiting the TV Tower. I chose the last option. We also had about an hour beforehand to go shopping at the big shopping location called Alexanderplatz. The view from the tower was amazing! We could see the Brandenburg Gate, the airport, approximately where our hostel was, as well as plenty of other major sites in Berlin. The sunset from 203 meters was really pretty!
I ended up having another really long night because I had volunteered to help make the gift we would give to the Bundestag the next day. I was in bed again at 1:30, but we needed to be up at 5:00 AM for the meeting on Friday.
Even though I was really exhausted, visiting the Reichstag was a cool experience. Unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras inside. So, I don't have any pictures from inside the building. We got to sit in and watch the representatives debate among each other, which was pretty cool. Then we met with some representatives and people who work together to organize and ensure the continuation of the CBYX program. We asked questions, gave speeches and presented our gifts. Then, we had lunch and got to hang out with all the other CBYX scholarship recipients (we were about 350 all together).
Afterward, we all went to the American Embassy. It was really interesting being there. The Embassy has a courtyard in the middle with a square of pure, soft grass. We were served American sodas (including Mug rootbeer, but I didn't get any...). There was music playing in the background. The whole thing just sort of felt kind of like a graduation party.
Friday night we played a few games as a big group and then had the opportunity to do pretty much whatever we wanted. I went with a group of friends into the couch room on our floor and watched movies until 2:30.
On Saturday morning, we all met up again for a final round of games and good-byes. Then, it was off to the train station and back to our hostfamilies. It was raining really hard as we left, which fit pretty well to the situation. We had to say good-bye to friends we had made and may never see again. Kind of a bummer. But, hey, I've still got 6 weeks!
Bis später!
P.S. Pictures from my time in Berlin will be added to my 365 Project (which, by the way, is almost done)!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Quickie Update
Just wanted to let you all know I'm still living, and things are still amazing here in Germany!
In a few days, I'll be going to Berlin for a meeting with YFU. All the exchange students who have also received the same scholarship I did will be there (including those from other exchange programs). I'm really looking forward to meeting some new people, and seeing some people I haven't seen since July! (Not to mention getting to tour around the country's capital!)
I've also found a family I can stay with in July (did I mention I needed to find one?). I'll be staying with a good friend of mine. It will be nice to be in relative walking distance from the school. It will save a heck of a lot of trouble when classes are cancelled, and a lot of money I would spend riding the bus. Plus, it will be fun being able to live with this friend for a while!
That's all for this little update. I'll try to post something a little more interesting in the coming days!
Bis später!
In a few days, I'll be going to Berlin for a meeting with YFU. All the exchange students who have also received the same scholarship I did will be there (including those from other exchange programs). I'm really looking forward to meeting some new people, and seeing some people I haven't seen since July! (Not to mention getting to tour around the country's capital!)
I've also found a family I can stay with in July (did I mention I needed to find one?). I'll be staying with a good friend of mine. It will be nice to be in relative walking distance from the school. It will save a heck of a lot of trouble when classes are cancelled, and a lot of money I would spend riding the bus. Plus, it will be fun being able to live with this friend for a while!
That's all for this little update. I'll try to post something a little more interesting in the coming days!
Bis später!