The following are a bunch of jumbled up thoughts about different topics from the past two weeks… enjoy!
School
Instead of Gym class, Germans have a class called “Sport,” which is similar to gym. So far, I’ve only had two sport classes - class is separated into a boys’ class and a girls’ class. Basically, I was the only girl wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Everyone else wore leggings or sweatpants and a nicer shirt. A nicer shirt, for example, would be a Hollister v-neck. First we warmed up by running and skipping. Then, we pulled out some mats and mini-trampolines and did very basic gymnastics! We did all of this with American music blasting throughout the gym. Sport class is vastly different from Gym class.
In English class this week, we’ve been learning about what it means to be a teenager and something surprised me a lot. We were listening to a dialogue from the textbook and there were three blatant cuss words in the text! One of the cuss words was even a vocab word! According to my friends, they’re taught “ghetto English” in addition to proper English.
On Mondays and Thursdays, I have long school which means that I have “Mittags Pause,” or mid-day break. During this time, my friends and I head to the market down the street. I love this place because not only is there a bakery with ridiculously delicious food, but there is fruit, chocolate, chips, etc. It’s spectacular! Plus I can eat for 2 or 3 euro!
I’m loving art class so far! The first thing we’re studying is Architecture!!! We were talking about different types of windows and our teacher was trying to explain them. When she didn’t succeed at explaining what they looked like, she had to show us. So we all walked over to the windows and looked at some old buildings across the river! I love living in such an old and historic place!
Last week we went on a class trip to Waldkirchen. We had some activity planned but it was raining so we couldn’t go. Instead, I got to spend two hours sitting in a cafe with my friends! It was quite fun! We also had class picture day last week. The background for the pictures was this really pretty stone (instead of that awful blue background we have in the U.S.). We also stood and crossed our arms for the picture. I’m anxious to see how they turn out! |
I’m so glad that Language camp taught me some things about German school - it has saved my from many embarrassing moments. First, you’re not supposed to ask to use the restroom during class. The teacher will ALWAYS say no. That’s what breaks are for! Also, German students don’t say “thank you” (“danke” auf Deutsch) when a teacher hands them a paper. My German teacher at Language camp said something along the lines of, “why would you thank me for giving you more work?!” Finally, holding doors open for people isn’t really a thing like it is in the Southern U.S. States.
I had to read some German out loud in Economy and Citizenship yesterday and I butchered it. IT was only two sentences and I took forever to read them! Later, my teacher thanked me and told me I read good. I thought he was just being nice. Last night, my friends told me that I speak and understand German very well considering that I’ve never had a proper German course before. They also said that they loved listening to me read in class because they adore my American accent!
If you’d like to check out my spectacular school, click here for the website - translated to English of course!
Friends
Last weekend I went to a dance party with my friends and I had so much fun! In ninth grade at my school, all the students are given the option to take a dance class and most of them do. Therefore, many students from my school were at this dance party. They danced the Tango, the Jive and the Waltz among other things. My friends taught me the Disco Fox and the Cha Cha Cha! I had so much fun that I’m looking into taking a dance class! I visited Austria for the third time last night - this time it was for a birthday party! We ate a lot of food and I brought the “Happy Birthday” candles that we put in muffins! Muffins are a popular party food. I guess that’s because they don’t have cupcakes here. Either way, everything was lecker (delicious) and I got to share some of my American culture with my friends! |
Food
An after-dinner favorite of my family is crepes! We eat them with nutella, sugar, applesauce, fruit, etc.
Nachos in Germany are much spicier than nachos in America - I learned this the hard way but eventually got used to the taste and now I love them! In the StadtGallerie (the mall in Passau) on the top floor, there is an ice cream cafe called “Gelati.” Ice cream cafes, or EisCafe, are very popular in Germany. ”Gelati” is my absolute favorite EisCafe! I haven’t been there much so far, but I hope that by the end of the year I’ll have been able to try all the delicious flavors! This week, I discovered my love for Chai tea! It’s so sweet and savory! I need daily reminders to not eat so much chocolate…. I had a chocolate croissant this week during school and for two class periods, I had chocolate all over my mouth. Somehow, this always happens to me. |
English Tourists
This past week, I noticed some very loud Americans and overheard that they couldn’t decide which way to go. I stopped and asked what they were looking for to see if I could help. I think they were surprised for a second that I spoke English. One of the ladies replied in very slow, simple English, “the river where our ship is.” Didn’t she realize that there are three rivers in Passau? Of course I knew that they were looking for their cruise ship on the Danube river, so I pointed them in the right direction. As they started walking away, the men said something along the lines of, “do we look like we need help?” Needless to say, they were quite obnoxious and even a little bit rude. They acted as though they’d been drinking all day.
A few days later, I encountered some more lost American tourists. Luckily they were extremely nice but they were looking for a specific street and I didn’t know where it was… a shop owner ended up helping them find their way.
Life
I missed my bus for the first time last week! I guess it would have happened eventually. Plus, the bus leaves so quickly after school gets out that you have to sprint from your last class to the bus stop. I also have to change buses once so if the fist bus is a bit late, I could miss my second bus. Thankfully, my host dad came to pick me up and I now know which bus to take and when so hopefully this won’t happen again!
My family and I went to a movie premiere for “Restalkohol” last week! The producer/main character is a good family friend and at the end of the movie, he - along with the rest of the cast - went onstage to give us a little insight into the making of the movie and to take questions. It was a great experience, fantastic film (even though I only understood some of what they were saying), and it all took place in one of the coolest classic theaters! |
This past Sunday, my family took me to an American Sports Fest complete with baseball, hockey, basketball, American football, hot dogs, country music and a U.S. car show! It was so much fun and I was glad I could pretend to be in America for a couple hours! Also, the bacon covered hot dog I had was to die for!
Since Tuesday, I’ve had a stuffy nose along with every single other person in Passau… my host family and friends included. All of my classmates have been sick too. Hopefully we’ll all be better soon!
I finally discovered the “German Walmart”… Müller! It has EVERYTHING! There are two Müller store in Passau and we have a lot of great shopping other that that!
The other day when I was walking through the StadtGallerie and I saw a younger girl who I recognized from school. I don’t know who she is but as she passed me, we made eye contact and she smiled real big and said “hi!” She made my day!
I got a lovely package last night from my aunt, uncle and cousins with a lot of American things in them for which I am very thankful.
Today is German National Reunification Day (similar to America’s July 4th) so we had no school today!