Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in watcher154's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, October 9th, 2010
10:24 am	After 13 months in Germany I'm back in the states, for good, or at least for now. It was a hard goodbye, especially since I don't know when I will get back over to Germany. These past few days I've been readjusting to life in the states. There are some differences that will take more getting use to than others. For instance, not having to think about what gets recycled. Everything just goes into the trash here. Or crossing the street on red. you might laugh, but in germany you don't cross when it's red. you do and you get a ticket. Wednesday when I was out for dinner I legit was waiting for the light to change while my friend started walking across the street. I forgot that here crossing on red, won't get you a ticket. Sometimes the German comes out faster than the english. So I'll have to pause and find the correct English word before I answer. or my mom and I will be out talking German and then we'll have to switch to English because of a shop clerk. It's not so easy to do. Or, now this is going to be blunt, but how fat everyone is. I mean in Germany you see overweight people but there aren't as many as here. I think the way food is preceived and treated here is different than in Germany. as a generalization, I believe the relationship people have here with food is unhealthy and that's why as a country we have body issues and weight problems. ___ I miss the kids like crazy but I want to be a teacher and coming back here to earn my masters to teach is the only way I can think of to reach that goal. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
6:21 pm	it's been a year... Hard to believe, but it's been a year since I've arrived here. I still remember that we ate pasta with tomato sauce when I arrived. I remember thinking how the sauce looked more orange than red and how it tasted really good. Since then I've learned it's homemade sauce, and can now make it within 15 minutes. Although I don't enjoy it as much as then, since I feel like we eat way too many noodles. I don't know if I've stated it here, but I have experienced so much in the past year it's unbelievable. Being able to do something like this, living and working abroad, doesn't happen to a lot of people and for this opportunity I will be forever grateful. Not only have I learned so much about another land and culture, but I've learned a lot about myself and what my capabilities are. I've never felt more at home, with myself and my environment as I do here. I love it here, and don't want to leave Current Mood: thankful (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
11:39 am	Where did summer go? it's really amazing who mild this summer has been for me. Usually in August all I do is sweat. Well this August, it's been "cold" so I haven't had to worry about sweating, unless it's during soccer with the boys. It's basically been in the 60s most days. I actually like it a lot. I'm not a fan of tropical summers (aka humid summers where it's in the 90s and you have to have AC in order not to feel like you're melting.) The only thing that gets to me is that it's overcast 6 days out of the week. Although, I can't complain that much since the whole month of July it was a heat way have didn't rain. Which if any of you have been to Europe in summer, you know it's horrible since Europeans don't have ACs. Besides it being bad for the environment, the cost is too high for most to afford. Most importantly, they simply haven't had the need for them. Summer in Europe doesn't get into the high 90s or 100s. If it does it's only for a few days. Usually it's in the 8s. They also don't have heat waves, and unlike the American's they have stucco houses with thick walls, meaning the heat doesn't get in easily. It stays cool in the houses unless you have 4 + days of high temperatures. The kids started school (Germany only has 6 weeks summer break)the first week in August, and I realize as it starts to get darker earlier; summer is almost over. Which means another phase of my life is coming to an end :( (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
8:46 am	10 days So I was back in the states for a total of 10 days. In 10 days I: was in 3 States (NJ, NY (and upstate-almost like a different state) and MA) visited 1 beach Saw the Mayflower 2 Drove by Plymouth Plantation (but didn't go inside) swam in 1 pool Ate at Sunset stuffed a burrito brick into my mouth drank 1 blue moon Karaoked 4 songs at Ts spent wayyy too much time on a Megabus (future reference Megabus is Megastupid) ate at a diner played tennis Took the GREs Drove a car made out with 3 different guys ;) Coming back to Germany only made me appreciate the differences so much more. it's true that EVERYTHING is bigger in the US. But that doesn't mean it's better as I've been learning over the months. What surprised me? How dirty it was in the States. Was it always that way? I guess so, but I guess I must not have noticed so much. Here in Germany because there isn't so much space, a lot of things are viewed as belonging to the community and therefore everyone wants and makes sure it stays nice and clean. How frequently people in the US check/play with their cell phones. and how many people have touch screens. Everyone in Europe has a cell phone, and while they probably use it just as much, they do not seem as connected to it as their counterparts in the US. By which I mean they aren't always taking it our of their pocket and playing with it. They seem to be more courtious about using it. How loud people are. Haha, I guess that seems funny coming from me, but it's true that Americans are louder. I think though, that has a lot to do with the fact that seems to always be background noise, which can take away from the conversation.Therefore, you have to speak louder. For instance, I definitely have had the feeling in the past that music in a restaurant is so loud, that it's no longer background music. In Germany it's exactly that, background music. How much certain things cost. It's interesting to see where the price differences are between the two countries. I'm sure there were lots of other smaller things that I noticed but those where the big ones. Since I've been back I've been on "vacation" which I have until at least the 25 of July. Can anyone say sightseeing around Europe? :) (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
3:52 pm	Summertime Remember that time iw as going to update regularly on LJ? haha, didn't happen. It's been so beautiful the last few days here. We're been out enjoying the weather, and playing soccer almost every day this week. (Sadly my big toe is slightly swollen due to soccer.) If I had friends who were going to visit me (sadly I don't) this is when I would have them come. It's in the 60-70s during the day and there's a slight breeze to make it even more bareable. This weather definitely justifies daily trips to the many (about 20) ice cream parlors around town. Best part of the buying ice cream is it's not over priced like in the states. A cone is under a euro so it's probably about a 1.00 for one scoop which is actually more like two at some places. Our favorite place to go is right by one of the big churches, and I finally realized why I enjoy it so much. It tastes exactly like my homemade ice cream! My favorite part? The sun barely sets. It's light until past 10 at night. It makes for perfect weather to sit outside at a restaurant and drink a few beers (or in my case wine ;) ) with a boy. The downside is the sun also rises very early around 4:30 and since I don't really have blinds in my room I keep getting woken up by it, but it's a small price to pay for this beautiful weather. (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
8:04 am	Glee Today I was "in" the itunes store and I saw that episodes from Glee are avaible to buy. Now maybe it's just me, but I really don't get what all the hype is for. I've got the first episodes of Glee (up until sectionals) and I've watched all of them, but when I was done I had the same reaction like I did to Sex in the City; "okay this isn't a bad show, and I'd watch it again, but I don't get what the hype is about". Based on the premise, people singing and dancing around their school, you would think I would love it because I love musicals. But somehow this show doesn't translate into a show I have to watch. Part of my problem is I find the characters annoying, they are too sterotyped for me to really like them, o be able to relate to them. The storyline also seems to be to thin in some areas for me. For instance between Rachel and Mr Schuster, when she got crush on him, it was built up and then forgotten about within 30 minutes. Or between Rachel and Puck. Or Finn's character, all I want to do is wack him because he's such a dope! He takes forever to reach the decision the audience wants him to reach. The only character I like is Sue, in part because Jane Lynch is such a good actress and in part because she's created as a character you love to hate, so of course she's doing outlandish things, that's because she's the enemy. It's kind of weird to explain though why the show rubs me the wrong way, because what I dislike here, the thin and outlandish storylines, and the characters that don't seem to develop, don't bother me with other shows. In fact, in Greys Anatomy, I feel as if there's too much time spent dealing with the character's personal lives. I would rather they go back to how it was the first season, where the cases were the main storyline and you got to know the doctors/interns better through how they handled the case. And then there's Law and Order which will always have a place in my heart, haha. Although SVU is my fav of the 3 I can get sucked into any of them because you don't need to know the characters background. There is no real character development that goes on throughout an episode. It's all about the story. But by the same token, the characters do change little by little, but it's more that what they've experienced have changed them, which I think is true of how people in general develop. It's all based on a person's experiences and how they react to that situation that makes them into the person they are. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
5:03 pm	For all you US History lovers I recently came across a civics quiz given by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The results of the quiz were mentioned in an article I read describing the lack of understand/knowledge US students have of their country's history and government. The article brought up how many kids have trouble answering questions like who were our enemies in WW2 or what are some reasons for the civil war. It's really appalling to think that many people graduate high school without the ability to answer those questions. So I, who really enjoys learning about history decided to take the quiz to see how I would fair. Although I did better than the average college graduate my score was still poor 69%. So I decided to post the link here, hoping my friends will take this and share with me what they thought of the test and how they did. http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx have fun! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
4:57 pm	Visit to another country Recently my dad and stepmom visited me here in Germany. however,during that time we didn't stay in only in Germany we went to Prag (as the Germans spell it) in the Czech Republic. It was my first time being in a former East Block country. From movies, I've alway had the impression that there was a lack of color in the East Block countries, that their lives were grayish, in both color and quality of life outlook. Of course, that is the impression Hollywood wants us to have when we think of those countries. Even if that was the case then, it's not the case now. I should also prefance my impressions of the city by saying that we had previously been in Berlin for a few days, where it was rainy. Berlin is also a very ugly city when compared to all the other cities Germany has to offer. The first thing I noticed right away about Prag was the architecture. I have always admired architecture, and my secret desire is to date someone who is a architect and can explain all the different styles to me so I was really impressed to see so many old buildings. Secondly, how OLD the city is. You see the age of the city through the architecture and it is really amazing to go around and learn that these buildings have been here for hundreds of years. Unlke most major European cities, there was no war that destroyed the city. Also, because it was part of the east block, a lot of the buildings that were in disrepair, would be left in derepair since there was no money to fix them up. You therefore have less tendency to replace things every couple of years with bigger and better like the Americans would do. Even though I live overseas and some might say I'm a foreigner, it was very different experience being in a country where I don't speak the language. In Germany there will always be things I think about differently because of my American upbringing(like the fact that when the light is red, but no cars are coming and you're the only one on the street the German's still don't cross it) and I still have a lot of communication failures (like yesterday I had no idea that my roommate was asking me if I cleaned her salad washer for her, but I'm able to communicate my needs and find my way around. whenever I've traveled in other countries in Europe I have always known a few words, like do you speak English. Here I didn't even know how to say that. So I really felt I had to be on my toes the whole time, not to get lost. What I found as strange, too, was how many people knew German! Never before have I been outside of Germany, and needed to use my German, but here it was more common for people to speak German than english. What made me sad/angry is to learn how rich a culture this is! I had absolutely no idea all theat the Czech Republic had been through because it's simply NEVER COVERED IN HISTORY CLASSES TAUGHT IN THE US. There are so many important events that happened in Prag that influence history as we know it, it was mind boggling. Unfortunately my dad and Jyll dislike Museums, in the respect that they don't like to spend their whole day there. they would rather walk around. Anyone who really knowns me, remembers that I too love to walk around neighbors (I mean what better way to see the architecture?), but I deeply love spending time in museums. Maybe it has to do with my love of Indiana Jones, or many it's because I love sociology. I always like to imagine what people's lives were like (maybe this is also why I love reading). Also, another aspect of Prag that I really enjoyed was how musical the city was. Each day their were multiple concerts going on in the different churchs around the city. Plus there were street musicians and most of the restaurants had live music after 8 pm. Another surprise was that besides McDonalds, which, sadly way too many countries have if you ask me, there were also Subways and TGIFs for those who were not brave enough to try the local food there. Even with the fast food places (McDonalds was always full with a line to the door), I did not see any fat people around. It was amazing! Here in Germany there are definitely fewer overweight/heavier people around, but in Prag I didn't see any heavy or overweight people. And it's not as if the czech food is healthy, their food is really the artery clogging, and heavy on meats with gravies. Of course, the majority of people I did see were student aged 15-25 since it was the week before Easter and it seemed a lot of schools had taken class trips to Prag. Overall, the two days we spent there were really a joke, because you could barely get a sense of the city and the culture, before you were gone again. I would have rather spent a week there, because then I would have gotten the chance to see everything I had wanted to see. But, just another reason to go back I guess. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
3:52 pm	Hair loss This year in Germany has been filled with me learning so much about the people who inhabit this land as well as their culture. Moreover, it has opened my eyes to a whole different lifestyle, one which, in many ways, is better than the lifestyle I previously had. Never before have I felt that every day I learn something new. This is really not a true statement, since when I was in school I was constantly learning or being expected to learn. The difference now is that what I'm learning can be applied directly to my life. It's connected to what I'm doing daily and not distantly affecting my daily life (I don't really know if I phrased that correctly.) One of the biggest changes is that I am now eating healthier than I ever have in my life. When I told my mom what I spend my days eating she was shocked. All those years of fighting with us about eating our veggies and all of the sudden I do it willing. Sometimes I get cravings for really unhealthy American sized portions of something, like a few weeks ago I wanted a sub so badly. Luckily, or unluckily for the people who live here, there is a subway in town so I decided that I would wait a day (it was like 8 when I got this craving) and if the crazing didn't go away, I would go and get a sub. Luckily, it went away. I also don't drink heavily anymore. I probably have wine 2 or 3 nights a week, but then it's usually a glass or two at the most. I can literally count on one hand the amount of beer that I've had so far this year. I haven't even been drunk yet this year! Which if you're a certain Diane I'm sure you're not believing that statement. It's kind of weird, because I use to drink once or twice a week, and be drunk at least one of those times, but I don't miss it. Maybe I'm becoming a grown up? Or maybe it's because the beer in this region of Germany is bitter and I don't like bitter beer. I don't really have an answer, but I do know that it's not something I miss. Maybe with the better weather I'll go out at night more and sit in the beer gardens with my friends. :) I don't cry anymore either. No longer will people know me only as the "girl who cries all the time", haha. I think since I've been here, I've cried maybe twice, and both times were because I missed my friends like WOAH! and were in sept/oct. So basically I've set a dry spell record for myself. haha. I've also given up on kissing guys I meet at bars. Been there, done that, and not going back. I feel so good about myself, and all of the changes I've made. The only thing I wish I pushed myself to do is run. I haven't go running since October. It's true it is/was up until recently cold and wintery but I still could have gone running if I really wanted to. I just haven't been able to push myself, hopefully that will change soon. I've also lost weight, which given all the changes in my habits, I guess is not that surprising. What is surprising is that it's what I weighed way back in 2002. And that I accomplished that without any exercise. I also can't see any difference, and therefore, I think that maybe I'm just losing my hair and that's why the scale keeps going down. Current Mood: chipper (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
4:25 pm	practicing what you preach Reduce, Reuse Recycle is a phrase that is used very often. There are certain times of the year where in America you hear people talk about recycling more than other times, and each time people say they can do more and will start doing more. But more often than not, nothing comes of that (this is in my opinion of course). In Germany however, people take recycling very seriously. Alone in our house we have 4 different types of "trash". Really, it's more like 1 and 3 different recycling. What we use most often is our bio trash which is for all the bio products, which is for the foods that normally go through a trash compactor and items such as bananna peels. Then we have the gelbe sack (yellow sack) basically the majority of our household products can be thrown in there. Any types of containers, plastic wrap, milk cartons go there. Then we have our alt Papier (old paper) for all the newspapers, and scraps of paper we want to get rid of. Finally we have the restmuell (the normal trash), which is for everything else. this gets collected every two weeks. Besides these different trashes, we also recycle our glass products, plastic soda bottles, and batteries. However, those recycled items aren't picked up, we bring them to a common location. In certain parts of Germany they will even refuse to take your trash, and you'll get a fine if you haven't separated everything properly! I'm sure to most Americans this seems bizarre, but this is really a great system whcih should get adopted in the states. Moreover, this is how they have been doing things for years like since I can remember we always separate our trash in Germany. So it makes me wonder why America hasn't started this. Also to reduce carbon emissions, certains cars aren't allowed to drive in certain parts of towns. Americans would be up in arms about this, I'm sure, claiming some rights are being violated when really it's just that we're too lazy to find other ways to do things. Each car, after inspection, receives a sticker in a certain color which dicates if it's allowed to drive through certain parts of town. If I understand correctly, this has to do with the age of the car, the older the car, the less the emission gets filtered so it's emitting more carbon dioxide than a newer model. Therefore, in places where a lot of stop and go traffic is the car is not allowed to go. This works too because most families have only one car [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<gasp!>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] Reduce, Reuse Recycle is a phrase that is used very often. There are certain times of the year where in America you hear people talk about recycling more than other times, and each time people say they can do more and will start doing more. But more often than not, nothing comes of that (this is in my opinion of course). In Germany however, people take recycling very seriously. Alone in our house we have 4 different types of "trash". Really, it's more like 1 and 3 different recycling. What we use most often is our bio trash which is for all the bio products, which is for the foods that normally go through a trash compactor and items such as bananna peels. Then we have the gelbe sack (yellow sack) basically the majority of our household products can be thrown in there. Any types of containers, plastic wrap, milk cartons go there. Then we have our alt Papier (old paper) for all the newspapers, and scraps of paper we want to get rid of. Finally we have the restmuell (the normal trash), which is for everything else. this gets collected every two weeks. Besides these different trashes, we also recycle our glass products, plastic soda bottles, and batteries. However, those recycled items aren't picked up, we bring them to a common location. In certain parts of Germany they will even refuse to take your trash, and you'll get a fine if you haven't separated everything properly! I'm sure to most Americans this seems bizarre, but this is really a great system whcih should get adopted in the states. Moreover, this is how they have been doing things for years like since I can remember we always separate our trash in Germany. So it makes me wonder why America hasn't started this. Also to reduce carbon emissions, certains cars aren't allowed to drive in certain parts of towns. Americans would be up in arms about this, I'm sure, claiming some rights are being violated when really it's just that we're too lazy to find other ways to do things. Each car, after inspection, receives a sticker in a certain color which dicates if it's allowed to drive through certain parts of town. If I understand correctly, this has to do with the age of the car, the older the car, the less the emission gets filtered so it's emitting more carbon dioxide than a newer model. Therefore, in places where a lot of stop and go traffic is the car is not allowed to go. This works too because most families have only one car <gasp!> if even that (we don't have car and are 6 people) so they're very use to and good at using public transportation which is NOTHING like the public transportation in America. You can't even compare the two, it would be like comparing apples and oranges. I mean in Germany you have public transportation everywhere. Each town, and villages too, are reachable by buses, trains, or the subways. After all that's come out in the last few years, connecting pollution to worsings changes in climate/ozone I just don't understand why one of the richest, most powerful countries in the world (I am talking about you America), has such a hard time implementing recycling programs comparable to what is done in Germany. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
12:35 pm	So the last times I posted it was so debbie downer. Which is weird because I'm still having a great time and enjoying my life here and all the people I get to meet. One of the things I really enjoy about Lueneburg is that every Wednesday and Saturday, in front of the town hall, there is a market (in the states we would call it a farmers market). There you are able to buy all different kinds of fruits and veggies, flowers, cheeses, breads, meats, fish and eggs. Normally, I shop for the family on Wednesday Mornings, when it's not so crowded. Mostly when I go I buy the same items, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, salad, oranges, apples, eggs, and bread. Since I go to the same stands each week, the people who work there know me and I get the feeling they can almost anticipate what I'm going to order. With one of the guys I even practice my English sometimes, haha. I really enjoy my Wednesday mornings because I can use my German and interact in a different manner than when I'm with the kids. It's kind of strange that while writing this, I had to pause and think of the English words. I'm so use to thinking and speaking Denglisch nowadays. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, February 8th, 2010
5:33 pm	Regrets I don't regret the things I did in college (or the past two years for that matter), to most of them I say, "oh my god I can't believe I did that in that I can't believe I once was that crazy". I don't regret them, possibily because I have difficulty remembering them. Instead, I chalk them up to the "learning experience". If there is one thing I regret, it's that I can be so impartical. Two year ago my mom downsized and had to make hard choices on what to move. I regret going through all of my toys, my books, my memories, and deciding within minutes what to throw away. I regret that I didn't take a more active role in fighting for us to move more of our toyes. I regret that I didn't take the time to take one last look over those objects that brought me so much joy throughout the years. When I think about the emotional, nevermind the monetary value, of the objects I so willingly parted with I get upset. I can't believe I so readily gave up that part of my childhood. That my children, if god willing I have any, will never get to play with them and get the joy I experienced using them. I know that by the time I have kids those toys would have been outdated, and that they probably wouldn't have wanted to use them. Hell, by the time I have kids, their "toys" will in vitural computer games. But still, I'm sad knowing that my children will never play with toys that I played with, all because one day I decided I didn't need them. Another very different regret that I have is the loss of friends. When someone who I once couldn't go more than a few days without talking with, who I confided secrets in and told my stupid jokes to disappears from my life, I regret not trying harder to preserve our frienship. I still wish I could have done something different to make them understand what they meant to me and how important they were but most of them time it's too late. It's weird but sometimes I have dreams where they are still a part of my life. --- Current Mood: sad (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
3:15 pm	One sided conversations A lot of the time now adays I feel as lif I'm having one sided conversations. As my mom would say "it's like talking to the wall". I have tried to retain my relationships with my friends but it's awfully hard when I'm the only one who seems to write or have anything to say. That's not to say my friends don't write, some do, most don't though. And then when I do get a chance to have a "conversation" with my friends it often is them telling me what they find interesting and me doing the same. Sometimes I just want to know that I'm not talking to myself and someone is hearing what I have to say Current Mood: blah (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
4:10 pm	phone commericals It's really weird to be writing in English when I'm watching German tv. Even weirder is that ads for t mobile reference facebook. When I see those ads I'm reminded how connected the whole world is. Which tends to make it harder for me to think and speak only in German. However, it also reminds me that I was there from the facebook beginning. When it truly was only known as "the facebook". haha (Comment on this)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
3:52 pm	These are a few of the things I miss I've been here for almost three months. I absolutely love it here, and find it hard to believe that I am only here for such a short time. However, there are some things I miss (these are in no particular order)... My bed and bedding (I miss being able to sweat away pounds at night, haha) my friends taking minutes during car rides crazy parties Alex's face Chipotle chocolate chip cookies sandwiches being obnoxious on the T meatloaf my ice cream maker Betty crocker bake an' fill hearing Benson and Stabler's actual voices on SVU The Biggest Loser Working out at a gym New England in the fall Dunks having an extensive choice of fleeces to wear all my jewelry (haha) my crazy beads the olive garden Our House for trivia night and loaded fries (yummmm) 24 hour stores being able to shop on Sundays my shoes fudge brownies library books in English yankee candles in every scent possible Target THANKSGIVING!! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 28th, 2009
3:54 pm	Rock the Vote! I just got back from Bonn, Germany where the majority of my mom's side of the family lives. It was really nice to be there but we definitely didn't have enough time to really hang out and just chill. Plus I had to do English homework with my cousin for like hours which wasn't fun. Although it was nice to test his and his brother's english. He's only 10 but he had a ton of work to do! I told him that if he keeps doing well in English (he has an A average) his English will be perfect by the time he's my age. Meanwhile, today I was looking through my favorite German grammar book (is it weird that I have a favorite German grammar book?) and I noticed there are papers from my high school german class where I'm MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES I MAKE NOW. Have I not learned anything in the last 10 years?!?!? ( yes, the papers were 10 years old, why I have them I don't know. It also makes me extremely sad that the mistakes I make are things I learned in Deutsche 2.) Anyways, I was posting this because big things have happened in Germany! They just had their vote for the German chancellor. Even though I have the ability to vote in Germany, I chose not to since I really have no idea about German politics. (I am in the 30% that didn't vote, making it the lowest turnout it's been to date.) Germany has 5 big parties and to earn a seat in Germany's parliament your party needs to have at least 5% of the votes. It's also not a majority like in the US. What ends up happening is your party will become partners with another party in order to gain the majority and in order to get stuff done in parliament. Even though I've learned about the German parties, and we've discussed them in my class. I still don't really understand the system. Anyways, Merkel from the CDU party is still the German Chancellor. (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
2:40 pm	Things Germans take seriously Although I've been to Germany numerous times throughout my life, it never surprises me what they take seriously. Coffee. The Germans love Coffee and their tea. The drink coffee throughout the day, and like the English have scheduled coffee breaks during their day where they have Kuche (cake) and other sweets. In any town, no matter what the size, there will be coffee shops, and sometimes even tea shops. The coffee shops are always at least half full with customers. Most of the restaurants and coffee shops have outdoor seating so you can people watch as you drink and eat. This is VERY big in Europe. Considering that there are always parts of the city where the streets are shut down only for predestrians, it's easy for tables to be set up outside. In addition, since it's getting cooler businesses have heat lamps and blankets available for the outdoor seats. Ice Cream. Just like coffee shops, there are always plenty of ice cream shops in towns. While the Germans don't go crazy like Ben and Jerrys and mix things into ice cream, they do come up with wonderful arrangements of them. And it's cheap! you can get a cone with ice cream for 70 euros, which even when translated into dollars is still cheaper than it is in America, and probably healthier. The Law. Germans are very particular about following the law. Things that everyone in America does without thinking about it, like jaywalking, you don't do in Germany. Which is just so weird to me. Everyone jaywalks! but in Germany, where close to half your paycheck goes to taxes, the last thing you want to do is get a fine and then have to pay it. It's the same on their subways (which are incredible by the way)you buy your bus or train ticket, but you don't have to show it when you board. Instead, it's just assumed that you've bought your ticket. If there is an official who is checking tickets on the train you better be sure to have yours because the fee for not having one is quite high. Which when the ticket is only a couple euros, you might as well have. Anyways, things are going great otherwise, I've been doing a lot of walking, and eating healthy foods (I've already lost some weight). I hope that in the next month I take a lot of walking tours. I plan to do the museums in the winter when it's cold. Current Mood: happy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, September 4th, 2009
6:15 am	Pruefung Since I want to take a German class to better my German I went to the adult school today. I was so nervous about it I kept making silly mistakes when I was talking with the woman adminstrating the test. What I expected was the test to have a listening, reading, and grammatic, and writing section (like the AP test). What it really was, was she asked what I wanted and I said I can understand almost everything, but I have problems with the grammar. So she then told me what 3 levels I should consider and told me I should take a test to determine which one I was suited for. I agreed and took the test. Which consisted of two pieces of paper with 13 questions on one and a fill in the blank on the other. The page with 13 questions were all grammar, but nothing to do with the articles which is good since I don't remember those haha. however, out of the 6 I got wrong about 4 of them were really stupid mistakes because they had to do with time. If I had paid more attention to whether what the sentences were talking about were in present, or future I would have gotten those right. The fill in the blank I had no idea and just totally guessed. She then told me it was a really tricky sheet that is usually given at the college enterance level. She suggested three classes for me: one grammar level, and two more based for living in Germany. The one that deals with grammar is only once a week, and she thinks that would be easy and is not based for someone living in Germany. Although that's really the one i want to take i also want to take one well suited for me, since i have to pay for this with my own money, and lets be real, I've taken German for half of my life at this point and learn grammar and then forget it. Which is most likely what willhappen here. Plus if I really want to review grammar I brough two grammar guides with me that I can use. So I'll most likely take the easier of the two classes because while my speaking is good and I understand almost everything, my vocabulary is really simple and I want to broaden that while not pushing myself too hard (I'm no longer in college after all). I do want to talk with my family about this first, since both are in the afternoon and mean it will mess up our schedule. Current Mood: chipper (1 Comment |Comment on this)
5:56 am	Heimatsland (homeland) so I'm updating from Germany, hopefully for the first of many times. I arrived safely on Tuesday after a not so exciting flight. The family is really nice and easy going. The kids are adorable and not really a problem. Although I think half of the reason I can safelty say that is because I dealt with so many little crazies last year. Who, I constantly wonder about and hope their school year is going well. There are three kids, 3,6,9. The 3 year,C old goes to Kindergarten which is comparible to an American preschool, here in Germany you go to it from 3-5. She's really cute and normally has a runny nose, which she doesn't seem to believe in blowing, which annoys me. because she's the youngest she likes to sometimes pretend she a baby and tell us things like she can't do x,y,z because she's to little. The 6 year old, J just started first grade and gets to take the bus to and from school which is a big deal, and when I say bus I don't mean the school bus I mean the public transportation bus. In Germany kids are given a lot of responsbility in that respect. They are allowed to take public transportation, or walk to and from places without supervision. J does judo and chorus and also plays the violin. K, is the oldest and you can tell, not only does he hlep with the other kids, but he's more knowledgable that me about how to achieve domestic bliss (haha). However,he is definitely still a child at heart as witnessed yesterday when he threw a tantrum becuase I wouldn't let him go to a friends house. (I didn't know whether or not it was okay and wanted to wait until his mother came home to check). The town which we live in is so beautiful!! It's like a postcard. I keep meaning to take pictures but then I'll forget my camera or worse, my memory card. it is one of the only cities in Germany that was not bombed out during the war. And the living expenses are so cheap! Yesterday I bought a loaf of bread for 69 cents. And even though the Euro is so strong making everything more expensive for me, that's still only a dollar fifty! I bought all my "groceries" for 17 dollars. I say groceries in quotes because if I want, all my meals can be with the family. Also a few of the items I bought were for the bathroom such as shampoo, lotion, gel. Although my first try in buying shampoo was a failure, since I definitely bought conditioner and didn't notice my mistake until I got home and used it this morning. Another mistake I keep making is the way I say the number 12. Whenever I say it people write down the number 2! And I don't understand because I never had this issue before! It's really embarassing. It's probably going to fall into the category of words that I can never pronounce right in German. So far there's only 3 so hopefully there won't be any more. I absolutely love it here and right now don't think I want to go back to the United States when my year is up. Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
2:22 pm	Leaving on a Jet Plane! I've been unemployed all summer long looking for teaching jobs in the areas. However since the economy is in the dumps, finding a teaching job has not been possible. SO instead I've decided to make a drastic change. About a month ago, I started looking ot how to get myself over and living in Germnay. I applied to be an aupair through a number of websites and heard back from a few families. One of the families seemed particularily interesting and have asked me to be their AuPair. They have three kids (3,6,9) and seem to have a very busy life which they're incorportating me into come September. They own the entire house, but it's cut into two separate houses, so in one I'll be with two other people and we'll share a kitchen and living room and then the other part the whole family lives in. I'd work 30 hours a week and have enough time off to explore the town and areas in Germany. I've never been to this part of Germany and am really excited to be able to live in Germany. I'll be there for a year and then who knows what I'll do. Here's to beginning another chapter in my life! Current Mood: excited (6 Comments |Comment on this)