Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday June 25, 2010
Today was American Day at Gzmnasium. We prepared presentations about where we live and provided the students with information about what our life is like back home in the United States. Since this travle group from Hanover High consists of students from both New Hampshire and Vermont, we split into 2 gropus and focused on tings that make our states unique. In addition, I assisted Mr.Lavigne in flipping his slides when he gave a presentation on his trip to Antarctica in 2000. He was part of a 'exchange' program with other scientists studying microorganisms in the soil. He also saw animals such as penguins and whales. It was an excelletn presentation, because it included pictures andd videos with music ato make things interesting. Many of the students enjoyed his presentation and I felt proud to be a part of such an unusual presentation.
At the beginning of the week, I was veryz uncomfortable going to school because everything was very odd for me. I have since adjusted, and now I look forward to waking up in the morning to go to classes with my host. I find that in most classes I still do not understand some things and that I still get very embarrassed or shy when teachers talk to me in German, but after today I feel like now they understand where I come fro mand what things I like. It felt really great to give presentations about my home because I was able to 'show off' the things that I often take advantage of. Several students inquired about if people at my school were proud of Mr.Lavigne after his presentations, because if you think about it, his trip was a very special thing for him and an honor in a sense. I told them that back home the school is very proud to have a teacher like Mr.Lavigne, because he is a down to earth guz who also loves teaching science (and he knows if very well!). In return, they told me that non of their teachers have had experiences like Mr.Lavigne; at one point they described their teachers as boring and uncool, while Mr.Lavigne was cool and refreshing.
Even with something as little as a presentation about where I live and in working with Mr.Lavige, today made me appreciate the little things about mz life in Vermont and the teahes that I have been taught bz. I value our friendships that I have with them more and the things that maybe people would consider as being boring back home I look at differently now too.
Tonight I went to a BBQ at one of the hosäs houses in the countrz. She lives about 20 minutes from Christiana, so we drove to her house. Four other American friends were there as well, so when we sat down to a wonderful dinner things were not awkward between us. I found that German was spoken bz everzone, but English was as well because it was easier for ust o communicate more efficiently. I have gotten to know several of the kids whom I was not very close to prior to the trip very well at this piont, so it was exciting for me to be able to hang out with them and have a good time. Once we got in the car to go home, I told Christiana that I hadn't laughed like I did tonight in a long time and enjoyed myself.
Life could not be better than it has been in the past week. For this, I am forever grateful.
At the beginning of the week, I was veryz uncomfortable going to school because everything was very odd for me. I have since adjusted, and now I look forward to waking up in the morning to go to classes with my host. I find that in most classes I still do not understand some things and that I still get very embarrassed or shy when teachers talk to me in German, but after today I feel like now they understand where I come fro mand what things I like. It felt really great to give presentations about my home because I was able to 'show off' the things that I often take advantage of. Several students inquired about if people at my school were proud of Mr.Lavigne after his presentations, because if you think about it, his trip was a very special thing for him and an honor in a sense. I told them that back home the school is very proud to have a teacher like Mr.Lavigne, because he is a down to earth guz who also loves teaching science (and he knows if very well!). In return, they told me that non of their teachers have had experiences like Mr.Lavigne; at one point they described their teachers as boring and uncool, while Mr.Lavigne was cool and refreshing.
Even with something as little as a presentation about where I live and in working with Mr.Lavige, today made me appreciate the little things about mz life in Vermont and the teahes that I have been taught bz. I value our friendships that I have with them more and the things that maybe people would consider as being boring back home I look at differently now too.
Tonight I went to a BBQ at one of the hosäs houses in the countrz. She lives about 20 minutes from Christiana, so we drove to her house. Four other American friends were there as well, so when we sat down to a wonderful dinner things were not awkward between us. I found that German was spoken bz everzone, but English was as well because it was easier for ust o communicate more efficiently. I have gotten to know several of the kids whom I was not very close to prior to the trip very well at this piont, so it was exciting for me to be able to hang out with them and have a good time. Once we got in the car to go home, I told Christiana that I hadn't laughed like I did tonight in a long time and enjoyed myself.
Life could not be better than it has been in the past week. For this, I am forever grateful.
Concrete Wave Article
During March Intensive, I was a part of a Longboard Collective class, where we were very fortunate to have visiting builders, Wayne and Andrew, come to our school and help us construct our boards. During this week, the longboarding company that I have started with my friends (called Sundried Boards) at school also was recognized because of the art that I created for our boards.
Mr.Lavigne wrote up an article that was published in a longboarding/skate boarding magazine called 'Concrete Wave'. All I have are scanned copies of the article, but please enjoy!
Thursday June 24, 2010
Today after school I went running once again to the Burg Spangenberg. Collectivley, the castle sits a little more than 2km up from wehre I live with my family. I find that this run reminds me of home because it is hilly both ways (it is possible!) and the view is amazing at the top. It is different to be running now that I am here in Germany, since back home I am used to biking everyz day. My legs are very sore from the running because I am using different muscles. I find that I am sore when I walk down stairs, and stiff when I sit for too long! My host mother thinks that it is very 'sporty' that I go on runs like this, and in return I tell her that being able to have a run like this reminds of of training for skiing during the fall, so I do not mind doing it. Christiana and ehr mom usually like to go to the pool and swim there, but I am not much of a swimmer so instead I stay busy in the afternoon running.
Tonight I watched a film with Christiana and her odler sister, Chalotte, on TV. We all agreed that the film was a bit too romantic, but I enjoyed watching a film in German. I could understand many of the things that the actors said. It was a pleasent, low key evening!
Tonight I watched a film with Christiana and her odler sister, Chalotte, on TV. We all agreed that the film was a bit too romantic, but I enjoyed watching a film in German. I could understand many of the things that the actors said. It was a pleasent, low key evening!
Wednesday June 23, 2010
Today I traveled to the Burg Berwartstein with my exchange group. Today's weather is verz beautiful; clear blue skies and it is hot, but there is not as much humidity here as at home in Vermont. We left Neustadt later than planned in a blue Mercedes bus, known especially for giving tours, which drove us south 1,5 hours on the Auto-Bahn, through wine country and beautiful European towns. We drove up a side of a mountain, where we were dropped off to hike. The trails were what we would consider in America as being access roads or carriage roads, but occasionallz we walked on singletrack, which made me sad because it reminded me of home and my bike. After hiking through towns and on dirt roads for two hours, we stopped at the top of a decent sized hill at a pleasant restaurant. I ordered a nice salad (with cabbage and cucumbers) and a yummy plate of vegetable pasta in red sauce. My other friends ordered Bratwurst with slaw, special cheese pastas and German soda pop. It was all verz delicious and very filling. We arrived starving, and left so full that many of our hosts joked that they must "role down the hill" in order to get back to the bus!
After arriving back at our blue Mercedes bus, we drove for nearly 20 minutes and arrived at the Burg Berwartstein castle. We were given a tour of the castle in German, which I found very exciting since some of it I could easily understand. Other times, even if I only understood maybe a couple of words, I was still able to understand the concepts of the sentence. The castle had many intersting rooms and certaintly had lots of history. There were torture rooms, a wild game room with preserved animals, bedrooms, a kitchen, and a very deep well. Although it has since dried up, our tour guide showed us how deep it was by emptying a bottle of water and waiting for it to hit the bottom. It took about 14 seconds to hit the bottom! We stood atop the highest balconz (which was reallz like a small courtyard!) and were told that at one point it had been struck bz lightening. Unfortunetely, there was also a young woman in her room when this happened, and when she saw that she would not survive, she jumped off the balcony and fel very far down to her death. Our tour guide told us that people believe that her spirit still exists within that section of the caslt, especially in the secret stone passage leading to the prisoners room (which was very dark) bellow the balcony. The tour guide joked that she also liked boys, so they must stick together while we walked through the tunnel. Although the tunnel was not very long, it was very dark, wet and claustrophobic for some! The tour guide lit candles for us, but we were all very terrified. Nobody wanted to be the last person walking through the tunnel bbecause they had to blow out the candles, but Mr.Lavigne stood up to the challenge easily because he was more excited than scared for his life. It was spooky!!
As if the daz couuld not stretch any longer, the same night was a World Cup game involving Germany and Ghana. Christiana and I went to the Marketplatz to view the game with her friends. The streets were no longer filled with easy-going people casually dining or shopping, rather, there were many rambunctious fans sporting German flags, team jerseys and other team memorabilia. Many cars here also have German flags on either side of the passenger dooors and some have side-mirror covers that mimic the colors of the flag. Apparentlz, everyz summer thezy bring in sand and have beach chairs at this site, but I found it silly to be seeing sand in such a beautiful place! Maybe they find it will make Neustadt more interesting, but I think that Neustadt is beautiful without such things.
In the prior World Cup game that Germany plazed they did not win, so many of the Germans were hoping that tonight would break that spell and they woud beat Ghana. I suppose that fußball here could be compared to Nascar in America. People of all ages are very passionate about tehri home teams and are not shy to let others know. When Germanyz scored goals, the 'beachh' area went crazy. When it was apparent that Deutschland won the game, I think that the whole town of Neustadt was awake and cheering. The neighboring restaurants were also showing the game, and zou could hear shouting around the Marketplatz. A good 20 minutes after the games was won, people still drove around in their cars honking their horns and cheering.
For someone who has never experienced such 'night life' before, it was overwhelming, yet it was also a very neat thing to be a part of. Watching the World Cup in America is okay, but seeing it in Europe is much better because of how passionate people are about the game.
After arriving back at our blue Mercedes bus, we drove for nearly 20 minutes and arrived at the Burg Berwartstein castle. We were given a tour of the castle in German, which I found very exciting since some of it I could easily understand. Other times, even if I only understood maybe a couple of words, I was still able to understand the concepts of the sentence. The castle had many intersting rooms and certaintly had lots of history. There were torture rooms, a wild game room with preserved animals, bedrooms, a kitchen, and a very deep well. Although it has since dried up, our tour guide showed us how deep it was by emptying a bottle of water and waiting for it to hit the bottom. It took about 14 seconds to hit the bottom! We stood atop the highest balconz (which was reallz like a small courtyard!) and were told that at one point it had been struck bz lightening. Unfortunetely, there was also a young woman in her room when this happened, and when she saw that she would not survive, she jumped off the balcony and fel very far down to her death. Our tour guide told us that people believe that her spirit still exists within that section of the caslt, especially in the secret stone passage leading to the prisoners room (which was very dark) bellow the balcony. The tour guide joked that she also liked boys, so they must stick together while we walked through the tunnel. Although the tunnel was not very long, it was very dark, wet and claustrophobic for some! The tour guide lit candles for us, but we were all very terrified. Nobody wanted to be the last person walking through the tunnel bbecause they had to blow out the candles, but Mr.Lavigne stood up to the challenge easily because he was more excited than scared for his life. It was spooky!!
In the prior World Cup game that Germany plazed they did not win, so many of the Germans were hoping that tonight would break that spell and they woud beat Ghana. I suppose that fußball here could be compared to Nascar in America. People of all ages are very passionate about tehri home teams and are not shy to let others know. When Germanyz scored goals, the 'beachh' area went crazy. When it was apparent that Deutschland won the game, I think that the whole town of Neustadt was awake and cheering. The neighboring restaurants were also showing the game, and zou could hear shouting around the Marketplatz. A good 20 minutes after the games was won, people still drove around in their cars honking their horns and cheering.
For someone who has never experienced such 'night life' before, it was overwhelming, yet it was also a very neat thing to be a part of. Watching the World Cup in America is okay, but seeing it in Europe is much better because of how passionate people are about the game.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday June 22, 2010
Today we were given a tour of Neustadt by a resident who has lived her whole life here in the town. We walked from our Gymnasium to meet her at the Banhof Station (Train station) and then toured popular sites of Neustadt. We learned the history of many of the locations, such as various fountains and even the oldest building in the town, which was erected in 1604. It was exhausting to walk around for quite some time, especially since we were all a bit tired still and hunger was setting in. Our teachers gave us 25 minutes to spend wandering the Nuestadt streets for food, then shortly thereafter we walked back to Gymnasium.
We arrived just in time to catch 7th period, which was English for our student’s schedule. It is interesting to hear how many of the students interpret the text in their books; the teacher pointed out that it is difficult to find books that have simple vocabulary for their levels. However, their English more often than not is exceptional. Here, school ends at 1:50, so there is plenty of times left in the day to do things.
I met my friend Carry and her host Katrina at the Marketplatz (market square) after I arrived home and ate my lunch (which is really dinner here) and we went into various shops. One store that we both loved especially was H+M, a European clothing line that many Americans love but cannot order from in the states. I bought 2 pints of strawberries (Edelberry) for my host family and when I arrived home we ate them with ice cream. I walked home by myself for the first time and I was very excited that I didn’t get lost.
My host mother and older host sister Charlotte then took me on a tour through Neustadt to Spayern. We went a special route so that I could ride on the Auto-Bahn, even though it was a bit slower than the usual roads they take. When we got to Spayern, there were four main cathedrals that we visited. The most famous of the four was the Speyer Cathedral, which the Pope visited once a while back. After touring the beautiful streets of Spayern, we went down alongside the longest river in Germany.
Our Hanover High blog has pictures that I took of the castle and some history too:
http://hhs-gapp-trip2010.blogspot.com/
Before bed I was served a special German cheese cake and also a special drink called Bionade. It is an all-natural drink that has fruit concentrates. It is not too sweet and it is bubbly, and is also not something that they drink on a regular basis. They save it for special occasions.
Monday June 21, 2010
Today was my first day at Gymnasium. I was a bit nervous, but more so when I actually saw the school with so many kids. Most students here ride their bikes to school because it is simpler than driving. The parking lot outside of the school is about the size of the the old Richmond School parking lot where my teachers park, and even at that there were plenty of spaces left on the cobble-stone spaces.
School starts at 7:50, then runs through 7 periods. At school, we were given our own ‘American’ room, where we meet every morning during ‘Homeroom’ to catch up with one another. We are partnered with a friend, then we follow a students schedule for the week. The layout of the school was very simple, and we did not get lost. It was embarrassing at times to be sitting in classes because teachers would point out that there were ‘visitors’ from America, then they would ask us if we knew any German. “Ein Bisschen” (a little) is what we all said. We were too embarrassed to say much else, but occasionally we would and it felt very awkward.
My math class (Mathematik) was a Geometry course. Unfortunately for us, math is universal, and so we found that we could follow it very well with the students. After math, we had English (minor), then a pause (break), then 2 consecutive periods of Biology. In this class, we listened to lectures about AIDS and the brain and how it works in German. Some of it I could translate, but a lot of it I found was very fast. My last class for the day was English (major), where we were asked to help translate the meanings of the songs “Because I Got High” from Afro-Man, and another classic rock ballad back from the sixties. It was odd to be listening to the first song in school, but especially because many of the students were also serious and were not laughing at the song itself. Some of them happened to enjoy the song very much. So, in summary, I listended to “Because I Got High” in a German Gymnasium (known for it’s strictness), and learned about the brain all over again, except for in German this time. ‘
After arriving home from school, I ate a nice lunch of salad, pasta and leftover meat from Sunday’s dinner with Christiana’s mother, and her brother Martin. Christiana’s mother decided that I should see one of the castles in Nuestadt, so after lunch Martin and I set out on a steep uphill climb to see the castle, heißt “Burg Spangenberg”. My camera has not been working ever since I arrived here in Germany, so I was not able to take any pictures. But I can find postcards. Neustadt sits in a valley. The red shingled roofs are scattered about in clusters, and the hillsides are lined with vineyards, dark trees (they call the wood/trees in this area haardt) and the castle was magnificent. Although we could not walk inside of it since it was closed today, it was well worth the uphill bike rider there. The castle was built from large rocks and concrete, nothing ‘beautiful like in France,’ Martin confessed, but I told him that it was my first time seeing a castle, so I was pleased.
Tonight I went to a concert at a retirement home where Christiana’s father plays in the Neustadt Orchestra. He plays the cello, and although I was tired at this point in the day, the music was absolutely beautiful. I know that my mom would have loved it; it is comparable to the songs that I hear on NPR sometimes at home, only this time it was live. The orchestra played songs by W.A. Mozart, J. Brahms, and H. Wieniawski. There was a violinist from the Gymnasim where I am going to school who is only 13. She had a lot of talent even though she was a young violinist, and it was very impressive. I wish you could have been there mom, because you would have really enjoyed it. Hearing this type of music live and in Germany really has made me appreciate it much more.
Sunday, June 20 2010
I have arrived in Germany! The time here is 6am, but back home in the US it is still midnight. Most of my friends are still awake at home, but my parents are sleeping. I did not sleep well on the plane, although it was the smoothest plane ride I think I have ever experienced. Our Lufthansa plane was HUGE. The plane had seats arranged in a 2seat-4seats-3seat layout, which was very overwhelming for me because I had only been on much smaller planes. The airline food was surprisingly edible, the seat room very minimal, and the bathrooms (all 5 of them!) were located on the second floor of the plane. To reach them, I had to walk down a flight of stairs!
After retrieving my luggage, my travel group and I proceeded to navigate the Frankfurt Airport for bathrooms and a bakery. At the bakery, everyone was nervous to order the yummy products, because we were dealing with a new currency and language. Needless to say, I somewhat successfully ordered myself a piping hot cup of coffee while the others bought pastries, Austrian made energy drinks and German soda-pop.
One thing that I had to become accustomed to were the amount of escalators. With my one bag and backpack, these were easy for me to navigate, but others in the group struggled a bit. At one point, after stepping on to the escalator, my friend somehow fell back onto the person behind her and stayed with her back on her bags the whole ride up to the top. It could have been a ‘YouTube’ hit or a HHS blogging story.
After escalatering to the U-Bahnhof Gleis nummer 7 (train station, platform # 7), we saw the famous ICE ‘bullet train’ in action, and soon after our own train arrived. We traveled to Meins, where we carried/stumbled down and up flights of stairs until we arrived at our next Gleis (platform) destined for Neustadt. We had reached the point of exhaustion where you begin to laugh at every thing. You begin to say ridiculous things, you laugh, others laugh, then you just start feeling a bit sorry for yourself about how you are behaving. Behavior aside, the countryside was beautiful. Out both windows, there were endless vineyards. Not all trees were large quite yet; many were younger trees but were planted in very straight rows with support fences near their trunks. Poppy’s occasionally popped up in the windows in clusters, beautiful German architecture was present in every house and tiny cars and many bikers traveled on the streets. The colors were astounding.
When we arrived in Neustadt, the weather was wollkige und kalt (overcast and a cold). We met up with our host families and then traveled to their Gymnasium (school), where we were served waffles, Mineral wasser and Mineral wasser mit Apfel soft (mineral water with apple juice). We then traveled home with our host families. A dinner was scheduled for 16:00h (4pm) at one of the host families home. The parents own a wine making business, so the house was beautiful and the food was very interesting. We had sausage and sauerkraut among other vegetables and pastas. It was great, except that everyone of us who had been traveling were sehr moody (very tired!). It was difficult for us to even keep our eyes open sometimes, but we tried our best to be polite.
After retrieving my luggage, my travel group and I proceeded to navigate the Frankfurt Airport for bathrooms and a bakery. At the bakery, everyone was nervous to order the yummy products, because we were dealing with a new currency and language. Needless to say, I somewhat successfully ordered myself a piping hot cup of coffee while the others bought pastries, Austrian made energy drinks and German soda-pop.
One thing that I had to become accustomed to were the amount of escalators. With my one bag and backpack, these were easy for me to navigate, but others in the group struggled a bit. At one point, after stepping on to the escalator, my friend somehow fell back onto the person behind her and stayed with her back on her bags the whole ride up to the top. It could have been a ‘YouTube’ hit or a HHS blogging story.
After escalatering to the U-Bahnhof Gleis nummer 7 (train station, platform # 7), we saw the famous ICE ‘bullet train’ in action, and soon after our own train arrived. We traveled to Meins, where we carried/stumbled down and up flights of stairs until we arrived at our next Gleis (platform) destined for Neustadt. We had reached the point of exhaustion where you begin to laugh at every thing. You begin to say ridiculous things, you laugh, others laugh, then you just start feeling a bit sorry for yourself about how you are behaving. Behavior aside, the countryside was beautiful. Out both windows, there were endless vineyards. Not all trees were large quite yet; many were younger trees but were planted in very straight rows with support fences near their trunks. Poppy’s occasionally popped up in the windows in clusters, beautiful German architecture was present in every house and tiny cars and many bikers traveled on the streets. The colors were astounding.
When we arrived in Neustadt, the weather was wollkige und kalt (overcast and a cold). We met up with our host families and then traveled to their Gymnasium (school), where we were served waffles, Mineral wasser and Mineral wasser mit Apfel soft (mineral water with apple juice). We then traveled home with our host families. A dinner was scheduled for 16:00h (4pm) at one of the host families home. The parents own a wine making business, so the house was beautiful and the food was very interesting. We had sausage and sauerkraut among other vegetables and pastas. It was great, except that everyone of us who had been traveling were sehr moody (very tired!). It was difficult for us to even keep our eyes open sometimes, but we tried our best to be polite.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Logan Airport
I have arrived safely at Logan Airport without any complications! Leaving my house in Norwich was hard; I cried mostly because I couldn't imagine leaving a familiar place and my three pets. I couldn't even wave through the Coach bus to my parents because I knew I would become a bit emotional. On the ride to Boston I wanted to sleep, but instead I stayed awake so that I could see the buildings in Boston as we drove through the city. I haven't seen this many cars or concrete in a very long time!
My first encounter with a German speaker was the check in lady. I was nervous going through Security, but luckily my good friend/teacher Mr.Lavigne helped me out with the whole ordeal. Collectively, my traveling group and I made it through Security quickly, and found that we had an 1,5 hours to spend exploring the airport looking for food, buying overpriced airport goodies and getting to know one another better.
I am nervous for the flight because of the length. I had a hard enough time sitting on the bus, but now I can sleep, read and listen to music until we land in Frankfurt early tomorrow morning.
No pictures to post right now from the airport, but maybe later on in the week some will surface!
-GreenMountainGirl
My first encounter with a German speaker was the check in lady. I was nervous going through Security, but luckily my good friend/teacher Mr.Lavigne helped me out with the whole ordeal. Collectively, my traveling group and I made it through Security quickly, and found that we had an 1,5 hours to spend exploring the airport looking for food, buying overpriced airport goodies and getting to know one another better.
I am nervous for the flight because of the length. I had a hard enough time sitting on the bus, but now I can sleep, read and listen to music until we land in Frankfurt early tomorrow morning.
No pictures to post right now from the airport, but maybe later on in the week some will surface!
-GreenMountainGirl
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pastures of Plenty
You never realize how much you love a place until you prepare yourself to leave it for other destinations. I have lived in Vermont my whole life and have learned to appreciate it's beauties and characteristics like a true native should. I have traveled minimally throughout the United States and I have only read about Europe in books and listened to friends adventures. Growing up in in a state filled with beautiful people and rich landscapes has been wonderful, but it has also triggered my interest for traveling throughout the United States and abroad.
On June 19, I will leave Vermont to travel overseas for my first time to Neustadt, Germany. There, I will stay with a host family for two weeks, then travel to Berlin where I will stay until it is time to leave for home. Throughout this time spent in Germany, I will also be renting a bike and riding daily. Words can not describe how excited yet scared I am about this whole experience. I am looking forward to speaking German, learning about the culture, but I wonder if I will become homesick too.
On my blog, I will keep followers updated with my whereabouts and experiences in Germany for the next three weeks.
Here's to the beginning of a life changing experience!
-GreenMountainGirl
* This picture was taken on the North Road leaving Barnard, VT. Picture credits go my friend Emily Miles.
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