School, Thermes, Sommer Camps, Eis, etc

Okay! So on Monday I started school! In the morning Herr Hörnow picked me up- he is part of the Rotary Club in Fürstenwalde, and he is my counselor at school. I left early so that I could see the school before all of the students got there. Europaschule Palmnicken is on a hill just outside of Fürstenwalde. It has about six or seven different large buildings. The 11th year is the youngest grade there, and there are people who are 22 or 23 going there as well. If I understood it right, its also like a trade school I think. Rebekah, an exchange student from New Zealand, and I both didn't have our schedules so we spent the first part of the day working them out. For me they printed out all of the possible class choices for both the 11th and 12th grade years, and circled a bunch. Over the span of the week I have English, German, Biologie, Law(?), Math, Art, and Sport. Oh yeah, there are 13 high school type grades at this school, and I still cant figure out if my US eleventh grade would be in the 11th grade or the 12th grade here.

Instead of going to school the next day, Rebekah and I had a chance to go to Bad Saarow to spend the day with a 15 kids from 14 countries that were doing a three week long rotary summer camp around Germany. We had a really fun day together, we took a tour of the Scharmützelsee lake, and then had a barbeque at on of the docks. After that was done I went and got introduced to my host club, the Bad Saarow-Scharmützelsee Club. They are a pretty small club I think, there were about 15 people besides Rebekah and I at at the dinner. They were all very nice and welcoming, and I think I did pretty okay introducing and talking about myself in German :)

 

The rest of the week was fine, the next day was my first official day of classes. On Wednesday I have two hours of German (the equivelant of the American english class), two hours of math, and two hours of art. I understood maybe 5% of what was happening. German class went completely over my head. From what I could tell, we started off talking by about homosexuals in Berlin, then the Chinese in Berlin, then hot springs, and then we started reading something about Ophelia. In math class I was hopeful that it would make more sense, because you know how numbers and stuff are universal, but I realized that I actually cant solve a problem if I dont know what its asking me to do. Art was fun, even though I didnt really grasp what we were supposed to be drawing, but I think I am going to like that class.

German school here is definitely different than what I'm used to. For instance we don't have bells here, and there is no "tardy" or "unexcused absence" that you have to watch out for. I was really surprised, because all of the kids seem focused and appear to be model students from what I can tell. I think that they take school much more seriously. We have a 25 minute break and a 35 minute break during the day,  and as for the scheduling, each period is 45 minutes long but most classes go for two periods with a five minute break in between.

On Thursday I went to Berlin to meet up with Stephen Margarit, who came to Southern Germany on exchange a few years ago. We walked around and went in some museums, went to Checkpoint Charlie, walked past part of the Berlin wall, got some Eis and pommes. It was very hot but it was still fun (:

Berlin's Holocaust Memorial

Today René and Solveig and I drove three hours to Bad Wilsnack to go to a Therme. The water had good salts in it that Solveig told me were very good for people's skin and lungs. We went in one pool that you could only be in for 10-15 minutes, that had 24% salt! I was so surprised, because the water was very dense (if that's the right word) and you could lay back in the water and it would support your weight! Plus you had to wear a thing around your head because it couldnt go underwater.

On the way to the hot springs when Solveig was descirbing it to me she said that there were many saunas and I could go in them if I wanted to, so I'm like alright time to get my sauna on! So after a while of being at the Therme I wanted to sauna a bit, and Rene points out where the doors that lead to where all the saunas are. So I go in there, and its like this dark room with a restaurant(cool), and oh yeah, everyone is naked! Somehow it just didn't register, or I just totally forgot that people sauna naked here.. haha! And when Rene saw me come back out again he just laughed. Wow haha culture shock!

On our drive back to Fürstenwalde we stopped in Rheinsberg for Eis, and unfortunately I didn't have my camera, because somehow we ordered this giant assortment of ice cream and fruits and whipped cream and it was delicious! René says that we will have to go back and get it again so I can get my picture! haha

Square Toilets

On Tuesday I went on the train with Rebekah Hennessy to Berlin. Some of the "oldies" wanted to meet the exchangers who had just come in. Oldies are exchangers that came in January or February, usually from New Zealand or Australia. Seven of us met at the Hauptbahnhoff station to spend our day in the city.
    

  

(Rebekah and I on the train and the Fürstenwalde Bahnhof)

We went past the Brandenburg Gate, Chancellors office.. a lot of other stuff but we didn't stay there very long because most of us had already been there before. McDonalds in Germany is apparently better than in the US. Apparently they use better meat or something. I haven't tried it yet though and I don't know if I will haha. The seven of us saw a lot of Berlin, traveling by foot and on the U-bahn. It was a really good day, and nice to get outside in the city(:

 (Us exchangers in front of the Reichstag and Emma Larson and I in front of the Brandenburg Gate)

Since Rebekah and I live in the same city we traveled together and I let her handle the navigation. It was pretty confusing trying to figure it out. So today I went back to Berlin - but by myself! I am very proud of myself. I bought my ticket with the machine in German (because I couldn't figure out how to change it to English), got on the right train, got off at the right spot, and I only needed a little help getting on the train for the way back... I almost got on one going to Russia or Paris! But it's all good now, I made it back home in one piece.

I'm starting to get used to the whole "big city" aspect and can walk around Berlin with out my mouth hanging all they way open at the buildings and culture. Today we stopped at a food stand and I got currywurst (i think) with Jesse. As far as I could tell it was kind of deep fried sausage in curry with french fries and mayonnaise and ketchup. I liked it. Oh and I got peanut butter today. My family thinks it is so weird that I eat apples with peanut butter. I tried it with Nutella too, not so good. School starts on Monday! Sunday we are going to tour it I think.

Another thing I want to mention is that the toilets here are similiar, but I think all of them are very unique. Like this square toilet that was in a shop we stopped in. I've been told that usually you have to pay for toilets but I haven't actually seen one like that yet.

Fürstenwalde

I'm in Germany! It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm actually living in Germany :) Traveling went well. I read on one of my many documents that I should get to the airport at least three hours before departure time. So, me and my parents had a good two and a half hours to kill before my plane took off.

My first plane went from Minneapolis/St. Paul, to New York/Newark Liberty New Jersey. The next terminal that I had to go to was very far away so the connecting people went and took a bus there. Since my plane was only about ten minutes late I had a few hours still to hang out before the next one left for Berlin. There were supposed to be five other exchangers on my plane but I couldn't seem to find them so I went ahead and ate my last american meal at McDonalds. The food court was full so I sat next to a nice young man who was returning to India after finishing law school in Ohio.

Right before they started calling boarding two other exchangers found me - Austin & Hannah. Two other exchangers got on the plane just a few minutes before they shut the doors. Their planes were late and they just barely made it on. The food on the plane was pretty uenappetizing (chicken teriyaki) so I decided to skip it. I couldn't sleep, even though I definately should of so I wouldn't have jet lag.. but instead I watched some movies (Arthur & Fargo, both very good). Eventually the plane landed in Berlin, at 1 am my time, 8 Berlin time. I was very nervous about customs but all they turned out to be was a man looking suspiciously at my passport and back to me and then back to his buddy and then nodding me forward.

When I was waiting for my bag I saw my host family :) They had a sign that said "Herzlich Willkommen Rose" it was all very cute. From the Berlin TXL airport it was about an hours drive. It didn't really hit me until I walked outside that I was in Germany. It was great. :)
Solveig had brought water and fruit for me to eat. Right away I spilled some of the water on myself because so far, all the bottled water in Germany I've had is sparkling water. Not bad, but I just wasn't used to it.

So here we are, driving down the autobahn, and all of a sudden I realized that we are going really fast. So I turn to my host sister (Laura) and I ask how fast we're going. She's all nonchalont like "Oh 160 kilometers". Thats like 120 mph! Haha honestly I felt a little freaked out after that. But it was really cool too. On the way to the house we stopped in Fürstenwalde to get bread for breakfast. There is something that sounds vaguely familiar, liverwurst, that they put on the bread. It tastes like meat flavored butter. At first I was like what, but after I tried it and it's alright. I had it on my bread this morning again. We also had Nutella, a chocolate spread (very very good). For the rest of the day I alternated between trying to unpack, and falling asleep as I was trying to unpack(: Later that night my hostparents brought Laura to the airport. She's in South Africa/Pretoria on exchange.

Today Solveig and I walked into the downtown Fürstenwalde. We went to the apotheke (pharmacy), window shopped, and went to the trainstation. Solvieg says I will get a pass for der bus, or I could also ride my bike to school, and after school I can take the train to Berlin if I want.

Tschüß!

Almost There

Well... My bags are packed, my room is clean. The plane leaves in 25 hours. I've said goodbye to way too many people in the last two days... This last week has definitely flown by. I don't even remember what I all did. I wish I could just rewind, sit back, and replay this awesome summer. It really has been the best. Last night I had some girlfriends over, it was the first time all of us had a sleepover with all of us there. We had root beer floats and they made me notes to read on the plane ride :) I feel like a bad friend right now because I didn't leave anything for them, although we did make friendship anklets.. yeah we're cool :) haha

My flight leaves tomorrow at 11 in the morning.. I've been stressing, I feel like I'm definitely going to forget something. Hopefully I have all the right papers for the airport.

The Grand Marais Dragon boat festival was this weekend, I got some good pictures, got some good food from the Chinese stand that comes up annually. Woo hoo! Almost there!