Mountain climbing is something I think I am definitely going to miss when I come back to the states...other than the food. I climbed the Jenzig on Saturday which is the tallest mountain in Jena. It only took us 40 minutes to do but it was very steep towards the bottom. It has a very pronounced peak and there is a fantastic view of Jena at the top.
There was a moment when David convinced me to go off the trail on to a cliff of rocks. There weren't any trees in the way and our legs were hanging over the edge as we sat and stared at Jena with the afternoon sun beating down on us. It was a very "SST" feeling moment. That's the best I can describe it. It felt like I was meant to be there enjoying my SST location and really getting a taste of what Germans living in Jena get to enjoy. These mountains are open to them 24-7. That's not something I can get in Houston or in Goshen.
Along with that hike, a part of the group also went on a hike with Jo-Ann yesterday. The path gradually rose until we were walking on a very narrow path on the side of the mountain with rocks on the right of us as "protection." We could have easily fallen to our deaths. It was insanely epic!
I am beginning to feel small pangs of homesickeness but I think it's normal. I received an awesome package in the mail yesterday from Chris and Rochelle and it really made me miss my city. It's nothing serious. How often will I get to spend my summer in Europe?
My German is improving. However, it likes to drift and mess up at moments when I really need it like in class or at home. I have moments when I understand everything that's going on and then moments where I am so confused and just want to say everything in English. That is something I know I need to overcome. I can feel myself being tested in so many aspects here. I am really gaining a sense of what my weaknesses are.
Buchenwald Thursday. Berlin next week. Service is almost here.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Das ist mein lieblingsfarbe.
I bought the first Harry Potter book translated in to German today. I amused myself with reading it and trying to see how much I could understand. It went pretty well. It helps that I've read that book more times than normal.
Money is starting to affect myself as well as people in the group. I have gained a good sense of self discipline while being here. It helps that our leaders give us 14 Euro at the beginning of each week for meals. Everything is so expensive here. I went shopping in Neuemitte the other day and found out that Converse cost 57 Euro here. That's like almost $70 for a pair of Converse that I could easily get for $40 in the US. It was very easy to resist buying them. Clothes shopping has not been a good experience so far. After finally converting my sizes to the European system, I can hardly find anything that I like. Everything is so overpriced and odd. I'm sticking to my jeans and t-shirts for now.
Tomorrow is a holiday so we don't have school in the morninig. Instead, me and several others will be going on a flora, fossil, and fauna hike with Jo-Ann. It's part of our requirements yet it also sounds interesting and it will give me something to do since we were informed that the holiday tomorrow is a dangerous day. Apparently men start drinking in the morning and are reckless throughout the rest of the day. It is not wise for women to be out since we face harm of being approached inappropriately. Yeah, I don't think so.
On Monday we made a trip to a Kindergarten in Jena. This place was by far the coolest Kindergarten I have ever seen. It made my old daycare place look shabby and out of date. After our group had an introduction and tour of the place, we were allowed to play outside with the children. Since I have been surrounded by child care since I was 12, I was immediately comfortable in my surroundings and began to play with some of the kids. I met a girl named Clara-Marie who enjoyed running with me around the playground to see who was faster and then sitting in this little wooden house. I would have spent the rest of the day there if I could. Interacting with children is something that is very comfortable for me. In some ways, I like children better than adults. In my meeting with Joe and Jo-Ann, they mentioned how I was able to just jump in to things and how I can be flexible. They also mentioned finding a service project for me involving children. I would love to be able to work with children since I already have the experience from working at Childhood Seasons for two years.
The first half of the first part of SST is almost halfway done. There's so much to look forward to in the next three weeks.
I feel like this is going by faster than I would like.
Money is starting to affect myself as well as people in the group. I have gained a good sense of self discipline while being here. It helps that our leaders give us 14 Euro at the beginning of each week for meals. Everything is so expensive here. I went shopping in Neuemitte the other day and found out that Converse cost 57 Euro here. That's like almost $70 for a pair of Converse that I could easily get for $40 in the US. It was very easy to resist buying them. Clothes shopping has not been a good experience so far. After finally converting my sizes to the European system, I can hardly find anything that I like. Everything is so overpriced and odd. I'm sticking to my jeans and t-shirts for now.
Tomorrow is a holiday so we don't have school in the morninig. Instead, me and several others will be going on a flora, fossil, and fauna hike with Jo-Ann. It's part of our requirements yet it also sounds interesting and it will give me something to do since we were informed that the holiday tomorrow is a dangerous day. Apparently men start drinking in the morning and are reckless throughout the rest of the day. It is not wise for women to be out since we face harm of being approached inappropriately. Yeah, I don't think so.
On Monday we made a trip to a Kindergarten in Jena. This place was by far the coolest Kindergarten I have ever seen. It made my old daycare place look shabby and out of date. After our group had an introduction and tour of the place, we were allowed to play outside with the children. Since I have been surrounded by child care since I was 12, I was immediately comfortable in my surroundings and began to play with some of the kids. I met a girl named Clara-Marie who enjoyed running with me around the playground to see who was faster and then sitting in this little wooden house. I would have spent the rest of the day there if I could. Interacting with children is something that is very comfortable for me. In some ways, I like children better than adults. In my meeting with Joe and Jo-Ann, they mentioned how I was able to just jump in to things and how I can be flexible. They also mentioned finding a service project for me involving children. I would love to be able to work with children since I already have the experience from working at Childhood Seasons for two years.
The first half of the first part of SST is almost halfway done. There's so much to look forward to in the next three weeks.
I feel like this is going by faster than I would like.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Mmm, brötchen
Food and drink.
Those are two of my favorite things about Germany.
I am now in love with rhabarber kuchen (rhubarb cake) and apfelschorle (carbonated apple juice-ish).
For some reason, I crave rhubarb all the time. I never used to like it. I remember trying it for the first time at some theatre gathering and hating it. Now, I can't get enough of it. Perhaps the Germans make it better.
For breakfast I have brötchen (bread rolls) or slices of bread with butter, cheese, meat, or rhubarb strawberry marmalade. There are different types of cheese and meats and spreads. For being someone that never used to eat breakfast, I now can't imagine a day without it. I hope this is something that continues when I return back to the states.
Our visit to Naumburg was really sweet. First off, I felt like I was at Hogwarts because the hallways lining the courtyard looked a lot like the hallways in HP. Anyway, it sucked that we couldn't take pictures inside the cathedral because it was really beautiful inside. I understood why we couldn't but it was still something I would have liked to physically take with me. I was very surprised at all the graffiti I saw on the sides of sidewalk walls having something to do with Nazi's. I felt a little weird about that and it made me realize that our trip to Buchenwald is not far away.
I remember the Holocaust being something that really affected me while learning about it in middle school and especially in high school. Life is Beautiful and Schindler's List are two of my favorite movies because they show the holocaust from different perspectives. I remember crying when I visited the Holocaust museum we have in Houston back in 6th grade. It is something that I studied and really took an interest in while growing up.
So I have no idea how I'm going to contain myself when the time comes to visit Buchenwald.
I just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel. I read it in a day and half, one, because it is a short book and two, because it was such a gripping tale much like the one told by Anne Frank. The book ended with the Elie's father dying in the concentration camp in Buchenwald. All of these true stories seemed like distant tales to me. It will be quite an experience to be standing where it all happened. It will definitely be an unforgettable experience.
I made a trip to the post office today so be expecting letters and post cards from me soon.
Those are two of my favorite things about Germany.
I am now in love with rhabarber kuchen (rhubarb cake) and apfelschorle (carbonated apple juice-ish).
For some reason, I crave rhubarb all the time. I never used to like it. I remember trying it for the first time at some theatre gathering and hating it. Now, I can't get enough of it. Perhaps the Germans make it better.
For breakfast I have brötchen (bread rolls) or slices of bread with butter, cheese, meat, or rhubarb strawberry marmalade. There are different types of cheese and meats and spreads. For being someone that never used to eat breakfast, I now can't imagine a day without it. I hope this is something that continues when I return back to the states.
Our visit to Naumburg was really sweet. First off, I felt like I was at Hogwarts because the hallways lining the courtyard looked a lot like the hallways in HP. Anyway, it sucked that we couldn't take pictures inside the cathedral because it was really beautiful inside. I understood why we couldn't but it was still something I would have liked to physically take with me. I was very surprised at all the graffiti I saw on the sides of sidewalk walls having something to do with Nazi's. I felt a little weird about that and it made me realize that our trip to Buchenwald is not far away.
I remember the Holocaust being something that really affected me while learning about it in middle school and especially in high school. Life is Beautiful and Schindler's List are two of my favorite movies because they show the holocaust from different perspectives. I remember crying when I visited the Holocaust museum we have in Houston back in 6th grade. It is something that I studied and really took an interest in while growing up.
So I have no idea how I'm going to contain myself when the time comes to visit Buchenwald.
I just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel. I read it in a day and half, one, because it is a short book and two, because it was such a gripping tale much like the one told by Anne Frank. The book ended with the Elie's father dying in the concentration camp in Buchenwald. All of these true stories seemed like distant tales to me. It will be quite an experience to be standing where it all happened. It will definitely be an unforgettable experience.
I made a trip to the post office today so be expecting letters and post cards from me soon.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Du bist Isabelle
Viktoria has decided that my new name is Isabelle. It's cute.
One week down, five more to go. However, I don't like to think of it that way because I am enjoying my time here and I don't feel homesick or bored or anything. I think I see it as a, "one week has gone by, what have I learned?" kind of thing. The homework is getting a bit more difficult and I'm trying not to get too stressed about it. I know it's all part of the experience and I know I can do it.
You can steadily see our SST group getting to know each other more and realizing that there's so much we don't know about each other. Majority of us got to hang out last night for the first time other than the times we spend together for scheduled things during the week. There's a carnival going on downtown Jena right now so last night there was a fireworks show and a concert. We were celebrating Rosemary's birthday so the whole atmosphere was perfect. The band that was playing was awesome (they were Finnish and spoke like three different languages) and a couple of us went in front of the stage to dance. The fireworks show was amazing. It lasted for about ten minutes in front of the Intershop tower.
My host mother, Viktoria, David and I went to the Feergrotten (Fairy grottos) on Saturday. That was my first time in a cave. We had to wear these brown capes because the cave was constantly dripping with water and it was really cold. I got a bit scared at one point when we had a five minute walk through a very tiny space. I had to slightly duck and had to keep my arms to my sides because it was so small. Once we reached the end, the tour guide showed us the most colorful rocks in the cave with a light show to music from Lord of the Rings. After the grottos, we went to a castle that was decorated entirely in Rococo and reminded me so much of a wedding cake. David and I amused ourselves by taking pictures in mirrors and trying our best to understand the tour guide. We had to wear these big shoe things so our shoes wouldn't scratch the wood. Our tour group looked adorable because we appeared to be slowly skating over the wood trying our best not to slip. So, capes and big slider shoes.
I love biking in Jena. I got an excuse to today because I had left my backpack at Rosemary's house. Going uphill is a bit difficult but I gain satisfaction once I reach the top and I know that very soon after I will be able to go downhill. I got to bike next to the Saale River so I passed many couples doing hardcore amounts of PDA. For a moment I was shocked because children were there, but then soon realized that this is something that they're probably used to.
I hope to write letters soon because I enjoy anything that distracts me from homework. I have been getting online a lot more than I should but I like to keep it short. I miss all of my friends very much but I look forward to experiencing more while I am here and sharing my stories and pictures when I get back.
One week down, five more to go. However, I don't like to think of it that way because I am enjoying my time here and I don't feel homesick or bored or anything. I think I see it as a, "one week has gone by, what have I learned?" kind of thing. The homework is getting a bit more difficult and I'm trying not to get too stressed about it. I know it's all part of the experience and I know I can do it.
You can steadily see our SST group getting to know each other more and realizing that there's so much we don't know about each other. Majority of us got to hang out last night for the first time other than the times we spend together for scheduled things during the week. There's a carnival going on downtown Jena right now so last night there was a fireworks show and a concert. We were celebrating Rosemary's birthday so the whole atmosphere was perfect. The band that was playing was awesome (they were Finnish and spoke like three different languages) and a couple of us went in front of the stage to dance. The fireworks show was amazing. It lasted for about ten minutes in front of the Intershop tower.
My host mother, Viktoria, David and I went to the Feergrotten (Fairy grottos) on Saturday. That was my first time in a cave. We had to wear these brown capes because the cave was constantly dripping with water and it was really cold. I got a bit scared at one point when we had a five minute walk through a very tiny space. I had to slightly duck and had to keep my arms to my sides because it was so small. Once we reached the end, the tour guide showed us the most colorful rocks in the cave with a light show to music from Lord of the Rings. After the grottos, we went to a castle that was decorated entirely in Rococo and reminded me so much of a wedding cake. David and I amused ourselves by taking pictures in mirrors and trying our best to understand the tour guide. We had to wear these big shoe things so our shoes wouldn't scratch the wood. Our tour group looked adorable because we appeared to be slowly skating over the wood trying our best not to slip. So, capes and big slider shoes.
I love biking in Jena. I got an excuse to today because I had left my backpack at Rosemary's house. Going uphill is a bit difficult but I gain satisfaction once I reach the top and I know that very soon after I will be able to go downhill. I got to bike next to the Saale River so I passed many couples doing hardcore amounts of PDA. For a moment I was shocked because children were there, but then soon realized that this is something that they're probably used to.
I hope to write letters soon because I enjoy anything that distracts me from homework. I have been getting online a lot more than I should but I like to keep it short. I miss all of my friends very much but I look forward to experiencing more while I am here and sharing my stories and pictures when I get back.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Don't smile in Germany
Classes have begun. After only a few days, you can see the improvement and the room for improvement within our group. I find myself understanding German better and better with each day. I can now follow a lecture or conversation and not be completely lost. The classes seem promising and I'm excited for when I will be able to "read a newspaper after 4 weeks of German" like my host father said.
We visited Wartburg and Bachhaus yesterday which were both really awesome. Wartburg sits way high up so the climb up to the castle was pretty difficult for me. I found myself surprised to be tired after several flights of stairs when I had just climbed uphill with my family last week to a tower that sits high above Jena. Once the heavy breathing had subsided, I found myself amazed of the beauty of Wartburg and the view that came with it. The group had a tour of the castle and I made sure to take pictures. There are also pictures of the group on the Goshen SST website...not sure if y'all are keeping up with that.
After Wartburg, we went to the Bachhaus...you know, the famous Bach? Be jealous. Our museum guide was not only gifted in knowing information, but a wonderful musician who played a few of Bach's pieces on some very old instruments. We then traveled to the church where Bach first worked and got to listen to music played on this gigantic organ that Bach once played. It was absolutely amazing and I regret not getting more pictures of the organ.
Everything is going great in Jena. Me and my host family are getting to know each other more and more each day and I find myself enjoying the time I spend at home. Viktoria and Paul, my host sister and brother, are so much fun. Viktoria and I were dancing in my room to German music today and I enjoy watching the German game shows for kids after dinner. I have had really fun moments of trying to explain things like pancakes for breakfast (which Viktoria found really weird) and the pronunciation of the word "lawnmower."
My sleeping schedule is so weird now. If you know me pretty well, you know I usually go to bed around 3 in the morning and wake up around 1 or even 2. I can't imagine doing that anymore. I now go to bed around 9 or 10 and wake up around 7 in the morning. It feels completely normal now. I feel weird if I don't eat breakfast and I'm so tired by 5 o'clock. It feels weird but I like it. I feel like I have more time to enjoy the day and I'm getting sufficient amounts of sleep. I guess that's what SST does to you.
Write to me!
We visited Wartburg and Bachhaus yesterday which were both really awesome. Wartburg sits way high up so the climb up to the castle was pretty difficult for me. I found myself surprised to be tired after several flights of stairs when I had just climbed uphill with my family last week to a tower that sits high above Jena. Once the heavy breathing had subsided, I found myself amazed of the beauty of Wartburg and the view that came with it. The group had a tour of the castle and I made sure to take pictures. There are also pictures of the group on the Goshen SST website...not sure if y'all are keeping up with that.
After Wartburg, we went to the Bachhaus...you know, the famous Bach? Be jealous. Our museum guide was not only gifted in knowing information, but a wonderful musician who played a few of Bach's pieces on some very old instruments. We then traveled to the church where Bach first worked and got to listen to music played on this gigantic organ that Bach once played. It was absolutely amazing and I regret not getting more pictures of the organ.
Everything is going great in Jena. Me and my host family are getting to know each other more and more each day and I find myself enjoying the time I spend at home. Viktoria and Paul, my host sister and brother, are so much fun. Viktoria and I were dancing in my room to German music today and I enjoy watching the German game shows for kids after dinner. I have had really fun moments of trying to explain things like pancakes for breakfast (which Viktoria found really weird) and the pronunciation of the word "lawnmower."
My sleeping schedule is so weird now. If you know me pretty well, you know I usually go to bed around 3 in the morning and wake up around 1 or even 2. I can't imagine doing that anymore. I now go to bed around 9 or 10 and wake up around 7 in the morning. It feels completely normal now. I feel weird if I don't eat breakfast and I'm so tired by 5 o'clock. It feels weird but I like it. I feel like I have more time to enjoy the day and I'm getting sufficient amounts of sleep. I guess that's what SST does to you.
Write to me!
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