What I've been up to

This post is a bit long, but you will all get to know some of the things I've been doing. Hopefully that makes up for not posting last week.

I started back at school a few weeks ago after three weeks off with a new rejuvenation to participate in class more, actually do some homework, and try to not let my mind wander in class. I am comfortable doing this now because I now feel more confident since my German has improved. Now that I have at least a basic understanding, I know (from experience) that if I apply myself at school, my German will get even better faster.

The past couple weeks I've had quite a few days off because the 12th grade have had these practice exams for the Abitur in May. I have used these days off to overall relax, read, finish up all my college applications, watch TV/movies, and generally just getting things done that I need to do. In my defense of all the TV, it really helps my German listening comprehension. I also really enjoy going on bike rides. 

Earlier in the week, I got a letter in the mail from the representative in the Bundestag (Germany's national government) for the area where I live. It was inviting me to meet with him at the Bundestag, get a tour of the Bundestag, and eat lunch there. I am very excited, and my host mom and I called and made the appointment for late January. Meeting with your representative is just one of the many perks of the CBYX scholarship I'm here with, besides studying abroad in Germany for free, of course. 

On Wednesday, I got my hair cut in the morning (I only got a few inches cut off), then I went to my friend's house. She cooked me this 100% natural and 100% Vietnamese dish called Pho. It's basically noodles with some chicken, coriander, onions, and green onions. Then you put this liquidity soup over it, and it was delectable. I even ate it the proper way with chopsticks and a spoon. We hung out for the day, and we also went into this Russian store. It's a small store in the main plaza that sells food and little gifts and trinkets. We got some chocolate, and it was quite yummy.

Last Thursday, my host family and I went on a cultural outing in Berlin to see the Blue Man Group perform. It's basically these three men who are painted blue who don't speak and they do different pranks and activities. They also play the all these different types of drums. Very messy and loud, but it was seriously so great. It was super funny and wildly entertaining. 

Saturday I spent the day in Berlin. I walked from central station to the Bundestag, Branderburger Tor, and the Holocaust Memorial to get some photos (I've already visited these places, I just wanted to snap some pictures). I continued on my way to Potsdamer Platz to meet up with my area representative from my program and another exchange student who lives in Berlin. Afterwards, I took the metro to Checkpoint Charlie and then walked to a museum called "Topographie des Terrors" (I assume you can all figure out what that means). It was a museum about the SS, the police, and their institutions before and during WWII and their crimes throughout Europe. Where the museum stands was actually the headquarters of the Secret State Police, Reich SS Leadership and Security Service of the SS, and after 1939, it became the Reich Security Main Office. In layman's terms, it was "Terror and Persecution HQ of Nazi Germany." It was very interesting and I definitely learned things that I didn't know before. The best part; however, was that I was alone because if there is one thing I truly despise, it is going to museums in a group. Someone is always waiting on someone and it is virtually impossible for people to go through the museum at the same pace. Unless said museum is about Art, then I'm that person who is taking her sweet time and reading everything. Naturally, I feel guilty for being slow, but I also don't want to feel rushed. Moral of the story, this is the second time I've been to a museum alone (well, the first time I ~half~ consciously separated myself from the group, so not sure if that counts), I don't know how I'll ever be able to enjoy museums in a group. Sorry for that digression. Anyways, I wondered around the city, successfully mastered the metro station, and then went back to Potsdamer Platz where I met up with my host sister (she had been in Berlin for the past few days for a MUN conference), and we took the train home. I had a wonderful and eventful day by myself, where I was able to tour and explore the city at my leisure. 

On Friday, I leave for a week long trip to Turkey that I have mentioned in previous posts. It is a joint research project between Turkey and Germany on the enviroment and our topic is Wind Energy. I only signed up because it was a cheap trip to Turkey, but there is a lot of research and work involved. I'm nervous not only because of the workload and seriousness of the project, but because the enviroment, energy sources, and all that science stuff are all topics I know very little about and to be frank, have low interest levels in (sorry Germans, please don't be offended by my lack of passion for the enviroment). Regardless of all that, I know I'll have a great time, visit one of the largest cities in Turkey, and learn some of the Turkish culture by living with a host family. I'll do this all while learning something about a topic I had little previous knowledge in, a wonderful added bonus. 

Because I will be gone next week, there won't be a blog post on next Monday. 

Please enjoy these photos.

Shannon

The blue man himself and me

Bundestag

Brandenburger Tor

Holocaust Memorial. Fun fact: it was designed by an American

Trabi Car, typical symbol of East Germany

an old part of the Wall near Potsdamer Platz

Food

Oh Yes, I do have an entire post dedicated to food. My rationale: food is a big aspect of culture.

For breakfast during the week, I usually have a bowl of cereal because it's the fastest for me. On the weekends, I have Bröcthen, similar to a bread roll, but so much tastier. One half has butter with Johannesberre jelly and the other has Nutella. I had to look up what a Johannesberre is, and the Internet says its a red currant berry. I still have no idea what that is, and I had never heard of it nor seen it before coming here. That would make sense, though, because the Internet also says its native to Western Europe. This will be one of the foods I bring back to the U.S. because it's a favorite of mine. The taste is pretty tart, too. Occasionally, I will break from routine and have a pastry from the bakery. 

Lunch during the week: the large majority of students at my school bring lunch from home. It's pretty similar to lunch food in the US. For example, I usually bring a meat and cheese sandwich, apple, banana, red peppers, and hard boiled egg. An interesting thing with the sandwich, we buy a legitimate loaf of dark bread and slice it with a powered bread slicer. It's like a ham slicer, but for bread. It is very cool, and it can be adjusted for how think to slice the bread, too! Most Germans have this idea that Americans ONLY eat white bread, ie Wonderbread, when that is not really the case. Lunch on the weekends is a large meal usually consisting of potatoes, meat, and vegetables. Red cabbage is a prominent vegetable, and just as you may suspect, sausage is a prominent meat here.  

Dinner during the week is typically smaller than dinner in the US. Typical foods might be salad, bread with salami, cheese, or some type of spread with vegetables such as peppers and cucumbers, pasta, or meat (but not too much). Dinner on the weekend is even smaller because of the big lunch and is usually the bread thing I just talked about. 

I'm not saying those things I mentioned are the only things I eat, but those are just typical foods. 

I haven't had a single meal that I haven't liked. The food isn't really that strange for me. It really is a lot of meat and potatoes. One thing that I tried since I've been here is mixing my foods. I used to always eat my food item by item on my plate but here, they mix everything together. You start by mashing the potatoes to cover the plate, then you put on the meat, then the vegetable, then the gravy type sauce. It's actually pretty good this way. 

Meal times are pretty much the same in the US. 

Something that is different is that most Germans drink carbonated water, and there are actually different levels of carbonation. At home I drink still water, but when I'm out or at another person's house, carbonated water is fine for me. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's whatever. The biggest thing for me is that it is the opposite of refreshing, so I can't imagine exercising and then drinking carbonated water. 

I know a stereotypical German food is Sauerkraut, and I have eaten it a few times here. It's not bad, but it has a very strong taste that I think not everyone would like. I wouldn't eat it by itself, but mixed in with other foods it's fine. 

Also different here: Germans don't really like the mint-chocolate combination. That means no mint chip ice cream. I've asked a few people to see if it is a general thing and they all say that Germans generally don't like it. I did find it once in Hamburg, but it didn't taste that great. 

Bread is an all day everyday type of thing. Fresh bread all the time. I would say it's similar to rolls in the US except there are so many types here and it's 10x better. 

Döner: a Turkish food that pretty much all German people and I are in love with. I've heard that it's not really in Turkey, but I'm actually going there in a couple weeks so I will report with my findings. Döner is strips of meat that go inside this bread that functions as a holder for it all. Imagine a soft taco shape except there is only an opening at the top and way bigger. Then they add vegetables of the costumer's choosing such as onions, lettuce, and cabbage (white and red). Cream based sauces are added and it is delicious, although it can get messy.

Here's a funny story. A typical food here is schnitzel, which is a breaded meat that you fry. Well, one time my host mom and I made it together so I could learn, and I really messed it up... One turned out fine, one was merely  okay, one had too much pepper, and the other had too much salt. I felt so bad! But I have since redeemed myself (luckily for my host family, haha). I made it again and I got raving reviews from my host family! This is a dish I could definitely make in the USA.

Shannon

Baltic Sea

About 36 hours after I returned from Belgium, my host family and I left for a 4.5 hour car ride to a cute little beach town on the Baltic Sea. However, not before throwing up that morning because somehow I got some type of stomach issue. Yes, I was sick for most of the trip, but it mostly meant my stomach couldn't handle food, which was a shame because we went to some great restaurants. After a few days, I got some medicine, which worked, so it could have been way worse.

Here was my favorite part! On the first day, we immediately went to the beach, where it was incredibly windy so my host sister decided to get a kite. It was the first time I have ever flown a kite, and it was so much fun! It was pretty easy to do though since the wind was particularly strong. I had a great time. 

Let me clarify the whole going to the beach thing. This was not the warm, lay on the hot sand with the sun shining down on you type of beach that my California based readers might think of. This place is in Northern Germany and next to water, so warm isn't an adjective I'd use. This place was pretty cold for me, with temperatures averaging in the mid to high 40s Fahrenheit. 

One thing that was pretty cool was went to this sand sculpture exhibition, and it was basically the bible in these huge sand sculptures. 

We also did this train tour of the surrounding towns because they also have some historical significance. 

There was a house and everything was upside down. It made for some pretty cool photos. 

To make up for the fact I had all of 10 photos in my last blog, I'll make this one mostly photos of my 

trip instead of talking about it.

Baltic Sea in German is Ostsee, and Ahlbeck is a town.

Flags represent countries that lay on the Baltic Sea

Any still moment is a photo opp with my host mom. I sat down for a sec and then I'm told to smile

Very exciting for me

The kite...

We went inside an old Russian Submarine

A lot harder than it looks...

...and it's gone

Look at the bottom of the ramp and there are two little snails. When I saw it, I thought it was hilarious and a fun touch. 

Germany/Poland border 

Poland

This is a lake not the Baltic Sea, by the way.