Updates

I did something pretty cool yesterday, which is why the blog is a day late.

Two weeks ago I got an email from the US Embassy inviting me and other exchange students to the Embassy in Berlin for a round table discussion about our experiences here in Germany. We met with Paul Cunningham, who is the U.S. Department of State’s Public Diplomacy Desk Officer for Western Europe. We were 32 students: 8 were Germans who previously went to the USA on the CBYX scholarship and the rest were American students who are currently in Germany. Mr. Cunningham seemed genuinely interested in what we were sharing with him. He was also an exchange student, so he understands and values the program just as we do. Overall I think the event was very successful, and he can report back to Washington with proof that this is an amazing opportunity for many students both American and German. Then, it will hopefully be treated as the serious investment that it is: a program that benefits not only our country, but our relations with other countries as well…And the world knows we could use some improvement in that area :)  It was as always very interesting to get other peoples perspectives on their exchange year because it truly does vary person to person. In the meeting room there was ice water in pitchers with glasses and Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies on plates. It was a big indication that we were back on American soil. But I mean the security to get in and the portraits of President Obama, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry should have also been a clear sign.

Another fun thing that happened this week was the solar eclipse that was visible in Germany! At 9:45 my class went up to the school tower. I didn't even notice there was a tower on top of the north wing of my school let alone that it was safely accessible, but only my class was able to go up. Our math teacher gave us the hookup with the tower viewing, and she brought the special dark glasses you need to view this phenomenon. This isn't a surprise to most people, but I'm not very interested in space and science. Looking at the solar eclipse, though, was quite cool and who knows if I'll ever be able to do it again.

Quick note: I realize you aren't allowed to look directly into the sun because of the damage it can cause, but even looking up and in the general direction of the sun was physically painful and my eyes automatically reverted away. Basically, I don’t understand how or why anyone would do that.

Last Friday we also made crepes in French class. We had two crepe makers and everyone brought some ingredient or topping to contribute. We just hung out while eating our crepes for an hour and it was fun. A few people and I played hangman on the chalkboard. We did some rounds in German and some rounds with English words that were randomly picked out of my German-English dictionary. It's funny because one of the words was "reliability." Quite a few letters were filled in but I still didn't know what it was. All of sudden a guy in the back shouts out the word and I was so stunned… How did he get it and I didn't? It was a small hit to my ego. I won't lie, they chose some good words like hypocrisy and inquisitive. Playing with German words can be interesting as well because there are an abundance of words that have 15-20 letters or more.

This is our last week before Easter break, so projects and exams are being finished up. I have had a lot of free periods that last few weeks, so things are going well for me!

All the students

It was like a mini boarder crossing

As I was walking to the Embassy, I noticed an unusual abundance of Police Officers, the Greek flag hanging outside the Bundeskanzleramt (office building where Angela Merkel works), and the setting up of those plastic blockade things around the large grass areas. My first thought was that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must be in town (it turned out I was correct). On the way back from the Embassy to the train station, I notice a large group of people outside the Bundeskanzleramt with signs and whatnot. I obviously was curious about what was happening. I mentally debated asking someone about it, but I quickly remembered that these guys were either protesting or supporting something, so of course they would love to talk about their cause. I found two nice looking women who explained the cause to me. Turns out, Prime Minister Tsipras had met with Chancellor Merkel that day about the situation in Greece and the people outside were supporters of support to Greece. They told me that they want Greece to be seen a valid EU member and that they stand in solidarity with them. 

~very chiq~

On the viewing tower

Study Abroad is Actually Educational

Contrary to the impression you may have received from my blog post about my trip to Turkey, it was not 100% a vacation, but maybe 75%. There was some work involved, and it didn't end when we returned to Germany. Back in January, we took a field trip to DEKRA University Berlin, which is where people study Media, Film, and Journalism. We were there for the journalism aspect. Considering part of our trip to Turkey was documenting our findings through reports, photos, blogs, and interviews, we were there to learn more about journalism and improve what we had written through the help of a journalist. Similar to most of expierences here in Germany, I had no idea what's going on until it was actually happening. The whole day was really a surprise for me in terms of what we were doing, but I will say it was pretty cool. Even though journalism is not a career I plan on pursuing, I still enjoyed learning about it and hearing comments from a professional. 

The teacher in charge of this exchange with the Turks, who is also my math teacher, recently gave me a task because moral support as a contribution to our project probably isn't cutting it. When the Turks come, I am to lead them through a tour of our city. I will make the distinction now that the city where my school is located is not the same city in which I reside, so don't think I am well versed on the history and points of interest of Rathenow. I personally think it's a great task for me. I can learn about the city, practice public speaking, and get more practice learning German. I'm not totally alone on this project, one of the teachers is helping me some as well. 

Speaking of German learning, on Wednesday I had my last German lesson. I was very sad that our lessons are over because I know that I have learned a ton, and I really looked forward to them every week. To be honest, we would chat a lot. Maybe then she would quickly explain how to form the passive and I would recite a text (all with perfect grammar of course) that she had me memorize. At the beginning it wasn't like that though, but later on most things I hadn't been formally taught yet, I had already picked up. 

For our last lesson, I asked if we could simply converse. As I mentioned previously, she is Ukrainian, still has family there, and speaks Russian. I wanted to take that opportunity to talk to her and get her opinion on what is happening in Ukraine. I had been forewarned about her political beliefs, which is exactly why I wanted to hear her opinions. I knew it would be different than anything I would hear in the USA. In addition to hearing her opinions, I got a big history lesson on Russia and Ukraine. She also gave me a little of her personal background. I obviously found our discussion incredibly interesting. I just sat there for an hour with my ears wide open, but we didn't actually finish in that hour.  We had to continue for another hour the next day. There is one thing in particular that stood out to me. She has been to both the United States and Russia and she finds the people of each country very similar. Russia is seen as the opposite of America; two opposing powers who can't seem to get along. According to her observations, Americans are the type of people to strike up a conversation with a stranger. We are friendly and open, but complicated (who isn't, though...). Russians are exactly the same. She even went so far to say that we're more similar to the Russian people than the German people. Not that I know anything about Russians or Russia, but I have learned some things about Germans and there are some large differences in the way we act versus the Germans.

This whole thing brings me back to why I find exchange programs so wonderful. When you peel back politics, languages, and cultural differences, we are all just people. We are people who are not that different from each other, but more importantly we are all people who could learn something from one another if we allow ourselves to.

In other and relatively unimportant news, the weather has started to suck less lately. First and foremost, I have seen more of the sun in the past few weeks than I have since November. Secondly, it's light out again on the drive to school, which is automatically a positive start to the day for me. It is also all around not as cold as it has been. Three weeks ago, I would get excited if the weather was simply above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, anything over 45-50 degrees is warm. Looks like I'm in for a hot surprise when I return this summer to California. 

Shannon

Berlin and Brandenburg

The day I post this, I will have 3 months and 10 days left in Germany. It may seem like a lot, I mean, it's approximately 1/3 of my entire stay here. Then I take in a look in my planner, which contains plans of everything I have done and will do, and I realize that I don't actually have much time left. When I also check my planner, though, I get excited for all the things I still have planned to do in the next three months.

My year here is going to start winding down soon, which is sad for me. I can still remember, though, back in October when my host dad told me, "Shannon, next week you're going to Brussels, then we're going to the Baltic Sea, then you're off to Turkey, then comes Christmas. Before you know it, you'll be wondering where the time has gone." Obviously, he was so right. 

Enough of the sentimentality, for I still have quite a few more adventures that I am extremely excited for.

*Hint* festivities to celebrate and countries and cities to visit *Hint* ...More of those things coming in the next few months. 

In other news, last weekend my brother was in Berlin. That Saturday my host family and I brought him along with us on our trip to Brandenburg. We had actually had this excursion planned for over a month to visit my host mom's father and his wife there, and of course the more the merrier. We went to the Brandenburg Cathedral and St. Catherine's church. We had previously been inside the church, but we had never gone up to the tower. It wasn't open that day, but my host mom's dad has some connections and he got someone to unlock it and take us up to the top. Now I understand why it isn't always open to the public and you have to call in advance because it's a bit sketchy and scary getting up and going down. However, it was completely worth the fright because we were able to see the city from high up. There were three different doors from the tower where you could out onto a balcony and look out. It was also a beautiful day outside. We went out to this Italian restaurant for lunch, walked around the city and bit, and back to my host grandparents house my favorite part of any day: Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) before going back home. 

On Monday, I went to Berlin to see my brother and do some site seeing. We went up to the Fernseherturm (TV Tower) where you can get a panoramic view of Berlin. I had been meaning to do this for a while, but it only makes sense to do it when the weather it good. Luckily, we have had some great weather recently. Anyways, it is more than just looking out to the city, but on the edge under the huge windows, there are descriptions of the main building you see when you look out. It also explains the 12 districts of Berlin and gives overviews of each. I really enjoyed it because I was able to learn more about the city, the layout, and the history of each part. 

Another highlight was the DDR museum. (German Democratic Republic or simply Former East Germany in English). I would highly recommend this museum to anyone who visits Berlin and wants to learn a little about what daily life was like in the DDR. It's an interactive museum and definitely not boring. You even get to drive in a Trabi car to see how terrible of cars they were. You sit in the actual car and what looks like an old video game is projected on the windshield and then you can drive. There are tons of items and photographs in the museum, and there isn't actually that much reading to do either. I thought the whole museum was informative and well put together! 

We also went to the Neus Museum on the Museum Island. This museum houses Egyptian, Prehistory, and Early History collections. It would have been a bit boring without the audio guide, to be honest, because you would just be looking at stuff (artifacts) without knowing really what it is. It's main two "selling points" are the bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, which was beautiful as promised, and the Golden Hat. I didn't even know what this Golden Hat thing was, but it is actually very intriguing. The story and the information about the hat is better than the actual hat itself. It is definitely worth the google and a read on Wikipedia. 

Sorry for boring you people who aren't fond of museums, but I got to make sure I'm getting my dose of culture and history while I'm here! :)

I do have a bit of a goal, though... And that is to try and visit everything there is to visit in Berlin, because why the heck not? It's a quite attainable goal for me at this point. 

And of course, it was nice to see my brother again since it has been a while, and I won't be able to go to his college graduation in May. It seemed like he and my host family got along very well, which made life easy for me.

View of Brandenburg

The clock on the clock tower.

my brother and me

St. Catherine's Church

Cathedral of Berlin from the TV Tower

Different types of coffins from different time periods.

Weimar-- Mid Stay Seminar

Weimar is a charming city in the middle of Germany. It is home to Germany's most famous writers, Schiller and Goethe, the first German Republic founded after World War 1, and the second Concentration Camp in Germany.

The 47 Americans from my program were together again for the first time since August at our Pre-Departure Orientation in Washington D.C. To say I was looking forward to this 5-day trip would be an understatement because it has obviously been awhile since I've seen my exchange friends, especially the ones who were at language camp with me. The trip turned out better than I expected. It was also quite different than our orientations in Spain, which served more as time to reflect and do activities having to do with our year. Not exactly super fun. Here though in Weimar, we had tons of free time to hang out with our friends, we got to see the city, and we only spent three hours total sitting in groups of 15 talking to each other about our experiences so far.

The first day was weird because I had spoken face to face with another American one time since September, and now I had 46 other Americans all in one room. The thing is, Germans are not typically loud people and Americans are. If you ever need to find the group of Americans, just find where the loud noise is coming from. The other weird thing was on the first day when everyone was arriving and you would go up give them a hug, say hello or whatever and then ask --what I will call-- the three basic questions: how are things with your host family, how are things at school, and generally with friends and the language. Most people asked these questions to most other people. It was strange because I couldn't help but wonder if we were asking some people who we hadn't even spoken to in 6 months because it was polite or because we actually cared. According to the Germans the whole "asking people questions out of politeness" is a typical American thing.

Part of our Weimar Program was visiting the houses where the German writers, Schiller and Goethe, lived. Personally I liked Schiller's house better because we got an audio guide for it, so I actually feel like I learned something. Whereas in Goethe's house we didn't have an audio guide so we just walked through the house while looking around and that was it. We also went to the concentration camp that is in Weimar called Buchenwald. That makes the third one I've visited and it definitely doesn't get easier each time. The moment you walked onto the grounds there is this somber mood that makes for a silent atmosphere. At each one, I have learned something new and the exhibitions and museums are set up differently, so it really a distinct experience each time. 

Obviously the free time was great, it was like we were given a free trip to explore a new city with our friends. We found this place where people could play pool and air hockey, and quite a few games of Cards Against Humanity were played. There is something very enjoyable about simply sitting down and hanging out with people who haven't seen in a while, and also becoming better friends with more people.

At the end I got sick, so I didn't go to school today. Lucky for you readers, that means I was able to make this post today.

Enjoy the photos below!

Shannon

Jessica and me

Schiller's house

Goethe's house

The Schiller and Goethe statue 

The square in front of the town hall

Weimar Town Hall

The building with the tower is where watch was kept, it also serves as the entrance. The wing on the right is where the torturing cells were.  

This steel plate is kept at 37 degrees Celsius, which is the human body temperature. It symbolizes life in a place where thousands and thousands of people died.

Thank you to Jessica for taking this photo.

My trip to the German Bundestag

Back in November I received an invitation from the member of Parliament who represents the region I am living in here in Germany to visit the Bundestag and meet with him. This is one of the many perks of the scholarship I received. So, last Thursday my host family and I went to Berlin. We met one of Mr. Steineke's aids and she took us around the building. It was cool because the Reichstag building doesn't look that big, but there are other buildings with offices that are apart of the Bundestag. There are underground tunnels connecting them. Only the general public would need to go outside to get from one building to another. Quick lesson here: Reichstag refers to the building and Bundestag refers to the people and the parliamentary things being done (ie making laws). Reichs means imperial and Bundes means federal. All of it used to be called the Reichstag back then with the German Empire and Third Reich, for example. Since 1945; however, the word Reichstag stopped being used to refer to the people of the Bundestag and what they do. The Bundestag is the current national parliament. 

In the basement, there is this a wall of boxes (size: big enough to fit a 3x5 index card, color: rusted brown) with names of former members of Parliament and the years they served. The boxes contained the cards with which the members used to vote. The interesting part is that there is one box that is completely blacked out. That particular box belonged to Hitler.

We then went to the plenary chamber, which is where the members of the Bundestag meet. We watched and listened as different members give speeches. The topic was Investing in Germany and Europe's Future. I'm taking the wording from my host mom when I say it is a bit of a circus in there. Attendents are constantly moving around, members on the lower floor are coming, going or talking, and groups are always coming in and out from the viewing section.

We then went on to meet with Mr. Steineke. One thing we talked about was the program I am on and the scholarship I received. This leads me to something very important. This program is in danger. Everything is explained on the website, but I'll give a quick overview. Congress is planning to cut program funds in half starting this year; potentially jeopardizing the entirety of the program. The Bundestag has agreed to cover the what the USA does not fund, but only for this year. This petition is to get Congress to reverse their decision and restore the funding. Most exchange students on this program, from both Germany and the USA would not have this opportunity if it wasn't for this scholarship (myself included). It is very important to keep this program running so that future exchange students have this amazing opportunity as well.
Here is the link to sign the petition.
http://savecbyx.org/

We then went up to the dome. There is an upward and downward spirialing ramp circling the dome and you can see the city of Berlin. Actually, directly under the dome is where the plenary chamber is, so natural light comes down to the chamber. There is also an audio guide for the dome that I have previously done, although this time we had the aid as our guide. She explained the tasks of the Bundestag and pointed out all the sights you can see from the dome. Outside the dome is also a rooftop terrace, which is great for photos and views.

That was the end of our visit to the Bundestag. Although I had visited before, this time was obviously cooler and better. The aid was knowledgeable, nice, and super friendly, too. The whole thing felt very official and it was quite the experience.

The absolute coolest part of the whole day, though? I saw Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

my host sister and me

The plenary chamber. We went inside but we couldn't bring our cameras in.

My host family and me with Mr. Steineke in the middle.

My host sister took this photo at the top of the dome.

Hello there

Rooftop

Reichstag building (this photo was actually taken in November)

Germany, Germans, German

This post is just a lot of thoughts I have about the country, the people, and the language. This post goes from one subject to the next without necessarily connecting to each other, it's a bit abrupt.

I'm going to go with the assumption that anyone who has read at least a couple blog posts of mine knows that I find the German people simply fantastic. I find that they aren't as materialistic or consumeristic as Americans. They also don't care about how other people think about them as much Americans pay attention to outward appearences. But I also wish Germans smiled more often. It's not that they aren't friendly, I just prefer that when I walk down the street in a city, people look a little livelier. I mean, you live in a great country, that's got to be one reason to smile ...And not that this a competition, but that is a point for you, America. You're cool, too.

When I visited Berlin for a few days in June 2013 after I had successfully mastered Spanish, I couldn't help but laugh (from helplessness) when I walked around and I had no idea what anyone was saying around me and what different signs said. I was just happy I knew English. I can imagine myself thinking that this language was ridiculous and it definitely wasn't on my list to learn nor did I even think I was capable of learning it. And now when I hear German, I cannot help but say to myself, "Dude, how did I even learn German. I don't even understand how this happened to me." It's a cool and accomplished feeling.

I have read lots of articles on language learning and languages in general, and one reoccurring theme I read about language learning is that the moment you think a language is too hard, it will actually be hard to learn. Laughable, I thought. However, these past few months, I have been trying that method out. For example, reading and writing are challenging because the way the language is written I find is more complicated to understand than how it is spoken (I'm not talking about texting with my friends). Now I'm trying to take this positive mentality and adopt concrete methods of learning to read and write better. So, I've been reading newspapers and magazines more often. I still read slowly, but I know I will see improvement over time. The thing with writing German, for example on schoolwork, is that I feel like I have to write everything without grammatical errors or else I won't be understood, which is absolutely absurd. So I'm also working on not being a perfectionist in this aspect until the time is ready to apply that pressure. It is a bit of a downer, though, when you feel like your writing capabilities are those of a small child.

My last thought on this whole "tell yourself it is easy" attitude is that sometimes I just tell myself that there are way harder languages to learn, so I should get over it.  

On a semi-similar note, sometimes I feel like I haven't learned enough in the last five months, and the way I am combating this negativity is by reminding myself that I arrived without speaking a word of German and examine the sheer amount that I have learned in five months and that that amount has at least the potential to be doubled. I then say to myself "Hey, maybe you're not doing so badly after all"

I'll be honest here, I did not need to put this much effort into learning Spanish, at all. To be even more honeset, I did not struggle and I thought it was easy. As pathetic, but smart, as this is, my method for learning a solid amount of vocubulary words was to ~Spanish-ize~ the word and go from there. It actually worked a more than you might think. The truth is, it doesn't really work in German and there aren't as many cognates as one might think. When I look up a word from English to German, it is more of a shock when it is similar to English. Here is another point I have thought a lot about. During language camp, my teacher told us that she doesn't think there is such a thing as a "language gift or ability" (I'll add the fact she speaks German, English, and French and has studied Latin). I think this is absolutely false because that's the same thing as saying that some people can't be naturally good at math. I am pretty certain people would disagree with that. I think the important thing to understand with this idea is that while some people might be good at catching onto word families and recognizing patterns within a language doesn't mean that not everyone has the potential to learn it. I wish more people in the US didn't mentally give up on their language classes after the first year and actually give up the class after two years of learning it. It's not like you're allowed to give up math after two years just because you don't think you're good at it. 

One thing that I have found interesting with Germans and their language is that they'll be speaking German (obviously) and then randomly incorporate an English word into their speech. It's not that they are official words the language has adopted, they are simply words that I assume they couldn't find a good German word for. Of course, it's depends on the context of the conversation, but even in settings that I wouldn't expect it--for example our substitute math teacher saying a problem was "tricky"--it still happens. Sometimes they'll say the word and then give a description of what exactly they mean in German. Main culprits? Words like random, awkward, and mainstream. On the other hand, there are a couple French words that German has officially adopted so it wouldn't be pretentious at all to use them. It is pretty silly to hear, though, mixed in with German because the words still sound French.

Here is another quick fun fact about the language. Numbers 21-99 are read right to left. For example, English speakers would say thirty seven and Germans would say sevenandthirty (it is written all as one word). 

The people of this country also care a lot about the environment. For example, they separate their garbage into four groups: compost, paper, plastic, and actual trash. This is not only in homes, but there are also similar options in public, like the train station. However, instead of a compost bin they have one for glass. Despite all this, it is common practice to buy bottled water because some people drink carbonated water and people don't drink out of facets. I can understand if someone doesn't want to drink out a facet because it's not pure enough water, but I mean isn't that what Brita water filters are for? It has to be better than buying thousands of plastics water bottles. I have yet to understand this and it seems counter-productive to me. It's not like I come from the most environmentally friendly country, though, so who am I to judge? 

Let's end this with something in which I'm grateful hasn't really happened to me. Apparently there is a stereotype against Germans that they make it hard for others to learn the language. I know right, why would they do that?  I guess it is said that they'll speak English to English speakers regardless if they're trying to learn German because it's easier for both parties. Germans know English pretty well, and I don't think that surprises anyone. I assume they are tying to be nice and helpful. Not once (since I've learned German) have I had to say "Hey, could we speak German?" I also did not even know this was a stereotype until I heard other people saying how it is sometimes a problem for them. So I guess thank you to everyone I've ever talk to here for making me learn and practice my German.

Shannon

Photos

I give fair warning right now that this post contains high levels of sass and many self taken photographs. Proceed with caution.

August

Because friends who learn German together, stay together. 

Because sometimes the city is prettier at dusk.

Because sometimes you get off at random metro stops in Hamburg with your friends and you find this, and it apparently appeals so much that we decide to visit twice.

September

Because food...especially Currywurst.

Because this is naturally what one finds when she enters the area of the Filmpark titled "The Wild West."

Because my friends are pretty awesome, especially because one invited me to her birthday party after a week of knowing her.

October

Because a selfie to Belgium is the best kind of selfie. 

Because I like flags, and I can name all the countries these flags belong to... And because I freaked out simply being in this room.

Because I consider myself a professional kite flyer after dealing with the wind on the Baltic Sea.

November

Because this photo reminds me a little bit of California.

Because sometimes I'm just the random American mixed in with Turks and Germans.

Because my Turkish host sister is better at coming up with ideas for photos than me.

December

Because we rule the kingdom.

Because who doesn't take a selfie while packaging cookies for our Christmas conert.

Because I like to take pictures of things with strong color contrasts, especially the back of palaces. 

Well, I'm at the halfway point of my time here in Germany. To commemorate, I chose three photos from each month I have been in Germany. All of them have never appeared in a blog post before, and only one was posted on Instagram.
Hope you enjoyed getting a more candid view of my life here. 

Shannon