The last day

Warning: This post does not contain the pretty pictures and careless happy thoughts of previous blog posts.It explores more into my emotions about exchange and my thoughts as my year comes to an end.

 

I dont know how this happened. I dont know how its possible that i have only a few hours before i need to fly back to the USA. I refuse to accept that this amazing exchange year is almost at an end. I want to be an exchange student forever.

Throughout the past couple of weeks i have been going through some serious denial about leaving my new home here in Germany. It is strange when i think back to my first couple of weeks here and how it seems like they were years ago. My memories of those times are quite clear, but seem also a little blurry as i can no longer connect with the person i was when i came to Germany a year ago. I have changed in so many ways through this experience, but the change is hard to put in words.

I have become self-sufficient, but know when its ok to be dependent.

I have become even more independent, and yes dad that is possible.

I  have become a lot more responsible, although i  have certainly have explored the irresponsible.

I have identified my true values in life and although I think i have known them all along, it took this experience for me to realize them.

I have learned important and weird life skills like drinking coffee, being embarrassed, being alone, napping, drinking beer, ways to open beer, being tired, adapting, being open(with myself and others), going a year without a hair cut, sharing the bathroom, living without central heating, and so much more.

This list could go on for pages. Through exchange i have become a totally different person though the experiences i have had and the lessons i have learned. I am scared that when i go back to the US that no one will be able to relate with this new, very different, me. I really hate that this is exactly what Rotary said during the orientation and that it is completely true.

I spent my exchange year in a small town in the very flat land in Northern Germany. The complete opposite of what i was hoping for. I wanted to spent the year in Spain, Italy, or Argentina. How did i end up here? I embraced the challenge of this foreign land and at some point during my exchange my small town turned from a topic of resentment to a place i am head-over-heels in love with.

I love going to buy bread early in the morning and running into 5 people i know. I love biking through the fields and having the people i pass wave and say hi. I love sitting at the lake with my friends and watching the sun set as it turns from pink to orange and sinks beneath the cows. I still really dont like the cows.

The one thing that is really different with exchange in a small town is your level of anonymity. I have heard from other exchange students in larger towns and cities about how they feel like the blend into the walls and can feel like they dont exist. In a more diverse environment exchange students are seen as normal and dont receive much special attention. In the three towns i have lived in this year of 13,000 , 3,000, and 300 (oh the irony of dwindling numbers) anonymity was not my issue. In fact, my issue was quite the opposite.

I am the only American who lives in this town, and for many of the people here i am the only American they have ever met. I found this at first exciting, but then rather stressful. I was known throughout the town as the “American girl”. Although not everyone at school knew my name at first, they all knew my story. Not only did they know my story, but they knew who i spent my time with, what i was doing that weekend, which disco i frequented, what i did with which boy, and so much more. Although i found it cool at first for everyone to know me, it became more than annoying as the year went on. I felt like i was up in the air suspended for everyone to see and i certainly did not feel like i fit in.

Luckily things started to settle down in school sometime in the cold of winter and i began to feel like i had a normal life here in the flats of Germany. I still received an abnormal amount of stares and whispers as i walked through the hallway at school, but by then i had accepted that as normal.  It took up to my last few months for me to feel really excepted into this German society and really break into the german social circle. I have had good friends the whole year, but it took the whole year to feel accepted and not feel like such an outsider.

As with many Northern European people (sorry for stereotyping) Germans are polite and friendly at first, but are very reluctant to let you into their lives. Many people would use the expression involving an egg in this situation, but for Germans i prefer potatoes. I literally eat potatoes almost every day here and i have eaten them in way to many different ways than i can count. Germans are obsessed with potatoes. I learned how to peel a potato in my first host family and it was a source of frustration for me. I could peel it, but i was so much slower than the rest of my family and my potato never looked as nice as theirs did. Just like the potato, Germans have a skin which needs to be skillfully peeled off before you can really be accepted by them, and it takes a while to learn how to do it.

I have finally managed to peel a whole truck load of potatoes and now i have to leave. It doesnt seem fair.

This whole year i was something really special and different in this town. I was the American and that was my line. The best and most effective pickup line i have ever come across. At school, parties, discos all i needed to say was that i was the American girl and i could get whatever needed or wanted. My friends and i would joke that i would be lost when i returned to the US and could no longer use my line. I laughed it off knowing i had lots of time here and didnt think much of it. Now i cant stop thinking about it.

I have forgotten what it was like to not have everyone in town know my name. I have forgotten what it was like to walk through crowded hallways and have no one see you. I have forgotten what it was like to just be normal. This year i was anything but normal and i am really going to miss that.

I was digging through some things i wrote when i first arrived in Germany last year and i came across a list of things i missed from the US. Here is the list i made and a few small comments about how i feel about them now:

• Best friends – i will still always miss them, but i made so many new ones here from around the world
• The boulder homeless people- homeless people are cool in Berlin too
• Driving- i found that it is much more fun riding on the back of Scooters with Italian guys
• snowboarding- I have been snowboarding in the Alps
• Netflix- i still really miss netflix. come on Germans
• Boulder High school-  I dont think i miss the school at all, but i do really miss learning
• poptarts- my mom brought some when she visited. score
• beerpong- Germans have this game called flunkyball, its so much better.
• mexican food- why eat mexican food when i can eat german food?
• family- i have three new families all of whom i love, but i miss my real family to death
• frozen yogurt- first thing i am eating when i get back home. Europe should catch onto this soon

Although i go on and on about how i will miss Germany so much, i do of course miss my home in the US. Although i was one of the few exchange students who went through the year without real homesickness, i do really miss Boulder. I realize now how amazing my hometown is and how much i took it for granted. I also realize how much i took my family for granted. Although all of my host families were amazing, nothing can compare to my real one. I have missed my dad pushing me to do my best and his sarcastic comments (as well as my sassy comebacks). I have really missed my moms friendship and unconditional love. As much as i want to stay here in Germany, i know a part of me will always be back home.

The list of things i will miss from Germany though is quite extensive. I will miss everything. I will miss the things i hated this year, the things i loved, and even the things i really didnt give much thought to. I will miss the bread, the beer, the sausages, the cows, the sunsets, the discos, my german friends, my exchange family, my old rotary men, my host siblings, my host parents, my freedom, my lack of curfew, the moments shared with friends walking home and singing as the sky became light, the language of German, the train, and so much more.

I will miss Germany.

This place that was once so foreign to me has now become my reality, my home. As i say goodbye to the amazing people i have met this year i know that i will see some of them again. My heart has fallen in love with this place and i know i will be back sooner or later.

Makenna

 

 

A brief look into my last few months as a foreign exchange student

I realized i will probably never have enough time to give details about the crazy adventures i have been on in the last few months. I am giving up and just going to post a quick summary about some of the things i have been up to, but please ask me if your curious about any of it.

Im sure i could go on for hours talking about all of them! I have really lived life to the fullest during the last few months and have more stories to tell than paper in a Walmart.

Eurotour: By far the best trip of my life. Two very sleep deprived weeks with 30 of the best people in the world. We went through France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic. I have about 1000 pictures and a million more memories so hopefully i will get it together one day and make a blog post, because this trip deserves it.

Rotary sleepover: This was the last time getting together with all of the exchange students and it was as fun as always, but a lot more sad. We became a family this year and it was really sad saying goodbye to all of them. On the good side i now have about 80 couches i am welcome to crash on in over 10 countries.

OLMUN: Its a long story how i got involved in this, but i was invited to be a journalist at the Oldenburg Model United Nations conference. The conference was a week long and i stayed in a great host family while i was there. I spent the days biking around the city in the rain writing articles covering a committee. I then went out every night into the city with some great people i met at the conference and managed to wake up before 6 the next morning to head to the news room and edit the daily paper. The week was something really different than anything i have done before and i loved it.

Hurricane music festival: I spent my first weekend in Germany at a small music festival near my town. The weekend was quite an introduction to german… culture, and i was looking forward to this festival the whole year. The festival is in a small town and the 60,000 people who attend take over the place. I camped there with a bunch of and the weekend was one for the books. The music was great, the days were crazy, and the nights were unforgettable.

Rotary presentation: I attended rotary meetings every other week with my club and developed quite good relationships with all the rotary men. Not only was the food always amazing, but i always looked forward to chatting about my latest adventures over a beer with the guys. It was really sad having to say goodbye and give my final presentation. I am so grateful that my rotary club has been so supportive and amazing all year, they really made this year as special as it was. Thanks rotary!

Boat trip and pig roast: Rotary took the other exchange student, Laura, and i on a boat trip to say goodbye. The weather was nice and it was great to spend some more time with everyone. The boat ride was followed by a large and very delicious dinner and pig roast. Hungry?

Goodbye party: My goodbye party was a really good night. I had a bunch of friends over to my house and from there we partied into the morning at the disco. It was really nice being able to have one last great night with everyone who has made such an impact on me this year. As the night came to an end and the sun rose i exchanged many tearful goodbyes with friends that i will never forget. The party was such a success that the next night at the rotary meeting the president came up to me and congratulated me on the crazy party he heard that i threw and said it was good that i had so many friends here who care about me. Oh how i will miss how fast things get around in small towns…

Birthday/ 4th July in the city: I spent my birthday/ the 4th of July in Bremen. After a great breakfast and a few presents my german friends drove Laura and i to the city. The day was filled with german bratwursts, german beer, exchange students, and a lot of very illegal fireworks. Overall it was the perfect 17th birthday and i don’t think i will forget it anytime soon.

Wadwanderung: My second host family took the other two exchange students and I Wadwanderung. Wadwanderung is unique to the area i live in and involved hiking a few hours through a field of mud from the coast to one of the northern German islands. The trip was quite fun and very dirty.

Frauen WM: My first host family gave me tickets to a game of the womens soccer World Cup being hosted here in Germany. The germans are quite crazy about their fußball and i hav eloved going to games all year. The game was Sweden vs. USA and it was great cheering on my home country (even though we lost)

The day that i never thought would arrived finally has- my last day in Germany. This year has been really life changing and i am so glad that i was able to have this amazing opportunity. I have met so many great people from around the world this year and have not only learned a lot about a different culture, but i have learned a lot about myself. My last few weeks here have been some of the best and it really breaks my heart having to leave so soon. The goodbyes i have had to say to so many great people have been much harder than i ever thought they would be, but i have a feeling the hardest will be having to say goodbye to Germany.

I am trying to think of it more as a "see you later"

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain 

Iced Coffee and ear worms

I only have a few minutes, but i wanted to share a little funny story with everyone. The other day i went to a cafe with a friend and it was sweltering hot so i decided to order an “Eiscafe”. I was really craving the typical starbucks version of iced coffee that i always so enjoy during hot summer days. When my coffee came i was a little bewildered and confused, yet in the end quite happy. Germans have a slightly different take on iced coffee and i should have known better since in german “Eis” is always ice creme. So i received a coffee version of a root beer float. Im sure these exists somewhere in the US too, but i have certainly never ordered one.

Even though my drink was a fair bit more calorie enriched than i had been hoping, it was delicious all the same.

On the note of German things, i want to share my favorite german word. I learned this a few months ago and it is forever stuck in my head.

Ohrwurm = catchy song, something you can’t get out of your head (although translates literally to ear worm)

Germans are just way to clever. I love how there is a word for a song that is stuck in your head. It is oh so much easier to say “Ich habe ein Ohrwurm” than “I have a song stuck in my head”. Oh German.

Family visit and trip across Southern Germany!

I have literally been all around Europe the last couple of months. Its been quite an adventure!

My first trip was with my parents and brother in Southern Germany. I picked them up at the airport in Bremen and it was amazing seeing them after so long apart. After we spent a little time in my area in Germany and on the coast we headed off to the city Bremen again where my brother celebrated his 20th birthday European style.

 

 

 

After a long night at the disco my brother and i headed on the train to a gorgeous town near Frankfurt, Würzburg, where we met up with my parents who took a much earlier train after a slightly more restful night. We enjoyed some nice Würzburg wine and after seeing the sights we headed on the road again the next day.

Over the next few days we drove along the famed Romantic road in Southern Germany. Well known for the amazing fews and cute medieval towns the romantic road lived up to its promise. We stopped for the night in the medieval (and very touristy) town of Rotenburg which is a gem on the road since it fully survived the war damage free.

 

 

After spending ahwile in the country we headed to the big city- Munich. Stopping in Munich was my big request for the trip and i was more than excited to see this Southern city which i had heard so much about. We spent the night minutes away from the city center and had a great few days filled with shopping, sight seeing, and some classic german activities and food.

 

 

We then took a slight detour on our route and spent a day in a cute town in Austria. Although i had been in Austria previously this year, it was a first for my parents and they really enjoyed the unique architecture and outdoors vibe. Our stay in Austria was short lived as we headed out early the next morning for the classic tourist site – the Neuschwanstein castle. Luckily the crowds were not to bad (everyone was at home watching the Royal british wedding) and the castle lived up to its famed beauty. After a short trip inside the castle we hiked on further to get the good view:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the castle we headed on the road again to Lake Constance. Lake Constance (the Bodensee in German) is a lake on the Rhine near the alps and boarders Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The views were absolutely stunning and like all of our previous destinations it was a shame to have to leave so soon.

We spent our last few days in Freiburg, a city located in the South western corner of Germany. I spent a week in Freiburg during my Christmas vacation and stayed with one of my dads close friends whom he had met on earlier world travels. The family was a great host and i was really excited to be able to return and visit them once again. Freiburg itself is a great city  with a thriving student life and lies on the edge of the famous Black Forest.We all had a great time in Freiburg although as our last stop it was sad to have to say goodbye to my family again for a while.

 

Basically my trip with my parents was a real highlight in my year and it was great being able to show them a little bit of the life here which i have fallen in love with. This trip was two months ago (although it feels like yesterday) and i am starting to realize how big of a difference there is between having to say goodbye to my family back home for one year and saying goodbye to all my friends and families here forever. I have about two weeks left here in Germany and the time just keeps speeding up. Reality is sure to hit me soon and i am already shattered at having to say goodbye to all these amazing people i have met this year.

Only 15 days more days of this amazing german bread…

Makenna

Less than a month left…

So i have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that i have a horrible cold and have been confined to my house for the past 3 days. The good news? I am finally making use of the huge stash of DayQuill,  NyQuill, and advil PM i brought from the US and havent needed all year. I also have a bit more down time than i have in a while so i am able to make a blog post! Yay for sickness! (but not really).

The weather has been absolutely horrible the last few weeks and the sun has peaked out of the nasty looking rain clouds only a few times. Lets just say summer time in Germany isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Not only is it the end of June and constantly raining, but it is the end of june and i am still in school! I have two more weeks of school until my summer vacation officially starts, so maybe then the sun will make a special appearance.

I have less than three wonderful weeks left here in Germany and i am greatly in denial. I think i will refuse to accept the fact that i will soon be back on US soil until i am actually there. Even then i think it will be incredibly hard to accept and even more hard to get used to. I have become so accustomed to my life here that leaving it will be much harder than i thought it would be. I am going to miss my german friends, my extensive (rather filled with incest) exchange family, all three of my host families, and a million other things that would take way to long to list.

The other day while enjoying a long train ride i was trying to think of things that i wouldn’t miss here. That list is much harder to think of. The first thing that came to mind was the weather. I will in no way miss the rain and wind. The other i thought of was the small town “country” life. How would i ever miss walking home through fields of cows for two hours when i missed my bus from school? Or the rather strong stench of farm life as i rode my bike through empty streets under giant german windmills? Then i thought about the nights spent with friends walking home while singing songs at the top of our longs as the sun peeked over the countryside. This place has become my home and the more i thought about it, the more i realized that i would miss even the things that i thought i didnt like about my exchange.

I dont even know where to start in summarizing my latest adventures. I have been on the go since the middle of April when my parents came to visit. I have literally come 4 times in the last few months, done laundry, slept an abnormally long time, unpacked, packed, and headed out again. I feel a little bad for my last host family since i have spent so little time with them. At this point it feels a lot more like i am staying at a bed and breakfast than anything else.

So i have had a really busy few months, and i have an even busier few weeks ahead of me. Check back soon for a post summarizing my trip around southern germany with my parents, my europe trip with exchange students, my week as a journalist at a model united nations conference, a weekend sleepover with exchange students on a german island, and the craziest weekend of my life at Hurricane music festival. Think im busy enough?

Hopefully i can shake off this cold because i have no time to be sick!

Makenna

My life in review-

Although i have not posted in a while (way to long), I am glad to report that i am doing better than ever! Since i arrived here in Germany i have waited  and expected a time to come where i would be homesick or not enjoy my time here, but it hasn’t and wont come. With less than 2 months left in Germany i am making the most out of every day here. I am not saying that the whole year has been all fun and games, because of course there were hard and frustrating times, but the majority of my exchange has been nothing but perfect.

I really still can’t believe that i have so little time left here, and i have a feeling that leaving Germany, my new friends, and my new life will be one of the hardest things i have ever done. Unfortunately coming back the US is inevitable and i will have to face the culture shock eventually, but for now i am determined to live in the moment and make my last months here the best of my exchange, and the best of my life.

I have been quite busy this last month, and even though i could spend weeks describing my adventures and travels, i am just going to summarize them quickly for you.

• I have experienced the German Carnival party (American Mardi gras) which involves dressing up and partying all night long

• I have traveled around my region in Germany and have really experienced the culture here 
• I have enjoyed an amazing 3 months in my second host family, and feel so at home with them. I have also packed and moved into my third, and last family.

• I have been to crazy german concerts,beer festivals, and am considered a regular at the local disco
• I have biked in the fresh winds on the Northern Sea
• I have really experienced the German soccer scene and been to games across Germany
• My parents came to visit for two weeks and i had an amazing time showing them my life here and traveling around Southern Germany with them.  I will give a little more detail about the trip later, but basically it was really nice to see them again and we all had a time we will never forget.

All in all i would say life is quite rough as an exchange student. Traveling, partying, meeting new people, and experiencing a new culture is all rather exhausting, but very much worth it. I am leaving tomorrow for a two and a half week journey around Europe and i couldn’t be more stoked. I have been counting down the days to this trip for months, and i cannot believe it has finally arrived. I have heard word from past exchangers that this trip through 6 countries is one of the most crazy and best two weeks that one can have. That is, of course, what is expected when you stick 40 exchange students from around the world on a bus traveling around europe. Here is a quick overview of our itinerary to make you sufficiently jealous:

• Straßburg, France
• Luzern, Switzerland
• Lavagna, Italy
• Portofino, Italy
• Florenz, Italy
• Lido di Jesolo, Italy
• Venice, Italy
• Vienna, Austria
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Dresden, Germany

I am sure the trip will be one that i will not easily forget.

I promise to post as soon as i get back!

A few of my favorite things

It has come to my attention that i have been quite a lazy blogger. Not only have i been lacking in actual blog posts, but my posts normally have more to do with summarizing my latest adventures than exploring parts of the German culture. The month of February went by as quick as all the months here have, and i can not believe it is already March. Now that it is March many different things have started to come into my head.

• March means that i have only one month left in my amazing second host family, and only one month before i pack and move into my last home here.
• March means that i have been here 7 months already, and only have 4 months to go.
• March means that i might actually see the sun sometime soon after 4 months of a bitter gray winter.
• March means that my family gets to visit me next month!
• March means that the time really wont slow down.

So i want to give you all a quick update on my life here before i jump into things. I have had the most amazing luck with my host families so far, and i am absolutely in love with my second family. I have two really fun host brothers, and my parents are so supportive and nice.

I also have a lot of freedom at this house, and even though i have only been here two months i feel so at home. My house at the moment is in an even smaller town about a half hour from the town i used to live in and where i go to school. Despite this distance i have really come to love this place. There is something really nice and relaxing about being able to get away sometimes and i really enjoy it. Here are a few pictures i have taken over the last month to give you a little insight into my home:

My house from the backyard

the swimming pool

on the swing

The prayer flags in my room

The party shed very typical of German homes. It’s behind the house and where we all go to hang out before the disco or for house parties.

the kitchen after breakfast one morning

I have a really amazing house right now and it will be so weird to move, but i am sure my next will be just as amazing.

Now i want to share a few of my favorite things here in Germany. The actual list is much more extensive than this one, but i wanted to include some of the more important things.

1.Tea time

Tea is a really large part of the Ostfriesian (region I live in) lifestyle here. Families normally have teatime together on the weekends where you sit around and drink the amazing tea while enjoying a sweet treat. Tea is also served at almost every social or family gathering and i have found it to be a relaxing part of the life here.

2. Big blankets, no sheet

I have always been the type of person who enjoys sleeping in a pile of blankets much more than slipping into a pair of sheets. Luckily Germany agrees with me. Here the custom for bedding is to have one under sheet and a large heavy blanket on top. Most comfortable thing hands down.

3.Lunch as the main meal

Like most of Europe, in Germany we eat our large warm meal at lunchtime. This of course can vary from family to family, but the majority of people eat a warm lunch and just bread for dinner. I love getting out of school at one and coming home to a warm meal. I have also found that not only does it give you more energy for the day, but I no longer have very much hunger in the evenings. These Europeans are smart!

4.Food

I could really go on about the food here for weeks; I love all of it. From the fresh rolls in the morning to amazing cakes and chocolates there is really nothing better. The bread here is to die for and since I live so close to the sea I also have some mouth-watering fish at least once a week. I will make a whole post about food soon, don’t you worry.

5.Discos

If you have read my blog at all you should be aware that discos are a very large part of  my life here.  Unless there is a rotary event on the weekend, you will find me and my friends Friday and Saturday night in one of the many discos in my area. Discos here are from ages 16+ and are really one of my favorite things here. I always have lots of fun there with my friends and we dance all night long and bike home when the sun comes up.

6.Trains

For the first half year I was here I became incredibly frustrated with the train system. I came here expecting there to be trains all the time that go everywhere. This is true, but what really surprised me was how expensive they were. I ended up only being able to take the train a few times due to the fact it always ended up being over 20 euros for even a short trip. Luckily being a seasoned train rider, I have now discovered the secret to trains. At first appearance they seem to be horribly overly priced, but that is only if you don’t know how to buy the right ticket. I now know how to get the cheapest tickets to anywhere and am able to ride the train without breaking my wallet. Of course the other option is to hide in the bathroom the whole time for a free ride which of course I have done too.

7.Beer

This is another topic I need to dedicate an entire post to. After living in the country of beer for seven months I now have beer knowledge no one of my age has in the usa. Here, Beer isn’t just consumed in mass quantities on the weekend like it would be in the US. Instead it is common for me to sit with my family and drink a beer while watching tv, or go to a beer garden after school with friends and chat over a nice cold one. Beer is a really large part of the culture here and I certainly have learned to love it too.

8.Fast food

German fast food is to die for. I have never been a fast food fan before and have always been one to pass up McDonalds, but it’s a whole different story here. Yes they do have McDonalds here, but that’s not the kind of food I am talking about. The food I love is the typical German currywurst you can buy just about anywhere. I was quoted in an article in the newspaper here at the beginning of my adventure about how I could eat currywurst for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That stands true today. Another one of my favorite fast foods is the Turkish contribution to the Germany; the Döner. Don’t know what a döner is? It is Germany’s most common fast food and consists of the typical meat with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, sauces, and anything else you could think of.  “Döner macht schöner”

9.Coins

I love Euros. I take that back a little bit because I really hate on the exchange rate here (stupid dollar), but I do still love the euro coins. There is something about having one and two euro coins which I really like. It makes paying for things so much easier and actually gives change a useful place in society.

10.Mittagspause/ Siesta

I have never been someone to nap. As far as I was concerned the only people who should take taps are under 10 or over 80. I am surprised by how much my thoughts have changed on this one. Basically all exchange students live for after noon naps (called Mittagspause here) and they are the only way I can get though the day. I will often go over to a friends house after school, eat lunch, sleep until 4, have tea, then go home. Basically I love sleeping.

So there is a brief list of why i love Germany and some of the things that have contributed to make this the best exchange ever! Check back later this week for a colorful post about how we celebrate Karneval here in Germany! It is nothing compared to Brazil, but it is still quite a party!

Makenna