What is Foreign Exchange to Me?

"A year of of my life. My life in a year."

Google Translate (Google Übersetzer)

Monday, September 24, 2012

Yes is Always the Answer

I promise I’ll write soon, I started a new job this week (on top of already tutoring German and going to school full time) and most of my friends have been leaving this week to go off to school, so I’ve been busy saying goodbye and with work, but I just had to share this with you all, I miss moments like this so much! Yaaay language barriers!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Phineas and Ferb

My younger brother has been sick the past few days, so in my free time (or rather, in time I could be doing productive things but choose not too) I have been watching television with him to keep him company and today while we were watching Phineas and Ferb, one of the characters randomly starting speaking German. Phineas and Ferb was already an epic show, but the random German simply made it the coolest Disney show ever.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Visitors Center

Today I spent a ridiculous amount of time (something like four hours) wandering aimless in downtown Santa Rosa looking for post cards to send my foreign friends. Santa Rosa is the capital of Sonoma County, and Charlie Brown is from, here, so we’re a relatively well-known city, but I couldn’t find the Visitors Center to save my life. Finally after asking a friend to look up the address, and after asking several shop owners I found the Visitors Center. I finally understand why when I asked my German friends to take me to the Visitors Center in Hameln, they had no idea where it was.

 People who receive these post cards, please feel extremely special because I put so much effort into finding them for you!

 

 

 

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Achso

Despite the fact that I have been back in California for over a month now, almost two months at that, I still speak German daily. More importantly, I speak German daily at the least helpful times imaginable, such as during my Spanish course, or in my Speech course. While certain German words try and sneak into my vocabulary, the phrase, “Ach! Achso!” has simply actually become English according to my brain.

Angie: “Ach! Achso!”

Daniel: “Angie, what does ‘Achso’ mean?”

Angie: “It’s like… ‘Oh, I understand’ for lack of better wording…”

Daniel: “Oh. It sounds like a**hole. “

School has really gotten into full force, hence the extreme lack of writing here on this blog, I’m taking 19 units this semester. For all of you who aren’t familiar with the American University System, that means I am in school for 19 hours every week (a ‘full time student’ is someone with 12 units) and the ratio is 1:2 so for every hour in class, I’m supposed to have two hours of homework. It takes up a lot of my time. Not to mention I’m a German tutor this semester and I have a second job at a retail sports store on the side. If only there were Germans coming in, though conveniently enough my manager (at both of my jobs actually) is in fact German.

(This is my best friend Rita and myself… if there is one nice thing about being back, it’s getting to see Rita again.)

I’m currently pursuing an International Relations degree (isn’t every ex-exchange student? Smile with tongue out) with a major/minor (I have yet to decide) in German and/or Spanish. I also joined the Political Science Club, the Honors Society, and the Rotaract club at my college today, so I’ll (hopefully!) be able to stay up to date on events around the world and I’ll be staying up to date with Rotary projects through Rotaract!

Summer could not come sooner… if everything goes as planned, I’ll be headed back to Germany!

Deutschland, ich liebe dich!

P.S. My camera has mysteriously disappeared… it’s quite sad.

Days in Germany