Changing It Up a Bit

Seeing as I still write this blog, the previous subtitle, “A California Girl in Germany” now seems inappropriate… while I may always be a Californian girl…. I won’t always live in Germany, so the title has officially been modified from

“Angie’s Odyssey – A California Girl in Germany”

to

“Angie’s Odyssey – A ‘Germanized’ Girl in California”

and let me assure you, I have most certainly been Germanized in multiple regards. Even now, after I have been in California for two and a half months, I still start conversations with people I don’t know in German and eat ‘the German way.’

Exchange Students: Opening Doors

Having the same first name as the German chancellor while living in Germany and BEING American at the same time sometimes makes me feel like I’m trying to commit social suicide. Luckily enough, I go by my nickname and pronounce it the English way (in German, it would be pronounced Onn-Gaay, so ‘Angela’ is pronounced like On-Gaay-Lah) and have lost my American accent enough when speaking German to where people don’t even assume I’m from the states anymore, but rather England, and after saying certain words, some people even think I’m German. Being associated with Angela Merkel, especially at the beginning of the year, has gotten me into some interesting political conversations that I couldn’t really respond to because I didn’t speak German. To give you an idea of the opinion of the German chancellor, the title of this week’s Time Magazine is “Why Everybody Loves to Hate Angela Merkel: And Why They’re Wrong.”

This past weekend I had my formal going away party/my host-brother’s coming back party/ a ‘lets-get-everyone-we-know-together’ party called ‘Bratwurst und Bier.’ All my extended host-family relatives, three of my host families, my friends, and the Rotarians from my club where there (not to mention some other people as well) and we got to enjoy some of the only sun we’ve seen this summer while eating delicious German food and playing ping-pong. Trust me, it was a lot more fun than it sounds.

Angie: Blegh. I speak German like a teenage boy.

Leo: Well, if I come to California, I’ll speak English like a teenage girl.

My best friend Leo always knows how to make me feel better. Due to the fact that most of my friends are teenage boys, I speak German like one, but at least if Leo ever comes to California and learns English from me, he’ll speak like a teenage girl.

Being an exchange student opens so many doors. From Sunday to Wednesday a friend of mine from Belgium who was an exchange student in my home town in California two years ago came and visited me and stayed with my host-family here in Germany. He doesn’t speak any German, and switching from German to English and then back to German again made me beyond exhausted, I took a two hour nap everyday he was here, but it was still fantastic to see him and to catch up. It’s cool having friends on just about every continent. I always have a place to sleep!

Angie: “Hey Mom! What’s up?”

(Biological) Mom: “Oh hey Deanna, give me a sec, I’m putting some things in Angie’s room.”

Angie: “Mom… it’s not Deanna.”

Mom: “Well then who is it??”

Angie: “Well lets think. Who else calls you Mom?”

I decided to be a ‘good daughter’ and call my mom this week because I have only called her once since coming to Germany (though we have skyped on occasion) and I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually talked to her, but not only did she confuse my voice with her best friend’s, but she couldn’t even guess who it was at first! Maybe I have a sister I didn’t know about…

Tuesday my friend came over and we backed American cookies with my host-family. I somehow got five boys to all cook in peace and harmony together, and to actually look like they were enjoying themselves at the same time. I would give you my secret, but even I don’t know what it is. Even one of them openly admitted that “Men love to cook.” We even got it on video.

Wednesday my host-mom and I took a trip to IKEA. I don’t really know why, but going to IKEA in Europe always seems to be a big deal to people, they wander through the store and afterwards eat the ‘American-style hotdogs.’ There was a special, you could buy one hot dog for €2, or you could get a coke, ice cream and a hot dog for €2. Don’t ask me how that worked out, but nevertheless it was a good deal.

Not only is Germany behind on their music scene, but the music that actually makes it here is generally speaking… quite terribly. A perfect example of this song is the new Carly Rae Jepsen song “Call Me Maybe.”

Call Me Maybe–Carly Rae Jepsen

Now, my friends and I always fight about whose better, Elmo or the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. I have and always will be an Elmo lover, but this next video gave me a soft spot for the cookie monster as well.

Share It Maybe–Cookie Monster

I should probably go back upstairs and help my friends, they really have no idea how to prepare and cook a turkey, but until then, have a great week, and everyone who was somehow a part of me becoming an exchange student, thank you very much.

Germany Stole My Heart

I don’t feel like I’m from another country anymore… let alone the other side of the world. I mean really, think about it, “the other side of the world” just sounds so far away! Sometimes when I think about California, it feels like I dreamt everything up and it never actually happened, it was all just one very long realistic dream. I was just magically born with the ability to speak fluent English despite growing up in Germany… that must have been it! I don’t even remember not being able to speak/understand fluent German, and that only started about six months ago… My friends and families in Germany have become lifelong friends and blood family, I don’t remember it being any other way. Even when I speak about my “mom” my friends always have to clarify, host mom one, two, three, four, one of my ‘neighborly-mother-figures’ or my biological mom, I can’t even say my “real” mom anymore, because all these wonderful women are like mothers to me in different ways. I guess that’s what having a ‘worldly family’ means.

 

Germany’s ‘summer’ is very confused. Last week, it started raining harder than I’ve ever seen it rain in my life (and after living in Germany for a year, that’s actually saying something) so of course, being the ‘big-kids’ my best friend and  I are, we decided to go outside and play in the rain. It’s one of the many Germany memories that, not only will I never forget, but will always be one of my favorites.

 

Germany lost last week against Italy in the Europe Cup, and while it was depressing, I think every one was glad to see Spain CRUSH Italy in the final. Apparently Germany is notorious for making it to the half-final and then losing. I feel like the entire country went into a depression for a couple days after the loss, strangers smiled at each other even less than usual (which even I didn’t think was possible) and Germany went back to it’s unpatriotic self. Nevertheless, I still smile whenever I see a Germany flag flying high and proud.

 

Friday night my friends and I got together… not really for any purpose other than the fact that we’re friends. We planned some things for my going away party, and laughed until we cried while simply babbling on about anything imaginable into the wee hours of the morning. My friends here never cease to make me smile, whether it’s because they actually say something funny, or I simply don’t have a clue about what their talking about… it doesn’t matter, I can’t remember a single unhappy memory with them. Everyone needs a group of friends like the German boys who ‘adopted’ me.

 

A few blog posts ago, I went on a nice little rant about how impossible it is to find normal underwear in Germany, and while I FINALLY found some on Wednesday when my friends and I went shopping to ‘celebrate’ the fourth of July, it didn’t matter because on the third of July I received a lovely small package from my (biological) mother who sent me underwear after having read ‘said’ blog post. My host-mom thought it was really sweet that my mom sent me something for the fourth of July… and then saw I only got a package of underwear, she probably thinks I’m weird now. But that’s alright, she wouldn’t be wrong in thinking so.

 

And speaking of the fourth of July:

 

(Jeeze this week was packed!) Wednesday was also the “abistreik,” which basically means the graduating class ‘went on strike’ so instead of having class, everyone was outside and we played strange beach related games because the graduation motto this year is ‘Abikini.’ (Abitur is the ‘German graduation from high school, so the motto also somehow fits into something ‘Abi’ related.) When I got to school and saw the entire place before the school was COVERED in sand, all I could think was, “I feel bad for whoever has to clean this up.”

 

And finally yesterday was the Abiumzug… there are no words in any language to describe how epic an Abiumzug is, so enjoy this video from yesterday’s amazingness.

Hameln, Germany Abiumzug 2012

 

Of course there we’re lots of other interesting things that happened this week, but not only was this post already long enough, but I’m about to head out to my second-host dad’s/Grandpa’s birthday party… so have a good week, und Alles Gute zum Geburstag Opa und Achim!

 

P.S. Angie’s Odyssey has officially reached it’s goal of having over 10,000 views, thanks everyone for supporting the blog!

Waaaaaaaay to Fast

I don’t care what your calendar says; it’s not June. Because you see, not only have I not seen sun since the 31st of May, but if it were June then I could truthfully say, “I fly back to California next month.” and that thought makes me want to do nothing other than cry (which if you know me at all, you know that means a lot). I may have had the hardest, strangest, most challenging year of my life, but it’s also been the most interesting year… the most rewarding year… the best year. I don’t even say, “I’m flying home next month.” but rather, “I’m flying back/to California.” because Germany has become my home.

Yesterday was the day that flying back soon really hit me because I went to my first goodbye party. I went to see my best Finnish friend Akseli because he leaves June 12th.I ended up traveling about seven hours throughout the day just to see Akseli for three hours, but it was totally and completely worth it. Anne and I went together and we reunited “Triple A” (Angie, Anne and Akseli, the left-handed American/Canadian/Finn) one last time before our unofficial road trip across the U.S. that will hopefully take place sometime before we all die. Anne wrote a contract on my German flag in permanent marker and we all (unknowingly) signed it, so I guess it simply has to happen now.

Random Person: “Where are you from?”

Me: “California.”

Random Person: “Woah! You have such great German!”

I’ll never understand why I “have such great German” after telling someone my name and where I’m from. I mean honestly, I’ve lived here for ten months… I would hope to have learned AT LEAST that much.

Last Sunday my extended family (this time from my host-mom’s side) was in town and we all biked about 40 miles to the “Frühlingsfest” (“The festival of Spring”). A lot of the major roads were closed for the bikers and the day is supposed to celebrate biking and the good weather… while we did see lots of bikers, good weather was rather nonexistent. It rained harder and longer than I’ve ever seen before, but of course, we were troopers and toughed it out! By the time we got back, I was so soaked that it looked like I decided to take a bath fully clothed. But we still had fun and enjoyed the concert.

I think the only thing I won’t miss about Germany is the German opinion of Americans. I have learned (and strangely enough, I also heard this from a friend’s grandparents before leaving for Germany) when I say, “I’m from California,” I’m just about the coolest thing since sliced bread. Everyone excitedly asks me about the weather and San Francisco (which I live about 45 minutes from), but if I say, “I’m from the U.S.A.” I often get death stares. I’ve even been told I couldn’t possibly be American because 1) I don’t have a strong foreign accent, 2) I’m too intelligent, and 3) I’m not fat. People look through pictures of my friends and say, “Wow, did you Photoshop these photos? None of your friends are fat!!” I cannot begin to describe how much that (for lack of better wording) completely pisses me off! I’m sorry to disappoint, but not EVERYBODY in the U.S.A. is overweight. There are even people who are underweight (shocker there!), myself being the perfect example.

  Really American woman? Come on, lets change how people see us!

On the note of German stereotypes/prejudices, this guy has an interesting opinion.

This past weekend my friend Mathis was in town so we all got together Friday and Saturday evening, whether it was to play foosball, or darts, or watch a random live Acoustic artist… whatever it was we did it was fun. Not to mention somehow or another, before my Europe tour Mathis and I randomly decided we would get married… which is funny because not only does he have a girlfriend, but of all my German friends he’s the one I see the least because he goes to university somewhat far away. Nevertheless, every time I failed miserably at darts (so… pretty much every time) Mathis would say, “Come on I have faith in you! My future wife can do anything!” and of course, whenever I wanted something to drink, he would get it. ^^

I once read:

1. The United States of America, commonly called by its last name America, is the most powerful and influential country in the world. Therefore, it is also the most hated.
2. Most ancestors of Americans are immigrants with more than half from Europe. Europeans seem to forget this part and just think that Americans have no ethnicities in order to make them as distantly related from them as possible.
3. America has a porn empire. But unlike Germany's, it's not going to make you vomit.

I have to admit, the third comment made me laugh. Germany seems to be known for having soft porn on the normal television channels and in the newspapers/magazines and unexpectedly seeing it always activates my gag reflex. It probably has something to do with growing up in a different culture.

P.S. I don’t remember if I mentioned how sunburned I became on the Europe tour, but just to give a visual aid, this picture was taken after I had had the burn for three days.

 

P.P.S. My little brother is 13 today! Happy Birthday Nickie!