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!

The Weeks Go By To Fast

Most things are different, but German microwaves are just plain weird. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’m used to the ‘super-high-tech’ U.S. version that has nothing to do with grams and has actual words as compared to oddly drawn pictures… but that doesn’t change the fact that I have difficulty using it every time. I still find it funny when baking with my friends and they hold something up and say, “Does this look like 300 grams to you?” “United States customary units” may be completely out of whack, but it’s what we learn in the U.S. and what I know how to measure in… though I have finally adapted the Celsius temperature scale if nothing else!

Exchange students are generally loud people, therefore when gathering 140 of us together for a weekend, we generally have to be secluded from the public because we draw too much attention to ourselves which is exactly what happened this past weekend. All the inbounds and next years outbounds met up in Celle for the weekend where we had a we wandered though Celle scavenger hunt style, toured (yet another) castle, got POURED on, and had a Pirate party and were simply louder than imaginable, but I guess that’s to be expected when 140 crazy teenagers gather together. Honestly, if your willing to leave behind everything you’ve ever known for a year and go alone to a country where you don’t speak a word of the language… I’m pretty sure you can be deemed ‘crazy.’ I felt very helpful, while I was switching trains in Hannover, a British man came up to me and asked me in broken German if I speak English. Of all the people he could have chose to ask, he happened to pick the exchange student from California. I helped him find his train to the airport and then we chatted for a bit, and I think it’s the first time I’ve made ‘small-talk’ in months. Germans don’t do small talk.

Andres: “I’m Angie, and I’m angry with the life.”

And sometimes when it simply gets too loud, I like to hide in a corner (with my friends of course) and read. Of course, this brings my Mexican friend Andres to think that I’m “angry with the life.”

Saturday night, I was actually quite disappointed when we had a glorious feast… I was in the mood for pizza, which lead me to texting my best German friend, telling him we’re making pizza Monday, which is exactly what we did...two of the most delicious (olive infested! ) pizzas I have ever tasted at that. He also decided to try a new fashion statement… shorts, long socks and low-cut shoes. I hope he’s learned his lesson about letting me take pictures of him now. 

Last night I got home from hanging out with my friends around 9 p.m., just in time to catch the beginning of the Bayern München (Munich)– Real Madrid (the team Hannover 96 lost to a few weeks back)‘half-final’ soccer game, and of course I had to stay and watch the entire game, the over time, and the penalty kicks with my host-dad. (I find it funny how penalty kicks are called ‘the 11 meter’ in German. It just doesn’t sound nearly as intimidating.) He almost had countless heart attacks from getting so excitedl; it made me think of my dad when watching the Superbowl back in California. Not only did both Spain and Germany play a great game, BUT THE GERMAN TEAM WON which means they’ll be playing in the final in Munich on May 19th! Even if you don’t care about soccer, be sure to catch the ‘11 meters’ here. It really was amazing!

Penalty Kicks – Spain vs. Germany

I’d like to wish my best friend in California a happy birthday (well, it was yesterday, but this still counts!). To quote my 7th grade science teacher, “Some things just never change.” and that applies to Rita and me. This morning I got up EXTRA early for her to talk to her before going to school because it was still her birthday in her time zone and this was the first year since we’ve been best friends (coming up on seven years) that I wasn’t there for her birthday, and to use the German expression, “That just doesn’t go.” She had me laughing to the point of crying this morning for a majority of the conversation, and I was even late to Biology, but I don’t think my teacher minded.

Happy 18th Birthday Rita!

Where Would I Be Without You, Germany?

My fears have been confirmed. At first it was a bit of a joke, that I speak German like a teenage boy, something logical to say, but still just a joke, but after going out for coffee with a female friend last Friday morning, I could tell by our speech patterns and the expressions I would use that my German has in fact been “teenage boy-afied.” This is of course very logical seeing as most of my friends are guys, and I had one brother living at home in my second family who I regularly talk to, as well as three brothers in my current family, but still. I should start in search of a new source of estrogen.

It’s still Ferien until next Thursday which means I have another full week off of school to roam around as I please and enjoy the time off. Saturday was my host-brother’s (from my second family) birthday, so I stayed there for the weekend and helped out at his party. I love my current host-family but it was great to be back, my second family will always feel like blood relatives to me. We even look relatively alike!

*talking to my friends*

Me: Do you want a real kiss?

Let me explain. I’m not sure if it’s a “new language thing,” or simply an “Angie thing” because I make quite a lot of unintentional innuendo in English as well, but in German the word for pillow is “Kissen” and the word for kissing is “küssen,” so naturally asking someone if they want a “kissen” sounds strange to my “English ears.”

My friends and I have been getting together almost every day of Ferien because this is our last major break before I fly back to California, and I must say, I have trained these guys well. A lot of the English speaking exchange students have problems with everyone wanting to practice their English with them, so it’s more difficult to learn the host-language, but I made it very clear to my friends that I want to only speak German with them. Last night as we we’re all together, one was quoting an English phrase in context as another walked up mid-conversation. Because he only heard the English part, he just started yelling, “ONLY SPEAK GERMAN WITH HER!” (in German of course). He finished quoting in English and then continued in German and afterword I realized I really had to concentrate to understand when he spoke English, but once he switched back to German everything was easy again.

And while I’m here, all you native English speakers out there, be grateful English is your “mother tongue!” Not only is it helpful around the world, but you can say the “th.” It’s a bit of a joke around here! Have a great week!