Goodbyes Are Never Easy

“Schreiben ist küssen mit dem kopf.”- Gut Gegen Nordwind

If I were to write a list of the things I will miss about Germany, I think I would title it, “The Never-ending List.” The people, the scenery, the way Germans spread a minimum of 2 centimeters of butter (or Nutella, or cheese…) on every piece of bread before eating it… I’ll even miss the things I don’t like about Germany, like how seemingly nobody has tried burritos before, or how Germans seem to drive faster than the speed of light. Germany has become home, and watching my exchange student friends go home one by one… reading on Facebook that they’re home safe, and thinking they’re no longer a train ride away, has been one of the hardest parts of exchange. When I left California, I had no idea who or what was waiting for me in Germany and I knew I would return to California’s presence in a year so it was ‘no biggie’ to leave, I was ready to experience the world. But I don’t know if I’m ready to remembrance California again. But that’s too bad for me because I don’t have choice.

Saturday was the district conference in Göttingen so all the exchange students still in Germany went down to the south of Lower Saxony where we all got together one last time as group. We sung two German songs at the conference for the Rotarians, gave speeches about our exchanges, and had one last night together. It’s weird to think how crazy we all are… but it’s a bond we have. We all individually decided to take a year away from ‘our’ lives and go to a country we’ve never been to, with people we’ve never met, and a language we didn’t speak, but it was still the best decision of all of our lives.

Sunday night I went out with my Rotary Club President (dankeschoen!!) and his lovely wife to dinner and to see the hilarious well-written play “Gut Gegen Nordwind” (“Love Virtually” in English). After seeing the play, I read the reviews about the English version, but I’m really curious as to how they could have been so outstanding because the play was based basically on German wordplays. If nothing else, it will be something to read when I get back.

This week was actually rather exciting, Tuesday was the ‘Sportfest’ at school (where of course my camera was acting up so I didn’t get any pictures out of it), and I got ice cream with an old friend on Wedneday and went rock climbing. Of course there are more details from these events, however; I should be getting back to packing my suitcase. I move to my fourth and final (surprise!) host-family on Sunday (no worries, I’m still on great terms with my 3rd family!), but before I do, I simply have to add, GERMANY IS UNDEFEATED IN THE EUROPEAN SOCCER CUP SO FAR AND PLAYS TONIGHT AGAINST GREECE! If the caps there don’t show it enough, I am beyond excited… not to mention I love how patriotic everyone in Germany has become since the start of the tournament!

“Writing is kissing with the mind.”- Love Virtually

Ferien Goes By Too Quickly

Currently, the picture set as the background of my iPod right now is of a good friend of mine and me because her 18th birthday was this week. In the picture we’re in San Francisco, in thick jackets laughing about… something, and it is ridiculous to think that when the picture was taken it was about 55 degrees (Fahrenheit) and I’m wearing a jacket and turtleneck, yet two days ago it was colder than that and I was wearing shorts and tanning. My friends and I even went swimming because it was “so warm.” I feel like something is wrong with me, I’m going to burn to a crisp when I fly back to California this summer.

Last Sunday I had an hour long live radio interview with my counselor from Rotary. This is one of the moments where words cannot describe how glad I am to speak/understand fluent German, and aside from talking about the agriculture when I meant to talk about the landscape, I’d say it definitely could have gone a lot worse.

*After waking up from a nap*

Me: *sarcastically* Wow. I look beautiful.

Friend: You always look beautiful.

Me: You’re my friend. You have to say that.

Friend: No, I only HAVE to say that if I’m trying to sleep with you.

If nothing else in Germany, I have some of the best German friends anyone could ask for. They always take care of me and make sure I’m doing okay. I don’t know what I did to deserve them, but I’m definitely not complaining. Due to the fact that it’s Ferien, we have no school and have been getting together every day to go swimming, climbing, or simply to sit around watching movies.

Tuesday I went climbing with my Rotary Counselor and a couple of his friends (including a math and physics teacher from my school). I like how I can say I’ve been climbing outdoors in Germany, but not in California.

There’s a German kid song that sings “Theo macht mir ein bananenbrot” (or Theo, make me banana bread” ) but because one of my friends is named Leo, we sing “Leo macht mir ein bananenbrot” and because banana bread doesn’t actually exist in Germany, (and Germans tend to look at me like I’m crazy when I start talking about bread with bananas in it) we made (DELICIOUS) banana bread this past week.

My time in Germany gets short and shorter and, and the days past faster and faster. Why can’t I just stay ‘the exchange student’ forever? 

The Days Simply Fly By

Five months ago today I flew into Germany. Five months ago today, I barely spoke a word of German. Needless to say, a lot has changed in the past five months. While my German is nowhere near perfect, I can speak with strangers on the street without missing a beat, and now I can even understand my friends. All that being said, I speak German with an accent that “sounds like I’m from everywhere in the world at once” and like a teenage boy. This makes sense seeing as most of my friends are teenage boys, I live with a teenage boy, and I am, and have always been, a tom-boy… but the only problem with it is I am, in fact, not a teenage boy.

*Speaking German with a friend in an English based class*

Teacher: “Angie, do I need to remind you of all people that English is the language of this classroom?”

Me: “Sorry...”

Friday afternoon I received a package from one of my best friends back in California, Alison. Inside the package, there was a “Senior” shirt from my high school, the school newspaper (there is an article in it about my exchange year), a bottle cap elmo neckless, a dressed up badminton bird, glow in the dark beads, three letters, and more stickers than I will ever know what to do with. I also received a letter from my old boss on the same day. After seeing this, my host-mom said I get more mail than the rest of the family combined, and more than any of the other exchange students she has ever hosted. To be fair, I live on the other side of the world now, but that being said, I think I have received more mail in the past five months, than I have in the other 17 years of my life combined.

Friday evening before making dinner, I was emailing a friend from California when he excitedly asked, “What are you having for dinner tonight?! Schnitzel!?” Oddly enough Friday was the first night we did not have ‘traditional German food’ but rather made tacos for dinner despite them virtually not existing in Germany because my host-brother misses tacos since he spent his year of exchange in Mexico. After eating my brother said, “That was the worst taco I have ever had… but it was the best you can get in Germany!”

Saturday night I went to Johannes’ house along with my group of friends where we watched movies and played cards. To get to Johannes’ I have to take two busses, but of course the first bus was late, so I missed the second bus, and Leo, being the good friend he is, waited for me, so we walked across town in the pouring rain. Despite wearing all my water/snow proof winter clothing, I was still soaked from head to toe by the time we got there. I was so wet that if I were to take a shower, I would not have needed to get my hair wet before putting shampoo in it. (Of course I forgot my camera memory card or there would be evidence.) However, during the evening I dominated at cards so my mood was greatly improve.

*Standing on the bridge looking over the beautiful Weser River*

Stranger: "Hey, is everything okay?"
Me: "Yeah, just waiting for a friend."
Stranger: "Okay! You never know!"
Me: "What... ohh.. I probably look suicidal right now, don't I?"
Stranger: "...Just a little. Have a nice night!"

That random guy completely made my day. Not only was he being nice, but it is so incredibly rare for Germans to talk to people they don’t know on the street, that it was simply extra special. It was oddly convent that just that morning I learned the world for “suicidal” in German after watching a movie. Strange how quickly it came in handy.

Monday night, (after waiting for him on the bridge) Johannes and I went climbing in the sport hall. Not only do I enjoy climbing, but I have met so many interesting people there, such as an Italian man who lived in California for 12 years and a man who lost a couple of fingers after climbing in Peru. Especially now that I understand German, they always make for interesting discussions.

As my German gets better and better, I will NEVER underestimate the power of languages, or being able to understand someone ever again.