Hey everyone!
So these past two
weeks started out slow then suddenly became active and fun, for say. The day
after my last post, I got together with some of the robotics team members at
the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs. As I also said in my last blog,
Summer School was fun, well now not as much. However, my German has improved
tremendously sense hearing about my acceptance from AFS Germany, but still I
feel as though I know nothing. With more things to cover before leaving and
such little time left, it's time to start saying my good byes now, and wait
until the time comes again for hellos. My search for finding a way to pay for
this trip is finally over, and in a way I was hoping for from the beginning.
With the countdown at less than 50; from Robotics, to finances, good byes and
prepping for the trip, there is so much but yet not that much left to do.
Two weekends ago I
was able to join some of my old robotics team members in a public demonstration
at the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs. It was fun being able to talk to
some of my old friends who I may or may not be able to see again. I will try to
meet up with them at a Robotics meeting before I leave, however, I won't know
until one comes up. We also got to demonstrate our robots to some people
touring around, even if there was a lack of people there.
With Summer School coming to an end here next week, I am glad to say I have had fun talking with the different students and even the teacher! I am actually surprised at how much my drawings have improved in the last few weeks. I am going to attempt to attach some photos of my first vs. final drawing for this class. This should also help me when I wish to post pictures in the future, as this can be like a practice round. I'm not quite done with my final drawing as that is actually due Tuesday, but you can tell it has improved a lot, especially sense you aren't supposed to smudge Graphite. I did not do the outline for the final, as the project was to take a coloring book page and make it 3-D, but you can still tell overall. With the class ending Tuesday, I have some work to be done to make sure I pass with flying colors.
As Germany seems to be so far away, but yet right around the corner, I need to hunker down and start Studying. I have not made much progress these past two weeks on my Rosetta Stone, but my goal is to finish up Unit 4 by my next blog. Now Rosetta Stone is only one aspect of how I am going about learning German. I have recently found a couple new artists that I like; Oonagh, Santiano, and Faun. All German artists that have some fun and somewhat easy to understand German lyrics. Even though I haven't actually been on Rosetta Stone, I have been trying to incorporate German into my everyday life.
Good byes never come
easy, but hellos can sometimes be harder. Right now my Grandparents (from my
dad's side) are visiting us. It has been fun being able to talk to them again
in so long, but soon will be the last time I see them in about a year. My
Grandma showed me a new form of Solitaire which is fairly fun, and I taught her
some new tricks on her Windows Tablet. My Grandpa and I have been getting
caught up on different topics. He showed me an article on the Navajo Code
Talkers. Even though they haven't been known for that long, American schools
are now teaching about these Code Talkers. Basically, if you don't know, they
allowed the US military to send encrypted messages during WWII, except no
one could break the code unless they knew the language. In return I taught him
a little bit about how computers work, and how to read a Binary Clock. Overall
saying good bye for a year will be hard, but being gone for so long will be
even more so. It doesn't stop there though, my other Grandparents (mom's side)
will be coming down next weekend from Illinois. Again to say hello, just to say
good bye for longer. With the best sets of Grandparents around, I don't know
how I could do any of this without them.
With everything that
has to fall into order at the right time and place, I believe I have almost
everything figured out and half way set to go. With "Visas" or my
Residency Permit figured out, a plan for finances in Germany all set to go, and
a good idea on what not/to bring, I just have to wait tell departure. Oh yea, except
that whole thing for paying for this trip. Last week my mom got a call from one
of her coworkers asking if my brother and I wanted a job. The next day we
called and got an interview set up. After that we began work on the following
Monday. So this past week my brother and I have been packing boxes. I of course
had school in the mornings so I could only work evenings, but it is a full time
job which means I can actually pay for this trip. It also means that when I
come back next year, I will most likely have a job lined up ready to go!
Going from another boring summer, to a summer
with lots to do has been exciting. With a job that just literally came to me, I
don’t know what I would have done to actually pay for this. The last hellos in
a year are just now beginning and the goodbyes will be tough I’m sure, but
hopefully all will go well. Now that school is about to finish, I won’t have
much left to do except transfer the rest of my credits when I get back. With robotics
almost out of sight and out of reach, I will never forget the past three years
with that amazing team! As my German presses onwards, there is still a lot to
learn before leaving. With a plan ready to go, and just emotions left to deal with,
these next few weeks will be exciting and hard, but all for good reason.
Again I will be posting my next blog on
Friday, July 25. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions leave them
in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them!
Thanks Everyone!
Michael Steiner
Coloring book page can be found at:
http://kidzcolorings.com/coloring-book-turtle-turtle-color-page-coloring-pages-for-kids-coloring-pages-for.html
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