First Weeks in Germany

Hey everyone,

I am currently wiring my first blog from Germany! These past two weeks have been absolutely amazing! The food is delicious, the people are wonderful, my host family is amazing, and I couldn't have imagined what this would really feel like. My host parents and sister have taken me to do so many things around the town and allowed me to see what Germany is really like. The school that I am attending is also much different from that of my school Colorado. I have only had one instance where I felt a little bit homesick, however that also came with the realization that I am actually in a different country. I have also noticed a major increase in my ability to speak German from these past two weeks. With everything that comes with an exchange year, I never would have expected what a different culture really is.

The scariest part so far has been the traveling. By that, I mean from Colorado to Washington where I met up with an AFS volunteer. Everything went over smoothly and before I knew it, I was with my host family. Along the way however, I got to meet a couple of other exchange students, and one of them is staying in a town not too far away from Aalen. Once I was with my host family, I could relax as the most stressful part of all this was over. When I arrived, I saw my host family and was excited to see them. On the drive to Aalen, I noticed so many new things such as different signs, a lot of more public transportation, and new shapes of automobiles. I was also surprised to see how small the roads, cars, and everything else in Germany is. With the traveling and first appearances over with, it was defiantly a little stressful.

Once I arrived at the house, I got to meet my host sister and her best friend. It was also her birthday the following day, so she ended up having some more friends over that night as well. They were all very nice and outgoing and all of them spoke at decent amount of English. I did my best to answer in German and talk for as long as I could in German, but I couldn't hold a conversation. It wasn't long before I went to bed. I asked how everything worked, including the two buttons on the toilet, took a shower and then went to sleep. The next day was my host sisters Birthday. There I meet my host dad's parents and some of his other relatives. The next day I woke up, had breakfast and then went on a 50 minute run with my host sister and dad. It was difficult as I am not as good of a runner as I used to be, but it was fun to see the trails behind the house.

The following week went by fairly fast. I spent a fair amount of time with my host family around town. During the weekend, I spent each day at the Aalen festival. It had to do with the town not having to pay takes any more during the Romanian time. There were plenty of food stalls set up in town and I got to walk around and try different foods. My least favorite part of all of it was going to the bar with my host parents for five hours and drinking a Coke for the time being. I did get to try my host mom's beer though (mixed with water) and it tasted nasty. This is also where I felt a little bit homesick for a couple hours, but all is well now. One day my host mom took me to the local grocery store and there I found no other than a chainsaw. I guess I would consider it a mini-Cost-Co. The first week was very nice and different at the same time. 

Oh, and dad, you were right about the schnitzel tasting amazing. My host mother made some schnitzel last night for dinner with some potato salad and it was fantastic. The food here had a lot less sugar and preservatives in it so you get more of the natural flavor. German's also seem to love their bread. It seems I have had bread each day since I got here, and there are so many different kinds as well. In addition, if you walk through town, you’re guaranteed to find at least one if not more bakeries. My host mother is a very good cook and has made most, if not all, of my meals so far, which have all tasted fantastic. 

The following week I start school, and boy can I say it seemed old school and bland. In the front of the classroom was a chalkboard. The room had desks, which were all facing forward, and there was nothing on the walls. I didn't understand anything for the first day but class was very nice. The schedule is set up like a college schedule. The classes are on random days and for different amounts of time. Also, there is no specific end time for each day. For instance, I have school tell from8:00 tell 5:00 on Monday, but only tell 1:00 on Wednesday. However, on Thursday, I have class tell 1:00, but then have to come back to class at 4:00. I am not sure if all schools work this way, but it is defiantly different from my A and B days in Colorado. I'm also in a bilingual class so some of my classes are in English. One of the last things I noticed was that you stayed more with your class than switching between classes. Throughout the day you would stay with the same people and if you had to change classes, then all of students would change to the same class. There are exceptions such as religion class and language class, but you would still stay with people from the same grade. 

The most amazing thing that I have done so far though has to be going to Munich to see the Bayern Munich (world cup champions) against Manchester City soccer game. I got to do this Wednesday night and it was amazing. Although it was a three-hour drive, some by car but most by bus, and I didn't get home until 2:00 am it was totally worth seeing. Bayern Munich did end up wining in the 89th minute by one point and it was crazy. The entire stands was roaring with screams and cheers for the only goal, and not to mention there was almost no seat left open for this game. Overall the game was outstanding and totally worth seeing. 

From the time I got here, I have only had complements on how well I can speak German. I can tell it still isn't the best but I have defiantly improved since I got here. I have been able to understand more and more each day, especially when I don't speak as much English. I speak mostly German with my Host mom and about 50/50 with my host dad. I would like to speak more German with my host dad in the coming weeks as it really do need the practice. I just got to make sure to be persistent with talking German so that way I learn quicker. Overall, my German has defiantly improved since I got here, but I have a long way to go. 

With everything from an interesting trip here, to the first taste of beer, and the outrageous soccer game, or old style school, I never would have expected to be able to do what I have gotten to do so far. Thank you to my Family and Host family for allowing me to be able to experience this, as it will be something I will never forget. 

I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up now as I have said so much already. Make sure to check out my next blog in two weeks. I would like to thank the people who have commented already on my blogs, wishing me a safe travel and a terrific time. I am doing this experience with AFS (American Field Service) and I’m actually not allowed to drive, however bikes are very common. This is also my first time to Europe, and really leaving the country. I did however canoe across the American Canadian border with my scout’s troop. Also thank you to everyone as I have reached 1000 page veiws now since I began this blog. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please leave them in the comments below and I will try my best to get to in my next blog. Bis bald, until next time. 

Thanks Everyone,

~Michael Steiner~