Back to Being Busy

Guten Tag!

Hey everyone,

These past two weeks have been fairly fun for me! I have been able to help out with friends and family working on landscaping. Not only have I gotten to work on yards, but I also managed to get back together with my XC (cross country) team. Although a fair amount of this has been exhausting already, it’s just not enough for me. I also have started summer school this past week and have actually enjoyed it! As for learning German... definitely a challenge now. Reading through my host family's emails have become easier and easier as time goes on. I recently got the chance to attend a conference call with previous Germany exchange students which turned out fairly interesting. AFS has also held true to their word, I have received a pre-departure orientation and a flight to Germany. There still is a lot of work to do, but I think I have got a good idea for what needs to be done. Going global with the World Cup couldn't be more exiting! (Or devastating depending on which way you look at it.) With everything that has been going on with landscaping, overall learning, and preparing for this trip, it definitely feels good to be busy again, and not to mention the World Cup finals are coming up soon!

As a way to help pay for this trip, I have been doing a fair amount of work laying rock, laying rock, and well laying rock. So far I have helped some old friends and my parent lay, sift, and move rock. It has defiantly been fun getting tan, while building muscle, and paying for this journey to Aalen. Moving rock hasn't been the only thing I have done to get into shape though. I was also able to join my XC team for a couple runs these past few days. I can safely say "I am out of shape!" I haven't truly run sense the end of XC. It doesn't mean I haven't done other things instead, but I am defiantly not as fast as I used to be. 

As a way to get out of the sun and work other things than my muscles, I have just started summer school! I know it doesn't sound the least bit fun, but Art isn't that bad, especially when you have a friend in the class too. Anyone who decides to travel abroad for a year, or even a semester, may find themselves behind in credits when they come back. Needless to say, I am a victim of such circumstance. I am taking this art class so I won’t have to worry about transferring it later. However art is one of the classes required to graduate at my school which I have yet to take (until now). I also know that I wouldn't be able to select my classes in Germany either. Therefore, I just have to hope that I can transfer the rest of my classes over to still graduate. If you are just thinking about taking a year abroad, and are taking some classes which don't offer credit (such as study hall or a teacher’s assistant) than switch out as soon as you can. Otherwise you will have similar problems, or be forced to repeat a year. You can still do a gap year abroad, however that will still put you a year behind in some ways. (And forward too, in many other ways.) Any way, it is worth me taking a few extra classes to make sure I am still on track with everyone else, and who doesn't like drawing? 

As many of you know, I have been working with Rosetta Stone on learning my new language. I am glad to say I have finished one more Unit. Although Rosetta Stone still seams comparatively easier than a regular German class, you are restricted to learning it on your own. This may be extraordinarily beneficial for some, but for most of us procrastinators it doesn't work out very well in the end. So if you procrastinate you can get a choice; missed a lot of time to study or be chocked to death by words in a class. My German has definitely improved because of Rosetta Stone though. The more I email with my host family, the easier it is for me to understand what they are saying. For instance my host mom said something about "getting a letter of acceptance for me to be a part of their school." This is really good news especially sense I believe this is part of the German VISA application. So far though Rosetta Stone has been working out fairly decently and would actually recommend it as long as you have the motivation to keep at it. 

This past week AFS has been in contact with me for a few really good reasons. It first started with an email saying I could be a part of a conference call. Sounds like something you probably wouldn't want to do if you have an office job. However, the conference call consisted of previous AFS Germany students. They went over some fascinating topics like: general topics of discussion, nudity, family/daily life, and what to wear. These are all things you may or may not have thought about depending on where you’re going. For instance I did not know that Germans usually take up three-five minutes of water per shower. These were the simple things they talked about that you may not have noticed or would be too embarrassed to ask. A few days after the conference call my mom, dad, and I got an email about the departure. I am scheduled to travel one day, have an orientation that night or the next morning, and then travel again one day after I get there. I will also land one day after I take off as well. So I plan to be extraordinarily tired when I get there. However I will not end there. I will be taken down to another city to finally meet with my host family. How I get there I'm not quite sure, but hopefully will be told that fairly soon. I have started to make a ‘to do’ list of everything I have yet to figure out. For instance setting up an international bank account, figuring out the whole cellphone thing, make sure I am packed. Although a fair amount to be done, most of it won’t take very long. The only thing which I believe I have figured out is the VISAs which I should just be able to apply for them when I get over there, I hope. 

As well all know though the World Cup continues to press on. After a close couple of games in the quarter finals, and another close call with the Netherlands vs. Argentina game, these matches have been the hardest for each team so far. If you didn't catch the Brazil vs. Germany game, you missed out. A seven to one slam out made Brazil break down and cry. Germany continues on to the finals and Brazil made themselves look like a bunch of College players. Now with the third place match this weekend as well the Germany match on Sunday, I can't wait to see the final rounds of these games! 

You can say I have had a hands full, which it totally accurate. I love it though, being busy and not bored. Anyway, I have gotten one response from my June 12th question so please make sure to answer it. I would like to continue on with my essay but can't without at least a few more responses. 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~

Everywhere and Nowhere

Sorry this is a little late everybody. Anyways, these past few weeks have been fairly interesting for me. About a week ago I had my wisdom teeth removed, which means I got to hang out on the couch for a few days eating ice cream and Popsicles. While that was going on, I was not in the mood to learn German in any fashion except listen to some music. However during these past two weeks, as we all know, the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been going and now we are into the knock out stage! Also in these weeks I reached the halfway point; the half way to paying for this adventure point. Most recently however, I was able to shadow an orthopedic doctor for a day which was amazing! With so many random events and diversions these past two weeks there isn't much else to say than "it was interesting." 

Last Thursday, the 19th of June, I had my wisdom teeth removed. A bright and early morning I walk in, sit down, and they start hooking me up to the machine. Next thing I know there is a shot in my arm, and I am out cold. After that I was placed in a wheel chair and rolled out to the car so we could grab my medications. After about an hour we get home and I go to make myself comfy on the couch so I can watch some soccer (football). Not long after that I get up to go change out my gauze pads in my mouth and the next thing I know, I am laying on the ground and my mom is yelling for my dad. For a brief moment I had fainted then proceeded to throw up blood into the toilet. After a couple wet rags and some of my nausea medication I was good to go. It took about a week before I felt back to normal, however there is still an occasional stiffness in my jaw. Anyways, fun experience, never want to have to do that again. 

I managed to get through Unit 2 in Rosetta Stone! (I had previously called it Level 2 instead of Unit 2, my mistake) I am now working on Unit 3 which is starting to use some of the words I have heard in songs and while emailing my host family. With my wisdom teeth removed I was not in the mood to learn any more German, however I did manage to find a sitcom in German which is pretty funny. It's about this American guy who goes to Germany to live on his own for a while. He is paired up with a couple of girls and a guy who don't speak English and so he has to learn the language quickly. The words they use are fairly basic and the mistakes he makes are pretty funny so it is an enjoyable show. It's called "Deutsch Lernen Extra auf Deutsch Abschnitt 1-(however many there are)." 

It has been a pretty exciting time these past two weeks all over the world though! The 2014 FIFA World Cup has been going on and it hasn't been this awesome to watch football sense the last World Cup.  The first game Germany played was outstanding beating Portugal 4 to zip! The USA also pulled an amazing win against Ghana 2 to 1. Next was a round of ties then Germany managed to beat America 1 to 0. It's OK though as we will both be going into the knock out stage! So can't wait for these next games to come up. 

          I have to thank everyone who helped make this amazing trip possible. First of all of my Grandparents, I love you all very much! Also I have to thank my parents who have also helped a lot. While I was working out the finances, I had to find a way to pay for 20% of the trip. So far I have paid off the half of what I am supposed to!!! I did receive some scholarships through AFS of the Rockies which helped a ton! I have been applying for jobs to help pay for this but nothing has turned up so far. So far I have been doing some small jobs here and there which is slowly working. If you are trying to pay for this type of trip I would recommend getting a job and applying for scholarships as soon as you can as these things go away quickly.  

On Wednesday I was given the opportunity to watch an Orthopedic Surgeon down on Fort Carson. Overall awesome!!! Even though I only got to see him operate on one person, it was still interesting to see what he does during his office hours. He started out with patients who had previously had Surgery and were back for their checkup. He would show me the cross sections of the injury on the computer and explain how the joint worked on the patient. He would also explain the injury and the types of procedures that they could do for an injury. During lunch he brought me down to the operating room where I got to see how they repaired a torn ACL and Meniscus. After lunch we went back to his office where he talked with patients who were having pains and were concerned. He liked to call it "Baiting the trap," which is pretty accurate. Overall the experience was awesome, and he is willing to allow me to come back and watch him for another day while he repairs two shoulders and another knee. 

So as I said before, a fairly interesting week. I have not seen any comments on my question from last week, so if you wouldn't mind scrolling down, or going to  http://journeytoaalen.blogspot.com/2014/06/as-of-my-last-blog-i-said-i-was-going.html  and answering the question in the second to last paragraph in the comments, I would love to hear what you have to say. Again I will be posting my next blog on Friday, July 11^th. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions leave them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them!

Thanks Everybody,

~Michael Steiner~

As of my last blog, I said I was going to post this blog a day early due to scheduling issues. Well apparently some things were canceled so I could post it tomorrow, but I already said I was going to post it today so I'll hold true to my word. Being on summer defiantly impacts me in a multitude of ways from learning to everyday activities and maintaining a healthy life style. Also my first orientation occurred about two weeks ago which was something predictable. Not only did I have my first orientation but also felt a little homesick, at home. As days continue to count down, it becomes more and more exhilarating for the day I leave and get to experience major personal barriers as well as determination issues. 

The orientation was overall something I should have predicted. The majority of it was just a fancy way of covering everything in the packet they gave us. Although I see why they do this, sometimes I wish people would understand that we actually do read the packets and can cover these topics at a quicker pace. However not all of the orientation was going over the packet. After an hour or so we got to split up into students and parents. As for the student group, I got to meet a bunch of exchange students from across Colorado and see where everyone was off to, and some of their concerns. I also loved the different problems that the staff gave us to try to work through. Some of these were pretty easy, others not relevant, and others problems that seemed practical to my situation. For example, "Your mom is reading your diary without your permission and talking with her friends about it. What do you do?" Although it may or may not be one of my issues, it defiantly brought up different situations that might be a concern. The orientation also had a time in which we could ask any questions to previous exchange students/host families. For the whole day it seemed a little long but they did cover some good points, presentations, and scenarios. 

As summer starts to kick into full swing, it has become exceedingly hard to continue learning German and keeping my motivation up to complete tasks. During school it seemed like a break to just sit down and go through a few lessons on Rosetta Stone. Now it feels as though it is a burden to sit down and go through a few lessons. I have a feeling this is partly due to the little amount of activities I have to do over the summer. It is a beneficial that I wish to be active though, this allows me to keep in shape... sort of. Starting next week I will be joining my cross country team in their weekly runs. As for right now I have been practicing handstands which doesn't seem to be very effective. 

This past week realization began to kick in and I felt a little bit of homesickness. I was in my room at 3:00 am and have about 85 days tell I even go on program. It felt as though I didn't have anyone to talk to and that no one understands what I am going through. I felt lost in such a large place, and didn't know where to go. However it didn't stick around a long time and wasn't that bad. I just have to make sure when it happens while I'm in Germany I don't get sucked in and I do everything to help the situation. I just hope it’s not at 3:00 am the next time. 

Right now I am working on a college essay as I will be applying to colleges before I leave, so if you wouldn't mind answering this one question in the comments, "What is a perfect world?" Please also include the state or country you are from. 

That is all I have for you this round. I will be posting my next blog in two weeks and one day so I am back on track. Make sure to look for it on Friday, June 27. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions post them in the comments as well. 

Thanks Everyone,

~Michael Steiner~