Easter and Internship

Hey everyone,

Not too long ago I was able to experience a German Easter with my host parents.  The week before that was a very different week however, as all the tenth graders in our school, and most of Baden-Württemberg got to spend a week off of school to go work for a week in a company of our choice.

As we all know, Easter was not too long ago, and I can say it seemed pretty similar to how my family does it in the US. The day before Easter my host mom made some delicious Easter bread and I helped her hake some cool looking Easter eggs as well. On Easter, normally my host family would participate in a church service in the morning; enjoy a homemade breakfast with different kinds of breads, cheeses, meats, and toppings like butter or Jelly. Then the kids of the family would go out in the garden to look for some Easter eggs with candy inside. After relaxing around the house a little, reading, and enjoying the time in the sun, we went down to Königsbronn for a nice walk around the town. It is a small town just south of Aalen, with a small lake to go paddle boating or swimming or mini golfing, but also gives these really nice trails around the town which you can end up looking over the little town.

One of the biggest differences started on the Friday before Easter, (Good Friday) everyone got the day off and so everything was closed for that day. It is the day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. The break continued until after Easter Monday, before everything opened back up again. (Of course, there are somethings open during the break, but most every German stores and restaurants are closed).

A week before we went on our two-week break the tenth grade class, I included, had to participate in a one-week internship at a company of our choice. Every student choose a company or organization of their choice to go work for a week. I chose to spend my week in the Aalen hospital working on the nursing floor. We were required to wear scrubs every day, which was somewhat cool in that feeling alone. My job was to work with the other nurses to clean rooms, refill medical supply cabinets, check patients pulses, blood pressure, temperature, and bring documents around the hospital. Although it did not seem like I did much, I did get to see a lot that the nurses did, which was just a taste as to what all their duties are. Although there was some down time, I still enjoyed my time there. On the last day, I asked if I could follow around the station doctor to see what he does on a daily basis. While we were walking around, I got to see how he took blood, learned a little bit about what all they are checking for when they take blood, and see how he checks up on patients. This to me was one of the most fascinating parts of the internship as it showed me what the other parts of being a doctor are. Although I was not in the station that I am looking to go study in, Orthopedic, I still did get to learn quite a bit as to how everything worked, and even a little bit as to how a German hospital works.

Doing this internship has really helped me to decide which path I want to follow later in life. I have found that doing things which help other people, while being really interesting for me as well is Orthopedic surgery. I am plan to go to UCCS next year to start on this journey studying pre-med.

I really have to say thanks to everyone again for allowing me and helping me along this fantastic adventure. Without my family, friends from back home, host family, friends from here, and AFS I would not be able to learn and enjoy this spectacular adventure. I really hope everyone is enjoying what I have to say, and learning a little bit about Germany too. If you have any questions or comments, or suggestions please leave them in the comments below!

Thanks everyone,

~Michael Steiner~

Wanderern zu dem Limesturm in der nähe von Aalen.

Eins der Turm.
            

 Ein Wand abgleichen von die Römer.

            

            

            

Eine Toreinfahrt. 

Ein Spaziergang im Königsbronn.  

Wo ein Schloss war. 

  

Itzelberger See 

   

Ein von viele Ostern Fontäne  

(Try https://translate.google.com or https://dict.leo.org/ if you need a translation.)
  

Ticket Home and Skiing

Hey everyone,

In the past month, I have been riding on the crest of the wave, which I explained last time. Most everything that I have been doing has been pretty darn cool and interesting. Doing things that I love and being able to see a little bit more in the world, I am really enjoying this experience abroad and have found it to be quite a challenge as well. Money management is also an important thing to learn while abroad, as I have found out quite quickly. 

It has already been a long journey already, but seems as though it was last week I got here. Now I have to think about going home? Yea right. The reason to that is I got my ticket home, AFS sent me an email including some information regarding going home, and I am not wanting to read what they have included. My flight is booked for the 5^th of July, and what I have gotten to do so far has been amazing, but now I am also wanting to start a little traveling and see a little more than my town. When I got my flight date, I had a weird feeling of not wanting to go, but at the same time wanting to just go. I want to see my hometown and see what I have forgotten, but also don't want to leave what I have here. Although I know what is coming, I still wish for the days to be a little longer or the end date a little further away, but know it must end.

Over the past few months, I have been able to really enjoy and make a life here in Aalen. I go to dance class, climbing, and hang out with friends. I have also been lucky enough to have really nice host parents who took me skiing in the Alps. Over our Faschings Farin (February weeklong break), my host parents took me skiing in Austria. I was absolutely amazed at the sight of the mountains. They were completely beautiful. After getting suited up, we got on a gondola that took us over 2000 meters high (6500 feet). It was a new feeling to be skiing in a completely new terrain, new mountains, new snow, new people, new skis, and just a new feel completely. After the first few runs, I could notice a big difference between the Rocky Mountains (RM) and the Alps. Skiing on these ski slopes, the mountains felt icy, steep, and open. In the RM, the snow is drier and comes a little more often; however, there are a lot more trees and not as steep runs as the Alps. 

Last weekend I was able to spend a most interesting weekend skiing as well, however this time with a part of my rock-climbing group. I had to climb the mountain to be able to ski, with a special kind of skis, telemarking skiing I believe, it took us a few hours to reach the summit, but the view was beautiful when the fog was gone. There was one part where I got to walk up a wonderfully small valley, where a steep hillside was to the left of me, and a rock face was to the right, and as I hiked up this small little valley, I could see a wonderful sight of new snow, and a miraculous view looking behind me. That night, three of us slept in the van camper from my climbing mentor, which was pretty cool. We all ate dinner, lunch, and breakfast together, found a spot to park the van for the night, and just enjoyed the time together. The next day we started again, however, instead of a beautiful day, it was more wet heavy snow with wind, and rain towards the bottom of the mountain. I can say that was the first time I ever climbed a mountain in skis as well as skiing in rain. 

I personally cannot wait for my next few adventures, and still have that weird feeling about going home, but I know I will try to make the best of my experience in my reaming months to come. I hope you guys are all enjoying what I have to write. Please leave any questions, comments, and/or suggestions in the comments below, and I will try to answer your questions in my next blog. 

Thanks everyone,

Michael Steiner

Skifahren am Wochenende:

 

Skifahren in Austria:

Emotional Experiences at the Half Way Point

Hey everyone, 

       So while a broad, you will have your ups and downs, your lefts and rights, and everything in between. I have had my own experiences with this and can tell just about anyone that studying abroad will really kick you in the behind. AFS showed us at the very beginning, during our first orientation, what to expect throughout the year. Even though you may think you are strong, or think it will be a breeze, you will still have a subtle and somewhat drawn out realization that things may not seem to be all that spectacular and glimmering. However, when the day comes that you accept the culture, you will love what you learn, and really enjoy being abroad. 

       At the very beginning of this trip, we had an orientation, and at this orientation, they tried to prepare us for what to expect while abroad. They stressed two things at this ordination that would play a big role in our lives during this year abroad. The first: "it is not wrong, it is different." This is one of the hardest things to accept while abroad. The reason to that is that you have grown up only really knowing your own culture. You have lived with your parents and family, who have raised you and shown you how to live. You have gotten along with your friends, and done what you thought was right. When you step into this new world, you do not see everything so clear, it slowly starts to show it's self throughout the time you are here. 

       The second thing AFS showed us was a graph. (See picture. Sorry for how bad the graph looks, I did this in Word.)  Your time starts out here great because everything is new, and that is why you are always happy. You are still somewhat happy when people are not very happy with you or if another somewhat discouraging event happens because it is still new. Around Thanksgiving, you start to realize that something does not seem all that great and you cannot really tell why, but you tend to ignore it because you think it will just go away. Around Christmas, New Year’s, and just a little bit past the holiday season, you are at the hardest time of the trip. You begin to think that not everything is great, that people are somewhat mean, and that nothing you do seems right. Well I had this problem too, and it was a hard time to get through. With the help of my host family and friends, and even just talking a little bit with my friends and family from back home, I managed to pull myself out of this trough and really start to enjoy my time here. I know it may seem impossible to get past this point, but it is. If I was able to do it, then I think just about anyone else can do it too. After you get going back up and your motivation returns, you really start to enjoy your time here. The people, who you thought were somewhat mean, turn out to be the nicest people, and the culture seems like a reality within you. There will still be those hard days, and those most miraculous days, but overall you just really begin to live the culture like your own. These are all the things that I have experienced so far, and as of right now, I am having a blast here in Germany. 

The next downfall on the graph is the downfall of returning. The thought that you will have to leave everyone here, and not be able to see anyone for who knows how long. You also start to panic a little as to how you will get along with your friends from back home, and what all will happen. I am happy to say this has not happened to me yet, but I know it will come. After you realize and accept that you will have to go back home, you start to just have as much fun as you can until that day comes. I am lucky to have another five months before having to go home, but I also realize it has already been five months since I got here. I have had a plethora of experiences, and I know there is a heck of a lot more to learn. I cannot wait for what the next months bring and I know that things will get harder once again, but it is all a part of the experiences and I cannot wait for the next big challenge to present itself.

       I really have to thank my host family and friends here that have supported me in the hardest of times, and I do not know what I could do without them. My host family has become like a second family to me and my friends are the type of friends that I will never forget. I owe everyone here a big thank you for having to put up with me and help me though out the last five months. I hope they continue to be by my side for many, many more adventures to come. 

       I hope this gives everyone a little taste as to what the first part of an exchange year is like. Since I did not talk about what all I did in the past month, I am going to post some pictures of my latest adventures. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below! 

Thanks everyone, 

~Michael Steiner~

Unser Winter Sport Tag. 

In München mit andere Austauschschulen. 

In Nördlingen

 

Ries Krater Museum (In Nördlingen)

ein Mondstein