As you can see by this post title... things have been crazy. With less than 2 months in Germany, a whirlwind of thoughts are going through my head. How has the time gone by so quickly? Just a couple days ago it was Christmas... and now I have to go soon? How to I get all of my things back to the US? Then, stir in some stress. In less than 6 weeks (vacation takes up two of those weeks) I have a test in almost every subject, I have to give presentations to the 8th and 9th grades about an exchange year and the US, and I have to do a big presentation that counts as almost my entire German grade. And then sprinkle some sadness and excitement on top. The friends and family that I have here are wonderful. The school, the town, the people, the delicious food, beautiful Schwarzwald, and the amazing public transportation... I dont´t want to leave them! They have made my time in Germany so spectacular and I know it will be hard to say goodbye. Well, technically it´s not "goodbye", because I will come back to this town nestled on the mountainside in the Black Forest. So instead, I am just going to say "see you later". But mixed in with this sadness is also excitement. Excitement to see my friends and family in the US again. Excitement to see my town and Hoppy High. Excitement to see how things have changed in the past year and excitement for the things that will change next year. During my time in Germany I have given my future a good amount of thought. I am excited to graduate next year (hopefully!) and to see where things lead me after that. I am also looking foward to Japan this summer and experiencing a new culture!
But enough about emotions. Three weekends ago (May 4th through May 6th) I was in Mainz and Frankfurt. Germany, as I am sure you know, is known for its soccer. So of course I had a goal to see a live German soccer game. Not only did my wish come true, but I was also able to see my favorite team play and win! Most people laugh at me when I say that Mönchengladbach is my favorite soccer team, but that doesn´t deter me. I personally think they are the best, even though they didn´t win the Deutscher Meisterschaft (that was Dortmund). However, they did come in 4th place from 18 teams. I must admit, it is a bit strange that I am a ´Gladbach, especially since they are from northwest Germany and they are not that common. But I am not a fan because they have won every year, no, I´m a fan because they have spirit. They are the underdogs and surprised many people this year. Last year they were almost kicked out of the Bundesliga because they were so bad, but then they got a new goalie: Marc-André ter Stegen. He is only 19 years old and is already one of the best. (He is my favorite player! And Dante Bonfim Costa Santos, too!) My first ever German soccer game that I saw (on TV) was on my birthday: Mönchengladbach vs. FC Bayern. FC Bayern is, debately, the best team in Germany. Well, not "best", I would say the team with the most wins overall and they are very popular. ´Gladbach beat FC Bayern, sparking my love for the team. Anyways, enough about how amazing ´Gladbach is... more about the game!
A very generous and cool family friend, Tim (who spent the summer by us in the US) lives in Frankfurt and was able to get two tickets to the last season game. However, there was a problem... the game was in Mainz and he was only able to get tickets in the Fan Section for Mainz! This section has no seats (just standing spots) and is for the die-hard Mainz fans. It even said on the ticket that nobody was allowed to wear a jersey from the opposing team in the Mainz Fan Section. Despite that, I had a great time. ´Gladbach won 3:0 and in the second half of the game I was able to cheer a little bit. (Next to me were some other ´Gladbach fans, so I figured I was safe in a group if a Mainz fan tried to beat us up...) :) Ah, German soccer is the best.
Before the game, Tim and I walked through Mainz a little and enjoyed the warm but rainy weather. Mainz is a neat city with cool vibes. It is right on the Main River and has many college students. I like Frankfurt, but there is something about Mainz that draws me in more. Frankfurt is a big city with a skyline and all, like a mini New York. But Mainz has a pretty inner city with some old buildings and an old cathedral. I also think the people are friendlier and on Saturday there was a cool market in the center. After the game, we went to the movie theater and saw Cold Light of Day. I am proud to say, that I am able to understand German movies without German or English subtitles without a problem. In the beginning of the year I also went to the movie theater and needless to say, I had a lot of questions. (Normally I like to watch German videos with German subtitles.)
On Sunday, May 6th, Tim and I traveled to Bad Dürkhiem and Speyer. Bad Dürkheim was a cute town known for the wine barrel in the world. (Once we were there, however, we realized that there was never actually wine inside the barrel and that there is now a restuarant inside.) Let down. We also saw a Saline, which is a long (330 m) structure with trees and saltwater. (It´s hard to explain...) But this saltwater/tree structure is supposedly good for the lungs and breathing. Many people that are sick or have asthma come here. We then drove to Speyer, another cute German town. Speyer has a really pretty cathedral, but it is more plain and simple, which is why I like it. The inner city in Speyer is just for pedestrians and the road is made of cobblestones (like most German cities). The sun decided to shine while we were in Speyer and there also happened to be a market. Normally all shops are closed on Sunday in Germany, except for a couple Sundays in the year, which are known as "Verkaufsonntag", or Sundays on which people can sell stuff and the shops are allowed to be open. It was nice to walk through the inner city and see different stands and the old German buildings. It´s hard to describe, but one of my favorite things is just walking and observing old German cities with the cobblestone streets, ice cream cafés, markets, and other people who are just spending time together on Sunday. Which is another good point. Sunday is considered as a day of rest, but in the US not that many people follow this. In Germany, however, this is pretty common. Many people relax on Sundays, go for a walk or hike, or just spend time together drinking coffee and eating cake. It was a difference for me at the beginning, because in the US I tend to always have something to do on Sunday. Either homework, chores, or working. But here in Germany my host family respects Sunday as a day of rest and we often just spend time together. I enjoy sitting out in the garden with my host family and eating delicious German cake or going for a walk through Schwarzwald. It is nice to rest before the start of the busy week on Monday.
After Speyer we drove to Mannheim, where I took the train back to St. Georgen Schwarzwald (Ausstieg in Fahrtrichtung rechts). It was a pleasant 3 1/2 hour train ride back home, on which I read a book, did some homework, and slept. I always love riding on the train! It is so cool watch the scenery rush by and realize that you could go anywhere in Germany. One time, I was with Anita, an exchange student friend of mine from Latvia, and we were on the train to Freiburg. However, the train that we were on kept going to Basel in Switzerland after Freiburg. We looked at each other and debated staying on the train and going to Switzerland for the day! We almost did it except for the fact that we didn´t have our passports with us. Bummer. But that´s what I mean. You can just stay on the train and going to a different country! The public transportation in Germany is wonderful and I will definitely miss it in the US. With the trains and buses (and walking and biking!) in German, people can travel easily from one place to the next. It also makes it easier on the parents, because they don´t have to constantly shuttle there kids from one place to the next. As a result, kids in Germany are, in my opinion, more independent than in the US. But I also think that they have more responsibility too.
Also, two Sundays ago (May 13th) I had an 18.4 km race! It is called the "Schluchseelauf" and I ran around the lake, Schluchsee. This entire race was pretty spontaneous and I decided I would just sign up without really thinking about what I was getting myself into. I ran cross country last year, so I had some experience but I had never run 18.4 km! I started running several times a week, which was good because I have eaten wayyyyy too much chocolate and bread here. And Döners! A Döner is a Turkish food which consists of delicious meat in a pita pocket with lettuce, peppers, onions, etc. and a delicious sauce! Anyways, I decided to run a little longer one day (for training) and I ended up getting lost and running for 3 1/2 hours! The thing is, I live in Schwarzwald, meaning it is not flat, at all. I don´t know how many kilometers I ran because I was randomly running through the woods hoping to find my way back home. The day of the race came and I was dreading it. I mean, 18.4 km is pretty long and I had no idea what my time would be and how much pain I would be in. I started in the last group and realized that I still had some energy to go faster. After the big hill (there are 3 km of just uphill running) things were pretty easy and I kicked it. From kilometer 5 until the end I passed people and felt pretty good. Up until the last 2 kilometers things were going pretty well. Then I realized that my legs were dead. Oh well, I pushed it up the hill to the finish line and even got a medal! (Everyone that finished got a medal.) I had participated in the race with some other students and teachers from my school and we all had cool "TSG Running Team" jerseys. I finished with a time of 1:41.45 (1 hour, 41 minutes and 45 seconds). I realized that an almost-half-marathon can be fun and I enjoyed the race, despite the length. It was also a really nice course because we ran right next to the water almost the entire time. The weather was perfect and overall it was a great experience. Johanna, my host sister, also wrote me a poem for the race, so that I wouldn´t be nervous: "Die Blumen sind bunt, das Gras ist grün, du laufst ´ne Rund, und wirst dabei dünn." :) (Translation: The flowers are colorful, the grass is green, you run a lap/loop, and will then be thin.)
The next two weeks are vacation! So excited! This Saturday and Sunday I am attending the Pfingstjugendtreffen in Aidlingen. This is a Christian event where many teenagers come together and there are bands and speakers and lots of fun! I am going with a couple friends. :) Then on Monday I am leaving with my host family for Bayern! We are going to be spending ten days in Allgäu. While there we will visit Munich, Dachau (a concentration camp), Lindau, and Neuschwanstein (a castle that looks like the one from Disney). After that I will visit Anne, an exchange student friend from the US, in Regensburg for five days. On Sunday I will come home, go to school for two days, and then leave again. This time I will be traveling to Berlin for five days with my organisation, CBYX. It is our End-of-Stay-Camp and we will be meeting some people from the Bundestag (German government). Things are going to be very crazy in the upcoming weeks, but I am looking forward to it all! :)
Anyways, I have to go study for a Gemeinschaftskunde (Social Studies) test tomorrow. Yipee.
Have a great week!
Tschüss!
Judith
