A lot has happened in my first week in Germany.
After traveling and being awake for 24 hours, my host
parents picked me up at the Hannover train station. There was an annual
festival for the arts that day, and my host sister, Valorie works in the
theaters where the fest was held. There
were bands playing, poetry readings, previews of the coming theatrical season,
and, of course, there was food. I had
crepe and my first bratwurst, and they were delicious. The band was playing American music, which
confused my brain. The atmosphere was
relaxed and everyone was having a good time.
My host parents told me that that was the first nice day they had all
summer. They told me about Celle, and
asked me about 9.11 and about American views on other topics.
The next day, I went swimming with my host father in Badenland,
which is a pool complex. It was the last
day to swim outside in the 50m pool. The
water was cold, but it felt good to swim after traveling the day before. Later that Sunday, we rode our bikes to
Celle. My bike was spray-painted yellow
and purple, and is the family hand-me-down bike. I love it. They showed me my language school,
the Alle River, massive fields that become ice rinks in the winter, and the
city with its shops, old houses, and charm. On the way home it started to pour!
I found out I need a rain jacket.
Monday I started language school. My teacher spoke only in German. The first
day was difficult because I did not know any German at all when I came
here. However, the next day at school
was better. On Tuesday our AFS group
took a tour of the castle of Celle. My
friend Genevieve and I kept making wrong turns and we got lost. We asked a man for directions and he was a
total hippie, he had painted platform shoes on and long straight hair. He was
kind and pointed out the way, and we ran the rest of the way to the castle
because we were late. We made it in time
for our tour though. The woman took us
through the different rooms and explained the love stories and relationships of
Celle’s nobility and how the blood lines of England and Germany crossed. Then we went to the church and climbed 208
steps to the top of the tower where we could see all of Celle.
Wednesday I ate my first doner, which is a Turkish sandwich. It was delicious! Then Genvieve and I went
shopping and I didn’t find things that I loved.
Plus everything is very expensive, so I want to buy things that will
last and things that I love. Hopefully I’ll
have better luck next time. My host
brother Tom came home from a two week exchange in Israel. He is nice to me and helps me when I don’t
understand what is going on.
Thursday I went to Genevieve’s house in the afternoon and I
met her host family. We ate chocolate
mousse cake, did a little bit of homework and played soccer with her host
brother.
Friday the AFS group went to Badenland, and we swam inside
and used the hot tubs and salt bath. It
was relaxing after a busy week. Then Tom
and I went to Hachefest in Nienhausen, which used to be a celebration of the
harvest and a way for all of the farmers to see each other and visit. Now there are fewer farmers in and around
Celle, but the tradition of getting the community together carried on. They had a talent show of sorts and there was
a group of about 16 older people who all wore cowboy hats and boots and line
danced to “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain” and that song about a banjo
which were both translated into German.
It was so funny! I also met
people Tom knows from school and soccer.
It was fun.
On Saturday my host father took me on a bike tour along the
east-west German border with his good friends.
The border was the Elbe River, and bridges were destroyed so people
could not cross easily. There were also
watch towers from which soldiers would shoot those who tried to cross the
border. We rode 50km, and the day was
beautiful and warm. It was a little
cloudy, but the sun still shined. The
land was flat and was easy to ride on.
There were fields of corn and sunflowers, and there were cows, roosters,
sheep, and horses. It was the best way
to spend a day.
Today was wonderful too.
I went for a 5km jog with my host father through a path in a wooded area
near his company building. The ground was soft and the trees were pretty. Then I
studied and took a nap. And that evening
we all went to my host mother’s concert.
She was in the choir for an amazing performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina
Burana. I had never heard the whole work
before, and it is beautiful and powerful. The soprano soloist had a clear and
effortless sound; she had amazing control and musicality. The orchestra and everyone singing and
playing together was absolutely wonderful!
It was a wonderful week.
No comments:
Post a Comment