Surreal moments of realization...

I’m glad I can still have surreal moments of realization about my current situation. Even though I have now lived in Germany for well over two months, I still find shock in the fact that I’m here for eight more. I won’t be home for eight more. I won’t see my family for eight more. I won’t be living an average life for eight more, and that doesn’t make me sad. It still has never made me upset. What I’m doing is amazing, and I realize that every day. For eight more months, I will be speaking leaning to be fluent in a different language. For eight more months, I will be living completely immersed in a foreign culture. For eight more months, I will be partaking in an adventure that so few people are brave enough to conquer. I am so glad I had the guts and the open-mind to let this be an event in my life, and I’m going to keep fighting to make it better and better. I will keep fighting for the rest of my life to obtain experiences that blow my own mind. Life’s too short to do what everyone else does. 

A change in the weather can make everything better...

Although the weather in Deutschland has not actually improved, (it gets colder and colder each day with the promise of impending frost and snow) I have switched host families and am feeling a positive change in the the weather of my stay...
A week ago, AFS allowed me to switch out of my original host family and begin living with a new one. The makeup of my new family is much different than that of my old one. It consists of a mother (my photography teacher at school), and her eighteen year old daughter. Thus far, they have made living with them very enjoyable, which might be a result of our many shared interests. Maintaining a love for food is important for all of us. Each day we have delicious, warm, home-like food, often including many vegetables and soups, similar to what I eat with my family in the US. We also share a love for music, art (especially photography), and adventure. We share the same ideology about life, the best ways to use time, the importance of friends, and, better, of self worth. Most importantly, we share the same thoughts about a host family’s purpose.
I feel more comfortable with them than I ever would have imagined feeling in a host family, and I look forward to living with them for the next eight months. I will forever be grateful for their giving me a bed, a home, food, and love, and know we will definitely feel like a real family by the year’s end. 

Fainting in T.K. Maxx...

One of my least favorite things about Germany is its lack of thrift shops. In the US, I have easily gained ‘Professional Thrift Shopper’ status, and it is fairly disappointing that I can no longer use my fine-tuned skills. I can no longer get three sweaters, a pair of dress shoes, a suit jacket, five random animal knick-knacks, a holographic picture of Jesus, and a bow-tie, all for under twenty dollars. I can barely buy one piece of clothing for less than twenty Euros, and although I have been sucking it up for the sake of beautiful European fashion, I’ve been looking for alternative ways to shop.
While I was in Bonn this week, I stumbled upon a T.K. Maxx (Yes, T.K., not T.J.) and it was a beautiful experience. Although it can not compare to a Goodwill, I did find myself a bit faint while I wandered around the slightly reduced prices. As a result of my fragile state, I ended up walking out of the store with very few purchases, but it was relieving to know that there’s someplace in this country I can go for some shopping therapy, if I ever need it.  

A Friendly African Man

During the second week of my school vacation, I traveled across the country to live in Bonn with my host mother’s parents. When I travel, I have a habit of wandering. I don’t book many tours, or examine every building in order to find their historical importance. I simply walk in whatever direction looks the most interesting, go in old and new buildings alike, watch people as they go about their lives, and obviously photograph the entire journey. 
Within one of my first days in Bonn, a man walking past me stopped to ask about the location of a street he was looking for. Although I understood his German question, I obviously did not have the answer, and this, apparently, made him curious about me. He asked me where I was from, and my response lead to a very long conversation...
The man was a big supporter of the United States, despite its many flaws. He was a teacher from Uganda and had made many friends with American Peace Corps members stationed there. Through them, he became very convinced that almost all people from the United States are very kind and willing to take time out of their days to listen and interact with others, as I was doing with him. He was inspired by the US giving its citizens so many basic human rights, and was very grateful that many of his friends were able to immigrate their in an attempt to find a better life. We talked about current politics, the unique values that make up each part of our world, and which situation is most ideal. It’s not common that I like our government, but this man made me grateful for what my country stands for. There are many things that need to be changed, but many things that we’ve done right for a long time also.

Basketballspiel

Although sports are definitely prominent in Deutschland, I had no opportunities to attend any competitions for the first months of being here. Unlike in the US, there are no sports within schools. If people want to be athletic, they join clubs that are either non-competitive or are somewhat representative of the city. There are no rolling spaces behind each school that house fields for every sport imaginable, like is common in much of the US. As a result of these facts, there is less individual school pride and far less cheering than I am used to participating in.
Last week, however, I attended my first German sports competition. It was a basketball game, and one that was considered ‘professional’ by my friends. Based on what I was told, and by the performance of the teams, basketball is a fairly new sport here, or has only recently grown in popularity. The game took place in a gym similar to and smaller than the Bangor Auditorium, entrance cost seven Euros, and I’m sure that the average height of the men on the court could easily come out to about half of that of some US professional teams. The gameplay I witnessed was very similar to many of the high school basketball games I attended at home, and I think it made the experience even more enjoyable for me. I was able to understand all the calls that were being made, both good and bad, and knew when it was appropriate to yell at the top of my lungs.
Jena’s team ended up scoring over 100 points, and winning by over 40. It’s been a while since I’ve cheered with such enthusiasm, and it reminds me that encouraging others is something I’m meant to do. Even though I will always enjoy playing sports more than watching them, cheering at live games will also be something I enjoy. 

Living in a castle...

There are some things that you really just can’t do in the United States, and exploring castles is one of them. During the last two weeks of October, all schools within my German state have vacation. During the first week, I went on holiday with my host family to the tiny city of Augustusburg. The city starts at an altitude I assume is fairly average, but slopes up and up until it reaches Schloss Augustusburg or Castle Augustusburg.
There, on top of that little mountain, with its sizable castle, is where I lived for the week. Although there wasn’t much going on in the small city, I got to learn a lot about it’s history, ride a ‘summer sleigh’, look at beautiful rocks from across the world, and see an amazing bird show that included a very American bald eagle.