A New Year

At the beginning of this year, I was still working on graduating from high school. I was getting into the flow of the two track seasons that were to follow. I was planning on trying out for yet another school musical. I was driving my car around in the snow, and probably went galactic bowling a few times with some friends. I was around the same people I had been around for years, in the same town I had lived in my entire life. At the beginning of this year, everything was ‘normal,’ but I had no idea what my future would hold. I knew I would have no problem finishing school and getting accepted into a college, but specific details were no where to be found. I could have ended up anywhere across the northeastern United States, at many schools, with a variety of different programs, that offered the possibility of meeting an uncountable number of different people, depending on which decisions I made...
I think about where I am now, and I can’t comprehend exactly how insane my journey has been. I now live in a country that, less than a year ago, I had never studied the language of, and yet, now, I can understand almost everything I hear. I can respond, I can read, I can write. Less than a year ago, I could only dream of European youth culture, and now, I’m living it. I study with average German teens, I do sports in community clubs rather than participating in teams affiliated with my school, I go to parties on the weekends. Less than a year ago, the world had come to me in many different exchange-student-sized packages. I had met tiny pieces of the world, brave enough to leave their comfortable lives and share cultures that most people would never be able to experience, and now, I am one of those pieces. I teach people about another culture, another language, another world. I am a part of such an amazing system that has allowed me to make friends from across the globe and make memories I will never forget. This past year has been a roller coaster ride and a half, and I can’t wait for the one to come. 

101

Yesterday, I had officially lived in Germany for 100 days. Although that’s a monumental step that many exchange students find important and mark off as a great moment in their lives, I have not been counting my days here. Another student told me that we have been here for 100 days, and that’s the only way I had knowledge of it. As a result of my lack of knowledge of this occurrence, I allowed myself no time for personal reflection, no time for talking to my family about the time I’ve spent away, no time for writing a blog post...
So, today, I have written such a post about 101. Naturally, when pondering the number, I thought of Dalmatians and the fact that you could count to 101 when singing ‘the ants go marching,’ but I had to use some other sources to construct a truly amazing resume for 101. 

101 is...

• the 26th prime number...
• a palindromic number…
• the sum of the consecutive primes (13+17+19+23+29)…
• the atomic number of mendelevium, an actinide…
• the Messier designation given to the Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major.

• Taipei 101 was the tallest skyscraper in the world from 2004-2010.
• A province in Thailand, Roi Et Province, is literally 101 in Thai language.
• The number of the first check in a checkbook in the US is 101. 
• It is a term used to define the number of keys on a computer keyboard.
• 101 is the Single Non-Emergency Number in some parts of the UK.
• The Zastava 101 is a compact car by the former Yugoslav automaker.
• Rihanna - Rockstar 101
• In gematria, a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, 101 is the numerical value of the name מִיכָאֵל (Michael in English).

And, the most relatable fact about 101, is how it represents an introductory level of learning. Being in Germany for 101 days has allowed me to gain (at least) an introductory level of learning in the German language, German culture, general German systems, German food, German schools, how German social interactions work, German nightlife, typical German personalities, and much more about the general way of life in this country. In the next six and a half months, I will become an expert in everything German. For now, however, I remain a beginner, having just finished ‘Living in Germany 101.’ 

Weihnachtsmärkte

In the past couple of weeks, I have discovered that German Christmas, and the weeks that come before it, are very very very very German. In every city, large or small, a Christmas Market, or Weihnachtsmärkt, is held for four weeks before Christmas. This is the hub, the home, of all traditional German Christmas life.
Thus far, I have been to the Weihnachtsmärkt in the center of Jena almost every day since it opened the weekend before December. I have also been to an alternative Christmas Market in an old factory in Jena, the market in Weimar, the market in Leipzig, and I am going to the one in Erfurt this Sunday. It’s very nice to have a chance to see so many new cities and learn about their history, by way of my friends and my host mother. Throughout this learning, I have realized that I enjoy Christmas Markets, even though I have also quickly realized they are almost all the same. 
At each market, you see booth after booth of German Christmas decorations, all of which are super traditional. Most are made of wood, show classic Christmas themed pictures, and range from simple ornaments to hang on your tree, to complex, three-foot-tall, perfectly crafted pyramids that move by the power of candle light. Other popular themes for stands include pottery, jewelry, wooden animals, paper lights that are shaped like stars, fancy candles, bags, and chocolate shaped like things you find in a toolbox…
Although all of this is definitely exciting, it does get a little repetitive and a little less interesting as time goes on. Luckily for me, there is one thing I love that will bring me back to any event over and over again for the rest of my life, and that is food. I would approximate that about 87% of people that are at a Christmas market at any given time are just there to drink glühwein with their friends. Glühwein is warm, sweet wine that tastes delicious and is perfect for the cold winter. At Weihnachtsmärkte, it is accompanied by a wide variety of sausages, crepes, sugar-covered roasted nuts, liebeskuchen, and much much more.
Christmas markets are the perfect, German, holiday experience. I’m sure I will go to many more before they come to a close, enjoy a lot more glühwein with my friends, and hopefully swing by Germany every few winters for Weihnachtsmärkte to come.

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.