Hello all!
My attitude about the SAT has improved a lot since yesterday; I have some specific things I know I should work on, so that's a good thing. I think I just need to commit some serious time to it and it'll all be okay.
Today I had a really wonderful day, complete with a massage, a possible iPod Touch, German speaking with Greg, and a veggie reuben and mocha shake at a diner in Central Square called Zoe's. Tomorrow I'm going to a chanting session with Mana, which I'm really looking forward to!
Montag, August 10, 2009
SAT fun
I took a practice SAT at my Harvard SAT course today, which proved my suspicion that I have gotten significantly dumber since my PSAT in 10th grade. I have a sort of mediocre Math 470/Reading 690/Writing 720 thing going on here.
HOWEVER, I got a 6 on my essay and the Harvard student who graded it said it might have been the best essay she's ever read at a course. "This essay would get a 12," she said. My 12-essay brought my writing score up to 770-800.
Now please forgive me for my SAT talk. This post has turned out to sound both cynical and pretentious. Who knew I could accomplish both at once?
I am planning to study a lot and then maybe I won't end up feeling like a complete failure.
HOWEVER, I got a 6 on my essay and the Harvard student who graded it said it might have been the best essay she's ever read at a course. "This essay would get a 12," she said. My 12-essay brought my writing score up to 770-800.
Now please forgive me for my SAT talk. This post has turned out to sound both cynical and pretentious. Who knew I could accomplish both at once?
I am planning to study a lot and then maybe I won't end up feeling like a complete failure.
Sonntag, August 02, 2009
The last month
I am, at long last, updating my blog. This past month has been crazy. I can't believe that it's really been four weeks since I left Germany, but at the same time, my whole exchange seems very far away.
I haven't really been experiencing any "reverse culture shock," apart from wishing they had good bread here and mire attractive street signs. However, the first couple of days back in America, I felt incredibly, weirdly disoriented. I greeted my family by hugging them and exclaiming, "This is so weird!! This is SO WEIRD!"
After a day in D.C., I met my parents, and we spent a couple more days in Baltimore, visiting Ellen's parents, and a day in Cambridge with Mana and Pop. I was really eager to get home! My house looked so different, I started running through each room shouting, "Our house is so stylish! It should be in a magazine!!" On my first day back in Portland, I had lots of visitors, including Flora, Artemis, Miss Gliss, and Enoch.
Since then, I've been keeping myself busy with spending time with friends, walking to Arabica, cooking Indian food, kombucha-tasting, going to Funtown, and absurd amounts of summer homework from the shack. I have a pretty regular babysitting job and I'm playing my uke a lot. Things are pretty much back to normal.
I haven't really been experiencing any "reverse culture shock," apart from wishing they had good bread here and mire attractive street signs. However, the first couple of days back in America, I felt incredibly, weirdly disoriented. I greeted my family by hugging them and exclaiming, "This is so weird!! This is SO WEIRD!"
After a day in D.C., I met my parents, and we spent a couple more days in Baltimore, visiting Ellen's parents, and a day in Cambridge with Mana and Pop. I was really eager to get home! My house looked so different, I started running through each room shouting, "Our house is so stylish! It should be in a magazine!!" On my first day back in Portland, I had lots of visitors, including Flora, Artemis, Miss Gliss, and Enoch.
Since then, I've been keeping myself busy with spending time with friends, walking to Arabica, cooking Indian food, kombucha-tasting, going to Funtown, and absurd amounts of summer homework from the shack. I have a pretty regular babysitting job and I'm playing my uke a lot. Things are pretty much back to normal.
Donnerstag, Juli 09, 2009
last day. ever.
I don't know quite how this happened, but it appears that today is my last day in Germany.
Up until a week ago (ähm, pretty much from September), I was looking forward to going home like insanely.
I find that the idea that at approximately 3 pm tomorrow I will be in the good ol' US of A COMPLETELY unimaginable. I will never live this crazy comedy-series life with my host sisters again. I will never walk past the Döner-Laden on my way home from school. I will not drink coffee in the afternoon on my porch in those little white cups with the blue rims. I will not be able to hop on the bus or train and go wherever I want to. I will not be invited to those weird parties where people play drinking games and yell at each other in Spanish. I will not be "that weird American anymore," or "that American who learned German in a year," or even generally "that American."
This is impossible to comprehend.
I don't really have a real life here. I feel like I'm practicing for something. A lot of the time I find myself thinking, "Next time I will do this and this and this differently." But then... this IS my life!! And as embarrassing or awkward as some things are -- namely, how unmusical I am in comparison to my classmates, my American accent, and the fact that people think I am naive -- I will miss this, and over the last week I've been saying to myself over and over again, "Hey, it was worth it!"
To celebrate last-days-in-Deutschland, yesterday I went with Tang and Marlene to a bar in Pforzheim and had cocktails, and someone got very drunk, and we came home and Marlene taped her to the staircase with packing tape while I filmed it. It was a lot funnier than it sounds.
See you in America.
Up until a week ago (ähm, pretty much from September), I was looking forward to going home like insanely.
I find that the idea that at approximately 3 pm tomorrow I will be in the good ol' US of A COMPLETELY unimaginable. I will never live this crazy comedy-series life with my host sisters again. I will never walk past the Döner-Laden on my way home from school. I will not drink coffee in the afternoon on my porch in those little white cups with the blue rims. I will not be able to hop on the bus or train and go wherever I want to. I will not be invited to those weird parties where people play drinking games and yell at each other in Spanish. I will not be "that weird American anymore," or "that American who learned German in a year," or even generally "that American."
This is impossible to comprehend.
I don't really have a real life here. I feel like I'm practicing for something. A lot of the time I find myself thinking, "Next time I will do this and this and this differently." But then... this IS my life!! And as embarrassing or awkward as some things are -- namely, how unmusical I am in comparison to my classmates, my American accent, and the fact that people think I am naive -- I will miss this, and over the last week I've been saying to myself over and over again, "Hey, it was worth it!"
To celebrate last-days-in-Deutschland, yesterday I went with Tang and Marlene to a bar in Pforzheim and had cocktails, and someone got very drunk, and we came home and Marlene taped her to the staircase with packing tape while I filmed it. It was a lot funnier than it sounds.
See you in America.
Montag, Juli 06, 2009
at dinner, the conversation goes as follows:
Marlene: Do you know about star signs? Like, I'm a lion, Zoe is a scorpion?
Tang: Hm?
Marlene: Maybe you use like the Chinese ones? I think there's monkey, snake...
Me: No snake.
Marlene: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, there's no snake. There's a dragon, but there's no snake.
Marlene: Really?
Me: I'm sure. Tang, I'm a monkey, my brother's a rat...
Tang: OHHHHH! You mean like sheep!!
Me: Yes, there's a sheep too.
Tang: YES!!! I'm a sheep. Sheep is so sweet. Everyone comes and says "Awwwwww, you're so sweet," and they just look for something to eat. Marlene, you're 1990? You must be a horse. Ohhh, not so good. Horse isn't like sheep. Horse is a little stuck-up. Very proud. Not like sheep. Sheep just looks for something to eat, and everyone says they're SO sweet.
Me: I'm a monkey.
Tang: Oh! Oh, Monkey isn't so good. Monkey isn't like sheep. You don't ever listen, do you? Monkeys never listen. Monkey is definitely a lot worse than sheep.
Marlene (laughing): Not so the fan of monkeys, are you?
Me (laughing): Monkeys, Americans...
Tang (seriously): No, I don't like either that much.
The conversation turns to my day at school.
Me: We were talking about the viola. A girl in my class asked me if I know what a viola is. I said yes, I used to play the viola, but I stopped. She asked, why did you stop? I said, I wanted to play the saxophone. She said, Oh, you play the saxophone!! I said, well no, I stopped. And she said, Oh, I understand know. You're one of those people who always stops.
Tang: Well, that's true.
Me: Hey, not really. Well, yes. But not really. I felt like shit when she said that. That's my personality. It's the same with careers. I've wanted to be... (I list about 20 different careers, ranging from philosopher to marine biologist to baker.) But now I think I might want to be a doctor or a politician or something. Or an English teacher in Japan.
Tang: I have to warn you. Don't go to Japan unless you have a boyfriend. Japanese men are no good. If you marry one, you'll have to stay at home and clean the house and take care of the children all day while he works in an office.
Marlene: Do you want to get married someday, Zoe? Generally?
Me: Maybe. Maybe not.
Marlene: I do. I also know I want to have children, preferably when I am 26.
Tang: Hey! That's soon! We're all coming to your wedding.
Me: Whether you like it or not... ÜBERRASCHUNG!
Tang: Hm?
Marlene: Maybe you use like the Chinese ones? I think there's monkey, snake...
Me: No snake.
Marlene: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, there's no snake. There's a dragon, but there's no snake.
Marlene: Really?
Me: I'm sure. Tang, I'm a monkey, my brother's a rat...
Tang: OHHHHH! You mean like sheep!!
Me: Yes, there's a sheep too.
Tang: YES!!! I'm a sheep. Sheep is so sweet. Everyone comes and says "Awwwwww, you're so sweet," and they just look for something to eat. Marlene, you're 1990? You must be a horse. Ohhh, not so good. Horse isn't like sheep. Horse is a little stuck-up. Very proud. Not like sheep. Sheep just looks for something to eat, and everyone says they're SO sweet.
Me: I'm a monkey.
Tang: Oh! Oh, Monkey isn't so good. Monkey isn't like sheep. You don't ever listen, do you? Monkeys never listen. Monkey is definitely a lot worse than sheep.
Marlene (laughing): Not so the fan of monkeys, are you?
Me (laughing): Monkeys, Americans...
Tang (seriously): No, I don't like either that much.
The conversation turns to my day at school.
Me: We were talking about the viola. A girl in my class asked me if I know what a viola is. I said yes, I used to play the viola, but I stopped. She asked, why did you stop? I said, I wanted to play the saxophone. She said, Oh, you play the saxophone!! I said, well no, I stopped. And she said, Oh, I understand know. You're one of those people who always stops.
Tang: Well, that's true.
Me: Hey, not really. Well, yes. But not really. I felt like shit when she said that. That's my personality. It's the same with careers. I've wanted to be... (I list about 20 different careers, ranging from philosopher to marine biologist to baker.) But now I think I might want to be a doctor or a politician or something. Or an English teacher in Japan.
Tang: I have to warn you. Don't go to Japan unless you have a boyfriend. Japanese men are no good. If you marry one, you'll have to stay at home and clean the house and take care of the children all day while he works in an office.
Marlene: Do you want to get married someday, Zoe? Generally?
Me: Maybe. Maybe not.
Marlene: I do. I also know I want to have children, preferably when I am 26.
Tang: Hey! That's soon! We're all coming to your wedding.
Me: Whether you like it or not... ÜBERRASCHUNG!
last day of school EVER
Today, on my last day of German school, I gave a little presentation in English about New England and Maine. It was weird. I felt a little unprepared, especially when it came to the actual speaking. It's normal for my English to be a little awkward, but today it was just bizarre -- I felt like I literally could not form a sentence. It was also just somehow awkward to talk about home in front of my class -- I felt like they thought I was being somehow critical, when I'm really just excited to go home.
After school, my class had planned a surprise party for me, which was really, really sweet. We sat by the Nagold River and ate cake. They got me such great gifts: a class photo and these absolutely amazing, cool shoes. One of the girls in my class has the same ones, and she remembered that way, way at the beginning of the year, I told her I loved them and asked her where she'd bought them.
Shoes. They're sailing shoes -- sneakers for sailing.
After school, my class had planned a surprise party for me, which was really, really sweet. We sat by the Nagold River and ate cake. They got me such great gifts: a class photo and these absolutely amazing, cool shoes. One of the girls in my class has the same ones, and she remembered that way, way at the beginning of the year, I told her I loved them and asked her where she'd bought them.
Shoes. They're sailing shoes -- sneakers for sailing.
Sonntag, Juli 05, 2009
can you believe...
...that THIS is Tang, sitting in the back row with the glasses?
And here she is now??
CRAZY, or? She suspects that at the airport, her own family will not recognize her.
Yesterday we went to Marii's "good-bye party" in Freiberg, and then afterward we went to Ludwigsburg, my new favorite charming little town in the world. As we wandering around its charming streets, I kept remarking, "Ludwigsburg is so cute!" We spent three hours admiring the statue of Schiller, going to the mall, and sitting in a cool cafe, and then we went to a big music-and-fireworks festival by the palace. We were there for almost five hours, until one in the morning. It was really, really fun. The band playing was pretty bad, but I love outdoor concerts where everyone brings picnics and blankets and sits on a lawn. We didn't have any picnic, since we'd come directly from Freiberg, so Tang bought a Bratwurst, and since there was no vegetarian option except fries, I was extremely German and bought a Radler, a beer with lemonade.
Marlene came later to meet up with us, but since she spent almost an hour looking for a parking place, she missed the fireworks. We stayed around a while anyway and listened to music and ate Brötchen. And completely randomly, I burst into tears. I don't even know why. Tang and Marlene were talking about the Abi-Move or whatever it's called, where the recently graduated German students get drunk and ride around their cities on floats wearing bikinis, and suddenly it hit me that I will be gone in a week, and with the approaching end of school (Monday is my last day), going home is started to sound less and less appealing. I have realized that I despise school, but I love Germany, and I love my host sisters too. Tang tells me sometimes, "I don't even notice you. You're so normal. But next year, I will miss you so much." Although the first time she said this, I was kind of offended, I think I feel exactly the same about her.
Anyway, as I am crying, this conversation ensues:
Me: Crying.
Tang: What's going on? Are you crying? I don't understand!
Me (hugging Marlene): I love you so much, Marlene.
Marlene: Oh Zoe, I love you too.
Tang: I don't understand! Are you drunk?
Me: Crying.
Me: No... I had one beer... three and a half hours ago!
Marlene: Laughing.
Tang: I don't understand!!
Today we're going to Martha's good-bye party in Karlsruhe. In case anyone's wondering, my "good-bye party" is on Thursday and will consist of eating Raclette and playing 6 Nimmt with my host family.
Some funny videos are on the way. Well, maybe if you spoke German, they would be mildly funny, but for most of you they will probably just be me talking for five minutes while Tang does some spastic camerawork.
And here she is now??
CRAZY, or? She suspects that at the airport, her own family will not recognize her.
Yesterday we went to Marii's "good-bye party" in Freiberg, and then afterward we went to Ludwigsburg, my new favorite charming little town in the world. As we wandering around its charming streets, I kept remarking, "Ludwigsburg is so cute!" We spent three hours admiring the statue of Schiller, going to the mall, and sitting in a cool cafe, and then we went to a big music-and-fireworks festival by the palace. We were there for almost five hours, until one in the morning. It was really, really fun. The band playing was pretty bad, but I love outdoor concerts where everyone brings picnics and blankets and sits on a lawn. We didn't have any picnic, since we'd come directly from Freiberg, so Tang bought a Bratwurst, and since there was no vegetarian option except fries, I was extremely German and bought a Radler, a beer with lemonade.
Marlene came later to meet up with us, but since she spent almost an hour looking for a parking place, she missed the fireworks. We stayed around a while anyway and listened to music and ate Brötchen. And completely randomly, I burst into tears. I don't even know why. Tang and Marlene were talking about the Abi-Move or whatever it's called, where the recently graduated German students get drunk and ride around their cities on floats wearing bikinis, and suddenly it hit me that I will be gone in a week, and with the approaching end of school (Monday is my last day), going home is started to sound less and less appealing. I have realized that I despise school, but I love Germany, and I love my host sisters too. Tang tells me sometimes, "I don't even notice you. You're so normal. But next year, I will miss you so much." Although the first time she said this, I was kind of offended, I think I feel exactly the same about her.
Anyway, as I am crying, this conversation ensues:
Me: Crying.
Tang: What's going on? Are you crying? I don't understand!
Me (hugging Marlene): I love you so much, Marlene.
Marlene: Oh Zoe, I love you too.
Tang: I don't understand! Are you drunk?
Me: Crying.
Me: No... I had one beer... three and a half hours ago!
Marlene: Laughing.
Tang: I don't understand!!
Today we're going to Martha's good-bye party in Karlsruhe. In case anyone's wondering, my "good-bye party" is on Thursday and will consist of eating Raclette and playing 6 Nimmt with my host family.
Some funny videos are on the way. Well, maybe if you spoke German, they would be mildly funny, but for most of you they will probably just be me talking for five minutes while Tang does some spastic camerawork.
Mittwoch, Juli 01, 2009
some things to note
1. Yesterday my ethics teacher told our class that Buddhism is not a religion.
2. Today my math teacher said that he still has my test (which the rest of the class received two weeks ago) and has come to the conclusion that I haven't understood anything all year.
3. Yesterday I went over to a girl from my French class's house and studied for our French quiz. It was, surprisingly, really fun.
4. Today my class teacher loaned me a big book full of beautiful pictures of the U.S. to use in the presentation I'm giving on Monday. On the cover of the book is a photo that turned out to be of Portland Head Light. When I saw it, I got really excited and said, "I think this picture is of NEW ENGLAND! Wait, I think it might be of MAINE! It looks excactly like where I live!"
5. If you want to see videos of me in my kitchen or in the Brothers Grimm garden, click on the vimeo link I added.
6. I'm so excited to fly home in NINE DAYS!!!!!!!!
2. Today my math teacher said that he still has my test (which the rest of the class received two weeks ago) and has come to the conclusion that I haven't understood anything all year.
3. Yesterday I went over to a girl from my French class's house and studied for our French quiz. It was, surprisingly, really fun.
4. Today my class teacher loaned me a big book full of beautiful pictures of the U.S. to use in the presentation I'm giving on Monday. On the cover of the book is a photo that turned out to be of Portland Head Light. When I saw it, I got really excited and said, "I think this picture is of NEW ENGLAND! Wait, I think it might be of MAINE! It looks excactly like where I live!"
5. If you want to see videos of me in my kitchen or in the Brothers Grimm garden, click on the vimeo link I added.
6. I'm so excited to fly home in NINE DAYS!!!!!!!!
Donnerstag, Juni 18, 2009
according to my calculations
It seems that tomorrow I've officially got three weeks left in Germany. Isn't that, as they say, extreme?
I will miss Germany terribly, but mostly I am just really, really ready to be at home. It's not Germany's fault. I think in a lot of ways I wasn't ready for this year abroad. I definitely didn't take everything I could from it. I meant to, but in a lot of cases, I waited for stuff to come to me instead of reaching out and grabbing it. Tang tells me, "Your problem is you always look up. Sometimes you need to look down, too." By this, she doesn't mean that I'm overly optimistic -- she means that I always want to be better. I look at the people who are better than me instead of realizing how much I have or have accomplished.
So this explains why I've got such weird mixed feelings about going home. A lot of people, including Martha and my host sister Marlene, say that they feel/felt conflicted about leaving behind lives they'd worked so hard to create in their host countries. But I feel like I didn't have time to create my new life -- like maybe that would take two or three years instead of one. I like it here, and I love my host family, and the other exchange students are wonderful, but I still have this overwhelming feeling that this is not me. I'm just a temporary person. I don't know if this is because I didn't try hard enough, or coincidence, or because of how closed-off I can be with people sometimes, or what. I just know I am leaving with a little regret.
But it's not that I am regretting everything, or that I'm miserable, or anything of that sort. I am happy! I feel like I tried something new and I got out of it what I could. Sometimes I start going over in my head everything that's happened in this last year and it's incredibly overwhelming. I want to grab my journal and write everything down exactly the way it happened so I will never forget. Only then, I realize that I'd never have enough time, and I feel that limited feeling that I get all the time at home when I attempt elaborate art or film projects -- the things I can do feel so finite!
Other pieces of news:
1. Right now my German and Thai host sisters are deciphering my practice worksheet for my math test.
2. In Music we are studying something called "tonality" and "Kadenz". It's something with chords, under them are Roman numerals I II IV V VI V V VI VII, and the chords change to other chords, represented by m and another letter. In other words, something that my five years of piano lessons as a child did not cover. More proof that I, a self-taught ukeist, should not be on the track with all the musical prodigies. As my music teacher (who kind of resembles Daniel Johnston and is nice, but also one of those rock-music-isn't-actually-real-music folks) wrote this on the board, he declared, "This is easy! Even a monkey could do it!" A monkey, perhaps, but not the American exchange student.
3. Today I officially gave up my career in jogging. For a while, I was really enjoying it, jogging three times a week, and feeling better about all the crap I eat. But I really think it is just not for me. I've gotten way way worse all of a sudden, and it's frustrating, and I think I out to stick to physical actvities that I enjoy instead of ones I have to force myself to do.
4. To replace my career in jogging, I think next year I am going to learn to swim and learn to ride a bike. This has been my goal for roughly as long as I can remember. I have been learning to ride a bike for approximately three years, but somehow I just can't get the hang of it. As for swimming, that's just really necessary -- I want to learn to sail, but before I can do that, I need to get over my fear of water, and learn to swim.
5. I don't have any idea what I'm doing.
I will miss Germany terribly, but mostly I am just really, really ready to be at home. It's not Germany's fault. I think in a lot of ways I wasn't ready for this year abroad. I definitely didn't take everything I could from it. I meant to, but in a lot of cases, I waited for stuff to come to me instead of reaching out and grabbing it. Tang tells me, "Your problem is you always look up. Sometimes you need to look down, too." By this, she doesn't mean that I'm overly optimistic -- she means that I always want to be better. I look at the people who are better than me instead of realizing how much I have or have accomplished.
So this explains why I've got such weird mixed feelings about going home. A lot of people, including Martha and my host sister Marlene, say that they feel/felt conflicted about leaving behind lives they'd worked so hard to create in their host countries. But I feel like I didn't have time to create my new life -- like maybe that would take two or three years instead of one. I like it here, and I love my host family, and the other exchange students are wonderful, but I still have this overwhelming feeling that this is not me. I'm just a temporary person. I don't know if this is because I didn't try hard enough, or coincidence, or because of how closed-off I can be with people sometimes, or what. I just know I am leaving with a little regret.
But it's not that I am regretting everything, or that I'm miserable, or anything of that sort. I am happy! I feel like I tried something new and I got out of it what I could. Sometimes I start going over in my head everything that's happened in this last year and it's incredibly overwhelming. I want to grab my journal and write everything down exactly the way it happened so I will never forget. Only then, I realize that I'd never have enough time, and I feel that limited feeling that I get all the time at home when I attempt elaborate art or film projects -- the things I can do feel so finite!
Other pieces of news:
1. Right now my German and Thai host sisters are deciphering my practice worksheet for my math test.
2. In Music we are studying something called "tonality" and "Kadenz". It's something with chords, under them are Roman numerals I II IV V VI V V VI VII, and the chords change to other chords, represented by m and another letter. In other words, something that my five years of piano lessons as a child did not cover. More proof that I, a self-taught ukeist, should not be on the track with all the musical prodigies. As my music teacher (who kind of resembles Daniel Johnston and is nice, but also one of those rock-music-isn't-actually-real-music folks) wrote this on the board, he declared, "This is easy! Even a monkey could do it!" A monkey, perhaps, but not the American exchange student.
3. Today I officially gave up my career in jogging. For a while, I was really enjoying it, jogging three times a week, and feeling better about all the crap I eat. But I really think it is just not for me. I've gotten way way worse all of a sudden, and it's frustrating, and I think I out to stick to physical actvities that I enjoy instead of ones I have to force myself to do.
4. To replace my career in jogging, I think next year I am going to learn to swim and learn to ride a bike. This has been my goal for roughly as long as I can remember. I have been learning to ride a bike for approximately three years, but somehow I just can't get the hang of it. As for swimming, that's just really necessary -- I want to learn to sail, but before I can do that, I need to get over my fear of water, and learn to swim.
5. I don't have any idea what I'm doing.
Sonntag, Juni 14, 2009
summary of the last few weeks
Well, first of all, check out today's how-to. I especially enjoy the line: "When a flag is no longer in good condition (e.g. if it is torn, ripped or badly soiled) it should not be raised or displayed. It should be disposed of in a dignified way (such as a private burning.)"
I picked a dumb day to forget my camera. Today I was very sad to be unable to take any photos in Pforzheim's wonderful DDR museum. It completely exceeded my expectations! It turns out that there really ARE worthwhile things to do in Pforzheim. This museum is really, really worth a trip. It's only open from 11:00-3:00 Sundays, but it's got a great collection of photos, newspapers, posters, books, food, money, etc. from the DDR. The tour guide was really nice, gave me a bunch of free booklets, and talked to me for a long time about how the Luftbrücke and the support of America after WWII and how it was "really not anything like Iraq; they helped us out." Which is something that I hear really often from older people here. When she was a young woman, her parents immigrated to West Germany, and she was not allowed to visit them. She wrote letters to her parents telling them that she would go over (to visit) as soon as she could. The Stasi read them and arrested her, and she was imprisoned for 6 months in a tiny room with "other political prisoners and murderers." I guess the murderers were very spiteful towards her because they had life sentences and they knew the political prisoners would be leaving pretty soon.
A lot has happened in the last few weeks. The last week of May, I was in Hamburg for a few days, and then in Berlin:
Hamburg:
We were there visiting an old friend of Ulrike's, who has three children. Svea, in the picture below, is Marlene's age and is studying fashion design in Hamburg next year:
Indian food! (A special gift for me.) I impressed people by eating a lot of spicy red sauce that was really not all that spicy.
Cocktails. Mine is a White Russian!
Berlin:
Berlin ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY exceeded my expectations. I LOVED it. It's by far my favorite city I've visited since getting here and perhaps my favorite city in the world. in contrast to Bonn, the AFS folks were extrememly flexible. We had TONS of free time and were allowed to wander the subway system by ourselves. Unfortunately I failed to take any particularly good pictures:
They've got Muji in Berlin too!
Rebecca looks concerned because we went to an international market with five people and we kept losing them:
We ended up getting caught in the rain a lot; it was really fabulous. Me with some nice girls:
The first week of June, Tang moved in with us. She was having problems with her host family in Karlsruhe, and she stays with us every weekend anyway, so my host parents said it was okay! So now we are five kids. It's been a LOT of fun; she goes to my school with me (although she's not in my class) and it's never, ever boring here. I think every weekend before I go home, I've got something planned. Last week of school, we wrote our first "Zentralische Klassenarbeit", (which are big tests we have to take at the end of 10th grade in Germany, and for the Realschüler are final exams), in German. I was pretty pleased; I probably won't be getting a passing grade, but it was an essay in German. Next week we've got them in English and Math. I probably won't even pass in English, and I'll probably accomplish two or three problems in Math -- in 2 1/2 hours. Failure. But I'm trying (like I have been for this entire year) just to forget about all of it.
I picked a dumb day to forget my camera. Today I was very sad to be unable to take any photos in Pforzheim's wonderful DDR museum. It completely exceeded my expectations! It turns out that there really ARE worthwhile things to do in Pforzheim. This museum is really, really worth a trip. It's only open from 11:00-3:00 Sundays, but it's got a great collection of photos, newspapers, posters, books, food, money, etc. from the DDR. The tour guide was really nice, gave me a bunch of free booklets, and talked to me for a long time about how the Luftbrücke and the support of America after WWII and how it was "really not anything like Iraq; they helped us out." Which is something that I hear really often from older people here. When she was a young woman, her parents immigrated to West Germany, and she was not allowed to visit them. She wrote letters to her parents telling them that she would go over (to visit) as soon as she could. The Stasi read them and arrested her, and she was imprisoned for 6 months in a tiny room with "other political prisoners and murderers." I guess the murderers were very spiteful towards her because they had life sentences and they knew the political prisoners would be leaving pretty soon.
A lot has happened in the last few weeks. The last week of May, I was in Hamburg for a few days, and then in Berlin:
Hamburg:
We were there visiting an old friend of Ulrike's, who has three children. Svea, in the picture below, is Marlene's age and is studying fashion design in Hamburg next year:
Indian food! (A special gift for me.) I impressed people by eating a lot of spicy red sauce that was really not all that spicy.
Cocktails. Mine is a White Russian!
Berlin:
Berlin ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY exceeded my expectations. I LOVED it. It's by far my favorite city I've visited since getting here and perhaps my favorite city in the world. in contrast to Bonn, the AFS folks were extrememly flexible. We had TONS of free time and were allowed to wander the subway system by ourselves. Unfortunately I failed to take any particularly good pictures:
They've got Muji in Berlin too!
Rebecca looks concerned because we went to an international market with five people and we kept losing them:
We ended up getting caught in the rain a lot; it was really fabulous. Me with some nice girls:
The first week of June, Tang moved in with us. She was having problems with her host family in Karlsruhe, and she stays with us every weekend anyway, so my host parents said it was okay! So now we are five kids. It's been a LOT of fun; she goes to my school with me (although she's not in my class) and it's never, ever boring here. I think every weekend before I go home, I've got something planned. Last week of school, we wrote our first "Zentralische Klassenarbeit", (which are big tests we have to take at the end of 10th grade in Germany, and for the Realschüler are final exams), in German. I was pretty pleased; I probably won't be getting a passing grade, but it was an essay in German. Next week we've got them in English and Math. I probably won't even pass in English, and I'll probably accomplish two or three problems in Math -- in 2 1/2 hours. Failure. But I'm trying (like I have been for this entire year) just to forget about all of it.
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