This has been another week of festivities, this time with a Canadian twist. Halloween was mostly uneventful (except for the very fun Sunday afternoon that I spent with the local Roteract club helping kids carve pumpkins) because the main celebration of the season was yet to come. St. Martins, a Christian holiday, is celebrated in Germany by an evening re-enactment of the story of St. Martin and the Beggar, followed by a parade where children sing St. Martins day songs and carry lanterns. After the parade, they receive Backmänner (sweet loaves of bread in the shape of people) and go door-to-door singing St. Martin's day songs (rewarded, of course, by candy - much like Halloween). This Friday was the St. Martins parade in Heiligenhaus. I was not able to watch and therefore have no pictures of the parade because.... I participated! On Tuesday, we had had a day-long band practice because All Souls Day was a holiday, and during the break, one of my friends told me about St. Martins day. Seeing that I was interested in the tradition, she asked me if I would like to join her playing with the local music school in the parade! Of course, I said yes. It was a lot of fun, and very interesting. What a neat opportunity!
Yesterday, in the aftermath of the parade and a very full week, I had a little time to relax and prepare for today - when I brought a little North American flavour to our household. Of all the traditions to share with my host family, I thought it was only fitting to choose Thanksgiving. I had invited another family of five to come at 13:00 today, and (having already made the crust for the pumpkin pie on Saturday and with a little help from the others) managed to assemble the feast in time. It smelled just like Canada - which I caught myself thinking fondly of as "the old country" ;). The turkey was upside-down and I forgot to make gravy, but other then that things went smoothly. (Ironically, cranberry sauce had been easy to locate when shopping, whereas celery (for the stuffing) was a real challenge to find!) After stuffing ourselves in proper Thanksgiving style, we played a card game together. It was a lovely celebration, and I'm so grateful to my host family for allowing me to share a real Canadian tradition (and Mom's fabulous recipes) with them. Next adventure, coming soon... Mit besten Grüßen, Sylvia
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Wow. What an adventure. I can't believe how much we managed to cram into two weeks, and yet I was still ready for more when it came to an end on Friday. Of course, we were all a little exhausted by the end - so perhaps it was the perfect time to wrap up our trip and head back to "reality" (or as close as it gets when you're an exchange student :) ).
The basic program was as follows: after meeting near my town, we boarded the bus (our new home-away-from-home) and headed south into Bavaria (even once crossing into Austria, although only for about 15 minutes), made our way across the country, followed the border up to Berlin, popped up to the port city of Hamburg to sample some cold northern weather, and looped back to our original start point. We stayed in a total of 9 cities (Heidelberg, Freiburg, Füssen, Oberammergau, München (Munich), Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Dresden, Berlin, and Hamburg), but also had day trips to other interesting places. Here were some of the highlights:
And some other things (not highlights per se, but learning opportunities and importent to the trip):
And now I'm back! I am extremely grateful to the Rotex team for doing such a fantastic job organizing and running the tour - without them, the trip would not have been possible. Until next time! Liebe Grüße, Sylvia My birthday weekend was wonderful and busy, and absolutely perfect. It will be hard to sum up succinctly, but I'll give it a shot!
On Saturday, I cleaned the house like a maniac before guests arrived - including scouring my room (for, admittedly, the first time). In mid-morning, Bryan - a friend from Rotary/language classes - arrived via train and we headed off to the market to buy various sundry items for my birthday meal. It was a splendidly warm and sunny day, so shopping was followed by a tour of Heiligenhaus (like a tour of Summerland, this consists of 15 minutes in the town and several hours spent walking through the woods, farmers' fields, etc.). After church that evening, we headed to an Octoberfest celebration in my school's theatre to sample Bavarian food and listen to Bavarian folk music (and also songs like "Sweet Caroline"!) played by a fantastic band straight from the south. There were probably 80 or so people there, and the atmosphere was boisterous and fun. The next day when I woke up and went downstairs, my lovely host family had decorated the living room and laid gifts out for me - sooo sweet and thoughtful :) After Justus helped me unwrap my presents, we had a leisurely breakfast and time to relax before the guests (8 school friends) arrived. The birthday party activities consisted of: games (Spoons and Werewolf), an eleven-person quiche assembly line (just a little bit of chaos), gift opening (and eating - one of my presents was a cookie monster cake!), and marzipan sculpting. But the fun wasn't over when the guests departed! Once everyone had left, my family and I topped off the perfect day by playing a bit of Just Dance, going for a long stroll (as it was another gorgeous day), and trying a new card game I had received for my birthday. I am so grateful and blessed to be here, and I truly felt it that day. This last weekend was also great fun. Because Monday was a national holiday (German Reunification day), we took the opportunity to hit the road and go visit friends in a little village called Heidenau, four hours north of Heiligenhaus. As if meeting new people and visiting old friends wasn't enough fun, we also went to a nearby amusement park for a whole day - I spent the first half of the time with Justus enjoying his tremendous enthusiasm, then took the opportunity after lunch to sample some "big-kid" rides. On the drive back to Heidenau, I could still feel my stomach dropping and lurching from some of the big coasters... In less then three days, I will be heading off on my next big adventure - the Germany Tour. This is an action-packed two weeks, and I will take notes and pictures as often as I can to share when I return. Until then, take care. Cheers, Sylvia The last two weekends have been awesome. I have split them up below to give you the highlights and minimize (key word) confusion.
Sept. 10-11: This was the weekend of the Rotary Orientation Weekend for the summer inbounds - a chance to get to know each other and deprive ourselves of a little sleep. It was held in the cute little town of Mettman, approximately 20 minutes from Heiligenhaus. Over the course of the one and a half days, I collected lots of pins, learned (and promptly forgot) dozens of names/nationalities, and danced until the wee hours of Sunday morning. Because Saturday was extremely hot, after individual interviews and German tests, the whole group of us (40-ish people?) trekked to the swimming "pool" - a bizarre yet beautiful synthetic beach surrounded by trees and a well-manicured grassy park. We then had a BBQ and headed back to get ready for the evening. As we all "slept" on the floor of a Gymnasium (once the dance was over... which it never really was...), our host parents had the joy of picking up some pretty tired kids on Sunday. However, my weekend wasn't over yet - I had been invited to a birthday party that evening near Düsseldorf, so after a quick nap I got ready (at super-sloth speed) and headed off on the train. I had an interesting time figuring out the train system (fun fact: a train line goes both ways, so even if you are on the train with the right number, you may in fact be heading in the opposite direction you intend to), but I got there eventually and met some really lovely and interesting people. As you can imagine, going to school on Monday was fun. Zzzz...... Sept. 17-18: I had thought that we were not going to be doing much this weekend - the weather has cooled off and homework is piling up for all of us, so there's not a lot of enthusiasm for sight-seeing right now. Once again, I was wrong. On Friday night, Manfred broached the subject; we needed some cheese, so how did I feel about taking a trip Saturday to the market - in Holland? Hmm, let me think about that. YES!!! It was about a forty minute drive to the border - I think. There was no sign that we had crossed into another country, just a continuous stretch of highway. After an hour in total, we were in town - and it was most certainly a Dutch town. Beautiful! I had forgotten just how different Holland was from Germany, and I revelled in seeing all the trademarks - well-dressed business people (and everyone else) riding around on bicycles, tall thin buildings, an intricate clock tower, and kibbling stands. After a very nostalgic stroll around the market (complete with a generous helping of cheese samples), I headed back with everyone to the car and we drove back to Germany. It was a perfect way to celebrate my month-iversary here in Europe! This upcoming weekend is going to be another big party - I am going to the Oktoberfest celebration in the high school on Saturday, then having a bunch of friends over for my 18th birthday celebration on Sunday! I promise to post some pictures. Viele Grüße, Sylvia A collection of minor mess-ups and mal-entendres compiled especially for your entertainment.
1. Confession - The first few days here, I felt a great sense of camaraderie with the family pets because they were introduced to me as Kaninchens (pronounced Kan-ain-schen) - which I understood as meaning that they came from "Kanada". It wasn't until I decided to look up the word "rabbit" in the dictionary ("Oh wait: K-A-N-.... Ah.") that I had the crushing realization that Stella and Sam were just rabbits, and probably not part beaver. So I am alone here after all... 2. The other day, I asked Signe if we had any more of a certain type of cracker. After asking me to repeat myself, her expression grew even more uncomprehending as I continued to explain - "You know, the ones I eat for breakfast... With cheese or jam...." Finally, I went to the cupboard and grabbed a box of similar crackers. When I brought them to her, her face cleared and she started laughing. "Oh, Cracker!" she said. "Nicht Krake!" Which is how I found out how to say "octopus". My epiphany about the Kraken's name came only a few hours later. 3. This weekend, my host family and I went out to a restaurant for the first time, and I had the pleasure of experiencing German-Chinese-Japanese-Mongolian fusion. I didn't find the Chinese/Japanese buffet too different from in Canada, although the deep-fried pineapple, banana, and pieces of sushi were certainly novel. However, it was my first time eating Mongolian cuisine, so I made sure to load up my plate with some of everything from that section of the buffet. Curiously, all the meat and fish (including shrimp and whole squid) appeared to be raw, and came without sauce. Perhaps a different form of sushi? I was halfway through my meal, and bracing myself for another squid (they were fine, but rubbery and pretty much tasteless) when Signe looked across the table and said something to the effect of "You know you have to fry those, right?" Oh. I looked down at my plate - only a little of the (raw) beef was left, and none of the (raw) seafood except the lonely little squid-let on my fork. I guess I had missed the sign on the buffet table instructing customers to take their plates to the counter several steps away (really, who would go to that work?) and request that their (raw) meat be fried up. Well, luckily I'm not sick yet. Please stop laughing so hard, Mom. 4. When in Germany, please don't introduce a classmate (in my case, all 3 years younger) or host sibling of the opposite gender as your friend. He/she is a friend - unless you are dating him/her, which would be extremely creepy. I will not make the same mistake again. On Saturday, Manfred, the kids, and I woke up early and headed North to visit his mother and attend the harvest festival parade in her village of Oldendorf (near Bremen). The countryside there was beautiful, and I so enjoyed looking at all the houses - brick, some with thatched roofs or with a barn and stables attached. Along the street where the parade was scheduled to run, there were seasonal decorations - colourful flags and straw wreaths garlanded with ribbons and flowers, like mini may-poles. Because the drive was more than three hours long we arrived in time for a lovely lunch, which included my first German Schnitzel. We visited a while with Manfred's mother, aka Oma, and I got a tour of the house, attached barn, and garden. After this, we all loaded into the car and went together to Bremerhaven to stroll along the waterside (the mouth of the Weser river opening into the NordSee) and stop for ice-cream at an Eiscafe. Emils had spaghetti ice cream (vanilla ice cream shaped like spaghetti noodles with strawberry sauce and white chocolate shavings), and the portion was very generous. I was not so adventurous, but my lemon frozen yogurt was delicious nonetheless. Upon returning to Oldendorf, we had only a little longer to wait until the parade began. We were lucky - crossing the street to stand in front of the hen-house (also belonging to Oma), we had not only a prime viewing spot but also a large area to collect candy thrown by the people in the floats (a business taken very seriously by Emils, Marta, and most of all Justus). Heading the parade was a tiny fire truck, followed by the floats, mostly pulled by tractors. Representing many different groups and themes (there was an 80's float, a Mario float, a Hawaiian float, etc.), they were very impressively done - beautifully painted or painstakingly decorated with a mosaic-like carpet of fresh flowers. I was blown away by the time and craftsmanship involved. Their riders, dressed in themed costumes and often dancing and singing to the music, were very generous with the amount of candy they threw. In the aftermath of the parade, we collected our enormous stash, then sorted it all and divided it evenly between us before eating supper and making our way back to Heiligenhaus.
My first day of school was lovely. Emma contacted her friends and made sure that I had a welcoming committee (friends - the best kind of hand-me-down :) ), so I met many new people and always had a buddy to show me to the next class. I am lucky it is a very small school, because I am finding the block rotation a little difficult to get the hang of. In class, I don't understand a lot of what the teachers say (except in Spanish and hopefully French) but they are very understanding and I will write the notes from the board and translate later. Hopefully I will start my German Course (outside school) soon so I will be better able to follow along! With regards to food (always pivotal) there is a cafeteria where I can buy lunch the days I don't have time to go home. My schedule is as follows:
Montag Dienstag Mittwoch Donnerstag Freitag 7:55-8:40 Philosophy German French 8:45-9:30 Philosophy German Art 9:50-10:35 French History Physics 10:40-11:25 French History Physics Gym 11:45-12:30 Geography Philosophy German 12:35-13:20 Art Geography Spanish History Spanish 13:40-14:25 Art Gym Spanish Math Spanish 14:30-15:15 Physics Gym Geography Math Math I will spend the next few weeks settling in and searching for extracurriculars. If I have too much time on my hands, I might pick up a few more courses here and there - 45 minute blocks are very manageable! 'Till later, Sylvia My first blog post (so sorry for the delay). How exciting! Not as exciting as being here ‘though…
Since arriving in Heiligenhaus last Wednesday, I have basically been spending my time recovering from jet lag and hanging out with my host family: Justus (4 yrs. old), Emils (10 yrs. old), Marta (13 yrs. old), and Signe and Manfred (parents, and therefore ageless). Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful - I feel right at home. The fun and games have included water gun fights, a walking tour of Heiligenhaus and the park near our house (thank you Emils), crafts (Marta has been showing me how to make friendship bracelets), MarioKart (at which I am utterly abysmal) bouncing on the trampoline, board games, grocery shopping (always a hit with me), and Saturday night’s Straßfest (annual street/block party (a great idea - the neighbours can’t complain about the noise because they’re all there! (and all very lovely, too)) ). Justus has really taken me under his wing, and has been teaching me lots, although I am sure that my slowness must try his patience. The food is delicious, and I am enjoying having a hot meal in the middle of the day instead of at supper! Alles gut, and all in German - I am thinking in German (except right right now), playing in German, dreaming in German, meeting people and chatting in German, and reading and writing in German (admittedly this has only consisted so far of writing three journal entries and reading them over, but still…). I am amazed both by how little I know and by how much I am picking up - full immersion is truly humbling but helpful. Yesterday I went with Signe and Manfred to school to choose my courses (I will upload a school schedule when all is finalized). After that, I went to my first Velbert/Heiligenhaus Rotary Club meeting - a lunch meeting, but from 1:00-2:30 because lunch is so large. I was very warmly welcomed and got to meet the district Governor, who was a very engaging speaker. Beyond that, I also met my YEO and other Rotarians as well as the other inbound hosted by my club (in Velbert, the neighbouring town), Alejandro from Mexico. He seems to have a little culture shock, which is very understandable. Mexico to Germany must be quite a change! He does not speak German yet but his English was very good, so we were able to communicate. I have just a few more days (oh wait, one more day) before my big test; I will start school in earnest on Wednesday. Wish me luck! Cheers, Sylvia PS - Justus just asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was writing a story about my German adventure for my parents and friends. He replied: "Ah, sehr schön!" |