Guess What? I Survived My First Week of School!

I had some very memorable moments and got lost a time or two, but I lived to write about it---so I will!

 Three first days of school, three years, and three different countries. You'd think I'd be getting the hang of it by now....but no, monday morning I was just as nervous and rushed as ever :-)

 First, let me give you an idea of just how sweet my host family is-- I came downstairs for breakfast Monday morning to find a "first day of school gift" waiting on my plate along with a package of my favorite nuts for good measure. The children took pictures--Christian with a real camera, Sami with his imaginary one and a variety of sound effects--and in a blur the morning was gone and we were pulling up to Karl von Frisch Gymnasiun where after a few good luck wishes and a reassuring hug, I began my great adventure--school!!

 The first thing that struck me was the difference in the parking lots. In the U.S. high school parking lots are full of old cars and beat up pick up trucks. In Germany...

BIKES!

And yes, I am one of the many that rides a bike to school. For me it's only about two miles each way...I have some friends who are a little more hardcore :-) But don't worry, German DO have cars too--but the driving age is 18 so most high school students are stuck with a good old bike! ;-)

Then school started! I must say, having been warned about the "unfriendly nature" of Germans by nearly every German exchange student I've known, I was pleasantly surprised to be so warmly accepted by the girls in my class. Like a little first grader, they took me to my classes, ask if I understood everything, and even helped me with my homework. Without them, I feel quite sure my first week would have been a train wreck! As it was, I sat through the wrong Chemistry class on Wednesday! :-)

At the moment my schedule looks like this:



Monday:                                     Tuesday:                                Wednesday:

1. Free period (sleep in)     History (starts-8:00am)    Chemistry (starts-8:00am)
2. Math (starts-9:50am)      Religion                               German
3. Art (ends-1:20pm)          Not sure exactly..politics?   English (Ends-1:20pm)
4. Lunch at home                Lunch                                  Lunch at home
5. Free                               Geography (ends-3:45pm)
6. Sport (swim) (starts-3:45pm)
7. Astronomy (ends-7:00pm)      

Thursday                                              Friday

                                                         

    Geography (starts at 8:00am)              English (starts at 8:00am)

    Math                                                    German

    Chemistry (ends at 1:20pm)                 Physics (ends at 1:20pm)

     Lunch at home                                      Lunch at home

And so far so good!! Well, other than the fact that I don't understand the majority of what I'm being taught... :-) Let me tell you a little story as an example. Friday in German class, the teacher lectured for a while, asking the students questions and compiling some sort of list on the chalk board. After about an hour, several words on the chalkboard closely resembled their English translations and I came to the conclusion that they were brainstorming different styles of writing (essays, poems, novels, etc). Then we were handed a page of text to read and apparently analyze as my friends began underling passages. Not wanting to feel left out, I pulled out my red pen and underlined every word of the text that I didn't know. Once I was finished, I used my green pen to underline whatever it was we were actually supposed to be underlining. And the result:

I know it's hard to see....but I think my point comes across just fine. A LOT of red! :-D

However, in English class, not only do I understand the current topic of discussion, I am very interested in it and enjoying the dicussions. The topic? 9/11, how the U.S. delt with it, and how it influenced international politics. All I can say is that I'm glad the class is in English because as a politic junkie (not to mention American) it would kill me to sit there and not be able to participate...or understand. But it is very interesting to see the issues from a German perspective and I'm anxious to see how the coming week unfolds as the discussion shifts from 9/11 itself, to how America's government dealt with it.

I'm sure I'll have many more posts full of exciting, embarrassing, hilarious, and downright frustrating moments at school, but as always, I'll try to avoid a novel and leave you with this for now. :-)