Not the huge exciting things that could easily fill up an entire blog post and not the things that I think to share when I'm skyping with home. The little moments are the things that too often go unnoticed and occasionally are forgotten until I flip through the recent pages of my journal, but these are undoubtedly the things I will remember with a smile on my face in the years to come and these are just a few of the things making my year in Germany so incredible.
1. After informing my teachers that, despite the language barrier, I wanted to fully participate in the class--and therefore also take the tests--I sat at my desk in my Religion class staring blankly at the text I was supposed to analyze. I did my best to write out, in broken German, the points from the text that I understood and five minutes later, turned in my paragraph--embarrassed and disappointed.
A week later, we got our tests back and written in red on the front of mine, was the following note:
"You obviously understood the text's most important thesis and I appreciate this very much. Don't forget that this is a highly philosophical essay and consider what enormous progress you have already made. It's very nice to have you in this class, Julianne, and I hope you enjoy it too. If you need any help in school matters or beyond, I'll be glad to be there"
She made my day and maybe even my week!
3. Recently, my friend Eva and I went shopping in a nearby city. After we'd finished our "hardcore" shopping, we decided to poke around in a little jewellery store. After commenting on a pair or earrings here and a necklace there, we found the rack of headbands. Oh. My. Goodness. Never in my life have I seen people try to sell such hideous attire! I"m still certain a number of them belong to one of Cinderella's step sisters. They were in fact so crazy, that we just had to take pictures and Eva even bought one! I told her that now we just need to find a peacock costume and she'll be set!
These stories go on and on...and on :-) But to keep from boring you, I'll stop with three and share a few more next week.
1. After informing my teachers that, despite the language barrier, I wanted to fully participate in the class--and therefore also take the tests--I sat at my desk in my Religion class staring blankly at the text I was supposed to analyze. I did my best to write out, in broken German, the points from the text that I understood and five minutes later, turned in my paragraph--embarrassed and disappointed.
A week later, we got our tests back and written in red on the front of mine, was the following note:
"You obviously understood the text's most important thesis and I appreciate this very much. Don't forget that this is a highly philosophical essay and consider what enormous progress you have already made. It's very nice to have you in this class, Julianne, and I hope you enjoy it too. If you need any help in school matters or beyond, I'll be glad to be there"
She made my day and maybe even my week!
2. Last Saturday I was serving coffee at a wedding and before long I'm pretty sure everyone in the building knew I was American. A younger lady came up to me and asked for her coffee--in English. I replied in German and when she asked for creamer (in English) I replied (in German) that we didn't have any left but I could check in the kitchen. I returned with the last creamer and my uncle began a conversation with me as I handed it to her. At that moment something clicked and with wide eyes, she said (finally in German), "you can speak German?"
3. Recently, my friend Eva and I went shopping in a nearby city. After we'd finished our "hardcore" shopping, we decided to poke around in a little jewellery store. After commenting on a pair or earrings here and a necklace there, we found the rack of headbands. Oh. My. Goodness. Never in my life have I seen people try to sell such hideous attire! I"m still certain a number of them belong to one of Cinderella's step sisters. They were in fact so crazy, that we just had to take pictures and Eva even bought one! I told her that now we just need to find a peacock costume and she'll be set!These stories go on and on...and on :-) But to keep from boring you, I'll stop with three and share a few more next week.
You're not boring us! I love every single thing you post. I know--I'm your mom, but even if I weren't, I would still enjoy reading your blog. You are an amazing writer and an awesome daughter! I love you!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh...these are not boring at all. And...Papa reads them before I do. He loves them, and we laugh together on so many of your adventures. As I've said before, you are quite the writer.
ReplyDeleteWe love you.
Grammy and Papa