5,187 Miles from Home

    

I'm back! I hoped you liked my last post (I don't really know what happened, but it should work now. This post follows me right after boarding my flight, and through my fantastic first week of Language Camp. There aren't any pictures in this post, because it would take days to upload all my pictures on this WiFi. I'll re-post this later with all the pictures (when I'm with my host family). Right now I've been in Germany for 3 weeks, and I'm so sorry I wasn't able to post this sooner (bad WiFi and I've been really busy). Anyways, a lot has happened, and I'm going to try to cram it all into this post, so grab some popcorn and get comfortable!

   Let's begin on Monday afternoon, August 8, as I quickly finish my last meal in the US (a mere muffin and bagel), put my laptop away, use the restroom, and get in line to board my flight. I had gotten a middle seat (very middle, the farthest from the windows), which I wasn't thrilled about, but I wasn't complaining. We waited on the runway for about 40 minutes, which I spent thinking about how crazy the situation was. I had wanted to travel somewhere new and different ever since I was a kid, and I had wanted to go to Germany for about a year and a half. And now here I was, on the runway about to start a huge adventure. And all of a sudden it was 6:30 and the engines were spooling up, the plane was taking off, and my last few seconds on American soil were gone. I was so excited for this journey, and I couldn't wait to land in Germany (although I also love planes, so I was excited for the long flight as well). The flight was going to be about 8 hours, so after I became bored of trying to see out of the distant windows, I put on my headphones and turned on the TV. We were served two meals on the plane (they weren't that bad, I don't know what all the fuss is about), and in between I went through two and a half movies, several episodes of TV, and several attempts at sleep (all unsuccessful). Towards the end of the flight I turned off the television so I could enjoy the landing. As our plane circled over the airport and slowly descended, I peered out the distant window to see Germany below us. When we touched down in Frankfurt, all the CBYX kids applauded (not because the landing was bad, but because we had finally made it to Germany).

   We arrived in Frankfurt at 7:30 AM, Tuesday morning. Here I was, finally in Germany, a whopping 5,187 miles from the home, family, and friends that I know. We got off the plane, and took our first few steps on German soil. We lost about 6 hours, and because we took off at around 6:00 (DC Time), the time zone switch essentially just cut "night" in half. We got on a bus that was parked near our plane, and it drove us to the terminal. From there we picked up our luggage at the baggage claim, and followed our temporary guide. She took us to a spot where we met with some Thai exchange students that would be staying with us at language camp. We waited there for about 30 minutes, until our busses arrived. When we went outside it still took another 20 minutes for the busses to come, so we took a group photo. We boarded the busses, and started our long trip to language camp. Although my body wanted nothing else but sleep on the ride, I was to excited to even close my eyes. The German countryside that surrounded us on both sides was absolutely beautiful, and I was completely captivated by it the whole way there. We made one stop on our way there, and not too long afterwards we arrived. We unboarded, an took our first look at the beautiful kloster we would be staying at (if I hadn't said so already, I'm spending language camp in a 12th Century Monastery).

                           

   We weren't standing around for long though, before we unloaded our luggage and headed in. We placed all of our large, clumsy suitcases in a "luggage room," and brought our carry on bags and personal items up to our rooms. I really liked my room, because it has a really beautiful view of some of the small town we were staying in. Also, my roommates are super cool, and I'm really glad I get to room with them. After getting settled in our rooms, we explored the city and the kloster, had a few meetings, ate a delicious lunch and an even more delicious dinner (pork schnitzel, with some delicious side dishes). We were told about the coming weeks, put in our classes (I was put in the intermediate class), and given a chance to visit the German supermarket in town. I bought a few German snacks that they don't have in the US, and then continued exploring the city with my class. I was very tired  (I hadn't gotten a real rest in the past 30 hours), so I fell right asleep.

                 

   The next day was our first day of German lessons at language camp. We had breakfast at 8:00, and started classes at 9:00. The first session of classes ended at 12:00, and we had lunch immediately afterwards. After lunch, we had to do homework until 2:00, when we were allowed to leave, as long as our homework was done. I explored the town with some friends during this house, which was really fun. We had to be back at 3:00, when Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) begins. This is a sort of snack time, when they offer coffee and some small cakes (not like American cakes though; these aren't as sweet and aren't iced). Classes end once again at 6:00, when dinner begins. At 7:00 we all watch the news for about 20 minutes, in German of course. From then, we have free time until curfew, at 10:00 sharp. This is just a short overview of our classes and meals; I'll give a more detailed look in a later post.

   The next day, Thursday, we took a trip to Magdeburg. Magdeburg is the captial of the German state Saxony-Anhalt, and was about a 40 minute drive away. Upon arrival, we were given a tour of the Magdeburg Parliamentary Building, where many of the state's laws are made. One of our guides was actually a member of one of the parties, and participates in the passing of laws. The tour was given in German, and because even the most proficient German speakers weren't perfect, one of our teachers acted as a translator. We saw the main house where all the parties meet to vote on laws, the offices of each party, several historical items, and the office o our tour guide. The tour was very interesting, and it gave us a lot of historical and current knowledge of Saxony-Anhalt.

   After the tour, we were given an hour of free time, with which we could explore the city. My group of five stopped at the nearby  Magdeburg Cathedral, which is very well known in Saxony-Anhalt, and is the oldest Gothic cathedral in the country (construction started in 1209). I wasn't allowed to take an pictures inside, but I did take quite pictures of the intricate and beautiful stonework on the outside.

      

   After that we headed downtown, where I got some currywurst. Currywurst is essentially just pork sausage cut up, covered in ketchup (not as sweet as American ketchup), and then generously topped with curry powder; usually served with either a roll or french fries. It's a bit of a German staple, and it's absolutely delicious.

    We soon headed back for a boat tour of the city, which was super fun! We just gently cruised along the river, with a great view of the skyline and it's cathedrals.

        

   The boat ride lasted about an hour, after which we had 3 hours more free time. We visited downtown again, where we visited a grocery store, practiced our German, bought some German-English dictionaries, and attempted to get some German phone plans (I just waited to buy one later).

By the end of the day we were exhausted from attempting to speak German and walking so far, so we headed back to the busses. Once everyone was on, we headed back to the monastery.

   By Saturday we were back on the road, this time much earlier and for a much longer trip. We were taking a 2-hour drive to Leipzig, a large city of about 570,000 in the German state of Saxony. It's famous as a cultural hub, being the birthplace and workplace of many famous artists and composers. It is also quite well known for being a key player in the fall of the Berlin Wall and of communism. After getting off the bus, our first stop was the Nikolaikirche (or St. Nicholas church), a beautiful cathedral that was the origin of the Monday protests, a series of peaceful protests against the DDR. The church was very beautiful, and with the green and white color scheme it was very different from any church I had ever seen. The organist was playing while we were there, and the filling sounds of the organ were the perfect accompaniment to our short stay.

         

   Next, we moved closer into the city to visit the Thomaskirche (or St. Thomas'), where the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a Kapellmeister for many years, and where his remains are located. Also, his famed Thomanerchor (St. Thomas' Choir) performed there and still lives on today. This church was much older than the Nikolaikirche, having been completed in the 15th century.

              

   Finally, our last stop was the German history museum. It was huge, with a floor to represent each period in Germany's rich history. We went up 4-5 floors to the divided Germany era, from 1945 to the early 1990s. This floor was especially relevant, as Leipzig was deep in East Germany during the age of the DDR. We were given an hour-long guided tour of the museum, which took us from the crumbled Germany at the end of WWII to a strong, united Germany facing an exciting future. Once the tour was over, we had free time until 4:00, when we would depart from Leipzig. My group first stopped at a currywurst stand, where I got an enormous pork schnitzel on a bun. From there we explored Leipzig's hipster area, full of shops and street musicians. We didn’t really accomplish much during these 4 hours, but we got to see the city, the people, and we were able to practice our German. We visited a book store, the Leipzig City Library, some shops and a few bakeries. Despite all this shopping, I only ended up getting some postcards and an ice cream.

             

                               

             

   Around 3:00 we left to start heading back towards the busses, and met up with some other friends along the way. We made it to the busses a bit before 4:00, and our fun and exciting day in Leipzig was over. It had been a great excursion, and gave us all a taste of a big German city.

   Sunday was reserved entirely for free time, so after breakfast I went to a service at the Catholic church, which was just outside my window (no, really… we can hear the bells ringing all night). After that, I spent the day hanging out with friends doing various things such as soccer, volleyball, and card games.

                

   I’ll end this first post right there, and continue language camp in two other posts (or just one if I get lazy/tired). Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog,

Tschüss!