I just had to do a double take when I looked at the date- today marks 2 months since I landed in Deutschland in July! Time has honestly just flown, and what better way to celebrate this day than with a blog post (just kidding, this is for Julian who has been reminding me every day to update my blog)!
So I left off at my delightful bike ride, needless to say I have found some other form of sport since then. I joined a Soccer team in a neighboring town on Thursday and so far so gut! The team is a little older than me, all of the 6 players that came to training were above 20, but I think I will find my place on the team with time! The coach calls me "Madelaine" which makes me laugh and is really nice about explaining the drills in English or slow German. We even started practice with a drill I was familiar with from my time playing at JM!
I had my ACT two weeks ago, it went OK but I was more than happy to get it over with- nothing felt better than putting that massive prep book in a drawer that I hope to never open again! After my ACT I went to a birthday party for one of my friends from school, she studied in America last year and has been really helpful in making me feel welcome! I have actually met 3 people that studied in America and they're all so great- Marco in particular is especially helpful with my German (and cookie making).
School has been great. I had my first Klausur (exam) this week for English and it was pretty different from an American test. I skipped my first 3 hours of school (luckily only missing Deutsch 7B because of my schedule) to go into a huge room filled with at least 60 desks. There were 4 classes in for a exam and I had to find a desk with my class marker on it. Then we had 3 hours to read a political speech and respond to 3 essay questions. I won't be getting a grade on my klausur- instead my teacher is looking to see if my organization is correct and returning it with comments for next time. I have a Latin Klausur this coming week but I have no idea how that will go- my first quiz on poetic devices was pretty rough considering I had to give the definitions and examples auf Deutsch.
Alongside Soccer, I also have signed up for a Deutsch for Ausslanders course that I will attend on Fridays. Hopefully I can start speaking more German soon!
Last weekend I had my first shopping trip with two of my host sisters and a friend. We went to Bonn via streetcar and then spent some time walking around the city before getting stuck in the rain. The stores were all really nice and there were 3 H&Ms in one market square- so I think I know where most Germans shop!
The weather has started to get really cold already and I envy all my friends wearing shorts in Instagram pictures. I have been in nothing but sweaters, scarves, and jackets for the past 2 weeks! My host family even turned the heat on a few days ago and I have been sleeping in sweatpants and hoodies. I don't even want to think about the cold I will experience in December!
Till next time, Tschuss!
Lainie
PS The mail has brought me a ton of lovely surprises in the past few weeks so if you've sent me a letter I would love to say thank you! It just brightens my day to hear from everyone!
So I left off at my delightful bike ride, needless to say I have found some other form of sport since then. I joined a Soccer team in a neighboring town on Thursday and so far so gut! The team is a little older than me, all of the 6 players that came to training were above 20, but I think I will find my place on the team with time! The coach calls me "Madelaine" which makes me laugh and is really nice about explaining the drills in English or slow German. We even started practice with a drill I was familiar with from my time playing at JM!
I had my ACT two weeks ago, it went OK but I was more than happy to get it over with- nothing felt better than putting that massive prep book in a drawer that I hope to never open again! After my ACT I went to a birthday party for one of my friends from school, she studied in America last year and has been really helpful in making me feel welcome! I have actually met 3 people that studied in America and they're all so great- Marco in particular is especially helpful with my German (and cookie making).
School has been great. I had my first Klausur (exam) this week for English and it was pretty different from an American test. I skipped my first 3 hours of school (luckily only missing Deutsch 7B because of my schedule) to go into a huge room filled with at least 60 desks. There were 4 classes in for a exam and I had to find a desk with my class marker on it. Then we had 3 hours to read a political speech and respond to 3 essay questions. I won't be getting a grade on my klausur- instead my teacher is looking to see if my organization is correct and returning it with comments for next time. I have a Latin Klausur this coming week but I have no idea how that will go- my first quiz on poetic devices was pretty rough considering I had to give the definitions and examples auf Deutsch.
Alongside Soccer, I also have signed up for a Deutsch for Ausslanders course that I will attend on Fridays. Hopefully I can start speaking more German soon!
Last weekend I had my first shopping trip with two of my host sisters and a friend. We went to Bonn via streetcar and then spent some time walking around the city before getting stuck in the rain. The stores were all really nice and there were 3 H&Ms in one market square- so I think I know where most Germans shop!
The weather has started to get really cold already and I envy all my friends wearing shorts in Instagram pictures. I have been in nothing but sweaters, scarves, and jackets for the past 2 weeks! My host family even turned the heat on a few days ago and I have been sleeping in sweatpants and hoodies. I don't even want to think about the cold I will experience in December!
Till next time, Tschuss!
Lainie
PS The mail has brought me a ton of lovely surprises in the past few weeks so if you've sent me a letter I would love to say thank you! It just brightens my day to hear from everyone!