Duisburg!

12. September

Here I am in Duisburg! I am sitting here, thinking of how best to begin this blog post, which is no easy task because my brain is already a jumble of English and German. I can understand so much (and so much is also still difficult to understand), but my brain still often tries to translate to English. To be fair, it’s been wiring itself that way for the past 18 years. It has also only been six (!) days here, and with more time I can tell it will get easier. I can already understand so much more than I could a week ago. It’s an exciting, albeit very difficult, process!

Duisburg and my host family are so wonderful. Duisburg is a large city, and neighbors other large cities. This entire area is called the Ruhrgebiet. What I like most that I’ve seen of this city so far is how, relatively close to the city center, there are forests where the air is fresh and you’d have no idea that you were in a city. There is a lot of water here. Duisburg is on the Rhein River, but I haven’t even seen that yet. There is one area with six lakes (man-made, as this was a coal city) and they are now surrounded by forest and paths. There are also a series of waterways connected to the Regattabahn, which fits a 2000 race course and is probably, oh, ten rowing lanes across. This, too, is tree-lined with paths for running or biking on either side. I tested out our bicycle today by riding it around the Regattabahn. This city is very sports-oriented, with a lot of rowing, bicycling, running, soccer, etc.

If that all doesn’t sound great enough, I also am living with a fantastic host family! My host parents, Daniela and Bodo, have been so welcoming, as have my host sister Cassie (she’s 12, blind, and incredibly talented and smart) and Basti, my host brother who is 19. Ghandi, the French bulldog, is quite a character and has also made me feel right at home. Our house is located within walking/biking distance of wherever I might need to go.

And school! There really are so many new things to talk about. I am in the 11^th grade, and my Leistungskurse, kind of like “majors,” are Sport and Deutsch. I also have seven other classes. My Stundenplan (schedule) is on a weekly basis. I have every class twice a week, except for Sport and Deutsch, which I have more frequently. Naturally all the classes except English are taught in German, and some are easier for me to follow than other. It’s a very good feeling when I can understand what’s going on! There are also lots of friendly people here willing to help me out when I need it.

I don't have many pictures or drawings yet of this beautiful city, so I will share instead a painting I made in language camp for the Bürgermeisterin (mayor) of Hedersleben!

Thale and Home in Hederseleben

2. September

So the WiFi that we “borrowed” from our neighbor Michael is no more. I have temporary access to the Internet right now, so I’m taking the opportunity to share some things I’ve written and done! The weather is has been a bit warmer again, so the weekend saw several long walks around town and out into the countryside down one of my favorite roads. I frequent that area a lot. There are orchards and then several streams and then fields.

Last Thursday we went to Thale. Here are some pictures!

Sarabeth and I rode a bobsled together. Sehr schnell!

Emma, ich, Sarabeth, Brittney, und Nick.

30. August

I have felt so refreshed and alive these past few days, thanks to more sleep every night. It’s amazing what a difference it makes! For the first two weeks, I got up to go running every morning with some other girls, which is a great way to start the day. However, this week I believe I’ve found a better way for myself: Wake up five minutes before breakfast! I tend to wake up and then fall back asleep, and I have the most vivid dreams and the best sleep. I’ve found time to run or do yoga in the midday break.

Speaking of schedules, let me give you a little bit of a better idea of our schedule here at language camp:

8:00 - Frühstück. I really enjoy the style of breakfast. I have yogurt and Brötchen (bread rolls) with cheese and then with nutella and bananas. I haven’t permanently replaced peanut butter with nutella as my banana companion, but chocolate in the morning can’t really be beat…

9:00 bis 12:00 - Class. We’ve covered various material like grammar, vocabulary, and some culture. Juli, my teacher, is great. She also has a good sense of humor which is necessary when listening to us. We do try to keep the jokes in German, so it’s learning…right?

12:00 - Mittagessen. Lunch is served to the tables, usually with a plated vegetarian option for those of us who it applies to. I have been eating some meat when we eat outside the Kloster, and some has tasted good. I still prefer the vegetarian diet best, though. We often go out to the supermarket after lunch since we have time before the homework hour. There are lots of delicious fresh pastries and anything else you might need there.

13:00 bis 14:00 - Hausaufgaben, oder lernen. Homework, which is often to study and learn what we covered in class.

14:00 bis 15:00 - Freizeit! This is when I’ve been doing yoga, running, etc. Or, just hang out and talk and eat more chocolate.

15:00 bis 18:00 - Class again.

18:00 - Abendessen

19:00 - Nachrichten. We watch the news auf Deutsch! I’m slowly able to understand what they’re talking about, but it’s pretty fast and sometimes very difficult to understand. It’s good to stay updated though.

In the evenings after that, there is usually some sort of optional organized activity. Otherwise we can hang out. Walks in the evenings are nice. Sometimes we have dance parties in the hallway.

22:30 - Curfew.

Yesterday, as a tradition and also to return the favor to our neighbor Michael from whom we borrow WiFi, we did work in the fields next to the Kloster. I learned how to use more machinery (weed eater) and cleared out a large section of brush (many of which were stinging nettles…). Then we had a FANTASTIC dinner outside. For me, it was grilled veggies, some nice potato salad type dish, and a bean, corn, and feta salad--so good! Then we had a bonfire and made s’mores, which are also quite delicious with German cookies and chocolate. I spent about an hour talking with some locals in German about differences between Germany and America and about politics. I can understand most things I hear now in conversations, and, if I work at it, I can get my point across. This morning we watched the movie Die Welle, with German closed-captioning turned on, and I could understand just about everything. Progress is progress!