A Raw Delicacy, Walking...WITH a Dog, and a Chocolate Moment!

First of all, I just thought you should know that I love Wednesday's and today is Wednesday thus I am in a very good mood. I thought you should know that before I started my entry. =P So, you might be wondering why Wednesday's are so fantastic. Well reader I'll fill you in. I get off school at 1:30 instead of 3:50 on Wednesday's, so that is soooooo nice. I also have two classes of Art on Wednesday's which is sweet. The icing on the cake is that if it's Wednesday then that means drama is tomorrow! So clearly I think you can see why I love Wednesday's.

So before I get into all my crazy adventures I wanted to comment a little more on the differences of High School in Germany.

• Students drink a lot of water. Everyone, and I'm quite serious when I say everyone, carries around a water bottle which is either 1 L or 1.5 L.
  
• Lunches are way different. You can buy an entire meal at the school cafeteria. It is so big that there is no way I could eat all of it. It's like supper for lunch. Throughout the morning students eat snacks all the time. The most common are these little sandwiches with butter and cheese or butter and meat inside. The bread is heavy and dark.
  
• On your birthday you bring a cake to school and share it with your class. There seems to be at least one or two birthday's a week of students who are in one of my classes.
  
• Speaking of which cake is way different here too, it's more like squares, but different. The one I've seen most often is more like a crumble with some fruit and a cake like crust

On that note too in exactly 2 weeks, September 24th, I will be 18. CRAZY, I KNOW! Watch out world! Haha. I also happen to know that there is an election in Canada in October and I will be elligebale. That's right reader, I am going to vote via mail. Woohoo. I am so excited, you wouldn't even believe how excited I am! I've filled out some paperwork which I will be faxing to the government in the next few days, to make this dream possible. Usually when someone turns 18 that isn't the first thing they think about; voting, but you know me so this can't be too surprising. On the subject of voting I hope you vote too!

So in the region I am living in, a speciality that they eat is some raw pork with onions on bread. I have to say I was a bit nervous to eat it. I was joking with Stephan that I'd let him eat it, wait 20 mintues, and if he was still standing then I'd give it a try. Then he told me that if the meat has been handled wrong I'd either be really sick the next day, or it would take a second to kill me. Dang...well I trusted the people who handled it and took a bite. It was good, I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed living beyond the second I ate it.

Oh that day we also had this amazing stuffed pancakes. YUM. We stuffed them with pork (cooked this time haha), spinach, and sheep's cheese. It sounds really simple and it was, but it was also very delicious. I hope we make them again sometime. Stephan is the cook around here when he's home and lately I've been the helper. I don't mind though, I like to cook and it gives me something to do.

Many of you who know me know that I am very nervous around dogs, but somtimes I'm even more than a bit nervous. There is one dog in my life who I'm OK with and her name is Bonnie back in Canada. Other than that, I am extremely nervous if not sometimes terrified. Well my family here has a dog. When I first found that out back in Canada I was REALLY nervous. Then I found out my second family had a dog as well. Well I was thinking, oh my gosh what have I done! My parents said it would be good for me and as usual they were right.

I've mentioned already in this blog that dogs here seem to be way nicer to begin with, so I'm sure that has helped. Anyways, on Saturday I decided I was going to take Anton, the dog, on a walk. I went by myself. I, Marita Louise Paul, went walking, by myself with a dog. Unbelievable eh reader? That's exactly what I thought. Well I survived it haha and I've gone on more walks with him since. We'll usually stay out for about an hour and a quarter. It's great because he needs the exercise and so do I. I'm use to walking a lot more than I have been.

I'm also keeping a written diray here and I want to copy one of the passages I wrote in there to describe my first walk with Anton:

"I am walking and it is so quiet. The silence is relieving. I don't have to feel guilty for speaking English or stubble over my German sentences. I don't have to concentrate on German so hard that my head is throbbing. Out here there is no language, only blissful silence. All I can hear are my own footsteps, the sound of a light breeze in my ears and the click of Anton's paws on the road.

I'm still in awe of how beautiful it is here. Everthing is so green, and so heartbreakingly beautiful. The soft breeze is ruffling my hair and loosing my curls. It feels so right to be out here and I've missed walking so much.

I already know that there will be sometimes when I'll need these walks so bad. A few contented sighs escape me today, but I know that not every day when I am wandering with Anton that I'll sigh like this and be all smiles. I know that there will be somedays here on this road with Anton when the tears will flood my eyes and flow down my cheeks, but there is beauty both in tears and smiles. There is also a time for both, but today on the walk I shed no tears. Today the walk only moved me to smile."

Moving right along...Have you ever asked yourself what it feels like to fly. Well I think I've figured that one out. To fly is to be in a convertible on a German road with a German driver. People drive a lot faster in general here, although I always feel safe. So although they are driving fast, I have never felt like they were driving recklessly.

I don't think I have mentioned this before, but I am watching the Gilmore Girls here in German with English subtitles. Watching movies in German with subtitles is very helpful. It helps me to connect German and English words. Also, the actors and actresses enuciate the words so I have an easier time understanding what they are saying. That's one thing at school that is frustrating is that some people don't enunciate much, or mumble in German and then I have no idea what they are saying. All of their words are melded together and I'm lost!

I also went to a city near here called Kassel for their famous Night of the Mueseums. As the title suggets all of the mueseums in Kassel are open late into the night. Well I saw a lot of modern art which was pretty random, but that is no where nearly as memorable as one of the mueseums Stephan and I went to. Oh my gosh.

So the little blurb about the mueseum said it was a burial mueseum. Stephan and I assumed that it would be showing how different people through the ages burried people. Everything from the Cave Men to the Egyptians. Well that was certainely not the case.

Ok, so first I'll set the mood. Imagine some classical music, but not eerie and creepy music. Imagine something almost cheerful. (There was a concert going on at the bottom floor of this mueseum.)

So we went to the first floor and we got a taste of what the mueseum had to offer. It was all about the death of a child or an infant. It displayed clothing, caskets, and other things like that which you would bury a child in. Then in the next room there was a white table with white bowls, plates, cutlery, glasses, serving plates, things like that. On all of these there were german words written all over them. It didn't take me very long, with my limited German, to realize that the text was talking about the stages of grief. In this case for a parent. It was pretty creepy and it just keeps getting creepier.

The next room was decorated like a childs room complete with a bunk bed, clothing, toys, furniture and this shouldn't be creepy right? Well think again reader. Everything in the room and I mean everything was covered in pictures of skulls. I assume the artist was trying to symbolize the child's death and the decision of the parent about what to do with the room.

Stephan and I went down to the floor level. There we went through a series of rooms which I will sum up in one sentence for you. The vulnerability of old age. After that we left. I was sufficently creeped out and I literally left with chills. I couldn't even imagine how someone who lost a child would react if they had wandered into this muesuem much like Stephan and I did. So it was the most memorable mueseum I have ever been to, but I even have chills now just thinking about it. So needless to say I am moving on.

I slept a lot over the weekend which was glorious. I haven't done that in so long. Learning a language is exhausting enough but then I go to bed late and have to wake up early for school. So you might be wondering how school is going. That's not the easiest question to answer. So far I don't really fit in. German students in general are very outgoing. They have a very different definition of shy.

This guy at school asked me why I didn't speak all that much. I told him I didn't know a lot of German yet and I was rather shy. He then went on to tell me that he was shy, but he was talking to me. Well this kid is in all of my classes and believe me, he is most certainely not shy. I'm not painfully shy or anything, but it's difficult enough to be in a new school where you are trying to figure out where you fit in, but then not to know the language.

In class people from every social circle all have their hands up and have something to say in class. So naturally I am going to stick out. I don't understand enough in class to be able to comment. So people don't really know me and from what I have experienced so far they aren't going to make the first move to try to get to know me either.

However, I am really lucky to have Theresa. (She is the girl who I follow around to all of my classes.) She is a little quieter than some of the others, so I think she understands me a little. She has a Swedish exchange student living at her house this week. I could tell that she was so nervous and trying to think of things to say. Theresa looked at me and gave me a smile and if this smile could speak I think this is what it would have said, "I'm pretty nervous right now and I feel comfortable enough to send a smile your way. I could use a smile from you to make me feel a bit less nervous." I don't know if that makes much sense to you, but it did to me. So we kind of had a moment.

I'm breaking a little bit of ice now with her friends at school. One of them, Julia, has always been super kind and includes me just like Theresa does. The others tend to ignore me. Ignore usually has a negative connotation. I find that a lot of the German pupils ignore me, but it's a different kind of ignoring. I don't believe they are doing this to be rude, or because they have a problem with me. I think this is a bit of a cultural thing and I don't think they really don't know what to say to me. They don't want to speak English, they know my German is poor (improving, but poor), and I'm a bit of an outsider. These kids have known each other for a very long time and lets be honest. How many new kids come to this town, not many.

Anyways I hope that makes a bit of sense. I think I have broken a bit of the ice with some of them though. For instance one of Theresa's friend's and I had a chocolate moment. I gave her some of my chocolate and bam suddenly I exist a little bit more. She offers me some chocolate too and say good morning (in German) when she sees me. This is progress! I'm a chocoholic so this is wonderful! Another one of the girls has also started saying hi to me.

I only talk in German at school and some of them I think are starting to notice what I am doing in class. I'm not just sitting there, or falling asleep. I am studying German. I am working my butt off so that I can understand them and communicate to them in their own language. Some of Theresa's friends I think are noticing this and I think I am gaining a bit of respect.

I make simple, grammatically incorrect, sentences in German instead of speaking English. And you know? I'm understanding more. I am understanding more and more every day. Sometimes I am getting a gist of what is going on in the classroom, but more often I am understanding the little conversations I witness between people at school. Theresa talks to me only in German and most of the time I am now understanding her. I am making progress!! And I'd sure hope so learning 20-25 new German words everyday and using my German with my host parents and all the time at school.

Stephan and I talk more in English than in German at home, but he would like to practice some of his English and it's a treat for me to talk in my native tongue again. This way I also get rid of my headaches for a while. After school and during school my head hurts so much and my eyes hurt from trying to read German. I am rather clueless in general about German grammar, but I figure that if I can at least learn a ton of words I can understand what is going on around me and from their example I will be able to understand the German grammar more.

Some of Stephan's friends came over last night and we had a good old fashion German BBQ. I <3 bratwurts! Stephan and I also made some apple cake for desert which was tasty. I was very proud of it. I even had a little conversation in German with one of his friends. They also tend to do the ignore thing, so I get a sense it isn't about me. The ice was breaking a bit with them as well.

Stephan and I tend to a fair bit together because he doesn't work, and everyone else including Jonas does. Marion and Lutz are still great. They speak in slow German with me and are very encouraging. I also think that they like me. They have been so kind to me I really appreciate all they have done for me.

So all in all I am doing well. Today is Wednesday and I love Wednesdays. Art was sweet today. I like drawing eyes! Trying to draw mouths is difficult, but eyes I can handle. My history teacher is such a nice man. He came up to me today and talked with me a bit in German. Most of the other teacher's pay little attention to me, but he is one of the few who do. I really appreciate being seen.

I sometimes wonder what the teachers and students think of me. Here I am this young girl, so very far from home, who speaks limited German, and is so quiet. I wonder what the teachers think when I am concentrating so hard on them because I am trying to understand them. Or what they think when I am not listening to them but memorizing words or testing the words I am trying to learn. I wonder...although maybe I don't want to know lol. Maybe they think I'm nuts!

So that's my post. I know it's long, but I just had so much to say today. I hope you enjoyed it and as usual if you want to comment, please do. I read them all even if I don't have time to answer them and I am always so excited to recieve them. As always I miss you and I hope all is well with you. Take care. =)

P.S. Before you go I wanted to share some German words with you that I find rather amusing.

First of all if you hear someone say damit in German they are not swearing. That is the German word for thus.

Bitte is please even though is sounds like bitter which means something else entirely in English.

There are very few words that begin with the letter C in German. ( I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but I am making my own dictionary of the words that I have learned. I must know how to say and spell them before I put them in there. Anyways I haven't written a single one for the letter C, you should see how many I have for W and S though!!)

Der Frosch is frog, even though it sounds like Frosh week at a university or college.

Schlimm means grave or serious it sounds like slim kind of.