"How was your school day?" ..... "Yes!"

I have now been in Germany for almost 3 weeks, and I have survived my first 2 weeks of German school! These past week was much better than the first. School is still, well, school, but I feel like I've connected a little better with some of my classmates. Last Wednesday after school I went into town with 3 girls for a 'spaghetti eis date', and we ended up staying in the restaurant for over 3 hours just talking and laughing together. I think that my problem before was that I was really hesitant to speak English with the people at school, and that was making it really hard to make friends. In a way it makes me feel guilty to speak English, because I don't want to inconvenience them and I want to be able to speak German. But after hearing from 2 people (one in the U.S. (Robin Fischer!) and also a German lady here) that I should make those initial connections with people any way I can, I opened up and began to speak in English with some of the girls at my school. And it's been working! I know I can't rely on English for very long and that soon I have to begin speaking German, but I feel so much more comfortable at school now that I have a couple girls I can connect with. My host grandfather and I are working on my German together -- he used to be an English teacher, so he sits with me and teaches me German for an hour every day. That, combined with sitting in a classroom listening to German for 6 or 8 hours a day, should help me learn faster. Just yesterday actually, I was sitting at the dinner table listening to my host family's conversation, and I followed the whole thing. I say followed and not understood, because it's not like I know every word being said. It's kind of difficult to explain. I understand most words being said, which allows me to know what the conversation is about, but if you asked me to repeat in German what was said, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to structure any of the sentences. This makes things tricky when someone asks me a question, because I understand the gist of what they're asking but if I miss even one key word I don't know the exact nature of the question. For example, the other day my host mom said to me "Did you have a good day at school?" and I answered with, "Ja!". Well, turns out she asked "How was your school day?". Needless to say, Elias thought it was hilarious that I answered "How was your school day?" by saying "Yes!". 
Speaking of school, as promised I have made up a list of differences (written during math class when I got to frustrated trying to understand what the teacher was teaching...lol) that I've noticed between my school in the the U.S. and my school in Germany. Keep in mind that I only speak from my experience, not the whole of U.S. or the whole of Germany!! Here goes nothing...
-Literally everyone uses pens, I rarely see someone use a pencil. If you make a mistake, you whip out a second pen that's like a white-out pen but dries really quick, or you use white-out. 
-At the beginning of class everyone takes out their pencil case from their backpack and puts it on their desk. Even the teacher. This is really funny to me because I don't think I've used a pencil case since elementary school, but nope, completely normal here. 
-There are no substitute teachers. You have to check a monitor every day in the commons area that tells you which teachers won't be there the next day, but sometimes a teacher might just not show up to class. For example, the other day my English teacher never showed up, so we all just left. Yay because no class, sad because I could have slept in if I had known :(
-I have a twenty minute break after hours 1 and 2, and then another break after hours 3 and 4. Plus an hour long lunch every day. And teachers often give the students 5 minute breaks during a lesson. This is nice because it sort of give students a chance to recover. At my school back home, its go go go all day long. 
-Different schedule, but I think I explained this in my last post. Also nice because things switch up day to day.
-The grading system is completely different. It's really hard to explain, and I don't even think I quite understand it yet. I'm going to wait to write about this until I get a better feel for it.
-Teachers tend to lecture for the whole class, and few worksheets are given out (except my Philosophy teacher who seems to have an obsession with group assignments). The teachers ask the students questions periodically and everyone is expected to, and does, participate. It's the weirdest thing. Like, everyone in the class is active in the lesson and will offer their opinion. Even the kids you wouldn't expect to, like the shy girl in class or the jock (But not the exchange student ;) )
-From what I have heard, it isn't like my school back home where there's academic, honors, and AP classes. Instead, there are 3 separate schools, and it's kinda like each one is either an academic school, honors school, or AP school. Kinda. I go to the Gymnasium so I guess that would be like AP. 
-Languages are taught so differently here. My 12th grade English class is literally taught entirely in English. Even my Level 2 Spanish class is taught mostly in Spanish, although the teacher does re-say most of what she says in German (not helpful for me lol). 
-Both the teachers and the students switch classes. We wait outside the classroom until the teacher arrives, and let me just say that I have literally not had one teacher that has been on time to class. But they get really mad if a student is late. Hm. 
-Gym class is NO JOKE!!!!!!!!!! The other day I had to swim 8 laps back and forth across the town pool, and today we had to RUN TO ANOTHER TOWN!!!!! Don't even get me started on Gym class.
-There aren't really any "bad kids" at the Gymnasium. Generally students respect/listen to the teacher, and like I said, they all participate in class. 
-School trips are to places like London and Russia if you're in the right classes (I'm not).
Anyways, however exhausting school may be sometimes, the weekends never disappoint. For example, last weekend we went to a birthday party for my host mom's brother, and then later that night I went to a firework festival in Paderborn.... at a castle. Well, actually it was a school, but it seriously looked like a castle. And it was so much fun. There were 3 teams, and they each prepared a 30 minute firework show that went along with music. Teams were judged on how well their timing matched the beat of the music, and although the girl I went with and I both thought the judges picked the wrong winner, we still had so much fun. 
This past weekend takes the cake though. On Saturday at 12, I met with a girl named Anna that lives in Hoxter but was in Mexico last year as an exchange student. She took me to a German market in Hoxter, and afterwards we went to a lake and drank cold hot chocolate (no, not chocolate milk). It was really nice to talk to someone who went through some of the same things that I'm experiencing now, and it just makes me that much more excited for the Inbound seminar this weekend where I will meet all the other exchange students in my district. She dropped me off at home around 3, and then it was time for the next event of the day... a swim competition. The swimming pool in Beverungen was having its 50th anniversary festival that day, and as a part of that they have an all ages relay race. So my host brother, father, and grandfather were all on a team... and we took 1st place! It was actually really cool because when they announced the winners they introduced me as "the exchange student" and joked that we were the international team. Or something like that. I'm not really sure, because you know, it was in German, but anyways, we each won a certificate and 10 euros to spend at the pool's concession stand!
But even after that, my Saturday wasn't over. That night, I went to my first Schutzenfest with about 10 other girls from my school. I think we got there a little late because there weren't any 'typical' Schutzenfest events going on like shooting or the crowning of the new king and queen, but regardless, it was the most fun I've had so far. It was sort of set up like a fair, but there was also a big tent that you could pay to get into where there was a band and a dance floor. That's where I spent most of the night. I also rode the bumper cars, which ended up not being a good idea because now my shins are covered in giant bruises. Anyways. 
On Sunday I went with my host family to visit Iris's father, and then afterwards to an outdoor theater production of the Wizard of Oz (or Der Zauberer von Oz in German). It was really quite special, and once again I am so thankful to have such a great host family that takes me to experience such amazing things.
Speaking of things I'm thankful for, I want to give a s/o to my amazing mother and sister and father back home for sending me the best care package ever, that I received in the mail today. They took it upon themselves to send me a giant bottle of hidden valley ranch dressing (among other things), and if you know me back home, you know one of my greatest fears regarding leaving was not having ranch dressing with me. I know I sound like I'm joking but I'm not. Katie Maddy Connor Becca, I think you know what I mean. 
Picture time!

 The "castle" that the firework festival was held at. AKA Hogwarts, since it's actually a school.

 The "Spaghetti Eis date" with Vera, Constanze, and Laura.

 Elias told me that he was going to read my blog.... so this one's for you, Elias :)

 A better picture of the view from my classroom window.

 Elias making calzones.

 A visit to a castle (an actual castle, not a school) with Anna.

 The castle's church. Not your average Sunday.

Our first place certificate!

 Another picture of the view.... good thing I have a nice view to stare at out the window when I get bored in class :)

 I snuck a picture of one of my class rooms.... shhh

 Hoxter

 Schutzenfest!

 I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this. I really don't have the words to describe this moment.

 Elias and I are currently in a never-ending nerf gun war. One minute I'm getting something out of the refrigerator, and then bang, I'm shot in the head. The battle rages on.

 A stage view of the outdoor theater.

The seating.

Bubbly Water and School... Not My Favorite Things

Soooo.... remember my hatred of the bubbly water here? Well. I went to an Italian restaurant with Jule, Elias, and 3 of my future host brothers, and I ordered water to drink. When the waitress came back with my water.... surprise! Bubbly water. Elias and Jule know about how I don't like it, so Elias told me that if you shake it for a while it becomes less fizzy, and that I should try it. So I covered the top with my pointer and middle finger, shook it, and it EXPLODED allllllll over one of my next host brothers who I had just met and had barely spoken 5 words to. Luckily he thought it was funny, because I was laughing so hard I started crying. I feel like in a way, this only validates my dislike of it?
Anyways, I had my first day of school on Wednesday.......... I think the best way to describe it was overwhelming. And for the first 4 hours? Horrible. When I first got there, I was whisked away by one of the English teachers at the school (who is also the exchange student counselor), and she introduced me to 5 or 6 people that were supposed to help me through my first day. Within 5 minutes, all but two of them left me. So they took me to the room where we all had to listen to a presentation, and when we walked in literally every single person stared at me and whispered to each other. That's not even an exaggeration. So we sat down, and the two girls talked amongst themselves in German and I was left by myself. I looked around the room and noticed pretty quickly that I didn't know anyone. I have spent the last few days with Jule and her friends, and I've met quite a few people that go to the Gymnasium, but I didn't see any of them there. Then it dawned on me that the kids around me looked pretty young -- they had put me in classes with tenth graders. So I suffered through the rest of the presentation, and then afterwards I went straight to the counselor to see if I could be moved to classes with the older kids. I tried to explain to them that they could put me in the 5th grade or the 12th grade and either way I would have no idea what was going on, so it didn't matter if they put me in a class that's more complicated. Long story short, I got moved to the 11th grade (which is at least better than 10th), and most of the kids are 17 instead of 14 and 15. I've had three days of school so far, and I'm not going to lie, it's pretty agonizing. I never have the slightest idea what's going on. Like sometimes when my host family is talking in German at the dinner table I can follow some of the conversation, but when I'm in a class like math or Biology and they're using terms I might not even know in English, things get very difficult, very fast. I'm really lucky to have met some of the people in my classes through Jule before school started. They have been taking me to classes, explaining how things work, answering all my questions, and telling all the teachers that I'm the exchange student that can't speak any German. But at this point they feel more like babysitters than friends. It's going to be realllllyyy hard to make friends here. I'm hoping it becomes easier when I can speak a little German. On the bright side, I'm pretty happy with my school schedule!! On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have a full day of school, so I go from 8-3:15, but on Mondays and Thursdays I don't have classes the first 2 periods of the day so I don't go into school until about 10. And on Fridays, I only go until 1:15, which is great. Every day I have a different set of classes that might consist of Music Theory, Politics, English (my fav), Spanish, Art, Math, History, Gym, Geography, or Biology. It's not like in the U.S. where you have every class, every day, all in the same order, and I think that it will keep things from becoming boring. However, they don't really have any electives (I'm not technically supposed to have Art in the 11th grade, but my Exchange Counselor pulled some strings), so you pretty much have core classes all day. I think that the only classes that I have any hope of doing well in are English and Spanish. The Spanish class I'm taking is a Level 2 Spanish class, and I would be taking Level 4 if I was taking it back home. But if you think Spanish is hard, try taking a Spanish class taught in German. And on top of that, the teacher found out I took 3 years of Spanish, so she thinks that it's a good idea to speak to me completely in Spanish instead of completely in German. I just nod and pretend like I know what she's saying, which is a technique that has worked for me so far! I'm also working on a list of differences I notice in the school, so I'll post that when I understand the school system here better. For example, today I filled up my water bottle from the water machine in the school, took a sip, and what do you know? Bubbly water. Seems like I can't escape it.
So I feel like this post has been pretty negative. But school aside, I can honestly say that have really enjoyed my first week here. In the past couple days I went to see the movie Paper Towns in German, ate my first bowl of "spaghetti ice cream", met my next host brothers, and visited a nearby town named Hoxter. And I really like my host family. Jule left this morning for Colombia, and I'm really going to miss her. I can only hope that she has a host sister or someone in Colombia that is as great to her as she was to me. She answered my never-ending cultural and language questions, gladly included me in any activity she planned with her friends, and showed me how to navigate the town I live in. Now I have to figure out the rest on my own, but she sure helped me get a good start.

Elias and food

 Spaghetti Salad?

 Spaghetti ice cream... Gotta love spaghetti-like foods

 A building in Beverungen

 An advertisement in German for The Maze Runner

 A German tradition. These cones are filled with candy and school supplies and given to children before school starts, "because this is sweet, and school is not".

 Tea and cakes, ft. the Bean Boozled game I brought as a gift for Elias (my mom gave me this idea, I can't take credit). He is obsessed with it. Every time someone new comes in the house, he gives them a jelly bean to eat and laughs hysterically at their reaction. 

 Tea time.

 Jule and I :)

 Biking to a good picnic spot that Jule showed me.

 A visit to Hoxter.

 My host family in Hoxter!

 Eating ice cream on Jule's last night.

The view from my history class window. I swear this picture doesn't do it justice. I had to sneak it because phones aren't allowed in school, so I'm going to try to take a better picture another day.

First Days in Deutschland

Have I already been here four days? It doesn't seem real. I have done so much already, I don't even know where to start. I suppose I will start at the beginning, when I was picked up by my host sister Jule and my host mom's sister (my host mother was feeling ill and my host father is in the hospital with a heart issue, so they couldn't come). After I first got off the plane and got my baggage, I couldn't find them, so I ended up waiting for an hour or so before I finally found them (long story actually... haha). Jule and Roswitha were waiting for me with a sign that said "Herzlich Willkommen Lauren!". We drove 3 hours from the airport in Frankfurt to Beverungen, where I was greeted by my host mom (Iris), host grandfather (Rudolf) and one of my older host brothers (Noah). Later I met my younger host brother (Elias) when he came home from the Haribo factory where his uncle works, and my other older host brother (Janosch) when he came home from a festival a few days later. I think I'm really going to get along well with this family. Jule and I especially get along really well (we're sitting together blogging right now, haha) but she leaves to spend her exchange year in Colombia next Friday so I don't get to spend much time with her :( She has been showing me the ropes of the German way, so I'm definitely going to miss having her here with me. Luckily I will be with this family for four months, so I'll have a good amount of time to get to know the rest of them. Anyways, so far here in Germany I have enjoyed my first German breakfasts and dinners, learned some interesting German words (kimme = butt crack, in case you were curious), biked around town with my host sister, gone to the bakery in the morning with my host mom to buy bread, dressed up my younger host brother as a girl, visited the local swimming pool, and went to an art show..... in a castle. Every moment here feels magical, and there's really no other way to describe it. I feel like I have fallen into the pages of an old German fairy tale, as odd as that sounds. So many things are different here than in the U.S., and there's so much to see and experience. Now granted, I have already been experiencing a little homesickness. Rotary was right when they said that exchange is an emotional rollercoaster, one minute you're enjoying everything new around you and then the next you're longing for the comfort of what you know, and the life you've grown to be comfortable with. And the language............ I literally have no idea what's going on most of the time. Everyone in my host family can speak a little English, which I am extremely grateful for. But still, for example right now my older host brothers are having a conversation in German beside me and I catch maybe 1 or 2 words in every 40. It's very frustrating. I especially realize how little I know when I have to ask Jule and Elias what simple phrases/words are like "I'm sorry" or "Maybe", and then sometimes I forget them in a matter of minutes. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's only my fourth day, and that I will have plenty of time to learn.
Anyways my host sister and I had a conversation the other day at the pool where we each brought up things that Germans commonly believed about Americans and vice versa. She actually asked me if everyone in America carries guns, because in a documentary she saw, all of the little girls carried pink pistols. I was so shocked, because I literally only know one person that carries a gun. I asked her if the women in Germany shaved their armpits and wore deodorant, because I had been told that they don't. She laughed and told me yes, most if not all women did shave and wear deodorant, but shaving your legs isn't as important to Germans. So there's that, if you were wondering.
I start school on Wednesday, and I'm really nervous because I don't speak any German. Jule and I went on a walk with her friends yesterday, and I have a feeling it's going to be really hard to make friends here, because everyone seems to have their "group" that they belong to. But I'll update on this after Wednesday. Also, I'm working on making a list of some of the differences that I notice between Germany and America, so once it gets long enough I'll post it. Now for some pictures!

 My room in my new home :)

 The living room

 Dining room

 The beautiful view out the dining room window

 Porch outside

 Kitchen

 My host sister, Jule, and the sign she made for me :)

 A picture I took of Beverungen on one of Jule and I's bike rides.

 A wedding going on in the building that's kind of like a "city hall".

 Buying cheese in the market.

 A mini library in the town

 My first German dinner! Potatoes, sausage, bread, and mozz. and tomatoes.

 One of the breakfast plates that reads something like "Kalories: The little animals that stitch your clothes in your closet while you sleep" We have a similar saying in English. (Also, take not of the mineralwasser.... one thing that I don't think I will ever get used to. My host family never drinks water from the tap, I'm the only one that does. They collect it from a spring, and although I don't like it my host mom says I can go with her the next time they need to get more, which I think will be cool to experience.

 Elias, Jule and I played giant chess at the swimming pool. (Elias and his friend kicked our butts)

 Buying bread from the bakery with my host mom.

 The lovely breakfast I get to eat every morning, a pretty typical German breakfast from what I've gathered.

 Noah, Iris, me, Jule, and Rudolf

 My younger host brother.... or should I say sister? lol. 

Dressing up my host brother as a girl was definitely not one of the things I thought I would do in Germany... but fun regardless :) I guess they always do this to Elias, its like a family joke. 

 The castle we went to for the art show.

Probably my favorite picture that I've taken. Jule laughed at me when I took it because its a typical sign for them to see, but I just thought the braid on the girl was such a perfect way to represent little German children.