Almost 2 weeks in Germany already!

I almost can't believe the I have been in Germany for 2 weeks, it seems like longer but at the same time when I wake up in the morning I forget that I am in Germany and think I am waking up in my bed in Eldridge! Today Eric and I went to Duesseldorf all day and we went inside the huge Tv Tower (Fernsehturm), it was really cool because we could see the whole city! And the TV tower had a restaurant in it, and it moved in around one full rotation every hour. It was also kind of scary just to step on the edge and look down to the ground! After that we went to the Altstadt and had lunch consisting of a bratwurst and fries, typical German =]. And of course Eric had to drink a beer, he is loving this German beer, me not so much/it is a little bit to strong for me!

One funny story from here was about water. You know how in the US it is perfectly typical and ok to drink out of the tap or when we were kids...from the garden hose! ha. Here is it considered disgusting if you were to go to the tap and get a glass of water! They looked at us really funny when we tried! Typical German drinking water is carbonated, and you have to ask for water without 'gas' its really different for me.

Last weekend we went to the Ski Hall which is an indoor ski/snowboarding hill and there is also a pub there. We went there at night and they were playing all German folk songs and then befor we knew it the song "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond came on! Eric and I just started singing and dancing and the German guys were all looking at us wondering how we knew that song. It is played at every football game at college and every time they close a bar in Iowa City, it was really funny.

Auf Wiedersehen!!!

Adventures in Nordrhein Westphalia

My brother and I are now staying with a friend of ours, Flo Sandkaulen, in Kaarst which is 15 minutes from Duesseldorf. I have been noticing many differences between America and Germany. For one, I didn't realize how big of an impact our country has on Germany especially considering the media, almost every song I hear is in English. Flo told us that the radio is forced to play 2 German songs for every 10 English songs on the radio, which is funny to me that they would rather hear songs of a foreign language than songs of their own language.

This week we really did not do too much. We mainly explored cities nearby Kaarst, such as Duesseldorf and Cologne. I love both cities very much, there is so much diversity. When we ventured to Cologne we went to see the city and of course the Cologne Dom which is this amazingly large cathedral which was being built from 1248 to 1880!!! Inside the church we listened to a choir that was there to entertain all of the tourists, it was beautiful. The Cologne Dom was actually the largest structure in the world until the Washington Monument was built. The Dom is one of the best known monuments in Germany and the most recognized landmark in Cologne...of course. When we got out of the Hauptbahnhof (Train Station) the Dom was right in front of us, it almost hurt my neck to look to the top of it! Apparently Catholic mass is still held there, which would be amazing to attend. People also have their weddings there, for a pretty penny anyway.

Another thing I have noticed is how different the youth looks here, well how they dress anyway. It seems like in the USA the youth falls into a few categories of how they dress (Punk, Preppy, Gothic, Casual). Here everyone dresses so different from one another. Although I have spotted many people wearing Abercrombie and Fitch, I didn't realize that was such a big deal here! The most popular thing to wear here right now are scarves and Chucks (converse shoes), it is kind of funny that even on a 90 degree day you will still see plenty of Germans wearing a scarf!

The people in Western Germany seem for the most part very open to Americans and seem very nice and helpful, which is nice for the transition from USA to Germany. I can't wait to see how the people of Freiburg are! We have one week left in West Germany before we must depart for Freiburg and Mannheim! More to come =]

Auf wiedersehen!

Finally in Germany

We got to Germany on Wednesday August 13th, it is so weird to be here! I have a hard time expressing myself in German. My brother Eric seems to fit in perfectly though haha, his German is so good, makes me pretty jealous! I have been noticing so many differences about the USA and Germany since I have been here. Such as simply the way people dress, many people dress up everywhere they go. A lot of Germans are very curious about American people too, and they always try their best to speak English...which is so cool. The food is different too, we have been eating a typical German breakfast everyday which consists of german bread, which is hard and crunchy, nothing like American sandwich bread. The food seems very healthy here too which is nice! Anyway it has been hard adjusting to the way of life here because its hard for me to relate myself when speaking German! I have been a little bit homesick lately, hopefully that goes away because I dont want to feel like that all year! Well bye for now! Auf Wiedersehen!

A little nervous...

Already a week before my brother Eric and I leave and I am definitely getting nervous! Mostly just because I have no idea what to expect!! It's hard for me to fathom being out of the USA for a year and not be able to go home or see my friends whenever I want to. I am excited for all the new experiences and personal growth that will occur while I am in Germany. I am all about becoming the best person I can be and I think traveling and experiencing new cultures is a great way to learn about the world and people in general. I am going to miss so many important people in my life! I will definitely be sending a ton of postcards to my friends and family. I am so glad that my brother Eric is coming along to experience this great opportunity with me and it will definitely help having him there if I get homesick (which I am sure will definitely happen! ) All I can say is I want to take in this whole experience and learn from everything there! Aufwiedersehen!