Deutschland | Tage 14
Tage 14, MONDAY 11.JULY.2011
Today was very wonderful! First, I had my normal morning routine. We went to school and all the American GAPPies met outside on the stairs. When we all arrived, we eventually walked to the Bahnhof. We got on a train and then got off of it in Münster. We got on another train, headed for Köln. There were NO seats open, so a few others and I decided it would be in our best interest if we just sat on the floor in the aisles between the cars. It was very interesting…
We eventually found some seats and enjoyed the rest of the half-hour remaining.
We reached Köln and went straight to the information centre. There was a gift shop, so I had to buy something! I bought a mini breakfast cutting board and some postcards. Yay!
We then all broke up after having a talk and went out to eat, shop, whatever. A few GAPPies and I decided to find Italian food. We found this cute little restaurant and sat down. We ordered our 2.50 EURO drinks. We ordered our food, but misunderstood Emi, who was asking if the Spaghetti was vegetarian. He thought she was ordering a veggie pizza for me. I have no idea how, but oh well. Amber was super awesome as usual and let me switch pizzas with her, because she likes the banana pepper and crap on her pizza, and I just like cheese. The waiter progressively got ruder. We decided it would be a good idea to take the Coca-Cola glasses from the table. We never got a chance because they were always looking at us! Hey, we practically paid for those cups! Oh well.
After eating we decided to quickly hit some gift shops before going back to our meeting point. I bought some shot glasses.
We then went to our meeting point and began the tour.
During the tour, we heard a brief history of the Cathedral, the 1477 cologne, and a few various buildings. It was interesting.
After the super long tour, some of us went back to the cologne store because someone wanted to make a purchase. Following this, we went to a McDonald’s so I could use the facilities. Then we walked back to the Cathedral. We got there, snapped some photos, and looked for the stairs. For some reason, we couldn’t find them at first. We searched and searched. Finally, with only 30 minute remaining, we found the stairs. We purchased our tickets and ran up the stairs. We almost died! Everything there was just so incredible. The architecture is astonishing. How the hell could people build that massive structure?? Anyway, with a few minutes to spare, we ran down the steps. Exhausted, we finally reached our meeting point. We had to leave for the train back to Greven. We transferred again later, and then got back.
Petra was waiting there. Emi and I got in the car and we drove her home. After getting home, Petra made some German pancakes with Apple. They were delicious! YUM! The best pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
After finishing eating, I started uploading my photos and we played darts! It was hilarious. Petra and I kept missing! LOL!
I have to sleep. I could have elabourated on this more, but I have to sleep!
Deutschland | Tage 13
Tage 13, SUNDAY 10.JULY.2011
It was very nice to sleep in a little today! I got up and got ready at about 7.30. We ate our regular breakfast at 8.30 then we got everything ready for our trip! We packed up Christian’s van and headed for the Netherlands! We drove, drove, and drove some more for a little over two hours. It was so beautiful! During the ride to Sneek, I listened to my iPod, took some photos, and even slept.
When we got to the place where they store their boat, we prepped it for launch. We eventually launched it into the water, got everything situated, and drove through the narrow waterways of Sneek. Everything was so unique and beautiful – even the boats! I love the old wooden boats. Eventually we got to the main huge lake. We took off! It took me by surprise, but it was so much fun!
After a while of driving we stopped, anchored, and ate lunch, which we had brought along from breakfast. YUM! I love the cheese here!
After eating, Manuel prepped for some waterskiing. It was really cool! It looked like fun, but I was too scared to try it. Someday I may try it, but it looked very difficult. He did awesome!
It was a perfect day for boating. I loved being out on the water. It was mostly cloudy, too, which was even better.
We then drove the boat into the more downtown area. Manuel slept in the boat while Christian, Petra and I tied it up and went for a cone of ice cream! I have never seen such a beautiful city! Everything was just so surreal. We went to this little shop for ice cream – it reminded me of a fast food restaurant – it had the little food tray doors on the wall and their menu was similar to a fast food restaurants’. It was so delicious! We had vanilla dipped in chocolate shavings. YUM!
We slowly walked back to the boat. When we got there, we slowly drove back to the dock to put the boat back on the trailer. This took quite a while. We had to tarp it, plug in the lights/license plate, etc., etc. We finished and began our drive back home with the boat. I listened to Delain, a band from the Netherlands… while I was in the Netherlands. Wow, aren’t I so cool that I get amusement from that? LOL!
I fell asleep a few times on the way back. My iPod almost died as well.
We got home and ate pizza! I absolutely love this pasta pizza. It is the best pizza I have ever had, by far. We watched Two and a Half Men for a while, and now it’s time to sleep.
Deutschland | Tage 12
Tage 12, SATURDAY 9.JULY.2011
I woke up at 6 to take a shower. It was so cold… Nobody showered before me either; I think I was the first at least, so it was a pretty quick shower to say the least. Then I came back to my room and got some of my things ready to go.
We didn’t lieave for breakfast for quite a while… I probably would have been better off waiting a half hour or 45 minutes to shower, but oh well! At least I was completely ready to go. We then went to eat and had the same thing as yesterday. But today they gave us juice boxes and apples. Everyone got three orange juice boxes, but some people didn’t want them so they gave them to me… LOL.
We left, got our stuff, and walked into town for the train. We all boarded the train and rode the about 15 minute ride to the ferry. The ferry was packed full like a can of sardines! We had to go downstairs to sit. It was super warm down there. We ended up buying some French fries, of course. We socialized, ate, and were also bored for a while. The two hour ferry ride gets quite long….
After unloading the ferry, which was a packed and warm event, we gathered and boarded the six-minute train ride. When we arrived at the other train station we hurriedly ran up the stairs, then down the stairs with our heavy luggage to board our other train, which was scheduled to leave very shortly.
The second train ride was about 2 more hours. I slept a little, listened to music, and we talked. There were these drunken German guys on the opposite side of our car, and they were quite obnoxious. Some of it was pretty funny though.
We finally reached the train station and all separated to go back with our families. We drove home and some guy was over and we ate this delicious cake. It was yellow cake with white crème/mandarin orange topped with chocolate shavings. It was delicious. I had two pieces. YUM!
Then I unpacked and took it easy for a while. I need some sleep! For dinner Petra made me some delicious veggie burgers with cheese. There were also French fries, potatoes with rosemary, and this carrot-mixture. All of it was so delicious! Then we watched a little TV and then went to the Eiscafe. I had two scoops of chocolate. We talked to, I think it was the owner, for a while… well, I really didn’t say much, but I listened. LOL! I really need to work on my confidence. For some reason I am not confident when I speak German… I’m fine with reading/translating, but speaking just scares me! I will work on that.
We left and got home, watched some TV and surfed the web. We are going to go to a party tonight at 23.30, but I think I’m too tired. I feel bad if I do not go, but I really need a great night’s sleep.
Deutschland | Tage 11
Tage 11, FRIDAY 8.JULY.2011
Today I woke up at 7.15. I was going to get up at 6 to shower but I decided otherwise, and it was a great decision. Last night just sucked completely – people were so damn loud it was ridiculous. And of course, it was all the guys except me. Oh well. We all collected and went to breakfast at 7.45. I actually had my usual which was funny because we were not at home. After eating we left to get our bikes which were waiting for us just outside the hostel. They were really ghetto.
We biked to the East Sea for our tour guide. He was a humble man who lives alone on an island and eats plants. It was very interesting… and completely disgusting. We walked barefoot out where the water would be in a few hours. It was super wet and nasty. There was worm shit everywhere and there were worms and little crabs! They were so cute. We kept going out further and finally reached this black mud. Of course, we had to go in it. It got up to your thighs. It was cold, gross, and hurt because there were many shells everywhere. LOL! Of course, many people started stripping and throwing each other in the mud and wrestled and such, and them Jacqueline said “It’s like a porno.” It made us laugh so hard we almost fell into the mud ourselves. Then Mr. Harried said “GAPPies gone wild,” and we lost it. We didn’t fall into the mud though, so I did not get super dirty. Just all up my legs.
We drove our bikes back to the hostel. Then we all walked to the beach. It was wonderful. I went swimming in the North Sea! It was so cold, I swear hypothermia was beginning. So then Jacqueline, Emi and I got out of the pool and sat for a moment. Then Emi and I went back to the hostel and showered up and got ready for town! We went to town for shopping and eating by our bikes.
We ate at this little place. We had French fries, of course! Then we went shopping in all the little shops. There was some pretty cool stuff there. I bought a few postcards, a bag, and some food and Turkish apple tea from this mini grocery mart. It started to rain so we walked under the overhangings. We found an Eiscafe and got Spaghetti Eis! It looks just like spaghetti, it’s insane! The sauce was strawberry and it also had chunks of strawberry in it. It was very delicious! Jacqueline and I shared one as it was super huge, and 5.50 EUROS. It was so worth it.
Then after some more shopping around we decided it would be a good idea to go back to the hostel for our 18.30 meeting. We drove back, but Jacqueline’s bike decided to be stupid and broke. So we went very slowly. When we got back we sat in the meeting room. People just started leaving and then it was just a few of us. We talked with Frau Gierke and Amber straitened Jacqueline’s hair. It was so pretty straitened (she had never done that before.)
Then we ate… the same stuff as last night. There were so many Mikes! I call the seagulls “Mike.” Hi, Mike. This one swooped down and stole some food from an abandoned plate. It then went and stood on the burning grill! That poor Mike!
We then played all of these hilarious games. One was similar to rock paper scissors, but we used a knight, dragon, and princess. The princess was the funnies to do as a group… LOL!
Then Emi, Jacqueline and I went to the beach… well, almost the beach. There is this playground that we wanted to play on but there were kids there. They were yelling rude things to us so we yelled something back and they left… LOL! We took photos and had lots of fun. We seemed drunk on life it was so hilarious. “One bitch, two bitch, seven-hundred bitches” - Jacqueline. We had to go back and we “partied” outside. We then had to get ready and go to bed. Good night!
Deutschland | Tage 10
Tage 10, THURSDAY.7.JULY.2011
Today I woke up at 7.30. I got ready and started packing for Borkum. I ate by myself this morning as Petra had to work and Manuel was still sleeping. I finished getting ready and finished packing. Petra got home and woke up Manuel and we had to leave for the train station in Greven. We got there and the train came. We all boarded and sat. I sat next to Emi and across from Jacqueline. We had much fun listening to iPods, eating, and taking pictures.
We were on the train for maybe two hours. Then we had to get off and transfer trains. Emi, Frau Gierke and I went to the bookstore inside. I bought a Hello Kitty Erdbeer-Himbeer drink. It was only 60 cents! Then I also had Paprika chips. They are SO DELICIOUS!! I also bought a book. It is called ,,Risotto mit Otto: Ein Italienisches Jahr in München.” I am excited to learn more German so I can read it! I also ate some Vegetable soup from a vending machine. It was only 50 cents! It was DELICIOUS! There were croutons in it as well.
We then got on the train and stood by the door for about six minutes. Then we got off the train after we finally reached the port. We waited for a while at the station. Then we boarded the ferry. The ferry was very neat. We first sat on top. It was very sunny so Emi and I put on our black sweatshirts, hoods, and sunglasses. People looked at us funny… lol… my English is just getting worse… lol….
Anyway I drank half a liter of chocolate milk. Then we went downstairs. We ate food and watched the waves and scenery. We talked and laughed. After about two hours we arrived to Borkum. We all got off the ferry in a huge messy group and boarded a small wooden train. We then got off the train and walked for about 25 minutes to our hostel. We then figured out room situations.
Then we walked to the beach! I have never been to a beach before! It was AMAZING! I cannot wait to go tomorrow again. The water and the sand just feel so “right.” And everything is so beautiful! Emi, Jacqueline and I mostly hung out together. We walked around, talked, drew in the sand, took photos. It was much fun! Sadly, after a while we had to go back to the hostel.
Jacqueline, Emi and I walked around and found a place to sit. We sat there and talked for quite a while. Then we went to eat dinner. They cooked out and for us vegetarians and vegan they made veggie burgers, veggie wurst and a veggie salad. It was all delicious! They also bought a bunch of drinks. And they were cold! I haven’t had a cold drink in ages. It was so refreshing!
Then we all played games. We played a sort-of game of volleyball in a circle. It was hilarious. Then we moved over to the volleyball court. The sand was so cold! But it was also hilarious and a great bonding experience for everyone. The best part was the moaning. I always make sounds when I hit the ball because I’m scared of it, so everyone joined in when they hit the ball. It then developed into a creepy-sexual moan. We were trying to get the ball over the net 10 times in a row, so it was very interesting sounding… LOL!
Then we all got tired and started gradually going to our rooms. Emi, Jacqueline, Frau Gierke, Mr. Harried, and that other guy I keep forgetting his name….. he’s a student teacher and I talked outside while everyone else was inside. Frau Gierke’s laugh is so hilarious! And then we all got ready for bed and I am laying here. I am going to bed now and cannot wait until tomorrow….
Deutschland | Tage 9
Tage 9, WEDNESDAY 6.JULY.2011
Today started out the same as yesterday. Exactly the same. We went to school as before, and I fell asleep in the second class… I’m so tired! It must be the new surroundings, lifestyle, etc. I love it but I wish I wasn’t so tired all the time!
After school we went home and I went on the computer for a while. Then we had lunch. Petra made me some delicious soy schnitzel and potato bites! It was delicious! And for desert we had some pudding with strawberry syrup. Manuel had to leave for his haircut, and I went to the restroom and talked to Petra about my soup I’m going to make.
Then when he got back from his haircut we went to the music store. It was really awesome! They had every instrument imaginable. We dinked around with the percussion for a while and then they wanted me to play the trumpet… LOL. So we found a trumpet and a mouthpiece and then looked for music. I had never heard of anything in their selection before, so after looking for a long time we decided to give up on that. So then we went to the pianos. Petra tried playing “Du, du, liegst mi rim hertzen” but couldn’t… so I figured it out and showed it to her. It was really cool. Then this kid walked in and started playing a grand piano. He played some song and then he stopped and started another… it was the song Taby always plays! I LOVE that song. It made me kind of sad though – it made me miss her and piano lessons… so hopefully when I get back to America I can take up piano lessons again… mom… dad…?
Then we went into the mixer room. This was very confusing but pretty fun.
Then we went into the basement to find cellos! They were pretty crappy. The bow was even worse, but I played it for them anyway. It was nice.
We ended up leaving and going to the store. We had two cases + 1 bag of bottles to recycle. We put the cases in this machine and it spits out a receipt telling you how much money you get at the register! We got like 12 EUROS! They got back almost ALL of the money they spent on the drinks! I love their recycling system here.
We went back to the house and I got my camera. We went to another GAPPies’ birthday party. Today it was Taylor’s. There was barely anyone there. I talked with him for a while and then all the other GAPP guys came. I of course don’t really usually socialize with them so it was very awkward. Luckily, Ellyn and her partner came for a little while… or like 20 minutes. Hey, it was better than nothing. Ellyn and I talked about food, cooking and baking. We also figured out some German words with her partner.
They ended up leaving soon and it was pretty awkward again. That’s okay though.
When everyone else left to play ding-dong-ditch, I stayed back fiddling with my camera. They Petra came with Timo to get us. We left the party and the car stopped working properly. Some belt in the engine fell off and something else broke. So Petra called Christian and he came and we towed the car to his work. Their cars seem to break often! Ha!
We got back home and I had taught Timo some fun English words… it was hilarious! Now I must sleep! We’re going to Borkum tomorrow and I want a nice sleep!
Deutschland | Tage 8
Tage 8, TUESDAY 5.JULY.2011
Today was wonderful! I woke up at 5.45 as usual, got ready as usual, ate breakfast as usual, but today I tried some German peanut butter. It was… different than ours to say the least. It wasn’t bad, but it was… different. Then Manuel and I went to the bus stop, and went to school.
Today was a little more interesting. I went to our usual GAPP meeting while Manuel was in Sport. I’m so lucky I missed that! LOL! We also had Math, which was SO damn easy. I did the work while he was explaining it. It was just finding percentages of who is than 1.4M and who is shorter than 1.4M. How many girls/boys? Total? It was so easy and that is the ONLY lesson they had for the ENTIRE 60 minutes. Their school system is screwed up. They don’t even take attendance! I fell asleep in Biology…. They were speaking something about a squirrel and a mouse… that’s all I got from the lecture while I was awake.
After school, Frau Brazee came!! It was so cool to see her here! (Frau Brazee was my German 2 teacher and will be my German 3 teacher.) We all spoke for a while and then most had to leave for class or for home. I stayed back with Jacqueline, Emi, Steph, and a few other German students. We then went to eat lunch. We ate at this little Mediterranean place. I had French fries and a Sprite. YUM!
After dinking around for a while we left and went shopping. I bought a bunch of chocolates, a German flag, some postcards and some other gifts. I hope people like their gifts…
We shopped around until about 17.00.
Petra then came with Manuel, picked up Emi, Jacqueline and I and we drove to Erica’s surprise birthday party! When she arrived we yelled some mushy phrase in German and English and then sung to her. We then all hung out, talked, drank more soda and ate pizza. YUM! Socializing with the other GAPPies was so nice to do. And I got to get to know Jacqueline during the day. She is an awesome person, as well as Erica!
Wir haben English gesprochen, aber morgen nur Deutsch.
At the end of the party, Christian came to pick us up. Then we came home, and I’m going to bed now. It’s midnight…
Bis morgen!
Deutschland | Tage 7
Day 7, MONDAY, 4.JULY.2011
Today was the GAPP’s first school day here. It was very interesting. I woke up at 5.45 and went to the shower. I got ready to go to school as I usually do, shower, hair, etc. Then it was breakfast time at 6.45. I had my usual. :) Then I brushed my teeth and Manuel and I walked to the bus stop. The city bus came and we were on our way to the school in Greven. I met a few people, but really didn’t say anything.
We got to the school and the American GAPPies had a meeting in the library room of the school. After the first hour of the day the German GAPPies came and got us. We then all went to have a group breakfast/snack. There were cheese Brötchen, salami Brötchen, orange juice, and apple juice.. I had a cheese one and some orange juice. It was nice. Then we all introduced ourselves: our names, how old we are, and then who our partner is. After that hour was over we had to go to classes with our partners. It was very interesting. I think the first class was history. It was so boring. I almost fell asleep. Same with the next few classes, especially Latin… I knew NOTHING in that class, and I understood nothing. LOL! The teachers leave the room for most of the class period. Students study by themselves. Each period is 1 hour long. They have long breaks in between each period. I think they are like 15 or 25 minutes long. Either way it seems like forever.
When school ended at about 13, Manuel and I went to the bus stop. The bus came and we had our ride back home. I think we were one of the last bus stops in the afternoon for that bus. But still we got home pretty quickly.
We then ate leftovers from last Friday. So tasty! Then Manuel and I went and played video games and I checked my accounts online. Lena showed up, then Petra and I went to the small supermarket to pick up a few groceries. Everything seems so inexpensive here! It’s amazing. Their selection is not that large, but it’s still very cool. Then I came back.
Lena, Manuel and I then rode our bikes to the Eiscafe. I had Schokoladeeis and it was super amazing! German ice cream is the best! Afterwards we went back to Manuels’ house, got bikes and rode to Lukas’ farm. It was really funny – we were throwing things around the room and I am starting to be able to understand their conversations and be a part of them. I feel so accomplished! LOL!
Then we had to leave for dinner. Lena turned off for her home and Manuel and I went back home. Petra made some delicious potato-like fried pancake things. They were SO delicious. Shortly after Manuel had to go to Fahrschule (driving school.) I actually learned more in this German driving school than I did with Nancy… hehe…
When the hour-and-a-half lesson was finished, we left and Petra was waiting outside for us. We walked to the Eiscafe again and I had some more Schokoladeeis. YUM! Then we walked and talked and visited his grandpa’s grave… he passed away recently. We slowly walked back to the house. When we arrived, Christian had arrived and was finishing his dinner. We all talked for a minute, I wrote some things in my notebook and dictionary, and then I decided it should be time to go to sleep. I must go to school again tomorrow, and I’m very tired. :)
Deutschland | Tage 6
DAY 6, SUNDAY, 3.JULY.2011
Today I woke up at 9.15. I have such a good sleep again! I showered and got ready for the day and then we ate breakfast at 10.00 sharp. I had zwei Brötchen… again. But this time I had cheese and butter on both. The cheese here is AMAZING!! YUM!! I also had about 4 cups of milk mit Kakao.
Then after breakfast Manuel, Christian and I went to Lukas’. We towed a car to Christians’ shop. Manuel steered the towing car and I was in it with him. It was pretty funny. People were giving us funny looks. So we were there at his company and they were trying to find a part for the car. All of a sudden another car’s alarm went off. It screamed SO loudly. We got it to shut off. Then a few minutes later, it did it again. It was so hilarious!
Then we drove back home. Manuel and I walked to the Triathlon of Saerbeck. It is a yearly event. We were too late as everyone was finishing up. He talked to a bike person about his mountainbike – if he could get the triathlon tires on his mountainbike. So then we walked back home, I went to the restroom (#2) and he went back to that guy with his mountainbike. Then he got back and we went to Lukas’ again. There I got to ride Manuel’s grandpa’s super old tractor. It was really cool! We then watched a different Werner movie. LOL!
Then Manuel and I went back home and his grandma, aunt, uncle, and two cousins were there. We had delicious cake together and were actually successful in communicating with eachother! I had some Erdbeerkuchen (strawberry cake,) and coffee and mineralwasser. Es was sehr lecker! After that Timo came over on his motorbike. He gave me a ride on it! We went so fast. It was SO much fun. After that Manuel’s cousins and I played air hockey together. I first played with his younger cousin. She was so cute trying to reach across the huge table when the puck got stuck on her side. LOL! Then I played his older cousin. She is super intense at the game.
Then Christian, Manuel and I played Gran Turismo on his PS3. It’s really cool because there is a wheel and pedals! I sucked it up so badly… Then we went to the GAPP party! It was wonderful. Petra had brought some veggie burgers and some kebabs with avocado, red pepper, and veggie sausage. It was all SO DELiCIOUS!! YUM!! It was so nice to meet everyone’s partners. Also it was super nice to talk with my friends… but it was awkward speaking and hearing English sentences!! LOL!! After some nice chatting the party had to end, so we left for home. Now Manuel and I are playing Gran Turismo 4 again, and I must go to sleep. I have school in the morning! What a super day.
Deutschland | Tage 5
Day 5, SATURDAY, 2.JULY.2011
It was so nice to get some sleep last night! I slept for over 8 hours. We had breakfast. I had zwei Brötchen – one with chocolate and the other with butter. I also had some coffee, black. Then I had some Milk. The milk here is the best I have ever had! Then Manuel, Petra and I drove to a swimming place. It was really cool! Everything there was different than in America. The changing rooms are all individual – they have two doors on either end, and you lock them by pulling down a bar in between them. It’s pretty neat! Also, there are pools of different heights – some are a few feet off of the floor, some are below the floor level, it’s so unique! There was a wave pool, diving boards, a slide, an igloo, a sauna, jets, and a climbing wall! It was so much fun! After a few hours of swimming we ate some Pommes Frites (French Fries.) I also had some tomato ketchup and Apfelschorle. Apfelschorle is carbonated apple juice. It’s so good!!
Then we came back to the house. I showered, which felt wonderful! They have both a hair dryer and hair straightener that I can borrow, which is awesome! I did buy a new hair straightener for Europe outlets on Amazon.de. It should be here by Tuesday. After I finished getting ready, Manuel’s parents drove us to the Kino (movie theatre) in Münster. We met up with some of his friends, who all came on motorbikes! I met quite a few new people. They seem cool. We say Werner Eiskalt. It was so funny! I didn’t understand all of it, but it was quite hilarious. The popcorn here is very sweet and super tasty. YUM!
We then waited outside for Manuel’s parents and talked with his friends. When they arrived we left back for the house. For dinner we had pizzas. I got a pasta pizza – pasta, tomato sauce, spinach or broccoli (I’m not sure which,) and cheese. It was the best pizza I have ever eaten! YUM!
And now we are watching TV. We first watched Wipeout (Germany.) They have lots of the same shows we do in America, but they are German dubbed. Two and a Half Men was also interesting… their voices are SO funny, especially Berta’s. LOL! And now I am typing the day away and will sleep somewhat soon. Petra got me another delicious gelatin-free candy. YUM!
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