Well.. I'm finally in Germany! w00t. I can't believe I made it. This place is so beautiful.. I wish my digital camera worked so I could post some pictures.. But alas, cheap chinese manufactured electronics cannot be depended on.
Here I will type up entries from the travel journal I have been keeping. Enjoy.
Monday, May 31st
3:30 PM
We are on our way to Chicago. We haven't even crossed the river yet.
The Goodbye's were short and sweet. Mama didn't even cry. I'm so excited! I wish this bus could fly so we'd be there right now! Germany, here we come!
8:02 PM
We are now sitting at the O'Hare airport in Gate B16. Our flight begins to board at 9:15. 73 minutes to go!
We got here rather quickly, and there were no lines at the check-in. We got in and got out in no time. Before we knew it, we were through security. It was very very painless and quick. Though, Casey was a random spot-check and they had to search through everything. Ha Ha!
Now I'm sitting here with a belly full of McDonalds and a mind full of anticipation.
This airport is a zoo. Never have I seen such a multiude of people in one place. I can't even fathom what Frankfurt will be like.
Tuesday, June 1st
14:50
The plane ride was one of the most uncomfortable rides I've ever experienced. Plane seats were definitely not designed for fat people. The poor woman next to me was so kind. She didn't talk much, but I guess most older Germans don't.
Now we are sitting in the Frankfurt Fernbahnhöf. Our train is 30 minutes late, so we are going to miss our train to Homburg in Mannheim. Agh!
Everything was going so well... Nothing has gone wrong the whole trip but now! How annoying... I sure hope this floor is clean.
16:17
We're sitting at the Mannheim station now. We missed our train by 20 minutes. This train station is so quiet. The only thing I hear are the passing trains and the woman on the speaker. I swear, the same woman announces at every train station here. Hah.
The pigeons here are cool. They just walk around minding their own business. They're not even afraid of us.
Frau lent me â,¬1.50 for an orange Fanta. It tastes so different! mmmmm
I love Germany! I can't wait to sleep in those nice German beds...
Oh, and.. Uh.. They have Aldi's in Germany.. hahahaha
thats probably cause Aldi is a German company/shop :-\
Is it? Whoops, my bad..
Anyways.. The camera miraculously works now.. And I've got some dodgy pics for you wonderful people:
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/train.jpg)
This is the train that arrived right before the our train.. Which was late.. Bah..
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/waiting.jpg)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/waiting2.jpg)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/waiting3.jpg)
And this is some of the partners I came with. We are all waiting for the farking train.
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/station.jpg)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/station2.jpg)
Finally, we make it to Mannheim, missing our train to Homburg because of the stupid late train.
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/cards.jpg)
We play some cards while we wait
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/scenery.jpg)
Germany is so beautiful..
But these damn keyboards are not.. Why the hell are Y and Z switched around!?!?!?!?!
I will post more later.
aldi is a german shop where you can usually buy stuff very cheap, which makes the founders of aldi to one of the richest german men. here in austria we also have aldis. but we call the hofer because we're much more clever then the dumb germans. ;)
x and y are switched because we need (obviously the best language in the world!) the 'z' more often than the 'y' (or vice versa? hmmmm...)
see the positive aspects of it: now you can easily use all these ö,ä,ü and à Ÿs! ;)
You certainly picked the right time to come here, great weather at the moment. :)
I must have missed it, but why are you here again? Student exchange? Vacation?
Edit: Watch it, Las! ;)
Is it just the LGM Photo effect, or do you just like bleak places? :p
No.. The weather is really great here.. But, my digital camera is not.. So.. The full effect of the beautifulness is lessened.
If anyone wants to come visit me, they can :-p I'm lonely.. They matched me too well with my partner.. All we do is sit on the computer and play games.
Oh well.. Off to watch some Deutsche MTV or something..
lol LGM :P
Any plans on staying there permanently, Mr. Oddmark? :P
MEHR FOTOS!
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/haus.jpg)
This is my house I'm staying in for most of my stay.
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/raum.jpg)
"My bedroom. Not the cleanest of places" - m0ds
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/strasse.jpg)
This is the street I live on. (Stalkers beware, I have a BIG dog to protect me)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/field.jpg)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/field2.jpg)
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/field3.jpg)
I swear, I live in heaven. Everything is so beautiful.
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/weg.jpg)
A path to the fields.
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/blume.jpg)
A beautiful flower along the path
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/pferde.jpg)
Look at the horsies!
(http://www.fbc-bettendorf.com/lgm/pics/deutschland/bauern.jpg)
A nice little barn near the horsey pasture thingy.
ja...
looks like you are somewhere in the outback.. hehe..
doesn't really look like a party-town.. but who cares?
for all the ppl out there: no, it's not like that everywhere in germany..
Heh, LGM, thats what everything looks like here! :P 15 minute drive and you've got the same beauty of the plains of Germany.
haha, yeah evil. looks a little like the ol' midwestern us
Quote from: panda isnt a ninja on Thu 03/06/2004 22:06:52
haha, yeah evil. looks a little like the ol' midwestern us
It's a little more hilly in places here in OK - but yeah, here too. I was thinking the same thing. WTF lgm, haven't you ever been to the US?
LGM, if your still there, I could maybe visit you! I'm going to germany tomorrow too :) To my girlfriend!! Yes germany is a nice country! So WAS The Netherlands, untill they led in everyone, to get stoned and drunk, and ruin the windmills :'(
I hope you have a great time there!
Well, Germany looks exactly like Ireland. Exactly.
(http://www.sylpher.com/novomestro/stuff/bauern.jpg)
Quote from: shbazjinkens on Thu 03/06/2004 23:41:50
Quote from: panda isnt a ninja on Thu 03/06/2004 22:06:52
haha, yeah evil. looks a little like the ol' midwestern us
It's a little more hilly in places here in OK - but yeah, here too. I was thinking the same thing. WTF lgm, haven't you ever been to the US?
I dont know if this is sarcasm or not...I think LGM lives in Iowa
Yes.. I live in Iowa.. The pictures don't transfer well.. But Iowa is nothing like this.. IOWA IS FLAT!
And doesn't have trees.. And it's all corn.. Not these nifty wheat-like plants. It's all so beautiful!
Oh, and Minimi... If you're going to be in the Homburg area, sure.. We can have a cup of tea or something :-p
More Journal entries
20:46
I'm here! Whee! Almost 20 hours of non-stop travel, and I'm now at my home away from home. It feels so nice.
I was shown my room right away. It's homey, and just big enough. (There's alcohol in the cabinets!!) :)
The ride home was 30 minutes, but it felt like 10... Thez kept asking me questions in German. I got through most of it okay, but this language barrier is hindering me. I need to learn more vocabulary quick! Maybe I'm just tired, but it's really hard for me to speak proper German sentences.
Anyways, I took a shower and I feel human again. Their toilets are so neat. No water in the bowl, and zou push a big plastic button that washes awaz everzthing down the hole in the FRONT of the bowl. It's wicked.
After my shower, we ate some cake and I gave out the gifts. They were overjoyed. We had more discussion difficulties, but I think I got through prettz well... And dang, Dominik's sister is cute!
I've got school tomorrow, so I shall leave zou know. Guten Abend.
Wednesday, June 2nd 3:15
Well... Maybe German beds aren't so nice, or maybe I'm just not tired. Ich kann nicht schlafen!!
I've been sitting here for 2 hours trying to sleep.. But I can't! There are a zillion thoughts running through my mind. I keep going over German phrases and words I need to use more often and remember... Now I know how an insomniac feels.
My throat is still mucusy too... Stupid colds... I hope these pills start working. I need to sleep.. I have a big day ahead of me.
Coming Soon:
A 4 1/2 page entry!
QuoteTheir toilets are so neat. No water in the bowl, and zou push a big plastic button that washes awaz everzthing down the hole in the FRONT of the bowl.
Hehe, yeah.
I don't know if it's like that everywhere in the US, but the toilets in our hotel in NYC were filled to the top with water. If you take a dump, it splashes everywhere. I hate it.
And they don't seem to be designed for, erm...european needs? My first try clogged the toilet and we had to call the janitor...
Quote from: strazer on Fri 04/06/2004 13:48:30
QuoteAnd they don't seem to be designed for, erm...european needs? My first try clogged the toilet and we had to call the janitor...
That was really,
truly nice to know. Thanks for sharing. :P
I'm male, we have no problem talking about such things... ;)
I'm lazy and i haven't read ALL of the thread... why is LGM in the father land? ???
16:24
Hey hey, first dyz of school was a-okay! That rhymes...
Anyways, I woke up to the alarm at 6:35! For breakfast we had kakao (cocoa) and Brötchen (hard rolls) with Maramalade. I love the bread here. It's nice and hard und schmeckt sehr gut.
After breakfast, I got mz things together and Dominik treated me to a ".5 Liter" bottle of "Fürsten Brunn Natürliches Mineralwasser." It tasted good at first, but then got bitter and salty near the bottom. It tastes like carbonated water, basically, with a slight tang to it. It's good in moderation. I believe that it's giving me the runs (whoopsie!)
Frau Feld drove us to the Parade area (which is kindof like a town square in America) The Rathaus (courthouse) is in this area, and the Schlössbergstässe beginnt auch da.
Dominik and I walked up the long street, it's name certainly fitting, as it was the steepest slope I've climbed. And I have to climb that mountain jeden Tag!!! I'm definitely going to lose some weight while I'm here.
After we got to school, I sat in Dominik's homeroom and just observed the conversations and behaviors. I feel like such a doofus sometimes for not being so open.. But I'm trying. It's hard to carry on conversations with people who speak a language zou can onlz speak at a five-year old level... perhaps even less than that.
The first period we were introduced to Frau Berg. She explained our schedule for the month, and handed out our class schedules. I'm in Dominik's class. I have every class he does except for when we meet with Frau Brown-Lowe or go on "excursions."
Second period, Frau Lauer gave us a tour of the entire campus. Everything is so beautiful... I took alot of pictures, and I hope they all turn out.
3rd period, we had a "Pause (pow-zuh)" first and I bought my first item in Deutschland: Apple Juice! Although, this apple juice was made with mineral water. It was very good, but makes you gassy after awhile. Mmmm...German food...
Near the end, Herr Brede came and talked to us. He explained many things. He warned us to be responsible when we are faced with the decision to drink. They are having two festivals during our stay, both of which involve alcohol. (What DOESN'T in Germany?) As long as I don't get caught drinking by Frau I'll be okay. I don't want to get drunk... And I don't want to drink all the time, so I'll be safe.
He also mentioned the state of the school renovations. Right now, the buildings are showing their wear and tear. But it is WAY too expensive to renovate the outsides of the buildings. $10,000,000 to just fix the fronts of the buildings. The reason for this is because German law has strict building codes. Everything must adhere to old architecture styles in historical areas. Everything must remain the same and look like it did 300 years ago. It's crazy.
After our meeting, Frau Brown-Lowe took us into town and bought us postcards, notebooks for our Journal assignments, and ice cream. We probably walked a mile all together. It was great fun. We fed the pigeons..hehe...Pigeons are funny.
Now I am sitting here after watching German TV, (which is very interesting. MTV is cool... and lots of commercials you'd never see in America. I saw some bare booty!) eating lunch, (spaghetti, beef patties, baked beans, and salad.) watching more TV, taking their dog Timi for a walk and playing Unreal with Dominik. I'm tired... so this is where I leave zou now..
Strazer: Not ALL toilets are like that.. lol.. Usually they are a third full. Or sometimes 1/2.. But if you're in NY, strange shit like that always happens.. Maybe it was rats spalshing in the toilet :)
Johnny Odd: I'm here on a one-month student exchange. So I can see what a non-moron inhabited country is like ;)
Thats sounds like a pretty cool time your having a pretty cool time lgm. I wouldnt mind going overseas for a while, but I dont think thats gonna happen anytime soon.
Make sure you say: 'Nein das is mein hamburger' to someone... I know I would.
I said that to some exchange students in year 11. They asked me why everyone kept saying it to them. Apparently, when they were in Goulburn, it was yelled at them in the street, which is hilarious.
Hahah..I have to try that sometimes.. Right now we get are kicks by just yelling out fuck and shit and stuff.. Cause most of them don't know what it means.. And if they do, they think it's funny.. lol
Oh well. It's fun.. The people like me over here. I'm not obnoxious and stupid over here. Maybe I can get laid... Or not.. ha!
I'm so pathetic