DONE WITH LANGUAGE CLASS

As mentioned before for the first 4 weeks of my stay here in Deutschland I went to language classes in the nearby city of Karlsruhe. I came to Germany with literally 20 words of German so language class was a must.

To all those out there applying for an exchange program, the best thing that I can recommend is to really learn as much as possible before you leave home. Although most applications don't require language proficiency, the reason you are going to that new country will mostly likely be to learn the language. And if not--you'll still need the language to really get the most out of your experience.  Even though I'll admit to learning more each day, having the basics when I first came here would have sped up my language proficiency significantly. So even if all you do is study two words everyday, having random words to drop back on will pay off in the long run. Finally, read up on the country you'll be living in (the culture, politics, geography, etc.). All that information will help you understand the people and situations you interact with every day.

Language class was just one of things I had to do. Our class was made up of 14 different students, from the ages 16 to 52, and from over eight different countries. Pretty diverse if I can say so myself. Some-days it was fun, but on other days I wanted to be in "real" school already. Overall, it helped tremendously in adjusting to the language and creating a starting point for my German. 

during our coffee break

Adagio and Claudia

Jose pretending to be the techer

My class! My teacher is in the center to the left of the lady in the striped red and white shirt

I LIVE HERE!

Hey there! It's been a while and I know that's not a good thing. So here's some much anticipated (?) information.

My Room: Now to be perfectly honest, my room isn't this clean on a daily basis, more like a monthly basis. But you know what? That is OK!

My bed (super soft and warm btw)

My desk & dundundun the laptop I post blogs with

Right side of my room

Left side of my room

Below is my street and bus stop :)

My house is the one with the birch tree (left), the front is covered by bushes so I thought a long distance shot would be better

 And just to be really cool--maps

76307 Karlsbad (my town)
Germany

Ahornweg 14 (my house)

                                                          76307 Karlsbad, Germany

CLIMBING AND THE ALPS IN AUSTRIA

Believe it or not I used to be deadly afraid of heights.But after joining a local climbing club in Germany I've fallen in love with climbing and overcome my fear. It's something that I never tried in the U.S and probably never would have  if I had not been in Germany.And so because of my new found hobby my host family took me to climb the ALPS!

outdoor climbing wall in nearby Ettlingen with my first German friends!

WHY MY NAME ISN'T MY NAME

I've always had issues with my name. First, it originates from a boy's name and I would like to have a name devoid of switch-ability among the sexes.  Besides that the pronunciation is something of an enigma. Here in Deutschland and probably in a few countries around the world, my name can't be pronounced. To tell the truth, I don't really know the proper way to say it. Mostly I say Ay-dreee-enn and usually in a questioning tone because it's just something of an enigma.

Here in Deutschland when I say Adrienne, most of the time I have to say it over and over and then have someone tell this particular person they can call me whatever they want. Supporting this, a girl I recently met decided that my name was too hard so she would call me Rynn, "even though it's a boy's name." Why? Oh, because she likes that name and always wanted to call someone that. I'm flattered, honestly.

My Grandmother and Grandfather here don't speak a word of English. They call me by the German version of Adrienne, which I embarrassingly can't pronounce after multiple attempts. Something along the lines of Add-drie-en-ne.  Imagine me introducing myself and then looking to Anne or Ingrid to help me say my own name. Now that makes Americans look real intelligent.

My goal is that by the time I leave Germany I can pronounce my name properly and that at some point an amazing person will come along to give me a proper nickname (female preferably).

MEETING OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS

is like publicly stuffing your face with your favorite weird snacks and discovering everyone around you is doing the same just as enthusiastically. For example, nutella and cheese on a pretzel or pickles with yogurt.

Timur, Isabella, Me, Zita, Bonnie, & Felipe

I knew they were out there! But actually seeing them and talking in English none the less was somewhat of a relief. I knew that there were others going through similar experiences, but I could never spot them out on the street. We exchange students try our best to blend in as much as possible.


Situation A: buying coffee

Me: eins Kaffee, bitte (1 coffee, please)

Starbucks employee: sdklflasfpidhaisdonfklasdnflknsadkl.....?

Me: ja, bitte (yes please)

Starbucks employee: juegkiehflameu EURO (at which point I look at the cash register or hand over my biggest bill)

Me: Danke (thanks)

And so, the goal of this situation is to not have the hardworking Starbucks employee speak English to me as that would be considered not blending in. When these situations go perfectly I can dutifully pretend to be German. But here is a not so good day:

 Situation B: Isabella is buying various items from the DM (or the German version of a CVS) and I am accompanying her
~note: Isabella is my fellow AFS New Yorker going to language class with me

Isabella: *puts down what she wants to buy*

Cashier: kdsjfkljaiowenfklnsdfsdaklfkljiojijnklniufedycvklnl

Isabella: ......Uhhhhh (turns to me)

Me: *nodding very knowledgeably*

Isabella: *nods to the cashier*

Cashier: fsdkfjklasdjfiosndfknsadlkfs.....inkejhknsdk?

Isabella: I don't speak German. Do you speak English?

Cashier: Yes, of course I do. I am asking if you have a card for the DM in which you get discounts and such.

Isabella: No, I don't. I just want to buy my deodorant and floss.  

And so, that is what Isabella and I call an EPIC FAIL. A normal fail would be talking in English after purchasing our items in German. Otherwise if I'm alone, I usually destroy the persona I create of being German by loudly congratulating myself on my success....in English.