Tage 2 & 3: die Elbe, Eis und Hamburger

So I am writing this again in the wee hours of the morning as I'm still not quite over my jetlag and Am waking around 4 am most days. I missed yesterday blogging in fact, because I completely and totally passed out before I had the chance to even make it to dinner that evening and although I woke up a few times, I was able to quickly get myself back to sleep.

Host sisters, the girls, Herr Blume & I in front of the main building.

So Day 2 for the girls they went to their first day of classes with their host sisters. I know a few of them had English and German classes, and anything that was being taught in German mostly went over their heads. As they were doing that I was brought on a walking tour of the school grounds. Herr Blume gave me a wonderful history of the school which sadly I can't remember much of. After my tour we went and had breakfast in the cafeteria. During breakfast they serve rolls, bread, (toast for the students),  along with a variety of cold cuts and cheeses. They also have some vegetables and fruits on the end, and some yogurts, jams, and musli (cereal/granola cereal). This is a very typical German breakfast spread. I ate with the teachers and then the girls came in with the other students during their first break of the day. They told me about their classes and how they had heard their teachers talking about fairytales in German class, but they have no idea what the story was.

After breakfast the girls when back to class and then after that class the school had lunch. We have been given a special table that the girls and their host sisters and I all sit at with Herr Blume.  The lunch they served for our first day was a very traditional southern german meal. We had Leberkäse, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. The principal whilst we were all eating gave out the announcements and also announced the girls and the school welcomed us.

After lunch Herr Blume gave the girls and their host sisters a tour of the grounds. However this was only after I brought the girls back to my apartment to get them some warmer clothing. Several of them were not dressed properly for the weather and I figured letting them get a cold walking in the cold rainy weather on the first day would not be a good way to start, so to the parents of the girls if you see them in clothing you never bought for them in the pictures this is why.

Once the girls had their tour we got into the school van with Herr Blume and took a trip to see the Elbe. I think at this point the girls were pretty exhausted by their jet lag, because for the rest of our time together they just looked exhausted.

When we got to the river Herr Blume explained that this used to be the boarder between East and West Germany during the Cold War and that the land on the other side of the river had still not developed and recovered from this period.  This is because during the Cold War there was a 3 mile buffer to the boarder and all of the land was cleared with the exception of a few homes and watch towers for the boarder guards' usage.

The girls and their host sister tried skipping rocks and watched the ferry that is still in operation today, because they have yet to rebuild the bridge that stood there before the Cold War.

Spaghetti Eis

We ended our days excursion with a sweet treat at an Eis Café. Eis being the German word for ice cream. This was most definitely the highlight of the day as the girls got to try something they have learned about for YEARS in their German classes, Spaghetti Eis. Spaghetti Eis is an ice cream sundae where they make the sundae look like a plate of spaghetti. This is done by pressing the ice cream through a press in a similar fashion to the way play doh spaghetti is made. It is then topped with a strawberry syrup sauce, and shaved white chocolate to mimic the tomato sauce and parmesan on real spaghetti. The girls all ordered one and all loved it. MANY pictures of this historic moment were taken. ;) I personally went for one of my favorites the Haselnuss Becher which is a sundae with hazelnuts. Typically it is covered in Ferrero Roche and chocolate sauce as well, but this one was all about the hazelnuts and was also quite delicious.

Haselnuss Eisbecher

After ice cream we drove back to the school and the girls were picked up by their host families.






Tag 3: Hamburg

Today was a pretty cool day. We began as usual with the girls going to class with their host sister, and then having breakfast together. I sat with the girls in the student area, which I think was strange for the actual students at the school, but since I know the girls and not the other teachers I prefer it. That and it gives me a chance to confer with the girls during the day and see what they are up to and if anything needs to be adjusted in their schedules. Today there was a definite need for adjustment after the first period for the girls as Jessica had Chemistry in the morning and was slotted for Biology in the afternoon. This in German is of course a little intense and so I let her and Kat tag along with Anna and Grace to their Math Class which Herr Blume was teaching. While they were in class learning about the Quadratic Equation and factorials, I sat and continued breakfasting with the other teachers who did not have a class that period. I enjoyed being able to talk with them a bit and learn a little more about the school culture here in Germany.

Once class was over Herr Blume and the girls came to get me from the teacher's lounge where I had been discussing with another teacher au pairing as her niece is leaving for Chicago in a few weeks to au pair, and we loaded up in the van to Hamburg. As with every trip thus far in the van the girls' jet lag catches up with them and they all passed out for the majority of the hour long ride to the city. Once in the city we began our day at the Elbe Tunnel. This tunnel is used to this day for day workers in the shipyards and harbors to get to work, however during the work day it is mostly filled with tourists who wish to see the tunnel itself and the view of Hamburg from across the river. Whilst visiting this area Herr Blume gave us a little of the history of the area and explained how due to a high trade industry that Hamburg is home to the most millionaires on the European continent.

Herr Blume then drove us around for a while trying to find a restaurant to get lunch near the harbor, but parking was a little crazy so he gave up and we headed down town. After a little walking he introduced the girls and I to Moenckebergstrasse which a locals shopping street in Hamburg. I explained to the girls that this is kind of like their mall, but instead of a singular building and a roof it was a street and a few side streets with similar shops to our mall. I also restarted a game with the girls that I introduced in the Copenhagen airport to pass the time and get the girls a little more active and communicative. Whenever they see an American brand store or advertisement whomever sees it first and calls it out gets a point. Herr Blume gave me an hour with the girls to go shopping and said he would meet us afterward. We began by walking the street and went into one store Promod which is akin to express or zara at home.


The girls soon had seen all they needed to of the store and told me that they were hungry and wanted to sit down at a restaurant. So we sat and got some fish at a restaurant on the street name Daniel Wischer. The girls each split a vareity plate of 3 different battered fishes and fries and I got Fisch Frikadellen, which are essentially fishcakes with a side of warm german potato salad.  When we finished it was time to go meet up with Herr Blume. Jessica had expressed her desire earlier in the day to eat a Hamburger in Hamburg and said it was imperative that

The girls eating their hamburgers in Hamburg. :)

we do so, so Herr Blume as sweet as he is, found a burger place not far from where we were whilst we were shopping and eating. The girls were all stuffed however and so when we got to the burger place they decided to split one burger into 4 quarters and we took video and pictures of them. They cooks and staff found this extraordinarily amusing.

Herr Blume bought us doughnuts.

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Once we fulfilled Jessica's burger needs we headed off towards the older portion of the city that houses the Rathaus, stock exchange, exclusive multimillionaire banks, and the posh expensive shopping street ( Think Champs-Élysées in Paris). We went and saw the waterfront and Rathaus and then continued on to beautiful park downtown and also as a treat from Herr Blume got some dunkin doughnuts. I also pointed out to the girls a statue of one of my favorite German writers Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. I explained the story of one of his most famous works "Nathan der Weise" (Nathan the Wise) and how important it was for it's time. I told them of one of the parables in the book that Nathan tells a Sheik that gives the moral that no religion is better or more important than the others and that we do not know truly which way is right, but that we should all go on living in the best way we know how and be good and kind to others. I personally cried the first time I read this story and was very happy to share a little piece of this with the girls. 

Statue of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Once we had seen as much  of the city as our feet could handle walking we took the train back with Herr Blume to the car and started our trip home. The girls again passed out as they do on every car trip. Once we were home The host families began showing up to pick up each of the girls, however before all of them left the girls and I decided that we would have a sleepover in my apartment for tomorrow night. In my apartment I have 2 other rooms beside my own and 3 extra beds. Herr Blume has sad he will work on getting an extra bed for one of the other rooms as well. The girls are very excited to have a girls night in with one another and to order in some pizza and do facial masks :). It should be a lot of fun.

OK well that's all for today lovelies!

Tschüss!

Kathleen

Tag 1: der Reisetag

Day 1 -Die Reise

Well today I began the trip with 4 amazing high school girls to Dahlem, Germany. It began with us all meeting at the airport 2 hours before our 5:30 flight out of Dulles. We got to the SAS ticket counter and MAN was that line long, but we got to the gate with enough time to stop by Starbucks  as per Jessica's tradition.

Everything was working perfectly until we got on the tarmac and we got stuck there for 45 minutes. A storm was coming through and we were stuck behind another plane who was being rerouted due the storm. Unfortunately by the time they had figured out the new route for the plane ahead of us, our plane needed a reroute to get out of the city. Finally after 45 minutes we were in the air, but within the first 15 minutes we hit the storm. Normally turbulence doesn't phase me. I have flown often enough that I know to expect it and that the plane is perfectly under control. However this turbulence was the WORST turbulence that I have ever experienced. We had several sudden and prolonged altitude drops that forced me to brace myself on the seat in front of me in order to not smash into it. Thankfully after a few minutes the intensity stopped and the captain explained that we had gone through a storm cloud that we couldn't get around, but that all was well.

The flight itself was OK, but it was definitely one of my more physically uncomfortable flights that I've taken overseas. SAS seems to have narrowed their seats by several inches since the last time I flew with them, and they have also decided that only one non-alcoholic drink is free during the flight. They later explained when I asked that hot tea, coffee, and water were still cost free the juice and sodas were the only non-alcoholics that were limited.  The girls and I were all split up, but I think the seat arrangements actually worked out really well. 3 of them are in the same German class together and are very good friends and the other is a year older and from another high school in the county. I was on my own a row ahead of two of the girls and then the 2 others were a few rows back from that.

Once we actually landed we realized how much the delay in Washington had impacted our trip. Our flight out of Copenhagen to Hamburg only allowed for a 45 minute layover and given our 45 minute delay we missed our flight. The transfer desk quickly sorted out our issues, but told us that regretfully the only other flight to Hamburg today was at 2pm. It was 8 am at the time. So the girls and I settled in for a day in the lovely Copenhagen Airport. We had thought maybe we could go out and explore the city, but decided getting a taxi and spending money all over the city wasn't really what we wanted to do. Plus the airline gave us 2 vouchers for food worth €10 each. Unfortunately in Copenhagen that doesn't translate to much food, but we were able to get some Starbucks coffees and I got a ready to go pasta in a container for lunch.

The delay turned out to actually be quite a blessing in disguise. The girls and I ended up spending the day together getting to know one another and bonding as a group. We had fun swapping stories, and I teased the girls for their sport-like boy watching. 15 year olds are absolutely hysterical to watch scoping out boys. They had little code names like my friends and I used to for each different individual or group of attractive males they found. My favorite being, "The Herd" which referred to a young soccer team that the girls saw outside of a café. As we were waiting at our gate the girls and I were sitting at separate tables for a few minutes and Anna turned around once and said to me, "I'm pretending like I'm talking to you so I can look at the boys behind you." I told her I would take a picture so they could scope out the boys a little longer. The picture is below :P

The exhausted girls scoping out boys (and making silly faces).

Once we were finally in Hamburg Jay our point person here in German was waiting with a sign at the exit. He drove us home in one of the school's vans and although He and I had a wonderful chat about the differences in schools in Germany and America the girls all passed out for a much needed nap on the way to Marienau. The host families were excitedly waiting for the girls at the school when we arrived and were promptly swept off and taken to their new homes for the next 2 weeks. Jay then took me on a tour of the school and brought me to my extraordinarily large 2 level apartment where I will be staying, which has a beautiful view of the forest from my living room.

My Living Room

He then dropped me off to get dinner in the school cafeteria (this is a boarding school and the dinners are quite nice), where I met several of the staff members and had a wonderful meal with them. After dinner I retreated to my apartment and after about 30 minutes of sorting through my things and then discovering my American Netflix account now works in Germany without a proxy server,  and that this account essentially to my delight switched to a German account and all the shows have German dubbing, I passed out watching Clueless in German.  I woke a few hour later changed out of my day clothes and slept again until 3 am which leads us to now when I am sitting in my room at an absurd our blogging the minute details of our trip whilst watching Arrested Development in German.

Here's to a wonderful 2 weeks in one of my favorite countries in the world.

Tschüss!

Kathleen

Germany Trip 2k15!

This summer I'm escorting an amazing group of students for a two week cultural exchange trip in Germany. I will post about our adventures for the benefit of our families and friends back home. 

New family

Well some of you know already, but many of you don't. I am switching host families. Things with my current host family just simply aren't working out for either of us. I have found a new family that I really think will suit me much better. We seem to be a better fit overall. My new family lives in the 7th district in Vienna, which for those of you who don't know is very close to the city center and has lots of restaurants, shops, and just generally has a very cool vibe.

My new host mother Martha is a single mother with a 2.5 year old daughter named Aisha whom she adopted from from Mali. Martha and I really seem to get along well with each other, and I have been going visit and play with Aisha in my free time. We.already seem to be  getting along very well as well. So far we've gotten to color, do puzzles, and play telephone together.

On the 20th of May I will officially move into my new home and will be staying until June 2014. I plan to get a student visa to study German after my au pair visa expires. Another six months away is difficult to wrap my head around now honestly. I miss you all back at home so much and would love to have visitors! My host mother has said that I am allowed to have visitors stay with us. So hey a free bed and cool cultural experience all in one! She thinks it would be great to meet my friends and family from the states or elsewhere. I'm very excited about this new opportunity and living arrangement, and can't wait for it to begin!

Miss and love you all!!!

Kathleen

Prague

So yesterday I started my journey for my first trip to Prague! I got up early, did some last minute packing, had breakfast with my host family and then left for my bus. It seems however that I truly am my mother's daughter and my grandfather's granddaughter, because I showed up an hour and 45 minutes early... I knew what time my bus was set to pick up passenners, but even though I went and found the stop the night before, I was paranoid that I was in the wrong place and would miss my bus. For those of you who don't know my mother or grandfather they are perpetually worried about the same thing. In fact one of the favorite stories of this paranoia is when we showed up to my sister's first communion 2 hours early and crashed a wedding ceremony...

So I showed up massively early, but I did get some things accomplished -read bought myself snacks for the trip. At 10:20 the first of the other passenners started to assemble and at 10:40 our bus arrived on schedule. In your minds eye I'm sure you see a typical coach bus with tacky 90's fabric with a faint hint of old wafting to your nostrils mixed with the inevitable smells that one might associate with eastern European countries. This image is completely off from what I experienced. The bus was a bright yellow coach that looks modern in its design. On the inside were very nice and large leather seats with touch screen tv's in the back of each so that every passenger could watch a  large variety of movies or shows in English or Czech. In the wall by my seat was a plug where I could charge my devices and there was Wi-Fi in the bus! Finally to top it all off they served free hot drinks (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate).  So basically this was the best bus ride of my life, and it only cost 35€ round trip. I highly recommend the Student Agency travel line for any of your traveling needs into or out of Prague.

I arrived in Prague at about 3:40 ish and thanks to my friend Tobi who did me a huge favor and printed out my tickets and hostel booking confirmations (which consequently were apparently about 5 page emails each) I had amazing step by literal step directions from where the bus dropped me off to the front door of the hostel. After waiting in quite a long line at check-in (it's Easter break/weekend) I finally was able to check in to my room. I'm staying at the Plus Prague Provinzi. It isn't in the city center, but I have had several friends stay at the Plus Berlin and figured this would be a good bet for a decent hostel. I'm staying in a 4 person mixed dorm, although for my first night it was all girls. Hoping for the same luck the next few nights (since they have all left), but either way it's a good room. It's very clean with nice large lockable wardrobes with 2 single beds and one bunk. It also has great Wi-Fi service in the room, so good that I can Skype from my cell in my room. The only complaint about the room is that the shower floods very quickly. Making showering a race against the clock kind of situation.

After getting myself settled and calling my parents to tell them I'm alive I met my roommates for the night. They are studying in Madrid for a semester and for their Easter break they are/have been visiting a new city almost everyday! 12 cities in 12 days! Since I am on my own and they were very cool, I went out with them them and we saw the old town square and Easter markets. We met up with some of their friends who are studying in Prague in front of the astronomical clock. Christine (one of my roommates)was beside herself with excitement in seeing it in person. She has been obsessed with this cock since she saw it in a national geographic kids magazine when she was 10. So. We met their friends at the clock and went with them to the Cafe' Louvre.

The Cafe' Louvre is a well known traditional Czech cafe' and it has amazing food. I had a dish that they simply called on the English menu Roast Beef in Cream. It was one of the most amazing dishes of food I've ever eaten. I paired it with an out of this world beer called Bernard

. It was a dark beer that looked like a thick syrup. It was thick and kind of heavy, but absolutely delicious! After the meal I honestly couldn't eat anymore, but everyone else got amazing desserts. Two of the girls split the most amazing Apple Strudel I've ever seen. Yummmmm! After dinner we went to Wenceslas Square and walked out to the metro. Such a fun night with my new hostel friends.

International Faith Day

International Faith Day is a greatly anticipated event celebrated worldwide by approximately 10- 20 people (up to 40 on good years) on July 21st. It was founded on July 21, 1951 when Saint Robert of Cleveland and Saint Virginia of Cornwall herded the faithless geese to the holiest of holy Bethesda, where the geese were cleansed of their avian sins with the help of the glorious purple sponge.

Every year since this glorious date 10s and 20s of people have celebrated this day with much pomp and circumstance. The Parade of Violets with floats of geese made of purple flowers and other purple vegetation is held in Pittsburgh where the holiday is most heavily celebrated.

The traditional garb of the day is a leisure suit in any shade of purple, E.g. Violet, Lavender, Lilac, Amethyst, Aubergine, Royal, Eggplant, Wisteria, Mauve, Biloba, Lotus, Cabbage, Heliotrope and many more! Combining patterns which are made of these shades on a silk shirt with the holy leisure suit has become a popular addition for its most dedicated of celebrators.

In 2011 the chairwoman of the event (AKA the Glaube) moved the main celebration to San Francisco, where revelers have congregated for the past week in order to prepare for the celebration.

This will be the first time San Francisco will have hosted the event and the organizers say they will wow the Berkley and Haight-Ashbury crowds.

This year's event will cost upwards of 100 million MDN , half paid through taxes (at national, regional and local level) and half by private entities, mainly K.Andrews Bank, Yoj of America (based in Arlington, VA, however it is currently starting up a new West Coast branch in the San Francisco Area) and Bobbykins National.

Ups!

So until just now I have not thought about the possiblilty of a Blogger app. I'm going to try to post some shorter blogs using this before I leave. Which by the way is 10 days... As much as I miss all of you back home, I don't want to leave. It will be super depressing when I have to drive everywhere vs. walking to the closest S-,U-Bahn or Bus to get where I need to go. I have not missed driving in traffic.

The first pic is me waiting on my class to start lol. Lol I'm a little bored... The second picture is of my classroom that is empty except for this kid named Johannes.