Hello! Caleb here! My exchange partner Markus and I spend the day Thursday in Saarbrucken, the capitol of Saarland and spend the day shopping with some of the other GAPPies.
We spend most of our time before lunch at a mall called the Europa Gallerie where we met up with Mona, Hannah, Elisha, and Clara. We wandered around visiting the various shops in the mall and then met up with Gabe and his partner Florian at a shop called The Flying Tiger.
After we finished up at the Galleria, we went to an art store and browsed their collection of supplies. We also found a couple of really creepy masks that Gabe bought. After that we went to Game Stop where they had a bunch of really cool and nerdy video game related things, not just video games.
For lunch we stopped at Pizza Hut which is a little bit better in Germany than it is back in the states. There I drank a Fanta which is also better here. After lunch we made a quick stop by a small skate shop and a very small record store and then we headed back home on the train.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Wednesday, June 6 - Gareth
We first went to the Landtag des Saarlandes in Saarbrucken. There we learned about the Parliament in Germany compared to the state Parliament.
Then while we were in Saarbrucken we also shopped at the mall and the strips of stores downtown. No one bought anything in our group, we just walked. We got Starbucks though. Then we went home for a little bit. After that we went to Paulina's (Zoe's partner) for a party/sleepover. At Paulina's we had flammkuchen and a lot of different types of German candy as well as common German drinks. We slept in the attic of Paulina's cabin.
Then while we were in Saarbrucken we also shopped at the mall and the strips of stores downtown. No one bought anything in our group, we just walked. We got Starbucks though. Then we went home for a little bit. After that we went to Paulina's (Zoe's partner) for a party/sleepover. At Paulina's we had flammkuchen and a lot of different types of German candy as well as common German drinks. We slept in the attic of Paulina's cabin.
 |
| Crossing the bridge into Saarbrucken |
 |
| Piece of the Berlin Wall in front of Parliament Building |
Wednesday, June 6 - Elisha
I'm Elisha and my partner is Clara K. Today was kind of a super busy day. Clara's 16th birthday, her party and we also went Saarbrucken to watch a debate and also got filmed for the news.
Instead of going to school this morning, everyone met at the bus station where we took a bus to Saarbruecken, a 45 min bus ride. When we arrived, we went to a big government building where we were told how a debate (Parliament) room was set up. Their chairs, colors, and positions are all symbolic, like "we all see to eye to eye", then the numbers of chairs on each side is for the amount of representatives from each political party, not sure if I'm spot on but its something like that. Then we moved to a dining area where croissants and apple juice were served while we listened to 5 men have a debate. Everything was in German so it was hard to understand what was going on, honestly. People (NB from Frau S: 3German GAPPies and 3 American GAPPies) then volunteered to do short interviews about their stay in Germany so far and their opinion on specific things and we had to walk back out and in the building for video purposes. (NB from Frau S - the news crew from Saarland Rundfunk was with us all morning so they needed a shot of us coming inside the building for the news broadcast)
After being at the government building (NB from Frau S - we were in the Saarlaendische Parliament Building and also visited their chambers and met the President of the Parliament), we walked across the bridge to the shopping area of Saarbruecken. This area had so many shops and Eiscafes and little alleys to go down filled with even more shops. We were not able to shop much because we only had a little over an hour, so we walked to the Europa Gallerie - a 3 or 4 story mall. On our way back to the meeting area I tried my first German Eis. My expectations were way too high, but it was still pretty good and a lot cheaper than Whiteys.
Later that night Clara and I had no idea what to do for her party. There was a chance of rain and we weren't sure what to do for decorations. Luckily, it barely sprinkled and we were able to set up the picnic tables and we made pink sparkling water with sliced lemon and peppermint (it looked really cute) AND we found a bunch of pink candles so our themes was "PINK 16". This was Clara's friend party so it was very chill and her dad made a little BBQ. Nearly everyone stayed until around midnight and the Germans saw a lightning bug and got real excited since they aren't everywhere like in Iowa. German birthday parties are similar to American ones. German marshmallows smell, feel, and taste slightly different than American ones, but they aren't bad, just different.
Instead of going to school this morning, everyone met at the bus station where we took a bus to Saarbruecken, a 45 min bus ride. When we arrived, we went to a big government building where we were told how a debate (Parliament) room was set up. Their chairs, colors, and positions are all symbolic, like "we all see to eye to eye", then the numbers of chairs on each side is for the amount of representatives from each political party, not sure if I'm spot on but its something like that. Then we moved to a dining area where croissants and apple juice were served while we listened to 5 men have a debate. Everything was in German so it was hard to understand what was going on, honestly. People (NB from Frau S: 3German GAPPies and 3 American GAPPies) then volunteered to do short interviews about their stay in Germany so far and their opinion on specific things and we had to walk back out and in the building for video purposes. (NB from Frau S - the news crew from Saarland Rundfunk was with us all morning so they needed a shot of us coming inside the building for the news broadcast)
After being at the government building (NB from Frau S - we were in the Saarlaendische Parliament Building and also visited their chambers and met the President of the Parliament), we walked across the bridge to the shopping area of Saarbruecken. This area had so many shops and Eiscafes and little alleys to go down filled with even more shops. We were not able to shop much because we only had a little over an hour, so we walked to the Europa Gallerie - a 3 or 4 story mall. On our way back to the meeting area I tried my first German Eis. My expectations were way too high, but it was still pretty good and a lot cheaper than Whiteys.
Later that night Clara and I had no idea what to do for her party. There was a chance of rain and we weren't sure what to do for decorations. Luckily, it barely sprinkled and we were able to set up the picnic tables and we made pink sparkling water with sliced lemon and peppermint (it looked really cute) AND we found a bunch of pink candles so our themes was "PINK 16". This was Clara's friend party so it was very chill and her dad made a little BBQ. Nearly everyone stayed until around midnight and the Germans saw a lightning bug and got real excited since they aren't everywhere like in Iowa. German birthday parties are similar to American ones. German marshmallows smell, feel, and taste slightly different than American ones, but they aren't bad, just different.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Frau and Melissa's Day Off
Thursday, Melissa and I had the chance to travel and we chose PARIS! Neither one of us have ever been and when one is only 2 hours away by the fast train (318 kmh = 197 mph and no stops once you cross the French border) one must take the opportunity when it presents itself.
We set out to conquer the City of Light (or Love, depending on who you ask) within 10 short hours (including getting off the train in the city, navigating the Metro system and then walking around to the sights without benefit of a real map or travel guide and getting back to Gare d'Est on time for the train back). Neither one of us speaks French very well (or to be completely honest, at all 😂) so I experienced possibly for the first time in my adult life not really being able to communicate in a country I was deliberately visiting. My one semester of college French came roaring back as the day progressed but that doesn't mean I could communicate with anyone other than successfully asking for "six croissant s'il vous plait" and saying "merci" A LOT. I definitely know how my students feel!
We started at the Metro and rode to the Louvre where we took photos with the pyramid and some of the buildings.
The weather was beautiful and after checking to see how much a hop-on, hop-off bus cost (30 EUR per person, nein danke!) we then decided we could walk to Notre Dame cathedral and then to the Eiffel Tower (we could see it, after all. It didn't look sooooo far away). After walking to Notre Dame and taking a relatively quick peek on this inside (the recorded voice saying "SHHHHHH" every ten minutes was creepy!),
we invested in a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket to get everywhere else (you know what they say about hindsight). We visited all the major sites, including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triumph, the Obelisk, the Opera House, the Moulin Rouge and we walked the entire length of the Champs Elysees. We also were offered free ice cream for being at the right place at the right time while waiting for the bus at the Tuileries.
are everywhere and I have to say, the croissants still tasted delicious this morning (Saturday) for breakfast.
I apologize that the blog is a few days behind, but as we were interviewed by SR1 (Saarland Media) on Wednesday and then on TV Thursday night, we are a little slow in updating. 😏 Updates from students coming again soon! Bis bald! Frau S
 |
| No school = Roadtrip! |
We started at the Metro and rode to the Louvre where we took photos with the pyramid and some of the buildings.
The weather was beautiful and after checking to see how much a hop-on, hop-off bus cost (30 EUR per person, nein danke!) we then decided we could walk to Notre Dame cathedral and then to the Eiffel Tower (we could see it, after all. It didn't look sooooo far away). After walking to Notre Dame and taking a relatively quick peek on this inside (the recorded voice saying "SHHHHHH" every ten minutes was creepy!),
 |
| The leaves make this photo! |
 |
| Where we found Izzy and her host family! |
 |
| I had to get a picture of the Art Nouveau metro stops! |
 |
| I cannot afford anything on this street except perhaps the Burger XL at Le Mac! |
 |
| Nothing is better than free ice cream! The fudge ball in the bottom of the cone made it. |
 |
| Guess where! |
Over the course of the day, we walked almost 20,000 steps (tracking courtesy of Melissa's fitbit). It was fun to be tourist for the day, and truly, I would go back to poke through the Louvre, the Fashion Museum and also stroll through some neighborhoods (except for maybe Montmartre, just riding the bus through there made me feel like I needed to take a shower because one of the streets is more or less the red-light district). Boulangeries and patissieres
I apologize that the blog is a few days behind, but as we were interviewed by SR1 (Saarland Media) on Wednesday and then on TV Thursday night, we are a little slow in updating. 😏 Updates from students coming again soon! Bis bald! Frau S
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Tuesday, June 5 - Hannah
Hello this is Hannah! :) My parnter is Mona Janson and we had a very fun filled and busy day! We started off by going to school. Today was my first day since Mona had a test yesterday. I got to see how the German school system works. I thought it as very interseting that the teachers switch classrooms instead of the students. After school the Gappies grabbed lunch and headed down to the schwimmbad (swimming pool). We all had a great time playing volleyball and swimming! I felt like I got to know a lot of the Germans better and I am glad that we were able to hang out. One of my favorite moments from the schwimmbad would have to be either Drew falling over when trying to spike the volleyball or my sad attempts at dunking.
After swimming Mona, Ina (her mom), and I took a tour of the historic buildings in Blieskastel. One thing I learned is that when the French came to Blieskastel, they destroyed the castle by taking out metal bars that held the wall and the floors of the house together. After the castle was destroyed, the people used the stones to build their houses. One of my favorite moments was after dinner when Ina showed me her dance that she does with her students for the nursing home. The dance was to the song (Talk Dirty by JasonD) and she even included the "break the stick" dance! Needless to say I was literally on the floor crying because I was laughing so hard. Today was a busy but exciting day for me and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :).
After swimming Mona, Ina (her mom), and I took a tour of the historic buildings in Blieskastel. One thing I learned is that when the French came to Blieskastel, they destroyed the castle by taking out metal bars that held the wall and the floors of the house together. After the castle was destroyed, the people used the stones to build their houses. One of my favorite moments was after dinner when Ina showed me her dance that she does with her students for the nursing home. The dance was to the song (Talk Dirty by JasonD) and she even included the "break the stick" dance! Needless to say I was literally on the floor crying because I was laughing so hard. Today was a busy but exciting day for me and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :).
Tuesday, June 5 - Clarah
Hello all! Today's post is from me, Clarah! Today we all went to school and had our first homeroom meeting together. After school most of us went down the hill and ate Doener and then we went to the pool. At the pool a lot of people played volleyball. We got compettive but none of us did very well. There was a lot of laughing. We all had so much fun together swimming and going down the slides.
We have all gotten better at speaking in German and trying to "Danglish" (German and English) our sentences. I believe that we all have made so many great memories and there are more to come.
Doener is kind of like a gyro - usually has chicken, salad (cabbage, onion, tomato, cucumbers) and tatziki sauce. You can add spicy sauce too. It is served many different ways - on a bun, in a wrap, or over fries.
We have all gotten better at speaking in German and trying to "Danglish" (German and English) our sentences. I believe that we all have made so many great memories and there are more to come.
Monday, June 4, 2018
Monday, June 4 - Kat
Today we had our first day of school. I woke up precisely at 6:30 and proceeded to get ready. I had a chocolate muffin for breakfast and then we walked to Marita's (Kira's partner) house and we got a ride to school from her dad. I had German, French, English and Theatre classes. We also went on a tour of the school and Frau Schafer showed us all of the buildings and explained to us about the town and the castle. After school we went to a meeting with the mayor of Blieskastel and she told us more about the town and that she was glad their gymnasium and our high school can have this partnership. In addition to this, she also understood our tiredness and jet lag as she had just returned from New York herself. She and some other ladies gave us some "snail" bread, sparkling water and 2 souvenir pins and then sent us off to enjoy the rest of our day.
Sophie and I went home and ate lunch then I decided I needed to shower and take a nap. After my nap I went to Sophie's dance class with her where she taught hip hop to younger kids. They asked me lots of questions and some I didn't understand but I tried my best. For dinner we had bread and it was good. To finish off my first school day in Germany I decided to curl up in bed and read a book.
Although I couldn't understand most of what they were saying, I tried my hardest and my brain was overwhelmed. With the beginning of the week done, I am looking forward to what Germany is going to teach me.
Sophie and I went home and ate lunch then I decided I needed to shower and take a nap. After my nap I went to Sophie's dance class with her where she taught hip hop to younger kids. They asked me lots of questions and some I didn't understand but I tried my best. For dinner we had bread and it was good. To finish off my first school day in Germany I decided to curl up in bed and read a book.
Although I couldn't understand most of what they were saying, I tried my hardest and my brain was overwhelmed. With the beginning of the week done, I am looking forward to what Germany is going to teach me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)