Today is the penultimate school day. Sara and Vroni had their last day today. We didn't really do much, not much learning as a lot of people aren't in class because there is a concert tonight. We spent a period eating Weißwurst and then discussing how to deal with the incompetency of our English teacher with another English teacher. He is one of the coolest teachers because he just recently graduated from University and he knows whats it like, not like some of the old farts that teach at schools all of the world and say: "Back in my day...", do we honestly care?
After school I went to the Apple Store and after waiting a little bit the guy asked me what was wrong, I told him and after a quick look he gave me a brand new iPhone 3GS!!! Free of charge, no stress. The lady next to me had a bigger problem. When she turned her laptop on, it sounded like a mouse was being electrocuted, it was hilarious!! Tomorrow the first 3 periods we are having our Christmas breakfast, lots of photos will be taken.
Good bye!!
Mittwoch, 22. Dezember 2010
21.12.2010
Hallo!
Came back to school, was really happy to see some familiar German faces. Miss Werner, our English teacher, should seriously be sacked because she can't do her job. A girl in my class gave a speech on Malcolm X. She speaks English very well as she went on exchange to England for a while. For a native English speaker she was speaking at a good pace, maybe a bit too fast for a German. I understood everything and Miss Werner said she didn't understand and her handout was too long, she didn't give any specifications in the first place. So she ended up not getting a mark. This is shit!!
I went to the city afterward and got my host family one of their presents, sadly I can't call it a Christmas present because it won't ready for Christmas, I found that disappointing. Getting a refund for my headphones was so easy, the guy doing it was even offering me lollies. They gave it back to me in cash. Would have been a problem since I paid for it with Tato's card!
Will be going to Apple tomorrow to see what they can do with my phone. I bought a really nice jumper I had been looking at last week and bought some dirt cheap books about Bavaria in a book store.
Right after school we drove in the tractor, Sara (mum) in the back and us 3 in the open air in the front and we drove off to steal our Christmas tree from the Catholic Church. It was gold how we covered our tracks, drove away on a different path, all planned out as an escape. Success!
Came back to school, was really happy to see some familiar German faces. Miss Werner, our English teacher, should seriously be sacked because she can't do her job. A girl in my class gave a speech on Malcolm X. She speaks English very well as she went on exchange to England for a while. For a native English speaker she was speaking at a good pace, maybe a bit too fast for a German. I understood everything and Miss Werner said she didn't understand and her handout was too long, she didn't give any specifications in the first place. So she ended up not getting a mark. This is shit!!
I went to the city afterward and got my host family one of their presents, sadly I can't call it a Christmas present because it won't ready for Christmas, I found that disappointing. Getting a refund for my headphones was so easy, the guy doing it was even offering me lollies. They gave it back to me in cash. Would have been a problem since I paid for it with Tato's card!
Will be going to Apple tomorrow to see what they can do with my phone. I bought a really nice jumper I had been looking at last week and bought some dirt cheap books about Bavaria in a book store.
Right after school we drove in the tractor, Sara (mum) in the back and us 3 in the open air in the front and we drove off to steal our Christmas tree from the Catholic Church. It was gold how we covered our tracks, drove away on a different path, all planned out as an escape. Success!
20.12.2010
Hallo!
Didn't really do much. Train was delayed 2 and half hours and I had no credit on my phone, very mysterious! All the shops at Munich train station couldn't give me phone credit because the system was down. When I finally got to the train station, Sara was pretty worried. Oh well. The rest of the day I didn't really do much. I couldn't go to school because it was already so late when I got home.
Didn't really do much. Train was delayed 2 and half hours and I had no credit on my phone, very mysterious! All the shops at Munich train station couldn't give me phone credit because the system was down. When I finally got to the train station, Sara was pretty worried. Oh well. The rest of the day I didn't really do much. I couldn't go to school because it was already so late when I got home.
19.12.2010
Got woken up at 4 am. Everyone was leaving at 5 am, I was in my pajamas and was feeling pretty tired. Pretty painless goodbye and then I went back to bed. Woke up at 9 am and I went to the train station expecting everything to be closed because it was a Sunday. I was in luck as it was the Sunday before Christmas and that practically everything was open until 8 pm.
It was snowing all morning and it was windy so I went into the Museum of Communication. A really interesting view of Germany's postal service through history and many other things. There was a robot that would greet you if you walked up to him and the other robot would play with a big ball.
I continued along and was cold again and walked into a medicinal technology museum. The museum wasn't particularly interesting but then I saw a rabbit. I couldn't get up close to it because security didn't let me but he did say there were a few families of them hanging around the construction site. Mind you this is right next to Potsdamer Platz.
I spent a bit of time shopping and it was still snowing so I wanted to find a good museum. I saw an ad for the Germany History Museum's exhibition of the Hitler era. I went there, it was free, toilet (considering you usually need to tip), locker, everything, the wonders of being under 18!
Afterward I caught a bus in the hope of going sightseeing, instead it took me to the outskirts of the city. On the way back we were blocked by police, I got out and then realised what it was. It was the Coca-Cola Christmas Tour, their final run in Berlin. I didn't get anything :(. It made me really happy but then I had to go collect my things and catch my train from the outskirts of Berlin, it was a safe suburb, pretty sure it is even one of the richest suburbs!
It was snowing all morning and it was windy so I went into the Museum of Communication. A really interesting view of Germany's postal service through history and many other things. There was a robot that would greet you if you walked up to him and the other robot would play with a big ball.
I continued along and was cold again and walked into a medicinal technology museum. The museum wasn't particularly interesting but then I saw a rabbit. I couldn't get up close to it because security didn't let me but he did say there were a few families of them hanging around the construction site. Mind you this is right next to Potsdamer Platz.
I spent a bit of time shopping and it was still snowing so I wanted to find a good museum. I saw an ad for the Germany History Museum's exhibition of the Hitler era. I went there, it was free, toilet (considering you usually need to tip), locker, everything, the wonders of being under 18!
Afterward I caught a bus in the hope of going sightseeing, instead it took me to the outskirts of the city. On the way back we were blocked by police, I got out and then realised what it was. It was the Coca-Cola Christmas Tour, their final run in Berlin. I didn't get anything :(. It made me really happy but then I had to go collect my things and catch my train from the outskirts of Berlin, it was a safe suburb, pretty sure it is even one of the richest suburbs!
18.12.2010
In the morning we walked past the Synagogue, it is massive and has a gold dome. If my memory serves me correct it is the only one still standing from before WWII.
We were taken to Hackescher Höfe. It is a landmark group of buildings typical of Berlin. Basically its a maze of buildings all connected together by courtyards. Only the apartments directly on the street get any light and the rest are pretty scummy. Its really an arty place to live as it is really popular, expensive and I found nothing particular about it. All the boys are squeezing in a Döner Kebap wherever they can find one. We went to one of the many Ampelmann stores. This is a store celebrating the stop and the go men at pedestrian crossings. These stores are dotted all over Berlin's tourist districts. Got some badges for my blazer and got some lollies.
Afterward we went to the KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens. This is the biggest shopping centre in Germany and it covers 8 floors, of which most are stocked with expensive brands like Tiffany & Co, D & G, Gucci, Rolex, I think you get the picture. Although I did manage to find 24 seasons 1 & 2 for only 15 € each, a bargain!!
We had free time and I went with Matt shopping for CDs and DVDs. We have most of them at school but...he ended up only having about 7 € left, with no back-up apart from begging others.
We had an early dinner and we then went to this ice cream place, it was so great. The ice cream was a work of art and it wasn't terribly expensive, best of all, it was included in what I had previously paid!! It was a great end to the trip, we thanked Ms Hohlweg and Ms Puffenholz for their time. I think Ms Hohlweg nearly cried when we thanked her for her service to the school, she is going on leave fro 2 years to do volunteer work, she isn't sure if she is coming back.
We were taken to Hackescher Höfe. It is a landmark group of buildings typical of Berlin. Basically its a maze of buildings all connected together by courtyards. Only the apartments directly on the street get any light and the rest are pretty scummy. Its really an arty place to live as it is really popular, expensive and I found nothing particular about it. All the boys are squeezing in a Döner Kebap wherever they can find one. We went to one of the many Ampelmann stores. This is a store celebrating the stop and the go men at pedestrian crossings. These stores are dotted all over Berlin's tourist districts. Got some badges for my blazer and got some lollies.
Afterward we went to the KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens. This is the biggest shopping centre in Germany and it covers 8 floors, of which most are stocked with expensive brands like Tiffany & Co, D & G, Gucci, Rolex, I think you get the picture. Although I did manage to find 24 seasons 1 & 2 for only 15 € each, a bargain!!
We had free time and I went with Matt shopping for CDs and DVDs. We have most of them at school but...he ended up only having about 7 € left, with no back-up apart from begging others.
We had an early dinner and we then went to this ice cream place, it was so great. The ice cream was a work of art and it wasn't terribly expensive, best of all, it was included in what I had previously paid!! It was a great end to the trip, we thanked Ms Hohlweg and Ms Puffenholz for their time. I think Ms Hohlweg nearly cried when we thanked her for her service to the school, she is going on leave fro 2 years to do volunteer work, she isn't sure if she is coming back.
17.12.2010
We spent the morning in the Stasi museum. God, never knew people would go to such lengths to catch criminals of the State. They had cameras everywhere, in empty barrels, clothing, petrol cans and even logs. The museum is being renovated so the displays weren't as great as usual.
We had lunch at Lafayette which is in the very rich area, a bit like Collins Street but much more expensive and exclusive. Snuck in a Glühwein, Matt hadn't had one yet and he needed to try one! He was really nervous about teachers seeing us. I got asked for ID, after which the women thought I had just turned 16 (she read my ID very well!!), which was weird because usually a 14 year old can buy a Glühwein without a problem. I later found out that we got in the most exclusive Weihnachtsmarkt without paying the entry fee of 1 €!!
We went to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most famous crossing points of the Berlin Wall. Heaps of tourists there and heaps of Russians selling Soviet memorabilia. The Wall Museum is about one of the only museums you need to pay as a student to get into it. Pieces of the wall are sold absolutely everywhere, its a shame you can't find anything remaining after only 20 years.
We had lunch at Lafayette which is in the very rich area, a bit like Collins Street but much more expensive and exclusive. Snuck in a Glühwein, Matt hadn't had one yet and he needed to try one! He was really nervous about teachers seeing us. I got asked for ID, after which the women thought I had just turned 16 (she read my ID very well!!), which was weird because usually a 14 year old can buy a Glühwein without a problem. I later found out that we got in the most exclusive Weihnachtsmarkt without paying the entry fee of 1 €!!
We went to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most famous crossing points of the Berlin Wall. Heaps of tourists there and heaps of Russians selling Soviet memorabilia. The Wall Museum is about one of the only museums you need to pay as a student to get into it. Pieces of the wall are sold absolutely everywhere, its a shame you can't find anything remaining after only 20 years.
16.12.2010
Early wake up, but still relatively late to what time I wake up in München. The breakfast cannot be stuffed up in a European country, bread rolls, good yoghurt and good spreads.
We begin every day with a meeting to say where we are going.
We went to the Bundestag again and we wanted to ascend to the dome. Due to terrorist threats you need to book well in advance, it really sucks.
We then went to Museuminsel, which is the Museum Island with about three different Museums. It was full of Ancient Greek artifacts and then another museum had a clay model of Nephatiti's head, the most popular exhibit, but nothing compared to the Mona Lisa.
We were all quite tired afterwards, so we played pool in the Hostel. It was nice to catch up with friends.
We begin every day with a meeting to say where we are going.
We went to the Bundestag again and we wanted to ascend to the dome. Due to terrorist threats you need to book well in advance, it really sucks.
We then went to Museuminsel, which is the Museum Island with about three different Museums. It was full of Ancient Greek artifacts and then another museum had a clay model of Nephatiti's head, the most popular exhibit, but nothing compared to the Mona Lisa.
We were all quite tired afterwards, so we played pool in the Hostel. It was nice to catch up with friends.
Donnerstag, 16. Dezember 2010
15.12.2010
Arrived in Berlin at 9 am, chucked my stuff into a locker at the Berlin east train station and went off to the city. I haven't had a chance to write a diary the last few days, so this is a recount from Sunday, in the exact same Starbucks in which I went to on the first day.
It snowed heavily enough all day. I went to the pillars erected for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, it's a really chilling feeling, especially when you stand in the middle of it where there is undulating terrain in every direction.
I went to the Bundestag, their parliament and walked through about 200 meters of snow to get a really good shot because I had my fixed zoom length lens on. I then continued on through the city and found a Christmas market for lunch. The lockers are very convenient because it means you just carry want you want and leave everything else.
I walked along a river for a while and passed through the university student quarter, it's like Melbourne university just much bigger and more extravagant. The train service run everywhere you need them to go, you just need to learn where they go!!
I spent about an hour catching wrong trains and then getting off and walking very far. I got off at Kurfüstendammplatz. It is where all the shops are, but I missed KaDeWe, the biggest department store in Germany, but we will go there later.
Their train was delayed by about 20 minutes, not that bad. They had been traveling for 7:30 because it takes so long. It was dark when they arrived and it only got darker. They had to drag their luggage for 30 minutes through the snow, it was as good as a snow plough!!
We had dinner, it was better than the last Youst Hostel I was in, they said it is one of the best ones, since it is in a big city. Afterwards we went to Alexanderplatz, the meeting place in East Berlin. Some people are absolutely addicted to Döner Kebabs, anywhere we stop and we see one, they buy it!
It snowed heavily enough all day. I went to the pillars erected for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, it's a really chilling feeling, especially when you stand in the middle of it where there is undulating terrain in every direction.
I went to the Bundestag, their parliament and walked through about 200 meters of snow to get a really good shot because I had my fixed zoom length lens on. I then continued on through the city and found a Christmas market for lunch. The lockers are very convenient because it means you just carry want you want and leave everything else.
I walked along a river for a while and passed through the university student quarter, it's like Melbourne university just much bigger and more extravagant. The train service run everywhere you need them to go, you just need to learn where they go!!
I spent about an hour catching wrong trains and then getting off and walking very far. I got off at Kurfüstendammplatz. It is where all the shops are, but I missed KaDeWe, the biggest department store in Germany, but we will go there later.
Their train was delayed by about 20 minutes, not that bad. They had been traveling for 7:30 because it takes so long. It was dark when they arrived and it only got darker. They had to drag their luggage for 30 minutes through the snow, it was as good as a snow plough!!
We had dinner, it was better than the last Youst Hostel I was in, they said it is one of the best ones, since it is in a big city. Afterwards we went to Alexanderplatz, the meeting place in East Berlin. Some people are absolutely addicted to Döner Kebabs, anywhere we stop and we see one, they buy it!
14.12.2010
Leaving today for Berlin. Wrote a physics test about a week ago and we got it back today, I got above average, without even studying but apparently I'm really messy, oh well.
After school we ate Bayrisch food- hackebrat (I think), basically tastes like a frikadelle in a baking tin. Tastes really good. Sara went to help Viktor today to slaughter all the ducks, so Tato, I guess I won't be feeding the ducks!!
Straight afterwards I took the train into the city, deposited my bag into a bag locker and then went sightseeing, shopping, eating. I bought myself a christmas present, which I will be returning promptly when I get back to München, will explain why shortly. So many shops that you can literally shop till you drop. The food is great.
Waiting at the train station with my Christmas present - a new pair of headphones, it was all fine until I sat down in Starbucks and then I here a crack and my iPhone stops playing musics. The headphone jack was broken and al the buttons at the top didn't work and they still don't after many attempts. Going to go see if the Apple Store can help me!!
The woman in the train with me thought that Australia was a Former Soviet State!! Had to hold in the laughter. Writing from Berlin at the Brandenburger Tor, recharging my iPone as it was dead. It still functions as a phone but as an iPod, no way!!
After school we ate Bayrisch food- hackebrat (I think), basically tastes like a frikadelle in a baking tin. Tastes really good. Sara went to help Viktor today to slaughter all the ducks, so Tato, I guess I won't be feeding the ducks!!
Straight afterwards I took the train into the city, deposited my bag into a bag locker and then went sightseeing, shopping, eating. I bought myself a christmas present, which I will be returning promptly when I get back to München, will explain why shortly. So many shops that you can literally shop till you drop. The food is great.
Waiting at the train station with my Christmas present - a new pair of headphones, it was all fine until I sat down in Starbucks and then I here a crack and my iPhone stops playing musics. The headphone jack was broken and al the buttons at the top didn't work and they still don't after many attempts. Going to go see if the Apple Store can help me!!
The woman in the train with me thought that Australia was a Former Soviet State!! Had to hold in the laughter. Writing from Berlin at the Brandenburger Tor, recharging my iPone as it was dead. It still functions as a phone but as an iPod, no way!!
13.12.2010
Woke up feeling pretty damn good about my German score. It wasn't all that bad. Chemistry was really fun. The teacher casually asked if anyone had a cigarette, a lot of people smoke the teachers know it, but they turn a blind eye. So one of my friends pulled out a cigarette and have it to her, the teacher lit the cigarette and went on to do a magic trick, showing the reaction of acids and bases to create smoke. She then admitted that smoking the cigarette was a diversion. Something like this would never happen in Australia, asking a student for a cigarette and then lighting up in the name of science!!!!
Straight after school we went sledding in Leutstetten, the little township next to ours. The view are amazing as the sun goes down and there aren't a million people in line to go sledding. Later I did the last packing for Berlin, really excited!!!
Straight after school we went sledding in Leutstetten, the little township next to ours. The view are amazing as the sun goes down and there aren't a million people in line to go sledding. Later I did the last packing for Berlin, really excited!!!
Sonntag, 12. Dezember 2010
9-12.12.2010
Hey!
Not much happened the last few days so I will summarise. Ms. Hohlweg go back to me, finally!! The guys in Germany from Melbourne High are having a great time. On Thursday in sport we did handstands for 2 periods, building up from nothing. I hated it and so did most of the class, but I had a go. I can't properly handstand, and it scares me anyway to do it. Some guys were forced by peer pressure to give it a go, we also had to do one off a platform 1 metre above the ground on to a mat, it was scary! It has begun to snow again and it will be snowing every day until at least Tuesday.
On Friday we were released after period 5 and early. That meant I could catch the early train, but no one could pick me up so I was at the train station waiting for the bus for 1.5 hours. I have discovered the best tasting bread roll: "Kartoffel Zweckerl". I assume its a sourdough roll with its sourdough mix based on the starch from potatoes, seen it in a few recipe books. Sara and I were invited to a sleepover. Tato if you want to google it, we were in Wilzhofen. The bus to get there took half an hour after a 15 minute train ride and at least a 45 minute wait.
The next day we got dropped off at the train station and then we took the train to our station. We thought that either Sara or Max could pick us up, but they weren't at home. There were no taxis, the hot-line was unattended and the buses came in 2 hours and it would only take us half-way, that meant 45 minutes of walking in snow, whilst snowing. So luckily we caught a train back to Starnberger See, just in the nick of time, we caught it just as it arrived and from there we caught a taxi home. Relatively cheap I think 15€.
The snow has been really slushy and the temperature has been a bit above 1ºC, which means the snow melts. I spent the weekend inside, taking photos of the cats, reading John Grisham, who is the best author for his genre in my opinion and nervously awaiting my VCE German results, which in theory should arrive in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Nervousness, its snowing and getting dark, already 4:40 pm, so I think I will just try and finish reading John Grisham and then await my results.
Wish me luck!!
Anton
Not much happened the last few days so I will summarise. Ms. Hohlweg go back to me, finally!! The guys in Germany from Melbourne High are having a great time. On Thursday in sport we did handstands for 2 periods, building up from nothing. I hated it and so did most of the class, but I had a go. I can't properly handstand, and it scares me anyway to do it. Some guys were forced by peer pressure to give it a go, we also had to do one off a platform 1 metre above the ground on to a mat, it was scary! It has begun to snow again and it will be snowing every day until at least Tuesday.
On Friday we were released after period 5 and early. That meant I could catch the early train, but no one could pick me up so I was at the train station waiting for the bus for 1.5 hours. I have discovered the best tasting bread roll: "Kartoffel Zweckerl". I assume its a sourdough roll with its sourdough mix based on the starch from potatoes, seen it in a few recipe books. Sara and I were invited to a sleepover. Tato if you want to google it, we were in Wilzhofen. The bus to get there took half an hour after a 15 minute train ride and at least a 45 minute wait.
The next day we got dropped off at the train station and then we took the train to our station. We thought that either Sara or Max could pick us up, but they weren't at home. There were no taxis, the hot-line was unattended and the buses came in 2 hours and it would only take us half-way, that meant 45 minutes of walking in snow, whilst snowing. So luckily we caught a train back to Starnberger See, just in the nick of time, we caught it just as it arrived and from there we caught a taxi home. Relatively cheap I think 15€.
The snow has been really slushy and the temperature has been a bit above 1ºC, which means the snow melts. I spent the weekend inside, taking photos of the cats, reading John Grisham, who is the best author for his genre in my opinion and nervously awaiting my VCE German results, which in theory should arrive in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Nervousness, its snowing and getting dark, already 4:40 pm, so I think I will just try and finish reading John Grisham and then await my results.
Wish me luck!!
Anton
8.12.2010
Hey!
Sorry, haven't really written much the past few days, don't really know why. Basically today I went to München (I finally worked out how to do ¨ on my computer, so cool!). I visited the Christmas Markets and brought some Christmas presents for family, hope you guys get the cards by Uki Christmas. Today Bayern München is playing against Basel in football. Police are just stationed everywhere. There are hundreds of officers patrolling and lots of vans full of officers as well. Sara said the last time Bayern had a home game, there was fighting, and especially because there is a Christmas Market, there is Glühwein so they were all singing and chanting.
To buy presents I had 2 options, 1) find a supermarket near school and then lug the gifts, hopefully not missing the train (it comes every 45 minutes at that time), or 2) take the train to München and then find the post office and a supermarket. I walked around for a good hour and couldn't find anything, also got lost, but then a woman at a stall told me about an underground supermarket. In the city you would expect it to be more expensive, but it wasn't, same prices as at our supermarket.
The post office lady didn't really like speaking English and when she saw that I was sending my parcel to Australia, reluctantly began to speak English. I persisted with speaking German and you could just see how her enthusiasm changed.
Its getting back to colder temperatures, like it should be, not 12 degrees like yesterday and today wearing a jacket was a bit too warm.
Sorry, haven't really written much the past few days, don't really know why. Basically today I went to München (I finally worked out how to do ¨ on my computer, so cool!). I visited the Christmas Markets and brought some Christmas presents for family, hope you guys get the cards by Uki Christmas. Today Bayern München is playing against Basel in football. Police are just stationed everywhere. There are hundreds of officers patrolling and lots of vans full of officers as well. Sara said the last time Bayern had a home game, there was fighting, and especially because there is a Christmas Market, there is Glühwein so they were all singing and chanting.
To buy presents I had 2 options, 1) find a supermarket near school and then lug the gifts, hopefully not missing the train (it comes every 45 minutes at that time), or 2) take the train to München and then find the post office and a supermarket. I walked around for a good hour and couldn't find anything, also got lost, but then a woman at a stall told me about an underground supermarket. In the city you would expect it to be more expensive, but it wasn't, same prices as at our supermarket.
The post office lady didn't really like speaking English and when she saw that I was sending my parcel to Australia, reluctantly began to speak English. I persisted with speaking German and you could just see how her enthusiasm changed.
Its getting back to colder temperatures, like it should be, not 12 degrees like yesterday and today wearing a jacket was a bit too warm.
Dienstag, 7. Dezember 2010
6-7.12.2010
The school week started again. Nothing in particular happened at school, everything is going well. It was relatively warm on Monday (3 degrees) and it rained all day. I had 7 periods so normally Sara would pick me up, I called a few times, no one picked up and I waited and eventually walked 45 minutes, about halfway home until they called back. I did buy Feldsalat, which I will hopefully send very soon.
Tuesday was really warm, 10-12 degrees, warmer than when I arrived, don't have to wear a jacket. Hopefully will go to Munich tomorrow, to make the week more exciting. Only 1 week left to Berlin trip and I still haven't heard from Ms Hohlweg, fingers crossed!!
Tuesday was really warm, 10-12 degrees, warmer than when I arrived, don't have to wear a jacket. Hopefully will go to Munich tomorrow, to make the week more exciting. Only 1 week left to Berlin trip and I still haven't heard from Ms Hohlweg, fingers crossed!!
5.12.2010
Again the day started off really slowly...
We went to the Munich International School Winterfest (Fete) a.k.a. the biggest collective of Americans, outside of an Army base. Upon arrival we were greeted in English, everyone spoke English, it is a community of purely English-speaking people. We walked up to a few girls who were selling certificates for the less fortunate in Africa, if we didn't want to buy one then, we could buy online. The girl told us: "The brochure is in German...." with a great hesitance. This shows how out of touch with Germany these people are, that some don't even know a single word of German. Sara knows a few people who lived in German for 5 years, without learning to speak a word of German.
Afterwords we went to Max's sister's parents-in-law. There we were greeted by St. Nicholas again and all the children were told what they had done well this year and what they had done poorly, even Sara and Vroni walked up to him. When he "left to go visit other houses", we all sat down and had a wonderful dinner, topped off with a desert of Kashtany (Maroni or Kashtanien).
We went to the Munich International School Winterfest (Fete) a.k.a. the biggest collective of Americans, outside of an Army base. Upon arrival we were greeted in English, everyone spoke English, it is a community of purely English-speaking people. We walked up to a few girls who were selling certificates for the less fortunate in Africa, if we didn't want to buy one then, we could buy online. The girl told us: "The brochure is in German...." with a great hesitance. This shows how out of touch with Germany these people are, that some don't even know a single word of German. Sara knows a few people who lived in German for 5 years, without learning to speak a word of German.
Afterwords we went to Max's sister's parents-in-law. There we were greeted by St. Nicholas again and all the children were told what they had done well this year and what they had done poorly, even Sara and Vroni walked up to him. When he "left to go visit other houses", we all sat down and had a wonderful dinner, topped off with a desert of Kashtany (Maroni or Kashtanien).
4.12.2010
Hello!
Today was a slow start yet again on the weekend. I managed to take quite a few photos of the cats and I came up with a Christmas present idea. The next 2 days are all about St. Nicholas. Yes, like in Ukrainian School, but much better, also with a raffle, but much better!
It was held in the local theatre, which doubles as a restaurant on weekends. The food was excellent and I forgot to mention that this was a yearly fund raising event for the local volunteer fire service. They showcase all the accidents they attend, Gut Schwaige was in the slide show 2 years, the dryer burnt the bottom of the house.
In the raffle I won a 1 litre bottle of the best Balsamic Vinegar, a Swiss army knife, a make-up bag and a kids road safety game. All of that for 15 euro, not bad! We came home very late.
Today was a slow start yet again on the weekend. I managed to take quite a few photos of the cats and I came up with a Christmas present idea. The next 2 days are all about St. Nicholas. Yes, like in Ukrainian School, but much better, also with a raffle, but much better!
It was held in the local theatre, which doubles as a restaurant on weekends. The food was excellent and I forgot to mention that this was a yearly fund raising event for the local volunteer fire service. They showcase all the accidents they attend, Gut Schwaige was in the slide show 2 years, the dryer burnt the bottom of the house.
In the raffle I won a 1 litre bottle of the best Balsamic Vinegar, a Swiss army knife, a make-up bag and a kids road safety game. All of that for 15 euro, not bad! We came home very late.
Samstag, 4. Dezember 2010
3.12.2010
I was the only one that went to school today in our family. The girls had parent-teacher interviews all day, wish we got a day off!! I had to wait at the train station 30 minutes, freaking trains!! Always delayed!!
I came to school late and then left early, the last 2 periods were Latin and English, The English teacher hates me, and anyone that can speak English better than she can (anyone who has been on exchange for at least 3 months). Her example of good English: "This is about Sub-urban children" (quite literally a 1 second gap between sub and urban). Apparently she is not the worst English teacher!!
I took the train into Munich. The German train service is very clean, pretty efficient and it goes almost everywhere, but for that you as a customer have to pay lots of $$$.
The main train station has a lot of dodgy looking people and for about half an hour I felt like I absolutely didn't want to be there. Heading towards Marienplatz on foot I saw many different nationalities, more than what you usually see in Starnberg - German, German, German, German, Turk, German, German, German, you get the picture.
At Marienplatz you really feel like Christmas is alive!! The Christmas Market is about a kilometre long and in some places 10 stalls wide, its amazing and that is not the only Christmas Market in Munich, there are heaps more!
The food is excellent, I found the best poppyseed cake and it wasn't even that expensive, it is basically what Babusia Lena makes, just less dough and heaps more poppyseed, I know which stall I'll be visiting again. I took lots of photos, I will try to upload some to Facebook by Sunday night, get a selection of the approximately 1000 photos I have taken so far!!!
The Apple Store is cooler than the one in Australia, it is bigger and central, two storeys. They have everything you need in any type of shop. Galleria Kaufhof is like David Jones. It has a food hall underneath with international food, top-quality bread and of course, long christmas shopping queues. There are lots of Collins St type shops scattered around the place - eg Tiffany & Co. I visited the "Residenz". Not sure what it is, need to check in my tourist attraction book. They had a small Christmas village there and a man out front playing Christmas tunes, even a proper camera crew came to tape him.
I was really cool and I can't wait to go visit it again, at the latest Tuesday week!
Love Anton
I came to school late and then left early, the last 2 periods were Latin and English, The English teacher hates me, and anyone that can speak English better than she can (anyone who has been on exchange for at least 3 months). Her example of good English: "This is about Sub-urban children" (quite literally a 1 second gap between sub and urban). Apparently she is not the worst English teacher!!
I took the train into Munich. The German train service is very clean, pretty efficient and it goes almost everywhere, but for that you as a customer have to pay lots of $$$.
The main train station has a lot of dodgy looking people and for about half an hour I felt like I absolutely didn't want to be there. Heading towards Marienplatz on foot I saw many different nationalities, more than what you usually see in Starnberg - German, German, German, German, Turk, German, German, German, you get the picture.
At Marienplatz you really feel like Christmas is alive!! The Christmas Market is about a kilometre long and in some places 10 stalls wide, its amazing and that is not the only Christmas Market in Munich, there are heaps more!
The food is excellent, I found the best poppyseed cake and it wasn't even that expensive, it is basically what Babusia Lena makes, just less dough and heaps more poppyseed, I know which stall I'll be visiting again. I took lots of photos, I will try to upload some to Facebook by Sunday night, get a selection of the approximately 1000 photos I have taken so far!!!
The Apple Store is cooler than the one in Australia, it is bigger and central, two storeys. They have everything you need in any type of shop. Galleria Kaufhof is like David Jones. It has a food hall underneath with international food, top-quality bread and of course, long christmas shopping queues. There are lots of Collins St type shops scattered around the place - eg Tiffany & Co. I visited the "Residenz". Not sure what it is, need to check in my tourist attraction book. They had a small Christmas village there and a man out front playing Christmas tunes, even a proper camera crew came to tape him.
I was really cool and I can't wait to go visit it again, at the latest Tuesday week!
Love Anton
2.12.2010
Today is usually the easiest day, because we only have 6 periods, 2 of which are sport. The first period was cancelled because our Maths teacher is sick and the second period they wrote a Latin test.
I stayed in Starnberg and did some more exploring, the expensive shops are further up the hill. I saw some scarves that were really damn expensive!! In Starnberg there are about 4-5 parfumeries, all of them are very exclusive and again, expensive!
I went to the Tourist Office and I asked them about possible locations of where Didus could have been. They believe its called Max Hof and it is 45 minutes walk South-West of Starnberg Railway Station and it is in the middle of the forest., I want to go there sometime soon. One of the girls in some of my classes lives there, maybe she can show me around.
I bought enough reading material to last me a while and I bought more in German than in English, I must stock up this time!!
I stayed in Starnberg and did some more exploring, the expensive shops are further up the hill. I saw some scarves that were really damn expensive!! In Starnberg there are about 4-5 parfumeries, all of them are very exclusive and again, expensive!
I went to the Tourist Office and I asked them about possible locations of where Didus could have been. They believe its called Max Hof and it is 45 minutes walk South-West of Starnberg Railway Station and it is in the middle of the forest., I want to go there sometime soon. One of the girls in some of my classes lives there, maybe she can show me around.
I bought enough reading material to last me a while and I bought more in German than in English, I must stock up this time!!
1.12.2010
It is now typical that we have train delays of up to 15 minutes, or cancellations, but that means we have to wait up to 30 minutes in the morning because our school bus comes right after the serve at 7:05 and the trains run at peak every 20 minutes.
The first two periods were cancelled due to a non-compulsory Christmas Service. I went and bought myself a Kinder chocolate Advents Calendar. Sara bought me a different one at the end of the day!
The first two periods I spent in the school magazine room. You have to pay for their magazine, but they also display local advertisements in there. They release it generally twice a year and it is run mostly by the older classes. They have heaps of computers and best of all, Facebook, Youtube and all those good things aren't blocked, it is like that in the whole school!
So far, the best poppyseed cake is at the local train station! I am still on the hunt for something better, there has to be!
I bought my ticket to Deidesheim and it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. The route is pretty straight-forward, with no unnecessary train changes, I am really excited to go back and visit them!
Really tired after school, not jet lag, just tired.
Thinking of you Babusia Lena, Get Well
Anton
The first two periods were cancelled due to a non-compulsory Christmas Service. I went and bought myself a Kinder chocolate Advents Calendar. Sara bought me a different one at the end of the day!
The first two periods I spent in the school magazine room. You have to pay for their magazine, but they also display local advertisements in there. They release it generally twice a year and it is run mostly by the older classes. They have heaps of computers and best of all, Facebook, Youtube and all those good things aren't blocked, it is like that in the whole school!
So far, the best poppyseed cake is at the local train station! I am still on the hunt for something better, there has to be!
I bought my ticket to Deidesheim and it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. The route is pretty straight-forward, with no unnecessary train changes, I am really excited to go back and visit them!
Really tired after school, not jet lag, just tired.
Thinking of you Babusia Lena, Get Well
Anton
Dienstag, 30. November 2010
30.11.2010
Last day of the month, should have bought an Advents Calendar by now, hehe!!
One of our teachers was sicks so I had my first ever art lesson, never again thankfully. I'm so thankful how good the Australian school system is. Here they have to do 10 subjects in year 11 and 12, they are all jealous of me.
We are doing an Advents Calendar in class, 1 person per day and I have decided that its the perfect way to hand out my small koalas, looking forward to the surprise.
School was ok, I collected all the textbook from the textbook library, was very heavy and then I walked around Starnberg for a while, so my shoulders will need a bit of time to recover. I bought some English books and some German books and magazines. Starnberg is like Chapel St, but even more exclusive, with some normal shops in between. There are shops with 100 euro scarves and 200 euro shoes, shops for watches ranging from 1000-10000 euros!!
One of our teachers was sicks so I had my first ever art lesson, never again thankfully. I'm so thankful how good the Australian school system is. Here they have to do 10 subjects in year 11 and 12, they are all jealous of me.
We are doing an Advents Calendar in class, 1 person per day and I have decided that its the perfect way to hand out my small koalas, looking forward to the surprise.
School was ok, I collected all the textbook from the textbook library, was very heavy and then I walked around Starnberg for a while, so my shoulders will need a bit of time to recover. I bought some English books and some German books and magazines. Starnberg is like Chapel St, but even more exclusive, with some normal shops in between. There are shops with 100 euro scarves and 200 euro shoes, shops for watches ranging from 1000-10000 euros!!
29.11.2010
As I am writing this I am cuddled up in my bed. I can smell the half-eaten Lebkuchen that I
so dearly want more of, but I have brushed my teeth. Damn! First thing tomorrow tomorrow
I am eating it.
It snowed absolutely heaps overnight, but I didn't have time to take pictures, in some
places it is beautiful, in others it's just a mud slushy.
In the week I have been here I haven't had a maths class yet, wasn't even worth turning up
to class because we were gusted enough to go on with work, like that would happen. We
are going to have a class Advents calendar where one person gets something every day.
After school I took the train to München city and because Sara and Vroni had to go home,
we were there for 30 minutes and then we left, planning on coming back on Thursday to
take pics and buy presents, it's such a great atmosphere.
Germany is so great, if i had the chance to stay, I totally would. I was looking today at the
University of Munich, the best in Germany, and in the top ten in Europe. I could see myself
back here in one and a half years time, we will see. I want to go to the university and
check it out, see what is going on there.
Tomorrow I'm going to spend a little time in Starnberg exploring, I want to try and find
where Didus stayed, but I have no idea where to start, maybe a map...
so dearly want more of, but I have brushed my teeth. Damn! First thing tomorrow tomorrow
I am eating it.
It snowed absolutely heaps overnight, but I didn't have time to take pictures, in some
places it is beautiful, in others it's just a mud slushy.
In the week I have been here I haven't had a maths class yet, wasn't even worth turning up
to class because we were gusted enough to go on with work, like that would happen. We
are going to have a class Advents calendar where one person gets something every day.
After school I took the train to München city and because Sara and Vroni had to go home,
we were there for 30 minutes and then we left, planning on coming back on Thursday to
take pics and buy presents, it's such a great atmosphere.
Germany is so great, if i had the chance to stay, I totally would. I was looking today at the
University of Munich, the best in Germany, and in the top ten in Europe. I could see myself
back here in one and a half years time, we will see. I want to go to the university and
check it out, see what is going on there.
Tomorrow I'm going to spend a little time in Starnberg exploring, I want to try and find
where Didus stayed, but I have no idea where to start, maybe a map...
Sonntag, 28. November 2010
28.11.2010
Today's day got off to a really slow start. Slept in and didn't do much until an American friend of Sara's (mother) came with her 2 daughters. They hadn't seen each other for ages and they caught up. The two girls have grown up with English and German, just like Sara and Vroni.
One of the girls is 18 and she offered to show me the Munich club scene, will be interesting! They live a little bit closer to Munich than we do and they also offered to take me snowboarding. I'm keeping in touch with them on Facebook so we will see how it goes.
Apparently all farmers here hate Ikea. Absolutely hate it! They want all the furniture to last for centuries and good it to be of the highest quality.
If there are any questions, please comment!
School tomorrow (an enthusiastic yay)!!!
One of the girls is 18 and she offered to show me the Munich club scene, will be interesting! They live a little bit closer to Munich than we do and they also offered to take me snowboarding. I'm keeping in touch with them on Facebook so we will see how it goes.
Apparently all farmers here hate Ikea. Absolutely hate it! They want all the furniture to last for centuries and good it to be of the highest quality.
If there are any questions, please comment!
School tomorrow (an enthusiastic yay)!!!
27.11.2010
Hallo!
Today Vroni has her birthday party with all her friends. I woke up at 9 and decided I would go for a walk in the forest with Rocky, the sheepdog. we came back at 12!! At first it was all good, I thought Rocky would lead me in the right direction but we ended up on the edge of a farm, which I thought was ours, as we were walking across to the buildings, the dog started sniffing around. It was a f&%$ing mouse, I had a panic attack for the next hour, we all know where that fear came from...mother.
If you look on a map you will see Wangen, that's where we ended up, 2.5 km away from where we started!! I met some people doing Geocaching along the way and they gave me a map and helped me on my way, thank goodness. Then when we were walking through the forest the dog just ran into it and then I couldn't see it or hear it anymore. I ran around in the forest, not to mention that I was also lost, trying to find him. Then I heard Sara voice and she was on a horse he and was with them, what a relief!!
Vroni's birthday started at home with cake and then we went bowling. I won both games, being very modest in saying that! Then we came back and had dinner. We had Leberkaese, literal translation "liver cheese", but its more like meatloaf and it tastes great. I got to know Caspar, one of Sara's friends, we were at his house for the Christmas market, the one with 30 rooms, he's really nice and cool.
He slept over and we stayed up and watched Pineapple Express.
Today Vroni has her birthday party with all her friends. I woke up at 9 and decided I would go for a walk in the forest with Rocky, the sheepdog. we came back at 12!! At first it was all good, I thought Rocky would lead me in the right direction but we ended up on the edge of a farm, which I thought was ours, as we were walking across to the buildings, the dog started sniffing around. It was a f&%$ing mouse, I had a panic attack for the next hour, we all know where that fear came from...mother.
If you look on a map you will see Wangen, that's where we ended up, 2.5 km away from where we started!! I met some people doing Geocaching along the way and they gave me a map and helped me on my way, thank goodness. Then when we were walking through the forest the dog just ran into it and then I couldn't see it or hear it anymore. I ran around in the forest, not to mention that I was also lost, trying to find him. Then I heard Sara voice and she was on a horse he and was with them, what a relief!!
Vroni's birthday started at home with cake and then we went bowling. I won both games, being very modest in saying that! Then we came back and had dinner. We had Leberkaese, literal translation "liver cheese", but its more like meatloaf and it tastes great. I got to know Caspar, one of Sara's friends, we were at his house for the Christmas market, the one with 30 rooms, he's really nice and cool.
He slept over and we stayed up and watched Pineapple Express.
26.11.2010
Today was the last day of the week. I'm starting to know where things are at school and friends and that stuff is coming along. Vroni had her birthday today and she was only allowed to open 1 present in the morning and she opened mine. She really liked it.
For lunch we had Weisswurst, a special sausage from Bayern. I've heard about it but never tried it. It tastes awesome, you just can eat the skin, you need to peel it off.
After school we had the guests arrive for coffee and cake at our place. I met more of the family and the they are all smaller than Sara, so I understood she is the oldest. They ran after the kitten and scared it half to death and then asked why it didn't want to come out.
Sara (mother) warned me that Max and his sister get into very heated conversations, and coincidentally, it did happen!! They got into an argument about how unfairly teachers mark schoolwork.
For lunch we had Weisswurst, a special sausage from Bayern. I've heard about it but never tried it. It tastes awesome, you just can eat the skin, you need to peel it off.
After school we had the guests arrive for coffee and cake at our place. I met more of the family and the they are all smaller than Sara, so I understood she is the oldest. They ran after the kitten and scared it half to death and then asked why it didn't want to come out.
Sara (mother) warned me that Max and his sister get into very heated conversations, and coincidentally, it did happen!! They got into an argument about how unfairly teachers mark schoolwork.
Donnerstag, 25. November 2010
25.11.2010
It didn't snow today! Sara stayed home to study because she has an important test tomorrow. Here its not like in Australia. If you don't call the school by the end of the first period, they call the police and send out a search party!!
I got to know one the boy in my class a little better today. He went on exchange to France in the North-west. Some time after that he got depression and he has been in a clinic for the last 12 weeks and he has only been at school for the last 4 weeks.
On the trip home I saw the mountains because it was really nice and clear and sunny. Sara said that it gets better.
I booked my train to Berlin and back. I found a train that goes overnight from Munich to Berlin, with a bed and everything. Better than wasting 10 hours in the day traveling there.
I took the dog for a walk in the forest, I want to go for a run with him tomorrow, we'll see how it is to run in winter in Germany.
I spoke with Viktor again and he invited me to his house. I can't come the next few days because Vroni has her birthday tomorrow, her party on Saturday and today was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is basically a stuff-your-face-full-of-food festival. Sara's parents and friends have been calling all afternoon and night. The apple pie is tastes so great, need to get the recipe.
I am starting to understand how everything works around here and friendships are forming too. I am planning my trip to Neustadt to visit my host family from my last trip. Blog for last trip is: http://www.antontkacz.wordpress.com/
The cats are all so cute here. Mr. Poo is about as hairy and fat as Lili and Taco Bell the kitten is so cute!!!
I got to know one the boy in my class a little better today. He went on exchange to France in the North-west. Some time after that he got depression and he has been in a clinic for the last 12 weeks and he has only been at school for the last 4 weeks.
On the trip home I saw the mountains because it was really nice and clear and sunny. Sara said that it gets better.
I booked my train to Berlin and back. I found a train that goes overnight from Munich to Berlin, with a bed and everything. Better than wasting 10 hours in the day traveling there.
I took the dog for a walk in the forest, I want to go for a run with him tomorrow, we'll see how it is to run in winter in Germany.
I spoke with Viktor again and he invited me to his house. I can't come the next few days because Vroni has her birthday tomorrow, her party on Saturday and today was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is basically a stuff-your-face-full-of-food festival. Sara's parents and friends have been calling all afternoon and night. The apple pie is tastes so great, need to get the recipe.
I am starting to understand how everything works around here and friendships are forming too. I am planning my trip to Neustadt to visit my host family from my last trip. Blog for last trip is: http://www.antontkacz.wordpress.com/
The cats are all so cute here. Mr. Poo is about as hairy and fat as Lili and Taco Bell the kitten is so cute!!!
Timetable
24.11.2010
Sorry I'm having problems posting the timetable. I'll do it some day. Today I had Economics IT, which is basically learning about the technology behind economics. We are finishing up on Excel and its so easy, but some still don't understand.
We only had 4 periods today so I caught a train to Starnberg (one stop before mine) and walked to my station. To get to our farm there are three options: get picked up by Sara (host mum), take the school bus that only comes at 13:30 or take the other school bus which comes at 14:00 and get picked up.
After school I went exploring in the forest around us, its so different to what we have in Australia. I met Viktor, a worker on the farm and he is from Siberia. I speak Russian with him. He has two older sons and two younger sons. He says it is much warmer here than in Siberia.
As Sara is American we are celebrating the all-important Thanksgiving. There will be lots to eat.
We only had 4 periods today so I caught a train to Starnberg (one stop before mine) and walked to my station. To get to our farm there are three options: get picked up by Sara (host mum), take the school bus that only comes at 13:30 or take the other school bus which comes at 14:00 and get picked up.
After school I went exploring in the forest around us, its so different to what we have in Australia. I met Viktor, a worker on the farm and he is from Siberia. I speak Russian with him. He has two older sons and two younger sons. He says it is much warmer here than in Siberia.
As Sara is American we are celebrating the all-important Thanksgiving. There will be lots to eat.
Dienstag, 23. November 2010
23.11.2010
My first diary entry for this trip
Its been interesting the last few days coming to a new region. I've been procrastinating so there is lots to write about. We arrived in Germany on a morning flight and it didn't help that we arrived from Abu Dhabi after the bomb scare a few weeks ago. It took one hour for the baggage to arrive. I met up with all the DFSR people and we had breakfast and then we did a walk up to the Starkenburg. Katja lost her dog, and it was found by a stranger in the next town and luckily the dog had a chip. Jet lag was not a big problem on the first day but then it got worse and then better. We had three people from Victoria, one from Queensland and three from Sydney. It was really fun to be back in Germany and to hear people all around you speaking German.
The day after I caught a train by myself to München. I caught an ICE (Intercity Express) the fastest train in the German fleet. They are so comfortable and great. If only Australia had such a great transport system... When I arrived on the platform I didn't know where to meet them, so I waited and then went to the entrance. There they were, with a gingerbread heart welcoming me to Munich. The car was parked on the four floor and to get down you needed to take a car elevator, just shows you how advanced Germany is. The city centre of Munich is so packed and impossible to get out of, but once we did get out of there, it didn't take long to get to the farm.
My first impression was that they lived in all of the different buildings. We arrived at the duck pond and we had to make all the ducks go into the cage. We continued driving and arrived at a large farm that has too many buildings, all lived in by the family. The main house has 30 rooms and inside there is everything you would ever need. The son of the parents, Caspar, is in Sara's class. She said she would marry him just for his library, full of antiques and not to mention that the son is named after a 16th century guy in his family.
I came to what I would be calling home for the next three months. I'm on the second floor, in a room near Sara and Vroni. Everything inside is antique in my room. Cats are absolutely everywhere. Wherever you are, there is at least one cat within 5 metres. They also have a dog and 9 horses. It is so cold down here in Bavaria. It is 2 degrees here while it's about 12 degrees in Heppenheim. It snowed earlier this week.
On Sunday we went to Max's parents to remember the passing of his auntie. She passed away 2 years ago. I met the family, Sara's family lives in California, but all of Max's family live near us. Sara and Vroni's grandfather has a really big bareyisch dialect. I can hardly understand him. The food was great and here they have both sweet and normal mustard. They had four different types on the table! The grandmother made the best apple cake, so good!! Straight afterwards we drove to a sugar beet farm where they had a display of how everything works in the industry. There was so much advertising. We spent the afternoon looking at everything. Fresh sugar beet tastes so good. Inside the factory where they build the machines that harvest the sugar beet they had seats everywhere and it looked like a mini Oktoberfest. Everywhere were people drinking and waitresses walking around carrying ten beers and then selling them all at one table. The line at the toilet was like at a women's toilet. Caramelised almonds are so great, I love them so much!!
I woke up at 6:20 for my first day of school and Sara was in there for the whole time until we left, what can you do:) I came to school and got my timetable and I was led into my first class. You probably won't believe this but the class has 21 people, of which 18 are girls!! Talk about male to female ratio. I'll post my timetable below, many more subjects and periods than in Australia. The first class was maths and the teacher was sick so we went to the computer room and did maths exercises. The school has no bells so you just look at your phone to know when the time is finished. The school it quite big and also modern. I like it, but I don't like the German school system, because for their equivalent of VCE, they get very little choice of what they do. We have to do a religion and i chose to do ethics, which is basically Philosophy, its very interesting. We had 7 periods so we went to the Mensa, which is the canteen, but it's so much cheaper and better and it is the greatest place on earth. The English teacher is not great, no one likes her and me included. My mobile phone doesn't work and it's really frustrating. When I arrived at the train station I had to be picked because the bus to our house only comes once and I couldn't take it because I had 7 periods.
My coordinator came to us after school She is also Vroni's German tutor. The family have known her for a while so it was not completely awkward. She congratulated me on my German, said it was very good. Afterwards I spent a while trying to fix my phone, and nothing worked.
On Tuesday I did the whole trip - bus to the train station, train and then walk to school, just to be in time for class. Sometimes we can be late and some teachers are understanding, but some get very angry. Therefore on friday we get dropped off at school because Sara has such an angry teacher.
I have started to remember people's names and I am beginning to notice who is friends with each other and who isn't. Some of my classes I have changed today because I don't do Latin, so I can help the younger classes with English. I got the impression from the timetable organizer, Herr Holzmann, that he doesn't really like art, because he told me that I shouldn't do it, WIN!! After school I followed Tato's instructions to unlock my mobile phone We are in the country so the Internet isn't great. I had to update and it took most of the afternoon to do. But now my mobile phone works!! Sara doesn't get any reception around here but I get reception nearly everywhere. I am sitting at the table with two cats sleeping, Taco - the kitten and the cat that she thinks is here mother. She tries to drink milk from her.
Any other questions fire away in the comments section
Thanks dad for calling Telstra and unlocking
Anton
Its been interesting the last few days coming to a new region. I've been procrastinating so there is lots to write about. We arrived in Germany on a morning flight and it didn't help that we arrived from Abu Dhabi after the bomb scare a few weeks ago. It took one hour for the baggage to arrive. I met up with all the DFSR people and we had breakfast and then we did a walk up to the Starkenburg. Katja lost her dog, and it was found by a stranger in the next town and luckily the dog had a chip. Jet lag was not a big problem on the first day but then it got worse and then better. We had three people from Victoria, one from Queensland and three from Sydney. It was really fun to be back in Germany and to hear people all around you speaking German.
The day after I caught a train by myself to München. I caught an ICE (Intercity Express) the fastest train in the German fleet. They are so comfortable and great. If only Australia had such a great transport system... When I arrived on the platform I didn't know where to meet them, so I waited and then went to the entrance. There they were, with a gingerbread heart welcoming me to Munich. The car was parked on the four floor and to get down you needed to take a car elevator, just shows you how advanced Germany is. The city centre of Munich is so packed and impossible to get out of, but once we did get out of there, it didn't take long to get to the farm.
My first impression was that they lived in all of the different buildings. We arrived at the duck pond and we had to make all the ducks go into the cage. We continued driving and arrived at a large farm that has too many buildings, all lived in by the family. The main house has 30 rooms and inside there is everything you would ever need. The son of the parents, Caspar, is in Sara's class. She said she would marry him just for his library, full of antiques and not to mention that the son is named after a 16th century guy in his family.
I came to what I would be calling home for the next three months. I'm on the second floor, in a room near Sara and Vroni. Everything inside is antique in my room. Cats are absolutely everywhere. Wherever you are, there is at least one cat within 5 metres. They also have a dog and 9 horses. It is so cold down here in Bavaria. It is 2 degrees here while it's about 12 degrees in Heppenheim. It snowed earlier this week.
On Sunday we went to Max's parents to remember the passing of his auntie. She passed away 2 years ago. I met the family, Sara's family lives in California, but all of Max's family live near us. Sara and Vroni's grandfather has a really big bareyisch dialect. I can hardly understand him. The food was great and here they have both sweet and normal mustard. They had four different types on the table! The grandmother made the best apple cake, so good!! Straight afterwards we drove to a sugar beet farm where they had a display of how everything works in the industry. There was so much advertising. We spent the afternoon looking at everything. Fresh sugar beet tastes so good. Inside the factory where they build the machines that harvest the sugar beet they had seats everywhere and it looked like a mini Oktoberfest. Everywhere were people drinking and waitresses walking around carrying ten beers and then selling them all at one table. The line at the toilet was like at a women's toilet. Caramelised almonds are so great, I love them so much!!
I woke up at 6:20 for my first day of school and Sara was in there for the whole time until we left, what can you do:) I came to school and got my timetable and I was led into my first class. You probably won't believe this but the class has 21 people, of which 18 are girls!! Talk about male to female ratio. I'll post my timetable below, many more subjects and periods than in Australia. The first class was maths and the teacher was sick so we went to the computer room and did maths exercises. The school has no bells so you just look at your phone to know when the time is finished. The school it quite big and also modern. I like it, but I don't like the German school system, because for their equivalent of VCE, they get very little choice of what they do. We have to do a religion and i chose to do ethics, which is basically Philosophy, its very interesting. We had 7 periods so we went to the Mensa, which is the canteen, but it's so much cheaper and better and it is the greatest place on earth. The English teacher is not great, no one likes her and me included. My mobile phone doesn't work and it's really frustrating. When I arrived at the train station I had to be picked because the bus to our house only comes once and I couldn't take it because I had 7 periods.
My coordinator came to us after school She is also Vroni's German tutor. The family have known her for a while so it was not completely awkward. She congratulated me on my German, said it was very good. Afterwards I spent a while trying to fix my phone, and nothing worked.
On Tuesday I did the whole trip - bus to the train station, train and then walk to school, just to be in time for class. Sometimes we can be late and some teachers are understanding, but some get very angry. Therefore on friday we get dropped off at school because Sara has such an angry teacher.
I have started to remember people's names and I am beginning to notice who is friends with each other and who isn't. Some of my classes I have changed today because I don't do Latin, so I can help the younger classes with English. I got the impression from the timetable organizer, Herr Holzmann, that he doesn't really like art, because he told me that I shouldn't do it, WIN!! After school I followed Tato's instructions to unlock my mobile phone We are in the country so the Internet isn't great. I had to update and it took most of the afternoon to do. But now my mobile phone works!! Sara doesn't get any reception around here but I get reception nearly everywhere. I am sitting at the table with two cats sleeping, Taco - the kitten and the cat that she thinks is here mother. She tries to drink milk from her.
Any other questions fire away in the comments section
Thanks dad for calling Telstra and unlocking
Anton
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