While reading the title of this post you may have experienced feelings of incomprehension and utter bewilderment (commonly referred to in the English language as WTF), multiply what you just felt by a thousand and you have what I like to call, a typical day of school . It's been about two months since I've been in Germany and over a month since I've been in my host town and I'm just now settling into the routine that I will hopefully maintain for the majority of my year here. This week was the beginning of a long road paved with hard-work, lots of learning experiences, friends, family and Milka Bars, because all good roads need Milka Bars.
Since I started school I had been shadowing my host-sister or her friend (who coincidentally was an exchange student in the US last year) around. Id pick what class I wanted to go to, listen attentively or as often happened at the end of long days blocked out the German all together . I often got in the habit of writing notes on what I understood and thought I understood, even now reading back on them is hilarious . This sounds like what everyone wishes school was, I wasn't really a student so nothing was expected of me , I just kinda ... meandered around. For those of you who know me you know I am not the type of person that likes to be idle or dependent , so going to all my classes with someone else and having no one expect anything from me was not my idea of fun .
I'm glad to say however that this Tuesday I have finally received my schedule and while I'm still testing it out for the next week I think I will eventually stick with the same courses I am taking now. If any changes are made they will be much later in the year when I am more fluent in German and thus can switch some things around if I so choose. I have been placed in the Q1 which is equivalent to 11th/12th grade in the states but really I feel like the course work resembles more closely the first year of college. I'm thankful that I always pushed myself in school at home because although nothing prepares you for high level work in a language you don't know at least high level work prepares you for more high level work . Of course it's never that simple and the hardest part of my schedule is far from the rigor of the courses, but I wont ruin the surprise and Ill let you figure it out yourself as you look at my schedule.
Monday
History 2x
Sport 2x
English LK* 2x
MITAGS PAUSA*
Free period
Biology
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German Class
Handball Practice
Tuesday
Art 2x
French LK 2x
Math 2x
Wednesday
English LK 2x
Latin 2x
free period 2x
French LK
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German Class
(Soccer Practice , I cant go to both on the same day because they are around the same time )
Thursday
Biology 2x
French LK 2x
Spanish 2x
MITAGS PAUSA
Math
Friday
Spanish 2x
Free period 2x
Latin
Art
MITAGS PAUSA
History
English
--------------------
Soccer Practice
p.s. did I mention I'm taking AP Spanish Lang and English Lit online ? No ? , well yeah I'm doing that to .
*Mitags Pausa - break in the middle of the day to eat or what have you , all the younger kids get out at this time and most of the others have it free but its not uncommon to have a class during this time when your in the two top grades
* LK courses - these courses are classes I have 5 times a week as opposed to three times a week like most of the others and they are subjects that you are good at and would like to have tested in depth for your Abi . In my case I'in English LK because well I'm fluent and in French LK because it fit into my schedule .
*2x - the 2x means that I have a double block of the class on that day , you have atleast one double block for all your classes at least once a week .
Now if you haven't figured it out by this point the hardest thing about my schedule is the abundance of language courses I'm taking on top of being in a country where my brain has to constantly work extra hard to understand what everyone is saying. Most of the time I'm just confused, sometimes I'm asked things that I would usually know how to answer but look retarded as my mind sifts through the words to answer. And sometimes I just sound like the title of this blog but all the time I feel like the title of this blog . In English my teacher asks me about spelling and how you would say things and at this point so far detached from the perfect syntax of my teachers and friends back home I don't even know whats right anymore it all sounds "egal ." In french I understand most of what's going on and I find reactivating my french (I took three semesters at home ) to be helpful since I don't mix it up with German as much outside of class, when in class however that's a totally different story, partly do to the fact that people are constantly speaking both and partly because separating both languages in my head makes it hard to be sure of what I'm saying and so thought processes take a lot longer. I should also mention that in Germany they take french since they are in 7th grade , these are the people I'm in class with . In Spanish I usually don't do much so it's not too much of a problem but It becomes quite interesting when I try to explain a word to someone, I can say I have proficiently learned how to use every type of communication possible I draw I point I act out ... ext , eventually someone gets it. Latin is a headache I took one semester on virtual school in the states and hated it but of course my international coordinator happens to teach it (to 6th graders I might add) and so there I am. It's true though that it does help me to think in German , the inconvenience of translating what seems like my millionth text about the Forum Romanum from English and then to German is simply too much for this lazy Florida girl so to think in German shall be the rule of the land said Ceaser to his exchange students . German is just German except for all the polish that goes on in my class but that's a different story all together. You know you want to learn something when you go to night school for it , thank god I'm on scholarship and that covers my classes because of the two hardest things to sacrifice in this world are sleep and money and together would have just been too much for me
Anyways I have a whole lot of homework to do so I'll leave this post at that It's too long already :P .Tschus
Adios
Goodbey
Au'revoir
Vale
 |
| Me except I can't formulate sentences that complex most parts of the day . |
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