BRENT!!

So, despite his best efforts not to arrive in Germany, Brent is finally here in the great town of Hann. Muenden.

Stayed tuned!!!!

Munich, Vacation and More

Drumroll please............... 2 months, 2 months today. 2 months down 7 to go. I made it through the first 2 months and i get to see Brent tommorow. Life is good.

So, lets roll the clock back a couple days to Friday afternoon. Philipp and I left for Munich around 5 o'clock aboard an ICE (inter-city express) train, aka the fastest ones. Nothing to exciting to report about the train ride. I listened to exactly 45 songs aka about 4 hours or so and then we were there. We arrived at the main train station and then took another train to the place we were staying. We stayed with my guest second cousin. How about that? We got to her house around 10, got something to eat, watched Starsky and Hutch, then went to bed.

We got up Saturday morning, took our time getting ready then Philipp and I left for the downtown area of Munich. It was absolutly crazy, there were so many people out. It didn't help that their was a protest going on at the same time. We wandered around for a little bit and then decided to take a bus tour of the city. It was about an hour long and so interesting. We saw all the "main attractions" in Munich. After that we went walking through a local market and decided to get something to eat. We had a pretzel, and white sausage with a sweet mustard sauce (see picture) So, it was pretty much your sterotypical southern German meal.
After lunch we walked around, shopped a little, visited some churches, visited the Olympic park where the 1972 olympics were, then went back around 7:30.

Got up on sunday, once again took it slow getting ready, packed and then headed once more in to the city. We went to the "Deutsches Museum" in Munich, which is huge. We looked around for about an hour and half, you need abou 7 to see the whole museum. After that we walked to the top of one of the famous churches. It was an amazing view and worth the Euro it costed.
After that we once again boarded an ever reliable German train and headed back to Hann. Muenden.

Like i mentioned earlier, today is two months. My german is coming along, I feel like I'm right on the edge of understanding so much more. I miss family and friends and "home' everyday but i don't think there is anything wrong with that.

I finshed the 2nd season of LOST. Pretty much amazing. Watch it.

Oh, i received my absentee ballot in the mail today. So, all of you better vote this year because if i vote and you don't...well thats just sad.

2 months until Christmas!!! Mom you know what that means...we have only a couple more weeks until we begin listening to christmas music! Randy Travis here i come!
Unless you already started mom :)

Good night and good luck,

Tyler

"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."

That clip comes from an amazing song, which basically describes the days of October 15-October 18. If you know this song then congratualtions, i hope it touched you in some special way like it did me. If not you should all hear this song... but which song is it? Does anyone know????
I hope someone leaves a comment with the right answer...

Anyways, to those of you who forgot, i have a two week vacation right now. So, Sunday morning me, Luis and Inga loaded up the car and traveled to Inga's childhood home in Watenstedt to visit her Mom.

We left around noon on Sunday morning and travled through the Harz Wald, which is a forest. It was foggy, cold but absolutly beautiful. My host brother had left the Garden State Soundtrack in the car and for this, i am oh so thankful. Driving through a German forest, listening to the Garden State Soundtrack will forever be something i won't forget. After about 2 hours of driving we reached our first destination a castle called: Burg Falkenstein im Harz. At this castle we consumed excellent bratwurst and gluehwein, which is a hot red wine, which is absolutly amazing on a cold day, toured the castle and marveled at the beauty that is Germany, then we once again hit the road. We traveled to an old town in the former DDR, which has been recently restored. We once again consumed some cake and hot chocolate and soaked up the atmosphere and the rich history of the city. It is amazing to see the effects that communism had on former east germany and how still the repercussions are still so evident today. After this and few more Kilometers of German highway we reached our destination: Inga's parents home.

Inga's Father died in 2001, so it just her mother living there now. Inga's parents were and still are farmers and they have a beautiful home in the small town of Watenstedt. We arrived on Sunday night and had an amazing meal and then watched Fluch Der Karibik. Literaly translated: Curse of the Carribean or as you may know it: Pirates of the Carribean.

Woke up Monday morning and visited a section of the Wall that has been preserved as a memorial. It was truly sobering to see. I can't imagine what it was like when it was fully operational. Then we drove to another small little town and met up with Inga's sister in Law. they are also farmers and have a beutiful home. She took us to the city of Magdeburg. This city was almost completly destoryed in the last days of WWII, it was the second most devestated city in Germany next to Dresden. We visited the Cathederal there, which took about three hundred years to build and was absolutly beautiful. Even though i dont believe that God is in a church more than He is everywhere else, there is still something special about those old churches. After that we went back to Inga's brothers house, had some tea and cake, and then drove with him to see his farms. Being a city boy i was fascinated by the whole "farm process"
We then drove home, ate, watched some TV, and went to bed.

Got up Tuesday and drove to Wolfenbuttel where we met another American exchange student, her name is Jen. We toured around Wolfenbuttel for a while and then went back to the city where Jen lives: Braunschweig

We saw some of Braunschweig, got something to eat and then went back to Jen's host families house and had some tea and cake. Then luis and i took the train back to Watenstedt.

And that brings us to today. I'm back in Muenden until Friday then i go to Munich with my host brother. I am so excited for that. We are going to have such a good time.

And so time goes on here in Germany. Brent comes in a week. Thats pretty much the best thing that could happen.

Good night and Good luck....

Here are some pictures from the weekend

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000168&id=1076310090&l=6c510



Tyler

Saturday October 14th

Hello America, this is Tyler Anders reporting from Germany.

I know this blog is a little late, but it is better that i start at the beginning so i wont forget anything since much has happened since my last post.

On Saturday, me, Inga (host mom) Jurgen (host dad)and Luis (other exchange student from Brazil) traveled to a town called Eisenach and Wartburg (a castle)

Luis and I took a tour of the castle: Some interesting facts: The first parts of the castle were thought to be built in the year 1080, Martin Luther spent 10 months living in the castle, Why? Oh, he was just translating the New Testament into German. Also, the princess Elizabeth of Hungary lived in this castle, you may know her as Saint Elisabeth. If you want an example of true christian service and love, check out her life.

The entire day was very interesting and educational; there was something almost holy about seeing the place were the Bible was translated and basically where Protestantism was born.

After the castle tour we visited some nearby towns, another small castle had some hot chocolate and cake (i love this german tradition, America should take notes)

MORE TO COME SOON....

Oh, my next post will have a lot of pictures.

Tyler

10.12.2006

A year ago tommorow i found out that I was chosen to be an exchange student in the year 2006-2007.

"Dear Tyler
Thank you for taking the time to return for a second interview today. It has been a difficult task to narrow our selections to only four students. The committee would like to inform you that you have been chosen as one of those four people. Congratulations!"

It seems crazy to think that this journey started one year ago. So much has changed since i made that decesion to "accept" this exchange. I dont think i would even recognize myself.

So, we have been in crisis mode here in Deutschland. THE COFFEE MACHINE NEEDS A NEW FILTER. That has meant no coffee for the past 3 days. What can one do??? Well, do not fear, a new filter comes tommorow. But not wanting to wait until then, and deeming it ok, Inga and i went back to drinking our daily amount of coffee. A cup or two or three for me and alot of espresso for her. Know i just need to find a way to get that coffee machine back home with me. :)

Today was a really good day. i didn't have my first 3 classes because the teachers are gone and Germans dont believe in substitutes. so i slept in until 9:45 and then went to school. School was boring as usual but hopefully some day that will not be the case.
I came home, ate, started signing up for the Euro tour at the end of the year, which is a huge 3 week trip all through out europe from March 16-April 7th. That is going to be an amazing way to end the year. After that i took a bike ride, because it was a beautiful fall day here and know i'm just relaxing at the ol' house here.

Now for another round of Tyler's thoughts on Germany....


First, i must echo what my good friend brent said about this little thing we like to call a "foreign exchange.' (thanks for the insight brent) This year really does feel like a Christmas present that you really really wanted. You wait and wait for so long, with so much anticipation but when it comes the excitement lasts for a while and then you want to move on to something else.

Second, this exchange has taught me to appreciate the little things in life. A cup of coffee, watching a good tv show aka Lost, after eights or candy in general, a good meal, coming home and seeing i have an email or a message from a family member or friend. Talking with friends. MUSIC and a thousand other things each day that keep me going.

well....i think thats all for today. one more day of school then a 2 week break!!!!

Oh ya i want a T-shirt that says I'm not retarted...just foreign.

i love you all

Tyler

i'm eating gummi bears...

Sorry that title really has nothing to do with this blog, though i am currently consuming Haribo gummi bears...ummm so good.

I received a package in the mail yesterday from my wonderful mother. This pretty much made my day. I began watching the second season of Lost. I watched 4 episodes. That also made my day. I purchased a box of After Eights today, that also made my day. If you dont know what After Eights are, they are Gods gift to humanity and perhaps one of my favorite things in Germany. Don't worry i will bring some home.

So to those of you who know me, you know that I greatly enjoy my sleep. Now, take that enjoyment and multiply it by a hundred and you have the amount that i enjoy sleeping here. Why, do you ask? Well probably because I am constantly tired from speaking German. Come about 3 0'clock everyday i am so ready for a nap. Well, this poses a problem when i have to be back to school at 3:40 for my PE class. So yesterday, I believe it was right around 3 i decided to get ready for PE and then lay down just for a couple of minutes. That was my first mistake. At 4:10 i shot off the pillow and ran like crazy upstairs. I started out the door, rounded the corner at Beethovanstrasse and got almost all the way to school and then stooped, turned around, came home and mowed the lawn. I found mowing the lawn much better than trying to explain, (in German) why i was late. Who needs PE, i already know how to play soccer. Just kidding Rotary, I'll go next week.

Much love,

Tyler

So ist das Leben

Thursday- I gave a presentation to my English class about Fort collins, the US, my friends, what i do, ect... It was alot of fun to talk about home and show them some pictures. Soccer practice was good. nothing to exciting today.

Friday- Friday was ok. for some reason i was feeling really homesick and once again questioning, Why am i here? But friday night i went into the city with a friend from school, got some ice cream and hot chocolate and walked around for like 2 hours. Speaking German the whole time. YES! then i came home and watched Crash, which was such a good movie but really sad.

I think my main struggle in germany is this: for 18 years i have poured everything into my life in Fort collins. Family, Friends, school, sports, youth group and life in general. Who you are becomes defined but what you do, who you know, how smart you are ect. When this is taken away one is left with the question: who am i? Was i the one who defined my life or did my life define me? You begin to find out who you really are, and at times that is a scary adventure. But sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. funny how that works.

There is an old Zen story about a Monk being chased by ferocious tiger. the monk is running from tiger, when he comes to the edge of cliff, he looks back and sees the tiger about to attack but at the last second he spots a rope hanging over the end of the cliff, he grabs it and begins to climb down. As the monk is hanging there he looks down and sees a quarry of jagged rocks 500 feet below him, he looks up and sees the tiger waiting at the edge of cliff. just then two mice begin nawing at the rope. So what can he do? The monk looks around and sees a strawberry within arms reach growing on the side of the cliff. He reaches out, picks it, eats it and exclaims
"That was the best strawberry i have ever tasted in my whole life."

Think about that for the rest of your life....

A long weekend here in Germany...

Hello friends and family. (germans dont smile in pictures, just trying to fit in)
Its cold here in Germany today. You can feel the winter slowly creeping back. Most people dont enjoy leaving the summer months behind but i love this time of year!

I had such a relaxing weekened these past 4 days, which was exactly what i needed.

Friday night i experienced my first german party outside of a club. I went to some kids birthday party with some really cool people. We walked like 30 minutes into the woods of Hann. Muenden to this littel house/shed. Ya, can you say Blair witch project. anyways, i survived and had a really good time. Talked wiht some guys from my soccer team and found out that i could play in a game this upcoming saturday! Which i am very excited for. I got home around 3 o'clock and slept until noon. It felt good to sleep in. I woke up, got something to eat and began the challenging task of doing nothing. I watched alot of TV, a movie or two, talked to people back home and didn't take a shower until about 7:30 at night. After i took a shower, some of Phillips friends came over and we watched Garden state in German. I was really proud of myself because i understood alot. It helps when you have seen the movie in English. After that we went to this thing called a Stufferparty. Which is a party put on by the 13th class were they sell a bunch of alcohol so they can pay for their big party at the end of the year. I'm not exactly sure if thats right since i was told about it in German. Anyways, i went hung out for a little bit, was really tired, so i left and walked back home with a couple people from school. I got home around 2:30, wasent that tired anymore because the 30 minute walk home had woke me up, so i decided to watch some tv. Now i had been warned about watching late night German tv, so i was like well i will just watch CNN. Well, CNN wasent that interesting so i switched over to the sports channel. Well, to say the least, the sports channel must end some time after midnight because they were definitely not playing soccer. So, for future reference i will stick to watching CNN.

I got up sunday, lounged around, watched some TV, watched a movie, read, slept and all of sudden it was 10 o'clock and i went back to bed. ummmm...

Monday progressed in much of the same way. nothing big to report there.

Tuesday was German reunification day, similar to our 4th of July. I got up early and went to Gotha (a city here in Germany) with Luis (the other exchnage student in my town) and his host family (aka my third host family) My 3rd host father is a memeber of the Lions Club, so we joined other Lions and toured a Castle in Gotha. I was really interesting but kinda boring because the tour was in German. After that we went to Best Western (ya i know, who would thought) and had a really good lunch. Then we went with the president of the lions club in Gotha and toured around the city a little and then went back to his house. I honestly thought i was entering the shire. I think this is about as traditonal as a German house can get. We sat around and ate for about 3 hours. Cake, sweets, coffee, wine, pizza. I think i put on about 5 pounds.
Everyone was really nice but the presidents wife was super hard to understand. She was Slavikian, and she grew up in East germany. Ya, thats a fun accent. I got home around 8 and watched a movie with my host brothers and then went to bed.

Well, its october now. Everyday is a constant rollercoaster of emotion. German is frustrating because i feel like i have no personality when i speak it. So ist das leben. Each morning presents a new day, with new experiences and new stories. I feel like i live thousands lifetimes in a day. But i do my best to live each day to the fullest and soak up every moment.

Good night, and Good luck...


Tyler

9.26-9.28

Hello to all! Another couple days have once again passed on by. This week has overall been really good. I woke up on tuesday and was getting ready for school, when my host brother came downstairs and was like "do you want to go to an amusement park" So, i was like well...i would love to but i should really go to school.... Ummm NO. just kidding. So of course i said yes. The park is called Heide Park and it is just outside of Saltau, which is where we had the first rotary weekend. So, we left around 7:30 ( we being me, my host brother steffan, his girlfriend and two of his friends) and it took about 2 hrs to get there. Well for those of you who know me, you know that i dont really like rollercoasters all that much. But anything is better than school and i wasent about to wimp out. So we arrive at the park and go straight for the rollercoaster named Colossus...Now this wasent a small rollercoaster parading around as a big one just because it had a cool name. This rollercoaster held the Guiness Book of World Records for the biggest drop for a wooden rollercoaster!!! So in true American style i saddled that rollercoaster up and waited for what was to come. All i can say is that after you ride the Collossus you come out a changed person...and when you ride it twice, like it did, well...
Overall, it was an amazing day. i had so much fun and got to practice alot of German. Wedneday and Thursday were normal days as usual. My german is slowly coming along. Sometimes it doesnt seem worth it. but i know it will get better. I have a 4 day weekend coming up and i am so excited for it. I need the sleep and the relaxation.

Machts Gut,

Tyler

Berlin!!!!!

It has been one month since i began this journey. Some moments i wonder, "where has the time gone" but many times it seems more like a year than a month. My days consist of emotional rollercoasters; this is without a doubt the hardest thing i have ever done. Yet, for every forgetable moment i have two unforgetable moments. this is one of those times.

This last weekend i had the opportunity to travel to Berlin. I left on Friday afternoon and arrived in Berlin around 7 o'clock with 25 other exchange students and two rotary leaders. We then traveled to the Berlin Youth Hostel, which was so nice. Then we had dinner there at the youth hostel and after that we went into the city. And so began my falling in love with the city of berlin. It has such an amazing feel to it. Perhaps something that can only be accomplished by the rich history and the historical events that took place in the city. We walked around the Brandenburg gate, and the parliment buildings. After that we went to a local brewery/resteraunt. It felt so good to talk in English and actually have a personality again. I has some great conversations with some of the other exchange students.

We woke up early on saturday and began our touring of berlin. First we went to the Bundestag (the parliment building) and got a personal tour. We actually got to go inside the room where the parliment meets and debates. It was so cool. After that we walked through Potsdamer platz, which was basically no-mans land when the wall was up becasue the wall ran right through it.

We then took a bus to another part of the city where we went to a museum that is called "the story of berlin" They did a complete walk-through of all the major events in Berlins history, from its founding in the 13th century to today. I absolutly loved it. We then had some free time to shop and get something to eat if we wanted to. We then travled back to the hostel, ate, and then left to see Blue Man Group. We had front row seats. The show was really good.

Sunday brought another early morning and more sightseeing before we left. We travled to a train station where an underground civilian bunker is still in tact. We walked through it and learned all about the history behind the bunker and what it was actually like to be there during a bomb raid.

Overall, it was such an amazing weekend, which is exactly what i needed.

Well, one month down and 8 to go. I know thats not the mindset i should have but it feels good to actually be farther into my exchange. I have 3 weeks of school and then a two week break.

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000123&id=1076310090&l=a0bee

Those are some of the pictures from the weekend. I hope enjoy them and that everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon

Tyler

9.19.06

25, 25 days....Where did the time go. Thats right folks, i have been in Germany for 25 days.
Today was another good day. I had art for 2 hours, which is pretty much my favorite thing because i just sit there and listen to my music and draw things like paper and strings. Yes we have spent 4 hours drawing a string. After that i had two hours of English, where i have become to class expert on the English language. I am constantly being asked "Is that right....Would you say it like that? ect. But near the end of the class the teacher asked me if i wanted to come and sit in front of the class and answer some questions about America and talk about sterotypes that i had of Germany. This was such a fascinating experience. It was really interesting to hear their questions about America. The general feeling that i have gathered from most Germans is this; a very strong dislike for Bush administration but a general love and desire to come to America.
But we won't dive too deep into the foreign policy decesions of the Bush administration and their subsequent consequences.
They all laughed at my sterotypical view of German food: bread, cheese, meat and beer.

Overall, it was a great experience and so interesting to hear their opinions about America.

Things i Miss: Ice Cubes, Chipotle, the bean cycle, driving... Thats just a few

And life goes on...so, here's to the fast times

Tyler


PS: go to this website to check out pictures from this weekend.

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000123&id=1076310090&l=a0bee

Rotary Weekend in Wolfenbuttel

Guten Tag all my stateside friends.
Well another week down here in good ol' Germany. This weekend i had another rotary trip in northern Germany in a town called Wolfenbuttel. I left Friday afternoon with my host dad, brother and Luis (the brasilian exchange student in my town) My host brother came on the weekend with us because he is a member of Rotex. Which is a group within rotary made up of people who went on exchanges a couple of years ago. They were the ones who hosted the weekend. We arrived in Wolfenbuttel around 5 o'clock and hung out, ate and took a walk around wolfebuttel at 2 in the morning because all of us exchange students slept at a school in the Gym and it was really hot and smelly so none of us could sleep. So, i finally got to sleep around 5 in the morning and then the Rotex people kindly got us up at 8 in the morning. I awoke on Saturday day morning and was in a bad mood and feeling pretty homesick. Saturday was kinda boring and i was a little annoyed with everyone. But i took a nap in the afternoon and felt better after that. Saturday was very long and once again i didnt get to sleep until 4 or 5 in the morning. We left Wolfenbuttel around 11 on Sunday morning and i didnt get come until 5 in the afternoon. It felt so good to be "home" though. I had dinner with my host family, laughed alot and then watched 24 with Phillip. Thank you Jack Bauer for not only saving the world but promoting international friendship! But overall the weekend was ok.

I woke up on Monday to overcast skies and cooler weather. Finally! i have been waiting for cooler weather. Today was a really good day. I talked to alot of people at school, in german of course, and i went into the city with the other american and a girl from our class. We had a good conversation and i enjoyed some delicous pommes (fries) I came home after school ate and then decided to read a little before i went to sport (PE) so i read and then i fell asleep on the couch. When i awoke i was my face was sticking to their leather couch and after realizing where i was i rememberd that i had sport. Well, to put it simply, i slept through soccer. Whoops. I dont really care though becuase sleeping felt amazing.

Overall, i am doing very well. It is a constant rollercoaster of emotions from an overwhelming excitement at the possibility of learning another language to the low of missing family and friends.

Well i must go becuase i have been holed up in my room for close to 2 hours and hunger is calling me once again to the kitchen. Love you all and talk to you soon

Tyler

9/15

Hello everyone!

3 weeks down and many more to come. I am getting ready to go to Wolfenbuttel on another rotary weekend. I am so excited to see everyone again. Today was hard but the weekend is going to be amazing. It helps to have something to look forward to.

Last night, this girl named Kim arrived at the Taeger household. She was the first exchange student they had back in 2000. She is 22 know and just graduate from college. She is going to be living in France for 9 months but she is here in Muenden until Sunday. We had a great conversation about being an exchange student and she gave me hope that the best is yet to come!

Well i must finish packing but i will talk you all soon and in the words of Mr. Nelson...

Have a great weekend, buckle up, get your foot off the gas and God willing and if the river doesnt rise I will see you on Monday.

Tyler

9/12-9/13

Well, to all of you waiting for the update on the quality of German "mexcian" food... your not missing much. I knew it was a problem when all the people i went with ordered ribs and wings and not mexican food. But i decided to forge my own path and try tacos. Well, perhaps in this situation i should have followed the crowd. I received 3 hard shell tacos with filled with carnitas and kaaese (cheese) on top of alot of lettuce. Well, at least i can say that i have had mexican food in germany.

Tuesday was another day of school. I wont bore you with too many details but on Tuedays i have 2 hours of art and then 2 hours of English. So, tuesdays are very very good. I love my art class because i can actually understand what is happening. After school i read alot, took a nap and then i went to soccer at 6:30. It is really good to play but it is also a little frustrating because there are only a couple guys who work hard. So, it is a little annoying to be one of the only ones working. After that i came home, ate and the went to bed.

Today has been really good though. I actually had a full conversation in German at school. During one of the Pause (breaks) where everyone usually eats and just hangs out. I think it is really annoying because its 20 minutes long, which is too long to just sit around. but too short to actually do anything. But anyways me and this girl Ulga walked around and talked, which was really good. I was very excited that i actually had a conversation in German

Today was a short day for me, i was done with school at 11:30. So nice.

More to come. Thanks so much for all the comments. I love hearing about everything and how everyone is doing.

Tyler

Rotary weekend in Soltau

Hello everyone.
It has been a little bit since my last post but all is well here in Germany. This past weekend we had a rotary trip to Soltau (dont ask, i still dont even know where it is) There was about 50 exchange students student from all over my district here in Germany. Luis and i took the train at 1:05 on Friday afternoon and met up with some other exchange students in Gottigen. Then we took the train from Gottigen to Hannover and met up with alot of other exchange students. We had a blast on the train but i think everyone else hated. You see when Germans ride the trains it is very quiet and not alot of people talk. So, we kind of stuck out. Well we finally arrived in saltau and met the Rotarians who would be hosting us that weekend. My family lived on a fully functioning pig farm. They had about 1,000 pigs and believe me you could tell by the smell. But they had an amazing old house with a couple barns and a good amount of land. They were so welcoming and nice. After dropping our stuff off at their house we drove to the meeting in Saltau. It was in this old barn. We ate, talked danced and had a great time. We got a ride home from our host brother in Soltau who was 18. When we were driving home he was like "are you hungry" So i said i was and he said we would stop and get something to eat then. Lo and behold we pull up to the local Mcdonalds. I thought i had left American fastfood! But i was very hungry and i was not going to pass up a little grease. I ordered a Big Mac with Pommes (fries) and a cola.

We woke up the next morning and i walked down to breakfast and was greeted by a wood burning stove, cold weather and a typcial German breakfast. I must say, i half expected Laura Ingalls to walk around the corner. After breakfast we went to the Sud-see Camp, which was a camp ground just outside of town, which is one of the top 10 campgrounds in europe. We mini golfed, did archery, ate, talked. It felt so good to speak english again. I felt like i actually had a personality again. It was so nice.

We got up on sunday and went to another old barn and had breakfast, took pictures and said out goodbyes. We will see each other next weekend for another rotary event but it was still hard to say goodbye. On the train ride home i met this amazing girl from Namibia. She was an Au pair in southern Germany on her way to Frankfurt to visit her sister. We had an amazing conversation about life, faith, philosophy, our impressions of Germans. It is so crazy how you meet people sometimes. Well i have to go. i have to go back to school for sport, which for me is Soccer. Then i am going to Gottigen with my host brother Philip to go to a Mexican resteraunt. Yes, you read it right, a mexican resteraunt. I will keep you informed on that experience.

So to sum up my time in Germany thus far...I am eating Mcdonalds and Mexican food. Weird? Ya i think so

Go to this link to see pics from the weekend

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000105&id=1076310090&l=8ec43



Cheers,

Tyler

9/6-9/7

It is well into September now here in Germany but the weather is refusing to let go of summer. For the past two days we have had wonderful weather but of course as i am typing this the sky is getting dark and the mercury is quickly falling. Well lets see. Yesterday was school as usual, nothing special. For every class i tell myself i will focus very intently for about 15-20 minutes and try to understand as much as i can. For classes like math and phyics this lasts much less. After this i usually just sit back from exhaustion and let my mind wander or i look of german words. After school i relaxed for a while and then i mowed the lawn. Came in, relaxed some more and then watched two episodes of 24 with my host brother. The first season is amazing! But i cannot wait for Lost to come in the mail. Thanks mom :)

I got up today (thursday) a little later because i didnt have to go to the local bakery and get the bread. Today is my longest day in school i have 8 classes, which is really hard to stay focused through especially when you end the day with 2 hours of Latin. I didnt have soccer today because the team had a game in Gottigen and louis and i couldnt play because the havent finshed doing all our paper work.

I will be gone this weekend on a Rotary event Soltau and Walsrode. (I have no idea where they are) so i will have a much more exciting update on Sunday night.

Bis spater

Tyler

9.5.06

So, i kinda messed up on my dates and the labeling of my blog, so for all of you who were wondering if perhaps Germany didnt have the 2-4th of September I ensure you it was my error and not that of the Federal Republic of Germany.

So i awoke on Sunday around 10 to the wonderful sound of rain. Nothing like a lazy sunday accompained my the light fall of rain. I ate a light breakfast and then i lounged around the house. Then me, Jurgen, Philip and Louis went to Kassel for some good ol' sightseeing. Kassel is a beatiful city that was partially destroyed during the second world war. They have alot of museums and a couple castles. So we visited these, got some lunch and then drove home. Then that night we went to a BBQ at the house of my host moms best friend. She has 3 boys that all went to Brazil on there exchanges. She is sooo nice and the food was excellent. Some type of meat, wurst, bread, salad, tomatoes and mozzerla flavored in something and then ice cream for desert.

I awoke Monday to another day of school, which is becoming increasingly harder to attend. It is very hard to work up the motivation to go to a place where
A. you uderstand very little of what is said
B. You have already completed school and thus it doesnt matter of you do.
C. You can barely make it through a lesson without falling asleep (that doesnt help the lazy american sterotype)

But i survived monday and met some really nice girls who i went and got lunch with. Because every monday i have sport after school so i didnt have time to go home.
I came home and watched 2 episodes of 24 with Philip and then i went to bed.

And finally i am caught up to today. Another day of school except tuesdays are better than mondays and i have art for 2 hours, which is actually going to be very cool. I left school early because i had my first rotary meeting today. Everyone was really nice and we had a pretty good meal of soup and a pot roast type meat thing with rice. I didnt have to speak which was very relieving. Some physics professor gave this presentation that i understood very little of. I came home exhausted and a little down. But i had an excellent conversation with Inga about Christmas and our love for the holiday and how it has changed for me as i have gotten older and then she told me how they celebrate and i told her how we celebrate it. Overall it was very good and just what i needed. Then i found out that i wasent going to soccer tonight, so i took a nap for about an hour and a half. So i am refreshed, alive and taking life one day at a time.
My German is slowly coming, life is adjusting. It has its ups and downs but i still am loving Germany and am so thankful to be here.

So...CHEERS. Heres to life.

Tyler

8/31-9/1

Well, believe it or not i have been here for a week. I must say that it feels like alot longer but i think i am finally getting into a routine. I woke up a little earlier on friday so i could get to school and find out what classroom my latin class was in. But I come to find out that it is the regular latin class that meets on Friday not Latein fur ausfanger. (Latin for Beginners) So, on Fridays i get to sleep in, which will be an excellent way to end the week . School was fine i guess. I understand very little of what is happening so that makes it very hard to concentrate and stay awake. Especially in math and phyics. They were boring in English so you can imagine how much fun they are in German. ;) After school i just came home and relaxed because i was completly exhausted from listening to German and from socccer practice the night before. I slept in a little bit on saturday and then i went to Gottigen to visit my friend Phillipp who was an exchnage student to FCHS my Junior year. We walked around Gottigen and did alot of the tourist things. Gottigen kinda reminds me of Fort Collins. Then we got some lunch-I ordered and paid on my own. I was very proud of this.

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000105&l=73d3c&id=1076310090


Click on that link to see some pics from my trip and some pictures of my town. Then i came home and Phillip (my host brother) was having alot of people over to watch Germany play Ireland in the Euro Cup. I must say that i felt very european sitting around watching soccer and drinking a beer. They were all really nice people and very patient with my German. Plus most of them speak perfect english. Then we went to the local bar/hangout/club-which turns in to Disco on the weekends. I saw some people from my soccer team and school so i talked to them a little and then we danced for a while. Everyone was like "let me see your American moves" so i did my best to represent us well but i cant promise anything.

Well its raining again but Me, my host dad, brother and Luis-the other exchange student are going to Kassel to do some sight seeing. So, i will let you know how that goes. Keep the comments coming and I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the end of summer.

Much love

Tyler

The first day of school

Well i cant remember the last time is was really nervous for the first day of school. But today i was extra nervous. But despite all that i survived and made it through. It was very different from what i am used to. (What did i expect, FCHS?) I am in the 11 Klasse (Junior year) which means that i stay with the same people all day long and instead of the students moving the teachers move. so i began the day with Herr. Besserman, who is a hard but fair teacher (or so i have been told) He seems like he has a very dry but very funny sense of humor. too bad i understand very little of what he says. then the next teacher came in for History of Germany from 1945. i really enjoyed that class because i could kind of understand what was happening. There is another exchange student in my class from Kentucky, his name is clayton and we sit together. The teacher passed out this worksheet with a list of important historical events in germany and you had to put the date next to them when the events occured. Clayton and I did better than a good portion of the class, which was really funny. Then we had a break where alot of kids go and smoke but it is also a time to eat. So, i pulled out my little Coke lunchbox and at the bread and meats that i made for myself that morning. Then we had english. Which is going to be easy, obviously. then we went to physics, which i hated in english so you can imagine how hard it was in German. Then i got to leave school early because Luis(the exchange student from Brazil) and i went to gottigen with his host dad to get our Visas. Gottigen is an amazing city. I loved. It has a university and kinda feels like fort collins (maybe thats why i liked it)We got some really good Ice Creame while we were waiting for our Visas to be done. So, I guess i am officaly in Germany. I then came home and got ready for soccer. Yes, I know you all thought i was all washed up and could never play again. Well i am here to say that i am once again playing soccer. However i am complelty out of shape and i am so exhausted. The guys are really nice though. Well that is all for today. i am sooooo tired and i have to get up for school tommorow.

8/30/2006

Well its offically the last day of "vacation" for me. I begin school tommorow at 7:45 AM.
The weather today has been very fickle. First it is beautiful, then it rains, then the sun comes out, then it rains. But i slept in today and awoke to an empty house because Inga had a hair appointment. I enjoyed the time alone though. i " read" the newspaper, which consists of me going straight to the comics because they are usually the easiest to understand. After that i watched some TV. Horse sports are huge here, I watched the one where they ride around and jump over bars. I dont know the name. Dan, maybe you could help me out with that? After that we had lunch. Homemade (everything is) Tomatoe soup and Reismilch. which is rice and milk and then you put sugar and cinnamon on it. Then i was sitting out on the porch reading and enjoying the sunshine and it began to rain. however, it wasent all bad becuase i took some pictures that i really like. So enjoy! After that my second or third host mum, sister and Louis (exchage student from Brasil) came over and we went and walked around Muenden. They are both really nice and i understood alot of what they were saying. There are some brief moments of clarity and then its back to understanding very little of what is said. However, those moments are very encouraging! We then went back to their home and i found out that my host dad is a Pastor, so i guess that is good. We had apple cake and played super nintendo. I then when and went to the grocery store with Steffen. he is such a cool guy. A funny thing about german grocery stores is that you have to pay a euro to unlock the cart and then you get that euro back when you bring the cart back. Life is good here. Please send me E-mails or comments, i love receiving them.

love Tyler