It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... and I LIKE IT

Hey folks,

I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving full of good food and family. Also, to those of you who braved Black Friday, congratualtions on surviving and I hope you found all that you were looking for.

Now the recap of the weekend.

We left for the city of Essen on Friday afternoon. Essen was a very big industrial city and was almost completly destroyed during the war. Anyways, it's about a 2 hour drive west from Hann. Muenden and we arrived around 2:30 in the afternoon. We went to a museum for a while and looked at alot of paintings. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Museum but after a while they all begin to look alike. Perhaps i am just not cultured enough, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
After the museum we walked back to Inga's brothers apartment, where we were staying.
They had such a cool apartment. Exactly what i pictured as the posh big city apartment.
We hung around the apartment the rest of the afternoon, had dinner and then went and saw
Casino Royale (the new James Bond film) I thought it was really good and i actually understood alot...so that made me happy.

Woke up Saturday, did some touring of Essen. Visited an old coal factory, which is now a Museum. Then saturday night we went to the Christmas Market, (every city has one, it goes from the end of Nov till Christmas) And i must say this has been one of my favorite things about Germany. There is just alot of small little shops set up and everyone is eating, drinking Gluhwine and enjoying themselevs. I think it is about as typically german as one can get and I loved every minute of it. I began the night by consuming some class curry wurst. I think moved on to the french fry special, which is french frys, ketchup, mayo and onions. After that i sampled some gluhwine before finshing off the evening with a crepe filled with nutella. Pretty much amazing.

Overall it was an excellent and I am so thankful for my host family and all the people who have been so kind and welcoming.

School as usual yesterday and Today. Nothing too much happening on that front.

I have another Rotary weekend this upcoming weekend. Should be fun as usual.

As most of you know this is my favorite time of year and i will greatly miss all of you. But to quote a great song "In a year we all will be together"

Well i think that is all for now. Love you all.

Tyler

It's a great day to be an American.

I am going to be out of town this weekend so this update will include me reaching three months here in Germany and my Thanksgiving update.

First and foremost,
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Today the ol' cliche rings true, "you never know how much you need something/someone until they are no longer there" Well this has occured thousands over these 3 months but Thanksgiving is one thing that I am very sad I am missing out on.
So, enjoy your Turkey and most importantly enjoy the family and friends you are spending it with.

However, despite the fact that I am not in America for this very American holiday it does not mean that all is lost. Thanks do some planning and a little bit of imagination, me and the other American at my school kindly brought Thanksgiving to the Germans.

I invite you to enjoy the photos.

So, as you can see we dressed up and received some very inquizitive and puzzled looks from our fellow classmates. Overall, i think it was a success and something the will not soon forget.

Saturday is 3 months!!!! 3 down 6 to go. Here is a couple observations about the first 3 months.


1. When Rotary said the first 3 months were going to be hard, they werent kidding and perhaps i should have paid better attention.

2. These three months have been very hard but very rewarding at the same time. But despite this change and all that is happened i am thankful for it because i have learned more about myself and i have grown more as a person in these 3 months than i ever thought i would.

3. I miss home alot. But i am thankul for this experience.


I leave for Essen tommorow. So more pictures and another update to come on Sunday.

I love you all and I will talk to you soon.

Good night and Good luck

Tyler


Was wir alleine nicht schaffen. Das schaffen wir dann zusammen

Germany...in case you forgot

Nothing much to report since my last post on wednesday. Life goes on as i am continually settling into a routine and adjusting to life in Germany.

Thursday was school as usual, soccer practice was cancelled so i had a nice relaxing evening.

Friday was really good. As i have mentioned before Ingas mom is her and it was her B-day on Friday. So, we had a fondue dinner and sat around and talked for a while. Then Phillip and i watched some more 24.

Slept in on saturday. did nothing but watch 24 and relax until about 9 o'clock when i went to a birthday party of this girl in my class. Had a lot of fun dancng and talking with people. Got home really late and slept in.

Sunday brought alot of same. More 24. We finshed the third season. Very good as usual.

Tommorow is another week that brings us closer to Christmas. If you can't tell thats all I'm really focused on at this point. Miss all of you and i hope you all had great weekends.

Love,

Tyler

Wed Novemeber 15

Today i woke up as usual, purchased the ever delicious rolls from the local bakery, ate breakfast, left the comfort of "home" and once again went to school. I was listening to Jack Johnson (Banana Pancakes, if you were wondering) when all of a sudden i heard my name as i was getting ready to enter the school. Turning around i was greeted by one of my classmates who uttered the most wonderful words in the german lanuage "fehlt aus" Alone these words mean nothing and have no great significance. But when used in the same sentence as school, something magical happens. These 2 words (atually one but seperated because the german language does that) mean that something was cancelled. And that something happened to be my first 2 periods. Thanking my classmate for this wonderful knowledge, I promptly turned around, smiled, walked home and went back to bed. That's a good way to start the day.

I watched The Man in the Iron Mask last night. I actually understood alot. that made me happy.

Inga's mom arrived today because it is her birthday this weekend.

Phillip and i plan on watching 24 tonight. Can't wait to see Jack Bauer do what he does best.

Half way through the week.

Love you all.

Good night and Good Luck

Tyler

PS. The pictures are not from Germany. I just really like them

And so school begins... (again)

Before i discuss my my first day back at school let me first recap the weekend.

At the grand hour of 4:00 AM on SaturdayI was greeted by the wonderful sound of alarm. Now i know what you are thinking, why would anyone get up at this ungodly hour? The answer is quit simple. Despite the fact that the German train system is supurb, it does not always fit your own personal agenda. So, in order to be in Hannover at 8:00 Luis and I had to depart Hann Muenden at 4:40. Arriving in Hannover we were greeted by pouring rain, cold weather and about 20 other exchange students. Now here are two observations when a group of exchange students get together. 1. For some reason every seems to speak 3 times louder than needed. 2. we stick out like sore thumbs and are about as un-German as one can get. On the train ride to Hamburg I met an exchange student from Australia that has been here since Januray 12th. We had a great conversation and it was very encouraging to talk to someone who is almost finshed with their exchange. Its amazing how quickly you can connect with people.

We finally arrived in Hamburg and once again were greeted by rain and freezing temperatures. Despite mother natures best attempts this did not stop us from completing a tour of the city on foot. (See picture of me with the strange look on my face) Hamburg is a very posh city and has a huge shipping industry. After completing the city tour, we boarded a boat and did a boat tour of the River Elbe and saw where they load the huge ocean freighters with goods. After that some free time and then we headed back "home" I arrived back in Hann. Muenden at 12:30. To say the least I was exhausted.

I woke up around noon on Sunday and did absolutly nothing. Thats one thing that I do love about Germany or more specificaly my family. On Sundays we usually have a big brunch around noon and then we just hang out. I love it.

But unfortunately a wonderful weekend had to come to a close. I woke up monday morning and went to back to school. Well nothing much has changed. I still understand very little, I have superfical 30 second conversations with a few people, I look up german words, think about home and then realize that I still have 3 periods left. Oh well.

6 weeks till Christmas, that is all I am focused on. But nonetheless each day is so bitter sweet. I know when this experience is over I will be so thankful that I did it. I have already learned so much. But each day I miss my family and friends so much its almost unberable. I have the best family and freinds anyone could ask for and I am blessed beyond words. I tell myself everyday to be content and be thankful for a that have here in Germany because I have so much to be thankful for.

I miss you all so much.

Much Love,

Tyler

Just me and James Taylor...kickin it

Thank you James Taylor for all of your music.

Well now that we got that out of the way we can move on to the update.

I finshed my practicum today and couldn't help but smile at the job that i had helped complete. It was 10 hard days of work but I must say this new deck looks amazing. This week was really good for my German vocab because I was forced to learn alot of new words. For example, wheelbarrow, shovel, broom, saw, ect.

As we were driving home today the man I did my practicum with thanked me for my hard work and said that I really helped out alot.
Thats right, changing the "Lazy American" image one person at a time.

Nothing much happening tonight. Phillip and I plan on watching some 24 and just hanging out.

I'm going to Hamburg tommorow to meet up with some other exchange students for the day.
I'm am super excited to see Hamburg. So, after tommorow I will have seen the 3 of the biggest cities in Germany. Berlin, Munich, Hamburg.

School begins again on Monday but only 6 weeks and then Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no idea what this should be called

Brent left today. once again i had to say goodbye to one of my best friends. enough said.

Nevertheless i am so thankful for the time we had together. i cannot describe how much i enjoyed our 10 days together. I am humbled beyond belief and so thankful for our friendship and the frienship with all my boys for that matter. You know who you are. Words cannot describe how much i care for them. Maybe thats why our friendship is so special. It goes beyond words and is rooted in something so deep, I'm not even sure we recognize it most of the time.

I begin another week of my practicum tommorow. So, if anyone needs a new stone deck built you know who to call. It looks like Gav and I will be expanding the lawn mowing business to deck building as well. ;)

I played my first soccer game yesterday. We lost. Despite that fact, if felt good to play again.

And so another week begins here in Germany. Sorry this was short. I'm not really in the mood to write. but more to come tommorow. Much love to everyone.

Good night and Good Luck,

Tyler

It's Cold Here...

1. Brent is still here. Words cannot describe how happy this makes. Words cannot describe how much fun we have had. We have had shared so many laughs, had some amazing talks and sampled some German beer. Thats the equation for pure bliss.







2. I started my parcticum this week. I am absolutly exhausted. We are building a new deck for a lady that lives in goettingen. What does this involve? Me hauling bricks out of the backyard and placing them on the street. The getting the new bricks (large sandstone blocks of solid rock) and bringing them into the backyard.

3. It snowed today. It was absolutly freezing. Not a lot of snow but it made me so excited for christmas and winter!!!

4. My soccer game was cancelled.

5. I'm exhausted.

Hello November.

Good Night and Good Luck,

Tyler

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