Ich bin zu Hause!

I have finally arrived safely in Germany!

On Tuesday I flew from Portland to Washington, DC with Emily, Sorrel, and Nate (fellow AFSers from Maine). After a short layover at JFK, we arrived at Washington Dulles and were met by Darin and Ryan, AFS volunteers and staff. From there we took a shuttle to our hotel. So began four days of orientation. We eventually met up with all of the other Congress-Bundestag students and got to know each other. Everyone was extremely tired, but excited. It was amazing how everyone at least seemed to get along with everyone else. Over the next three days we visited the US Department of State, the Lincoln and Washington Monuments, the Vietnam War Memorial, the German embassy, and our congressional representative`s offices. We also did a lot of workshops about being good ambassadors from our country and communication with our host family and German culture (etc etc). Although we are all going to different parts of Deutschland and may only see each other again at MidStay Camp in Berlin, I still became close with many people and will continue to check up on them throughout the year. The general consensus on the orientation was that it was necessary and at least somewhat useful, but difficult because all we wanted to do was finally get to Germany!

Although the moment seemed like it would never come, it finally did and we arrived at Dulles International Airport. Getting a group of 77 exchange students and two chaperones through airport secuirty and check in is not a good time, but we eventually made it. Soon enough, we were boarding the plane.

I was lucky enough to not only switch into Economy Plus (six extra inches of leg room) but to also end up sitting next to a friend I had made at the orientation, Ben (a fellow cyclist!). Neither of us were able to sleep much on the plane (maybe a half hour, if that), but having each other to talk to (and read German newspapers with) was definitely nice.

Upon landing, we went through customs and met up with AFS Germany. After splitting us into our train travel groups, we met up with other exchange students from around the world (I saw Japan, Thailand, Bolivia, and more). After a short wait, we went down to meet our train. I was able to actually sleep a little bit on the train, which was nice, but it was still a five hour train ride... and we did have to change trains once. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station). At first, I couldn´t find my family (I also wasn´t exactly sure who was picking me up) but I finally saw Maria, Martin, his girlfriend Jezzy, and Ramona (hostmom). They greeted me with ´Welcome Chocolate´ and the announcement that I was going to school on Monday! Yikes! At this point I was so jetlagged there was no way I could speak German, so we made our way to the Pizza Hut in the train station (I was starving) while speaking mostly English.

I ordered a water (I spied Evian behind the counter, a brand I knew to be uncarbonated natural water) and a slice of cheese. To my surprise, the employee instead filled my cup with water from the fountain, which I assumed would also be tap water... wrong. Bubbly. I will have to get used to this! Haha. We then proceeded to get lost in the parking garage underneath the trainstation, but eventually dropped Martin and Jezzy off (they stay in Berlin) and drove to Spremberg. The Autobahn in this part of Germany looks remarkably similar to Maine´s 295, but of course with some differences (notably the lack of speed limit signs). We cruised along at about 140 km per hour, or about 85 mph. Welcome to Germany!

Although it had become dark, we took the scenic route through Spremberg because they´re making Baustelle (road construction) through most of the inner roads. It is a small and quaint town with typical German houses and gardens, but it has plenty of shops and restaurants and bars and the like. I think it is the right size for me. Upon entering the house, we were greeted by Bruno, a wonderfully energetic and adorable yellow lab.

I was then shown to my room and the bathroom (I was in desperate need of a shower). I love my bedroom! It is so nice and colorful and just... wunderbar. I unpacked a bit and came down to a late dinner of pasta with a homemade cheese sauce. Sehr lecker! Originally Maria and I had planned to go briefly to the birthday party of one of her friends, but it wasn´t scheduled to start until 11 pm and I was tired. So we went to the bar instead for my first German drink, beer with cola (this appears to be a uniquely German phneomenon, unless I´m just unfamiliar with it in the States). I´m in the process of aquiring the taste.

Then we went back to the house and I finally got to sleep! I actually slept so late that I missed breakfast, so I´ll have to write about the typische German breakfast tomorrow. Maria´s boyfriend Thomas was over, so I met him. I explored the beautiful and expansive vegetable, fruit, and flower garden with Maria, and then the four of us sat down to a delicious lunch of fresh garden zuchini, potatoes, and potato/vegetable pancakes (ish). Meatloaf also for everyone but me. After lunch, Jörg arrived and they opened the presents I brought them. I´ll have to give Martin his present later.

In the afternoon Maria and I carved a pumpkin, and then we all went for a long walk with Bruno through the woods, and we looked for nicht giftig(not poisonous) mushrooms for dinner. Ramona seems to be quite the expert on wild mushrooms. We walked for perhaps an hour or so, then came back to the house and I skyped with my parents. I showed my host family the memory book my mom made, and tried Mädchenbier (beer with fruit syrup/sugar). It was a bit too sweet for me. After that, we had dinner, and now I write! Everything is very good so far, and I start school tomorrow! That will be another whole blog post, I´m sure.

Bis dann!

PS: You can see my photos on my Smugmug account, daniellesmith.smugmug.com.