.png)
Hope Boyce's Update from Germany
Posted by Stephanie Dobson
Here is an update on our Lloydminster Outbound Exchange Student currently living in Bonn, Germany.
September 20, 2010
Things are rather spectacular in Deutschland. It is definately a different world over here. Everything with traveling went well, in fact, it is rather interesting to note that i saw Darren King at my connection in Calgary. coincidence. When i arrived in Frankfurt my host family had a big sign with my name on it to welcome me. My host dad is Franz-Josef and my host mother is Alex. I also have three host sisters, but the one who is my age is on exchange through rotary in the USA right now so i havn't met her. The other two are 13 and 19 years old. I have one contact with the rotary club here in Bonn, he hasn't been able to introduce me formally to the club yet so i havn't been to a meeting, but i have met a few other rotarians. Next week is when i will start going to the meetings regularly. They do have women in the club which is unlike most of the rotary clubs in the region. Of about 80 members, 40 percent are women.
My school is an all girls school. I go everyday by the city bus to the main station and than walk to school, in the afternoons i have language school for 3 hours until 4:30. My family speaks mostly german with me and i can have simple conversations with other girls at school in german. i am surrounded by the language and it is marvelous how much better my german is than even a week ago. My first week here I understood very little, now I can usually understand what people are saying to me if they are speaking directly to me because i understand the context. and i can reply for the most part, and faster than before. If i am listening in to a conversation at school, although, then it is too fast and i don't know a lot of those words yet. It is a lot of work, but the language course helps. I also have a couple books in german and in english so i can read a sentence or paragraph in english and then read the german.
Math in school is ahead of canada so it is hard to follow. I don't understand much in history. and in German class we are reading Goethe.
I like art the most because i feel i can accomplish something.
I have met a lot of people, and there was a meeting for all the inbounds of the district last weekend. there are 73 exchange students, and four of us from canada. In school most everyone is friendly, i feel so successful when i can have a conversation with someone in german. i went with one girl and her other friend to a fair and saw fireworks, twas magical. My host parents took me to the Köln Dom which is a gigantic church in Cologne, that was pretty cool. we climbed the 500-some stairs to the view in the tower. We also saw old old roman ruins which they have everywhere here apparently. I guess if you want to build a new building, one must be extremely carful when digging the hole as to not destroy some ancient walls or artifacts.
We also went to a festival of some kind in the countryside where my host dad grew up. it was a little bit like thanksgiving i suppose, but it was the entire village that put together food and a parade.
I love the bread here. delicious.
It doesn't feel like three and a half weeks have passed, but thinking back at all i've done so far it's been a lot.
Bonn is a beautiful city.
I might learn to play the guitar, they are really into music here. Also Hannah (the friend i went to the fireworks with) might try to teach me how to unicycle. so that should be interesting.
Last night i went with a rotarian to a concert. the Beethoven Orcastra played along with a varitey of other styles, opera, jazz, StarWars, etc..
My exchange is quite the expirience so far, and I love it. Thank you.
Hope
Things are rather spectacular in Deutschland. It is definately a different world over here. Everything with traveling went well, in fact, it is rather interesting to note that i saw Darren King at my connection in Calgary. coincidence. When i arrived in Frankfurt my host family had a big sign with my name on it to welcome me. My host dad is Franz-Josef and my host mother is Alex. I also have three host sisters, but the one who is my age is on exchange through rotary in the USA right now so i havn't met her. The other two are 13 and 19 years old. I have one contact with the rotary club here in Bonn, he hasn't been able to introduce me formally to the club yet so i havn't been to a meeting, but i have met a few other rotarians. Next week is when i will start going to the meetings regularly. They do have women in the club which is unlike most of the rotary clubs in the region. Of about 80 members, 40 percent are women.
My school is an all girls school. I go everyday by the city bus to the main station and than walk to school, in the afternoons i have language school for 3 hours until 4:30. My family speaks mostly german with me and i can have simple conversations with other girls at school in german. i am surrounded by the language and it is marvelous how much better my german is than even a week ago. My first week here I understood very little, now I can usually understand what people are saying to me if they are speaking directly to me because i understand the context. and i can reply for the most part, and faster than before. If i am listening in to a conversation at school, although, then it is too fast and i don't know a lot of those words yet. It is a lot of work, but the language course helps. I also have a couple books in german and in english so i can read a sentence or paragraph in english and then read the german.
Math in school is ahead of canada so it is hard to follow. I don't understand much in history. and in German class we are reading Goethe.
I like art the most because i feel i can accomplish something.
I have met a lot of people, and there was a meeting for all the inbounds of the district last weekend. there are 73 exchange students, and four of us from canada. In school most everyone is friendly, i feel so successful when i can have a conversation with someone in german. i went with one girl and her other friend to a fair and saw fireworks, twas magical. My host parents took me to the Köln Dom which is a gigantic church in Cologne, that was pretty cool. we climbed the 500-some stairs to the view in the tower. We also saw old old roman ruins which they have everywhere here apparently. I guess if you want to build a new building, one must be extremely carful when digging the hole as to not destroy some ancient walls or artifacts.
We also went to a festival of some kind in the countryside where my host dad grew up. it was a little bit like thanksgiving i suppose, but it was the entire village that put together food and a parade.
I love the bread here. delicious.
It doesn't feel like three and a half weeks have passed, but thinking back at all i've done so far it's been a lot.
Bonn is a beautiful city.
I might learn to play the guitar, they are really into music here. Also Hannah (the friend i went to the fireworks with) might try to teach me how to unicycle. so that should be interesting.
Last night i went with a rotarian to a concert. the Beethoven Orcastra played along with a varitey of other styles, opera, jazz, StarWars, etc..
My exchange is quite the expirience so far, and I love it. Thank you.
Hope