First Day of School

Today was the first day of school, and now my whole German adventure finally seems real.  I'M FREAKING GOING TO SCHOOL IN GERMANY!  Well, the first day really went well.  Let me begin:


Lisa picked me up from my house (she lives around the corner and passes my house to get to school anyway) at about 7:30.  Before I left, I had to take a first-day-of-school picture, because, despite being in the middle of the school year, this day is as legit of a first day of school as any.

We walked about twenty minutes to school.  We waited twenty more minutes just so I could be introduced to the principal, which took about twenty seconds.  Sigh.

First period was PE.  Guess what we were doing?  PING PONG.  That's right, ping pong in PE!  I played with Lisa and slowly observed the others, totally in a not-weird-or-stalkerish type of way.  I got an idea of which boys are the idiots who love "Scheiss machen," as one would say in German.  Every class has those kids.  I also met Lisa's best friend, Celina, who is kind of crazy.  She has these rampages where she looks dead serious, but she means absolutely none of what she's saying.  It's funny because Lisa is totally calm.  I guess they balance each other out.

So new friend? Check.  I was also invited to go to an amusement park with Lisa and Celina next Monday!  (We don't have school this Thursday, next Monday and Tuesday, and the Monday and Tuesday after that for various reasons.  Mwahaha!)  So far, it's lookin' good! :)

English is considered very cool in Germany.  It's on people's clothes, and there are English expressions used.  (Sarah, you have to tell Alex this:) I actually heard one girl say "Like a boss."  It was, in my opinion, hysterical, but I didn't laugh.  I also saw YOLO written on someone's bag.  <Face palm>

After PE and learning about topspin and backspin (yes, they use those English words), we had a fifteen-minute break, where we had the opportunity to eat.  This gave me another opportunity to see how different the school here is.  Everyone eats outside and can wander around.  There are people sitting on stairs, playing soccer, talking and more.  At lunch in Park City, we're pretty much not allowed to leave the cafeteria. 

Next came math.  I was thrilled to discover that they were learning writing, solving and graphing systems of equations – what I had just learned in Utah! <Self high-five> I wasn't as lost as I thought I would be.  I'm just not used to all the German math words, such as solving for 'ix' and 'ipsilon' and how to say divide or anything like that, so I kept my mouth shut the entire time.  The math homework also proved to be harder than expected, but that really had nothing to do with the being in German thing.  I can pretend that it did, though, to justify my struggles. :)

I have by now established that I can't write with a fountain pen.  Exhibit A: fingers after school today.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is my thumb.  It is very understandable if you did not recognize that, for it is very, ahem, blue.  You can see I am suffering from what I have called Smurf Finger, caused by writing with a blue fountain pen.  This is only day one, so I am sure you will see more Smurf Finger in the future.

Speaking of fountain pens, we don't have to write in cursive!  Woooo!  Woooo!  ;)

After Math and two more breaks came French.  My French teacher, Frau Hasenbach-busch (yes, that is really her name :O ), is really nice.  But other than that...  Let's just say that their French is a little bit over my head.  It seems like almost everyone has good pronounciation (which, unfortunately, can't be said for my old French class), and they are way ahead in learning material.  Today we finished up something about replacing pronouns with c'est....que or qui, which I didn't get, and then they did something with a French song.  Apparently this song has been an ongoing unit, because everyone had summaries of the song prepared, wheras I didn't understand a single word except for the title, "Nice et Forts."

For all my classes (except for the  ones where we have to go to a specialized classroom, like PE), I am sitting next to Celina.  This has proved to be very...  Interesting.  She talks to pretty much everyone around her, so I've overheard some pretty interesting conversations.  She also helped me in French, so I'm not complaining sitting next to her at all. :)

Another difference between school here and there (if you know what I mean by that) that I didn't mention in my last post is the backpack rule.  In Utah, you're not allowed to have your backpack with you in class.  You have to go put it in you locker.  In Germany, pretty much the opposite is the case.  There aren't lockers, so you carry your backpack around with you everywhere.

Also, at my school here, you're outside a lot.  Before, I could go a whole school day without going outside.  Here, you're outside while you're walking between classes, while you're eating, and more.  The cafeteria (you don't have to eat there, but you can buy food there from a really long, yummy menu), the gyms and some of the buildings with classes in it are separate buildings, so you're walking either on covered paths or just out in the open.  I think it's really nice. :)

Because Lisa had something going on after school, she couldn't walk home with me.  A girl named Louisa offered to walk with me the majority of the way, until she turned onto her street.  We walked together and talked, so I guess she's my third friend. :)

I think today was pretty darn successful!  Tomorrow I have German, chemistry and history, so let's see what adventures tomorrow brings. :)

The Sunflower Project: No progress.  I didn't bother taking a picture.

German word of the day: Schule.  Pronounced SHOO-luh.  I'm pretty sure most of you can figure out what it means, but for those of you who can't, it means school.