Recap, Reflection and Comparison

I am ashamed.  When was my last post?  Like, a month ago?  Crap.  That was NOT supposed to happen!  I've been busy with, as I like to say in German, "Zeug, Kram und Sachen."  Those are pretty much three different words for "stuff."  I may have also gotten a tad bit lazy.  Just a bit.  It's summer, after all!  And I do have to admit, I was getting a little burned-out from writing almost every day.  But yes, a month is definitely long enough of a break to take!  Since this is my last post probably EVER (gasp!) I know I should have posted sooner and gotten it done with, but instead I've left you hanging for a loooong time.

Let me begin with a recap.  I'll try to sum everything up as best I can, but I'm not promising that I'll remember everything.

I started with my first flight as an unaccompanied minor ever.  After some jet-lag-filled days, I started school.  I was so nervous!  Luckily, I got invited to go to an amusement park with Lisa and Celina.  After an overall succesful first day, homesickness began to set in.  I was feeling very pessimistic about the whole thing.  I missed my friends, my family, and school in which I could be smart. ;)  However, the longer I stayed in Germany, the better things got.  I did a bunch of different things with my friends, including going to that amusement park, going to Kirmes (a carnival thing), going shopping WAY too often, and bonding at school.

Throughout my Germany trip, my grandparents and I experienced things on our own, such as gorgeous walks, visiting museums, and going shopping.  (Shopping with grandparents is VERY different than shopping with friends.  It mostly consists of buying food.) :)

The real turning point was my birthday party.  Something about receiving presents (especially that box with notes to me written on it) and goofing of really brings people together.  I would say that was when I started being in my comfort zone and really feeling like I belonged.  Things got better and better.  I did a lot more fun things with friends, and even had some successes in school, like in English (duh), math and French.  We also went on a super cool field trip!

Then my mom and sister came, bringing my two worlds together.  It was great to see them again, although it was kind of weird to have both of my separate worlds become one.  I got to hang out with my sister again, and we (okay, she) made a really cool tree fort that we spent time in.  Also, my twin one-year-old cousins came to visit twice during my trip.  It was great to see them and spend time with them, and I had a lot of fun building towers with my uncle. :)

Then came the event that showed me how amazing my friends really were.  They threw a surprise going-away party for me!  I was so touched, and for the first time I realized how much I would miss my friends.  They actually liked me!  Yay! ;)

My last day of school was the sportfest, where, yes, I had to run.  That part was miserable.  But everything else about the day was fun!  It was a class-bonding experience.  Sadly, I then had to say goodbye to everyone, which stunk.  I might have cried.  Maybe.  I'm not admitting to anything! ;)

After that we spent five awesome days in Holland, seeing both the big city of Amsterdam and the cute small towns of Marken and Gouda.

We had two days back home (home as in Germany) before we had to fly back.  Once again, I can testify that saying goodbye STINKS.  I was really appreciative to my grandparents for everything they'd  done for me.

Then came the miserable and delayed flights home.  The end.


Reflecting back on it, I am so glad I had this experience.  Being a part of German culture really opened my eyes to many things.  Since I go to Germany every summer, I already knew what it's like, but that was vacation.  This time, I experienced what it was like to be a teen living in Germany.  I made a lot of great friends that I hope to keep for a long time.  I learned what school was like in a different country and got to participate in it.  I got to experience nature that is different from Utah's nature.  I went shopping, to festivals, and all sorts of things where I talked to both other kids and adults.  I read a German book.  I also got to play volleyball.  I learned things that weren't really taught to me in Utah, and I played with girls a lot better than me.

I learned a lot about myself during this trip.  Obviously, my German improved, and I learned the teen language. ("krass," "geil," "hauptsache," etc.)  But more importantly, I learned that I CAN DO IT!  I faced a lot of challenges in Germany, but I dealt with them.  I did what I could in school, I bought my own food and other things at stores, and I played volleyball with a bunch of older, intimidating (on the court) girls.  I've gotten better at talking to adults and learned how to deal with things by myself.  Above all, I've learned that if I can do this, I can do anything.  Almost. ;)

In addition to learning about myself, I learned a lot about the world around me.  It's crazy how much I've experienced at the age of 14!  Some people never leave the United States, and here I am, having already visited multiple countries and lived in Germany for almost three months! (Fun fact: since I go to Germany every year, added up I've spent about a year of my life in Germany!) It's opened my eyes to the world.  There's more to life than just your home country.  There are other people, other places, other cultures, other foods and other things that make your life richer.  I am so lucky to have experienced those things.  I have lived in a different country, lived as they do there, and doing so has made me grow as a person.  I've learned new customs and traditions, and seen the world from a new point of view.  I am so ridiculously lucky and thankful for having experienced this.

Now let me compare a few things about Germany and the United States.

In Germany...
People bike or walk almost everywhere
People have less stuff
Everything is smaller
People have easy access to other countries
More people are multilingual (almost everyone speaks English, and there are lots of people from nearby countries)
There are lots of outdoor markets
People swear more (the German equivalent of sh** is almost an accepted word)
People smoke more
School is more traditional and uses less technology
The kids have a more "mature" (or maybe inappropriate?) sense of humor
People recycle more

In the United States (or where I live anyway)...
People drive a lot more (things aren't as near to each other as in Europe)
People have more stuff
Almost everything is bigger
The US is so big and only borders two countries, so it's harder to experience other countries
Not as many people are multilingual
There are some outdoor markets, but not as many as in Germany, and the food isn't as local
People swear less (I think)
People smoke less
School has a TON of technology
Kids are more immature (maybe, it changes from person to person)
People recycle less (generally)

Obviously there is a TON more, but my brain is not magical, and even if it were, I don't feel like listing differences all day! :)

Thank you to everyone who read my blog.  I appreciate you caring about my journey, and I hope that you maybe experienced some of Germany right along with me!  I loved reading your comments, and just seeing that people read it made me happy. :) I hope that someday, if you haven't already, you can experience something just as amazing as I did!

I officially bring Julia's German Journey to a close!

German word of the day: Zuende.  Pronounced tsoo-EN-duh.  It means "over" or "finished."  Because, sadly, my blog is over.