“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...”
The weather is slowing changin the rain has turned from a drizzle to beautiful snowflakes. Colors of red, orange, and yellow have slowly been covered up by the white flakes. The house is decorated with red and gold table clothes. Wreaths hung on the doors. Gold stars in the windows illuminate the dark rooms. The winter sweaters are out of the bottom of my closet and replaced with the shorts and flipflops. Many other things are changing not only the physical things and the things you can see but also whith in people and mostly myself. Through out this 3 months that I have been abroad I am discovering new insights into various things.
I put this quote on here because I feel like it is representing how I am feeling right now in this stage of the exchange. I want to talk about different things with my friends. The questions I want to ask are questions I would never have thought I would be intersted in. I am starting to see new oppurtunities on things I can do in my life to make it better. I want to travel to the rest of the world. I think I am going to try and find a charity group here in Bayreuth. Not sure how I will find it but even if it is scooping soup for homeless this season it will make me feel better. This Christmas season I am not thinking of the things I "need" but the things of others. My life is going down paths I never thought possible. Everything makes a cycle. It is the cycle of life. I am just trying to figure out where it is going to put me next.
Auf Wiedersehen.
<3 Me.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Turkey Day
Lovely Readers,
Happy Thanksgiving! This is my 3rd celebration/holiday abroad. Just like the first two everything is different. I am enjoying it. Tonight I am going to a Thanksgiving dinner. On Sunday I will be attempting to make a turkey. I will let all of you know exactly how that turns out for me.
Things I am thankfull for:
1. Life
2. My Family
3. Friends
4. Rotary
5. Being able to live in Germany for a year
6. The Ullmanns ( My host family)
7. That I am finally getting better in my German
8. All of the new people I am meeting
9. Skype makes it easy to keep in touch
10. The Woelkers( My counselor)
11. All of the things that I am experiencing right now
12. I get to eat TURKEY tonight (:
There are so many other things I am thankful for.
Thank you for everything everyone who has been a part of my life.
Much love
Allysa Spear
Happy Thanksgiving! This is my 3rd celebration/holiday abroad. Just like the first two everything is different. I am enjoying it. Tonight I am going to a Thanksgiving dinner. On Sunday I will be attempting to make a turkey. I will let all of you know exactly how that turns out for me.
Things I am thankfull for:
1. Life
2. My Family
3. Friends
4. Rotary
5. Being able to live in Germany for a year
6. The Ullmanns ( My host family)
7. That I am finally getting better in my German
8. All of the new people I am meeting
9. Skype makes it easy to keep in touch
10. The Woelkers( My counselor)
11. All of the things that I am experiencing right now
12. I get to eat TURKEY tonight (:
There are so many other things I am thankful for.
Thank you for everything everyone who has been a part of my life.
Much love
Allysa Spear
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
All about me
Hallo Readers,
In about an hour I have to go and give my first German speach to my hosting Rotary Club. I am kind of nervous for the German part. In my speech I have to talk about me, my family, where I am from, and my sponsoring Rotary club. I have probably went over the speech 200 times in my head I am sure I will do fine. I am pretty good at talking about myself. It only has to be 5 min or close to 5 min.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am so excited for the dinner with my counselor I can barely contain myself. I will post again tomorrow about how it went and what it was like.
Thanks for reading.
Viele Gruße,
Allysa Spear
In about an hour I have to go and give my first German speach to my hosting Rotary Club. I am kind of nervous for the German part. In my speech I have to talk about me, my family, where I am from, and my sponsoring Rotary club. I have probably went over the speech 200 times in my head I am sure I will do fine. I am pretty good at talking about myself. It only has to be 5 min or close to 5 min.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am so excited for the dinner with my counselor I can barely contain myself. I will post again tomorrow about how it went and what it was like.
Thanks for reading.
Viele Gruße,
Allysa Spear
Monday, November 22, 2010
It is that time of year.
Dear Faithful Readers,
Today is November 22, 2010. It is officially snowing in Bayreuth. It feels so much like winter. All of the stores are putting out Christmas items. Throughout the city you see very festive sites. The mall has Christmas trees up in every corner. On the sidewalks town main street in the city are poles with gold and silver starts at the top. In the middle square the people are starting to set up for Christkindelsmarkt. Along with all of the pretty christmas things comes the busy times also. I have so many things to get accomplished in the next few weeks.
Monday: Hip-Hop dance ( Not to much)
Tuesday: Must send my German essay for my test, and German course
Wednesday: School, buy a turkey with my hostmom, and speech for my Rotary club (in German) little bit nervous for that one.
Thursday: THANKSGIVING! I have to go to school but in the afternoon I am going to a feast with my counselor, his wife, and Jaqueline.
Friday: School, dance class, meet with family in the city, print off picture for Rotary secret santa, buy gifts for christmas, get post cards, and finally Learn German as always. (:
Next weekend is my German test in Nurnberg. I am excited for it. I am starting to figure out my way threw a German conversation. I get lost a few times but I haven't ended up with a raw fish milkshake when asking when the bus comes.
Viele Gruße,
Allysa Spear
Today is November 22, 2010. It is officially snowing in Bayreuth. It feels so much like winter. All of the stores are putting out Christmas items. Throughout the city you see very festive sites. The mall has Christmas trees up in every corner. On the sidewalks town main street in the city are poles with gold and silver starts at the top. In the middle square the people are starting to set up for Christkindelsmarkt. Along with all of the pretty christmas things comes the busy times also. I have so many things to get accomplished in the next few weeks.
Monday: Hip-Hop dance ( Not to much)
Tuesday: Must send my German essay for my test, and German course
Wednesday: School, buy a turkey with my hostmom, and speech for my Rotary club (in German) little bit nervous for that one.
Thursday: THANKSGIVING! I have to go to school but in the afternoon I am going to a feast with my counselor, his wife, and Jaqueline.
Friday: School, dance class, meet with family in the city, print off picture for Rotary secret santa, buy gifts for christmas, get post cards, and finally Learn German as always. (:
Next weekend is my German test in Nurnberg. I am excited for it. I am starting to figure out my way threw a German conversation. I get lost a few times but I haven't ended up with a raw fish milkshake when asking when the bus comes.
Viele Gruße,
Allysa Spear
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Simply Pictures
My drawing of Jaqueline.
Jaqueline's drawing of me. We had some extra time during German class.
Sharlin is from Taiwan. She was performing a traditional fan dance for all of the exchange students.
One of the United States tables.
Hugo representing Mexico.
Molly, Me, Sharlin.
Plauen.
Olivia, Me, Teddy. All from the USA.
Oldest church in Plauen.
Inside the curch.
Rathaus.
Plauen from above.
A little village that was split right down the middle by the wall.
Experiences.
Hallo all,
Coming up next week I have to take a German test to see how much I am progressing. I am kind of nervous. I am sure I will do fine though. The test consists of 4 parts.
1. Essay. I have to write two pages in German about my experiences (good and bad) I have compiled a list of things that have happened to me so far. Well first off everything being new it is always fun. Oktoberfest was the first big thing I went to. It is not what typical Germans are like. Yes it is a typical German festival but people go way over the top when they know they are going to Oktoberfest. Everyone wears the old fashioned clothes and drinks way more than they would on a night out in the town.
The second thing I noticed was family life. The time of the meals is different and the portion sizes are also different. For instance a peice of bread with cheese and peperoni could easily be your breakfast.... With family life they also say Please and Thank you a lot more than we do in the U.S. Most of our meals here in Germany are home cooked. I have eaten out 2 times in almost 3 months its unbelieveable but I like this very much.
Host siblings! Not much else to say. I love having sisters and a little little brother. I have to switch families in about a week. It is such a bitter sweet feeling. I also got the chance to experience my birthday here. It was so much fun. My host families helped me get threw it without my real family.They all sang Happy Birthday to me and i cried. I also got to go out with my sister and her friends and see what kids would normally do on a birthday. :)
Ok now for public transportation. Well most people actually use it. Not very many people have cars or drive around in cars like we do in Iowa. I always get these infamous questions: Do you have a car? Can you drive? What kind of car do you have? How many cars do you own? Can we see your license?
Lots of people have bikes. It is the most convenient way to get around. I am not very good at riding my bike. I almost ran over 2 people on the road the other day.
Now for the not as possitive experiences.
A. Learning German.
It is so hard and stressful.
B. School
School is very difficult. It is a different system then I am used to. It is all in German and I have a super hard time paying attention in class. Last week one of my teachers just now figured out I was from the U.S. I then had to explain baseball to the class and him. It was interesting.
C. My German course on Tuesdays and Thurdays. I am in a class with tons of People from different backgrounds. I have been asked very difficult questions. Some I had no answer to. I don't look at it as a bad thing. I am simply just getting out and experiencing things I would never be able to get in small town Iowa. It is all a part of the exchange. I have friends from every corner of the world. I am growing way beyond my years.
Ok that is what my Essay is going to be about as for the other parts of the test. I have 100 questions over German government. I need to do some hardcore studying if I am going to pass that part.
I now enjoy riding the public busses to town and home becuase I always meet intersting people. Never a dull moment here.
Thanskgiving is coming up soon. It is not celebrated here so I am making my host family a turkey and a big meal like we would have in my house. I am so excited. On the 25th I am going with my counselor and Jaque to and an American German club here in Bayreuth. They have a man from the US and he will prepare a feast. It should be so much fun. I can't wait to share my cutlure with everyone. (:
Well sorry this is so long. I haven't been very good about blogging everyday. I will make it more of a habit.
Quote for the week: When life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade. <3
Auf Wiedersehen.
Coming up next week I have to take a German test to see how much I am progressing. I am kind of nervous. I am sure I will do fine though. The test consists of 4 parts.
1. Essay. I have to write two pages in German about my experiences (good and bad) I have compiled a list of things that have happened to me so far. Well first off everything being new it is always fun. Oktoberfest was the first big thing I went to. It is not what typical Germans are like. Yes it is a typical German festival but people go way over the top when they know they are going to Oktoberfest. Everyone wears the old fashioned clothes and drinks way more than they would on a night out in the town.
The second thing I noticed was family life. The time of the meals is different and the portion sizes are also different. For instance a peice of bread with cheese and peperoni could easily be your breakfast.... With family life they also say Please and Thank you a lot more than we do in the U.S. Most of our meals here in Germany are home cooked. I have eaten out 2 times in almost 3 months its unbelieveable but I like this very much.
Host siblings! Not much else to say. I love having sisters and a little little brother. I have to switch families in about a week. It is such a bitter sweet feeling. I also got the chance to experience my birthday here. It was so much fun. My host families helped me get threw it without my real family.They all sang Happy Birthday to me and i cried. I also got to go out with my sister and her friends and see what kids would normally do on a birthday. :)
Ok now for public transportation. Well most people actually use it. Not very many people have cars or drive around in cars like we do in Iowa. I always get these infamous questions: Do you have a car? Can you drive? What kind of car do you have? How many cars do you own? Can we see your license?
Lots of people have bikes. It is the most convenient way to get around. I am not very good at riding my bike. I almost ran over 2 people on the road the other day.
Now for the not as possitive experiences.
A. Learning German.
It is so hard and stressful.
B. School
School is very difficult. It is a different system then I am used to. It is all in German and I have a super hard time paying attention in class. Last week one of my teachers just now figured out I was from the U.S. I then had to explain baseball to the class and him. It was interesting.
C. My German course on Tuesdays and Thurdays. I am in a class with tons of People from different backgrounds. I have been asked very difficult questions. Some I had no answer to. I don't look at it as a bad thing. I am simply just getting out and experiencing things I would never be able to get in small town Iowa. It is all a part of the exchange. I have friends from every corner of the world. I am growing way beyond my years.
Ok that is what my Essay is going to be about as for the other parts of the test. I have 100 questions over German government. I need to do some hardcore studying if I am going to pass that part.
I now enjoy riding the public busses to town and home becuase I always meet intersting people. Never a dull moment here.
Thanskgiving is coming up soon. It is not celebrated here so I am making my host family a turkey and a big meal like we would have in my house. I am so excited. On the 25th I am going with my counselor and Jaque to and an American German club here in Bayreuth. They have a man from the US and he will prepare a feast. It should be so much fun. I can't wait to share my cutlure with everyone. (:
Well sorry this is so long. I haven't been very good about blogging everyday. I will make it more of a habit.
Quote for the week: When life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade. <3
Auf Wiedersehen.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Plauen
Hallo All,
This weekend I went on a Rotary weekend to Plauen. It is not to far from where I live. Jaque and I took the train. When we got to the second stop where we were suppose to meet up with the 2 other exchange students we always ride with we couldn't find them. Jaque and I were on the second part of the train and so we called them to see if they were on the first part. As Jaque was talking with one of them she lost the call. So me and Jaque decided that on the next stop we would get out fast and run to the first part of the train. Well as we are walking up and down the isle we don't see them. Turns out they got on another train and we headed to our town to pick us up but we had already left. We all have to worst luck with trains. Jaque and I had to pay for another train ticket. It was 17.50 Euro. Which is expensive in my opinion. WEll when we got to Plauen we met up with all of the students who are going abroad next year and all of the re-bounds who just got back. It was so much fun.
On Friday we had to sell our nation. There is 5 people from the US right now and 3 re-bounds who went to the US. One of them was Anni. She was in my district last year in Iowa. It was so nice to see her again. I didn't think I would meet up with her. We caught up and talked about our experiences.
On Saturday we walked our Plauen and had some free time to go shopping. We looked at old building and this cute little earth home place. I will put up pictures soon. They were house along this little creek and it was so cute. Then we played get to know each other games. It was interesting trying to speak in German. All the students gave it there best but most of the time they ended up explaining it in English. After the games we had a disco. We got to dance with everyone which was so cool. We listened to music from all over the world. I loved dancing.
On Sunday we went to a museum. It was a villege that when the wall was built it was split right down the middle. It was neat. I didn't really understand everything becuase it was in German but the looks were cool. I got an english brocheur that I will read to get info on it.
The train ride home was interesting. The train was packed full. The isles were full of people standing because they had nowhere to sit. Luckily Jaque and I didn't have to ride the train the whole way home. We got off and switched to another train. We were only on there for about 20 min.
Now I am home, unpacked, and blogging. I will try to blog again this week. (:
Much love <3 me
Auf wiedersehen.
This weekend I went on a Rotary weekend to Plauen. It is not to far from where I live. Jaque and I took the train. When we got to the second stop where we were suppose to meet up with the 2 other exchange students we always ride with we couldn't find them. Jaque and I were on the second part of the train and so we called them to see if they were on the first part. As Jaque was talking with one of them she lost the call. So me and Jaque decided that on the next stop we would get out fast and run to the first part of the train. Well as we are walking up and down the isle we don't see them. Turns out they got on another train and we headed to our town to pick us up but we had already left. We all have to worst luck with trains. Jaque and I had to pay for another train ticket. It was 17.50 Euro. Which is expensive in my opinion. WEll when we got to Plauen we met up with all of the students who are going abroad next year and all of the re-bounds who just got back. It was so much fun.
On Friday we had to sell our nation. There is 5 people from the US right now and 3 re-bounds who went to the US. One of them was Anni. She was in my district last year in Iowa. It was so nice to see her again. I didn't think I would meet up with her. We caught up and talked about our experiences.
On Saturday we walked our Plauen and had some free time to go shopping. We looked at old building and this cute little earth home place. I will put up pictures soon. They were house along this little creek and it was so cute. Then we played get to know each other games. It was interesting trying to speak in German. All the students gave it there best but most of the time they ended up explaining it in English. After the games we had a disco. We got to dance with everyone which was so cool. We listened to music from all over the world. I loved dancing.
On Sunday we went to a museum. It was a villege that when the wall was built it was split right down the middle. It was neat. I didn't really understand everything becuase it was in German but the looks were cool. I got an english brocheur that I will read to get info on it.
The train ride home was interesting. The train was packed full. The isles were full of people standing because they had nowhere to sit. Luckily Jaque and I didn't have to ride the train the whole way home. We got off and switched to another train. We were only on there for about 20 min.
Now I am home, unpacked, and blogging. I will try to blog again this week. (:
Much love <3 me
Auf wiedersehen.
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