Was machst du, dieses Wochenende? (die sonn ist aus, bleibst nicht im bettttt)

Well, I left you last Friday night, before going to the movies, so I will fill in the gap from there till now.
It seems we ride our bikes everywhere here, and late night movie trips into town is no exception. So, after a short ride to the train station, Anja and I caught the train (well, two trains) into Hamburg, picking up a friend along the way. We got to the cinema early for pre-drinks, aka non-alcoholic cocktails, and met up with some others. Then we made our way to the actual theatre, with a pit stop for snacks, and got ready for the 3 hour long movie that is Mocking Jay: Part 2. It was all in German (duh), so it's probably a good thing that I have read the books, which meant that I could understand what was going on and piece together the german. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I could actually understand all of it, but it was good all the same. One weird thing was that there was a 15 minute pause half way through, a chance for some to rush to the loo, but kinda boring for the rest of us. By the time the movie had finished and we were back at the bus stop, it was 11:20, and we discovered there was over half an hour until the next bus to the station - not good in freezing weather. Things were not to happy, and we were contemplating getting a taxi, when the bus we were catching went past on the other side of the road. Shrieking (Schnell! Schnell!), we ran across 4 lanes of traffic (at 11:30 - there was only one car) and an almost red pedestrian crossing, but we managed to get on the bus, and in two stops we were at a train station. The first train was only a 5 minute wait, then we caught a second train, and finally, after the third train and a bike ride, Anja and I were back home and embraced by the heater and our warm beds.

On Saturday night Anja and I went back into town to the Dom, a big carnival in Hamburg that opens in summer and winter. It's massive, with carnival games, and big rides, and food stands everywhere. I swear there were over 20 stands selling Lebkuchenherzen - gingerbread hearts with frosted writing. We lapped the carnival a couple of times - which is a long walk - and went on several rides, including the dogem cars, and a rollercoaster. For a light dinner, we had mushrooms in a delicious sauce, and we ended the night with a ride on the ferris wheel, which showed a beautiful view of Hamburg and the Dom. We caught the train back, but at the next station we had a wait until our next train came. It was another late night, as even though it was only 12:20, the ride back always makes it feel later.

The late night made it hard to get up in the morning, but I managed. Sunday morning I went to church with Lorenz, my host father. It was a cool experience, because the church was so old. Even though I couldn't understand the sermon, I was able to sing along with the hymns (from a hymn book - it's pretty surreal). I explained to Lorenz afterwards about how different my church back at home was, about how it's much more modern and inviting, unlike the dark cathedrals here in Deutschland. It was good to go anyway, I felt much better after going and experiencing a familiar, but unique, part of my life.

In Germany, there is a tradition where four Sundays before Christmas you celebrate the first Advent, a time where the family sits together and enjoys sweets and chocolates, a time for bonding. You continue this every Sunday up until Christmas, lighting a new candle each time. This was the first Advent, and after church I helped Ute decorate the house in preparation for Christmas. All of the old general decorations went away in the cellar, that meant saying goodbye to the normal candles, pictures, and random stone hearts. We brought up large boxes from the cellar then, which contained all of the Christmas decorations - stars and Santa's galore! It was really fun putting them all up, and the house felt very festive after we had finished.
We went to Anja's volleyball game then, which was long but exciting, because her team won. It was here, at the treat table in the corner of the school gym, where I had my first pretzel of my trip - I can't believe it took me so long! Then, it was back home for our Advent meal, sehr lecker!  

Bis später!!

Schade, Schade, Marmelade.

So, life in Germany so far has been pretty cool. Although it hasn't snowed again yet, there was frost on the road this morning, which is a good sign.
And I guess I will write about school again, because that is bascially all i've done.
So German schools are similar in some ways, but there is one difference that is kind-of weird. I don't know about other schools, but at Anja's, in year 11 you have to choose a 'profile' (pronounced pro-feel), and for 2 days a week, you have a certain set of classes that you can't choose. Anja does her profile days at a different school, and because I hadn\t chosen mine yet, I had to go with her. So, after a short dentist trip (for Anja, not me), we headed off to school. First was theatre, where they practised a scene for a play. Although it was interesting, I had nothing to do so it was a bisschen (little bit) boring. Then, we rode our bikes to anotehr building for her next class. It was a free so I worked on some of my homeowrk, then we went to the bakery. At the bakery is where I bought heaven on earth, otherwise known as Franzbrötchen. It's a pastry only made in Hamburg, and it's like a cinnamon roll, but different. Then, it was back to school for another lesson and home, and lunch. And you'll never guess what lunch was. It was pancakes - legit, maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, full of sugar, pancakes. After homework, Anja and I headed over to one of her friend's houses to work on an assignement. I managed to help by cutting up paper for the DNA model, then making a pipe-cleaner family from the scraps.
It was about 9 by the time we got home, and it was dinner time. Thankfully dinner is onlt bread and cheese, but it still feels weird eating so late. Und dann, Bett.
Today we were back at the normal school, and first thing was fixing up my timetable. I've ended up with a mish-mash of subjects, with year 11 classes with Anja, year 10 german and politics, and a year 12 history class. It should be fun to try.
Matthew joined me in German first thing, and yet again I didn't understand a thing. We then had a free period - in the cafferteria - and Matthew, some random German guy, and I spoke politics and australian slang the whole time. Well, appart from the part where Matthew tried to vote in a referendum. Then physics, where they are doing a subject I did last term. The good thing is that means I can compare what I already know to the german, making it much easier to understand. After physics was a Pause, then geography, where I completed my german physisch homework. Then, bike, home, lunch, and homework, i.e now. Later tonight we will be going to see 'Tribute von Panem' - hunger games. Until then, bye!

First Day of School (Like Kindy Again)

My first day of school in Germany was not as nerve-racking as I had expected, but probably because I was so tired from the bike ride to school. I guess I got eased into German school life, because in my first subject with Anja, Maths, they were doing the exact topic I had been doing in Australia. This means, that even though I could barely understand a thing my teacher was saying, (they speak so fast I can keep up), I could still do the work in class. The next class was even easier - English. In German class though, i gave up trying to understand the play they were analysing and did my own English work - better to do some work than stare at a wall all period.
Große Pause was next, and Anja abandoned me with some of her friends becasue she had to give tutoring. Her friends were very nice though, and together we battled through the swarms of people to find a seat in the caffeteria. /Side note: German highschool starts at year 5, so as well as the annoying sevies running around, there was also screaming 10 year olds under foot/. I managed to introduce vegemite to the others, which they found disgusting (I don't know how), and we bumped into the other stipi at my school, Matthew. When it was time for the next class, Matthew's host ditched him with us, so Matthew joined me and Katinka (one of Anja's friends) in another English class. I joined up with Anja after that, and said goodbye to Matthew. The last class Anja had, and therefore I had, was 'Jahrebuch' aka yearbook. It should be a fun class, because I've been asked to write an article (in German of course) about my school in Australia, and the differences etc. Basically I feel like in one of those teen movies with the montage about writing an article for the school newspaper, and how at the end of the journey the protagonist has some profound thing they learnt about life, and the final article is nothing like how it began. Maybe that will happen, but probably not...
Anyway. We rode home after school (after only 3 days my legs are killing me), and had lunch at some ungodly hour - 4:00 when her mother got home. /Another side note: it feels like we are always eating here - kleine Pause, große Pause, 20 minute breaks between classes for food, lunch, dinner, dessert...../
After attempting to do homework for a while, I went to volleyball practice with Anja. My arm still hurts from the 2 hours of attempting to hit the ball, because even after the coach patiently told me how to hit it properly many time, I still haven't mastered the simple act. (Que almost broken thumb).
I was so tired by the time I got home that I went straight to bed without any supper (and by that I mean I didn't have to eat dinner).
And so, my first day of German school contained nice people, lot's of food, and aching limbs.
 

The Fist Few Days

Germany is very far from Australia. Therefore, it was a very long plane trip. After saying goodbye to the family, the rest of the Sydney stipis and I made our way through customs and onto our plane. It was then a 14 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, with only various movies and fitful sleep to distract me from the horrible plane food (Seriously, are you sure that was chicken?). In Abu Dhabi, it was then another 4 hour wait in the terminal for the Victoria and WA stipis, along with our group leader, Masha. Luckily, I got the window seat for the flight from Abu Dhabi to Germany, and I was able to admire the view.
When we landed in Germany it was afternoon, and half of our party got whisked away by their hosts. Thsoe of us who were staying far away from Frankfurt were going to be staying the night and catching a train out in the morning. After a quick stop in the hostel for showers and a rest, we had a quickk tour of Frankfurt, where we went up the 'Main Tower', named after the main river that flows through Frankfurt. The view was beautiful, but eventually the cold wind got the best of us and we headed back to solid ground. We were in a large mall when, after visting the highest ice rink in Germany, it  started snowing. It was amazing. Barely any of us had seen snow before, so when given the option to walk half an hour in the snow to the resturant for dinner, or catch the train, everyone chose to brave the weather and enjoy our first night in Germany in the snow. Even after we were all cold and wet, no one regretted the choice. After a traditional dinner of schnitzels, we caught the train back to the hostel and fell promptly asleep - we were all dead tired and jet-lagged.
After a breakfast of bread, cheese, and cold meats the next morning, we all parted ways at the Frankfurt train station. There were 5 other stipis on my train to Hamburg, and the 4 hour trip was divided between gazing out of the window at the countryside, comparrisons of our home-town beaches, and  failed attempts at schoolwork. My host family was waiting at the station when the train arrived in Hamburg, and although I was super excited, the tiredness was beginning to set in again. By the time we got to my new home for the next 10 weeks it was 5, and after a quick tour, unpacking session, and dinner of pizza, it was time for me to go to bed.
You cannot deny that the German breakfast is one of the best - the fresh bread, sharp cheese, and delicious meats add up to my favourite meal. My host sister had already gone to school by the time I woke up, after a 12 hour sleep, so it was just my host mother and I eating. Today was my first relaxed day and first taste of German life. And so, after a chill day of reading and groceryshopping, day 3 of my trip in Germany is coming to an end. Tschüs.

Sneeee!!!!!

Gassowary Girls - Frankfurt 

View from the Main Tower