Weekend Number 1

A little behind schedule, I know but here is all about my first weekend in Deutschland.

This weekend I decided to stay near Saarbrücken and explore what the area has to offer.

On Friday, a festival called Saarspektakel took place and a bunch of us from Language school went to it. There was a lot of food, drinks, music, and entertainers. There was even a group that performed that did tricks with lights and even fire!

The electric scooter my host brother, Ferdinand, took me to the Saarspektakel on. 

Natalie, Alysha, and I at the festival

With my friend Keith at Saarspektakel

The Saar River

One of the performer, the Magic Artists

On Saturday my host mom took me with her into France to get groceries for her birthday on the 12th of August.

Driving to the grocery store in France

The bakery inside the grocery

All of the bottled water in the grocery store...there so much of it!

It was awesome to be able to drive into France so easily and quickly. At times you can't even tell which country you are in. 

Driving through France/Germany

 French horses, just for Kalie-Rose!

A small castle in Saarbrücken.

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The Saar River

The view from the Saarbrücken Castle

Sunday was the day we went out and explored the Saarland and beyond. We first ventured to the Saar Bow, an extreme bend in the Saar River that occurs naturally. 

Natalie and I at the Saar Bow

Natalie, Ferdi, and I

 Next, my host mom took my friend Natalie and I to Mettlach, Germany, the home of Villeroy and Boch. Villeroy and Boch is a ceramics company that produces dinnerware as well as other ceramic objects. While visiting the museum there, we were able to eat in the beautiful cafe and have some kaffee und kuchen.

The entrance at Villeroy and Boch.

At the Villeroy and Boch ceramics museum.

Kaffee und Kuchen

The beautiful cafe modeled after a similar cafe in Dresden, Germany

After visiting Mettlach, we headed to Schengen, Luxembourg, the location of the Schengen Agreement. The Schengen Agreement allows people to travel freely between the inner borders of 25 countries. It is a pretty area right on the River Moselle and there was a small wine festival going on while we were there. 

The River Moselle

A hotel and garden in Schengen, Luxembourg.

Overall, I had a wonderful first weekend in Germany. I can't believe that I was in 3 countries in 2 days. What a great way to start off this experience. 

Language School in Saarbrücken

So the first two months of my program consists of an intensive German language course. As you may have read before, I am taking this language school program in Saarbrücken, Germany. This program takes place at the Carl Duisberg Center not too far from my host family's house.

It's a very modern building that also houses some of the students from other language programs.

It also has a beer vending machine. :)

We spend around 4.5 hours each day working on German grammar, exercises, and language speaking skills.

Just a few shots from class...

We also go on field trips, such as a walk around downtown.

The Europa Gallerie, a nice mall downtown

The Rathaus in downtown Saarbrücken.

It's an interesting experience learning the language with 17 other people, all from different backgrounds, areas, and levels of German language ability. Although challenging at times, I enjoy spending time with new people and a new language. 

Arrival In Germany

First of all...I apologize for the delay in postings. I've just been having too much fun!

Second of all, let me tell you about my first week in Germany.

Last Monday we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany after a 7 hour flight with Lufthansa. The flight overall was good but I only got about an hour of sleep on the plane.

In the plane with seatmate, Adam.

And seatmate, Carlos.

A first glimpse of Germany.

We were met at the airport by the GIZ, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, the partner company of Cultural Vistas in Germany that will be taking care of us for the next year.

We all then piled into a couple of buses and drove approx. 40 min to Eppstein, a small town where we stayed at for the last part of our orientation.

The view from my room in the banking school we stayed in.

The city Eppstein.

The GIZ then provided a lot of physical activities to help us overcome jet-lag....and boy was I jet-lagged! We went on a tour to the castle in Eppstein and was guided by a knight and descendant of the original castle occupants. 

It was a beautiful castle. :)

On the end of the first night, I forced myself to stay up to my normal bedtime (10-11pm) and am glad I did. Around 10pm there was a giant fireworks show that myself and several of my CBYX participants got to see. It was fantastic and better than any other fireworks I had seen in the US.

The next post will be all about language school. :) 

Tschüß! 

Orientation in DC

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from DC. I arrived here on Tuesday and been having a blast! I've toured the White House, the Capitol, visited the National Mall and some of the Smithsonians. 

 Me in front of the White House

 The White House!!

 The Washington Monument taken from the World War II Monument

 The United States Capitol 

 Looking up at the dome of the capitol. 

The capitol from afar. 

The orientation started today. I have met some great people. More about it soon! :D

An Update as Well as My Permanent Placement

Hello Everyone Reading my Blog.

I apologize for not having an update sooner, things have been a little crazy.

In addition to the death of my grandfather, we had family visiting and my younger brother Jackson graduated from high school. 

Aren't we precious?

Also, I got an email today from CBYX. I finally know what German Bundesland (or state) I will be in for the largest part of my program. I will be in Sachsen aka Saxony for Oct 2011 to July 2012.

I am not sure of what city I will be in, but I am pretty sure it will be in Dresden. A friend who was in the program 2 years ago was located there for Bioengineering. 

Here are some pictures of the state, including Dresden. 

Sometime this week we are supposed to get another mailing from CBYX. I can't wait!! :D

Another Packet

Being in CBYX comes with a lot of mail.

I just recently got a packet from the German Information Center filled with some awesome stuff.

This is my spread without my Facts on Germany book. 

My favorite part in the packet is German-US flag pin. I feel like the President. Ha ha. 

 (My apologies on the fuzziness, I had to take the picture with my phone.)

I haven't gotten to read everything I received but I am excited to look through it all. 

On another note, this Memorial Day Weekend I celebrated Brenna and Joey's birthdays. I took Joey to Red Robin, and Brenna to Five Guys. I also made them both cakes for their birthdays: Joey got a Chocolate Caramel Peanut Cake and Brenna got a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. Both were delicious. 

I'll have a more in-depth update once I'm done with finals! :D

Oh! And before I forget, posted below is a timeline of my upcoming year with CBYX.

Enjoy!