My First Month In Germany.

Ok. So I Will Basically Summarize The Recent Letters:

Yes, It Is An 11 Month Stay.
The First Month Will Be In Recklinghausen.
I Have 2 Sisters, 10 & 7; And One Brother, 6.
My Pre-Dad Is A Doctor & My Pre-Mama Is A Dental Assistant.
I Will Have 10 Orientation & Language Courses
With Students From US, Australia, Mongolian, Ghana, South Korea, India & One Thai Person.
I Start My Studies July 28th & End August 22nd.
I Arrive With My Pre-Family On The 25th.
The Days Consists Of 2 Hrs Of Orientation Lessons.
4 Hrs Of Language Lessons. Students Eat Together. Attendance Is Mandatory.
Families Live Nearby. Public Transport And Food Costs Are Paid For.
We Will Be Counseled By A Teacher.
Provided With Practical Advice & Support In The Culture.
Counselor's Info Will Be Given Before We Arrive At Our Host Family's Home.
All Families Are Carefully Chosen By Organizers.
They Only Provide Us With Meals & Accommodations.

In The 3rd/4th Week We Receive Info Regarding Tips & Regulations For The Year
& Will Have A Short Informal Interview To Clear Up Queries & Questions.
There Will Be An Excursion During The 3rd/4th Week
Where We Get To Visit Historical/Cultural Interest.
All Of This Is Paid For By YFU.
At The End Of The Course We, The Students, Organize A Farewell Party.
We Take A Train To Our Host Families On August 23rd.

THIS IS LIKE SCHOOL.
The 4 Week Orientation Is The Only Time To Learn German.
We Are Expected To Learn & Practice. We Make What We Want Out Of It.
We Will Attend A Regular School Where German Is Spoken.
We Are Expected Not To Speak Often In Our Language With Fellow Course mates.


Omg. I'm SoOo Excited!! :]
I Looked Up My Address On Google For My First Home.
It Looks Freakin' Sweet! I Think There's A Pool In The Back Yard. But I Can't Be Sure.
I'm Walking Distance From A Soccer Field & A Track&Field.
So I Can Only Imagine That The School Is Across The Street.
It Looks A Bit Confusing.
There Are A Lot Of TREES!!!
And Some Farm Land Some Distance Away.

International Pre-Departure Orientation

sweet.. my first post.

well today was the pre-departure meeting.
it was cool. i met some really nice people
saw some crazy german kids [& other foreigners of course].
it wasnt a nerve-wracking experience at all
quite the opposite. i felt relaxed the whole time.
[btw: thats a big deal]
it was probably because none of them were from austin
and one of the area heads [or whatever she called herself]
knew something about rj and i because she always
came to talk to my dad and i about him and was always
asking me how i felt about overseas and blah blah blah.
soo yeh.

i didnt really learn anything new today. it was just a refresher.
most all of the things they covered were in this book they sent.
it was a bit slow in the beginning.
the only thing it really did to me was make me even more excited
to leave and learn all of this new stuff. i dont think i can explain
how freakin excited i am about this.
i may be worried about a few minor details, but its a small amount
compared to how excited i am about leaving.
i can finally be my independent self. which is exhilarating!
ooohhh im excited!!!

there were 7 of us US kids leaving to go overseas.
3 of us were going full year. the others were 6 weekers.
and there were a BUNCH of international students!
obviously the majority were german.
and 4 came from berlin and hamburg. so they were constantly
bombarding me with questions. it was hilarious.
some of them barely even had a german accent...

the session started at 9a and ended at 4p.
long.. but amazing.
we played a couple of games. not much to say.

ok. i'm bored now.
laterz