My past week has been an absolute thrill. I am looking forward to every new moment and day to see what will unfold in-front of me. It is wonderful being here and I am so astounded that I got in, I still don’t believe I am in Germany. It seriously hasn’t clicked in yet! School started last Wednesday and since then, I am meeting many new people and learning new things. I have learned so much and it’s been 9 days so far.

-My first day of school went like this:
I embarked on my journey, with my host-brother’s aunt taking us to the Bahnhof (train-station auf Deutsch), early in the Morning. I bought a ticket and we went to school. The person in charge introduced me in front of everyone in 11th grade.

I said:

Hello, my name is Igor. I am an exchange-student from America.
Hallo! Ich heise Igor und ich bin austauchschueler aus Amerika.

I took not that many classes that day and got to know my host-brother’s friends.
Later that day, all 9 of us went to the local natural pool (glorified clean pond with slides and diving-boards) and hung-out for 3 hours.

– School Day 2

Today, I went to school, and had some classes that I didn’t understand. Physics and Religion class was brutal. In the evening though, my host-brother (the pro-mountain biker) and I went mountain biking. Going 30 mph, we came to a turn to the right and he said, “Stop here please.”
So we did and there was a trail in front of us, straight down the mountain with about a 1 foot wide going 70′ down. Oh my God, I thought.
I couldn’t bike down, so I decided to walk. But it was so steep, that I soon began to slip too.
Finally, we got to the bottom, and rode through a river bed and rough terrain. I managed to fall into a nettle bush, while wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

– School Day 3

The stress and frustration is appearing in class, as I frantically open and close my electronic dictionary to translate words. But, it is a Friday, and I finally am beginning to appreciate Katy Perry’s TGIF song. After school, I worked in the woods for 5 hours and then we went home around 8 pm. Boy, does it feel good to relax.

Here comes the weekend!

Physics Notes from the first day:

– Weekend 1

This week was stressful and finally, a break! I woke up at 9, helped split wood for a friend, with my host-brother and had breakfast. Then from then on was relaxation. It was all fun and my German is improving very quickly.

-School Day 4

Well, it is becoming even more stressful at school, so I think it is time for a change. I will go to the office tomorrow with my friend and she and I will change some classes.
-School Day 5
Today was excellent! I got some classes removed and am now going to have much less stress and much more learning. Warum? I mean, why? I will take 5th grade German and it will help me start with the real basics. I also dropped 2 classes, so now I only have 8 🙂
After school, my host-family and I went to celebrate my host-grandpa’s birthday! The food was great at the bar and I enjoyed it. In the middle of the party, my host-dad, his friend, my brother, and I went to my host-father’s work and there we got a whole tour. I met Mr.S (name disclosed for privacy), the boss of the furniture company, and we exchanged numbers.
He, Mr.S, is an avid marathon runner, and is very close to my host-dad. As I have understood, they own the business together and make furniture for some of the most-famous places in Germany. Back to the story, I will go running 20km with Mr.S on Friday evening.
I went for a 1 hour run this evening and relieved some more of that stress and now I feel wonderful. It is time to go to bed.

Can’t wait for Sunday! It will be my 16th birthday.

Gute Nacht und Bis Morgen,

Igor

 

PS: Today is the month mark. It’s hard to believe I left to Germany a month ago, and two days and a month ago,

I gave a hug to my family,

kissed them, said I loved them,

closed the car door,

 

and walked away for a year….