Was I supposed to be in Berlin??

Hello everyone!



I may have already stated before about how much I love the trains here in Germany. They are affordable (with a bahn card), practical, and convenient. I often find this to be my means of transportation between various Rotary, Rotex, and leisure functions. You can go everywhere, this idea of mass transportation is something that I would very much appreciate in the USA.



Sooo you all are probably thinking..."Well that is nice, but how is that relevant to me being here in Germany?" The trains here gave me the biggest scare (so far, but I am not anticipating more) of my stay here in this country. It actually happened to me a while back, but when it first happened I really didn't know what to say, and I didn't want to blog about it because of a combination of embarrassment, and that I didn't want my family back at home to read about it and get scared for me. So, let me tell you what happened so then if you are ever here you will know not to make this mistake!!



I was visiting a friend in Hannover. I bought my ticket the same way, stood on the exact platform and everything. My train always goes from Hannover, through Wolfsburg, through Stendal (were I get off), and ends up in Berlin. So I thought it was a little strange when the train didn't go through Wolfsburg, but I just told myself that maybe it was a little different. The ticket guy that came through looked at my ticket and mumbled something, but I honestly didn't pay attention/couldn't understand what he said. He said something along the lines of Stendal..blahblahblah...Berlin. So, imagine my shock when the train went right past my town! I was so anxious, and a little scared. The ticket guy didn't even care that I had the wrong ticket, so in a sense I got a discounted fare to Berlin, but that was the least of my thoughts then. In the back of my mind I knew everything would be just fine, but it's hard to think like that when you are in that situation.



All I can say is thank goodness my train at least stopped in Berlin, or else I would have been in Poland without a passport... My host parents were surprisingly calm about it, I just told them that I would be home a little bit later than planned..haha. There were a ton of trains that I probably could have taken back home, but at that point I was paranoid beyond belief. I decided would rather wait two hours for a train I knew was going through Stendal. Even before I boarded my train I made sure and asked again if this train would go through my town.



My whole blunder was only about 3 hours, but it felt like forever. And I learned that Berlin is now only 45 minutes away with a fast train (ICE, or IC) -noted for future reference-.


So after having time to thoroughly dissect and go over my mishap, and observing the train systems a little more closely, I realized where I went wrong. My train to Stendal had been delayed that day, so when the next train that came through my platform I thought it was mine and that it had not been delayed as long as it had said. And when you are at the train stations they don't always mention the little stops in-between, just major stops like Berlin and whatnot. So when I heard Berlin on the speakers, I really thought it was my train. So now I triple check everything before boarding trains, and my German is much better now, so that helps too.

Note from Amanda: I had written this blog back on January 8th and just saved it. So it was supposed to be out before this... sorry.

<3 Amanda

New Years

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

2009 has come and gone, and what a roller coaster of a year it has been. Let me put my year into a nutshell for everyone. (I am gonna copy my friend Lisa here and make a list...hehehe, you know they say copying is the most sincerest form of flattery : ])

January: Interviewed to become an exchange student. [I honestly didn't think much of it at the time]

February: Found out I had been accepted, and that I was going to Germany; but still didn't really believe I would do it.

March: I found out which city and district I would be put in. I even started to e-mail my new future host family.

April: Still e-mailed back and forth between my new host family. I got some German books and started to look at the language.

May: GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!! State mandated education is finally finished for me, all other education is up to me.

June: Started taking some crash German courses with Mrs. Laumer. Spent lots of time with my family. Saved money through working.

July: Still working and saving money for Germany. Spent the last month with my family doing all sorts of crazy things.

August: Made the biggest move of my life to Germany. And... once again started school...

September: Still getting the hang of German lifestyle, still couldn't really understand what was being said to me.

October: Learning more and more, finally used to school again. I could understand a lot of what was going on around me.

November: Switched host families for the first time. And it is the first time I have ever been in weather so cold.

December: I now understand almost everything!! I am working on my grammar and ability to speak back to people.

^ Me in the snow right after the new year came^

^Some of my friends getting ready for the fireworks^

^Poliana and I, we are still getting used to the weather...^

I had a great time with all of my friends here. I look forward to the New Year!!

I wish everyone a Happy New Years. I have a Skiing trip to Austria coming up in about two weeks, so I really look forward to that. Then I get to celebrate my birthday here!

~Amanda