Busy as a German Bee!

Oh my goodness! So much has happened this week. Where to start? I guess I’ll begin with last Sunday. Church was such an amazing experience! I guess I missed the memo last Sunday about how an amazing 30 piece brass band would perform this Sunday! So it was a pleasant surprise when I showed up to Church and could hardly find a seat in the very back. The band was very good. The sound was just so rich. It was as if the building was made alive with the sound the horns were making. I still couldn’t really understand the Sermon, but the horns were just a wonderful treat.
Also this week was my last week of scheduled class. The first three weeks were a face-paced German Grammar course with Frau Dr. McClain. I am now studying (hard) for my final exam that will be in a week. I am super stressed about it. But Frau Dr. McClain is a thorough teacher and really knows where I need help and all that.
This next week we will be traveling to Leipzig and Dresden. We have all been assigned a small research project about Dresden and Leipzig that we must share with the class on Tuesday. That way we can be educated travelers. Haha! The topic of my project is the famous author, Goethe. I look forward to learning more about this name I hear all the time. The main reason we are going is to get out visas in order. The consulate is there and we will be there until Sunday. Also one of my old German teachers lives in Leipzig. So I look forward to seeing him again. He said he is going to show us the Leipzig night life. So that sounds interesting.
Monday was the first meeting with my conversation partner. I told you about her in the last blog. Her name is Frau Funke and she is so nice. She is about 70 years old and I am just fascinated by her life. She is a local artist and wears only one earring. The conversation was a little rough because she does not speak much English at all. But (thanks to Mutti and Jerry) I am able to understand a lot of German! And this is wonderful because she talks about very interesting things. She mentions the DDR times a lot and talks about how it was to live back in the day. She also tells me about her art and things she is currently working on. This Monday she is taking me to a small art gallery of her friends’. I really cherish my time with this woman and am positive she will teach me more than I could even ask for.
Friday was a very stressful day for me. Honestly, I think it’s safe to say it was the scariest day so far. (it wasn’t really that bad, but still the worst day so far) So we went to the local Gymnasiun (high school) and sat in on a class of the oldest kids. We already know some of the kids from town so that was cool to see them. Anyway this is a German literature class that I am to attend on Mondays and Fridays. The other American students came with me to just check it out. Well the teacher does not speak English and the other American students were dismissed after 30 minutes. This left me all alone, literally sitting in the middle of a German classroom! And the teacher told me I was not allowed to talk in English to the other students! AHHHH but he was talking so fast I couldn’t understand! It was really overwhelming and scary. But I’m sure the next class will be better. And I won’t be graded on the homework. It is just a free learning experience. So I am thankful.
Ok and I know I have written about the snow before… but this morning when I woke up. My room was extremely bright. Because IT SNOWED!!!! ALL NIGHT! Like up to my ankles at least. My host mother’s daughter is staying with us this weekend. She and I are about to go into the garden and make a German snowman or woman! Haha anyway I love you all and wish I could just kiss your face! This trip is really such a n amazing experience and I just can’t describe how thankful I am to my family for supporting me in my adventures! Kisses to all xoxo
Michelle
P.S. Elise is getting married!!!!!!!

This is my life?! yay!

Ok so sorry I have not blogged in a while but life has been so exciting and new everyday! So many things are going on and I don't want to miss one thing! So since my last blog alot has happened.
I went to a church here in Quedlinburg called the Nicolaikirche. And Being in Luther country it is indeed Luthurn. Most of the churches around here are Luthern. This was my first time to attend a church service that was not in english. So I was pretty much lost the whole sermon, but I did bring my english Bible and followed along with the Scripture reading. We also took Communion. This was not much different from Communion in the states except it was with real wine! (white wine to be precise) This was a first for me!
My classes are comming along just fine. Every morning I walk into town and meet one-on-one with Frau Dr. McClain and learn about grammar (intensely). It is really great because its like a tutoring session. I can already feel my German improving. However, this course with her will end on Thursday. Then I will start my Field course. This is where I will be out in the city simply interacting with native speakers daily. I will be meeting with an older woman from the community once a week for coffee. Her name is Barbel Funke (pronounced Bar bell Funk uh). She is an artist and does not speak one word of english. This will be such a wonderful opportunity. I really look forward to learning from her and maybe doing a little art as well.
Last Friday we took a class field trip to our state capital, Magdeburg. Our state is called Saxony-Anhalt. We took the train to Magdeburg and immediately walked to the big cathedral or Dom as they call it. This Church is very old and even houses the burial site for Otto the great. He was the first king of Germany. Well his father Henry was actually crowned first here in Quedlinburg. But his son Otto started the Ottonian Empire. So anyway we saw his tomb and an amazing Caahedral. They are currently conducting an archeological dig inside the church so we were able to see that as well.
Then we saw a really cool building. The architecht is Hundertwasser. This building pink! It actually has many colors on it but the main color is pink. It would be a dream to live in it. I think it is an appartment building with shops on the ground level. It reminds me of a Dr. Suess creation. Then we of course shopped a little and had afternoon coffee (my favorite).
Tomorrow we are all going back to Magdeburg in order to see Valkurie with Tom Cruise. (we got to see the filming site in Berlin) So this film interests our group greatly.
I hope all of you are well! May God bless your days! :) Tchuss!
xoxo
Michelle