...and Germany's going to the World Cup!

My friend, Vivi and I!

I really wanted to see a soccer game while I was in Germany as soccer is such a huge part of life and culture here, but I definitely didn't expect to see the National team play.  But that's what happened!  My friend Vivi and I went down to Köln to watch the Germany vs. Ireland match, which happened to be Germany's qualification match to get into the World Cup!

And it wow, it was a stellar experience!!!!

It was probably the craziest sporting event I've been to... Definitely more intense than a Red Sox vs.  Yankees game (which is pretty hard to top.)  There were over 46,000 people came out to watch this game in the stadium (which goes on to show how much people love soccer here.)  Everyone was cheering, shouting and so drawn into the game for the entire time.  It was crazy to say the least.  Every time Germany missed a goal or Ireland got the ball, everyone started to shout and holler at the players.  Let's just say that I learned a lot of new words and phrases. ;)  But Germany still pulled through, kicking Ireland's butt 3-0!

I'm pretty sure I smiled the whole night

This type of experience  you could never find in the US as we don't just watch one sport, but instead a bunch of sports.  It's hard to explain in words, but I guess that having one national sport brings everyone more together and gets everyone even more attached to their team. Which explains why so many people attend every single national game and why everyone's so enthusiastic and passionate.  But I liked this as it simply filled me with so much energy and excitement, kind of making me feel German, too.  :D

Ein Prosit, ein prosit der Gemütlichkeit! The one and the only...OKTOBERFEST, München

                                  Grüss Gott aus München und OKTOBERFEST!!!!

"Der Visum"

This, my friends, was the real deal.  The last "Oktoberfest" party I went to a few weeks ago was nothing compared to this.  With over 6 1/2 million people attending from all around the world to attend,  this was no small celebration.

I went visited Munich and hung out with my friend for two days and the other two days I spent at Oktoberfest. So I got a pretty good feeling for Bavaria!

Hanging with Ce's friends in the Biergarten

The first time I went to Oktoberfest, I went with Celine and her friends and we spent the evening in a biergarten. There were numberless rows of tables were crowded full of people from around the world singing along to the music, drinking, and of course, everyone was wearing dirndls and lederhosen!  Plus, everyone (except for the security guards) was so friendly and outgoing.  It seemed like the moment you sat down at a table, everyone surrounding you becomes your friend!  It's hard to describe...   SO in the end, we had a blast and I learned a bunch of the traditional Bavarian songs.  But I felt that the real Oktoberfest experience that I invisioned would only be found inside a tent.  The only problem was that the tents are incredibly hard to get into without a reservation...

But my goal for the second day there was to get inside of a tent!  Celine and I got up early and planned on getting into this specific tent with some of her friends (who already were in the tent before we got there) before 11 a.m. (when there was supposed to still room.) But in the end, we came too late and we waited for several, unsuccessful hours in the pouring rain to get into a tent.  So we decided to take a break and go back to Celine's dad's apartment in the city and wait a couple of hours and try again later.

When we came back in the evening, I was confident that we would get into a tent; I just had a good feeling. And that instinctual was correct. We made it into a tent!!!! We lucked out and didn't have to wait at all (as we caught a waiter's attention.) It was sheer luck as there was a crowd waiting to get inside.

Inside the tent

Inside the tent was spectacular and quite frankly, indescribable.  There were so many thousands of people all standing on the picnic style tables dancing and singing along to the Bavarian music and traditional songs.  There was a traditional Bayrisch band playing and make the atmosphere even better.  They played only songs that everybody knew and would sing along to to keep the crowd's energy up.  For example, I swear they played "Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit der der Gemütlichkeit" every three songs! ;) But that made it even more fun!  I loved standing on the table with everybody while singing along to the songs and "Prosting" every 2 minutes.  That brings up another quality that made Oktoberfest so great.  Everyone was just so friendly and social.  I spoke with so many people, both young and old from all over the world.  People would just freely join and leave conversations and talk for however long you wanted.  The atmosphere just brought out the best of everybody!

It was just really fun being a part of such a cultural festival and enjoying it with people from everywhere.  It was most definitely the best way to experience and enjoy a part of German culture. I will never forget what the inside of the tent looked like, the smell all of the food as I walked by different vendors (my favs being burnt/ sugared nuts and bratwursts,) the quality time I got to spend with Celine and all of the memories made.

It honestly can't get any better than this!

Celine and I riding the famous Ferris wheel

Beergarten

Another pic of inside

Also, here are some pics from my day exploring the Alps:

Alpine slide

The view after a short hike

Traveling alone!

Last weekend, I took the train down to Munich to visit one of my best friends, Celine (a former exchange student to my American high school) and to visit the city at the most famous time, OKTOBERFEST!

Not only did I take the train alone but I also got to travel around Munich for a day by myself (as my friend had to go to school.)Let's keep in mind here that I'm 16 and in Germany! So this was an entirely new experience for me and most definitely one that I liked.  I now feel like a world traveler and just the thought of that brings a smile to my face!

Mariensplatz

I researched things that I wanted to see and do in Munich but I made
no strict  itinerary as I like to be flexible when I travel and be able to explore and wander (as the coolest sites are always found upon coincidence!
In the end I did all sorts activities ranging from sightseeing to going to markets. But I just loved exploring the city and just walking around it, observing all of my sourroundings!  In the end, I visted countless cathedrals and churches, tried all sorts of new cheeses and pastries at the market, did a little shopping, saw the famous Glockenspiel and visited the famous Alte Pinokothek Muesum.  And I somehow managed to do this myself!  It's just a really cool feeling.
However, I did learn that my orientation skills need improvement...
Taking the subway and train was simple and no problem, but when it came to finding  exact locations (like museums,) I was hopelessly confused.   For example, I probably spent an hour and a half looking for the Alte Pinokothek Museum.  I relied on Google maps to take me there and that wasn't a good idea as the map and directions were not the best.  According to my directions, I was always 400 meters (5 minute walk) away from the museum,but whenever I made it to the final destination, there was no museum!  Eventually, I got the nerve up to ask somebody where the museum was, I found it and learned that I passed the museum not just once, but twice!  But in the end I made it to the museum (which was well worth all of the chaos to get to) and I learned my lesson- don't be afraid to ask for directions!  But I guess you learn from your mistakes and that's what happened.

But it's fun traveling alone, I like it!  But for now, traveling with family and friends is better (and a little more organized!) ;)

Here's pics from the day...

One of the cathedrals

Mariensplatz

Another church

a beergarden

Oktoberfest Time!

Over the weekend, I went to a my city's Oktoberfest celebration with Jonas and a group of friends.  It was a BLAST!  It met all of my expectations (and this isn't even the real Oktoberfest!)  There was a huge beer hall packed full of people wearing dirndls and lederhosen singing along to traditional, "bayrisch" music and sipping one liter beers.

Friends!

All dressed up and ready

 One of the my favorite things about it was that when you sat down at one of the long "picnic" tables, everybody surrounding you (including absolute strangers) instantly becomes your friend and everybody just has a good time.
All in all, it was an unforgettable night filled with having a good time with friends and dancing!

10 days left until I'm at the real Oktoberfest in Munich! Words cannot even begin to express how excited I am!

The dance floor

Breaking a World Record!

The spectacular backdrop and everyone performing CPR!

On Tuesday, I took part of breaking a world record!  All of the students in Muenster's public schools gathered at the city's castle in order to attempt breaking the world record for the most people performing CPR.  In order to break the record, we needed 9,000 people simultaneously  performing it.  In the end we had over 13,000 people, so we had no problem breaking the record!  It was pure insanity as it's nearly impossible to control a crowd this large of students (I don't think many of us actually learned how to do CPR...) But breaking the world record was a big deal in Muenster- a band was performing and the mayor even made an appearance.

Friends and CPR dummies= lots of laughing

 It was a fun activity that I normally wouldn't think of participating in, especially in school. But it was memorable and now I can check off breaking a world record off of my bucket list!

Falling back into the school routine

Now that I've completed now first week and a half of school, I've adjusted and gone back into the school routine.  After the first day of school, reality came back into the picture and I realized that not everyday is going to go as perfectly as the first and that I will be frustrated and struggle at times, but let's be honest, that is inevitable as I am at a new school and I'm in the process of the learning another language.  Fortunately, I haven't had any days where this has occurred, but there have been a few, very brief times where I just need needed a break, but luckily something always perks me back up.
 Socially...
 I've been very lucky to have met some amazing people over the past weeks that have taken me under their wings, making an outstanding effort to help me settle in and have the best possible experience here.  I have hung out after school with some, played sports with others and I even was invited to a party!  It means so much to me that they are willing to help me as I realize that it requires a lot of patience and cooperation.  But many students in my grade have previously studied abroad so they empathize and know what it feels like to be in this situation.

With the language...
MOST of the time I speak German with my friends and when I stumble upon a phrase or word, I tell them in English and they'll tell me the phrase in German.  But a few prefer to practice their English with me and so we'll talk in English (or I'll try responding in German.)
At times when I am in a group setting, I become frustrated because I cannot show as much personality or speak as often, but I have hope that this problem will gradually fade away.  But, my vocabulary is expanding a little more everyday and there has been a significant improvement in my speaking (though the accent could use a little help) and understanding!

School...
School is going well.  I understand a little more of the lectures everyday and the teachers have been very helpful and patient. I am also very lucky to have acquaintances in all of my classes that summarize and simplify key points.  However, the "hack" to understanding my subjects is taking thorough notes in German and writing down phrases or words that I don't understand in the side columns of my notes (then looking them up) so that when I go home and do my homework I can:
a) remember what we did in class (and the vocabulary attached to it)
b) further my understanding of what we did in class
 For example, when I don't understand what what we did in a subject, I can translate my notes into English or Google the material we covered in class
c) build my vocabulary.  Some words I write down, like "Bewusste" (which means "conscious") only relate to that specific subject whereas other words like, "beobachten" (to observe) or "bedeuten" (to imply/ mean) are more commonly used in conversations with friends as well as school.

On a side note, I hope that all of my Rocky friends have an amazing Homecoming!  I can't wait to see all the pictures and hear all about it! :)

 Sorry I don't have any pics! :(

First day of school as an exchange student!

Today was what I've been bracing myself for the past couple of days...the first day of school  Yesterday,I was terrified about starting school and meeting people as I was afraid that I was going to be completely confused and that I was going to struggle to meet people with the language barrier.  However, it's much to my pleasure to say that that was NOT the case!

First day of school at Annette von Droste Huelshoff Gymnasium!

I had one of my best, most memorable first days of school.I biked to school with a neighborhood girl (whom I already met) and her friends and as soon as we walked into school, they began introducing me to all of their friends.  I probably said "Hallo!  Ich bin Kirsten...Ja, ich bin die Austauschschuelerin aus Amerika" about 30 times. It was a very warm welcoming to the school!

My first class of the day was German, one of the classes that I was the most worried about.  However, there were two girls in that class who I met walking into the school who helped me with understanding the teacher and our homework.  Fortunately, the class is reading Greek literature at the moment and I've become familiar with mythology over the years. But it will still probably be one of my most rigorous classes... Our first novella will be "Iphigenie auf Tauris"and there will be some Kafka pieces coming later this semester. The girls I met in this class were eager for me to meet their other friends, so during our break time I did that again and compared schedules with them to see if we had any classes together. Fortunately there were others in my other classes later today so they all walked with me to my classes and invited me to sit with them.

Mein Stundenplan

The other classes I had today were religion, biology and sport.   I spoke with all of my teachers and told them my situation and they were all very supportive and I had people I knew in all of my classes for the rest of the day! Although understanding the teacher in class is a bit difficult, I think that it will come along with time.  I've already found out that taking notes helps me to better understand the lectures.

 Most of my conversations today were in German and everybody was so helpful and patient when I spoke to them.  It seemed like it  shocked a lot of students that there was an American exchange student at their school who actually could understand and speak a sufficient amount of German.  I'm hoping that I am able to continue to meet new people and start to develop friendships with the people I met today in the days ahead!
Tomorrow I have more new classes... Hopefully they go even better than today! :)