My trip:
On Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5 am to begin my adventure. My family was able to walk me to the gate in Denver before my flight to Atlanta. Leaving my family made me realize that there was a reason that I had been so focused on leaving my friends. I have experience leaving my friends and I know how to handle it, but I've never left my family before. So focusing on leaving my friends was a good distraction for me. It was sad, but not as sad as leaving my mom, dad, and my best bro. Despite focusing on my friends, getting onto that jetway broke me. Anyways, I got on my flight to Atlanta. Atlanta was the first airport that I've navigated fully on my own. After I got off the plane, I got onto a train to go to the international terminal. I got there with enough time to go to the bathroom and sit for a few minutes before boarding.
The plane to Amsterdam was really big and pretty nice. I got TWO (2) meals and they had a lot of good movies for free-- many of which were new. I started Avengers: Endgame and continued watching through dinner. I got chicken and mashed potatoes which was surprisingly good considering it was airplane food. After my movie was over I tried to sleep and was kind of unsuccessful. So I texted my friends to say goodbye. I originally thought that I would make iuntil I got to my new home to say goodbye but I had a feeling that the plane was the right time to do it. So I texted each one a short little paragraph telling them that I loved them and would miss them. I had been slowly breaking down the whole day, but this really hurt. I tried to get some rest after, but the lights came on and they brought out breakfast (yogurt and a muffin). I turned on my favorite movie, The Breakfast Club, for the remainder of the flight. Once I got off, I went through customs and got my first passport stamp! Then I waited a long time for my next flight and flew 55 minutes to Bremen, where I finally got to meet my host family.
Life thus far:
I have quickly discovered that in addition to my host family, German people are quite tall. On my second night, my host sister, Zoe, took me to a party with some of her friends and out of the 8 other people there, only one was shorter than me. I got to meet some nice people that I will be going to school with, so that was really nice. That party was on my second night in Germany. My first night, I slept for about 16 hours after going 33 with only 2 hours of sleep. Before that party I got to go shopping with my host mom and sister, Noelle. Fun fact: stuff in Germany is really cheap. Shoes, makeup, shampoo, alcohol, phone plans.
On my third day, I discovered that McDonald's is a popular place for people to go and eat. Zoe and I met up with her friend, Lena, and we all went to McDonald's before going to a very common hangout spot called EscoBar. Lena, Zoe's best friend, was really sweet but unfortunately she won't be going to the same school as me. So far, everyone I have met has been really kind and fun.
I got to visit the city of Hamburg which was really fun. We went to the famous Reeperbahn street in the Red Light District. In case you are unaware of the meaning of this, it's basically a street with a bunch of sex shops and strip clubs. It was pretty cool though. I also got to go see the Elbphilharmonie which is a concert hall. From the building you can have a great view of Hamburg. Zoe and I tried to get pictures together but the wind was making it really difficult. You can see some pictures from this little adventure at the bottom. There's not too many good pictures but they're really funny.
In other news, I start school tomorrow. I'm not too nervous because it's my fifth school in five years (yay for me!) and Zoe will be coming with me, but it is a new school. I think that the secret to doing well is just fake it till I make it. So I guess that's what I'm gonna do. I'll also rely on my natural beauty and charm to make new friends and get through the year. ;)
Differences in society:
There's not too many big differences between Germany and America. I've already mentioned that the average German is much taller than the average American but that's not too big. One of the main things I've noticed is smoking, among both teens and adults. No one in my host family smokes but many of Zoe and Noelle's friends smoke. Here in Germany, the two biggest things to smoke are cigarettes and shisha (from a hookah). Apparently since the Netherlands are about 20 minutes away, some people go there to buy weed because it's legal there.
I've also noticed that dating is quite different. In relationships it seems like there's a lot more jealousy and being overprotective than there is in the States. For example, it seems difficult for girls to go out with friends without their boyfriends either being there or knowing who they're with. I've also been informed by Zoe and Lena that it is not uncommon for 16 year old girls to be with guys in their early 20's. To me, this is a little odd and different (probably because that could be illegal in the States) but to people here, there's nothing wrong with it. Also, long term relationships seem like they're pretty common. I think that it's really cool and makes me wonder if being overprotective is part of it, or if people just work harder in their relationships here.
Okay, for my last point (and the most important): food. Meat is not actually as big of a food as you would be lead to believe. I'm not quite sure how other families are, but my host family eats A LOT of bread. More than anything else. I'm really confused by this because most German people that I have seen are quite skinny and I thought bread would have the opposite effect. But anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Enjoy the photo gallery that I have included below! :)
Photo gallery:
Pictures I have included: my host family and me upon arrival, Reeperbahn, Elbphilharmonie and the view of Hamburg from the top, a picture of the boat in the middle of town (that I took), Zoe and me trying to get a good picture, Noelle and me eating ice cream (gelato).
