OK,
In short, I hardly slept at all on the plane ride because I never sleep on planes. If I had, the flight would have been fantastic; sitting next to an empty seat, no shrieking children, no obnoxious, more-than-slightly-tipsy-at-three-in-the-morning passengers, and ZERO turbulence. But, being the nonconformist that I am, I slept hardly a wink. Still a good flight though.
The train ride itself was a bit easier, though finding the right train wasn’t. I landed in Amsterdam, got my super-heavy suitcase, and went off to find the information desk. I successfully ordered a train ticket to Groningen, admittedly not hard seeing as nearly everyone in Holland speaks English, but the woman spoke so fast that I didn’t catch the track number I should go to. Off to another information desk, danke schoen…
I finally got on the train, but couldn’t fit my oversized suitcase into the actual train car. I ended up spending the two hour ride in between the compartment with the warm, comfy seats and where you enter the train car. It was a bit cold, but I ended up meeting some Dutch women who told me how many stops until I got off the train.
Definitely worth the stint in the cold.
I got to Groningen, and got off the train. Apparently my oversized suitcase and I made plenty of noise because my host family and I found each other almost immediately. I gave my host mother, Judith, some flowers I had bought at the airport, and she showed me the sign they had made for me. I didn’t hold it or anything seeing as my hands were already occupied by the aforementioned abominable suitcase.
The rest of the day passed in a blur really. I was so tired I nodded off several times on the car ride home!
The next day was spent sort of lounging about the house. In the evening we went to a Chinese restaurant, where I ate kangaroo and rabbit for the first time, as well as several other things. I’m not exactly certain what they were though. Probably ought to look that up… We also watched the movie Inkheart SANS subtitles thankyouverymuch. Surprisingly, I understood most of it even though I hadn’t seen the movie before. Guess it helps that I’ve read the book though.
And that brings me to this, my second full day in Germany; the first in which I am no longer jet-lagged (much). While I have spoken SOME English, I’ve spoken and heard more German than in my first three honors Deutsch klassen put together.
This is definitely a good sign. This is, after all, a GERMAN immersion program.
The past two days have been very interesting. For one, I have FINALLY retained the word “erinnern”—to remember. Ironically, this has long been a word that, try as I might, I always seem to forget; think Dori from Finding Nemo.
I’ve also learned the word for “thin” (duenn), as in “this shirt is a bit too thin for such cold weather”. Yes, that is the context in which I learned it. It’s freezing over here!! Actually, I think it’s several degrees below…
I’ve walked the neighborhood a bit, seen some of the city center, and become quite adept at adopting the “whoooooooa slow down. Those words were way to long, and spoken way too quickly” face. Don’t laugh. It’s a very useful expression.
No homesickness to speak of, so far at least (sorry Mom, Dad, Morgan).
First day of school is Wednesday, and after that I’ll meet the soccer team I’ll be playing with this year. Let you know how that goes in a few days.
