Grüsse aus Deutschland! (Greetings from Germany)

Wow, it is hard to believe that we have only been here 2 days! It seems like forever! But first things first...
Our whole class made it safely to Chicago to catch our flight to Frankfurt and only had to wait a few hours to board. Granted, it did not leave exactly on time; I think we left maybe 45 min. after our original departure time? But everything was fine. We flew over on a Boeing 747, so it was much bigger than anything I had flown in before! We were served a supper and a light breakfast during our eight hour flight and were shown three movies to help pass the time. We could listen to them in either English or German and all I will say is that "Alvin and the Chipmunks" is so much more fun to listen to in German.
We left Chicago at about 7:15pm Saturday evening and because of the time difference and the flight time, we arrived in Frankfurt at 10:00am Sunday! So those in our group who could not sleep on the plane had a big day before them! Fortunately, I was able to get a few hours of sleep, so I was still able to function. We left the Frankfurt airport on a bus to Marburg, which took about an hour. On the way we were treated with beautiful green scenery, signs written in German, and German autos! (Can you say Porsche?!) We then were dropped off with our luggage at our German language school Speak+Write for a brief introduction to Marburg and the school. Additionally, those of us with prior German knowledge took a placement test to determine what class we would be joining because the classes are already in session and we are simply jumping in and joining them wherever they may be. Needless to say, the test was a little more difficult as we were jet lagged, but it went well for the most part. Those in our class who had no knowledge of German were put in a beginner course in order to pick up as much of the language as they can during our stay here.
Then we were placed in taxis and taken to our host families. Almost all of us are staying by ourselves with a family that was matched with us through Speak+Write. My host family was very nice and I have a small room all to myself. Other students in our group have complete mini-bathrooms or kitchens to themelves or that they share with other students that are studying abroad here. It is somewhat challenging because I am trying to only speak German with my family but once and a while I cannot quite understand them or they do not understand me. But for the most part, they were impressed that they did not have to use English!
As far as our meals here in Marburg go, we eat breakfast with our host families, and then we are on our own for lunch. Some go to the University's Mensa (cafeteria, just like Wartburg :) ) or buy food from the grocery store or stop by a little shop after class. And for supper some can eat with their host families and others have the same options as listed above. My host family welcomes me to eat with them when I am around the house, so that's one way of saving money! On our first night here in Marburg we went our together as a class and ate at a nice student hangout called Reit's. It was in the Altstadt (old part of the city) that is located above the more modern section, so we had a great view of the beautiful hills as well as the street life below. I was a great welcome to the city. Now for the school part of this trip. . .
Our classes began right away on Monday at 8:30am. We are in class until 12:50pm, but we have two 15-min. breaks in between so it does not feel that long. In my class, we have several different themes in our school books that we are dicussing. We have a few grammatical ideas and also cultural ones. Also, our class in conducted entirely in German by a native speaker, so one should have a fairly good grasp of the language at this stage on the game. And yes, we do have homework. Several exercises in grammar as well as a brief introduction to write about our theme of "Kultur" (culture) is my assigment for tonight that I should probably be working on now. . .so I will leave you there!

Auf Wiedersehen!

In my next post: Interesting difference between America and Deutschland as well as highlights from our trip to Berlin this weekend! (So it may be a while til my next post, but we will see.)

ps- it is also takes a while to get used to a German keyboard... they have all these extra keys to fit in here like ö, ä, and ü. Also y and z are switched n their placement on the key board making it interesting to tzpe...

Introductions and preparations

Hi!

My name's Jolene and I'll be blogging for the May Term Abroad trip to Germany. I'm just dropping a line in here quick before our group leaves for Deutschland tomorrow! This week has flown by with moving out of my dorm last week, seeing friends and family before I leave, and shopping for last minute things for the trip. I'm actually still in the process of packing as I type this. (I'm giving myself a break)

Before I writing anything else, I'll tell you a little about myself and what our class will be doing this month while we're abroad. I'm a second year (almost third) English major and German minor from Greenleaf, WI. (Just south of Green Bay) So my parents will be driving me down to Chicago tomorrow to meet up with the rest of our class and instructor before we fly out to Frankfurt, Deutschland. From there we will be taking a bus to Marburg, where we will spend most of our time while we're across the ocean. We'll be studying the German language Monday through Friday in the mornings at a school there called Speak+Write. Don't worry, it won't be all work and no play. We'll be taking two larger weekend excursions as a group; one will be to Berlin and the other to Munich. Lots of historical, political, and cultural sites to see in both cities, but I'll write about those once we've seen them. Also, we students are given a free weekend to explore other cities of our choice in smaller groups. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing that weekend yet, but a few of us might possibly take a train down to Salzburg, Austria for a few days. I'll keep your updated on those plans.
Well, I better get back to packing so I'm not scrambling in the morning to find my hair brush or something. My next post will be from Germany!

Bis spaeter! (til later)

Coming up: How our flight went and our first day in Deutschland!