So This One Time, At Band Camp....

During my orientation camp at this beginning of my exchange year, I was warned that November would not be the most pleasant month of my stay. November was said to be the month in which homesickness would set in, and lacking language skills would become more irritating than humorous. However, the sudden and shockingly steep plunge on the "Chart of Sadness," which was drawn during that camp, seems to have hit me earlier than anticipated. My emotional descent began whilst living in a "Kur," a hotel-hospital hybrid that Germany sends their sickly children to. My two host sisters have horrible asthma, so they were given four weeks by the Anonymous Judge of Sickly German Offspring to live in this Kur and "heal." Living on an island with more sheep than human inhabitants, in a facility for severe asthmatics and sufferers of obesity, was probably a good place for the homesickness to hit me. Firstly, at least the surroundings allowed for plenty of time to learn German. Secondly, as much as I felt lonely and frustrated with this impossible language, I knew even then that I would look back and laugh. So what did I actually do for a month...
So this one time, on the way to the sheep inhabited island for asthmatics and sufferers of obesity, I saw this lady with a dred-locks beehive and secretly fotographed her.

And this one time, on the sheep inhabited island for asthmatics and sufferers of obesity, I climbed a lighthouse with the fam'.

And way more than one time, on the sheep inhabited island for asthmatics and sufferers of obesity, I ate my feelings in German food.

(Those squid shaped wurtschen did not belond to me. Pity.)

And this one time, on the sheep inhabited island for asthmatics and sufferers of obesity, I was sent to a therapeutic swim session with my host sister. There I spent two hours in a pool with about a dozen overweight patients who were asked to swim in circles the entire time. Have you ever tried to make a whirlpool in that neighborhood friend's above ground pool? Well believe it or not you can create a pretty strong current in a rectangular pool too. Unfortunately, I do not have any photographic evidence of that statement.

As much as daily life on the sheep inhabited island for asthmatics and sufferers of obesity was, I expect you don't want to read all about it. So I'll leave it at that and maybe add some more pictures from my little excursion later on.

Auf Wiedersehen!



I Promise I'm Alive

I realize that I have not posted now in over a month, but I think I have a legitimate excuse. I was on vacation with my host family on an island in the North Sea for four weeks, where we had no internet. Well, that's not entirely true. There was one Stone Age computer in the lobby of the hospital we stayed in (explanation is soon to come, don't you worry), but that proved to be a promblematic and unrealiable comunication resource. You see, to use the internet one needed to insert Euros into a slot in this computer, and then pray that the power didn't go out whilst online. Of course the power promptly decided to go out as I had about forty minutes of my rather expesive hour remaining. Needless to say I did not attempt to use that computer again, especially considering that I had nearly depleted my source of small coins. Unfortunately sheep don't need an ATM, therefore I had no way to restore my financial resources while on this island. Missed my sheep reference? Don't fret, I will soon be telling you all about my vacation, and all wil become clear. Just because no post is complete without a picture, here is a nice Germany meal I ate on the ship ride to Amrum.

I know Germans are pretty serious about their Wurst, but honestly most of what I eat looks and tastes like any other prepackaged hot dog from the States. Only my lovely Oma can make these things edible.