My sister has written her post, we just need to make a few photos and then the post will be all set for posting.
My first week of school went by pretty well! The class I got placed in is beyond nice - they are pretty awesome!
I'm catching more words in my classes - that's not to say I'm understanding much more, but it does feel like progress, and so I am happy with that. I am able to use more words with my host family, and have figured out creative ways to convey what I want to say when I can't remember key words to a sentence. The other day I had a sudden craving to go for a run, so I went downstairs to ask my host parents if that was fine with them. And I suddenly forgot the word for run (which is laufen/rennen). Not knowing a language promotes creativity, I must say. I managed to convey myself fairly quickly, with a combination of German and charades. And off I went on my run.
Classes are... interesting. I have you classes so far that I really enjoy. I love English class (shocker, I know). I like that it is the one class that I generally don't have too much trouble understanding what's going on around me, as most of the class is in English. It is also, surprisingly, helpful for German learning. Sometimes the teacher will make a vocabulary list on the board of English words - but to help the students learn them, she'll also put the German translation of the words beside them! Through that I am able to pick up a few words here and there.
My other favorite class, as of the moment, is theatre class. We have a presentation coming up soon which I'm not looking forward to all that much, but oh well. Theatre is really fun, and seems really random. I have only had the class once so far, but from what I saw of it I liked it. I don't really understand what happens there, but luckily I know some people in theatre from my other classes (and one of my host brothers, who speaks English, is in my theatre class also) so when things get too confusing, I can ask a quick question for clarification.
Here in Germany, it seems that you have a homeroom class, and that aside from a few courses (like for me, Theatre and Art and French), your class is the same class for all subjects. I kind of like it, since it allows for you to get to know your classmates better. In result of that, I think I have made quite a few acquaintances/friends, which is nice. Yesterday, one of my classmates decided that he wants to help me learn more German faster and better, and he is willing to teach me - which is super cool! After school, I went to his house along with another classmate, and they assessed my German, and quizzed me on different German things, and then gave me German "homework" (speaking of which, I should get started on that... :P I have until Monday to do it). He also lent me two comic books that I can try and read through (with the aid of my dictionary, that I am growing to love more and more with each passing day... it is very useful).
I don't know. Even though I'm not a fan of most of my actual classes, I am still enjoying myself at school.
Being surrounded by a different language can be exhausting, and sometimes when I am just not understanding what is going on around me, I just give up. I make sure that I copy down all notes that go on the board. Aside from that, when nothing makes sense, I draw a lot. Maybe not the best thing, but sometimes being surrounded by complicated German and trying to decode it is too tiring.
One final note: here, at the beginning of each class, the students say "Guten Morgen (insert teacher name here)". First day, I had absolutely no clue what was going on. The way my class says it is at different speeds and different tones, so it comes out more like "Guuuutennnnnn Morrrrrgennn, Herrrrrrr Schmiiiidt!" (for example) and it sounds really creepy and looks pretty weird when you don't know what's being said/what's happening. Now, I find it slightly amusing.
I hope you're all doing well, and I'll talk to you soon!
-Jason