Torey's Funky Travelers Guide to Germany (part 2!)

1. Germans are odd drivers. On the weekend, they're slow and frustrating because they take their sweet time. On Monday morning though...better watch out. For the rest of the regular week, they are speedy and make quick jerks and as;dfkljasd;klfjasd its kind of stressful. The thing about Wedel (and probably all other German towns) is that the streets are narrow and curvy, making it hard for the average driver to navigate when everyone else is too. Its kind of scary and I'm really happy that I'm not allowed to drive here.
2. Saying "I don't care" really isn't polite at all. Me, being the passive person I am, use the phrase quite frequently, but here its basically the equivalent to saying "I don't give a sh!t" so watch out! Be decisive!
3. The radio is chock full of American music. I have been listening to "Call Me Maybe" ever since I got there. I thought I escaped this stuff. ads;fkjsdf;asklj;fkldfj.
4. As you may know, its typical to see nudity on the TV, especially on commercials and such. I like this. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that I think Americans love to censor the human body. What if a child sees boobies?! OH NO. ITS NOT LIKE IT HAS A MOTHER OR ANYTHING THAT FED IT FROM HER TITS. GOODNESS FORBID.
I like that about German TV. I also like that the news protects peoples identity a lot. If a witness is commenting on a story, usually their voice is garbled and the face is censored. That's smart, and appropriate. America is...not as nice.
5. Interesting fact, when American movies are dubbed in German, its typical that the title of said movie is changed. Get Him to the Greek? Its known as Männertrip. Or Man Trip. I think things like this are really silly  and cute and German.
6. Team sports are not really done through the school at all... I miss this in a way. While I'm not super supportive of my home team (Braves!) I still miss how it brings the school together with pride. Here, you join a club and that's where you go for sports.
7. German teenagers are not getting their license till their 18, and even then, its upwards of $1000 to buy one. They live on their bikes, and especially in towns like Wedel, its easy to get anywhere on your bike.
8. Internet restrictions are crazy. Tons of youtube videos are unsee-able because of the GEMA laws. Remember SOPA and ACTA? Same thing.

More September!

More and more September! The first month of school is almost over, and the week after next is the first fall break :)
Lots of birthdays goin' on, lots of love and dressing up and having fun and being in school of course :)

Fidypuss :)

Und Juliepuss :D

We are so cool over here.

Die Holmersandberge

Mein Feini oowwwaahh

The name Daddy Long Legs is so foreign here...

I love it here in Wedel, you'll be in the city and suddenly take a turn on a road and you're in the middle of a forest. It reminds me of home in the best way possible :)

Lisa did my haiirrr :) This was before Julie's party, which was super fun :) I wish her the best 21st year of her life ever!!! (because I'm in it) 

The Coolest Julie party ever! My sister, Julie, turned 21 this last weekend :)

And my pictures are all messed up

But we sure know how to party it up ;) Germans do it best.

Mattias (mein Gastvater) und ich!

And Toddyman with Armin and Lisa!!


So next Thursday marks my two months being here. Its incredible how much time I have left and how much time has gone by. I'm finally getting a bit homesick, but its becoming much easier since I'm more integrated. My German has yet to improve, I'm understanding most conversational phrases and house and school phrases, but its taken me awhile to stop being so shy about talking with natives. I think these within these next two or three months I'll make the most improvement language wise.
Wishing the best back home to my family :) To Jake, to Nicko, to both my grammas and my grandpa! I hope school is going well for everyone and I wish the best to anyone who is reading my blog :)
To a great September! And even a greater fall break!

Boise High Students in German!

Hey! So, I've noticed that a lot of you are showing up here from Frau Burkholder's website, and I just wanted to urge anyone who wants to exchange to Germany to check out this scholarship.
http://www.asse.com/united_states/cby.htm
Its the one that I got to come here and it is very excellent. Your chances of getting it are pretty high due to Idaho being a smaller state and less kids applying here.
And if any of you have questions, please comment on here and I'll be sure to get around to it :)
In fact, I'll talk to Frau Burkholder about maybe doing a skype session to the school to answer some of yo questions, maybe I'll make a video.
I don't even know if anyone reads these things!!!
Anywhoo, I got a soccer game to get to, greetings from Wedel!!

September!

And September starts busily!! Last week we went to the Klettern Garten, which is an awesome ropes course, and although you can't really tell in the pictures because of the trees and such, its super fun :)

 And my mom's birthday was yesterday!! We had a most excellent party :)

 And today we went to a little fest on a farm for my mom's work. It was super cute and farm-like and reminded me of Idaho...
Never again will I resent living in a farm state ;)

 And the corn maze!! Not quite as extensive as the one in Boise, but still lots of fun!

 My super cute Oma, who calls me "Kleine Maus" or little mouse :)

Its getting colder and the air is so clean and fresh and suddenly I'm feeling more integrated. Part of the family, kind of part of the town, still working on being part of the country :) One step at a time!