The last week has been spent trying to settle in here in Germany. I have started to form a routine and I am starting to get used to my life here. It has been a bit of a challenge for me to get used to waking up at 6 every morning as it has been a long time since I had that kind of routine. But now that I am working my way into this routine I am finding it a lot easier. I still haven’t formed an afternoon routine as I am always conflicted over whether I should stay with my friends a bit longer or go straight home to study. However, I think that I will always be undecided in this area because I want to try and pack as much fun into this trip as possible.
I am hoping that by the end of this week I will have formed a study routine so that I can get the most out of my learning experiences here. I am enjoying class as I think that going over some of the topics we have already covered is really helping me to understand them more. I hope that I continue to learn a lot and that my speaking will start to improve soon.
While I have been here I have noticed a few similarities and differences between German and Australian culture. Both Australia and Germany seem quite concerned about protecting the environment but they deal with this in different ways. For example, Australia is particularly concerned with water saving techniques. I have noticed that the German waste disposal system is a lot more complex and effective than ours. They have separate bins for paper, plastic, food waste, and other waste almost everywhere you go. There are also other small differences such as the taste of Coke being different here and the massive breakfast on Sundays.
I was missing home quite a bit last week but since I have settled in a bit I am feeling more content here. The trip to Heidelberg on Saturday was an amazing experience and I would love to go there again. On Sunday my host family took me to the Hohenzollern Schloss, it was a nice day and so the view was incredible.
Hohenzollern
I am enjoying learning new things about German culture and experiencing the joys of travelling as I have never travelled before. This trip is also helping me to learn things about myself. I find myself becoming more confident in general and I hope that this trip brings out an eager and confident side of me that is usually quite hidden away. I am also finding that the excitement of being here counteracts the feeling of missing home and I am looking forward to the things I will learn in the next few weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_EQHvxTG4
I've been listening to this song a bit in the last few days. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes put an interesting twist on well known songs :)
I am enjoying learning new things about German culture and experiencing the joys of travelling as I have never travelled before. This trip is also helping me to learn things about myself. I find myself becoming more confident in general and I hope that this trip brings out an eager and confident side of me that is usually quite hidden away. I am also finding that the excitement of being here counteracts the feeling of missing home and I am looking forward to the things I will learn in the next few weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_EQHvxTG4
I've been listening to this song a bit in the last few days. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes put an interesting twist on well known songs :)
Ughhhhh, I just wrote a seriously long comment only to be told that I do not own my Wordpress identity and have it deleted. #somuchbloghate.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was saying was that I agree with you on both of your main points. I am also finding especially hard to find a study routine because I think the approach to learning here is very different, more interactive, and as such we have to shape our study routine around that.
I also agree that the Deutsch waste disposal system is genius, and was diggin' all the solar panels i saw in paddocks and on houses on the train from Munich to Stuttgart, but I find it frustrating that the automatic taps stay on for so long. I think it would be much more sensible for them to only go for a short time and for people to reactivate them if needed, it would save a lot of water I think.