Today is the 11th anniversary of the falling of the World Trade Center that happened on September 11, 2001. It's a day of grief, and remembering those we lost. It's a day that all Americans will have in their hearts for all time.
On that day I was 6 or 7 years old and I was sitting in my kitchen, doing my school work, as I was homeschooled. The rest of my family was around the house. My brother came into the kitchen and said "Uh, mom. You might wanna turn on the TV." So she did and we all watched the planes go into the towers. I was young so I didn't really understand what was happening, but I did know that it was terrible and horrific. My sister and mom were balling, and they only cry when something serious happens, so I knew that it was a big deal.
This morning, when I realized the date, I remembered. Off and on during school today I remembered. My friend from New York mentioned how weird it was to be in Europe on 9/11 instead of back home. She talked about how that day was for her, which was much more chaotic compared to mine because she was nearer to the actual site than I was.
Later on, one of our friends from Europe came up and shook both our hands and offered his sentiments for 9/11. It was extremely respectful and really neat to have someone do that. I mean, up until now, I've always spent 9/11 in the States where remembering 9/11 is understood. But being here, where it didn't happen, is kind of odd. It reminded me that I represent my country here on the other side of the world. I'm not just another one of the million Americans who mutually remember the day, but I'm an outsider here and I represent the USA. So when he acknowledged us and our country and his genuine respect for us and everyone we lost on that day, it was very eye opening. Because I really do represent America here, and I need to take that seriously.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Deutsch schule
Greetings from the Mediothek in my German school, the Goethe Institut! Today was a typical first day of school. I filled out some random paper work and took a placement test, which I knew a whopping maybe like 2% of, and had my first interview in German. Tomorrow I come for actual classes where they'll put me with a group at about the same level of Deutsch as I am.
I was kind of expecting the teachers to talk to me in English or at least get the hint that my German isn't so good, but no. They persevered and kept on communicating to me in German, which ended up not being that hard to understand. I kept thinking to myself, "People! I came here to LEARN German! I'm not an expert yet!" But I guess at German school, you start learning literally the second you walk in the door.
I love the area my classes are in though. It's called Hackesher Markt, and it has tons of shopping and restaurants and stuff and Talya's work isn't but like a 5 minute walk away. There's also a park where we go to pretty often. I have a feeling I'll be taking advantage of this library that I'm in right now and the park and the cafes and stuff in the area for when I need to study or just chill and kill time before I have to get the kids in the afternoon.
In the interview today, the lady asked me what I'm gonna do after these classes. I know the words for "I don't know" in Spanish is "no se" but I'm not exactly in Spanish class so that won't be very helpful. But I got to thinking. Oh my gosh. What AM I gonna do after the classes are over? I wanna find something to do other than read all day and eat döner kebabs. Well, I have 2 months of German classes ahead of me, and in the meantime, I'll just have to trust God to provide productive, healthy things to do with my time once October 27 passes.
Well, I think I'm off to go get a coffee and a little something to eat at one of the cafes in the area and read more of "The Magician's Nephew." And speaking of books, I just finished "The Help" and absolutely loved it but after comparing it to the movie, I hated the movie. The movie's good but it doesn't have nearly the same emotional themes as the book does. There are some pretty gut wrenching scenes in the book, but hardly any of them, let alone the emotions being conveyed through them, made it to the screen. That's the best thing about Netflix not being available in Germany yet. I'm forced to actually pick up a book and read, something that I've discovered I LOVE doing. Every now and then, I scan Talya's book shelf in the living room and see what I want to read next. I get really excited when I see a book that looks interesting. It turns out I'm more like Lydia and Josiah than I thought ;)
Alright, now I'm really gonna go. Auf wiedersehen! :)
I was kind of expecting the teachers to talk to me in English or at least get the hint that my German isn't so good, but no. They persevered and kept on communicating to me in German, which ended up not being that hard to understand. I kept thinking to myself, "People! I came here to LEARN German! I'm not an expert yet!" But I guess at German school, you start learning literally the second you walk in the door.
I love the area my classes are in though. It's called Hackesher Markt, and it has tons of shopping and restaurants and stuff and Talya's work isn't but like a 5 minute walk away. There's also a park where we go to pretty often. I have a feeling I'll be taking advantage of this library that I'm in right now and the park and the cafes and stuff in the area for when I need to study or just chill and kill time before I have to get the kids in the afternoon.
In the interview today, the lady asked me what I'm gonna do after these classes. I know the words for "I don't know" in Spanish is "no se" but I'm not exactly in Spanish class so that won't be very helpful. But I got to thinking. Oh my gosh. What AM I gonna do after the classes are over? I wanna find something to do other than read all day and eat döner kebabs. Well, I have 2 months of German classes ahead of me, and in the meantime, I'll just have to trust God to provide productive, healthy things to do with my time once October 27 passes.
Well, I think I'm off to go get a coffee and a little something to eat at one of the cafes in the area and read more of "The Magician's Nephew." And speaking of books, I just finished "The Help" and absolutely loved it but after comparing it to the movie, I hated the movie. The movie's good but it doesn't have nearly the same emotional themes as the book does. There are some pretty gut wrenching scenes in the book, but hardly any of them, let alone the emotions being conveyed through them, made it to the screen. That's the best thing about Netflix not being available in Germany yet. I'm forced to actually pick up a book and read, something that I've discovered I LOVE doing. Every now and then, I scan Talya's book shelf in the living room and see what I want to read next. I get really excited when I see a book that looks interesting. It turns out I'm more like Lydia and Josiah than I thought ;)
Alright, now I'm really gonna go. Auf wiedersehen! :)
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Exciting newness
Well, my classes start in exactly 2 DAYS! Ah! I'm nervous, being that I've always gone to school in the States, but excited to see what learning intense Deutsch will be like. The classes are around an area called Hackesher Markt, which has lots of shopping and food and stuff so I think I know what I'll be doing when 1pm rolls around every day :)
I have been learning bits and pieces of German every day though. I learn new words like, for example, I learned Wednesday night that "ohrwurm" literally translates into "ear worm". If you have a song stuck in your had and you absolutely can not get it out, you say "Ich habe einen ohrwurm," (I have an ear worm.) So I definitely learn little things every day, which end up helping me to gradually learn the language.
We're preparing for Jesse's 4th birthday, which, is on September 4th. Yes, it's his golden year! He's so excited about it and actually remembers when his birthday is if you ask him. Talya took the older two to get a present just from them for him so I'm home with Jesse. It's really funny actually because I slept in this morning and so when they were leaving I had just woken up and I heard Gideon yell at Talya "Mommy, are we getting Jesse the dinosaur suitcase?!" Talya had already gotten it a few days ago and told Giddy about it, but made him promise not to tell. So Talya responds "shut up! Be quiet, Gi!" and then Jesse pipes in "Mommy, can you get me the dinosaur suitcase for my birfday?" and she says "umm, we'll see." hahahahha it was soooo funny! Gideon can get loud when he needs something or wants to so when he yelled that about the suitcase, it was so funny because Talya was shushing him like she'd never done before.
Last night I went out with one of my friends, Sarah, for the second night of her birthday celebration, and her friend spoke to me in pretty good broken English. She asked me why I was in Berlin, and I told her and she was like "Wow, I wish I could do that. Just go to a foreign country for a year." And then I remembered how privileged I really should feel. I mean I'm not writing research papers or doing calculus problems every night like most people my age back home that are in college. I'm just hanging out in Berlin with my sister and niece and nephews, eating bratwurst, dancing at fun clubs, and learning German. It kinda reminded me to be more thankful, which I definitely don't do often enough.
I have met some new people my age-ish though, which is awesome. I went to a dinner at Monbijou park, right down from Talya's work. It was put on by her old church and there was a long line of tables connected with tons of food and drink on them. It reminded me of the big hall in Harry Potter, hahah. But it was really cool because I got to see some people that I'd met two years ago but hadn't seen since and I met some new ones. Unlike growing up in the States, where you pretty much have the same set of friends since elementary school, you definitely have to put yourself out there here. For me, at least. I can't just walk up to a group of people and have them know me and tell me things that they know will crack me up. Well, not yet, of course. But what I'm saying is, being new to the city, I literally have to just start up a conversation with people if I want to talk to them. Not everyone knows the crazy Shoups, like in Georgia. Well, some do but definitely not all. There's more people here of more nationalities and if I want to befriend people that I think look cool and nice, chances are I have to start talking to them myself. I'm just glad I'm pretty good at doing that or else I'd be miserable. But I really like doing it because unlike in Georgia, where everyone's pretty much from Georgia, when you meet people here, they could be from a totally different country, or part of Germany. They're not just from Ringgold, or Atlanta or even South Carolina. They're from Spain, Sweden, Great Britain, etc. It's just really cool to talk to people because you really never know their background.
I have been learning bits and pieces of German every day though. I learn new words like, for example, I learned Wednesday night that "ohrwurm" literally translates into "ear worm". If you have a song stuck in your had and you absolutely can not get it out, you say "Ich habe einen ohrwurm," (I have an ear worm.) So I definitely learn little things every day, which end up helping me to gradually learn the language.
We're preparing for Jesse's 4th birthday, which, is on September 4th. Yes, it's his golden year! He's so excited about it and actually remembers when his birthday is if you ask him. Talya took the older two to get a present just from them for him so I'm home with Jesse. It's really funny actually because I slept in this morning and so when they were leaving I had just woken up and I heard Gideon yell at Talya "Mommy, are we getting Jesse the dinosaur suitcase?!" Talya had already gotten it a few days ago and told Giddy about it, but made him promise not to tell. So Talya responds "shut up! Be quiet, Gi!" and then Jesse pipes in "Mommy, can you get me the dinosaur suitcase for my birfday?" and she says "umm, we'll see." hahahahha it was soooo funny! Gideon can get loud when he needs something or wants to so when he yelled that about the suitcase, it was so funny because Talya was shushing him like she'd never done before.
Last night I went out with one of my friends, Sarah, for the second night of her birthday celebration, and her friend spoke to me in pretty good broken English. She asked me why I was in Berlin, and I told her and she was like "Wow, I wish I could do that. Just go to a foreign country for a year." And then I remembered how privileged I really should feel. I mean I'm not writing research papers or doing calculus problems every night like most people my age back home that are in college. I'm just hanging out in Berlin with my sister and niece and nephews, eating bratwurst, dancing at fun clubs, and learning German. It kinda reminded me to be more thankful, which I definitely don't do often enough.
I have met some new people my age-ish though, which is awesome. I went to a dinner at Monbijou park, right down from Talya's work. It was put on by her old church and there was a long line of tables connected with tons of food and drink on them. It reminded me of the big hall in Harry Potter, hahah. But it was really cool because I got to see some people that I'd met two years ago but hadn't seen since and I met some new ones. Unlike growing up in the States, where you pretty much have the same set of friends since elementary school, you definitely have to put yourself out there here. For me, at least. I can't just walk up to a group of people and have them know me and tell me things that they know will crack me up. Well, not yet, of course. But what I'm saying is, being new to the city, I literally have to just start up a conversation with people if I want to talk to them. Not everyone knows the crazy Shoups, like in Georgia. Well, some do but definitely not all. There's more people here of more nationalities and if I want to befriend people that I think look cool and nice, chances are I have to start talking to them myself. I'm just glad I'm pretty good at doing that or else I'd be miserable. But I really like doing it because unlike in Georgia, where everyone's pretty much from Georgia, when you meet people here, they could be from a totally different country, or part of Germany. They're not just from Ringgold, or Atlanta or even South Carolina. They're from Spain, Sweden, Great Britain, etc. It's just really cool to talk to people because you really never know their background.
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