Health

Germany is wonderful, but this is the second time in two weeks that I have had some type of stomach bug. So because I am home today recuperating I decided I will write about my perception of health in Germany. Before coming the program stressed bringing medication from the states here because the dosing is different. Personally I have not had a problem with the slight change in medicine. I brought acetaminophen (Tylenol) but I have used headache meds when I was here and I felt fine. That being said, I have not used medication as often as I would back home. I had a horrible cough/ sore throat/ sneezing fit the 1st month with my host family and normally my dad would give me cough syrup or a medical tea of some sort, but when I asked my host mom for cough syrup she said she didn't have any. It kind of surprised me, but the tea that she gave me made me feel better and two days later I was feeling better.
From what I have seen it is easier to eat healthier in Germany. They, like the majority of the world, believe that many Americans are fat and that we eat McDonald's all the time. It is true that we have an obesity problem in America but I also believe that part of that is due to how expensive it is to eat healthy, especially now with the problems of the American Economy. There are fruit carts everywhere in Germany and the fruit is relatively cheap. Meat in delis at stores are also cheaper and veggies when they are in season. Eating fast food here can be ridiculously expensive. There is not really a version of a dollar menu and burger king for a burger, fries and drink is around 8 Euro ($10.40). There are so many other better, healthier, tastier options here for "fast food." They have wonderful fish sandwiches and Doner ( a pita like bread filled with strips of lamb, beef, chicken or pork and loaded with fresh veggies and a tasty sauce very similar to a Greek Gyro). With such wonderful options and all of the walking/ bike riding it is pretty impossible to not live healthier here.

<3 <3 <3

P.S. These are some random pics :)

The Standard

Hi Guys,

Sorry I could not post this on Sunday. I have been spending some quality time at the Grandparents and have been out of internet range for 3 days, no internet= no blog posts= Sorry.  So my host sister and I occasionally play a game of Sims, she really enjoys it and I think it’s fun to watch because she builds these amazing houses, but every time she makes a family I get a bit annoyed. She makes a tan/ darker woman who is skinny, slightly fit and has huge breasts. She always gives them blond hair and the make-up of a Barbie doll. Along with that she makes a boyfriend (always a boyfriend) with a little bit of a lighter skin tone and blond hair with an unimaginably perfect body. This has not been once but multiple times, and normally I would not mind but yesterday she asked me to make a family. I started to make a whole big group but I was tired and I narrowed it down to one man. He had blond hair, was of average build, and was not athletic but not unhealthy looking either. So as I continued to play the game I found a pre-built female and we moved in together. Well my host sister said that I should make her look prettier. Her hair was kind of outdated as well as her style so I decided to give her a makeover.  I could not find any hair style that worked except for a buzz cut. She had no hair but she had big earrings and a wonderful make up job to match. I thought she looked very feminine but the minute I finished my host sister said “I thought you were trying to make her prettier?”  So I let her have the computer and re-do my makeover. The woman is very dark and she gave her blond hair, blue eyes and Barbie makeup. So I guess this is my problem. Thanks to the media and our insecurities we are all brought up thinking that beautiful has a face, or a color, or a style of hair, or a body type so you better have good genes or a lot of money so you can make yourself beautiful, but this idea is not helpful for anyone. My host sister is 13 and I see her almost every day putting on self-tanner lotion, make up and trying to reach this standard, but she will always  fall short because the world has told her to not accept herself. So I guess my question is what is beauty and how does it differ from country to country? Food for Thought.

Rain

Yes. I am tired, so my brain juices are pretty much done flowin for today, but I still wanted to update people about my life. So this week has been pretty interesting. Let me start off by saying how much I love German weather! It rains a lot here and the temperature is generally around 60-70 F and it is wonderful weather to drink a nice black tea and, if you are like me, read the majority of books owned by your four year old host brother and ask him questions about the pronunciation of words, yeah... . So this week it was projected that there would be rain throughout the week and generally in the morning, this is good for me because then my host mom drives us to school and I can wear a skirt and spruce up my outfit a little more (shallow I know but it is impossible to ride a bike with a skirt). So Monday came, no rain until the afternoon. Tuesday came and no rain came until the afternoon. Wednesday arrived and repeated the same mistake made by Tuesday and Monday except that the downpour came when I was riding home against the already very strong wind. Then glorious Thursday happened and I heard Thunderstorms the minute I woke up. I cheered (internally) as my host mom drove us to school. Then Friday decided to play with my emotions a bit. In the morning it was pouring and I was getting excited hoping that I could get driven to school. Then during breakfast the rain stopped and I knew that it was going to be a cold, bike trip to school that day. Five minutes after heading out I feel these little wet drips on my clothes and 2 seconds later I am being showered upon from the sky. I pedal slowly to school, I started off at a wonderful pace, but as jeans get wetter they get heavier and every push down on a pedal begins to feel more and more like a burden. I arrive at school with no part of my body spared from the free, unnecessary bath that I was just given. The minute I walk into school I see others who look like me, wet cold lumps of cloth and hair trying their best to find a way to get dry. I stand next to them and look outside, only to find that the rain had stopped.
Moral of the Story: Own a Car :)

I know its Monday...

Tut mir leid ( sorry) everyone I did not post on Sunday. Ok so here is whats up in my life.  My host brother is one of the funniest people that I know. He is 4 and picks up anything that I say in English really quickly. So on the days where he is tired of playing cars, sad, happy, hungry, bored or anything else he knocks on my door and asks to come in. I generally say yes but even if I say I am busy the "Poison Dwarf", a term my host father coined, still enters and plays with whatever he can find. He orders me to turn on music and we listen to Darth Vader sing a call me maybe parody for about 15 times and then we move on to Star Wars, Spider man or Batman. There are days when I will be listening to my own music and he will come in and listen as well, but then he repeats it. It is not bad because now that there is a small child in the house I don't play anything with swear words but because he is four and doesn't have any clue what he is saying he will just bring it up. As an example, we were sitting at lunch and my host mom had just asked the PD if he wants anything else to eat. He shook his head no but right after he looks at my host mom and he says "hey" and my host mom says what,  my host bro turns his head and looks straight at me and says "Im sexy and I know it." My host mom stopped, looked at me and starting cracking up. I did too but I also see my host brothers face in a bit of shock ( I think he was trying to get me in trouble), and then, just as he looked a bit angry and was about to scream, his face turned into a big smile and he starting laughing too. Yep these are my kinda people.

<3 <3 <3

My First German Friend

Hello Peoples!
Well I have been living with my host family for 3 weeks now and I think I am starting to have some regrets... I am regretting that I had not known them sooner! They are so cool and I am in love with the dynamic of my host family household. I had a wonderfully delicious Plaumkuchen (plum cake) that I helped make with my mom today. We visited Koln and it reminded me of where I live in the states a bit, it has a old money feeling to it that I really enjoyed.
But not everything here is as I thought it would be. I love the people at my school they are very nice and helpful, but it was a bit difficult to make friends. I am "the new kid" and I also am "the new kid" that cannot speak German very well. I am a very talkative person, but in unfamiliar situations I freeze and am very quiet unless asked a question. So for two weeks it was sitting alone at tables, and watching people observe my every move. But happily to say I have received many invitations to sit with people during breaks, visit cities with friends and to go to sporting events. I do not have a group of friends yet, but one girl has been very nice to me and now I have one person that I can define as more than an acquaintance. We have similar tastes in music and she has been to the U.S. We talk and are in a couple classes together. I am happy to have found a friend.
<3 <3 <3

P.S. I would love to visit other parts of Europe or Germany while I am here. Any suggestions? Please leave comments below <3 

Whats up?

Hey So...
I have been very busy lately. I have moved to a different city, with another host family and a new school. I have a new life and I love it. Today I went on one of the most interesting and challenging bike rides of my life. My host mom said that we were going to go to a festival thing and I wanted to come along. She said that we would ride bikes because it was not that far away and it would not be a hard ride. So I come downstairs with my casual sunday outfit and wearing flats. She is wearing something similar so I figured that I would be fine. After 5 min we approached a hill. It was not very steep but it was not easy and as soon as I was done I assumed that that would be the last hill. WRONG. We continued to ride through a forest with different terrain at every turn. Hills were abundant and breaks were few. We went through this crowded forest for around 45 min. My bike is not the best. It has very thin wheels, is crazy old and makes a wonderful sound when anyone over 5lbs sits on it. My Family has bikes that could ride easily up mountains and through mud. So when we arrive at this fest I chain my bike and proceed to sweat through every article of clothing that I had on. I watched people preform and an hour later we decided to go home. So after hopping on my bike I start to think about and dread the ride back home. Little did I know that my host family was showing me around and that all along we were only 15 min away from the house. I got home and laughed.

<3 <3 <3

P.S. I love my host family and I could not wish for anything more, except a different bike but as long as it gets me to school than I have no problems. I just wanted to share a funny story with you all!

Castles and Cars

Hi!
This whole week I have been thinking a lot about home, and the idea of routine. For the last four years I have been so used to waking up around the same time, driving to school, attending the same classes, and putting whatever little effort I have left into playing a sport and rounding up the troops to go home. In Germany I have more freedom than I than I thought I ever would, but I don't really know what to do with it. There are some days where I miss seeing my friends and having their humor and love in my life.  So if any of you guys are reading this I really appreciate that  you made everyday different and special. I am very happy  to meet new people in the school, but it is a bit sad to see people that I care about leaving back to their home countries. I miss them too, but enough with my thoughts.
 This week was freakishly hot! I don't understand German weather it was in the 90s this week but today it dropped to 60? Crazy! We went to BMW Welt  and I saw my car ( in 50 years), it is a Rolls Royce this one is dark blue, but I prefer black. We also went to Neuschwanstein. It is the Cinderella Castle. I really enjoy the outside way more than the inside (they would not let us take pics on the inside, but I found it a bit gaudy) lots of gold paint and big jewels.
 I hope your week is wonderful and filled with love!
<3 <3 <3

This is not Neuschwanstein. I visited this castle on a different day but

 I thought this is a better photo :)