My School Burned Down

Something happened this week, and the school were I go for German Class caught fire. It was something with the garbage cans and my teacher. It is still standing, and I still have to go to german class and that sucks.

This week, Albert finally said he thinks I am fluent. A compliment from this kid, is like if someone came up with the cure for cancer. I have a goal tho, Petra and I came up with it. Once her parents can understand my German I am officially fluent. Petra's Parents speak plott or blott(don't really know) German and it really means, they speak with a little hollandish. Good thing no one speaks it anymore because regular German is better.

Petra surprised me this week, she can actually speak english. She always acted like she couldn't. She still can't understand me tho, and that's good.

I learned what worst enemy in German was this week, worst friend. I learned that from the Simpsons. I found that to be true statement. People in Germany are so nice. if you have a worst enemy, then it's really your problem because you are not trying hard enough at your friendship. I have not met someone here, that I hated. The people here are simply awesome. 

Finally, Christmas... 

Christmas here was perfect. I could not of asked for a better Christmas. I am finally a member of the family. Petra and Daniel gave me Wooden Clogs. It has to be one of the greatest gifts ever. I think I will wear them to the airport. Petra's parents gave me a photo book of German and Daniel's parents gave me a german cookbook. My host uncle Thomas got the Steve Job's bio in German and I got it in English. I want to see who can finish it first. I haven't started so probably him.

People in Germany celebrate on Christmas eve. We celebrated with both sets grandparents and a sauerbraten. Then on Sunday it was breakfast with the six of us, coffee by Daniel's family, and finally dinner by Petra's. The second Christmas day (Monday), is Stephanus. Stephanus is a day of drinking. Usually brought on by the family. It is also the name day for Steffan and Steffen, but only old people celebrate that.

I Wanna be a Fire Fighter When I Grow Up!

It's funny how everything in life happens for a reason. This week Yeli's host dad picked us up from school for our Rotary meeting. He was telling us how he had to stop by the fire station in Ahaus to drop off a computer because he is a volunteer fire chief. One way or another, my extensive knowledge of firefighting allowed me to be able to b.s. a whole conversation. Yeli even went along with it, and know we are going to go through firefighting training. I am kind of excited because the course he was talking about sounds pretty cool.

Then my Rotary Councillor was telling us about how her husband has a model of the I.C.E. railroad. Guess who else had knowledge in the world of H.O. scale railroads, this kid. I am just now realizing all the "pointless things" Jack Hadfield has taught me over the years are really paying off. I think this is the third blog in a row, that I have mentioned you. Thanks old man.

Got my ski equipment for Austria this week! I have this weird feeling about Petra paying for everything. This week she paid for my equipment and my german class. Don't get my wrong, I love it, but I feel like I should be helping out somehow. Anyway, I am excited for Austria. I am going to miss New Years with my friends and that kind of makes me sad, but Austria should make it better.

I am starting to become a local, and that's a nice feeling. The lady at the bakery knows how I like my coffee every saturday morning, black. The lady from the deli across the street from my school tells me how my German is getting better. In fact, Yeli and I were mistaken for Hollanders last week. That is better than being mistaken for that American and that other exchange kid.

Last Sunday, when Yeli and I were killing time before the bus home left Muenster, we were walking around the Christmas Mart. Yeli wanted to look for a jacket, but didn't realize it was a Sunday in Germany. An old man (45-50) came up to me and asked me how to get to the Christmas Mart. It was pretty cool because he actually thought I was German or at least not a visitor. I could actually give him directions with street names and building as check points, and he understood me.

American's Have Ugly Accents

This week I had a Rotary weekend. Thanks to that weekend, I have my a stronger American accent from speaking English too much. I love Chicago, and I will tell you it is the greatest city in the world, but we have one of the ugliest "A" and "O" sounds. I was in a bar the other day and I was talking with one of my friends coworkers and we were talking about hockey, I said hockey how I would in English, and he didn't even realize what I was saying.

Petra and I have been betting lately. I have learned I have a gambling problem. Thanks to Albert for actually showering and not talking to his girlfriend on the phone, I have lost my house. Good thing the deed is in the US. I also owe her, I think 2 or 3, gelatoes.

St. Niklas was Tuesday. We all went to Petra's sister's house to celebrate. In Germany, St. Niklas goes around your city on the night of December 5th, and you pay for the bag of chocolate and he comes to your house and delivers it with Rupert. Rupert is a guy dressed in all black, including black face, and goes to scare the bad children. My host family is pretty funny. I think Petra or her sister paid, but I am not sure, anyway, I received a bag from St. Niklas and it was full of chocolate and peanuts, nothing wrong with that. After St. Niklas you are suppose to eat a bread shaped like little men, it was delicious. The Gluehwein was also delicious. I guess I wasn't drinking mine fast enough because my host aunt started talking about how she doesn't like it when it gets cold, and kept asking me if I liked it. I shot gunned the glass and got some more to prove it to her that I liked it.

That was my St. Niklas and Rupert.

So like I said, Rotary was last weekend, and that is why this is late. Rotary was fun, but I missed being in Wessum/Ahaus with everyone else. On friday, we went to The Christmas Market in Muenster. It was pretty cool. I like being in Muenster but they need more things to do, it's kind of a boring city. On Saturday, we went to the planetarium for a half hour (our educational portion.) We sat threw how the world evolved video. Like everyone else, I slept. The Muenster Zoo is on the same grounds so we went there. The Zoo was cool. They even had an exhibit for house rats. It has been a year and a half (mybe two) since I have been ice skating, and I haven't lost any of my skills. It was kind of cool trying to teach other people who have never skated to skate. To get back at us (people from North American that can skate), Rotex took us to a Salsa bar later in the night.

Random thoughts:

Simon came home on Thursday. It is nice to finally have someone around my age. He was on a short exchange to France. Simon is pretty cool, and I feel like we are going to get along fine. There is one thing tho, he's Windows but his desktop is an Apple logo.

Today I was in an Audi today with crank windows and one of those beaded sit covers. I miss when owning an Audi, BMW, or Mercedes meant something classy and not affordability. It wasn't even base model like an A3 or an A1. It was an A4, which is a base sedan, but it had touch screen navi and bluetooth.

Out Germaned a German

This is for Jack Hadfield: I am going to Munich May 18ish. Now you don't have to worry that I will miss it.

For everyone else: I finally found out when I will make it to Munich. I started talking about all the touristy things I wanted to see. Turns out I know more about Munich than my host parents. It's not a surprise because they don't spend a lot of time in Southern Germany, nor will they because only Simon and I are going. Hope I didn't just ruin a surprise. Frau you should consider your job complete. I am kind of excited to go because I learned about Munich for at least two months in school, and I can't wait to actually be able to see it. I doubt that Glockenspiel really exists.

I am starting to feel the Holiday Spirit, or maybe it's that I am feeling the Holiday Cookie Spirit. I have found my new favorite holiday food, and that is "Nussecke." That translates to "Nut Edge (or Corner)." It is a shortbread cookie crust bar with a hazelnut, caramel filling. These bars are then sliced into triangles, and you put melted dark chocolate on one corner.

I don't know if my host family is religious or not because Sunday is my day to sleep in, and I sleep to 11 or 12. They say some kind of prayer before eating, but it is said so fast that I haven't tried to learn it. They have four sets of advents candles, and weird writing over the door (anyone know what 20+C÷M means?), but so does everyone else here. For a continent that is more secular than the US, Germany has some strong christian roots.

I made a huge mistake this week. In Art class we had to take a block of plaster/clay and make it in a figure. In one hour, I was able to chisel away a statue that wasn't bad; the rest of the class was only 1/4 of the way done or not even started. Now I have the art teacher always watching me because I can make art, and I can also form free standing figures without a problem either. I was hoping it would be an easy class, where I can talk with my friends instead of listening to a powerpoint about naked men statues, but nope, I have to answer ever one of his questions and translate information into english to make sure I was paying attention.

This week I noticed my sunglasses were covered in a healthy layer of dust. It kind of made me sad because no one here wears sunglasses, and I am never in a car long enough to leave them there. Which is a crazy thought because I turned the fridge in my mom's car into my sunglass holder, for the one pair I actually wore and the others that I let collect dust (That scares me in retrospect because I am turning into a hoarder.) It's also crazy because I am pretty sure the sun is brighter in Europe. Yeli thinks so too, and I think it has something to do with us being closer to the north pole. If anyone could find a study about this, that would be great.

It could also be that there is less smog here. Chicago is not a smoggy city and neither are the suburbs, but you can't really see the stars. Sure you see stars in Chicagoland, but it is nothing compared to the amount of stars you can see here. It is the coolest thing to look up at 4 a.m. as you are biking home and see all the stars in the sky.

I made my first "Worst Enemy for Three/Four Months" this week. Yeli moved Saturday to Ottenstein to go live with an other Rotary family. I live in Wessum and there are three cities we "don't" like, Ottenstein, Graes (Grass), and Alstätte (Alstätte isn't that big of a hatred but I still count it.) For her going away present, I gave Yeli a half eaten Kit Kat bar; she loved it. European Kit Kats taste different by the way.

 I want to also say a thank you to Alex Portugal, Andrew Knox, and The Antioch Rotary club, that's a lot of "A's". If it wasn't for your awesome time management skills, I would be living in Ottenstein. This week Yeli asked our rotarian how they decide which kids goes to which families. He pretty much said, "Hunter was the first student we received, and the Marpert's had an open room so we figured he could stay there for a year. When we got Yeli's papers, we said,"oh shit what are we going to do?!" Then we just asked around the club to see who has any open rooms.  I want to say thank you because If Yeli was the first kid, my life would be a whole different story. Thank you, you guys are awesome.

  

Go For Gold

That was said to me this week, if I said it, it would be," Go for Platinum." because gold is for people who want soar high but are afraid of heights. This week was a of firsts; I gave my first presentation in German, I got into my first German fight, and I played mechanic willing. The presentation I gave was over the cultivation, harvest, and production of Tobacco. I can now say I consider myself somewhat fluent because I nailed the presentation. In that same class I also got into my first fight in German. It was over whether table tennis is a sport or not. I say it's not and so do a few other people. There was once a Beretta more reliable than this bike in the Sikorski family. I am not sure why, but every week there is a new problem with it. So Saturday, after my language curse, I was excited to be mechanic because it gave me something to do, unfortunately all I need to do was hit the bike to fix it. I didn't even get to swear or throw a wrench or two. I have learned that you can never fix anything with swearing and throwing things.

I spent my Thanksgiving in a German Immigration office. I guess you can call me a real American. I didn't miss Thanksgiving because all that holiday is, is the feast before Black Friday. It is just a day to come together with family, and my family does that every weekend; the difference is that on this day we have a giant turkey. I got my residents permit card, and it is pretty cool. There's a giant holograph of my face in the middle. I am now a legal German Resident until it expires on August 31.

Tuesday, Rotary had some kind of group meeting at a local business, Pietsch (Peach). Pietsch is next to Tobit, and if you ever come to Ahaus, the people here will make sure to tell that in 2008/2009 Flo Rida had a concert inside of Tobit. Tobit is a big software company, and it actually cool that Flo Rida came to this small town of 20,00-35,000. Anyway, Pietsch sell bathrooms. We started out in the showroom, and I got Yeli to ask one of the showroom staff where the toilet was. It cracked me up when the Ceofeld rotary club members spoke extra slow to me at first until they realized I can have a normal speed conversation.

On Wednesday, Daniel, Petra, and I went to Logo for a photo show. Michael Martin travelled the world for 30 years and is now going around Germany giving a presentation over his travels. It was pretty cool, and I couldn't believe I understood everything. It would be definitely something I would see again. I think it is because I want to travel africa in an old VW bus.

My new name is Wattum Sitzodski. My name was some how got screwed up in the transfer to Europe, but they think I am Warren Hunter Sikorski. In fact was my name for the Terhalle event. I signed all my paper work(all 800 sheets of paper, and that's not an exaggeration) with Hunter Sikorski, and My name in the documents all say Hunter Warren SIKORSKI. I am not sure why but Rotary made us use all caps for the last name. Wattum was my name for the Pietsch event. I am not sure who to blame, so like everything else, Steve this is your fault.

Hollanders are OK!

It is week eleven or so, and I already know what I am doing when I get home. Monday night I had a dream about Grande Jakes. I don't know why because I like the tacos at Tacos El Norte so much better. But anyway, in this dream I ate a chorizo egg burrito, 15 steak tacos, and 3 chicken gortidas. It was the best dream ever.

Tuesday night, I went with the Rotary club to a Deutschland vs. Holland soccer game. One thing that cracked me up was that we went with our sister rotary club in Enschede, Holland. I was surprised there weren't any fights after Germany killed Holland, 3-0. Germans don't speak Dutch, and Hollanders speak german like there tongue is swollen. It was a night of english speaking. I don't know if I can say this, so I will just type it instead, The Hollanders were more fun than the Germans, oops. That is not completely true, but the Dutch club is just a younger crowd.

Petra is awesome, nuff said. For the four hour bus ride to Hamburg, Petra bought me candy to eat on the way. It was an awesome, unexpected surprise. Then the next morning whatever was leftover was eaten by Albert. The Hollanders also gave us boxes of food. These boxes had schnitzel, two sandwiches, meat balls, and a couple sausage links. There were also an Apple and Orange, but who cares about that. They also passed around boxes of the great doughnut ever, and some kind of almond coffee cake thing.

Speaking of soccer, I might have finally of chosen a German soccer club. Petra's friend gave Petra a Bayern Muenchen jersey that was too small for her kid, so that was passed to me. They are in the first place spot so it wouldn't be a bad bandwagon to jump on; Daniel would be proud, but I am not going to say anything. My Rotarian is Shalke so that might not go over well.

This week in English we finally got to talk about the downfalls in America. Guess who was the best? I don't think it was my first hand knowledge or anything. I felt so good to say those things too. My english book only talked about everything good in America and like it was written by a Uncle Sam himself. It is as if the crazy train crashed itself into the bullshit factory causing an explosion that spewed douchbagery everywhere. It makes me want to puke, but then it nice that we can celebrate our country. In the words of a german,"We can't be patriotic because if we do, then we are called nazis." That is sad, every country should be able to celebrate there heritage, but some need to know how to tone it down. I know I will sport a german flag and not think twice about it.

I had Liederkäse this week. Can I still get Extra Credit for that? It's not like lieberkaese was that exotic. I like liverwurst so it wasn't a surprise that I would like lieberkaese. If I had to describe the taste I would say Oscar Mayor Wiener Hotdog. Which made me wonder, is there liver in Oscar Mayor Hotdogs? It wouldn't shock me if there is, it's cheap meat.

Now that I have come pretty close to mastering German, I have taken on a new task, learning Spanish. I don't know why I am trying so hard to master Spanish. I think it is because I am in a spanish class too advanced for me, and I feel bad I don't completely understand everything. Yeli makes sure to tell five times a day that I am a gringo, but yo soy el gringo de favorito de Yeli.

I found Siri

This week, Yeli's Iphone arrived. She bought an 4s without knowing that it had Siri or what Siri even is. I have spent the week showing her how to use it, and yesterday I found Siri. There's no app for Siri, and when you search the phone for it; the phone has no idea what it is. Yeli set her phone to German, so Siri will only recognize German when you speak to Siri. I thought my German was pretty good; everyone says it is. Siri can't understand me or Yeli. It is kind of depressing.

I was parented for the first time this week. I am not sure if Petra knows what she is doing because she is not my mom. She made me skype for the first time in three weeks because when I said it was three weeks since I last skyped, she crapped her pants. She also tried making me go to bed early on Sunday.

Tuesday night Petra made Matzo Ball soup. I don't remember the German name for it because I was shocked that she didn't know it was a typically Jewish soup. There were a few other Jewish specialties that she didn't know of. She is not Jewish, so that isn't a surprise she wouldn't be familiar with them, but German has a dark history with the Jewish people so I guess that I assumed German people know something about them.

Wednesday while Petra and I were driving to Coesfeld to pick up a package, Petra asked me if I could fly home by myself or If I had to fly with a group because that is how I arrived. I am not sure of that answer, I believe yes because I considered an adult in the airline rule book, and I bought the ticket; I should have control over when I fly. Then I asked why because that was random. She said I could stay longer if I wanted to go to Spain with my friends. That was probably the coolest thing Petra could of ever done because I didn't even have to ask, and she knows I love it here. I am not sure yet if I will stay, if the rooster promises to stop crowing ever Saturday, than yes I will. The most depressing sound you can here on a Saturday morning is a rooster crowing because it reminds me that I am up early enough to hear it, and that the night before, I only got somewhere between 3-6 hours of sleep.

Thursday was Studien Tag; that is where all the kids the 11th-12th grade (we are a combined class) go to the college in Muenster for an exciting day of learning. Fun fact, Fresno University (College?) is in a partnership with the University here. They bused us all there and then the teachers disappeared and we were left to our own devises. We sat in a Biology class for an hour than wandered the city for four hours. I am not sure what they expected us to do. The highlight of that day had to be riding all the escalators in the Galleria. Bet you can't guess how much fun the overall day was. We ended up taking an earlier bus back.

The one class I actually sat threw was over the Evolution of Animals or something like that. It was kind of interesting, but I also spent a good 40 minutes of that class staring out the window so I am not sure. Evolution is the way of creation taught in Germany. It is nice to know that a country can get past the insufficient things that stop a country from actually getting something productive accomplished. This is a picture from my English book. I love it because it is true. (read America's bubble last.)

Petra asked me later how was Studien Tag and what I did. I said it was boring and that I learned Law, Architecture, and Bio because that is what I was signed up to do. She then said, you didn't just do one hour of classes and then 5 hours in the city. She knows us too well, and that kind of sucks. I guess it's what I can expect because she has known my friends longer than I have. A person who doesn't know me that well, would be Daniel. Daniel works 12 hour days, 5 days a week. He is always tired and stressed out. If only he had a temper, he would be the perfect host dad.

Speaking of Steve, there is a man named Steve in my German class on Saturday. He is from Nigeria, and you know how they say Nigeria, in Nigeria? Well they say "Niegearia." So all those years of people telling you to say it the other way so that you didn't sound racist were kind of wrong. I am not saying to go around saying it the other way, but that is how people from Nigeria say Nigeria. Bet you can't guess how people from the country, Niger, (or people from Germany) say Niger?

Oktoberfest in November!

It took me till November before I went to an Oktoberfest. It wasn't the greatest party in Germany, but it wasn't bad. They went a little overboard on the blue and white diamonds. There is more to Bavaria then the blue and white diamonds. I was hoping to see a Glockenspeil or two.

This week wasn't the most exciting week I have had in Germany. It was the second week of the fall break, which means I have school tomorrow. I spent this week sleeping. Petra made fun of me because I would sleep in till 11:30, except today that was 2. All my friends had to work this week so we didn't really do much during the week. German kids only work during the breaks from school, that kind of sucks because there isn't really a source of income.

It was a family week, my host cousin Helena came over Monday-Tuesday. On Monday we went to Enschede, its a small city in the Netherlands. It kind of makes me laugh sometimes, I am an exchange student to Germany, but I spend enough time in the Netherlands. I am really an exchange student for both countries, although I won't be learning Dutch. Anyway, Monday night, Rotary had a Halloween night Statlohn history tour. It was interesting for the Rotary people, I spent the night people watching. I have noticed that, I have perfected the perfect fake laugh. I got home around 11 and everyone was asleep. The next morning, Petra told me that last night Helena kept asking when I would be home or when I was getting up. Helena and I played a lot of board games to keep her occupied. Helena is 7 and scared of dogs, I felt like I already knew her.

Tuesday was my Two Month Deutschland Anniversary. It wasn't spent at the Kooks concert because the tickets sold out, and Niedersachen had school the next day. Instead it was spent with petra's side of the family. Helena and I made waffle batter earlier that morning, so we ate waffles. Then we biked to Alstätte and talked some more with my host aunt and uncle. I will never forget "Hi hUntair" that is how my Host uncle says my name, and it's always loud enough you can hear it a block away.

When Rotary picked my host family, they picked right. This family and I just get along perfectly, it's like my own family. Petra's parents are like my mom's parents, and the family on both sides is like how my family is.

I can't believe it has been two months. Time is flying by and it needs to slow down. I have learned a lot in the two months. I love biking, that isn't something I learned, but it is something I knew I liked. It really isn't easy to bike places in the US. They don't have endless bike paths like they do in Germany. I have learn sliced bread is only good for toast. Effing Bakery is the Starbucks of Ahaus, Wessum. I am going to miss rolls everyday. I have learned that less is more.

My house here has a smaller foot print than my house in the US, but the house here is bigger. We have four floors including the basement. This is a seven bedroom, 4 bathroom house. Everything is smaller and yet somehow bigger.

I like having a smaller fridge. Unlike America, grocery shopping is done every two-three days. It's nice because food doesn't go to waste, ok thats a lie, we were throwing out yoghurt yesterday. You don't put your leftovers in the fridge, you put them on the counter or in the oven, so that they will get eaten. Food safety in the us is too strict. I had day old lasagna that stayed in the oven for a day, and I am not dead.

I was an SUV person when I left. I am still an SUV person, but I have learned that you don't need a big car for the one time you will actually use it for the purpose. I have learned that you really only need anything for what will actually use it for. I europe a tiny geo looking opel can tow a horse carrier. When I saw that I pretty much shit my pants. Why can't cars in the us do that. Then we wouldn't need so many trucks. I hate my Truck, I did before I left so nothings new there. Opel has made a dent in the Germany auto market, and I think they need to bring Opel to the US. Yeah Opel is GM, and they are in the US, but you want more people to drive a Buick, drop the Buick name and make it Opel. The Buick Regel definitley looks better with an Opel emblem on it.

Finally. The best thing I love about Germany, there are no classes. My host dad is a surgeon, but he said that a dentist in Germany makes more than surgeons. My host grandpa is a blue collar worker, i think, he has a Mercedes E-class and a giant house. It is not like that in the US.

I am not going to lie, I am not missing home. My friend Suchi and I were talking about how we both feel the same way. Suchi is an inbound from India. She can speak three indian languages but english is her first language, that is cool. My family here and everyone I know have bonded so well, that Germany is my new home. Germany is how I wanted/want America to be. I am an American but I am by no means in love with America.

I Drank Something Delicious

I am not sure what it was, all my Host-Grandpa said it that is was red christmas berry. I am thinking cranberry, but it could of been pomegranate. It was bitter and way to hot, but once you added the rum, it became one of the best none-beer drinks I have had. Best beer tho, goes to Kölsch. It is only brewed in Köln, so you must make a special trip there to get it.

Köln was a cool city. I am not sure if I liked better than Berlin or not. October is the month to see it in because all the trees make the city look a lot better. Köln is known for its churches. They have nearly as many churches as people in the city. The main church that everyone can recognize by the infamous photo of it with the Rhine and train bridge in the foreground. The walk up was a total of 1.066 steps. 533 up and 533 down. I was surprisingly easy. It was a spiral stair case maybe 2 1/2 feet wide, and it carried up and down traffic. Ever try passing some one and the narrow end of a spiral staircase? Its a lot of fun. That wasn't the worse part, to get to the top, you must climb up a cone shaped roof piece. To get up this cone, you must walk up a cheap, metal scaffolding staircase. That was the worse part for me. You were at the top and this staircase isn't attached to the walls and it wobbles to I felt like I was going to fall over. I recommend going in the morning when foot traffic is light. The old city was converted into a pedestrian  zone with an endless shopping center. That was cool except for all the people. Köln is Germany's San Francisco, according to Daniel, but I saw more gay people in Berlin. I was also only in the old city, and I was all over Berlin.

I finely played a full game of Monopoly for once. This week Albert and I have been playing every board game in the house. Is it weird that I enjoyed watching Albert go into debt to afford a stay at the Berliner Strasse Hotel. I found that the trick to winning is to buy the foreclosed properties from Albert and flip them. I need to go spend 150 years in Prison with Bernie Madoff. I was on a winning streak until yesterday when he beat me at some medieval build a city game.

I got spend Halloween, what that's tomorrow Hunter, in Germany's biggest club (Index). It was also the biggest Halloween party in Europe, so that is pretty cool to be able to say. This club was huge. I remember that the one part we were in, I think it was called Tender, had at least four levels and nine bars. Index was pretty much all stairs, and home to the worlds largest Ice bar. I didn't see it, because I wasn't dressed appropriately for it. My flannel would not have been warm enough.

I need to learn to drive manuel because right now I am the equivalent to an old man. That doesn't matter because all old men here have Mercedes so I'll be an old man with my Mercedes.

Fat American is Fat

This week I was the fat American. It all started on Tuesday; there was a line in the deli, so we went to the fast food place. I had currywurst, which is one of my favorite foods. When I got home Petra had made a couple cakes for coffee with her friends. She also had to show off her American, and when you sit even remotely close to a platter with food on it, and Petra is near, you will eat till you have three chins. My dinner that night was cake. I have eaten Mcdonalds once a week since I got here, it is the only place open at 2 in the morning. I always wondered why my food cost less then everyone else. I realized that I never ordered Ketchup or Mayo, which is an extra 40 cents. I tried mayo with fries and it is pretty gross, but ze Germans can't get enough of it. One thing I respect about Petra and Daniel, is that they don't keep "junk food" in the house. My host brothers go crazy when they get there hands on a bag of chips.

Everything has felt like home since the first week here, and that made me wonder, wheres my culture shock! As an American, I can never be blamed for my own problems. I am not sure who to put blame on, my German teacher for teaching so much about the German Culture, or The Germans for not giving me anything to gawk at. I did notice that I don't see my neighbors a lot. Its not like the U.S. where you are really close to your neighbors. Speaking of German teachers teaching things, I was never taught the future tense for verbs. That or I wasn't paying attention. Actually Germans do not use the verb Werden or add   -te to the end of words to make them past tense. Petra said it is how they can see who is actually from Germany and who isn't. This week was Fritz's week to learn the future tense in English and I am so glad I was born in an English speaking country.

People who don't speak English tho, are my Physics Teacher, who looks like my dad, and the Polish cleaning lady that comes every Friday. I haven't practiced my Polish with her yet, but I think if I did she wouldn't clean my room. The kids here love the American slang I have been teaching them. American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem is the soundtrack of this week, that or Welcome to St. Tropez by Dj. Antoine. I miss my altrock but I do have Sirius XM to fix that. I am learning to love house music because that always synonymous with a good time. Black Musik is a thing here, I am not sure what it is.

I never talk about my weekends, and you can probably guess why, but this weekend had to be one of the best parties so far in my exchange. It was a Brezel Party in Ahaus, which translate to a Pretzel Party but there were no Pretzels at this party. Someone took a warehouse and turned it into a disco. Thanks to the party, I know have a bruise on my cheek that makes me look like Will Smith after eating shellfish in Hitch. Its funny too, how the kids at my school are two different people. During school they are quiet and hate life but at night they let their freak flag fly. Next week tho, is Halloween in Index so I have big expectations for that one.

Forgot there was a recession in the U.S. still. Germany is like the U.S. 2000. Everyone has a job, they are happy, and they spend! I know that word is crazy spending, that is bad right? People in Europe work to live, and the people in the U.S.A. live to work. There is a new addition to the family this week. Petra wanted an Ipad, so Daniel bought a cheap tablet knock off, but Petra wasn't going to have any of that and she went out and bought herself a new Ipad. She wouldn't believe me when I said they didn't come in pink. She also wouldn't wait for the Ipad 3 in Janurary.

And finally, I must be doing something right because my 1:00 curfew has been lifted and It doesn't matter when I come home, I just can't ride home by myself. Fair deal, they really had to break my arm for that one. I also got an house key so I can't be that crazy. Really, I locked myself out of the house a few times.

I Need a Fucking Venti!

I am officially over my Coffee withdrawals because I started drinking it again, But ALL Coffee in Europe is served in tiny Cups! When I want Coffee I want in something anywhere from 18-32 oz. Anyone want to ship me one of the Bubba Kegs™so I take it into one of the Bakeries and show them what Coffee should come in. On a side note, The Coffee here is good, but I still love my D&D better.

In good news, I am finally an honorary Marpert! Except for the fact, I can not say their Name right. America is the only Country I now of that uses the hard "R" sound. The "R" here sounds like "air" and I can not get use to say "air". My friend Marleen and I spent at least five Minutes trying to get me to say her Name right. I just call her Marley. It is funny I spent so many Years perfecting the "R" that now I will come back saying "air" and sound like I am from the east Coast again.

I had to bake a Cake this week because I was late to Physic. In my Defense, I was talking to the spanish Teacher... in German. I tried to make Apple Bars from a Website that a certain Child Catering Service uses. It did not turn out so good; I mean everything tasted good but the Bars were only about a 1/4 Inch tall. Petra and Daniel like to cook, and they are really good at it. However, They don't have a pan close to a 9" by 13" so I use this thing I found in the oven and that is close to 12" by 18".

Food safety has never made its way to Germany. Petra and Daniel leave Pans and Pots of Food out on the Counter or in the Oven for a Day or two. I am surprised I haven't gotten sick. Petra and I were talking about Nutrition and Diets this week. She was shocked when I told that the American Diet is 2,000 to 2,300 Calories each day (hopefully), but most People can not do that and its really like 3,000. Petra has a 1,500 calorie Diet. She said that most People in Europe eat between 1,500 and 2,000 Calories each Day. America needs a Fat Tax like Denmark but stricter. For Example, if someone 250 or bigger tries to buy Something put an extra 4 cent tax on Them. We could make a so much Money that way, and to get rid of it simply loose Weight. Its a win, win Situation.

HP owes me Money for all the Time I have helped Someone with an HP Computer. A couple Weeks ago, I helped Petra delete her Facebook and ever since I have been helping her with Computer problems. It isn't as easy as back in the States because Everything is in German. I still haven't gotten use to the Idea of wearing a Jacket. I am so use of going from Car to Building and not needing a Winter Jacket that I am freezing all the Time. I made the smart Idea yesterday of only wearing a sweatshirt yesterday, when we went for a Midnight Mcdonalds run. It was only 35 degrees.

My German Tutor is a bigger Tree Killer than Frau. I get at least 20+ Sheets of Paper every Saturday. The class is a funny bunch of People. We all speak different native Languages. Russian and Turkish are the Majority. I am surpised that there are two German-Africans in the Class (I am not sure where they are from.) The Italian Guy is named Tony and I laughed. I made my first German mistake this week too. One of the ladies asked for a cup from the Bakery for Coffee they were brewing in the Classroom, but I didn't understand. I got a Cup with Coffee in it. When I got back she showed me the coffee machine on the floor.

I helped Albert get an 1 on his English Test. His English is pretty good, although we need to work on the "TH". I see Planes way up in the Sky but I have never actually heard one, and that is weird but nice. There are a lot of military Jets that fly over my house tho. It always makes me think World War III has started because you know its going to happen soon enough. This Week has been awesome because the Other Kids have had Exams so I have had those Periods off. Monday I went to School from 11-3:15, Wednesday 1:45-3:15 (I was still late for school). Friday I only had Sport (11:25-1).

That's all for this week I think. Is the every Sunday Blog good or bad, What do you think?

spain is in my future

I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. My friends this week were talking about a trip to Spain during the Summer break. I don't think I will be able to go tho, because I have to come home sometime. I want to be able to stay till July 31 so I can have 11 months like everyone else. I think if I talked to Daniel and Petra, if the time comes, they would let me stay in the guest bedroom. There are seven bedrooms in this house so there is plenty of space.

The bag of Reeses is gone and I am sad, but German chocolate is better. Petra told me that they are new her new favorite chocolate. I am pretty sure she helped my finished the bag. While I am on the topic of food, seems to be in every blog, I tried German pizza. Tammy's is better of course. Yesterday I brought up Kraft Mac & Cheese; everyone was confused. Petra didn't know Kraft made cheese. I pulled to the Philadelphia Cream Cheese out the fridge to show her. I have not seen it in the grocery store so I think that it is not distributed in Germany.

I am still waiting to gain the foreign exchange 15, like everyone said they did. So far I have lost weight. I am not sure how much because I haven't found a scale, and I don't know the conversion from kilos to pounds. It has been a month and a week since my last haircut and that has to be some kind of record for me. It looks like a mess because I don't know how to style it. I should probably find a fine girl named brandy because i feel by Thanksgiving I will have a Joe Dirt sized mullet.

This week I spent a couple hours in the Borken immigration office to obtain a residents permit. The lady asked me if I wanted to stay for more than a year. I couldn't answer that because I don't know what I want to do. My German is getting better tho, Petra said after Berlin she was surprised how at how well I was speaking. She expects me to be close to fluent by the end of the month.

Everyone thinks that Germans are proud of Hasselhof and that they love him, but you have it all wrong. It is actually Dirk Nowitzki. I get asked at least once a week if I know who Dirk Nowitzki is. I am really glad I got the Sirius XM for my computer before I left because the only thing they listen to here is a mix station, (ranges from Katy Perry to The Cure), I hear the same song, Stay the Night by James Blunt, at least five times a day an it is driving me crazy. I also heard Billy Idol and C+C Music Factory yesterday which kind of made me laugh.

German is also the coldest country on the planet. Last night I spent the night laying of the Hearth of the fireplace watching Golden Eye. It is currently 54℉. I had to learn to use a radiator this week. When I said we that is isn't common to have on in the U.S. I got funny looks, both at school and at home. I tried to describe the furnace and vents but they didn't understand. Its like the idea of a thermostat for an entire house was crazy to them; it's either that or they thought we were extremely wasteful. My host dad couldn't believe that places in Texas didn't recycle. I told them they are the Bavaria of America and they don't represent all of America, it is just where our negative stereotypes come from and he got a kick out of that.

There is No Wall In Berlin!

I don't know where to begin, Berlin is easily one of my favorite cities. This trip gave me a chance to finally unpack my carry-on bag which was still 3/4 of the way filled with gifts and crap to give the future host families that I will never have. I arrived in Berlin on Friday night, and the train station was packed, I guess there was a soccer game or something. The train station has trains on the bottom, and top floor. It was crazy because there were so many things going on, and that's when I realized I am home. It felt like Chicago during rush hour. My Host brothers wanted to ride in a taxi, so we ended up taking a taxi to the hotel. Ever tried finding a taxi for 5 in Europe? It was at least a half hour wait because every car in Germany is a hatchback or only fits 5.

Berlin at night is one of the greatest things I have ever seen. It is hard to describe but all the different lights reflecting of the glass of the new buildings, and how everyone is still up doing tourist things. We stayed out till 10:30 every night. Then for dinner that night we got Mexican Food, it was either that or American food. There is nothing I do not want to eat more than anything else is American Food. Who ever comes up with the crap doesn't have a sense of taste. The American Restaurant was called The Sixites. It was themed as a sixties diner, and it looked like Uncle Sam took a patriot dump all over the inside. I was surprised by the number of people that packed the restaurant every day. Cancun was the Mexican restaurant, and It is pretty good for Europe. I got a Burrito so life was good.

The Hotel was really nice. It was a little wierd tho because it was located in a neighborhood (Alt-Marienplatz). It was bigger than a bed n' breakfast but not huge. The first night Albert saw the candy of the snack bar in the room and that was all he cared about the whole time. Ever heard of Knik Knaks? Lucky you! They are deep fried peanuts and have to be the worst thing for you in Germany. I didn't like them.

The First day went to Alexander Platz, The TV Tower, and West Berlin. Alexander Platz is really cool for about 20 minutes and then I got sick of all the people in the cluster fuck that was the Oktoberfest, or it could of been the people that kept asking me if I wanted to take a bus tour. By the way, we did end up taking a bus tour that was really cool. Petra made sure to get one that did German and English for me, and I was surprised I understood the German better. The TV Tower was pretty cool. One of my favorite things about is that no matter where you are in Berlin, you can usually see it. We went up to the top to see the city and that was pretty cool. We made sure to get Berlin Doener because Daniel said it's the best in Germany. I can not decide which part of Berlin I like better. They are so different. West Berlin was pretty cool. There was this store like Macy's in Downtown, Chicago. On the top floor was a food mart, that had everything, even people there to cook your food for you. It was also my fist time seeing a dog in a grocery store. We got some bread and then at it on the pedestrian zone while we watched some break dancers. West Berlin is the Michigan Avenue of Berlin, and all I heard the whole day is how awesome Niketown is. So we went shopping. Fritz got some Nike sweatpants that he still hasn't taken off since. Who ever told me the Germans never leave their house in sweat pants is wrong.

On Day 2 we went to the Olympic Stadium, The Sony Center, and The Dome on the Capital. In Berlin the subway is FREE! I could not believe it because we went so many places on it and never paid a dime.  It was also really clean, and they allowed dogs on the trains. The CTA needs to start using Berlin as an example. Every Subway station had a Dunkin Donuts and I was surprised I never got coffee once. The Olympic Stadium was really interesting. Daniel and I got the most from the trip. They showed us all of Hitler's clubrooms and places. I got to stand where stood to watch the games, I don't know if I should be proud of that. It was a little weird, but the view was great. Next we went to the Sony Center, one of Murphy/Jahn's greatest creations in my opinion. On the second or third day Petra and Daniel asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told them an Architect and that I wanted to work for Murphy/Jahn and that they designed the Sony Center and Dome on the capitol. Petra made sure we visited it. The Sony center is like the Hollywood of Berlin. The Capitol was interesting for anyone 16 and up because there was a guided tour through the spiral catwalk of the dome about the city. Albert and Fredreich were done in 20 minutes while the rest of us took an hour.

When we finished the tour Daniel realized that is wallet was missing and he thinks he left it when he was buying the kids food. Albert and Fritz never ate enough breakfast so the whole time we were walking around all we heard about was there hunger and Knik Knaks. After everything was taken care of, (all is good now, the cards were not used and he only had twenty dollars in the wallet.). We got some bread and cheese from the grocery store in the train station and ate it by the River Spree.

That night we went to Kreüzberg (HOI-st-berg). It is probably my favorite neighborhood in Berlin. Kreueberg was like Wicker Park but more diverse. There I found a small section of the wall that still stood, called the East Side Gallery. The buildings were all painted not only with graffiti but also artistically. It was combined with the freaks of Venice Beach, California. we decided to get Pakistani food for dinner. My vote was that or the Sudan food. Petra, Daniel, and I out voted Fritz who wanted Pizza. We got different types of curry and shared it. I got lamb, Albert got duck, and Petra for lentil. Lamb was my favorite, but the duck wasn't bad. Some of my favorite pictures came from Kreueberg.

And then the finally day we went to the Brandenburg Gate. This was the main thing I wanted to see out of the whole trip. The Sony Center was a pleasant surprise. The Gate, unfortunately, was closed do to the German Unity Family Carnival. We also say Check Point Charlie. That was interesting for about 5 minutes. As we were walking through the train station waiting to leave Daniel meet some friends from Altstaette, which is weird because Altstaette is only 2,000 people. Wolfsburg was a stop on the way home. It was not only a Nazi founded city but also the home to the VW factory and headquarters. That was cool to see. At the end of the day I took 614 photos of Berlin and my memory card was only have way filled! I love that city and want to go back so bad.

Was that long enough?  I decided to add a photo to prove I am not dead. For the record, I was dressed first that day, Petra is still making fun of us.

I am a German Citizen?

This week I decided to write down a list of things to talk about on the blog. I think I am going to keep doing that. It hasn't been a week, yet I decided to type a new blog post because I am leaving for Berlin Tomorrow and that deserves its own blog.
   

•  So the first topic, I got a letter today with my german social security number. Petra said it was good for my entire lifetime so I am not sure if that means I am a citizen or not. I am just going to say I am and be sadly disappointed later.
• Europe dresses like a funeral. "Black is forever modern, and white is so not" in the words of my host uncles girlfriend. White uses to be the modern color so a lot of older cars are white. Everyone wears Black, dark blue, or gray and it looks like a funeral. Everyones car is even a dark color.
• Europe is having a bit of a debt crisis, but I wouldn't know that because Germany is Europe's strongest economy and no one seems to be worried about the potential melt down in Greece. Speaking of not caring, I am going to Amsterdam during the fall break at the end of October! May be they trick or treat.
• Math is probably my best class besides English. I can actually do the homework and understand it. Math has always been an easy class for me. Mrs. Ivan sucked at teaching me math, but she did do a good job at teaching me how to use a TI-83 graphing calculator.
• All my friends are just starting driving school, and I am a little jealous because in Germany everyone must start out on a stick shift. I know I would prefer an automatic because it makes life easier, but I want to know how to drive stick. My friend Steffen thinks the BMW X5 is too big to park; I didn't tell him I drive a dodge ram. He thinks the X1 is the prefect sized SUV, that might be true but it doesn't look as good as an X5.
• And finally, I managed to make it all the way to Europe with a mixed matched pair of socks. In my defense, they were both black pumas with gray writing. My phone can write not only in English but also in German and Russian. The more and more I see Russian in my school, I kind of wish I took the class.

Check back tuesday or wednesday next week for the Berlin blog. Can you believe I finished my english paper before I left for the weekend instead of waiting for late monday like usual. Germany your changing me and I don't like it. Happy German Unity Day Everyone! (October 3rd)

German Homecoming

It has been a busy couples weeks. I just noticed that I haven't blogged since September 11th. I need to get better at this. There's no homecoming in Germany, but last night my senior class held a party at on of the clubs in Ahaus. It was pretty much everything you could imagine, and the best part is that today (September 24th) I had my first german class at 9:30. I finally got a cellphone and can't believe that I went that long with out one. It sucks that sprint doesn't use SIM-Cards. I ended up buying this cheap samsung. I can't figure out how to use aldi-talk because the website is in German. I tried white bratwurst, not sure what it is but taste pretty good. Petra is convinced I don't eat enough so I am going to turn into the fat, German exchange kid on the simpsons. Headed to Berlin Friday! I am not sure what the plans are, but I know I want a piece of the wall. I think I ran out of things to say except for I am glad I come from Irish/Polish family, although everyday I wish I was German.

Just an Update

I started school last wednesday. I already now I love german school more than american school. I have three or four classes a day and plenty of breaks. Yelitza (the eduacdorian inbound) and I have all of our classes together expect one. My classes are English, Spanish, German, Physics (because I loved it so much), biology, geography, math, gym, computers, and art. I think my favorite class is bio because the teacher is cool. I never thought spanish would be my easy class, haven't been to english yet. None of my teachers knew I was an exchange student till I said my name was Sikorski. German kids aren't as shy as everyone said they would be. I have had no problem making friends. Friday I had my first rotary get to gather thing and It started out with a mimosas and ended with a german mimosas (sprite and beer). Saturday we had our first inbound meeting and that was pretty cool. The Latin American kids either think I am from Latin America or can speak spanish fluently because they kept speaking to me in spanish but the other white kids in english, and It could of been that I was with Yeli. Then Saturday night I went to the Kermis in Ahaus which is just a Lindenfest, but better the rides were crazier and the food was better. I tried currywurst which was one of the best things ever. It is pretty much just a brat smothered in curry ketchup, (oh yeahs that is really popular in Germany). Then on Sunday Opa turned 69 so went to his house to celebrate. You will never go thirsty or hungry in Germany. On the way home we stopped for Doener which is the Gyros better cousin. It is definitely my new favorite food. Germans love Pink and Katy Perry with a little Lady Gaga thrown in because that is all the radio stations play. And finally, On September 30th I am going to Berlin with my host family. I also found out that I will be in the same house for a year, which is awesome because I love it here. Germany is great, food is Great, and Life is Great!

Germany

Germany has to be coldest country ever. I wore a winter coat to school today. It also rains everyday. Did you know its illegal to ride a bike with an umbrella? Yeah, neither did this kid on my way to school today. German school is good and I love all the breaks in my day. Yeli and I have been trying to find the Mcdonalds in Ahaus because there's a sign saying its right my school. I kind of want to try a german big mac. There french fries here are better, but I haven't tried Mcdonalds yet. Its going to be a long winter

European mindset

I love Germany and I am having a great time but as I notice people around town I realized that europe may skinner than america but no by much. they aren't all size 2 with blond hair and blue eyes. I think the world as a whole is getting fatter and the US is just first because we developed faster and the everyone else is just catching up.

4 Days

Its been 4 Days and I never want to go back to the U.S. Deutschland is perfekt. The flight was long and Sammie slept on my shoulder the whole time. My first day in Germany, I changed plans in a airport I did not know how to navigate, and when I got to my gate they sent me down a flight of stairs and through some weird hallways outside to a bus. I thought I left the airport, but instead they drove us around the terminal to the plane, it was a little weird. Then a hippy couple with the worlds smelliest dreadlocks sat next to me on the Frankfurt-Dusseldorf flight. When we finally landed in Dusseldorf there were five of us and we were confronted with at least 75 people in the airport. On the drive to the house I learned that no one uses turn signals or talks on the phone and on the Autobahn if a faster car is coming up behind you, you simply move over for them. Then Friday I visited my school with Petra, and then we went for gelato and explored Ahaus, it is like lindenhurst but nicer. We saw the town castle, it was cool. Then on Saturday I went to a baptistism. their family is almost as big as mine. I met Andrea and David Marpert there. They are a couple of big shots, Andrea owns her own buisness. I an going to visit them next month, they live near Berlin and Sunday I went to the Netherland, Summerfest and cooked dinner with the family. Long enough?

Trying to get paid for this

I have spent the past week or so trying to get paid to write on here. The coolest place I have applied for was Q101. I tried Google Adsense but we weren't working out. Q101 hasn't responded yet, so I don't know what to do. I never realized that whoring yourself out on the internet could be this hard.

Chicago

I have lived in the same house my entire life. I have become so familiar with my surroundings and I am realizing know how connected I am with this city. One of the things I am going to miss is hoping on Metra and taking a trip to the city. I feel lately I have been doing that more than any other time in my past. I have memorized the train schedule, the streets, and even the names of buildings. To think that I am going to start fresh in a new town and not know anything is a little intimidating but I learn fast so I will master it in no time. Its going to be hard tho to try to explain to other people exactly what I remember about Chicago. Its a city everyone should experience for themselves. Chicago is home and I'm starting to realize everything I'm going to miss...

The First Post

I come from the typical American Family, a mom and a Dad, two kids and a dog, and I needed a change so that is why I am leaving for Germany. I will be in Germany from the end of August to the Middle of July, eleven months, and during that time I will keeping this blog so that I can keep you updated on the highs and lows and the other adventures along the way. My German Family will have 3 kids and no dog, and I am moving to the middle of no where but thankfully the Netherlands are just five minutes away. This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can not wait for a change from my normal routine. Follow my blog and you may even learn a recipe or two along the way because I plan to eat my way threw Germany.