Achtung! (Watch Out!)

LANGUAGE:

while here in Germany i realize that i should`ve studied up on my German better. i don`t even own a phrase book or dictionary. i am grateful that our friends here speak very good English and so i am able to converse easily and they help to translate when talking with others. i am trying to learn a few words and phrases though, and am trying my best to speak the language when i can (at least to say Guten Tag "good day" and Danke "thank you" and Bitte "you`re welcome" and Tschüss "cheers") to shop owners and those i meet.

FOOD:

i have been enjoying the food here so far. but i must preface by saying that i have learned that my friends dont eat like typical Germans and i am thoroughly enjoying the cuisine here. they have done a lot of traveling around Europe and the Mediterranean and enjoy the foods of other countries, so they incorporate many types of foods into what they like to eat at home. they shop at Halal butchers and grocers. so i have not only had traditional German foods (potatoes, beef, cabbage, cakes, coffee, cheeses, breads, meats, apple wines and beers) but i have also enjoyed meals of Turkish (arabic) traditions (much like one would eat at a muslim kabob shop in the UK)...curries and spices on meats, couscous, kafka, flatbreads, etc. i am really loving this!

LIVING IN GERMANY:

im very glad that ive been able to stay in a German home while im here. it has given me a good feel for what life is like in Germany for a typical middle class family today. ive been learning about some of the differences and some similarities between our countries. my friends have told me that things are changing with this generation....but mostly people still learn the old traditional ways of doing things (like cooking and sewing and making homemade things)...in fact they prefer to have home cooked meals (making everything from scratch) and they teach their children the old ways too. both of my friends work. Germany´s school system trains the individual for very specific lines of work (the childs parents help to choose which type of "tract" the child will study in...so once the person graduates from whatever "tract" theyre on, they get a job in that field and stay in the same type of job all of their life. also, in elementary school, children have religion classes and also English classes. there are only 2 types of Christian churches (Catholic or Protestant) and depending upon which tradition a family comes from...then they have only one church to attend (the Protestant or Catholic parish in their neighborhood). my one friend works in the courthouse sentencing juvenile offenders. the other friend is a computer programmer. they also told me that they only know one or two of their friends who are divorced. it is very difficult to get a divorce here.

OTHER THINGS:

people here seem to be very friendly. everywhere we go they are very welcoming. they like to stop and talk. life here seems to be much more relaxed and layed back (especially contrasting to Paris!)
today we took a walk around the village of Bad Vilbel (the name of the town means Good Health...there are many hot springs around and the Romans had baths here). we enjoyed walking through the parks and even stopped to play in a childs playground and we also got some ice cream cones while we walked along. there is an ancient Roman castle in the center of town too.

over the next couple of days we will go into the big city of Frankfurt to look around and enjoy some art galleries. and on Friday we plan to take a boat trip up the Rhine River to see castles.