So I have been at school for four days, and enough has happened for four posts. But, I admit, that I have greatly neglected to fill in people about what is going on with me. I think that my fellow exchange students understand that the little time you have to maybe write a post is devoted to sleep! So, even though this post will be long, it won’t be dreary (like the weather outside).
I began school on Monday, and when I said I wouldn’t be nervous, I was lying. I was full of nerves, and a little part of my regretted coming on exchange. This changed by the time I had gotten to school, but I had to ride the bus the first day, something I have never really been comfortable with. After Sabine had finally let me leave the house, I scurried to the bus stop and waited until I boarded the Heigel bus.
I probably should have paid more attention to which bus I was boarding, because the day I made the grave mistake of taking the wrong bus. I was plummeted into a town at least 40 minutes away from JNG in Rohr. I quickly became panicked and didn’t know what to do. Luckily, I cleared my head and gathered my feelings and was able to formulate a strategic plan. Once the bus arrived at the Realschule, I went up to the bus driver and explained my predicament. This proved to be more difficult than I expected because the driver knew little to no English. I did manage to catch a “sheiße“when he turned the bus around to take to my actual destination. I guess it was a good experience to have because I learned how to remain calm, and more importantly – the right bus to take. But try to tell this to me while it was actually happening!
When people talk about not being able to make friends at a new school I am really confused. On the first day I had a handful of friends, and by the end of the week my Facebook had become crowded by people attending JNG. I am pretty sure that people here like me for me, and not just because I am something new and foreign. I don’t even want to start talking about the guys here! Not only would I begin a perpetual rant, but it risks some things. I don’t know what, but it does. What I have to share is: the men in Germany are more chivalrous than in America. I am not accustomed to being around such good mannered men! Not that I am complaining J
I am in a class full of Catholics… and by full of Catholics, I mean that every single person is Catholic. This pretty much goes for all the inhabitants of Regensburg and the surrounding areas. But the religious persons here are in stark contrast of the Americans I have met. Religion is never spoken of, except in Church, and no one seems to mind that I am nonreligious. They respect my ideals, just as I do theirs.
I have already been in three churches and attended a mass, but there are many more to come. At the start of the school year all the students of the JNG Rohr are hoarded into the church to pray for a good year. When I heard about this I wasn’t amused (that was a Dr. Who reference to Lenna and Garrett) and didn’t look forward to sitting in a church for who-knows-how-many boring hours. This was not the case, however. The beauty inside the church was indescribably beautiful. The walls were painted eloquently and large statues and towers hovered above my head. Light flooded in through the stained-glass windows and cascaded over the grand hall, so large that the voices echoed.
So the first of school is over and asides from the unfortunate bus situation, I really enjoyed it. But school is school, and I don’t like having to get up early and stare at the wall for five hours a day because I don’t understand what’s going on. I pray that the German comes quickly!
P.S. I don’t have pictures because I am containing my low profile. And taking a camera to school doesn’t help this cause.
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