Monday 13 September 2010

First week!


Ich bin in Deutschland.
I got here last Sunday (September 5th). I left on Saturday, and in the airport I met a boy also from Mexico who was going on the same flight as me so we started talking and he told me he was going to a town near Hamburg, so totally on the other side of Germany I was going to. We waitied until we had to enter the gate to get to our plane. That was the hardest part. Like I've said before, I HATE goodbyes, but I had to do it. So we took some pictures of the family before I left, and then we said goodbye. I cried so much, I didn't want to leave anymore. I was really nervous of what was ahead of me. A year abroad, without my family and without everything I've ever known was going to be hard! But it was too late to think about it and choosing another direction so I just walked into the gate and smiled even if I didn't feel happy, but sad and nervous. So I waited for Angel (the boy going to Hamburg) and then we started walking to our gate.
We were halfway to it when we heard: "Passengers of the flight 499 to Frankfurt: this is the last call to board the plane." or something like that so we started running until we got to the gate. It sucked because I was going to buy a book to read on the plane and didn't have enough time. Unfortunately Angel and I weren't sitting anywhere near to each other so we just walked to our places and sat. My handbag didn't fit in the compartment, so a man who was sitting next to me helped me out with it. Then I realized that there weren't on-seat screens or whatever they're called so I couldn't watch the movie I wanted to watch either. We watched some Donald Duck and Pluto cartoons, Two and a half men, and two movies I didn't watch. I listened to music, read a flight magazine and slept. So yeah, pretty much it was a boring flight! :/
When we got to Frankfurt I couldn't believe that I was in Germany! We had from the plane a really nice view, so it was great. Then, the same man who helped me with my handbag also helped me out with the migration line, because I didn't know if it was the correct one. Then I had to go to my gate to get the connection to Munich so I started walking really fast because I didn't have a watch and there wasn't a single clock in the airport and I didn't know if I was late or not. On my way to the gate I saw Angel again waiting for his plane so I went and said goodbye and wished him good luck and left.
Then I finally got to my gate and sat because I still had about 20 minutes to board, and it was really funny because I was sitting in front of a couple, and when they saw I was wearing a Rotary blazer they started talking to me and told me they were Rotarians from Finland and started asking me about exchange and where I was going to, etc. Then I boarded the plane and said goodbye to the couple, and when I was on the plane and saw that everybody was speaking German and no Spanish, I finally realized that I wasn't in Mexico anymore. It was a bit sad but I was still too nervous about getting there that I forgot. Then in what seemed like 15 minutes (but obviously were a lot more) I got to Munich!
We got off the plane, I took all my luggage and got out and finally saw my host family! There were Susan (host mom), Julia (host sister), Werner (Susan's boyfriend), and Flo (Julia's boyfriend). They were holding a big cardboard that said "Herzlich Willkommen Alejandra" and I was really excited! I said hello and we got to the car and they drove me to their apartment in Dachau. Everything was so beautiful!

They showed me around the apartment and I called my family to tell them I was fine and already in the apartment. Then we were going to have dinner, and Caro (the exchange student from Ecuador that my host family hosted 3 years ago) came with her mother who was on vacation here in Germany but I was jetlagged and felt dizzy and tired so I didn't eat and went directly to bed. I woke up about 2 hours later and I opened my suitcase because I was going to take a shower and found inside a collage with pictures of my family! I instantly started crying and feeling miserable and kept asking myself what the hell was I doing here! Then I took a shower and went to bed again because I was really tired!

Next day I woke up and had breakfast with Flo and then he left to work and I was alone because everybody was working and I started feeling once again really homesick and I wanted to get into the first plane to Mexico. Then at about 2 PM Julia came from work and we started talking and I felt better, and then we went to the airport to leave Caro's mom who was going back to Ecuador, so it was nice to go out and forget about homesickness.

Nothing really important happened the next days, only that I felt really homesick sometimes and sometimes I was just fine. On Wednesday, I met Julia, another exchange student in Dachau who's from Brazil. Then Thursday was just a normal day and at night I had dinner with Susan and Werner, and it was reaally good! I was really happy that day and thought that maybe it won't be too hard this year.

On Friday I met with Julia (exchange student) and Erich, the other exchange student in Dachau from the US, and we went to the Altstadt (Old town) and the Schloss (castle) and we took a lot of pictures. It was really beautiful! Then we ate lunch in a cafe in the Altstadt and I ate some Wurstbrot (bread with salami).

Schloss in Dachau

Then on the evening I went with Julia (host sister) to Vierkirchen to some kind of reunion or something, and we ate and it was nice and fun! Even if I didn't understand a single word haha. But we had to leave early because the next day I was having my welcome orientation and we had to wake up early.

On Saturday we left at 6:45 AM to the Bahnhof (train station). Julia (host sister) took us (Brazilian Julia, Erich and me) to Munich because there we were going to take a train to Günzburg to our orientation. At about 7:30 we boarded our train that was making just one stop in Augsburg and then we were going to get to Günzburg, but when the man came to check our tickets he told us that we had gotten into the wrong train because that was an Intercity train and we had Bayernticket. So we got out in Augsburg and were told to go to Platform 3 to get the train to Günzburg, so we did that and then we waited to get there, but as the time passed we didn't arrive, so we asked if we were going to Günzburg and they told us that we were going in the opposite direction and that we needed to get out in Treuchtlingen and take there a train to Donauwörth and then after 5 mniutes or so we should take a train to Günzburg. So we got out in Treuchtlingen really upset about getting into the wrong train twice in a row and waited for the train to Donauwörth. But since luck was not on our side that day, the train to Donauwörth was 15 minutes late! So by the time we were in Donauwörth the train to Günzburg had already left, and we had to wait for another hour to get our train. By then it was already 11:04 AM and the orientation had started at 11:00. We got to Günzburg at about 12 or something and there was a Rotex waiting for us and she drove us to the place where the orientation was.

Sign saying that we were in Treuchtlingen.

When we entered there was like a play or something about the rules we have to follow while on exchange but I won't go into details because I arrived at the end of the play. Then they divided us into language groups and I met the people from Mexico and Chile and it felt really good to speak Spanish again! Eveni f it had only been one week. We made like a cardboard with the rules and we just went out and talked with each other for like 3 hours and had lunch. Then we presented our cardboards and then it was over. But some of us stayed and exchanged pins and it was fun.

Back in Dachau I went with Julia (host sister) to a volleyball game and then we went back home and I skyped with my family.

And well that was my week.. I'm really sorry I hadn't updated yet but I was very lazy to be honest :S... sorry and I'll tell about the 2nd weekend in the next post!


Saturday 4 September 2010

Tschüß Mexiko!

I'm sorry I haven't wrote too much but I've been either too busy or too lazy to write. Anyway this is just a quick post. My last in Mexico actually, because I'm LEAVING TODAY!

Yes I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour and then I'm off to Deutschland! Wish me luck because I'm really nervous! And sad. I'm toooo sad about leaving. Yesterday I had my goodbye party with my family and closest friends, and when everyone was leaving I cried too much. So much that when I woke up today I had still puffy eyes :(

I can't even imagine how's it gonna be when I say goodbye to my parents.

Anyway I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving and starting this adventure!
Next post I write I'll be in Germany! I hope I can write when I get there but I can't promise anything since I'm not taking a laptop.

Until then,
Tschüß!