Zeta member Kailey Kumm is currently enjoying a semester in Germany. Luckily, she has plenty of social media options to keep in touch with all of us. Here's what Kailey has to say about her trip so far:
What does one do while studying abroad in Berlin, Germany, you may ask? Two words: Haagen Dazs. OK, OK, so ice-cream consumption isn't the only thing I do, but I must admit that it is indeed high on my priority list. Here's the scoop on a typical day in Berlin: I wake up around 7AM and get ready for school, catch breakfast (always toast with copious amounts of Nutella... I mean, I am in Germany), and then I go to my tram stop. I catch my tram, and, if I'm lucky, get a seat. Then, I wait fifteen minutes on the tram until I hear a prerecorded sound clip play, 'Oranienburger Tor.' A few minutes of walking later I arrive at school.
Studying German grammar, for anyone unfamiliar, is comparable to clipping your toenails, or counting ceiling tiles, as in it's super boring... but necessary, if you want to learn German! I have this theory that Germans get their reputation/stereotype for being 'angry' because they might just be thinking of how to conjugate an irregular verb in second-person formal Subjunktiv II, or some other similarly infuriating grammatical conundrum of the German language. My schedule naturally varies from day to day, but I'm finished with classes by 2:30 every day excluding Monday and Wednesday, at which point I have my UNL-Faculty-led German culture and history class (also taught in German). I have two or three regular rotating teachers, but my favorite by far is Wolfgang (and yeah, his name is ACTUALLY Wolfgang. Awesome, right?) Post-school hours I sometimes go with my friends to Alexanderplatz, at which there is a mall and other fun things, and then other times I just go home to my guest family.
My guest family is pretty cool-- lots of students live with older retired people, but I live with a family with two young daughters-- ages 5 and 11. I've taken to watching movies with the girls, because 1) kids movies are a great way to learn a language, and 2) who doesn't want to watch Beauty and the Beast in German? Also, the Princess and the Frog, Frozen, and Aladdin (Sidenote: Aladdin is the only title that doesn't change to a German title, e.g. Die Schöne und das Biest, Die Eiskonigen, etc.). I also frequently build block castles and braid Barbie dolls' hair because, hey, it's fun, and it's also difficult to come up with a reason not to when my five-year-old host sister has her heart set on playing with me.
I've seen lots of castles and statues and palaces and so on and so forth, and while they're all super cool, what I enjoy most is meeting new people and discovering the lesser-known but all-the-same cool places in Berlin. It's not all easy, though, being away... but when I do feel homesick, it's comforting to know I always have my family, friends, and AOII sisters to reach out to-- whether through a Snapchat, Facetime conversation, amusing Facebook post, or even snail mail, it all makes the transition to a new place and new language easier. I leave you now with a picture of me and my new friend, Augustus Something-or-other, who clearly needed some attention, and another picture showing the despair I have felt at every museum I've ever been to, since no one's allowed to touch anything. I miss you all bunches! Ganz liebe Grüße!ALFA, Kailey
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