making friends is hard...in ein andere Sprache...

Im on my exchange trip in Belrin now, and I just finished my second week of school. And Im frustrated with how long making friends has to be. Ive been in Berlin for now a month, and Im tired of sitting home on Fridays doing nothing, or at most, something with my host fmaily. I mean, theyre cool, but Im such a lively cool city, and I want to EXPERIENCE it. but I cant go out on my own, thats boring, not to mention my hsot parnets would probably be weird about it. Its mostly hard to make friends thouhg, because, well, im not FLUENT in german yet, and so I cant really START conversations, I can only contribute to them, so to say. So I feel like Im boring, and that others arent getting a good idea of who I am, Im just "that exchange studnet." I mean dont ge tme wrong, everyone in my school is really nice, and helps me whne I dont undersatnd the German, but theres that difference between acquantainces and friends, and its a difference Ive realized before, Ive been new to a school many times inmy life, but its just frustrating at the beginning. Its frustrating feelign liek your not hanging with epople youd wish to be with, or not witht he epople you think you feel comgfrtoable with, and also not being close enough to anyone yet to invite them to do something with you, or for them to invite you. And the whole language barrier is HARD. I mean, Im somewhat fluent conversation wise, but its different being in a school, and trying to understand lessons in another language, and then afterwards have the energy to be outgoing and try to start converstaions and meet otehrs and everything.

I mean, Im loving this whole experience, but I think Im entering the part of "cultural adjustment" as they call it, where Im starting to feel homesick and restless and frustrated with the language. i can speak it good, as i said, but im at that point between great speaking and udnerstanding, and fluency. and fluency is mroe of somethjing that takes time to build, but then one day literally seems to just start. hoepfully within a month ill be there.

and that was my rant as Im bored home again on a Friday night.

gr.
cheers and love,
dylan

 

try growin ah hitler mustasch, an see who salutez!

 

why didnt I think of that sooner!

 

Well, I can definitely say I'm jealous I want so bad to be a foreign exchange student, but all the money you have to pay for it is crap.

You'll probably eventually find some cool people, even though the language barrier must be so weird and frustrating. Well, have fun while you're there. Gute nacht!

 

apply for the congressbundestag scholarship, its a fullscholarship that pays for you to go to germany- thats how I got here! theres no way i coulda gotten the 9000 dollars it takes to get to germany thorugh AFS (the exchange organization).
yeah, its awesome, im loving my time here. but im also just frustrated a bit now iwth the remains of the lanugage barrier. hopefully itll fade away soon enough.
cheers and love,
dylan