What time do you wake up every morning? Are you one of those people who magically manages to sleep past 7 or even 8? Are you one of the loathsome few who, with a smirk can say "I slept for 10 hours last night."?
For the longest time that was me. I would go to sleep at 9 or 10 PM and wake up at 7 or 7:15. I would leave the house at 7:35 and be at school on-time at 7:45. And yes, I was always incessantly chipper because sleep does that to you. Sleep makes the world shine... really!
Being the well-rested and well-prepared collegiate that I was I could never understand when one of my peers would doze off in class. Between the importance of not missing out on the knowledge of the day and not disrespecting our teachers -- who after all, work at least as hard as we do -- I couldn't fathom putting my head down and catching some zzz's. Nor could I fathom dreadful commute that many of me peers undertook every morning. They would say "imagine waking up at 5:30 eating breakfast on the road, not brushing your teeth and catching 3 busses with a schedule that is like a crazy ex-partner (totally unpredictable)." I tried and succeeded, but only in an impalpable way. You can't imagine the invisible weight until you have experienced it day-after-day. Suffice to say, if you can't imagine disrespecting your teachers and disregarding the contents of the school day you have slept enough.
The idea for this post came, not unsurprisingly, after I had begun to experience a real commute. As I mentioned earlier, for the longest time I had a dream-like commute. I would drive to school with little to no traffic and have a free parking spot waiting for me... Life was good. Now that I am in Germany -- Kleinmachnow to be specific -- I wake up every morning at around 6, leave the house at 6:50 and catch two busses and a tram to get to school by 7:45. It must be said that this is barely comparable to the commute some of my peers from Baltimore; at least the busses and trains run on time. Nonetheless, I can now sympathize with you. I can now fathom what it was you went through.
I am so happy to be where I am and to be doing what I am doing that I don't mind the nearly three hours I spend every day commuting from Kleinmachnow to Potsdam to Berlin (for German lessons) and back to Kleinmachnow. I am so happy that I have had even easier commutes up to this point and I am filled with so much respect for people throughout the world -- but especially in Baltimore, and in other cities with despicable public transportation -- who every day roll out of bed too early and roll back in too late. I am truly blessed. Life is still so good and I hope it is good for all of you out there too.
Peace and Love and German,
Harry
P.S. Mom, I will post some photos soon.
P.P.S. If you have a rough commute or would like to share anything please feel free to comment below.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
I speak Math, not Deustch
Hello world. This is my second-ever blogpost.
Three days ago I had my first day of school at the esteemed Humboldt Gymnasium and, of course, having studied German for a few weeks on my computer, I understood almost nothing. It was great though, I met lots of new people and everyone was friendly and welcoming. This was surprising to me, and would be surprising to anyone in my situation, who for months had know they would be spending a year in Germany and for months had been told by Germans and non-Germans alike, that the people may not be the friendliest. Regardless of the warm welcome I received, my German skills limited me from having any serious conversations or participating fully in class. However -- I am a confident, or at least happy-go-lucky type with an optimistic view on things -- I thought that math class would be different.
I have taken math courses at an advanced level since I was in middle school (or the beginning of secondary school for my European friends) and I was confident that if all else failed, I would be able to shine in math class. So when my new peers informed me that there would be a test I was excited with -- dare I say preoccupied by -- the idea of being able to outshine my new classmates. My excitement was double when I glanced at someones notes and saw algebra two work that I was capable of doing in the 9th grade.
Now I must pause here and say that my intent is not to, in anyway, diminish the quality of the German education system. Nothing is better or worse, it is different. The German way of life, as far as I can tell from my 6 days here, is wonderful and exemplary in many ways. And they kick our butts in soccer/ fußball.
I was prepared to ace this test (like I have been doing on tests for many years) and impress my new teacher and classmates. But a magic thing happens when you don't practice math for 4 months. Suffice to say I did not ace the test. And it is not the mark on the test that I want my readers to note, it is the massive amount of frustration this caused me because -- I assure you I know how to do this math and given just 5 minutes with someone who speaks good english I could have killed it -- part of my identity for so long has relied on my academic proficiency. Or at least my math proficiency.
So what am I to take from this? Am I not as good at math as I have for so long believed? No absolutely not, I had this same thought with IB Higher level math (please humor me and look up hitler takes IB HL math or perhaps any of the many memes about it or ask anyone who has taken it) and I passed...
Skipping all the rhetorical questions this is what I take from it: I'm in a new country with new customs and new people and my self-identity will be challenged, it will me broken down and formed again and I will be better for it. Until I can look back on this experience like I can now look back on IB HL math, I will be frustrated, I will be angry, I will be sad -- I will also be happy no! I will be exuberant when I win small battles -- and I will keep working as hard as I did on HL math. In conclusion, it is the challenge, failures and successes that make this opportunity great and once I have completed them I will be better for it. Who cares if I bomb one lousy test?
Three days ago I had my first day of school at the esteemed Humboldt Gymnasium and, of course, having studied German for a few weeks on my computer, I understood almost nothing. It was great though, I met lots of new people and everyone was friendly and welcoming. This was surprising to me, and would be surprising to anyone in my situation, who for months had know they would be spending a year in Germany and for months had been told by Germans and non-Germans alike, that the people may not be the friendliest. Regardless of the warm welcome I received, my German skills limited me from having any serious conversations or participating fully in class. However -- I am a confident, or at least happy-go-lucky type with an optimistic view on things -- I thought that math class would be different.
I have taken math courses at an advanced level since I was in middle school (or the beginning of secondary school for my European friends) and I was confident that if all else failed, I would be able to shine in math class. So when my new peers informed me that there would be a test I was excited with -- dare I say preoccupied by -- the idea of being able to outshine my new classmates. My excitement was double when I glanced at someones notes and saw algebra two work that I was capable of doing in the 9th grade.
Now I must pause here and say that my intent is not to, in anyway, diminish the quality of the German education system. Nothing is better or worse, it is different. The German way of life, as far as I can tell from my 6 days here, is wonderful and exemplary in many ways. And they kick our butts in soccer/ fußball.
I was prepared to ace this test (like I have been doing on tests for many years) and impress my new teacher and classmates. But a magic thing happens when you don't practice math for 4 months. Suffice to say I did not ace the test. And it is not the mark on the test that I want my readers to note, it is the massive amount of frustration this caused me because -- I assure you I know how to do this math and given just 5 minutes with someone who speaks good english I could have killed it -- part of my identity for so long has relied on my academic proficiency. Or at least my math proficiency.
So what am I to take from this? Am I not as good at math as I have for so long believed? No absolutely not, I had this same thought with IB Higher level math (please humor me and look up hitler takes IB HL math or perhaps any of the many memes about it or ask anyone who has taken it) and I passed...
Skipping all the rhetorical questions this is what I take from it: I'm in a new country with new customs and new people and my self-identity will be challenged, it will me broken down and formed again and I will be better for it. Until I can look back on this experience like I can now look back on IB HL math, I will be frustrated, I will be angry, I will be sad -- I will also be happy no! I will be exuberant when I win small battles -- and I will keep working as hard as I did on HL math. In conclusion, it is the challenge, failures and successes that make this opportunity great and once I have completed them I will be better for it. Who cares if I bomb one lousy test?
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Goodbye Baltimore
Having left Baltimore tuesday, I arrived at the airport hotel. I am going to be in Germany to for 10 months. This is real. It is really real. This is what I have wanted for about two years. I have known the program, applied twice and was accepted once. This program, but more so what it entails, has become a central part of my identity. I am going to... well, i'm not sure. And that is part of the adventure. I won't be alone in this adventure, but my hand will be not be held. I want many things from this experience but I will talk to you about that later. I will talk to you about my activities observations goals and progress.
Wish me luck and until next time.
BTW the guy in the photo is one of my best friends Simon Miller.
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