Less than my first 24 hours in Magdeburg and things have started off quite well. I got a fair amount of sleep on the train ride, sorted through some pictures, did a fair amount of gazing at the landscape (very flat), and got some tune jamming going. But the train stopped, and things got started.
As I got off the train with my bike and backpacks, let's just say I was easily noticeable. That's ok though, because the regional rep, and my host family easily found me! There I got to meet Sara (GiZ regional rep, Dietrich (Guest father/grandpa), and Uli (a friend of Dietrich's). From there, Dietrich and Uli took me to the car, got everything loaded up, then we headed to the house.
I got a little detour of the outskirts of Magdeburg, then we made our way to Dietrich's home in a small Dorf (little village) on the outside rim of Magdeburg. He lives in a very quaint home, and I have a very nice little room that I'll be living in for the next few months.
We had a little tea, my suitcases came from the shipping service (super sad, the only glass that I bought got broken on the way, I'm hoping their insurance for the packages will cover it but we'll see), and I got to get most of my things unpacked and settled.
We then headed out on a little adventure. We took a small drive off to Schloss Hundisburg, which is about 20 minutes away from Dietrich's house. The drive was very pretty. We had a great day, and we hit backroads on the way there, so I got to get a good preview of the surrounding area from Magdeburg. Though it is flat (rolling hills aren't too far away though!) it is a very scenic landscape.
Schloss Hundisburg is also a very pretty place. We walked around the castle grounds, and commented on the very kommisch (weird) style of Franzosich gardens, and how it looked so unnatural compared to Englisch gardens. The castle grounds were very pretty (I hope to get pictures up soon...). After walking around, Dietrich treated us all to some ice cream in the little cafe in the castle.
We got a peach ice cream dish, absolutely delicious, and got to share it with the resident kitty-cat. Dietrich said that he usually brings his grandkids there when they come to visit. It was a very pretty place, and we only saw a little portion of it. The grounds spanned a large portion of the local area, and we only got to see the castle area.
We then made our way back to the house. But on the way, Dietrich took us to a spot just outside of Magdeburg that was up on a hill and gave a great view of the town! We got to see the town and the surrounding area. What a pretty place!
So it turns out, Dietrich is quite the cook. We had dinner and he made a potato salad, sauerkraut, meat and onions, and garlic sour cream. I also learned that there is another kind of celery that isn't long and green, but more potato shaped. I had no idea! Regardless, it was a great dinner.
After dinner, we talked a little bit. And then Dietrich had a little surprise. For new guests, he always has a little fire, but not a normal fire. He takes the leftover wax from church candles, melts it down, then soaks a roll of toilet paper in it. So then he's got a wax-covered roll of toilet paper! I must say, it makes for quite the fire/candle! He lit that on the patio, and then we watched a little TV and got to keep an eye on the spectacle from inside the cozy house.
Then this morning we had a nice breakfast and got to talk a little bit before Dietrich headed off to church. Quite the good start.
I was a little worried at the start as to how this would all play out. How small was Magdeburg? Would things go ok with my guest family? Am I going to be stranded for 10 months in the middle of nowhere?
I am feeling a lot better about things now. Magdeburg is definitely not a big city, quite the opposite of Köln. I'm not in the center of the city and am about as far away from the center as I could get. We'll see how that plays out. It might just be an inconvenience being so far away from everything, but that is yet to be seen.
As for the guest family worries, I think that is going to be just fine. I am planning on going through the big list of questions tonight to see what I can/can't do, how things should go, what they would like to see from me, and so on. Hopefully with that I'll get a better idea of what they're expecting.
Dietrich is a great person. Really funny, calm, and good-tempered. He's been really clear and helpful with his Deutsch, and does his best to make sure I understand what is going on. Uli is extremely knowledged, and he talks a ton. The constant talking thing has already tired me out a bit, but I can see he is just trying to share his knowledge. Honestly, most of it is completely over my head, and kind of makes me feel completely uninformed and ignorant to so many things... Hopefully some of that knowledge will rub off on me in the next 9 months.
Now the big one: would I understand anything that's going on? So far, I think I've been able to get a good grasp of the talking and conversation auf Deutsch. Obviously not all of it, and there's tons of words that I have no idea what they mean, but I am thankfully able to pick up a good deal of what's going on, and they've been very helpful with clarifying things I don't understand.
This has been a big relief. Naturally, being me, I want to understand everything that's going on immediately without any help. But again, patience is key and will be for quite a while with the slow language growth. Hopefully soon it'll be a little better. But right now, progress is key, and it's coming along quite nicely!
Today, after Dietrich get's back from the church, I think we're going to go walk around the city center, then go to an organ concert somewhere in town. I can see they're pretty excited to show me around the city and the area. I hope I can keep up with them, but also be able to tell them in a polite and respectful way when I would rather do something else or not do something at all. I think that is going to be a struggle for me to make sure I am finding a good balance of things I want to do, and things they would like to do with me, but also just finding time to not do anything at all. I hope that doesn't pose too much of a problem. Life is all about balance. I hope I can find a good one in this respect.
Also, I hope the habitation question thing tonight goes ok. I'm interested to find my boundaries, and get a good feeling of what they expect from me, and hopefully get a better idea of what I can/can't do. Hopefully I'll be able to find a balance of independence and things done together. Balance, again. A common theme is slowly growing out of this post, hmmmmmm.
Regardless. Things have started off well, and I am optimistic about where things go, and excited to become further exposed to the city of Magdeburg and what is in store for me over the next 9 months.
Original Publish Date: September 29th, 2013