Hedersleben: Village Life- Part 2

The Gist

August 7th- School is over and it's summer break! A time when hours spent on studying for tests, finishing homework, and waking up before the sun rises are replaced by hours at a summer job, hanging out with friends, and sleeping. That's how every one of my summers unfolds, so why would this summer be any different? Well, my summer might not have been what I envisioned if I had been attending a language camp for the rest of the break, but it could also be because I was living at a monastery within a remote village in Germany. Okay, well, that just means I can't hang out with my friends or work my summer job, right? Okay... I've lost a few benefits of my summer, but at least I can still sleep in and not go to school. I'll make it work. *BRING BRING BRIIING*

"Hold on, hold on, can someone please turn that alarm off?", was my first thought, which was immediately followed by, "Why is there an alarm in the first place?". The answer is obvious now, but given the situation of where I was and the previous day of traveling, my mind was adrift in sleepy land. And so I had to pull myself out of sleepy land and from my lovely bed. Wake up, Mike! It's your first day of classes at language camp, and you've got priorities to tend to besides sleeping in! So yeah, it just happens to be that this summer might be a little atypical. But here I am, so I might as well show you the ropes of language camp. Now, ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention and buckle in. *Click, click*, because I'm about to capture the span of 4 weeks within a single blog post. So if you don't keenly follow along, you're bound to miss something! And we're off! 

It's All About Structure 

I could simply lay out a day of language camp through a timetable, but we both know that that's no fun, so I'll explain the first day of actual language camp through the lens of a diary entry so that it provides more reality for you, the reader!  

Dear Diary,

It's me again, Michael. I can't believe I'm in Germany! Today is the official first day of language camp, and I'm so excited about the journey ahead of me! *My whole entry would be written like that if I were starring in a coming-of-age movie, but I'm not, so let's switch it up*.

Ahem... Day 1 complete. I'm pretty exhausted right now, but in a fulfilling sense. Today was like the first day of school because of the new schedules, new people, and new environment. Yet despite the stress these factors could have given me, I found myself rather comfortable in this new setting. It all started this morning when I woke up in my cozy cot at 7:20AM. Alongside me was my roommate Aswath (hi Aswath). I got to know Aswath beforehand at the Dallas interview, so we were already rather familiar with each other, which made rooming smooth sailing. Now, I'm a morning shower type of guy because if I weren't, I'd be walking around all day with a bird nest perched atop my head, which would be kind of cool if birds visited it. Anyway, feeling more awake and refreshed after showering, I prepared myself for the day and headed downstairs to the dining hall for brekky. This is when my day would really begin.

Brekky was held in a hallway within the monastery, with tables and chairs lining one side of the wall. This is also where lunch and dinner were held. Brekky always consisted of freshly baked bread rolls that could do a number on your hand if you weren't aware of how recently they had sprung from the oven, cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt, eggs, cereal, freshly cut vegetables, all sorts of spreads, milks, and teas. My whole life, I've never been the biggest fan of brekky, but I think language camp changed that. I'm still not sure how that came to be, given the fact that I was essentially eating the same things every morning for a whole month, yet that was the reality. Brekky was mandatory and always ran from 8:00 to 9:00, unless it was a special occasion. Arriving sharply at 8:00, but preferably even earlier, earned you a spot in line to grab the piping hot bread rolls and dibs on other delicacies as listed above. I knew a nutritious and filling brekky was the key to a great day, which gave me a reason to be punctual. So every morning I would show up roughly at 8:04 and usually get the cold bread rolls, a slice of ham and cheese, and then some cereal... After gathering my food, I would always sit with my friends Brian, Hudson, Holtzman, Nicolai, Aswath, and Jeff. Mealtime was the ideal time to settle down, enjoy some food, and chat with friends, which is just what we did. Though I will admit, most of the discussions held at mealtime were about the meals themselves. There were some days when our stomachs couldn't handle the meals, so we chose to opt out. I won't say anything beyond that, but you get the gist about the meals at times. 

Following brekky, came the first 3 hours of lessons. You don't typically associate schooling with summer break, but here I was, sitting in a classroom. Including me, there were 13 of us, not including our awesome instructor, Katharina! We couldn't have asked for a better instructor to teach us German and make class enjoyable by including learning activities, songs, cooking, and much more, so thank you, Katharina! I believe the majority of my readers are students, so you all would understand how a class' atmosphere is partially influenced by the teacher. Keeping in mind that Katharina made the classroom atmosphere friendly and enjoyable, the 3 hours of lessons usually flew by. I also want to add that having lessons at 9:00 in the morning was rather leisurely compared to attending school at 7:30. People were usually more alert and felt more prepared to learn when given a longer period to wake up, unless you were scraggly. 

Directly after lessons, it was lunchtime. You're probably thinking that a small 3-hour pause between breakfast and lunch wouldn't allow for anyone's hunger to return, but that wasn't an issue because when there was food, we ate that up (sometimes). The hour allocated to lunch then spilled into another hour intended for homework, but was usually spent by everyone to relax, nap, okay, yeah, do homework, or head to the only grocery store in the village NP-Discount. When I tell you this single store was a lifeboat for everyone at language camp, I'm not exaggerating. I think it's safe to say that everyone made a trip there at least once a day, either for snacks, drinks, or household needs. The products at NP-Discount were affordably priced, big in selection, and of decent quality, making it the prime location to shop at (we had no other choice). I'd also like to mention that despite leaving the campgrounds, where we mostly spoke English, and entering the village, we seldom spoke German. At the grocery store, we would proudly throw out "mit Karte bitte" (with card please), to the cashier and then slip in the, "danke" (thank you) to seal the deal. Beyond that and the occasional oral practice in class, we stuck to English. We didn't see the need to speak in German yet, and there was no apparent harm in speaking English, except for assimilating into German culture with our host families, but that was yet to come. 

At 14:00, afternoon lessons would resume. Okay, afternoon lessons were a little grueling to get through because of everyone's anticipation of evening free time, but they went by anyway. I remember one specific afternoon where it was uncomfortably warm, and I'd like to say it was around 28°C. Oh yeah, that's in celsius by the way. Let's just say that I've learned a few tips and tricks here and there along the way and am essentially European- I still can't read celsius. Now, I know I said I didn't encounter many issues with the heat, but that afternoon was an exception. I actually couldn't believe how warm it was. The sun was streaming through the windows, the classroom might as well have been an oven, and my clothes were hugging me for dear life. I'll never forget that day, oh no I won't. Feel free to ask me about it to make sure I remember it, thanks. Those were the longest 3 hours of German lessons in my life. That didn't relate much to lessons, but I thought it was informative in a way. 

Following dismissal from class, there was another free hour to do anything until dinner rolled around 18:00. Dinner was strikingly similar to lunch. Done. Next. Every evening was kicked off with a gathering period where we watched a daily news show titled "Heute Journal" (Today Journal). It was an informative 15–20 minutes of news updates throughout Germany and the world. Of course, it was all in German, which made it difficult to follow along at times, but luckily we were rescued by subtitles. I found them interesting and informative from what I could piece together, especially since it was a news source from the perspective of a nation other than the United States. But even as informative as the news show was, given that the audience was a group of highschoolers, the restlessness of the group eventually broke out when the program ended. It was finally evening free time, everyone's favorite part of the day. 

Given the evening to spend, it really depended on what people wanted to do, whether it was indoors, outdoors, or around the village. Most of the time, I would hang out with Brian, Claire, Holtzman, and Nicolai. We played a lot of volleyball, went on a lot of walks, and held many thoughtful conversations. Then, our days would go by slowly, but eventually, each evening blended into one another, and our time at language camp flew by. Each following day would unfold similarly to the day I just described, except for group games such as karaoke, volleyball tournaments, or group outings. All in all, it was memorable and remarkable. So yeah, I did make it work. Language camp wasn't a pain at all, but rather a memorable series of weeks that I'll cherish forever. 

Food for Thought 

During my time at language camp, I eventually realized that many of the memories that I cherish and reminisce about aren't just the eventful and dynamic events in my life circled on my calendar, but rather the miniscule moments in my everyday life that I usually oversee. Initially, I didn't appreciate my time at language camp enough because I saw it as a period that stood between me and my "actual" exchange year, which came after Hedersleben. It wasn't until the last 2 weeks that I began to realize that my time here was limited, and that my initial perception of a long time (4 weeks) was very much so finite. I knew from the get-go that language camp wasn't described as an electric and event-filled month of excitement, so I never had expectations for it to amount to much. Yet when I left camp, I knew that the memories I made, the people I met, and the food I ate (you guys get it) would always hold a place in my heart. So no, these memories weren't chiseled into my heart because of how dynamic they were, but because each day I got to lay a few bricks down to build a house filled with everything that Hedersleben gave me. Shout out to everyone there for making it so remarkable! 

I'd like to end this by saying that the routine and smaller aspects of life that easily slip under the radar can hold lots of significance despite being overlooked. It takes time and attention to notice them, but I'm sure that they play a greater role in your life than you would anticipate. It never takes too much effort to appreciate what you have!