Ayusa 國際愛優生文化交流協會

生活照片

要出發囉!


My room

Host Dad- Ayusa student in Ohio-BBQ party

Host sister-Esther and her friend

My best friends

climbing

Host brother=Patrick

Happy boy-Jack

Downtown Cleveland-Cora,Nuk, Esther,Jack and Patrick

I and host brother and sister-I like them!!

At macidonia center

My beautiful host mother-Evelina

8月20日(六) 跟爸爸媽媽還有妹妹從桃園國際機場離別,一個人的旅行就此展開……..

之後到了候機大廳跟朋友到別,上了飛機,莫名的孤獨跑出來了,因為是暑假然後又自己飛,所以空姐就把我當成華僑全成用英文跟我講話= =之後下了舊金山國際機場很順利的過了海關然後馬上就看到接機人員在大廳等我,之後我們去了IN-N-OUT 速食店,第一次吃美國的速食店,給我的感覺就是好鹹(但是還不錯)之後又去了舊金山有名的金門大橋,很雄偉!!!!!!在舊金山感覺很棒但是很冷

跟接機人員和他的朋友們去IN-N-OUT )))))))))))

金門大橋,想都沒想過可以去的地方:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

之後轉機到了丹佛,原本因為第一般飛機誤點以為會趕不上飛機,淡是第二班飛機也誤點一個多小時,真是不幸中的大幸啊XDDDDDD

只有在美國的機場才能看到的Tornado Shelter

之後到了轟家,轟家人對我很好,轟家有兩個妹妹三個弟弟,還有一個瑞士的學生(不是交換學生) 第一餐就吃披薩(還不錯吃)

美麗的轟家:)))))))))))))

跟轟家人相處的還不錯,然後我們去看了老虎的比賽,去家附近的湖玩,去逛一堆的超市(Kmart,Walmart…..)

正式升格為老虎球迷XD

從20號到現在,除了語言的問題一切都還好,我相信這個問題很快就可以解決,接著9月6號開學,現在的心情較是有點期待又帶點緊張,希望會有很棒的校園生活與很棒的一年!!!!

The course I take

1.Spanish 1
2.Honors Geometry
3.Language Art 2
4.Physics
5.US History
6.Personal Fitness

這是我在talent show 上的報紙!!!!! 他們竟然還稱我master 哈哈哈
這真的是一個很酷的經驗，在全校面前展現這美好的中國傳統 讓我感到好驕傲!!再以扯鈴聞名:P 我也收了不少有興趣的學徒

在美國真的有很多機會能宣傳我們的文化 你也可以不主動 他們就會來問你了! 最常遇到的就是叫你翻譯吧?我在學校也翻譯了好多英文名子呢!!可能中文真的對英文來講是互不相符. 線條彎來彎去這麼複雜的他們當然有興趣:D
我這將近十一個月的美國生活 雖然沒有遇到甚麼很大的瓶頸 一路來小風小雨 並無大浪 我真的感到很慶幸!! 不一定只能在逆境中學習阿 是不是? 在這樣無風無雨的情況下 要的是學更多不同的經驗及積極的態度 也當然可以避免有人犯過的錯誤 我在這學到很多社交的禮儀及要避免的事 跟美國人相處 他們講求準時 真的非常講究 所以我會很注意這一點 去甚麼活動都因該提早五分鐘 這算是一種基本禮貌

將近十一個月 一眨眼馬上就不見了!! 在這有學到經驗才重要 張主任說來美國是要學聰明的 自己好像也長進了不少 時間掌握的越來越好 課業能搞定 社交時間也有 這樣一年下來 生活越來越有規劃 想起來還蠻不錯的!! 所以我真的希望這一年下來是對我這一生有所幫助 所學的任何一件小事 一個小體驗 都可以幫助我的生活更精采!! 現在就是準備好自己 光榮回台!!!

This is my third year of traveling the world. I actually did not decide to come to Germany while I was still in America. My parents thought I should not stay in the same country any more, so they suggested me to go to Germany. After a long thinking, I finally made my decision. I wanted to see the other side of the world. I accepted my parents suggest. This decision is a bit hasty and ignorant. I couldn’t even speak one German word never thought this hasty choice would make me grow more than I ever did.
August twenty-sixth 2010, I flew from Taiwan to Frankfurt, and took the train from Frankfurt to Munich. Even though I have been to the biggest airport in America before, I was still nervous about missing my train. On the train, I kept thinking about what I should say to my host family when we meet. The train station isn’t as big as I thought. When I got out of the train, my host family was already walking towards me. I said the only German word I knew back then, “hello” to my host family, and my German life started then.
We talked quite a lot on the way home. Mainly was to understand each other’s basic background. There’re seven people in my host family. My host father is a relaxed man, nothing can really surprise him. My host mother is homemaker and a nurse for the elderly. Basically she is in charge of this family. My host sister is studying in university now, so she is quite busy. We only get to see her every weekend. My older host brother Thomas is three months older than me. He is a good soccer player but very quiet. My younger host brother Christian is one and a half years younger than me. He likes to read.
The second day after I arrived in Germany was the day when my German exchange life began. In the morning it didn’t feel very naturally to me to walk to the dining table. The copious breakfast was already waiting for me. Germany has really many kinds of bread, usually big and hard, and it’s eaten with various sausages. I didn’t like the hard bread back then, because I felt the bread was harder than my teeth. Somehow I thought the bread was probably overdue so that’s why it’s so hard. On the first weekend, I went to Italy with Thomas and a group of people from this village. We did not go in very far to Italy, so all the people we met on the trip spoke German, not Italian. But it didn’t matter to me at that time. I went to my first restaurant in Italy with a bunch of Germans. To be honest, the food was really tasty and not that expensive, but the beverage are really expensive and small. But then I know in Europe beverage is important culture. Drinking slowly and taste it, is how you drink the beverage in Europe. It’s not the same in America. You always have the huge cups and you can always refill it. Even though I couldn’t understand very much, it was still fresh for me to just walk around in the area and learned about Germany. I live in the village called Arnsberg.
Only a couple of hundreds people live there. But it isn’t hard for us to buy things. If we want to go shopping in the big city, we only need to drive about 25 minutes. Germany has also done the classified trash really well, so there isn’t much trash on the streets. I think lots of countries need to learn that from Germany. And Germany has a long history, so I have seen lots of old traditional buildings, been to lots of festivals, like Oktoberfest, Christmas, Fasching and so on. My favorite festival is Fasching. Many people are wearing different various funny customs from many different places and the funny crazy action of them and the great music.
Of course I learned about beer too. It’s German’s traditional beverage. I was really surprised to see that both of my host brothers were drinking beer, because I didn’t know that you can drink beer after you are sixteen over here. Thomas told me he started to drink beer when he was thirteen. Various kind of beer made me understand how important beer is for Germany. But beer is something that really gives me a “headache”, because when I went out with Thomas and his friends and saw they all were drinking beer and I didn’t know I should drink with them or not, but I didn’t want to be left out either. So I tried my first in my life. Well, to be honest, back to before, I couldn’t even stand the smell of the beer. It wasn’t a good taste at all. But I already bought it, so I ignorantly drank all as fast as I can. To show them I can drink beer too. You may imagine what happen next: I got drunk. That was the worst feeling ever, and the hangover? Just not how bad I can explain it. The only good thing about getting drunk is that you have a really tight sleep. Just like that I lived through the first week.
The third week after I arrived in Germany was the day I began to go to school. At my first day, I talked to the principal first, and he told me it would be better to have the same classes as Thomas has. So I did. When I walked into the class, everyone was looking at me like they have never seen an Asian before. Uncomfortably, I was sitting down next to Thomas. I discovered in German school students are all active to answer the questions. But in Taiwan usually no one would try to answer the question. And Taiwan schools last the whole day. So there are always some students falling asleep in the classes. But I didn’t see anyone ever sleep in the class over here. One thing that really upset me is that most of the boys and some girls in the school are taller than me. Even the younger one. So I always have to raise my head up every time I talk to them.
The school was quite boring for me during the first month. I did not have friends and couldn’t understand any single word from the teachers. Host family was the only one I could talk to. But then I started to talk to others and started making friends. The school became my chatting place. Back then, I usually talked in English. It’s a good thing that Germans speak English very well.
So I could possibly speak Denglish (German and English mix). The school’s test pattern is not the same as in Taiwan or America. Until now I haven’t seen any multiple choice tests. It’s all about writing an essay or discussing an article. It’s really different. The school finishes early for most of students here. For me, I have lessons till one o’clock twice a week. I always have plans for those short days, like sport, so I wouldn’t get bored after school. I believe everybody else has plans too, or they don’t need that much free time then.
In Germany, conversation is very important in a family. Not the same as in Taiwan. We usually don’t speak out loud what we feel or think, because we think it is not polite. But over here people just say what is on their mind. And I think it’s better to speak out, too. Then people would know how I feel. So I learned from it. I also think people in Germany like to party a lot. Lots of festival could possibly be a reason to have a party. I haven’t been to that many parties before. Especially parties where they have loud music and bright lights in various colors. The K-party was the first time I went to that kind of party in my life. Because it was my first time, I didn’t bring my ID (Identification) with me. I couldn’t get in there. I had to call my host dad to see if he could bring me the ID. The worst thing was that while I was standing outside and waiting for my host dad to bring me the ID, it was really cold. I didn’t expect this thing would happen, so I only wore a sweater. I was almost defeated by the weather.
My German exchange life isn’t finished yet. But I have already seen so many things that I have never seen before. It’s because my host family has really given much thought to the matter on me. That’s why I could see and learn so much about Germany. I am really thankful to my host family of what they have done for me. One day, I would like you all to see my home country, too. I like to travel the world, see the different people, and I will continue traveling the world.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this article.

剛來到這個文化與台灣完全不同的國度，每件事都很陌生，久了之後發現生活費真的很貴、排隊都要排好久、店員不知道什麼教效率= =(話許是我這裡比較鄉下)、還是臺灣食物比較好吃、、、等，離開家鄉才知到家鄉好，所以以前真的身在福中不知福啊！
出國前聽學長姐說到「溝通很重要」，聽聽是很有道理啊，但是要真正體會過才會真的了解這個「很重要」的意義；德國人有話直說，想要什麼需要什麼都要說清楚，喜歡、不喜歡只有兩種選擇，剛來到德國前幾個禮拜，當他們問我要不要去哪裡哪裡，我都說:都可以啊，後來他們受不了了，家裡唯一會英文的轟媽把我找過去跟我說：「我們問你，你都說都可以，我們的不知道你喜歡還是不喜歡，想要還是不想要，這讓我們很困擾」(我那時候真的是不知道要去哪或著要去做什麼，怕一直問會很煩人不禮貌所以都只問一次，但是一次真的還是不清楚)；從這件事後又有許多不管是因為文化、習慣或是觀念的不同而引起的爭執，有天，轟媽又受不了了，跟我說「我們需要談談，我們全部」，像這樣全家坐下來把問題提出來討論我真的很不習慣，我不知道為甚麼，我哭了，我真的很愛哭，轟媽每次跟我談都問我：你有困難要跟我說，我就說好我會，然後就哭了（結果問題還是沒解決啊! 囧） 我以為她只是跟我說可以跟她訴苦或什麼的，其實她是在問我，你為甚麼都待在房間？你怎麼不跟轟妹說話？轟爸跟我說你都不跟他說話為甚麼？在學校怎麼了，老師跟我說你都不跟其他人互動…等；有天我心情很好的從學校跟著轟媽的車回家，在車上轟媽就說了，你的CR(社服人員)這周末會來，如果你想換家庭我也不會說什麼，但是我是希望你不要換，轟妹也是，她(轟妹)跟我說yesterday was the first day we have fun! 轟媽試著用英文跟我解釋，只是我還是不很了解(轟媽還說了很多只是太多太多了)，我整個心情如石沉大海，我是做了什麼?! 周末CR來了，這我才知道是之前那些問題，我真的不知道到這麼嚴重，其實沒有嚴重到要換家庭的，只是轟媽可能覺得是他們的問題，因為我德文不好什麼也沒說所以才會鬧到那樣，我以為沉默是金的…(看來我錯了)我的選擇是繼續與他們一起生活，我希望挑戰自己讓自己成長，而我做到了:)；轟媽有時會問我你會唱了嗎?就開始唱der, die, das, wer, wie, was…然後跟我說「沒有愚笨的問題，只有不問問題的愚人」，其實就是這首德國小孩都會唱的歌的主旨，是我德文還很破的時候他們教我的，還找影片給我看ˊˇˋ，德文變好加上也比較敢問問題後，自然問題也比較少囉。
原本以為德國人都是嚴肅保守，轟家卻徹底打破我的「刻版印像」，他們完全不是傳統德國家庭(轟媽自己也說了)，和他們一起讓我從另一個角度看到了同的德國(不過很多啤酒、香腸是真的XDD)，我，進入了他們的生活而不是，遊客。
這一年我做了很多事、去了很多地方啊，許多都是第一次喔!! (例如白色聖誕節!!!)，我想也學到了很多不同的觀念，真的很謝謝媽媽和AYUSA讓我有這個機會囉!
I love my host family! I love Germany! I love AYUSA! I LOVE MY FAMILY!

陳容均 Mimi Chen