My host family rides unicycles. That is so cool! I was told on June 25th who my host family was (so yes, I am being very lazy about updating this), but they seem so cool! My host sister Julia is my age, but she will be on an exchange year in Ireland while I am in Germany. The other host sister, Alina, plays the violin, and is 12 years old. My host mother is Viola, and she is a stay at home wife who takes care of their garden, and also reads to kids once a week. She's also trying to get me to write more often in German, so that I learn the language faster. My host father Joachim was on a bike tour thing this weekend. My host family seems really into riding bikes. After reading about them on the host family profile, and also from the mails they've sent me, I'm really looking forward to spending my year in Germany with them.
They live just outside of Berlin, the capital of Germany, and I will be going to the Heinz-Berggruen-Gymnasium. My German friend David looked at the gymnasium's website, and said it was really good... I will also be able to continue studying French at that gymnasium, so I am happy. I don't know wether I will be going into the 10th or 11th grade there, though, since the school wants me in the 10th grade (because I don't speak German), but it says on my secondary application that my American school suggests I go into the 11th grade.
I'm very happy my host family doesn't smoke, because I have so many not-so-fond memories of the smell of smoke :\. I feel like I'm not writing enough about them... maybe I would have written more if I hadn't been walking around for hours in the murderous sun. When I sat down at this computer I could FEEL all of the sweat on my back :'(.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Fast-Food Bathrooms? Think Again!
I went to an unnamed fast-food restaurant today, only to see something disturbing. A woman was cleaning her granddaughter's butt/dress/legs/the floor of the oozy goo that the little girl left all over the place... it was chunky (and it came from her butt, if you didn't pick that up). I was thinking 'ok, it's just a little kid they do this'. After the lady got the kid out of the bathroom stall (she was cleaning the kid half in and half out of the stall), I used it, and all was good, until I looked down while washing my hands and saw chunky bits floating around... and realized the girl's goo was on the handle to the sink. Thank you Walmart, for selling me that hand sanitizer.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
College Courses: Almost Over!
First of all, let me say thank you for following my blog and leaving me comments. It makes me feel special, and like I'm not just talking to myself! xD
I have just 4 more math classes, and 2 more career and personal development classes, then I am done with collge courses for the summer! I want to spend more time at the food bank during the next month of summer, I am starting to miss people, and want something to do...
As for my German exchange, I didn't write anything about the conference call that I had on June 12, 2009 yet. It wasn't very informative, and most of it was going over a list of clothing items we need to bring, which had already been sent to us in an e-mail. Having a Visa card was suggested for use instead of money, that way we don't need to be carrying around as much money. We were told to bring a German thesaurus, English - German dictionary, backpack, 2 weeks of toiletries, and presents for our host family. We were also told that we need to adjust to our host families, not have them adjust to us.
Culture shock was also touched on. Symptoms are stereotyping the host country, homesickness, boredom, and excessive sleeping/eating. The solutions were to overcome this by interacting with your host community, exercising, reflecting on why you wanted to be an exchange student, and thinking positive instead of negative. The stages were described as follows,
1 Honeymoon - everything great and interesting
2 Focusing on differences
3 Comfortable in new environment
4 Able to function in a new culture
5 Re-entry shock - coming back to America, where everything that was once so comfortable is suddenly so strange
One of the alumni was on the conference call, and said that he was able to function in October, but not able to carry on a conversation until May. He wanted to be away from school because he felt like it was alienating him, and he felt like he couldn't have friends because he couldn't communicate. Being patient was strongly suggested for almost every problem that you have as an exchange student.
I've ammassed enough toothbrushes for my whole exchange year (thanks mom), enough toothpaste for a really long time, more deodorant than I've used in my entire lifetime, a really nice new backpack, an even nicer pair of gloves, and a rainproof jacket thing, as well as a new, and bigger, suitcase. I can't even remember the other things I have, but they're all invading a section of my room, where all of it is stacked on itself. I also have had some trash in that area for about a week now (I couldn't find my camera charger and started cleaning my room), but my mom still hasn't really noticed, even though I went as far as putting a sticky note labeled 'trash' in front of one pile... I should probally clean that up before she reads this blog. Other than that, my mom also bought presents for my host family. She got Arizona themed socks, two weird pens, and an Arizona shirt. She also got me a cross necklace, which I want to bring with me to wear in Germany. I'm going to be scared to death in a foreign country, and I want a reminder I'm not alone...
I cannot wait until school starts again! I want to take every single piece of work I get back from my college math class, and show it to Mr. Henrion. I got 101% on my last test in that college class, but I got a B in both semesters of Mr. Henrion's lower level class...
I have just 4 more math classes, and 2 more career and personal development classes, then I am done with collge courses for the summer! I want to spend more time at the food bank during the next month of summer, I am starting to miss people, and want something to do...
As for my German exchange, I didn't write anything about the conference call that I had on June 12, 2009 yet. It wasn't very informative, and most of it was going over a list of clothing items we need to bring, which had already been sent to us in an e-mail. Having a Visa card was suggested for use instead of money, that way we don't need to be carrying around as much money. We were told to bring a German thesaurus, English - German dictionary, backpack, 2 weeks of toiletries, and presents for our host family. We were also told that we need to adjust to our host families, not have them adjust to us.
Culture shock was also touched on. Symptoms are stereotyping the host country, homesickness, boredom, and excessive sleeping/eating. The solutions were to overcome this by interacting with your host community, exercising, reflecting on why you wanted to be an exchange student, and thinking positive instead of negative. The stages were described as follows,
1 Honeymoon - everything great and interesting
2 Focusing on differences
3 Comfortable in new environment
4 Able to function in a new culture
5 Re-entry shock - coming back to America, where everything that was once so comfortable is suddenly so strange
One of the alumni was on the conference call, and said that he was able to function in October, but not able to carry on a conversation until May. He wanted to be away from school because he felt like it was alienating him, and he felt like he couldn't have friends because he couldn't communicate. Being patient was strongly suggested for almost every problem that you have as an exchange student.
I've ammassed enough toothbrushes for my whole exchange year (thanks mom), enough toothpaste for a really long time, more deodorant than I've used in my entire lifetime, a really nice new backpack, an even nicer pair of gloves, and a rainproof jacket thing, as well as a new, and bigger, suitcase. I can't even remember the other things I have, but they're all invading a section of my room, where all of it is stacked on itself. I also have had some trash in that area for about a week now (I couldn't find my camera charger and started cleaning my room), but my mom still hasn't really noticed, even though I went as far as putting a sticky note labeled 'trash' in front of one pile... I should probally clean that up before she reads this blog. Other than that, my mom also bought presents for my host family. She got Arizona themed socks, two weird pens, and an Arizona shirt. She also got me a cross necklace, which I want to bring with me to wear in Germany. I'm going to be scared to death in a foreign country, and I want a reminder I'm not alone...
I cannot wait until school starts again! I want to take every single piece of work I get back from my college math class, and show it to Mr. Henrion. I got 101% on my last test in that college class, but I got a B in both semesters of Mr. Henrion's lower level class...
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Math Instinct: Why You're a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats, and Dogs)
This book got rather boring about half way through, as the author Kevin Devlin switched from animal mathematics to human mathematics, but the first half was certainly a good read. He starts off with an experiment which showed that humans at 4 months of age have a sort of number sense that allows them to do addition and subtraction on groups of objects less than 4 objects in size. Other experiments also showed that the same procedures can be done by babies who are just a few days old. If you don't believe me when I say that babies have the number sense to know that 1+1=2, read the book. My mother doesn't believe me either.
The most interesting chapters were chapters 1 through 7. Chapter one houses the pages on babies doing math, while chapter 2 starts off with a dog named Elvis that can do calculus. The owner of Elvis was a math proffesor, and noticed that when he threw the ball on an angle into a lake, Elvis would run along the beach for a while (dogs travel faster on land than in water), then jump in at some point to swim to the ball. After a day of many measurements, Elvis's owner realized that Elvis was jumping into the lake at the exact point that he should if he wanted to take the quickest route to the ball. But, the owner had to use calculus to calculate that point.
Devlin then goes on to show how the birds travel using the position of the stars, sun, and even Earth's magnetic field. People also used to travel like this, but they needed to use trigonometry to do so. The point that is made is that birds and people can perform the same function, but birds naturally are able to calculate the direction they should travel in, while humans need to perform complex mathematical calculations to know where to go. That is the point of the entire first half of the book, and I suggest reading the first half. It's quite interesting how bats, ants, and lobsters also navigate.
My criticisms on this book is that Devlin will repeat himself over and over and over to make a point, and it is quite annoying. Other than that, the last half of the book might be interesting to some people if they're into human mathematics, the links between abstract math and the brain, and why school taught mathematics are what keeps some people from learning how to succeed in math. There's also a half interesting section on the human visual system.
All together, it's a good book and definitely worth the read.
The most interesting chapters were chapters 1 through 7. Chapter one houses the pages on babies doing math, while chapter 2 starts off with a dog named Elvis that can do calculus. The owner of Elvis was a math proffesor, and noticed that when he threw the ball on an angle into a lake, Elvis would run along the beach for a while (dogs travel faster on land than in water), then jump in at some point to swim to the ball. After a day of many measurements, Elvis's owner realized that Elvis was jumping into the lake at the exact point that he should if he wanted to take the quickest route to the ball. But, the owner had to use calculus to calculate that point.
Devlin then goes on to show how the birds travel using the position of the stars, sun, and even Earth's magnetic field. People also used to travel like this, but they needed to use trigonometry to do so. The point that is made is that birds and people can perform the same function, but birds naturally are able to calculate the direction they should travel in, while humans need to perform complex mathematical calculations to know where to go. That is the point of the entire first half of the book, and I suggest reading the first half. It's quite interesting how bats, ants, and lobsters also navigate.
My criticisms on this book is that Devlin will repeat himself over and over and over to make a point, and it is quite annoying. Other than that, the last half of the book might be interesting to some people if they're into human mathematics, the links between abstract math and the brain, and why school taught mathematics are what keeps some people from learning how to succeed in math. There's also a half interesting section on the human visual system.
All together, it's a good book and definitely worth the read.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Update 6/8/09
I got my TB tests and some painful shots (my arms were sore for a couple days after), and now there is nothing left to finish on my secondary application for going to Germany. I am excited! I also met another girl who was accepted into the program, and will be flying to Washington D.C. with her, where I will meet up with the other CBYX kids to fly to Germany.
I started the ACE program (sponsored by Maricopa Community Colleges, where, starting the summer before their junior year, students will take college courses all throughout the rest of their school year. They will be making an exception for me, since I will be unable to attend an American school during my year in Germany) last Monday, where I am taking college math and career and personal development courses, and got a 95% on my first math exam. It was really easy and all review, but it's quite boring since I stay there for about 11 hours a day, due to issues with driving back and forth. I'm starting highschool courses with Prima Vera online highschool to pass the time, and I will be starting June 15th on Spanish 1A and Psychology A. I'm also helping Mrs. Kurfman write her textbook for her AIMs Math class.
The ACE program is only Monday through Thursday, so on Fridays I am volunteering at the All Faith's Food Bank. I have to ride my bike into Buckeye to get there, but they have water and such for their volunteers, so it's all good.
I got an e-mail suggesting that I get my host family gifts, and it also said that flowers would be a good idea since German women love to recieve them. I thought that giving flowers that you can buy would be less special than making flowers that never die, so I am going to draw the following picture for my host mother.
(If you want to see the full picture, since some of it was cut off, you can do so here.)
My next conference/orientation will be on Friday, so I will most likely be posting information over the weekend about that.
Mr. Henrion suggested that I read a book called The Math Instinct: Why You're a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats, and Dogs), and I finally found it, albeit by accident, at the Estrella Mountain Community College Library. It's extremely fascinating, and I will be posting a summary of it later. It finally made me understand this quote by Albert Einstein, "If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." To explain this quote more, Einstein was agnostic but believed in Spinoza's God, which to my understanding is an impersonal interconnectedness between all things, and is observable through science. That quote really made me think when I first saw it, since he is describing an amazement at nature... I didn't realize how strange and sophisticated it could possibly be until I starting reading that book Mr. Henrion told me to look at... speaking of teachers, I saw Mr. Eads at EMCC (Estrella Mountain Community College) today. Apparently he teaches math there over the summer.
(By the way, I'm not implying I am agnostic by understanding Einstein's quote. In fact, I find that the sophistication of nature enforces the idea that this world couldn't possibly have happened by chance.)
I started the ACE program (sponsored by Maricopa Community Colleges, where, starting the summer before their junior year, students will take college courses all throughout the rest of their school year. They will be making an exception for me, since I will be unable to attend an American school during my year in Germany) last Monday, where I am taking college math and career and personal development courses, and got a 95% on my first math exam. It was really easy and all review, but it's quite boring since I stay there for about 11 hours a day, due to issues with driving back and forth. I'm starting highschool courses with Prima Vera online highschool to pass the time, and I will be starting June 15th on Spanish 1A and Psychology A. I'm also helping Mrs. Kurfman write her textbook for her AIMs Math class.
The ACE program is only Monday through Thursday, so on Fridays I am volunteering at the All Faith's Food Bank. I have to ride my bike into Buckeye to get there, but they have water and such for their volunteers, so it's all good.
I got an e-mail suggesting that I get my host family gifts, and it also said that flowers would be a good idea since German women love to recieve them. I thought that giving flowers that you can buy would be less special than making flowers that never die, so I am going to draw the following picture for my host mother.
(If you want to see the full picture, since some of it was cut off, you can do so here.)
My next conference/orientation will be on Friday, so I will most likely be posting information over the weekend about that.
Mr. Henrion suggested that I read a book called The Math Instinct: Why You're a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats, and Dogs), and I finally found it, albeit by accident, at the Estrella Mountain Community College Library. It's extremely fascinating, and I will be posting a summary of it later. It finally made me understand this quote by Albert Einstein, "If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." To explain this quote more, Einstein was agnostic but believed in Spinoza's God, which to my understanding is an impersonal interconnectedness between all things, and is observable through science. That quote really made me think when I first saw it, since he is describing an amazement at nature... I didn't realize how strange and sophisticated it could possibly be until I starting reading that book Mr. Henrion told me to look at... speaking of teachers, I saw Mr. Eads at EMCC (Estrella Mountain Community College) today. Apparently he teaches math there over the summer.
(By the way, I'm not implying I am agnostic by understanding Einstein's quote. In fact, I find that the sophistication of nature enforces the idea that this world couldn't possibly have happened by chance.)
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