Today was another insane day. I don't plan on writing everyday, but there were many things today that I wanted to write down because I did not want to forget them.
We started language class, and my group - filled with beginners - was paired with the advanced group because our teacher was not at the camp yet. Good for me, because not knowing any German is very useful when you are in a classroom in which the teacher is speaking to the students in only German. I sat there with the other beginners and listened to him talk, trying to grasp onto a word I recognized to make sense of what he was saying. Later on in the day the teacher had the advanced students help us learn some German phrases and then present to the class. One other good thing, I can't pronounce one of the most commonly used word in any language - Ich, meaning "I". There is one older lady on "Das Team" (yes, I know, it's awesome) here at the monastery that is extremely German who constantly talks to me to help me improve my German. She will literally repeat the same phrase over and over again until I memorize it and am able to pronounce it right, then will find me later throughout the day and ask me to recite her the phrase I am learning.
If you know me, you know that I have a weird fascination with many Asian countries - the food, the culture, and the people. Something about the drastic difference in our cultures just calls for a good time of much confusion and laughs. There happens to be three girls from Taiwan at our language camp and some others are coming from Thailand. I immediately made friends with the Taiwanese girls and am so glad I started talking to them (Probably because they brought literally hundreds of my favorite candy, Hi-Chew). I think they're insane for doing an exchange year in Germany, and I honestly don't think I could be in their position. During language lessons, they literally have to translate from German, to English, and then to their native language, Mandarin. Talk about one heck of a year.
Yesterday, I mentioned that the building I was staying in was extremely old. Little did I know, the monastery was built in the 1200's. We also walked down the roads today and did a tour of the town, and it felt as if we were on movie set in Hollywood. The homes and buildings look empty, and they're probably as old as the monastery. We then continued to tour the town and ended up going beyond the houses along a small river next to some untouched fields. I was tired of practicing counting to twenty, so I decided to stop and soak it all in. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a while. I need to save up for a nice camera, because words literally cannot describe how beautiful this place is (I also need to not use the word literally as much, but I literally mean literally when I say it). Later after dinner, a couple friends and I went back to the restaurant that sells "donor kebabs" and bought some. They were ridiculously good; a must if you ever come to Germany.
If I have at all for some reason inspired you, please read this quote, and let it sink in. If there is one thing I want to inspire you to do, it is to actually do the insane things that you truly want to do, no matter what other people will think of you.
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
- Howard Thurman
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