Today, we woke up after sleeping for about 12 hours (yay jet lag!) to a wonderful breakfast spread prepared by Brandon’s relatives. There was bread, cheese, ham, salami, veggies, fruit, and an assortment of spreads to use, such as homemade fig jam. Everything was so good! After breakfast, Brandon and I went with his relatives Peter and Alicia (my 10-year-old German counterpart) to the equivalent of the German “state store” called Trinkgut. We had been told at breakfast about Germany’s recycling program, which is something the US should absolutely strive for, and at Trinkgut, we saw it in action.
Certain plastic bottles in Germany can be returned for a .25 Euro each. At Trinkgut and elsewhere, there are machines where you put the bottles in, it gets crushed, and it eventually moves on to a recycling program to be, well, recycled. You, as the consumer, receive a ticket with the total amount of money you receive back for recycling your bottles. It was very cool and very fun to watch :) At Trinkgut, we also picked up a variety of beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. At dinner last night, Alicia and I had rhubarb flavored sparkling beverages (I think it may have been sparkling lemonade), so we picked up more of those, and Brandon and I also picked out other drinks we want to try during our time here. After Trinkgut was a return to the house and then a trip to the Straßenbahn, sort of like a regional train line, into Hattingen’s “city limits” to do more exploring and eventually head back to the Altstadt. We went to the local mall, got some ice cream, walked around, and then finished our afternoon with some coffee and delicious cakes from a newer bakery in the Altstadt. I had something called “der verbotenen Apfel,” or “the forbidden apple”, which was shaped like an apple and had a whole lot of deliciousness in it. We rode the Straßenbahn back towards the house and then walked the remaining distance. Once home, Brandon helped Peter prepare for the barbecue we had for dinner, and Alicia and I worked on a Pokémon puzzle. Frank, one of the neighbors, came over for the barbecue, and we all had a wonderful time enjoying some delicious food cooked by Peter. There was steak and sausage that came from a nearby farm. We also had organic chicken, mushrooms, eggplant, carrots, asparagus, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, onions, bread, and there was homemade herb butter (made by Alina) and tzatziki. Alicia and I worked on another puzzle after dinner, but we didn’t finish it yet, so that is on the agenda tomorrow. The biggest change today, and moving forward, is the understandable expectation of using more German as the days go by. I admittedly get less talkative (shocking, I know) in these moments as I find I am understanding quite a bit, but my ability to formulate a grammatically accurate response is terribly slow, so I am very shy about speaking. That being said, they say you do not get better without practice, so I just need to force myself to be okay making mistakes. After all, they are merely opportunities for learning. I noticed last night when I went to post that I have nearly 60 “unique visits,” as Weebly indicates to this site, just this week. Thanks to those of you who found it in yourselves to be interested in this pet project of mine! It means a lot, and I do so hope you will continue to enjoy my summaries and pictures from each day! Tomorrow, Brandon, Peter, Alina, and I are going to a street food festival in Bochum, a nearby city to Hattingen. I am very excited to eat more food and continue doing what I can to practice my German. Until then, enjoy the pictures!
3 Comments
Frank Baasner
6/13/2022 12:51:51 pm
I really enjoyed the evening with you, and that was not only because of the good food and the delicious drinks, but above all because of the interesting conversations with you!
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Alicia
6/14/2022 01:32:51 pm
It was so wonderful to get to meet you and talk with you! I look forward to more conversations (ideally with better German from me :))!
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Brandon Wood
6/14/2022 01:33:13 pm
It was so good to see you again and to enjoy the barbecue with you, Frank!
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