One of the cooler things I look forward to is definitely AFS arranged activities and camps. The past weekend I spent in Dresden, Saxony, with a handful of amazing international teens. A few cool Russians, the warm Spanish speakers, the interesting Asian crew, the Scandinavian girls, an energetic Australian, us American folk, and of course, our amazing German leaders. We stayed in a Hostel, which was only a ten-minute walk from Dresden Hbf. It was a very nice Hostel!
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| THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OF AFS |
The camp is such a critical interaction point for exchange students. It allows an opportunity to talk with someone who is experiencing exactly what you are also experiencing. Being able to hear someone else's downfalls and successes gives you this explosion of hope to go out and do better. It's also an opportunity to gauge how well you do, a silly way to see how you stack up amongst the current exchange kids in your area. Doesn't come as to shock that we all feel the same. The same hopes, fears, and the same up and down moments. Some of us are partiers, some of us studious, some found the one thing that keeps them grounded, some of us still trying to find it. Either way, we all are living. Every day holds a new struggle, a new success, another opportunity to do better. We all understand this commonality. We all are finding our way, while trying to have the best experience we can, whatever that may be, for ourselves.
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| THE GREATEST PEOPLE |
Cool things we did:
Have this activity; one raw egg and one red apple, cook the egg, and exchange the apple. In partnered groups, we exchange students went out into Dresden's central city area to complete the task. I was with my good friend Andrea from Mexico. We walk straight to Dresden Hbf where we enter an Asian restaurant, speaking in our broken and bad German, and ask if we could get our egg boiled. After boiling our egg we exchange our apple with a florist and convenience her to give us unwanted or bad flowers. She gives us two fresh-cut Daisies and a dying but beautiful potted plant. We go to a chocolatier and ask to exchange our fresh cut flowers for old or unwanted chocolate, the smile on her face was priceless and she proceeds to give us a small box of chocolates. We leave the Hbf trying to find more people to exchange more things. We find ourselves lost but make it back to the hostel in time. Absolutely amazing if you can imagine.....
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| WHAT BROKEN GERMAN GETS YA |
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| THANK YOU KIND PERSON! |
A mini party was held in the basement of the Hostel after a night tour of Dresden, we got to the Hostel around 12. We first sang a cappella to the top of our lungs to random pop songs that popped into our minds. We sing off-key and loudly while smiling and laughing, absorbing the joy. We then blasted Latin music while the Spanish speakers dominate the dance floor. They taught us other foreigners simple moves while the better dancers can catch the steps and dance with partners. We switch it over to pop music and dance around wildly. Before we knew it, it's 4am. We head upstairs where we sit in the dining room and snack on German chips and cookies. Drinking coal and sparkling water laughing, discussing our experience, arguing how banana should be pronounced, I sit back. This is where I am, I am here, in the now, and I love it. Went to bed at 5:30, woke at 7. Pure amazement, to all students- please go abroad!
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| WILD NIGHTS |
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| HELLO FROM THE AFS MID-STAY CAMP |
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