1.5

So, the german grading system is funky. it is as follows

• 1 (sehr gut, very good) is the best possible grade and is given for outstanding performance
• 2 (gut, good) is the next-highest and is given for performance that meets the standard completely and is above-average
• 3 (befriedigend, satisfactory) indicates "average" performance.
• 4 (ausreichend, sufficient) is the lowest passing grade and is given if the standard has been met but with a number of notable errors.
• 5 (mangelhaft, deficient) is the higher of two failing grades and is given if the standard has not been met but the basics have been understood.
• 6 (ungenügend, insufficient) is the lowest possible grade and is given if the standard has not been met and the basics have not been understood

It basically means that 1 is better than an A and 2 is kind of a B+ ish...and I got a 1.5 in my german course. That means I get to take the next level and I get an A on my transcript. BOOYA. Also, I've been singing in one of the large choirs and the director seems to have taken a liking to me. He invited me to sing in the chamber choir, a 6 piece group and apparently I'm going to be a Bass section leader? He kinda just surprised me with that last bit but, I've been (super healthily) craving the positive regard of others. Oh well, it's nice when it comes. It's nice when I think that I'm good at something and other people do, too.

Trouble in Paradise

So...I fear that I'm leaving the honeymoon stage. It was bound to happen some time...People are beginning to upset me. My American acquaintances seem to be under the impression that it's okay to hang out all day, err' day and speak nothing but English. If I wanted to make friends in California, I would have stayed in California. And then, when I decide to let my guard down and actually try to cultivate a friendship, it's met with "eh..."

Story of my life.

not so much into the vulnerability thing right now. It's most upsetting to me that in my interactions with seemingly everyone right now, there has to be some sort of front, guard, Grenze....stupid.

I'm in Germany

Yes. That is currently happening. I live in Europe. I'm going to school in Europe. I buy my groceries in Europe. Everything I do right now is in Europe. Because that's where I am. As in, not the country where I was born, spent 21 years of my life, went to high school and such....yeah.

It's weird.

I knew I would adapt to it fine. Everything is going smoothly, except the one thing that I had problems with: GERMAN. as in the language. The one that I can kind of speak. only kind of. After wounding my pride by taking an entrance exam, it was discovered that I am in the "Mittelstufe" or intermediate group. According to the Common European Framework of References for Langauges

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

I am of B1 proficiency. Which is all well and good to be understood at parties and in bars and such when you're speaking to friendly German people who are willing to overlook forgetting the genders of nouns and not declining your adjectives properly....but it's completely another thing when your strict German teacher expects you to remember to ALWAYS put the verb in the right place. buhhhhhh it's hard. And my goal is to be C1 by the end of the year...I have literally hundreds of hours of studying to do.

So, that's that. I'm taking a preparatory language course. Real school starts in October, I joined a choir (^^) and everything is expensive. Hopefully the Euro gets weaker or I find a job or something. It would be nice to get to travel and such....There's a low boil anxiety of "whatamigonnadowhatamigonnadowhatamigonnado" after this year but whatevs. I've been combating that by obsessive compulsively making lists and eating many, many pastries. Such is life.