Erasmus Alemania

Another thing I have to get used to while being here is the food. To start with, German food is very different from Spanish food, of course, since they don’t follow the Mediterranean diet here. But also, in my host family, some of them are vegetarians. Not all of them—only two of the daughters are. But of course, since it’s much easier to cook just one meal for everyone, most of the time we don’t eat meat or fish. I don’t like meat that much, so it hasn’t been too hard for me to get used to, but sometimes I do feel like having some. I’m eating a lot more vegetables than I usually do, but I don’t mind because it’s really healthy. Also, I’m lucky to be someone who eats everything and likes most foods. Even so, there have been things that surprised me—for example, they once made a lentil lasagna. It was really tasty.

Today my host family and Elisa’s family went skiing together. They asked me if I wanted to go, and I told them that even though I didn’t know how to ski, I really wanted to. I had only skied once before, but I didn’t do too badly. They lent me all the necessary gear, since they’re pretty professional. When we got there, they explained the basics to me and we started on the easiest slopes. They’re much better than me, so I was falling a bit behind, but it was still a lot of fun. Still, I wasn’t at their level and was already quite tired, so I stayed in the café so they could enjoy the harder slopes. I was perfectly fine there. I love the snow, and I made a snowman and took a nap. Later, they came back for me and we skied a bit more. Even though I didn’t do as well as I expected, I really enjoyed the day, and everyone else had a great time too.

Today is Sunday. There isn’t much to do here on Sundays, but my host sister and I had a really good day. When I got up, I studied a bit of the material my classmates are covering back in Spain. A little while later, my host sister came downstairs with several board games and showed me her family’s favorites. We had a great time. After lunch, we took a nap. And later, my sister and I made chocolate cookies. Even though they didn’t turn out perfectly, we had a lot of fun making them. I’m sure we’ll get better with practice. After that, we had dinner and sat in the living room to watch The Vampire Diaries together while eating our cookies.

This morning, my host sister had a very important ballet exam. She’s very athletic—she does ballet and tennis, and also goes running. This morning was her ballet exam, and she offered me the chance to go watch her. Of course, I said yes, since ballet has always been a sport I’ve loved. She got ready with her leotard and special shoes, and I sat in the audience, really excited. They danced several different pieces, and all the girls did an amazing job. It was really beautiful, and I’m sure my sister will get an excellent grade because she did it perfectly.

Herrsching is the town where I’m living during this Erasmus. It’s a small town, but very beautiful. It’s located next to a very large lake that connects with many other towns. Despite being small, it has everything—supermarket, drugstore, restaurants and bars, candy shops... It’s very pleasant to walk around here, by the lake, while enjoying the sunset. There’s also a small park with gardens that is very pretty. Plus, there’s the train station, so this is the final stop. That means my train rides are longer, but also that it’s almost impossible for me to miss it. It feels strange living in such a small place, since I’m used to living in a city where there’s much more noise and people passing by. It’s really nice, although maybe a bit lonely at times.

Today I went with my host family to Andechs, a nearby village from Herrsching, where I live. We walked there through the hills, so today I did wear my hiking boots. The walk there was beautiful. They took me because it’s a very touristy place. We had lunch at a restaurant with typical Bavarian food. Even though it’s not the type of food I like the most, it’s a pleasure to try food from other cultures. Afterwards, we visited a small church that was beautiful, decorated in white and gold tones. We walked back home, and I really loved the walk.

 My host family has a dog named Fee. She’s very playful and energetic, so today my host sister and I went out for a walk with her. We hiked up the hill, and the dog didn’t stop running. My sneakers got all muddy—if I had known, I would’ve worn different ones. We watched the sunset, and it was a really nice moment where we got to know each other better. The hill here is beautiful, and we’re lucky that it’s right next to the house. When we got back, we prepared dinner together. I still struggle to get used to the meal times, since here they eat and have dinner earlier, but I’m slowly adapting.