Also, the scenery is much better.
And the schedules are MUCH easier to read.
SCHOOL
SCHOOL
The most interesting thing about the students I noticed was that they all h
ave the same backpack.
ave the same backpack.If you're a young-un,
your backpack looks like this:
your backpack looks like this:
Of course there are variations on the style - the little girls all have very very colorful ones that are covered with reflective strips so they don't get hit by the crazy German drivers in their 2-door stick shifts.
If you're older than that, you get choices!!! Yay for you!
The coolest people of all are the ones who go backpack shopping with their friends and buy the exact same on in different colors. I saw three girls at the bus stop Friday with Choice 2 exactly - all with a different color scheme. I feel really stupid now for not having the guts to dig out my camera.
If you're older than that, you get choices!!! Yay for you!
Choice 1: Choice
2:
2:The coolest people of all are the ones who go backpack shopping with their friends and buy the exact same on in different colors. I saw three girls at the bus stop Friday with Choice 2 exactly - all with a different color scheme. I feel really stupid now for not having the guts to dig out my camera.
ALDI
So there's this grocery store called Aldi's. At first I just thought that my host mother was crazy about it - like how some people get with Sam's Club. Honestly, the woman woke me up from a nap one day to tell me that Aldi's had reached the Top 10 of something in Great Britain. *rubrub* "Wha..?"
But it turns out that it is a little revolutionary, as far as stealing from the rich to feed the poor is concerned. Mr. Aldi and his brother are the #1 and #2 richest people in Germany.
Here's the concept, as explained by my host dad: Companies stock Aldi warehouses with their product. Aldi sells the product in their store at the exact same price that they bought it: no tacking on extra Euro at the customers' expense. At the end of the cycle (I think 3 days) the company must come and retrieve all the product that hasn't been sold, at no extra cost to Aldi. Aldi pays them 30 days later for the product that was sold.
But it turns out that it is a little revolutionary, as far as stealing from the rich to feed the poor is concerned. Mr. Aldi and his brother are the #1 and #2 richest people in Germany.
Here's the concept, as explained by my host dad: Companies stock Aldi warehouses with their product. Aldi sells the product in their store at the exact same price that they bought it: no tacking on extra Euro at the customers' expense. At the end of the cycle (I think 3 days) the company must come and retrieve all the product that hasn't been sold, at no extra cost to Aldi. Aldi pays them 30 days later for the product that was sold.
So... where's the money?
Elementary, my dear Watson. Mr. Aldi and his brother receive the money the instant the customer buys it in the store, but the compnay that owns the product gets paid 30 days later. The profit for Aldi is in the interest accrued.
Apparently they're kind of jerks to the companies, though. On top of making them pick up their extra product, the companies are often pressured into selling products either without a label or with a non-namebrand label.
The customers win: they get namebrand prices for as cheap as stores get them, and they know it's quality - if any product gets less than an A rating, it's pulled from the stores.
Still - if Mom tries telling me one more time that Aldi is the same kind of store as Wal-Mart and that it will have taken over America by the time I get back, words are going to be thrown. Can someone help me explain the difference between a grocery store that has some school supplies and whatnot, and a Wal-Mart, the ultimate bargain-shopper's paradise? Honestly.
Apparently they're kind of jerks to the companies, though. On top of making them pick up their extra product, the companies are often pressured into selling products either without a label or with a non-namebrand label.
The customers win: they get namebrand prices for as cheap as stores get them, and they know it's quality - if any product gets less than an A rating, it's pulled from the stores.
Still - if Mom tries telling me one more time that Aldi is the same kind of store as Wal-Mart and that it will have taken over America by the time I get back, words are going to be thrown. Can someone help me explain the difference between a grocery store that has some school supplies and whatnot, and a Wal-Mart, the ultimate bargain-shopper's paradise? Honestly.
ME
Well that's all fine and dandy, but what about me? I'm the one you're here to read about! (Unless Mrs. Vander Wilt is forcing you to read about me - high five, Señora!) My life has become a very set routine of Cornflakes, bus ride, school, bus ride, Cornflakes, nap, real food, homework, bed. On Tuesdays I may start Choir but I haven't really decided yet. On Wednesdays I take the train to Bonn for a German class with some other AFS kids in theBonn area - including an American boy from Boston, a boy from Paraguay, a girl from Venezuela, and Sanni from Finland. Honest-to-goodness, Kayce, the girl is just like you. It's almost creepy. This wide array of accents all attempting to speak German is rather amusing to me - but they get me back. I'm the only one who can execute a flawless pirate's AARRRR!!!
Because nobody else can make an R sound. Stupid east-coast accents.... thanks Matt.
Some interesting things are bound to happen soon - my school has a two-week long break coming up in October, I have AFS late-orientation soon (we're going castle touring - be sure to check my photo links on the left), and sometime this week I will be receiving a box from home with warmer clothing in it!!
In the meantime, more Cornflakes are in order.
2 comments:
I LOVE this blog! It's always on time, it doesn't leave a mess, and it never oversleeps. It's just like my daughter, but with no harmful side effects.
But the harmful side effects are what makes me so much more interesting!
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