Cougar Cry
Page 2
Germany... Not a pleasant place
By: Jordan Welborn
It was supposed to be the greatest summer of my life. I was to spend a month in
Germany as an exchange student and bring back a girl who was to stay with me
for a month. All I had to pay for was the plane ticket and fill out a few hundred
forms about myself.
The goal of the program was to match personalities and interests in order to en
sure a successful exchange. In my essays about myself, I expressed a dislike for
alcohol, parties, biking, and sports in general. Granted, this made me a difficult
candidate, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.
I was matched with a girl two years younger than I in a small village about 45 minutes away from Frankfurt. Bags were
packed, flight arrangements made, and I found myself alone in a German airport
searching for a family I had never seen before.
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After about an hour, I was united with my host family. An awkwardly quiet car
ride followed. Little did I know that it would be my last. Upon arrival at their
house, we had a breakfast of fresh bread and homemade marmalade. I asked for
water to drink and was handed a glass bottle. Somewhat dehydrated from the
flight, I hastily gulped down half the bottle before I realized what I'd done. It
was carbonated water. I quickly ran to the sink to rid my mouth of its putrid
taste. The tap water was refreshing. It also made me sick.
Through the time changes, I had lost an entire night of sleep, so I thought it best
to try to rest. Later that day I awoke with every sort of physical ailment known
to man. Every bit of food I had ingested in the preceding 12 hours resurfaced for a second run. My body shook, all the
while alternating from extreme warmth to cold. My head ached and I barely had enough energy to walk from the bed to
the bathroom. I could go on, but you get the point. All of this lasted for about 3 days.
Having recuperated to about 50%, I attempted to settle into the daily routine of my host family. Bike 3 miles to school. Sit
through endless lectures in a language I didn't understand. Bike 3 miles home. Nap for an hour. Jog for an hour. Change
clothes. Bike 3 miles to town. Watch people get drunk. Bike 3 miles home.
It was at this point when I began to question why I was even there. Obviously, my personality profile had been completely
disregarded. The girl I was staying with (we'll call her Ann) and I were coming to
the quick realization that we had absolutely nothing in common. And 1 was still un
able to keep any food down. Also: What was I doing back in High School???
Several more days of this went by. Ann and I became blatantly hostile. I mistook a
trashcan for a mailbox and threw my letters away. The machine at the bank rejected
my American dollars, so I was unable to change my money. I broke their family
computer. I proved to yet another country what a dreadful putt-putt player I was.
And I was constantly given the advice by Ann's parents, that if I got drunk, just
once. I'd feel better about the whole ordeal.
1 opted to come home instead. I went to another country to learn about another cul
ture. But, all I really learned about was the life of a teenager that parties too much. I found myself in the middle of a situa
tion that I had for years tried so hard to avoid.... And with people that I had always chosen not to associate with. Every
one around me, not only lived in a different culture, but by a different set of values, morals, and ideas about the world. I
was without kindred spirits, and feeling very alone. Yet from this, I learned one very valuable lesson: There are some
things in life that you just can't prepare yourself for. This was one.