A series of musings on American culture by a German exchange student.

In several different senses this is exactly the half of my exchange year here. One is simply the time; I have been here for five months and there are five more months to go. A second is the beginning of third term and thus second semester. And a third is the mental attitude – I am truly and completely here now; German is beginning to feel like a foreign language, high school is the norm, and living here seems just right.

In retrospect, time flew by so fast. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I got off the plane, not knowing what lay ahead of me. Now my adjustment is all but complete.

I do not constantly have to ask people “Sorry, what did you say again?” anymore, I know what “that’s what she said” jokes are (believe me, those were so confusing in the beginning), and can find my way through the New England language peculiarities (see: wicked).  I (more or less) understand the way WA runs (for that matter I know what W-A is – if no one explains these abbreviations one is easily lost) and am not lost in its maze of hallways anymore. I have gotten used to people wanting ice-cream at every time of the day and year (as long as I don’t have to eat it I’m fine), and understand how Netflix works now (if you believe it or not, I have never heard of such a service in Germany before – if that is because of my ignorance or because it does not exist is anybody’s guess).

The rest of the school year is actually surprisingly short (for Seniors, anyway) and suspiciously devoid of any big tests. There is one more vacation, and Senior privileges have started (Go Seniors!) On the other hand, certain females are becoming more and more persistent that I think of and plan for prom now, even though it is still three months away.

Having absolved half a year I can’t help but look forward to the rest; and dread the return. But there is still time, even if it flies.