I guess, you could say sometimes it is what you see in the movies.
Every weekend, somebody has something going on where he can invite you. Most of the times "the more, the merrier". Crazy house party with blue and red plastic cups and drinking games like beer pong. Crazy dancing at clubs. When you're under 21, fake I.D.'s and friends that buy you alcohol.
Clubs in L.A. open from 9 or 10pm til 2am and you only get in when you're 21 (or have a fake I.D.). There's clubs for 18-21 year-olds as well. When you're under 21, you get two big crosses on your hands, so no bartender gives you alcohol. If a 21 year old friend gives you alcohol, watch out for the bouncers, they kick you out once they see it. Happened to me. Ridiculous!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
College Life
So according to my friend, who has been studying psychology in Germany for five years and almost has her diploma, apparently I do way more for college than she has ever done at university in Germany. She says, 4 weeks before the finals, she starts studying. The rest of the semester she goes to class and parties.
And here, the longer I am at school and the higher level I get, I have to do homework every day, I have quizzes every other week, tests, papers and on top of that the finals. Even though right now, I am at college, not at university. College is for the first two years after High School and usually cheaper than attending university. After two years and with enough completed units, you transfer to university, where you will have another two years of units to complete to get your Bachelor.
At my college, we have class rooms, like class rooms at a German High School. We have buildings for the different fields of studying, i.e. a Science building or an Arts building which are named after famous people, i.e. Da Vinci Hall or Jefferson Hall.
You have the chance to look up your professors on rateyourprofessor.com. I've been doing it since my second semester here. People rate appropriately and thanks to the website, I've had great professors. They are well educated and care for their students a lot. Most of them at least. The first semester, I had a bitch as a professor. She thought she was the shit, but couldn't really help anyone. Two of my Math professors are the nicest men in the world but they are to old to teach. They make a lot of mistakes and forget stuff.
Usually, classes last 1h 30min and they are either Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. There's online, evening and weekend classes as well. Every class is about 3-5 units and you need about 180 units to get your Bachelor.
The Germans that have visited me have said that people at my college look dumb. However, you can't judge by their appearance I learned! Only sometimes, lol. Most students at my college are hardworking (1-3 jobs) and some already have had kids by the age of 17. They don't come from rich families. Some don't speak English well at all but still made to higher level courses. My English is better than some of the native speakers'.
By teachers, I don't get treated differently because I am German. There is a lot of international students whose native language is not English. If they don't understand things, they have to be smart and help themselves. Students are very interested when they hear you are from a different country. Especially the guys haha.
You see all races on campus - all races mixing and mingling. The age ranges from 18 to about 60. One time there was a seemingly homeless sitting in my class - she was enrolled. We don't have big sports teams like USC or UCLA, so there is no groups like "the cheerleaders" or "the football stars", but there is a "freak" area.
We have our own cafe, our own bookstore and a very big remodeled library with hundreds of computers.
As an international student, you pay at least ten times as much as residents do! And without being allowed to work, you gotta have a good plan how to make your way through.
I love studying here because of all the different cultures that come together and the great teachers. I can choose from a variety of classes. Within your first two years you usually have to get all of your G.E. (General Education) units. This means, math to a certain level, English to a certain level, a speech class, art class, a second language, a history class, a political science class and a science class. You get the idea. Next to it, you complete a few units of your major which you can switch without a problem.
And here, the longer I am at school and the higher level I get, I have to do homework every day, I have quizzes every other week, tests, papers and on top of that the finals. Even though right now, I am at college, not at university. College is for the first two years after High School and usually cheaper than attending university. After two years and with enough completed units, you transfer to university, where you will have another two years of units to complete to get your Bachelor.
At my college, we have class rooms, like class rooms at a German High School. We have buildings for the different fields of studying, i.e. a Science building or an Arts building which are named after famous people, i.e. Da Vinci Hall or Jefferson Hall.
You have the chance to look up your professors on rateyourprofessor.com. I've been doing it since my second semester here. People rate appropriately and thanks to the website, I've had great professors. They are well educated and care for their students a lot. Most of them at least. The first semester, I had a bitch as a professor. She thought she was the shit, but couldn't really help anyone. Two of my Math professors are the nicest men in the world but they are to old to teach. They make a lot of mistakes and forget stuff.
Usually, classes last 1h 30min and they are either Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. There's online, evening and weekend classes as well. Every class is about 3-5 units and you need about 180 units to get your Bachelor.
The Germans that have visited me have said that people at my college look dumb. However, you can't judge by their appearance I learned! Only sometimes, lol. Most students at my college are hardworking (1-3 jobs) and some already have had kids by the age of 17. They don't come from rich families. Some don't speak English well at all but still made to higher level courses. My English is better than some of the native speakers'.
By teachers, I don't get treated differently because I am German. There is a lot of international students whose native language is not English. If they don't understand things, they have to be smart and help themselves. Students are very interested when they hear you are from a different country. Especially the guys haha.
You see all races on campus - all races mixing and mingling. The age ranges from 18 to about 60. One time there was a seemingly homeless sitting in my class - she was enrolled. We don't have big sports teams like USC or UCLA, so there is no groups like "the cheerleaders" or "the football stars", but there is a "freak" area.
We have our own cafe, our own bookstore and a very big remodeled library with hundreds of computers.
As an international student, you pay at least ten times as much as residents do! And without being allowed to work, you gotta have a good plan how to make your way through.
I love studying here because of all the different cultures that come together and the great teachers. I can choose from a variety of classes. Within your first two years you usually have to get all of your G.E. (General Education) units. This means, math to a certain level, English to a certain level, a speech class, art class, a second language, a history class, a political science class and a science class. You get the idea. Next to it, you complete a few units of your major which you can switch without a problem.
Venice Adventures With Hilda
Today, Hilda and me went to Venice. Once again, as it always seems to happen to us, we get approached by weirdos. This time it were three hood n***s (there's no other way to describe them, so excuse my choice of words) and one hood rat chick. She had a "bad" tatted on the back of her left leg and a "bitch" on the back of her right leg. And it was a tattoo a 5-year-old would have drawn better, it looked like children's chicken scratch writing. I don't wanna mess with no bad bitch from the hood lol. All of the guys were tatted, one of them had "power" and "greed" on his hands. Two of them had BIG scars on their arms, never seen scars like that. And the best thing was that all of them were wearing grillz. The one that looked like a hood Jay-Z replaced a missing tooth piece with gold. Holy crap!
"Can we take your pictures? We from Houston, actually I am from Cali, an' we wan' have sum nice lookin' Cali gurls on our pics."
"No, you can not!" The girls starts taking out here phone, shooting pictures, Jay-Z goes on to other girls. After small talk and after they started taking our pictures, Hilda and me go back to our towels.
5 minutes later: "Is it gon' end like this? Really? You ain't gon' gimme your number?", says Jay-Z. Hilda: "No!" They start talking again, Jay-Z really thinking he could get Hilda's number or Hilda to meet him again. The other one two realized they were not gonna talk with us again. The "bad bitch" was just standing around. Jay-Z aks Hilda if she had a boyfriend. When she said she does, he said: "You know what, he can be the entree, Ima be the appetizer." WOW! The one with the "power"-tattoo said: "You good peoples. I can tell." Yes, we are. I don't think they were... He knew we were not going to call them.
After a few more minutes talking about how you can't transport shells from Hawaii to the States, they finally left, Jay-Z blowing kisses at Hilda.
On our way to the car, we pass a black skateboarder with long dreadlocks singing "I wanna get wasted." Once we pass him and he sees Hilda: "Damn! I don't wanna get wasted no mo, I wanna take you out for a drink. Gurl, you don't have to spend nuttin. Damn, these legs." The whole way he was creeping behind and around us starring at poor Hilda.
Another Venice episode: Hilda, Kimmy and I walk down the Ocean Front Walk at Venice and stop at a vendor's stand, Hilda's friend. A black guy comes up to me telling me I'm beautiful and asking where I'm from. "Germany", I said. His fat wife came from behind giving me a mean look. "Whatcha doin?", she asked her husband. "Just telling this girl she's pretty. She's from Germany." "And you from Africa. So what?" And so they leave arguing.
This video was shot at Venice Beach:
"Can we take your pictures? We from Houston, actually I am from Cali, an' we wan' have sum nice lookin' Cali gurls on our pics."
"No, you can not!" The girls starts taking out here phone, shooting pictures, Jay-Z goes on to other girls. After small talk and after they started taking our pictures, Hilda and me go back to our towels.
5 minutes later: "Is it gon' end like this? Really? You ain't gon' gimme your number?", says Jay-Z. Hilda: "No!" They start talking again, Jay-Z really thinking he could get Hilda's number or Hilda to meet him again. The other one two realized they were not gonna talk with us again. The "bad bitch" was just standing around. Jay-Z aks Hilda if she had a boyfriend. When she said she does, he said: "You know what, he can be the entree, Ima be the appetizer." WOW! The one with the "power"-tattoo said: "You good peoples. I can tell." Yes, we are. I don't think they were... He knew we were not going to call them.
After a few more minutes talking about how you can't transport shells from Hawaii to the States, they finally left, Jay-Z blowing kisses at Hilda.
On our way to the car, we pass a black skateboarder with long dreadlocks singing "I wanna get wasted." Once we pass him and he sees Hilda: "Damn! I don't wanna get wasted no mo, I wanna take you out for a drink. Gurl, you don't have to spend nuttin. Damn, these legs." The whole way he was creeping behind and around us starring at poor Hilda.
Another Venice episode: Hilda, Kimmy and I walk down the Ocean Front Walk at Venice and stop at a vendor's stand, Hilda's friend. A black guy comes up to me telling me I'm beautiful and asking where I'm from. "Germany", I said. His fat wife came from behind giving me a mean look. "Whatcha doin?", she asked her husband. "Just telling this girl she's pretty. She's from Germany." "And you from Africa. So what?" And so they leave arguing.
This video was shot at Venice Beach:
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Believe it or not, there are things I do miss about Germany
In LA you better ask people if they have been arrested before or if they have kids. It’s not unusual that people in my age have kids or have been to jail/arrested. Also, a LOT of people smoke weed. In California, it’s legal to go to a doctor, say you have headaches or back problems and he’ll give you a license that allows you to consume marihuana.
However, you are not allowed drink in public. This means you can’t walk around with open bottles, cans or whatever that contain alcohol. In Germany, nobody cares. Here, you’ll have to pay a couple hundred dollars when they catch you.
Despite the patrolling police and the ghettobirds that circle above my neighborhood, I am more scared here. In LA more bad things happen and if you are at the wrong place at a wrong time you can get shot… There are a lot of crazy people out here…
Sure thing, I do miss my family and my friends. People that I have known for years, people that I can trust 100% and people I can be myself with. I miss their hugs and talking with them. I miss my parents and my cat that I’ve had for 14 years.
I also miss the food in Germany. Bread, Apfelschorle, fresh fruit and veggies, Schnitzel, Wurst, cheese, my parents cooking,…
I miss going outside and walking around barefoot without stepping into trash, dust or other nasty things and not having black feet after a day of walking in the city. Just a clean environment. In LA it smells, it’s dirty and smoggy. And there are not that many trees, parks or meadows here.
Clearly, my life was more luxurious in Germany. I had a bigger room, didn’t have to look at bills and watch every cent I am spending. I could have had a car and a bigger room… But I rather live poor and happy in LA than wealthy and unhappy in Germany.
Why I do not want to go back to Germany
As I said, I travelled a lot and I was always curious to discover places, learn about other cultures and languages. I never liked German guys either. My first crush was on a Slovakian guy. That one time I had a German boyfriend he bored me to death. My first love was an African Omani and after that, well once you go black you never really go back. Anyways, guys weren’t interesting for me in Germany, people rather listen to Techno or Volksmusik than Hip Hop and the weather is not that great. When you don’t fit into the picture you resemble, people start talking about you, start judging you. Mostly, because they might have nothing else to do?
In LA I found cultures from all over the world, met people that had stories to tell because they came there to pursue their dreams (most of the time it’s acting lol). I felt like I had much more in common with them because we came to this place to make our dreams come true. The people that didn’t grow up there also left their families and friends to start something else. They are very competitive and strive for the best. I feel like they are stronger in some way. I mean, you come to LA without knowing anyone, you have to start building a new circle of friends and network on your own. Your family or old friends are not there to support you (at least not physically). The ones that come from countries with a different language also learned English to live here, just like me.
People don’t judge as quick if you have a different skin color or dyed your hair blue or wear clothes that “normal” people don’t wear. People with tattoos and piercing can also be in a business suite! Oh yes, they can! Ha, in my small old town in Germany they either can not or they have to deal with a lot of talking about them. Because they chose to put art on their bodies. When you go to parties you meet people from all over the world. Or if you move into a house with 9 other roommates, you’ll meet people from 9 different countries!
And sometimes, when you have connections, you are able to go to parties at the Playboy Mansion or you get invited to the Oscar’s or you get to go into a mansion of some other celebrity. There are a lot of rich people here. Most of them worked hard for their money. That is impressing to me. Always give your all and do your best!
LA is full of events, concerts, Art Walks, clubs, museums, you name it. There’s always something to do. If you want to go to the beach and skiing on the same day – LA makes it possible for you!
The icing on the cake is the beautiful Southern Cali weather: It’s sunny pretty much every day and when you get lucky, you can tan by the beach in the winter months.
I feel like most Germans can’t get the stick out of their ass. They are often in a bad mood (because of the weather?). I rather have a superficial person in an American supermarket smile at me and ask me “How are you?” even though he doesn’t give a shit than an unfriendly German just looking at me not asking if he can help me or what I need. Also Germans judge quicker from appearance. I’ve learned not to do that because you never know.
My story
When I was 16, I was an exchange student in Orange County, also known as O.C., California. Yes, where the TV show takes place. Beautiful beaches, great weather and safe neighborhoods. But pretty boring. When my exchange family showed me LA, I fell in love with this city, especially Venice Beach. These four weeks during my exchange were the most exciting weeks in my life till then. Every day there was something else to do, some other city to see and the best: All these different cultures and people in one place. I grew up with nannies from different countries and used to travel a lot, so I’ve always loved internationality. And so it did not take long to make the decision that one day I would study in LA. I have to admit, I’ve also wanted to know if it’s like in these College Hollywood movies. And let me tell you – it’s even better!
After my High School graduation in Germany I was not ready to take this big step yet. But after a few months, I got all hyped up and I organized what I had to, to study here. It was confusing and still confusing after I got here and sometimes still confusing after my three years here because the system is different but I’ve done well so far and learned from mistakes.
After one year I thought I was gonna be out of money to stay here, so I went back to Germany. After moving to a – compared to LA – small town (that I also chose because I knew there were Americans stationed) and attending university there for a few weeks, I knew this was not for me anymore. I couldn’t live here anymore. So I decided again to work hard, save up money and go back. I made it. These seven months in Germany were the hardest times of my life, however. I felt like I don’t fit in anymore and like a part of me has died and like my American Dream had never happened.
I was the happiest person on earth when my plane touched down in LA in January 2010 and I knew I could live there again.
This was shot in L.A.:
This was shot in L.A.:
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