The American high school in movies and books is chock full of house parties and sleepovers. The characters go to school only to socialize, and their day really begins once the sun sets. This narrative, as depicted in movies like, “Ten Things I Hate About You” and “Mean Girls” has become one with the stereotype of American high school. Our exchange student from Japan was most excited to party when she went to the US, only to be disappointed when invitations weren’t printed on the walls of the school. You could almost see her realize over time that at least in our suburban area, there aren’t that many events to be had. Alcohol is illegal, and while this doesn’t mean that teenagers don’t drink, it’s harder to come by and a risk. The invention of social media means any parties are documented and what happens at them becomes known eventually. Plus any large party is likely to get busted by the police, which is why small, intimate get-togethers are more common.
It turns out this whole time, the German high schoolers were the real partiers. Our exchange student went to the wrong place because within a week of me arriving at my placement, I was at a party with my entire class. Beer is legal when you turn 14, and you can buy hard liquor when you’re 16. (The general attitude is that beer is a lighter, more passive drink). But people have told me they started to drink as young as 10 or 12. It isn’t questioned that teenagers are getting together to party and drink. Somewhere outdoors if it’s warm enough or in someone’s basement. These parties are chaotic, but not the almost destructive house parties shown in American movies.
This isn’t just for high schoolers. The adults love a good party too, no matter your age. Although not as often and not in the middle of the woods. People like to gather in the village town hall of sorts for special occasions. When a generation wants to have a party, it takes some combined effort to pull off. One of the two restaurants has to cater for the event, the designated DJ man of the village has to show up and play, someone has to serve alcohol. The latter was my job.
There are three girls in tenth grade living in Jubar, not including me. Two of them are twins and it was their father’s fiftieth birthday. The other girl is my friend Hannah who already has experience bartending working at her grandparents restaurant but they figured she would need some help. Needless to say, I have never bartended in my life.
The night started out with handing all of the 40 something middle aged guests a glass of champagne upon arrival. There was then a rush to get everyone their preferred drinks before dinner started. Hannah’s family restaurant catered schnitzel. After dinner some people get up and dance, others stay sitting and talk. The stream of alcohol is constant until cake and coffee time at midnight, when people switch. What’s interesting is that nobody got drunk. Being that it was my first party I don’t know if this is a regular occurrence. But it seems that there is a culture around knowing your alcoholic limits. Getting black out drunk or “blue”, as the Germans say, is viewed as immature and irresponsible. Alcohol is viewed more as a social lubricant, and by the time you’re a certain age you’re expected to know your limits.
Hannah and I were offered alcohol many times while we were working, but declined because we needed to stay focused. I learned a lot about bartending, like how you should prioritize getting a drink rather than cleaning a glass, and how a pint doesn’t need to be dried. I know how to mix some cocktails and how to pour a good stein of beer. While these skills won’t come in handy until I’m at least 21, I’m still glad that I learned something new. These parties are also really fun, people just talk and dance and have a good time. They just like to get together for the occasional village party, and I love how a lot of the community chips in to make it possible. These kind of parties are definitely specific to rural areas like mine, but I think that makes them even more interesting and special.
Here are more pictures of what I’ve been up to.
Top left corner and two group photos on the bottom: I went to Berlin with my afs group. It was so much fun and yes the boy in the bottom right corner pic is from Chile and I’ve never seen him in different clothes
Top right corner: I went to a christmas market in Magdeburg last weekend with my host parents and Hannah
Two group photos under: I put together a Thanksgiving party for my class. We ate pizza and I baked pumpkin pie (which was a serious ordeal), made a presentation about Thanksgiving, and did Thanksgiving arts and crafts. It was super stressful but so much fun and I think everyone had a great time!
Picture left of Thanksgiving photos: a picture of me in front of one of Magdeburg’s cathedrals. If you look you can see my Polaroid camera bag
On the left, second to bottom row: We got to go inside the Bundestag with my afs group. Did you know that they’re building an honest to God moat around the Bundestag right now? Crazy times. Here’s a link to the article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7265397/A-32ft-wide-MOAT-set-built-Reichstag-protect-terrorists.html
On the right, second to bottom row: I went to Pirna and Dresden for a weekend. This is the Pirna cathedral. Pirna was so interesting because so much of it is preserved in the old city. Unlike Dresden which was almost completely destroyed in WWII.
Bottom row: On the left is the castle and catholic church that serve as an entrance to the Dresden old city. The right is the Church of Our Lady evangelical cathedral. It was completely destroyed but has since been rebuilt in the same style. I got to attend the regular service and it was so cool!
BEA'S YEAR ABROAD 