Tea Corner - Where you can talk to all

Quote from Serenissima

Yes, Yale is in New Haven. Yale is a pretty cool place, nice bars and cafés all around but New Haven itself is not such a nice place. Since the crisis hit the states there are a lot of empty houses there and lots of unemployment...So you better park your car on campus. Safer that way.

Nice places you've been to. I also visited the Grand Canyon while I was in Vegas. But it was sooo hot. I'll never go there in august again. But the best experience was riding the roller coaster (well, kind of roller coaster) on top of the stratosphere tower. It takes you over the rim and you just hang there in the air, 350m over the ground. Adrenaline rush guaranteed!
Florida sounds great. Never been there but all the stories I've heard about it. Must be a gorgeous place. I'm planning a road trip with a friend this summer. 3 weeks on the road, from atlanta all the way up and down again.

Haha, no I don't have a Jersey license. I never really thought about getting one and no one really asked me about it. I got pulled over just once and they didn't really care if my license was German or not. My friend got one, though. Pretty easy to get. You didn't even have to take a real driving test. Only needed to read the manual and do some multiple choice questions on a touch-screen. Done! I have a friend from Alabama and his license is...well...pretty awesome. He has the weirdest picture ever.

Sorry I haven't replied up to now....
I also went to Nevada in August it was like...unbelievable hot. But they offered "Ice Cold Dollar-Water" for $1 on every corner "
I've also been to the top of the stratosphere tower but I only went there to enjoy the view....I hate roller coasters.

Yeah, licenses are easy to get, but only if you have a visa.....It was illegal by the way, to not get a license in NJ. You have to if you stay longer thant 6 months....but actually nobody will ever find out.
In Florida you can get your learner's permit at age 15 (w/o a driving test, btw you'll simply have to take a multiple choice test :D) and when I went to Florida and I was 15, it really sucked to know that 15 year olds in FL were allowed to drive and I wasn't. I had to wait another two years. And what did you get pulled over for?
What I like so much about American licenses is that they represent your state. In general not only with licenses everybody can identifiy so much with their state and that's really cool..
it's not that way in Germany.
But right now I'm glad it's not that way here because I - let's say - hate the federal state I'm living in. I'm an "unwillingly relocated teenager"

Talking about identifying with your state....
What's your opinion towards the patriotism in the U.S.?

I kind of adore them for their patriotism.
Even like the British people.

I find it really sad, that the germans are afraid of being proud on their country...
I mean. Germany is also beautiful.

My opinion is actually very close to yours.

Our country does have a let's call it bad history but so does America. (I admit...ours is worse but America also did things that they're not proud of)
And yet every American is proud of their nation, many people run up flags in front of their house, it's hard to find a single place in the US without the star spangled banner and I don't blame them.

When we hosted the world cup 6 years ago many people would run up German flags or put them on their cars. And I've heard people say that they thought that was "disgusting" or "horrible". But that's what the Germans said. The Americans or other people wouldn't give a damn if they saw German flags all over German cities. I think they are probably rather wondering why there is almost not a single German flag in the downtown areas of our cities. (Maybe there is at the town hall but that's it)

And the American patriotism is kind of infectious. I own a US flag by myself and a flag of the state of Florida...because it's nice to identify with the country/state I've spend my holidays in ever since I was a small child.

American patriotism is a pretty weird thing for me. I really didn't mind it when I was staying there for only two weeks. I really didn't care at all.
After a year, however, things changed a little. For me, it became somehow too much. In Highschool for example, they have the flag ceremony where the flag is hoist up in front of the school while the national anthem is playing all over the school. Then there's home room where you watch commercials for the army and do the pledge on the flag. It's the same at college sometimes. That's incredibly annoying and a little crazy. My cousin is born in the states and since she lives in Germany she has to do the pledge on the constitution every other year. It was quite hard at the time she couldn't read since she's only 11 now.

British patriotism is, on the other hand, something completely different. Most people from the UK are actually not proud of being British but of being either Welsh, English, Scottish or from Ulster. Sometimes even very proud of the city they come from. Totally fine with me. And fortunately, the patriotism is taken rather sarcastically and refers to more than the country and its glorious deeds like it does in the US.

I'm not a patriot since I don't believe in patriotism in general. I believe in being proud to be German. I'm very proud to live in a country that had so many great artists and intellectuals. I'm proud of how beautiful the country is and the area I live in but I would never call myself patriotic.

Oh and Fabi, I know that not having a Jersey license was illegal but no one could prove how long I've been driving the car and no one actually cares since I do have a driver's license. And I got pulled over for speeding what I, or better my friend since she was driving, didn't do. Soemtimes the police just gets a little bored and so they pull someone over for random reasons. After five minutes the business was settled and we drove on.

Yeah, maybe their patriotism goes a little too far sometimes.
When are these flag ceremonies held in school? I think it's ok if they played the national anthem let's say at the end and the beginning of the school year. It might just look weird for us, because we're not used to it, but that's just the way the Americans live and as long as they do that in their own country, that's perfectly fine with me.

But I've to admit that their patriotism sometimes is too arrogant.
I once read in a magazine with the headline "10 years after 9/11 - How America has changed" and there were those letters to the editor. And the people said things like:
"On that day I realized that America is not invincible, which is a scary feeling"

And that's what many people in the U.S. thought or still think that the world does revolve around America.

Quote from Serenissima

My cousin is born in the states and since she lives in Germany she has to do the pledge on the constitution every other year. It was quite hard at the time she couldn't read since she's only 11 now.

Can you explain that a little more detailed? Why and where does she have to do that?
I mean what are they supposed to do if she doesn't pledge on the consitution?
I assume it's not that easy to remove U.S. citizenship from a natural born.

Quote from Serenissima

And I got pulled over for speeding what I, or better my friend since she was driving, didn't do. Soemtimes the police just gets a little bored and so they pull someone over for random reasons. After five minutes the business was settled and we drove on.

So you got pulled over for speeding although you stayed just fine within the speed limit? Okay, that's weird.

Quote from Fabi

Yeah, maybe their patriotism goes a little too far sometimes.
When are these flag ceremonies held in school? I think it's ok if they played the national anthem let's say at the end and the beginning of the school year. It might just look weird for us, because we're not used to it, but that's just the way the Americans live and as long as they do that in their own country, that's perfectly fine with me.

The flag ceremony (+anthem) and the home room procedure is held every morning before lessons start, so every student has to attend it. The national anthem is, as you probably know, also played at all sports events in school and outside school. So, it's always a lot of anthem.

Quote from Fabi

Can you explain that a little more detailed? Why and where does she have to do that?
I mean what are they supposed to do if she doesn't pledge on the consitution?
I assume it's not that easy to remove U.S. citizenship from a natural born.

She is now living in Germany and to keep the American citizenship she has to go to the American embassy once a year and has to do the pledge on the constitution. Other than that, she has to visit the States at least every 24 months if I remember right.

Quote from Fabi

So you got pulled over for speeding although you stayed just fine within the speed limit? Okay, that's weird.

Yup, we were all within the speed limit and still got pulled over. Happens.

Quote from Serenissima

The flag ceremony (+anthem) and the home room procedure is held every morning before lessons start, so every student has to attend it. The national anthem is, as you probably know, also played at all sports events in school and outside school. So, it's always a lot of anthem.

Every day? Ok, that's a little too much, I think.
Does that happen at every school? Because I've never heard of this being carried out so frequently.

But for sports events it's ok to play the anthem, in my opinion. They also do that in Germany sometimes even if both teams are German.

Quote from Serenissima

She is now living in Germany and to keep the American citizenship she has to go to the American embassy once a year and has to do the pledge on the constitution. Other than that, she has to visit the States at least every 24 months if I remember right.

Are you really sure about that?
I don't know about the pledge, but I cannot imagine that you have to enter the U.S. every 24 months if you are a natural-born citizen of the United States. I know that people with greencards have to face problems like that. If they stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months, immigration authorities will keep an eye on them and if they do that again they might loose the greencard because they don't live in the United States (anymore).
But natural-born citizens? I can't imagine that.
A friend of mine was born in Florida to German parents and is now living in Germany. I haven't asked him in detail about something like a pledge on the constitution. But we talked about his dual citizenship, e.g. that he would have to give up German citizenship (at least temporally) if he joined the U.S. army. I think he would have told me if he had to see somebody at the embassy every other year to pledge on the consitution.

I've tried to get some information out of Google. I didn't get anything regarding the pledge but I've learned that there are only a few reasons to remove citizenship from a natural-born: if the person is naturalized in a foreign country or if the person takes an oath of allegiance to a foreign country.

Quote from Fabi

Every day? Ok, that's a little too much, I think.
Does that happen at every school? Because I've never heard of this being carried out so frequently.

Quote from Fabi

But for sports events it's ok to play the anthem, in my opinion. They also do that in Germany sometimes even if both teams are German.

All schools (kindergarten, primary/middle/high school) I ever visited had the same procedure. They do not sing the anthem of course but the anthem exists. Same goes for alot of summer camps. There you have the flag procedure and sometimes the pledge too. That is definitely way too much for me. I'm fine with sports events as well, though.

Quote from Fabi

Are you really sure about that?
I don't know about the pledge, but I cannot imagine that you have to enter the U.S. every 24 months if you are a natural-born citizen of the United States. I know that people with greencards have to face problems like that. If they stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months, immigration authorities will keep an eye on them and if they do that again they might loose the greencard because they don't live in the United States (anymore).
But natural-born citizens? I can't imagine that.
A friend of mine was born in Florida to German parents and is now living in Germany. I haven't asked him in detail about something like a pledge on the constitution. But we talked about his dual citizenship, e.g. that he would have to give up German citizenship (at least temporally) if he joined the U.S. army. I think he would have told me if he had to see somebody at the embassy every other year to pledge on the consitution.

She's only born there but never really lived there. They moved back to Germany when she was about 8 months old. Maybe, that wasn't long enough to live there and so her passport is more like a greencard? Since she is only 11 now, she does not have a double citizenship but only the American. She will give that one up, though, I think. She doesn't like the English language nor does she like America very much.

Normally you are a natural-born U.S. citizen for your whole life if you were born on U.S. territory.
There is acutally people who intentionally deliver their babies in the U.S. so that they would be able to get a residence permit for themselves and better chances for the kid with U.S. citizenship.^^

Oh, I thought her parents were German so she would also have a German passport.

Well citizenships are complex I told you they way I thought it worked but it could just as well be totally differnt.

Achtung! Die letzte Antwort auf dieses Thema liegt mehr als 212 Tage zurück. :o

I thought it would be nice to revive that topic.
Well....how's everybody doing?

@Schlingpflanze: How did your Australia plans turn out?

And, Serenissima, you said that you went to D.C. during your au-pair stay in the U.S. Can you remember how much time it took you to cover all the main sights? I'll have one full day in Washington and the morning of the next day and I'm wondering, if I'll be able to visit all the must-see sights.

Hi!

Fabi, I'm living here in Manly (part of Sydney) now since 3 month and I'm totally happy!
My family is great, the work is hard but the children are lovely.
I see lots of places around Sydney and at the moment I'm planing my trip from Cairns to Brisbane with a really good mate in a campervan.
So I won't be 'at home' at christmas, new years eve and my birthday - I think that's great to be not too homesick!

I'm glad to hear that you could go to Australia!
Tell me more about it, how's the Australian lifestlye? And have you met something poisonous yet?

A few weeks back I booked my flights to Australia, I'm gonna take a vacation there for 4 weeks in November/December. I'm pretty excited.
Not so much excited about the part on my ticket that reads "Journey Time: 28 hours" though. :O I am used to long plane rides but 28 hours (incl. 2 changes) is such a long time. But, yeah, well, it's not gonna kill me.

Oh wow, cool!

Yes, the flight was aweful. Do you go with Quantas? I had a stop in Singapur for 4 hours.

I saw some snakes and a shark! Glad, that I had no surfing lesson this day! The shark was very close to the beach, maybe 50 meters away.
But there are so much really nice things here! Going into the city with a ferry, seeing dolphins and lots of colorful birds, small lizzards and big waterdragons everywhere!

Lucky you to come here! It's the best country I have ever visited!
Almost everyday really nice and warm weather, beutiful beaches, nice places in the city and in the suburbs.

What do you want to do here and where are you staying?

I will do travelings in december too!

A shark. :O But they do display warning signs in events like this, don't they?
Yes, my flight is on Qantas, that way I could get some domestic flights for almost no extra charge, and it does make a stopover in Singapore. But I read that Singapore Airport offers lot of services so I'm probably just gonna enjoy the time I'm not up in the air. What did you do to make yourself more comfortable during the flight? After the long flight I'm gonna have a 3 hour layover at Sydney International until I continue my journey to Cairns
I'm going to stay with relatives and friends in Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney including a roadtrip to Canberra, if that works out.

I'm very much looking forward to Australia and the...summer.
It must be great to get on the plane at close to 0° at around 10 pm in Frankfurt and when you arrive it's like 30°.

I am going to Cairns on 22 of december!

There were only really bad movies, so take a book and music to your seat!
You can check in online and you'll have the coice of 7 (?) different types of food!

In Singapur is a really nice smoking place outside! (I don't smoke). There is a cactus-garden! Lovely!!

What do you want to do in Sydney? If you want me to give you some 'insider-tipps', it's no problem
You defenetly have to catch a ferry to Manly and go to the main beach to take a surfing lesson or just for a quik swim! Then you have to make a short walk (about 15 minutes from the main beach) to Shelly beach. It's amazing there! You can do a short bushwalk there or do some snorkelings!

Last week we had about 33°C and we've spring since 4 weeks....

Quote from Annina

I am going to Cairns on 22 of december!

There were only really bad movies, so take a book and music to your seat!
You can check in online and you'll have the coice of 7 (?) different types of food!

In Singapur is a really nice smoking place outside! (I don't smoke). There is a cactus-garden! Lovely!!

What do you want to do in Sydney? If you want me to give you some 'insider-tipps', it's no problem
You defenetly have to catch a ferry to Manly and go to the main beach to take a surfing lesson or just for a quik swim! Then you have to make a short walk (about 15 minutes from the main beach) to Shelly beach. It's amazing there! You can do a short bushwalk there or do some snorkelings!

Last week we had about 33°C and we've spring since 4 weeks....

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You are right, the entertainment system is nothing compared to United on flights to the U.S. Just checked the movies on November flights on their homepage. I'll probably try to catch some sleep on the plane.

I don't smoke either, but it would be intersting to konw how smokers survive a flight to Australia.

I actually haven't made any plans yet, I assume all the people I'm visiting will take some time to show me around their city.
I fly out of Sydney just a few days before christmas, "coming home for christmas" like.

Hey Fabi!

I almost forgot that this thread existed. How embarrassing.

Well, depends on where you are in D.C.. If you manage to get close to the Capitol you can practically visit all major sights. They're all in walking distant. Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Capitol, Smithsonian Museums, Washington Mall, etc. If you're fast you can manage to visit everything in one day.

Annina, I have a friend who moved to Australia and I'm so jealous of the weather right now. Enjoy spring!

Quote from Serenissima

Hey Fabi!

I almost forgot that this thread existed. How embarrassing.

Well, depends on where you are in D.C.. If you manage to get close to the Capitol you can practically visit all major sights. They're all in walking distant. Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Capitol, Smithsonian Museums, Washington Mall, etc. If you're fast you can manage to visit everything in one day.

Thanks for the info.
I'm going to stay near the zoo, I think it's only 3 metro stations to the Capitol. I made a reservation for a capitol tour in the morning and then we'll just continue from there.
I will be flying into Jersey for that trip, by the way.
Have you ever visited the family you stayed with in NJ again?

Quote from Fabi

Thanks for the info.
I'm going to stay near the zoo, I think it's only 3 metro stations to the Capitol. I made a reservation for a capitol tour in the morning and then we'll just continue from there.
I will be flying into Jersey for that trip, by the way.
Have you ever visited the family you stayed with in NJ again?

That'll work. You'll enjoy it. The Smithsonian's are great and you have to take a look at the Rocky Balboa "Memorial".

Oh, so you're going to see lovely Newark, I guess? The airport isn't that interesting, though.
No, this year I was actually planning on visiting them but changed plans and visited my brother in Japan instead. Was an amazing trip.
However, my host family in NJ just sold the old house and so I don't know where they moved. Have to ask some time soon, though.

How long are you going to stay in the States?

Quote from Serenissima

That'll work. You'll enjoy it. The Smithsonian's are great and you have to take a look at the Rocky Balboa "Memorial".

Oh, so you're going to see lovely Newark, I guess? The airport isn't that interesting, though.
No, this year I was actually planning on visiting them but changed plans and visited my brother in Japan instead. Was an amazing trip.
However, my host family in NJ just sold the old house and so I don't know where they moved. Have to ask some time soon, though.

How long are you going to stay in the States?

I'm going to stay for one week only. But I just returned (four weeks ago) from a three week vacation in Florida (and I finally made it to Key West and Miami...that was about time), so I'm pretty happy I get to stay another week in the U.S. and, of course, I've gotta be home when my plane for Australia leaves, you know...filling passport pages.

Is there at least free wifi at Newark?
Actually, we wanted to fly into Washington and out of NY/NJ but the return trip to Newark was cheaper, so we are going to rent a car at the airport and drive down to Washington.
By the way, have you ever been to Baltimore, it's enroute so I was wondering if it's worth a small visit when we drive back to NY. We wouldn't wanna lose too much time...maybe 1 or 2 hours.
Well and then I get to spend my 18th birthday in New York City, that's going to be amazing.

Japan is probably very intersting. I've never been to any country in Asia. Well, I've been to Turkey once, but that's not really "Asia" to me.
I will have layover at Singapore airport next month but sadly it's not that long. I've read that the airport in Singapore offers free city tours, but you need a layover time of at least 5 hours for that, otherwise you're not gonna make it...