Beiträge von Fabi

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.

Zitat von 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.

Zitat von 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.

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.

Zitat von 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.

Zitat von 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.

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.

Zitat von 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.?

Zitat von Serenissima

Fabi, yeah, I was getting everything. Even the car was really mine and the paid for the gas and the toll. And I had no curfew and all weekends off.
Your plans sound really good and I think you will figure something out to get there very easily. There would have still been the chance of doing Work&Travel there. Or just to be a councellor at a Camp. If not, you can always go there with an exchange program at university. I know that my university is offering tons of opportunities to go there. It's just that you should be an undergrad if you wanna go.
Oh, and I visited a lot back while staying in NJ. I've been to D.C., Philly, Niagara Falls, New Haven (Yale), New York of course, Buffallo, Syracuse, Thousand Islands, Salem (so worth visiting the pseudo-witches ), etc. And on the west coast San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, ... I had quite some time to travel.
Where have you been to??

That sounds awesome.
Yale is in New Haven? Wow, I didn't know that. I knew that Yale is a very good university and New Haven is some rather small city in CT but I couldn't connect those two things.

I've been to Las Vergas when I was 13 so I could get an impression of all the things I'm gonna be able to do when I'm 21. But we didn't go there to gamble, we went to the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon in Utah and I've also been to New York and San Francisco.
In Florida we're always staying in the Tampa Bay Area. But I've never been to Miami or the Everglades up to know. But when I was smaller Orlando and Cape Canaveral were probably more attractive and way closer. But I want to see Miami, the Everglades and the upper Keys this year.

Uhh and...do you have a NJ driver license? Because you stayed there for more than six months I assume? I really love the design of american licenses, the German ones are so damn boring.

Zitat von Serenissima

I didn't really "babysit" him. It was more like driving him home, letting him play with his xbox, driving him to band practice, ordering pizza and going to the movies. I should have checked his homework and stuff but I never did that. In my opinion, he was old enough to know what he had to do.

So what you're saying right now is all you had to do was driving him thourgh the town (and sometimes the state) and you got a bed, food, pocket money and the memorable experience of staying in NY Metro Area for a few months in exchange...That's quite a nice deal.

Zitat von Serenissima

The 200 hours are actually no problem. I decided to become an AuPair only 4 months before I actually went there and had no experience at all. You can do an internship at a kindergarten for 2-4 weeks. That gives you alot of hours. If you have neighbors with kids, then just ask them if you could look after them a little. Go to the playground and stuff. After school tutoring counts as well, work with kids in church... there's actually quite a lot that counts in.

That sounds really interesting and I still would like to do something in the US. But the aupair thing is more or less off the table at this moment. Mainly because my 18th birthday is like 5 or 6 months after my graduation and you've to be 18 to become an aupair and you know I figured it just doesn't fit into my timeframe. I thought about attending a language school somewhere in the USA but I couldn't really find an organization I liked....so the thing I'm gonna do is going to the US in August on vacation with my familiy and then I plan on visiting some friends in relatives in Australia...it's a long flight so I would need at least 4 weeks in Down Under to recover from that 24 hour flight. And then I'm gonna start university in the spring semester in Germany....Well, let's see how much of that is gonna work out.

And I'm really hoping that my internship plans work out. I hope I'm gonna find my way, because I really like the USA. I was four when I visited the states for the first time and I've been there like every other year since that time. When I was a little kid we would always stay in the same state - Florida. We still go to the same city every year but I figured it was cheaper to buy domestic flight tickets from FL to somewhere else in the US than from Germany...of course^^. Last summer I took a short trip of two days to San Francisco, that was pretty awesome. And up to now I've been to several cities and places all over the country and I really liked all the impressions.

Did you visit some other cities while you were in NJ? I think Philly and D.C. aren't that far away.

Edit:

Zitat von Mina Snape-Circeni

I don't like the American people... The most...
They are so arrogant and selfish and ignorant.
No there is no climate change!
And they must stuck there nose in every things, that aren't meant for them!
Can't stand this...
And they food is awful!

How can you say that if you've never even been there?
I think most people in the US are actually kind of nice....and there is arrogant and selfish people in every country....

I see the point with the driving. It's just when I was like 13 everything was about acting "grown up" and I would have never let anyone "babysit" me.

Oh and did you meet Keith Richards in person?^^

Zitat von Serenissima

Of course, some places you should avoid at day and night time...especially if you're white. But I would always go back there. I met a lot of great people and it is, as the name Garden State already indicates, really green.

We once had a rental car with NJ plates and it said "Garden State" and I always meant to ask somebody from New Jersey if the state is really that...you know, green and "gardenlike"
Never met anyone from NJ though...until now.

Zitat von Serenissima

Hmm...you could become an Aupair yourself? I met quite a few male Aupairs in the States. They become more and more popular for boys aged 10-14. You know, helping them through puberty.

I think I would like hanging out with and taking care of kids. I actually considered to become an aupair, some time back I searched for some organizations. But it turned out that you will have to provide proof of having worked with children, you're not related to, for at least 200 hours (that's correct, isn't it?) And I'm afraid I can't possibly provide that proof.^^
So I'll have to stick with my internship plans in the US.

Zitat von Serenissima

Annina, my stay at the first family was quite short. After two weeks we decided that it would be the best for all if I would leave and after four weeks I moved to another town and in with a divorced dad and the 13 year old son. Fact was that the first family wanted me to work extra hours which I didn't want to do and even though the mum was at home, she never helped me and when she was gone my rules didn't count anything...so...yeah. And I was very very lonely. We lived in the middle of the forest and there was hardly any places to go. However, the new family was something completely different. I felt at home and they accepted me as I was (the first family didn't approve of my piercing and my tattoo...). And the kid was great. We became great friends.

I'm glad it turned out that way, can't imagine how you must have felt with the first family.
May I ask you what city and state you stayed in? I'm kinda America-addicted that's why I wanna know.
And just being curious, what does a 13 year old need an au pair for? I always thought au pairs usually take care of smaller children like elementary school aged kids, espacially for daylight babysitting?

I've tried to find some ways for myself to stay a year in the US but I couldn't find anything I was interested in...so I'm just gonna start university and try to do some internships in the USA while studying.

@Schlingpflanze: I hope it all works out for you so you can go to Australia or the US etc.

Ich war damals nicht ganz sieben Jahre alt und Schüler der 2. Klasse. Dementsprechend kann ich mich nicht an so viel erinnern und weiß nur durch Erzählungen, wo ich mich zu dem Zeitpunkt befunden habe. Allerdings liegt mir ein Moment noch exakt vor Augen. Dieser Moment, als ich in unserem Wohnzimmer vor dem Fernseher stand und ich einen der beiden Türme live im Fernsehen zusammenkrachen sah. Das waren für mich als kleiner Junger sehr einprägsame Bilder, auch wenn ich die Videoaufnahmen seither nicht mehr angesehen hätte, wüsste ich noch genau, wie dieser Turm von Oben nach Unten in sich zusammengesackt ist, da bin ich mir sicher. Vier Monate vor dem Anschlag sind wir von London in die USA geflogen und ich erinnere mich noch genau, wie wir Kinder damals während des Fluges kurz ins Cockpit gucken durften, sowas ist heute mit Sicherheit undenkbar.
Im Moment bin ich nur soweit froh, dass gestern nicht noch etwas passiert ist...
Vor 2 Jahren habe ich die damals recht kleine Gedenkstätte am Ground Zero besucht und mit Sicherheit werde ich bei meinem nächsten Aufenthalt in New York auch die neue aufsuchen.
Der 11. September 2001 steht für mich persönlich als der Tag, der mir damals auf ziemlich harte Weise gezeigt hat, dass die Welt eben nicht nur gut ist.

9/11, we will never forget...

Saw Uncut

Den gibt's so nur in den USA und für 4 $ musste ich einfach zuschlagen.

Also ich finds eigentlich ziemlich schade, dass sie die Serie jetzt tatsächlich absetzen. Seit dem Ende der 2. Staffel schau ich die Serie, es war immer wieder mal was nettes dabei und durchaus gute Unterhaltung....naja alles hat irgendwann mal ein Ende.

Herzlich Willkommen.

Zitat von AlandEmma

Tja typisch deutsches rechtsyste würde ich mal sagen........Die Opfer werden bestraft und Täter belohnt. Wie immer.

So ist es....wundert mich, dass sie ihn nicht gleich als "Entschädigung" rausgelassen haben, damit sie im Knast Platz für die Raubkopierer haben...

Ich denke die meisten von euch haben es heute morgen mitbekommen.
Der Typ, der 2002 einen 11-jährigen Jungen eines Bankiers entführt und getötet hat, bekommt Schadenersatz....

Er wurde verhört als der Junge noch vermisst war und ihm wurde "Folter" angedroht, wenn er nicht verrät, wo sich das Kind befindet...Zu diesem Zeitpunkt war der Junge aber schon längst tot...
Jetzt klagt der Kindsmörder selbst, weil er sich pyschisch durch die Folter Androhung geschädigt fühlt? Und bekommt jetzt auch noch 3.000 Euro entschädigung? Ich dachte ich hör nicht richtig....in was für einem Rechtssystem leben wir eigentlich?

Was haltet ihr von der ganzen Geschichte?

Noch ein Detail nebenbei, angeblich soll dieser Kindermörder im Gefängnis sein Jurastudium abgeschlossen haben....Sachen gibts....

Hmm, wie ist denn der Zusammenhang? Kommt dann auch auf das Verhältnis an, in der die beiden Personen, die sich unterhalten zueinander stehen.

Generell heißt es sicherlich, dass sie hofft, dass es in den Händen "ankommt", so würd ichs sagen oder eventuell auch, dass der Brief bei der Person positiv ankommt...
Ich tendiere eher zum zweiten, denn warum bitte sollte der Brief gar nicht ankommen?

Zitat von snapysnape

Ich muss da wirklich absolut meinen Hut vor dieser Frau ziehen.

Ich bin wirklich kein gewaltbereiter Mensch, aber ich hätte nicht so viel
Vertrauen in mich selbst, dass ich derartig großherzig reagieren könnte!

Damit beweist sie auf jeden Fall, dass sie auf einer ganz anderen Treppe steht,
als der Attentäter!

100% deiner Meinung...

Kann jeder sagen er hätte genau wie sie gehandelt. Aber wenn man solch eine Qualen auf Grund eines Menschen durchleiden muss....dann kann man sich die Frage nochmal stellen, ob man genau wie sie auf die Strafe verzichtet hätte oder nicht. Aus ihrem Standpunkt hätte ich es ganz ehrlich verstehen können, wenn sie die "Chance" genutzt hätte...
Hat sie aber nicht, damit hat sie wirklich wahre Größe bewiesen.

Buried - Lebending begraben....

8/10

Mal was anderes... man befindet sich 90 Minuten in einem Sarg und sieht nur eine Person, teils etwas langgezogen aber zusammenfassend kann man doch sagen, dass es ein guter Film ist.

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Alles Gute, Naina. Feier schön.