My Hate List

So, I was consistently two weeks behind on my blog posts before I eventually gave up, but I'm determined to finish it so I will, albeit slightly out of order. So, the first post on this blog is also a retroactive post that I made to troll Deanna. I only knew two of these people (not counting saying names at GNHS induction) before the trip. Anyways, this is my REAL hate list. Well, in a sense. So, meet the kids of GAPP 2014 (via very bad selfies that may be on other posts) :)

The Seniors:

Trey Gifford

Funny story, Trey and I used to be pretty good friends in elementary school. But, 7 years of not talking and having no classes together tends to stop that. Regardless, Trey (George) is of course infamous, and he lives up to just about everything that people say about him. If you take any of it negatively, don't. He's easily one of the chillest people I've ever met on top of being great to talk music with. Of course, he's completely and utterly hilarious.

Kelsee Jahns

 

I actually knew Kelsee pretty well beforehand from four years of German together. I don't have much new to say about Kelsee, but having these extra 5 weeks with her really expanded our friendship from just German class. Kelsee can be a little scramble-minded (is that a term?) but she's incredibly nice to the point of being too nice really.

Sidd Rebba

Like with Kelsee, I had four years of German with Sidd too. Except, unlike with Kelsee, I didn't get to know Sidd at all in school. In Germany, well he was a lot crazier than I ever expected (evidenced by his face in the picture above though I'm no better). Regardless, Sidd is a great guy to have a fun time with :)

Brittney Schafer

I kinda sorta knew Brittney beforehand, but not really. We pretty clearly established that she's struck some deal with  Satan (kidding, Brittney). But, she's so much fun to talk about Germany with because she's SO into German culture and traditions, it's great! 

The Junior:

Vincent Liu

Vincent is the other person (besides Kelsee) that I knew before this trip. We have a... rocky friendship to say the least and things didn't really change in Germany, but Vincent is still an ok guy to hang out with. He can be a little obnoxious and definitely plays music on his headphones wayyy too loud but nothing unbearable. He's like an onion, he has layers that you gotta peel through before you get to his soft inside!

The Sophomores:

So, out of the 17 people on this trip, 11 were sophomores. Still, I expected to hang out with the juniors and seniors mostly. Unfortunately in Cologne, my host, Narin, was mostly friends with the sophomores' partners and so I hung out with the sophomores... a lot. I didn't know them at all beforehand and I remember while in the airport and in Heidelberg, I was like "ok wait, what was your name again?" to most of them. I got to know them way better through the trip, and I'm really happy that I did but sad that I didn't get to know them sooner. They're an incredibly varied group of people and are so much fun to be around. These guys really made the trip unforgettable for me! I know I could be a pain-in-the-ass a lot, but thanks for putting up with me. Despite saying otherwise, I do love y'all and am happy to have shared these five weeks with you all!

Jonathan Chang

Somehow, this is the only picture I have with me and Jonathan in it... So flattering, I know. I met Jonathan before cause he was in the play with me for a German competition, but I got to see that he's a really cool guy. He has his boundaries, but he's still a fun person to be around on top of being a GREAT roommate!

Medha Chidambaram (I hope I spelled it right)

Medha is one of the sassiest, most sarcastic, don't take no shit from nobody bitches that I know, and I mean that in the best way possible. We were at odds every now and then (mainly me irritating her, but hey what else is new?), but overall we were still friends (I hope) and I always enjoyed her funny comments and retorts. The most surprising thing for me was that despite her sometimes caustic nature, she's actually a really kindhearted person.

Conan Huang

Conan was the biggest shock to me. I only knew him as that guy who used to be in MathCounts. Apparently he does Parkour and we've nicknamed his "Monkey Boy." He looks like a ten year sometimes (ok fine, a lot of times) and he puts on this great little kid act which makes him absolutely hilarious. Though, trying to make sense of some of the things he says is a fruitless endeavor...

Jonathan Liu

Jonathan Liu and I showing off our Pikachu pride. Jonathan Liu can be a little dramatic sometimes, but I guess that goes with being a theater kid. Most of his dramatic antics are fun and lighthearted. Despite that, he's actually pretty down to Earth so he's a great guy to just chill and talk to.

Maddy Reese

If we were in the land of Monsters Inc. where laughter could run electricity, Maddy could singlehandedly ensure that the entire world stays lighted. I don't mean that she laughs a lot, but she made me laugh so much on this trip from the attitude that she gives to rude bitches to the stories that she tells to her crazy hand movements. On top of that, she loved to just go all out and be crazy (as evidenced by this picture) easily my favorite thing about her!

Deanna San Juan

I decided to be nice and chose a picture of Deanna that's not unflattering. I didn't really know Deanna for the first two weeks of the trip and thus thought of her as one of the few "normal" people on the trip, but I soon learned that nothing could be further from the truth. She's incredibly quirky (she enjoys breaking benches), and she's just downright strange. She can be a little too touchy-feely for my taste, but she was my bike buddy for our day long bike tour through Rügen and is a great person to talk to.

Mary Alex Senften

I remember Connor telling me that Mary Alex's name was Mary Alex but that I should call her Mary and so when I asked Mary Alex if I should call her Mary, she just gave me this look like I was a complete dumbass and was just, "no, call me Mary Alex." Thankfully, four weeks later, she didn't remember that and I was escorting her on my arm to her birthday dinner! Mary Alex can almost compete with Maddy in how hilarious she is because she makes the best facial expressions ever (except here where she decides to look pretty while Maddy and I are being weird) and is assuredly crazy.

Connor Yardumian

Connor was actually the most normal person on this trip. I didn't get to spend too much time with Connor, but he's a really grounded guy and just takes things as they are without any bullshit surrounding it which is always refreshing. He's ridiculously easy going but still always down for having fun.

Cindy Yongoueth

Cindy was the other person who I thought was normal before I got to know her. She's famed for being sketchy and crippled (Kidding!). Really though, Cindy is super sweet and sincere. She's kinda easy to troll, but she's always good spirited about it and is still a very caring person, always looking out and wanting the best for everyone!

Muhammed Zaidi

Muhammed is our resident dumbass. I'm kinda kidding and I'm kinda not. He can be ridiculously stupid sometimes, but it's always with sincerity. I didn't have the best first impression of him, but as I got to know him better, I realized how he's actually a really good guy. That's honestly the only and best way I have to describe him. He's always there for you when you need him and is still fun to be around. 

Gabrielle (Gabby) Webb

 

So, I went slightly out of alphabetical order to save Gabby for last. Coming into this trip, I only knew Gabby as Miriam's friend (Miriam is completely hilarious). Since Gabby's partner, Lucia, and my partner, Narin, are really good friends, we spent a LOT of time together. But, I'm not complaining. I made fun of Gabby a lot for her sketchy behavior and sketchy clothing choices, but she knows (I hope) that I never meant any of it seriously. After one 7 hour movie marathon, a whole day riding rides at Phantasieland, late night grocery shopping adventures, and unprecedented heart to hearts Gabby probably got to know me better than anyone else on this trip. One of the best things for me was that after years of only being known as the MAΘ or JETS or whatever guy, she had no idea I was involved in anything but German so she was actually surprised to find out that I wore math shirts and competed in math and science. She got to know me for me, and I guess that was just really nice. Thanks for being such a great friend, Gabby!

Keinohrhasen

After the farewell party, Narin, Alina, Inga, and Lucia wanted to do something with us but since we couldn't drink, it wasn't gonna be very fun if we went to a club or something in the city, so we went to Inga's house to chill and watch a movie called Keinohrhasen. I was kinda falling asleep cause the movie was a little boring... but it was fun! Also, my thug face just makes me look really stoned...

Farewell Party

Our official farewell party in Germany! Potlucked by all the families with the obligatory speeches and tears and the whole shebang. Tons of fun, but so sad to think that it was the last time I was seeing a lot of these people!

 

Below: Me with Mary Alex, Trey, and Maddy (three of the bad bitches).

Me with Kelsee, Connor, and Maddy!

Me with Cindy, Kelsee, and Deanna!

Me with Trey and Sidd!

Me with Frau Cakir! What a great teacher (especially when preparing for the AP!)

Me and Gabby! (My American companion for like everything in Cologne)

Me and Medha! (another bad bitch)

Me with Martin! He was Sidd's partner and was super motherly, though he knows how to get down and party. He's a pretty chill guy and made a point of always interacting with the Americans! (We struggled to break out of our comfort zone)

Me with Merve! (and Niklas on the side). Merve is like the sweetest person ever. There was one P.E. class where she hurt her ankle and I was wearing jeans and didn't wanna run so I literally spent the whole time talking with Merve. She's really easy to talk to and such a sweet person! Connor always called Merve his big sister, it's very easy to see why!

Me with Vincent and Conan!

Me with Janina! Her partner didn't come to Germany, but Janina was always there with us. She was always super excited to talk with us and show us around.

Jonas was a little goofy at times, but he could be a really fun guy too. He was Jonathan Chang's partner and that seemed to be a pretty good match!

Me with Frau Birker!

Me and Frau Frank!

Left to Right:
Inga & Medha, Mary Alex and Alina, Janina, Narin & I, Lucia & Gabby!

Silly faces picture... I'm not too sure what I'm doing here.

Family Pics!

My host father Herr Nosrati was flying out on Friday night cause he wanted to make sure everything was good with the house in Majorca. As a result, I wasn't going to see him again after we left for the farewell party so we had picture time! I didn't get to see Herr Nosrati much because he was always busy, but he was so sweet all the time! Frau Gohar spent more time together cause we'd go grocery shopping and all together. She was always very caring and very motherly. Plus, she was super nice about helping me improve my German! I don't even know what to say about Narin. I was apprehensive at first, but I think it turned out to be a great match. One of the things I love in a friend is just the ability to sit down and talk which Narin and I were able to do all the time! I absolutely loved my time being hosted by her and hope I can give her a similar experience in the US sometime in the future!

Tschuss!

Last day of German school also means having to say goodbye :'(

So, I asked Narin if it would be weird for me to ask to take a picture with people from school that I had met, and she's like, nope not at all! Then she called all of her friends into a circle and was like hey take a picture with Aditya! So, I don't actually know half of these girls. Also, I swear I heard someone make a harem comment *sigh* Left to Right: Sarah (Narin's best friend, they're like sisters), Lucia (Narin's reallly close friend and Gabby's partner), idk her, Isabelle, Me, idk her, idk her, idk her, and Narin!

This is me with Jolina, who is Justin's girlfriend (Justin is Conan's partner). Justin wasn't gonna be at the goodbye party so I wanted to take a pic with him since he's a funny and pretty cool guy but somehow I ended up getting a picture with his girlfriend who I don't really know instead... That's ok though cause Jolina's really nice! (Her mom lent me the German mohawk!)

And, this is Jama! The only real friend I can say I made in German who wasn't a part of GAPP and man do I miss him! He's apparently one of the few people in his school interested in math and science (you can see why we  had so many classes together and how we got along so easily). He's one of those people that you can have fun hanging out with, but I feel like he would also make a really good & trustworthy friend if I had time to get to know him better :/

Education Part 7

Friday, last day of school :(

Period 1&2: Art
I had physics first and second but I was a little bored of physics and he already did the cool experiment and the kids gave him the goodbye present already, so I figured I'd skip (turns out it was canceled anyways) and went to art class with Narin! I got to see those mice they had carved from the first day again and this time, they were ridiculously disgusting and covered with fungus. We casually climbed out of a window to see the mice outside since we didn't want the stench in the class. Then we just chilled and watched the Girl with the Pearl Earring for the rest of class.

Period 3&4: English
So, the first time I had this English class they had an exam and the second time the class got canceled, so I never actually went to this class. I went and chilled in the upperclassmen room and did math homework with Jama (it was actually pretty fun). We even compared answers and we had the same ones! (Or so I thought since I misread his handwriting...)

Period 5: Free Period
I just kinda kept chilling in the upper room... haha

Period 6: Math
Woot, math with Jama! So, the teacher asked if any of us did the homework and knew the answers. Jama raised his hand, gave the answers and well, just the last number was wrong. See, I wrote 5/14 and he wrote 3/14 but since neither of our handwritings are super nice, we didn't realize that our answers didn't match... When the teacher questioned the last number, Jama's like "Narin's exchange partner got the same thing" and I of course did not want to say anything as the exchange student so I kinda just awkwardly sat there while the teacher corrected "us." At least we did it, better than the rest of the class :P I spent the rest of the period playing the game: "Who's Faster? Aditya and his brain or the Germans and their calculators?" I think you guys can guess the results x)

Period 7: German
It kinda sucked to be ending my school time in Germany with this wretched class, but I passed notes with Kelsee. The class ended pretty great though cause Kelsee went up to Jama (she was seeing him for the first time) and told him that he was one of the most beautiful people she had seen, thinking that she would never see him again and five minutes later we run into him outside. Needless to say, I laughed at how awkward it was.