Brooke Auten

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRIT 1103-H02
2 February 2016
The Foreigners
Never had I ever sat in an object as terrorizing, massive, and intimidating as the one I was
sitting in that summer evening. Navy blue seats, arranged in rows, consumed every inch of the
space surrounding me. I vividly remember the layout of the seating throughout the enormous
airplane.Two. Isle. Four. Isle. Four again. Isle again. And two. I restlessly continued to lean over
my cousin, straining to get a glance out of the tiny, cramped window, and hoping to see any sign
that we would take off soon. A pink carry on bag, filled with candy, coloring books, a journal,
and a backup set of clothing, sat tense in my lap as I anxiously swung my feet back and forth,
terrified of what take off was going to be like. I was not speaking. I was too scared. Instead, I
allowed the obscure humming of random conversations, the bustling of luggages being arranged
comfortably among passengers, and the relaxing rumble of air condition blowing out of the small
vents increase anticipation and my uneasiness toward flying for the first time. Dear God, I
bowed my head, shut my eyes, and continued the prayer, please do not let the plane crash, and
keep us all safe. Amen. I slowly looked up and could not help but envy my cousin, Britt, sitting
in the window seat next to me. Britt, who was nine like me, and one of my best friends, just sat
there all cool, calm, and collected. Jealous of her experience flying, I attempted to hide my on
edge feelings despite the fact I was on the verge of tears. Britt and I, being a few days out of third
grade, had never been away from home or our parents longer than a few days. The two of us,

along with our grandparents, would soon be flying over night and overseas, to our destinationGermany, where we would stay for two whole weeks.
Britt and I were polar opposites; from our personalities all the way down to our physical
appearances. She is tall, blonde, has deep blue eyes, and is built like the soccer player she is.
Britt strongly favors our grandfather, who shows favoritism toward Britt. I, on the other hand,
was very tiny at the time, have dark brown hair, and darker features. There is no arguing the truth
that I am close to a spitting image of our grandmother, who favors me out of the two of us. Not
that one grandparent loves one of us more, or vice versa, it is just obvious which one we click
with the most. Britt is somewhat bratty, a know it all, and sometimes whiney, but surprisingly she
gets along extremely well with my down to earth, respectful, more sensitive personality. We truly
do compliment one another and when we are together there is no telling what kind of adventure
we will get into. Throughout the ten and a half hour flight across the ocean, Britt and I giggled at
all things excited, nine year old girls giggle about, played with our food that the airline provided
for dinner, and got fussed at by surrounding adults who were bothered and irritated at the two
kids keeping them up all night long. The two of us were having the time of our lives and the trip
hadn't even begun yet.
Brooke! Wake up! Britt said as she aggressively shook me. Seriously. I think I can see
heaven right now! She was yelling this at such an unpleasant time in the morning, Im sure the
adults wanted to kill us. I sluggishly start to wake up but quickly join Britts excitement and
energy as I stared in amazement at the clouds painted pink, orange, and purple by the sunrise. I,
too, was one hundred percent convinced that I spotted heaven and I enthusiastically and
impatiently waited for the plane to land in Germany, unrealistically daydreaming of what the
country is like. Anxiety and thrill take over my body as I hear the pilot instructing passengers to

put on their seat belts and to get ready for landing. I could not grasp the concept I was on the
other side of the world.
Opa, which means grandfather in German, is what all the grandchildren call our grandpa
since he is, in fact, german. Opa moved to America when he was in his mid twenties and made a
good, very successful life for himself despite being foreign. He is a very tall, thin, clean cut man
who is only ever spotted in khakis and a tucked in shirt; normally a button down or a polo. He
comes across as confident and strong, which he is. His white/gray combover compliments his
bright blue eyes that always seem eager to start a conversation. With a deep, powerful, distinct
voice accompanied by a semi strong german accent, no one can miss him. He loves to talk, and
talk, and talk. You ask him what time it is and he will tell you how to build the clock. He is a
very intelligent, well traveled man with a variety of so many stories to tell, but he also has a very
arrogant side to him that drives people away. Grandmother, on the other hand, knows how to put
him in his place. These two do not go anywhere without at least a small bickering here and there.
Grandmother is a very fierce woman who, in most cases, has no filter at all. She is a bit snobby,
and always looks very classy and put together. She is short and has eyes the shape of an Asian,
and with her very smooth facial structures one may think she is from Asian heritage. In fact, she
did a DNA test and a lot of her DNA traced back to Asia.. but that's beside the point. She is
always so eager to learn and very curious, she is constantly telling me more things she has
discovered, such as the DNA thing for example. She loves to travel and engage in other cultures
and our taste in topic of conversation is very similar. Just thinking of her I can almost smell her
scent; citrusy, like acai. And, despite her sassiness, she has always been a source of comfort and
warmth to me and I do not admit this often but my favorite grandmother.

The reason for the trip to Germany was to celebrate Opas mothers 100th birthday. It was
going to be a huge party and Opa wanted us to come with him since we do not get to see this side
of the family often, if ever. Being in Germany, I felt so alienated because I no longer know what
billboards, signs, people or television was saying. Britt and I were surrounded by people and
family we had no idea existed, speaking a language we had no ability to understand. We
desperately tried to play with the kids our age, but failed since we did not know German and they
did not know enough English to hold any type of conversation.
Hello. What your name? ,a young girl asked. Brooke, I said, accompanied by Britt. The
girl who asked us the question looked back at the other kids who were obviously amused and
excited that she was able to get that much english out to ask us our names. She was able to push
out the one worded question age? and Britt and I held up nine fingers. Again, the shocked kids
praised her ability to communicate. For two weeks Britt and I were facing this strange new world
alone since our grandparents could speak german to all the family and friends we came in contact
with. Many adults knew enough english to communicate, but with such harsh accents it was
almost impossible to understand anything. Not understanding anyone but each other felt so
strange and lonely. Ordering food on your own was impossible, trying to understand spongebob
on the T.V was impossible, and simply trying to play with your kid relatives was impossible.
As the trip progressed, I guess we just got used to being the foreigners. When we would
be out in public I would start taking pride in speaking english because to the people around me
all the heard was a jumble of letters that had no meaning. I was somewhat amused being an
outsider and people wondering what I was saying. However, I started picking up on a few
phrases such as thank you, youre welcome, yes, no, and other basic things like that just
so I could do more than stare blankly at people. I also got a better appreciation for my

grandfather because everyday of his life he speaks a language not native to him. I get annoyed
with him when he stutters his sentences with uh and eh but I can not even begin to imagine
living in a place where no one speaks the same way as you and having to change your language
to function a normal life. Being the foreigner for two weeks opened my mind up, and gave me a
new level of appreciation for foreigners that I developed at such a young age.