Ja, ich spreche Deutsch, yes, I speak German

Today was just another really great day. I also found out why nobody talks to me in my class. They're all very nice but I thought they didn't like me because they never really talk to me. Apparantly, everyone assumed that I don't speak German because the other American in our school speaks none. No one wanted to talk to me because they thought I wouldn't understand them and they don't like speaking in English. So, today, they finally realized that I can understand them when they speak German. After they realized I respond when they tell me or someone else to do something in German, they asked me, "verstehst du Deutsch?" (do you understand German) and so I told them "Ich kann viel mehr verstehen als ich reden kann."(I can understand a lot more than I can speak) and they were all shocked and were like "WOAH!" because I said it almost fluently hahaha. I thought this was one of the most hilarious days ever. The kids I had been talking to kept telling everyone that I speak and understand German and then kept telling me to say something in German so the others could see. Everyone was shocked. And now everyone talks to me :) and I love it. I hadn't realized everyone thought I didn't speak German! So I met a lot more people today and also got to talk to some more people today and it was very nice. I also met someone who is in my Music and Latin class who is new to the school too. He is very nice and we have the same free hours so I went up to him and just started talking to him. I also had Latin again today... yay. Haha. I do not like Latin. At all. But I do loveee that class. Seeing as how there are only 7 people in the class, it is much easier to get to know everyone. I also really like the teacher because even though he's a little weird, he treats me just like any other student and I really appreciate that because he's the first teacher I've had that actually cares that I'm here for a year, as a student, to learn. He even scolded me (jokingly) about not doing my homework last night and I was so surprised because I don't ever do the homework for any class because the teachers don't even ask if I did it (and I can't read German very well because I'm so used to just listening). They just ignore me. And so it is a very nice change but also very tiring. Learning 4 languages is very tiring. Also today, I was writing with my friend who is also in Germany and I had said somewhere "estoy aprendiendo espanol" which means "I'm learning Spanish" and she wrote me a paragraph in Spanish and I understand the whole thing! I seriously have no idea how. I just started teaching myself Spanish 2 days ago and I can already understand everything she said! It was absolutely crazy and I love it. After school, Caro and I went to step aroebic again which was again very nice. Exercise is really important and it makes you feel better too! After Sport, we came home and showered and then Rike and Norman came over because Norman's birthday was yesterday and so they had dinner with us to celebrate. It was very nice and it's always nice to see Rike and Norman :). After they had to leave and Pascal and Caro left, Ruediger and I played the guitar a little and he showed me some "typical German songs" it was a lot of fun. Now, I am quite exhausted but good news is, tomorrow there is no English class so I don't have to be at school until 9:40 :) yay! :D I love everythinggg! :) Gute Nacht! :D

Scouts

I've been in Germany 3 weeks now. I really cannot believe it! It feels like it's been a year already and so much has happened. I still love every moment of it and wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I've been a bit busy lately, trying to find new hobbys and also trying to speak as little English as possible so I apologize for not keeping up with my posts. Today started off really great. I am getting a lot better and following along in class and now have a general idea of what is going on. My German is growing everyday! I decided the yesterday that I really wanted to learn Spanish. I was actually pretty disappointed when they had told me I wasn't able to take Spanish because they didn't have it for beginners and so I would be taking Latin instead. So, I decided to teach myself spanish! Estoy aprendiendo espanol! :) It is really great because it gives me something to do and whenever I have nothing to do, I pull out my spanish and learn a little more! I also asked the Spanish teacher if I could sit in on his class because I have a free period everytime he has spanish class. He said it's no problem and so now I sit in on the Spanish 5 class! It is very cool and I've also met some more people in the class, including a boy who went to Mexico for a year on exchange! I also had Latin lessons for the first time yesterday and it was absolutely exhausting. Latin is a lot like English and also Spanish, both of which I now know a little of and so it is pretty easy to pick up. The teacher asks me all the time about English words and there are only 7 people in the class so it is nice to be included. But I thought translating everyday from German to English was tiring. What's more tiring? Translating from Latin to German to English! It was crazy :). This last weekend we also had our district 1800 orientation and so I got to meet all the other inbounds. Like exchange students everywhere, every one of them is so nice and so fun to be around :) instant life long friendships! I get to see them again this weekend when we have our first over night retreat! We are taking the train Friday night and then will stay with host families there for the weekend. I am very excited because everyone says these weekends are a lot of fun! Today, I also had Scouts. It was very cool and I hope I get to go back again :). There are about 7 of us and everyone is all very nice and quite funny. There aren't really leaders, mainly run by us teens and here, it's both boys and girls together which is actually quite nice. We played Fussball which was actually really fun :) and then we ate dinner and all the boys walked me home. I thought that was quite funny and very nice. Tomorrow, I will continue to improve my German, my spanish and oh yes, Latin :) so I should probably get some sleep because it could be a pretty exhausting day with 8 h0urs and getting home at 4:30! Ich hab dich lieb Deutschland ;) Gute Nacht euch!

Eine Schoene Nacht am Allersee, A beautiful night at Allersee

Today started off not so great. I woke up a bit late because my alarm clock didn't go off and so I was running around the house getting my things ready for school and trying to eat breakfast at the same time. I went off to school as usual and at school, I was quite frustrated because I still can't really understand anything. My German teacher is very nice and she tries to help but it's not good for me because she doesn't treat me like any other student in the class. Instead, she tells me to do whatever I want. Today, she was putting everyone into groups, counting off and she came to me and told me to go with whoever and then went to the next person and continued counting. I really need to continue meeting new people and so I wish she would have just put me in a group too. English was a bit disappointing as well because I was so excited to finally be able to understand something after a long morning of frustration but the teacher came in speaking German. We spoke in English only about half of the time and it was about immigration in England and Europe. Not exactly what I had expected for English class. I then had a free hour and so Ryan and I went into the city and went to the City Gallerie (which is the mall here) and walked around, looking into a few different stores. It was very nice to get out of school for the hour and get some fresh air. That is one of the things I love about school here! After the hour, we went back and I finished my last hour. Latin was cancelled again (yay! :)) so I got to go home 2 hours early again. I got home and had lunch, then, I moved upstairs! I had been staying in the basement in the family's guest bedroom because Consti was still using her room and so today I moved into her room upstairs. It's very nice but it was a little bit stressful having to move all my things and unpack again because I had gotten used to the basement :). After that, Caro and I went to "Step Aroebic" which was actually really fun! It's a lot harder than you would think too because they go really fast ;) but all the ladies there are so nice! My sister told me I didn't have to go again but she thinks exercise is important on exchange (She went to Brazil on exchange) and I agree with her! So I think I will go again every week because it's very nice to have. After that, Caro and I met with Ruediger at Allersee which is a huge park here in Wolfsburg and it's beautiful! There is a gorgeous beach, peaceful and people enjoying life everywhere. There is a hockey arena, bowling and a high ropes course also in the park. I will definitely be going back there again with some friends! We had dinner and then came home. Tomorrow, a friend of mine might be coming home with me after school and that will be very nice! Then Ruediger and I are making signs together! In front of the house, there is a sign post with signs pointing in various direction, each with a destination carved into the wood. They are all destinations of the exchange students the family has had and also where my host siblings have gone on exchange. Therefore, tomorrow, we will make one for Rockford and one for Taipei (Consti)! :) Very wonderful end to the day. English again tomorrow morning! Hoping it will go a little better! :D Ich hab dich lieb Deutschland! Gute Nacht :) Lieb euch!

Schulausflug, Field Trip

They told me we were going to Borgen-Belsen and Celle on a school field trip. What they didn't tell me and what I didn't know was that Borgen-Belsen was a concentration camp. The concentration camp where Anne Frank and her sister Margot were held and eventually died. It was a very interesting tour, but also very hard to see. Everything becomes much more real when you are there, where someone else stood. We saw the mass graves of the 500,000 people killed in Borgen-Belsen (700,000 people were held there) and we also saw the beautiful memorials for all the people who lost their lives in this camp. There were about 10 different mass "graves", each with a different number written on them- the body count. We also saw the memorial stone of Anne and Margot Frank. Everyone has heard of Anne Frank because of her diary, but I had no idea she had been THERE. The tour guide told us that no one knows where exactly Anne Frank is buried, it could be in any of the 10 "graves" people were thrown into. After the small tour, we went into the museum where there was a video you could watch of real footage of the camp and there were also pictures, stories, artifacts all over the walls that you could look at. Me and a few other people chose not to watch the video because it would be very hard to see and looked at the fotos lining the walls instead. The photos were hard to see as well. After the tour of Bergen-Belsen, we got back on the bus and drove to Celle, a small town. There, we didn't do much but look around and shop a little. It was a very nice town though and it was nice hanging out with my English friends because they are leaving next week already. The only bad thing about hanging out with them is that we spoke English the wholeeee day and when I came home in the evening, I was tired and had been speaking English all day so I couldn't understand German very well. Whoops! :) But it's ok, my family understood and I'm sure with school tomorrow, I'll get right back into German! Today was the scouts meeting but I got back a little bit late from the field trip so Caro said she would take me next week and they will plan something because they know i'm coming now :) also, tomorrow, I'm going to "Step aroebic" with Caro which will be interesting and pretty nice! Then after that, we are going with Ruediger, Fred, and Pascal to Allersee for dinner. Tomorrow should be a very nice day (as are all days here :)). Today was a very interesting, nice day and I definitely learned a lot. Gute Nacht Deutschland!

Mein Stundenplan, My schedule

Wieder in der Schule, Back to school!

This morning, my classes didn't start until fourth period but I didn't really get to sleep in because Corinna and I went to the Rathaus to register here so that I could get my bus pass for school! The lady spoke with me only in German which I found surprising because someone else such as another one of the exchange students who didn't know as much German would not be able to answer the questions! She asked where I was born, my address, where my parents were born and their birthdates (I remembered everything but the year for my parents so I guessed and also on the birthplace haha :) the lady said it was ok though ;)). When we were done with registering, Corinna dropped me off at school and I went to my first class. I had today Erkunde (geography), Biology again, and Politiks again. Latin was cancelled so I got to go home two hours early! It was veryyy nice :) I really like how the system works here! I did find today a little more frustrating than before because I'm finding out how much I really don't know and also I was a bit tired from the amazing weekend. The teachers talk a little too fast so I don't really know what's going on the whole class period. But overall, school is still wonderful. Everyone is very nice and I'm starting to make a few more friends at school. I'm hoping I will get involved in some after school activities in the city so I have some more things to do and get involved in the community a little more! I believe tomorrow is scouts and Carolina said she thinks I can go so hopefully I will go! Here, it is different, there are both boys and girls and (*cough* dad) Caro said the boys will go geocaching with me because she saw that I like to go geocaching with my family! :) Tomorrow, my whole class (EP4) is going with the Englaenders to Borgen-Belsen/Celle the whole day so I will get to see some of my English friends again! Oh, and that also means no classes tomorrow ;D. After I came home early from school, Caro helped me make lunch and then I ate lunch and watched 7 Zwerge part 2 (my favorite German film so far) and I also found out I can play German dvds on my laptop! All you have to do is change the region! I was so happy to find this out because now I can bring my favorite German movies back with me! Pascal came by like everyday and Caro, Pascal and I sat in the living room and played the computer, listened to music and talked. It was a very nice evening :) Ruediger and Corinna went to a silver anniversary party tonight so when Pascal and Caro had to go, I was left alone but they picked out plenty of "typical German movies" for me to watch so I wouldn't get bored ;). I ate dinner, watched some movies and then Freddy came home and we talked for a little bit then he went to bed and I decided I should get to bed too because of the field trip tomorrow! Pretty excited! :) I love it here, I don't know if I'll ever want to leave but I do love you all! :) Gute Nacht Deutschland!

Urlaub am Rhein, Trip on the Rhein

On Friday, Consti, Corinna, Ruediger and I all drove to Frankfurt together after school. (School was great again by the way ;) I really love the school here!) We stayed the night in a hotel at the airport that was very nice and pretty sweet! To power the room and save energy, you must stick your key card in a socket so that when you leave, you have to take the key with you and the power goes off while you're away. Germany is very good at energy saving. Another example, some of the cars (like Corinna's) automatically turn off when you stop like at a light. This saves gas and energy! Also, lots of windmills! The next morning, (poor Consti only slept 30 minutes that night! I know exactly how she felt though, I slept 3 the night before I left!) we drove to the Frankfurt airport and sent Consti on her way to Taiwan. She was nervous like I was but also excited (like I was ;) haha) I knew I was going to miss her when she left but I didn't think I would cry. I did though, right after she left. I don't like goodbyes and I knew I might never see her again. I miss her but I'm glad she's in Taiwan because she is going to have a wonderful time like I am here!! After the airport, we headed to our next hotel in St. Goar which is along the RHEIN RIVER! We hear so much about the Rhein in America but it is something entirely to actually see it. It's amazing. And there are many Burge (castles) as well which are simply amazing. It was just like being in a fairy tale really. We took a boat tour on the Rhein and I got plenty of pictures. We got off the boat in Bingen (I think that's what it was called) and then took the Eisenbahn back to St. Goar. We had dinner (wiener Schnitzel, which I found is probably my new favorite food) and then went to bed. I had my own hotel room so I got to watch Spongebob Schwammkopf! :D It was fantastic. The voices are so different in German! We then woke up this morning, had breakfast and then headed out on our way home, in a different route though so we could make some stops along the way. We had planned to stop at a few more villages but it was raining quite a bit. We did end up stopping at this one castle though and it was simply amazing! It was so beautiful and historic, huge! I took plenty of pictures there as well :). We then went to another little town (I forgot the name of it) where all the buildings are original from the 1500s. Ruediger said this is because the smaller cities were not important enough to be bombed and so all the bigger cities (such as Berlin) are all rebuilt and more modern. We then drove home and went to the lake again, I walked along the beach while they swam because the water is still a bit too cold for me, and then we came home and had dinner and talked for hours. It was so nice :). Tomorrow, we are going to the Rathaus to register and get my bus pass for school! School starts at 10;30ish tomorrow because I have no morning classes on Mondays ;) I love it :D! Gute Nacht!

Erste Shultag, First day of school

Today was my first day of school. I stood up (a little late) at 6:20 (I was supposed to be up at 6 haha), we ate breakfast and got all my things together, backpack, papers, everything I needed. Consti was nice enough to get up and go with me on the bus and show me where my room was in the school. She also showed me where I would be able to get back on to go home again! The schedules in Germany are much like a college schedule and also the teachers come to you, not you go to them (most of the time, some classes such as art and biologie are in other rooms). My first class, I talked with a few girls sitting next to me, both very nice and turns out they're Consti's friends too! I thought that was pretty cool! I had a hard time understanding everything even though I do understood quite a bit of German. First hour we all recieved our schedules for the first semester. I will post a picture later so you can see all my wonderful classes! :) I don't quite remember but I think I had about 4 different teachers today and all of them asked me something in German to which I could not reply because I could not understand them (I have a hard time with understanding older people because I'm not used to talking with them in German) and so each one of them found out I was an "American". My Politik teacher even asked me if I wanted to do a presentation on the American school system and so I said yes and then he asked if I wanted to do it today and I said no, my German is still not very good and I don't have anything prepared so he asked if it was ok if I did it in 4 weeks and I said yes so that is when I will do it! Second class was Math. It's for me so easy because I learned the material about 2 years ago. So I finished the worksheet early that we were working on and started doodling. I drew a dinosaur because I love dinosaurs and wrote dinosaurier under it (the german word for dino) and the teacher came by (who is an older man but very nice) and asked, in German if that was supposed to be him. Of course, I didn't understand him and so the girl next to me told him I'm an exchange student. They later told me what he had asked and I felt kind of bad because no, it wasn't supposed to be him, I just love dinosaurs! But I found it pretty funny as well :). After 6 hours of school, I walked to the bus station and took 204 Ehmen home! I got home and lunch was ready and so we ate lunch and then I did my homework and relaxed for about an hour. Consti's party was tonight so around 6, we all helped set up. The party was very nice, a lot of her friends and family came and I got to see Alena again and that made me really happy :) We played table fussball (Alena, Carolina, Lotti, Pascal, Fred and I) and we did that probably for about 2 hours. It was so fun! I've never really played table fussball before where I got that into a game! :) We alternated between the winners so everyone could get a chance to play. (Pascal and I won the first time!(:) I love my German family! Everyone left around 10:30 and all said goodbye to Consti. And then we all helped clean up. Tomorrow I have school again (and Sport- yeahhh haha :) I don't have any sweatpants with me so I think i'm just going to wear pajamas and then maybe this weekend or sometime before next Friday when I have Sport again, I can go shopping for some new clothes :). After school tomorrow, we're driving to Frankfurt where we will stay the night and then Consti leaves on Saturday :( I will miss her, she's so nice but I know she will love Taiwan! And then Ruediger, Corinna and I will drive to a scenic, touristy area of the Rhein for a small vacation! I'm pretty excited! Tomorrow will be an easy school day, just Music 2 hours, then German 2 hours and Sport 2 hours! Easy :) Gute Nacht! Hab euch lieb :)

Berlin, Berlin!

Today, I went to the German capital, BERLIN! I woke up at about 5:30 (I was pretty tired haha), ate breakfast and then we drove and picked up Adrian (The youngest Wiese), Ryan and James who is one of the Englaenders. We drove to Ratgymnasium where we met the rest of the exchange group. To clarify, the trip we went on today was with the Ratgymnasium and English exchange so there are kids here staying with host families in Wolfsburg from Scotland, England and Ireland. So, the Rotary arranged for us to be able to go with them! All their accents are so funny ;). We were talking about accents with James, the Englishman staying with the Wieses and I asked him if Ryan had an American accent and he said yes and then I was like do I? And he was like, "You're from America too? I had no idea. I thought you were from here." It was pretty funny. We drove to Berlin on a big bus which lasted around 2ish hours maybe a little less and arrived in Berlin! It's such a beautiful and historic city! I love it! It reminds me a lot of Chicago only a bit better ;). We parked the bus and walked into a Glock museum where we got to go up really high and see an awesome view of the whole city! I have pictures but I haven't been able to upload my pictures yet. We then got back on the bus and took a guided tour of the whole city for about 2 hours! We saw everything! Brandenburg Tor, many historical buildings, places where the wall was, it was really beautiful but I wished we were able to spend a little more time on each place because it is so hard taking pictures and appreciating everything when the bus goes by so quickly. We then parked the bus again and split into partners and from there into groups. All the girls in one group and all the boys in another group... plus one American. Because we were not with the actual exchange program, us two Americans were put together as partners and so I got to hangout with all the boys for about 2 hours. Fun! Haha :) it was alright though. They are all really nice. We had to take the U-Bahn into the city so I got to ride on a train for the first time! Pretty exciting :) they go really fast! And then we went to a film museum which was all about the history of German filming. Truthfully it was a little boring ;) but it was only about an hour so it wasn't too bad. After that, we drove back home and everyone slept. Well almost everyone. The Englaenders in the back were pretty noisy with their "wheels on the bus" haha. I met some really nice people today and that was nice! Maybe I will see them again before the leave but I don't know. Tomorrow, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Whoo! I'm excited and a little nervous :) I am excited to meet friends, new people and start settling into real life here but nervous because i've never had a second first day before! But I know it will all be ok! Apparantly, i'm taking Latin too because Spanish isn't offered for beginners yet so that's ok and Latin is pretty sweet so i'm excited! Also tomorrow is Consti's Farewell party so I think I will get to see Alena again! I hope I don't get lost on the way home from school ;) haha. Gute Nacht!

Tag 7, Day 7

Today was my first Rotary meeting in Gifhorn-Wolfsburg! It was great! On the way to the meeting, because Ruediger is also the YEO for our club, we picked up Ryan from Familie Wiese (from Seattle, Washington) and Onesimo from Familie Hagenah (from Mexico!) along the way. They are both very nice! We arrived a little early because Ruediger had to meet with some people before the actual meeting started and so Ekkhard Musick took the three of us out to "Eis" in Gifhorn. He told us a bit about Gifhorn, where he lives. He was so excited to meet me too because he said the Rockford Gifhorn-Wolfsburg exchange is very important to his club and he's so happy that young people are now involved. I told him that it is also very important to my club and that everyone says "Hallo!". After Eis, we returned to the meeting building. Gifhorn is a beautiful little town with typical German buildings and the meeting building was just as beautiful! Everyone was so nice, we introduced ourselves and shook everyone's hand. Ekkhart told everyone that I'm from our sister club, Rockford and they all were very excited. We then all sat down and the meeting began, Ruediger introduced us all, "ladies first" of course haha. I stood up, he told them who I was, where I was from and then said I would say "Hello" in German and so I said "Hallo" because I lost all words and they all laughed because they thought it was funny so I just smiled and laughed with them. In the car, we had "rehearsed" I would say, "hello I'm happy to be here and thank you" and It's not that I was nervous, I wasn't at all actually, everything was in German and so I wasn't sure exactly what he had said x). He then introuced the other two and they both did the same thing "Hallo" because they think I know what I'm doing because Ruediger told them I already speak really good German and I can help them so I thought that was actually really funny. Then we ate dinner which was some fish and rice (very good, like all German food) and then the meeting began afterwards. The governer was at the meeting today too! The meeting lasted about an hour and a half and it was pretty interesting but it was all in German so us exchange students couldn't really understand most of it. After the meeting, we all drove home and went to bed (except for me because I'm on the computer waiting for my ipod to charge because I need a wecker! Becauseeeee tomorrow, we go to Berlin at 7:30! So I must wake up at 6 and my ipod right now is my only wecker so maybe I will get a new one soon :)) Gute Nacht!

Tag 6, Day 6

My host family bought half of a sheep from Pascal's father. Ruediger asked me (in German) if I wanted to go with him somewhere and I asked where and he said a few places so of course I said yes! We went first to visit Familie Wiese (the family I will be staying with next) and said hello to Clemens (the oldest son) and Ryan (the other exchange student in our club. Onesimo from Mexico arrived yesterday I think and he will be in our club too!) after we stopped by, we went to the house of Pascal's family and we talked and drank wine (the adults of course, I had mineral wasser ;) haha) Pascal's father showed me their farm, the sheep, the turkeys, the ducks, chickens, baloo (the dog who Pascal says is an Elephant baby because I said he was so big!) and everything. There were a lot of sheep and 3 baby sheep with soft black fur, so cute! :). We then talked some more and ate Subway for dinner (Caro and Pascal picked it up) and then the real fun began! The half of a sheep we bought, we had to help cut. Ruediger had me help by writing the parts of the sheep on bags where we stuck the meet. It was definitely something new! Ruediger asked if I've ever helped cut apart an animal before and I said no, my father is a hunter but he does all the gutting and stuff alone and he asked why I've never helped and I told him because my father never asks because he doesn't think I would like it (you're right dad). So it was an experience, very interesting and I learned new things. Always say yes! It makes a good story! Gute Nacht!

Photo of the family at Consti's farewell party

Tag 5, Day 5

Today was so wonderful. Breakfast was at 9, I was there, right at 9 (Ruediger said I am the perfect exchange student because Germans are always puenktlich... on time haha I can't remember English words. He also tells everyone I already speak perfect German and he seems so happy that I already understand and can speak so much (when he tells people that I just shake my head and smile and they laugh)). After breakfast, everyone helped get ready for the family party for Consti! Around 10 0r 11 everyone started arriving, cousins, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents etc. The kids (Pascal, Carolina, ich, Fred, Lotti (Alena's younger sister so also my cousin), and Consti, played Skip-bo. Then we ate lunch which was so good, lots of different potato salads, wuerstchen, bread everything. After, Alena, Lotti, Caro (Carolina, Rike is Friederike ;)), Pascal, Consti and I played "Verstecken" or as we know it- "Hide and Go Seek". It was soooo fun. We played it inside the family business area (which is a little hard to explain but I will try) and it's huge with so many good hiding spots and it's this big room where they show all the different things they can do so there are model houses, doors and closets to hide behind, different rooms like the kitchen, office, etc. SO MANY PLACES TO HIDE! It was the best :). Then, we all went back to the house and we went upstairs and played "Lips" which is the same as "karaoke" ;) it was very fun. I also got to see where Rike and Norman live today! Rike had to take Norman (who studied in Texas for a while by the way) home because he has a condition right now that he can't sit for very long. And so they asked if I wanted to go along for the ride and I said sure! Rike and Norman are so nice :) I love having sisters haha. After everyone had to go home, Consti and I watched "Supernatural". They absolutely love it. It was fun :) and then we had abendbrot- which is pretty much dinner, we eat at 9, around 13, and abendbrot is around 20 uhr. Then we continued to finish Supernatural and then Consti and I talked in the kitchen for about an hour or so about a lot of things. You wanna know the coolest part? It was all in German. :) haha. Sometimes, I really don't know what they're saying but I've gotten really good at guessing because I do know so many words. And I take the advice from the rebounds- talk and don't be afraid of being wrong! I talked so much with Consti and I knew I was so wrong but she understood me and so it was great. It is much easier to connect without a language barrier. I don't think I'll ever want to go home. I love it here so much. Berlin on Wednesday, school Thursday and Alena comes back Thursday too! I can't wait :) Gute Nacht!

Tag 4, Day 4

(Day 3 was just as great as every other day, I just didn't have enough time to write)

Today, I woke up at 9. We had breakfast (rolls with Samba (bio version of nutella and also very good and also fruit salad) and then Corinna and I went to the market in Fallersleben. We bought a lot of meat and bread. Corinna was so nice and asked me what I would like to try and bought it! Then, we came home and ate lunch. Carolina and Pascal (my older sister and her boyfriend who are very very nice also like Rike and Norman) came home last night from Spain, they were there with Oma Santa for vacation. Oma Santa came after lunch and said hello and then Pascal, Consti, Alena (my cousine) and I played apples to apples (in German of course ;) and they love that game) and then Phase 10. Afterwards, Alena and I watched "Herr der Ringe" or as you Americans know it "Lord of the Rings" :). It was so fun because I have seen it so many times so I knew what they were saying even though it was in German and also in German, everyone has different names which is so funny like for example smeagol is smergel (or something like that haha). Alena and I had so much fun and I am going to miss her when she goes back to Hannover tomorrow. But she will be back Thursday so I am glad for that! Gute Nacht, the party is tomorrow and breakfast is at 9!

Day 2 Part 2

I also forgot to add, my bedroom is about the same as mine at home (for now, when Consti leaves, I get her room) and my "personal' bathroom haha has a sauna. Almost everything is made of wood :) because my family lives inside of their company which is a wood factory. I go to Berlin on Wednesday with Rotex and to a tourist part of the Rhein the weekend Consti leaves because we must drive to Frankfurt where she flys from. Also, we will go to Bavaria sometime but I don't remember when they said.

I forgot I went on the Autobahn today too! It was the best thing ever. Very fast!

Day 2

Today I woke up at 12 pm to my sister knocking on the door saying that they wanted to wake me up so I wouldn't sleep all day. i couldn't believe I slept until 12! After I got up, Consti and I went to the bus station by our house to catch the bus into the center of the city, Wolfsburg! the bus came and we got on, paid for our tickets and sat down. Consti showed me the city, the Volkswagen plant, where Fred, Rieke and her husband work, and then she also showed me the trainstation where we picked up her cousin from Hannover today when she came to visit until Sunday. She is very nice. Fred picked us up from the trainstation with his car and drove us three home. We got home and a little later I, Corinna, and Ruediger went to "the small lake Michigan" my host dad calls it ;). He is so funny. The lake was very beautiful but very cold so I didn't go in but waited for Ruediger and Corinna and took pictures. We got home and ate dinner. We eat a lot of different bread, meat and cheese. I have not tried everything yet but what I have tried is so good :) especially this one meat with what looks like jelly in it and tastes sort of like ham and relish (I'm not sure what it's called). So far, it is my favorite, as well are the broetchen :). After dinner, Freiderieke and her boyfriend came to the house again and we all sat in the kitchen and talked. In Germany, everyone talks to eachother but nobody listens so there are many conversations going on at once! I mostly listen and try to understand little parts but they talk very fast :) and so Frierieke tells me what they are talking about. I then got my computer and Fred helped my connect to the internet so that I could register with the government in U.S so I wouldn't get in trouble and now I am going to bed. Gute Nacht! :) Ich liebe Deutschland.

Day 1

Yesterday, I boarded a plane from Grand Rapids to Chicago, my first step to leaving everything I know behind for a year. I arrived in Chicago around 11:30 am their time and found some other exchange students at the gate to my flight which would take me to Philly! Little did I know that these other 4 students would be my little family and best friends for the next day. Our flight to Philly was cancelled and so alone we would have all had no idea what to do and cried but together, we figured everything out and ended up having a great time together even though unfortunatley ended up having to recheck our luggage (and yes, that means the dreadful security for the second time that day) and we were all put on a new flight non-stop to Frankfurt (our first stop in... GERMANY!) and this morning, we arrived in Frankfurt. The excitement is undescribable. We had made it! We had made it to Germany! We got through immigrations (yay, they let me in!) and customs which was very simple. Everyone at the Frankfurt airport was so nice and almost everyone spoke English and that was very helpful. We met up with some of the other exchange students that were on the flight from Philly at the gate to Hannover. The flight to Hannover was the longest and shortest flight ever. Luckily, there was a wonderful German woman who sat next to me and talked to me the whole time, letting me ask questions and telling me a bit more about Germany. Then, we finally arrived and the nerves kicked in a bit. This was it, this was where we met our host families! I stuck with the other students and we all crossed the "gate' together, all greeted with signs and plenty of love on the other side. All nervousness completely went away when I saw my host mother, my sister, my second host family, Julius (who was an exchange student in Rockford) and a few other people. I looked like I had been traveling for two days but I didn't care. We got some pictures in front of the banners and they had bought me flowers as well. There was another boy who is staying in my host club that took some pictures with us too. He and a girl from Mexico will go to the same school as me! I was so happy and felt like I was home. My host mom, Corinna, and my host sister, Consti, drove me (in their VW golf by the way) to my new home in EHMEN! :D The drive was about 40 minutes or maybe less and I couldn't stop looking at EVERYTHING! Germany is quite a bit like Michigam only everything is in German and the toilets, the light swiches, the door handles, and how fast you can go are different. But I love it. I was so tired when I got here but I fought all day not to sleep because I didn't want to miss anything! And I wanted to spend time with my already wonderful family. Later today, Fred came home from work and I got to meet him and then later on whle my parents were out running, my older sister and her boyfriend came over. They're both such nice people! I watched Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Consti and fell asleep on the couch. I tried so hard not to fall asleep! But I woke up a little later and they thought it was funny I fell asleep because they knew I must be exhausted. We talked about some things, kind of like the first night questions. Right now, it's 4:18 Michigan time so about 10 pm here. I haven't slept since yesterday at 7 am Michigan time so I'm going to go to bed. I love Germany!! Tomorrow, I tour the city with Consti! Gute Nacht! :)