Happy Christmas.

No matter what the calendar may say, it doesn't fell like Christmas here. No mater how many times I walk through the markets or see decorations and trees, it just doesn't feel right. There's just something about opening presents on the afternoon of a sunny, 60 degree December 24th that doesn't feel right.
Also, I haven't been here for very long at all. It still feels like it should be August to me.

Apart from the weird feelings about this time of year, Christmas was really nice. And the weeks leading up to Christmas were really nice too. I spent a while in Frankfurt, walking though the Christmas markets and seeing all the decorations on the streets. That was so amazingly beautiful. The first two times I went was at night, and it was unbelievably crowded. I was body against body at one point, and you had no say in which direction you went. There's was barely enough room to move your feet.

I went a one with my family too. I was still early in the day so it wasn't as crowded, and it was so much fun. Everything was really pretty and well decorated and there was so much to see. The market was huge.
There were interesting foods like roasted chestnuts and German sausages. There was also a lot of Glühwein. I love it. It translated to "Mulled Wine" (if that means anything to you). It's a sweet, dark red wine that's served very hot. It's great for warming up if the evening is cold.
The rest of the market was really great too. You can buy anything there, and half the people are tourists who speak English. It's fun to walk around and occasionally translate for people. That's always a lot of fun.

Here, we celebrate Christmas on the 24th. The family went to church together and then we opened presents and went to my host aunts house for dinner. We had chili which made me so happy. My family in Alaska always eats chili on December 24th. Every year. I'm glad I didn't miss that this year.

My host family got me some nice presents. I got soap, gift cards, and chocolate, and my host brother and his girlfriend payed the entrance fee for the New Year's party that we're going to. I bought them all similar things, with some additional Alaskan presents thrown in.

Today is Christmas day. Actually it's midnight so I guess it's the 26th now. That's why my writing in all over the place, but I know it's going to be hard to make myself find the time to sit down and write during the day.

Today I just hung out with my little host brother. We started building the big lego kit he got, and I think I might be having more fun with it than he is.

Well, I really need to go to bed, but I promise my next post will come soon.

Frohe Weihnachten.
Happy Christmas.

My New Family

It's been a long time since I have had time to sit down and write in my blog. I have had SO much going on. 

I'm currently living with my second host family. It's so different. And it's so strange not to wake up to the Kappes family. 

I'm slowly adjusting, though it's strange to be home all alone and not have any idea where anyone is. 

This house is so big. Such a change from my last family. Before, we all shared one bathroom and we were always close together in the flat. Now I have a whole floor of the house just to myself. There's 2 balconies, and I have my own HUGE bathroom. But it's lonely up there all by myself. And cold. It's so cold in my room, but my host dad insists and the heat be turned off and the window opened for fresh air. I don't need fresh air in the middle of winter, but whatever makes him happy I guess. 

I take the bus to school now. It's not so far, but it's good to not have to walk half an hour in the cold winter mornings to school. I still see my old host family all the time. I see my old host brother at school all the time, and I still go to dance and volleyball with them. 

There's always those certain people that you'll remember for the rest of your life. My first host family are definitely some of those people. And they are always welcome in Alaska. I couldn't have asked for more.

I'm sure I be perfectly happy in this new family too, it'll just take me a while to get used to things. 

I now have a little brother and an older brother. The little one is 10 and the older is 20. The middle child is my age and she is currently on exchange in Ecuador. I have spoken with her once, and she seems very nice, though I don't know if I'll ever get to meet her. On Monday, I spent time doing homework with the little one. I was helping him (a little) and he was helping me (a lot). It was a lot of fun. I had a blast. So for now I'm hanging in there and just getting accustomed. :)

More soon.

Culture Weekend

This weekend was culture weekend. All of the exchange students (Inbounds) from Hessen met in a youth hostel in the middle of Frankfurt. The future exchange students from Germany (Outbounds) and the people who had already gone on exchange (Rebounds) as well as Rotex and adults from Rotary. We met of Friday afternoon and it was great to see everyone again. There are people from the southern hemisphere that come in January (Oldies), and people from the northern hemisphere that come in August. I know all of them because we meet up occasionally, but this was the first time that we had all been together in the same place at the same time. Friday we spent a lot of time listening to the guy in charge talk. We all introduced ourselves to the new Outbounds and they introduced themselves. We had to say why we were doing our exchange, and it was really hard because no two people were allowed to loose the same word. By the time my word came around, every word in my German vocabulary had already been used, but everyone had already started repeating things, so I was okay. In the evening, we had a "Question and Answer" session with the Outbounds and then we sat around and played guitar and sang. There was a couple people who were interested in going to Alaska, which I was really excited about.
On Saturday we presented our countries to the Outbounds. We all did Powerpoint presentations and some people had videos. I wasn't really happy with the America presentation, because we never really took the time to make it really nice. I tried, but I can't do everything by myself. I'm just glad that it's over. Later we got to show dances from our cultures. The Latin Americans all had really cool dances, but America's dance was by far the best. We did Cotton Eye Joe. We used the original dance, and mixed it with a couple of other line dances that we knew, and it was a lot of fun to dance and to teach to the other people.
The weekend came to an end way too soon. Sunday was a very sad day because it was the last time we were all going to be together. The people that came in January have all come to the end of their year hear, and they are heading back to their home countries. By the end of the day, we were all sobbing and hugging each other. The funniest part was that we were all crying and hugging each other right then, but half of us were still going home together. A couple of the exchange students even live in my same house, and I have my German course with 3 of the Oldies.
All in all, it was a really fun weekend, and I'm glad I got to see everyone.

More soon.

Birthdays

Birthdays are celebrated a lot differently here than what I am used to.
Since I have been here, we have celebrated 4 birthdays.
If the birthday is on a free day or a weekend, then people are invited over for coffee and cake at 3pm. Coffee is ALWAYS at 3. For my birthday, we had brunch because it was a free day in the middle of the week.
People eat cake, drink tea or coffee, and sit around and talk. Around 6pm or so, supper in ready and we eat chili, or casserole here. When we were at one of the grandma's house, she made a bunch of very delicious foo that I'm not exactly sure what was. It was meat, noodle things, beans, salad, and some other stuff that I can't entirely remember.
The guests sit and talk for a while more, and usually at about 10pm, the last people start leaving.
It's interesting and fun for a the first couple hours, but after a little while I get tired of listening to German. When it's really late, I can barely speak German at all. My brain is just too exhausted.

Last week on Thursday was my host mom's birthday. They strangest thing was that her brother and sister-in-law came over for a little while. They stayed and had cake and coffee, and then they left their two little girls for us to watch while they went dancing. I thought that was the strangest thing in the world.
"Happy birthday, watch my kids". They're fun and cute, but VERY loud, and I just thought it was a little strange.
Yesterday was my host sister's birthday, and I ended up sitting on the couch at 10 playing games with her 10  and 14 year old cousins. None of these people speak English, and my brain was dead.
Today, Maike's friends are coming over. We're going to go somewhere in my town and do something that's kind of like bowling, but the balls don't have holes for your fingers. Should be fun.

More later.

Alaskan Food

When my host family first found out they were getting an exchange student from Alaska, they first thing my host mom asked was, "What language does she speak?". 

This past weekend, I cooked "Alaskan food" for my host family. I made them salmon, rice, and salad, and pan fried apples for desert. They apples weren't so much Alaskan. They're just good. 

I seared the salmon fillets in butter with salt and pepper, and drizzled them with lemon after they had cooked. The rice was just regular rice, and the salad had a sour cream, paprika sauce. 

I have to say that I was very happy with how it turned out. My host sister (who doesn't like fish) even said that she liked it, and would eat fish if it was made that way.

Running

Today I had sports class. I was really excited because I was pretty sure we were going to be unicycling again. I have a lunch break before sports, so I went to the supermarket with some friends and then we sat in the library and ate our lunches, talked, and looked at magazines for a little while. When it was time to go to class, I gathered my things and walked outside to the old sports building. There were people waiting outside, but none of them were in my class, and none of my friends from the library were in my class. I waited around for a little while, but no one came. I called a girl who is in the same class as me, but she didn't answer.
After a while, I decided to go back to the library and ask my friends if they had any idea where my class might be. They didn't. So I just went home.
I figured I should least get a little bit of sport in since I didn't have class, and I'm not going to volleyball on Thursday (It's my host mom's birthday). I decided to go running through the part of our village that I know the best. I started running, but ran out of familiar territory way before I was ready to turn back. I ran in a couple circles around the block and then I simply started taking random turns and not really paying attention to where I was going. Just going.
After about 20 mins of "just going" I looked around from intersections and street signs to know where I was. I had no clue, but it's really hard to get really lost. I had been running uphill, so I simply turned around and started running downhill (Which is SO much easier). By the time I reached flat ground again, I knew where I was and headed home.
Excited to see my accomplishments, I got out my map to look for where I had ended up running. After about 5 solid minutes of me blankly staring at the map, my host mom came over and pointed out where we live. That made things a lot easier.
The map was very disappointing though. It made my exhilarating run seem like nothing when it was all layed out like that, but nonetheless, it was good.

"Disco"

My host sister is in a dance school. Every weekend, they have a "disco". Today, I went with her and her friends. We got there a little bit after it started, and my host sister immediately showed me the basic steps of Disco Fox and Cha-cha.
When the next disco fox came up I danced it with Maike, and I learned the first parts of it. After that, I danced with one of Maike's friends and she taught me the rest.
After dancing for a little while, we went outside to get some air, and there Maike showed me the next part of the Cha-cha. I danced it with Maike's friend when we got back inside and it was really a lot of fun.
And now I know the Disco Fox and Cha-cha.

Unicycling is hard, too.

Developed during the late 19th century and once seen strictly as a method used only by performers, in recent years the unicycle is rapidly becoming a popular for of travel for a growing number of enthusiasts. 
This unnecessary form of travel is now also available in your local German sports class!

Today in sports class, we unicycled. Last week we rode wave boards and did handstands. So far, I can say that I like sports class here way more than in America. 
There's only one downside. 
The sports hall is the single hottest building I have ever been in. The minute I walk in there, I start sweating. So on top of having to learn how to unicycle, it's insanely hot.

All in all, it's a lot of fun and I look forward to a fun year of sports class.

Deutsch ist schwer (German is hard)

I am taking three German classes currently. One of them is in school and doesn't really help me much. It's like taking and English class in American highschool, and it mostly literature and composition based.
My other two classes are for people learning German as a foreign language. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I go to Bad Homburg, Germany for class. It's about a 30 minute train ride from my town, then I take a bus to the building where I have class.
We just finished out two week break from school and German class for the Fall Holidays, and I went to class for the first time since then on Monday. I had a conversation with my German teacher beforehand and then we worked out of our workbook and  learned some German.
After the three-hour class, I was packing up my bag to head home when my teacher came up to me and started talking to me (in English, but I don't exactly know why. I think she likes to speak English). She told me that she noticed how much my German had improved over the break, and she was impressed.

That made me happier than anything I've heard in a long time.

Except maybe for fact that I'm getting my favorite powdered soup mailed to me. That's always an amaxing thing when you're coming down with a cold.

All in all, I've a very happy camper.

More later.

Post Adventure

I have now received three boxes from my wonderful mother, with things that I needed or left behind in Alaska. I figured it was about time to return the favor, so I got together all the best German goodies I could find and packed a box. I packed things in to some old shoe boxes; one box for my whole family, one for my brother's birthday. 

I got the boxes all wrapped and taped up in brown paper, filed out the necessary paperwork for Customs, and headed to the post office with my host mom. We got there, and my boxes were all something ridiculous like .1 grams overweight. So we took them back home and I unwrapped all of them and took some stuff out. In one of the boxes, I ended up opening a pack of gummies and my host brother and I ate half of them. (Sorry Joe!) Everything else was good, and I went to take them back to the post office. I kind of knew the way by this point, and it had stopped raining, so I walked alone. 

I made it there with absolutely no problem, but the post office was already closed. 

I started to walk back, but I took a wrong turn somewhere, and the 10 minute walk took me twice as long. It wasn't hard to get home once I found a main street, but little German neighborhoods are very twisty and confusing and no one was around to ask for directions. But all in all, it was a fun experience, and now my boxes are on their way. 

More soon.

My view on things

I randomly got a message from a German today that said the following:

I've basically read your whole blog :D It's hilarious how you see things in here! Just wanted to let you know.

That basically made my day.
German friend, thank you.

Haircuts

Yesterday my brother was talking about how he needed a haircut and needed to make an appointment to get one. I (mostly jokingly) told him that I could cut his hair for him. I know how to cut hair and I've done it many times before, so it's not like I would cut off his ears or anything, but I didn't really think he would take my seriously. 

Today, I cut my host brother's hair. After I was finished, he liked it. So then I cut my host sister's hair too. 

All in all, everyone got a hair cut, and everyone still has both ears so I'd say it was successful.

Koblenz, Deutschland

These last two weeks we have had break from school. Last weekend, I went to Koblenz, Germany with my host family. It was about a 2 hour drive, and we left early. My host siblings and I slept in the back seat and my host dad drove while my host mom navigated. I think we got a little lost for part of the way, but we got there eventually. 

The first thing we did was go on a hike. It was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. We hiked up a place that looked like a gorge. There were high rock walls, and a stream running down the middle, and everything was green and luscious. It is hard to describe how beautiful it was. We got to the top, and kept heading up. All in all, we hiked about 30 kilometers, and it was wonderful.

We walked back to the car after wandering though a town for a little while, and then drove to a youth hostel. We all slept in a room that had 3 bunk beds (6 beds in total) and it was very nice for being a youth hostel. Then we walked around for a little while before heading to dinner. The hostel is in the middle of what appears to be an old fortress of some sort. There were museum-like displays, and old buildings and streets. It was all very pretty and very interesting. 

The next day, we went into the city of Koblenz. We took a tram over the Rhein river to where the twon was below, and I got to see the place where the youth hostel lays from below. It was mind blowing. They whole mountainside is covered in old fortress-like buildings, with old towers and stone walls. It was amazing how little you could see from above, and how vast and expansive it seemed form below. 

We walked through the city of Koblenz and made our was to Deutsche Eck. There was a big statue dedicated to the first ruler of Germany, and there were also plaques for each of Germany's states. 

After exploring and walking up the statue, we headed into the town itself. We walked down the main shopping street and went into a few stores and such, then headed back up to the youth hostel because we were all exhausted from our long hike the day before, then we headed back home. 

It was a very good trip, and I had a great time with my host family.

ZOO!

So I have made up my mind. I want to work in a zoo. Today I went to the Zoo in Frankfurt. It was very different form the Alaska Zoo. There were SO many different animals. It was amazing. There were so many crazy animals that I had never seen or heard of before, but the thing I was really excited for was the giraffes. They were amazing. They were pretty, and huge, and they were hilarious when they ran.
The majority of the animals were from Asia and Africa, but there were also Northern Fur Seals and Spotted Seals. My host mom started to explain to me stuff about the seals. I lived on an island with nothing but seals, so it was really good for me to hear it in German.
Anyways, seeing the animals was very cool, and then we walked around Frankfurt for a little while. We went to a REALLY big church, but my host family said it wasn't really that impressive compared to some of the others. A little while after that we headed home because we were all so tired.
Now we are discussing our possible plans for our weekend trip to somewhere that starts with a K.
More information later!

The Alaska Life

So while I was in 5th grade, I was talking to the kids about what life was like in Alaska. They thought it was so cool that I was from somewhere so far away. My favorite thing they asked me was "Do you know what McDonalds is?"

:)

Halloween

Halloween is a holiday that has been celebrated for a long time is America, and is an important holiday for the younger population. In Germany, Halloween was introduced about 10 years ago, and is still not widely accepted. Many Germans don't like the idea of the holiday, and would rather just celebrate holidays of their own traditions. Exchange students, on the other hand, wouldn't give up Halloween for anything. On Friday afternoon, I took a two hour train ride with a couple other exchange students, and we went to Marburg for a Halloween/Birthday party. We all got to Marburg, and went to some various peoples houses to get ready. I was a zombie. I found a big white shirt for 1 euro, and cut it up and used some red colored hair spray to make it look like the cuts were bloody. I wore it over a black skirt, with black boots and did my hair and make-up. That's how you make a costume on an exchange students budget.
We walked around Marburg for a little while, and ended up in the castle that overlooks Marburg. Being in an abandoned castle at night really helps the whole "Halloween" theme. We talked and danced for a while, and it was a lot of fun. At about 1:30, three of us called a taxi, and we went back to the house were we were sleeping at.
In the morning, we had breakfast and I talked with the girls host mother for a little while. It turns out that her son is currently an Inbound in Alaska!! His name is Alex and he is in Juneau. Also, Paula has a friend from Chile that is currently in Wasilla, and there are a couple other people here that randomly know people that I know, or have been to Alaska. It so amazing how small the world is.
More soon.

5th Grade

This last week in school, my class went on a class trip. I did not go, because I am going again with Rotary. While my class was gone, I still had to be in school. Coincidentally, the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th classes were all gone too. I ended up in the 5th grade, and it was an amazing week. On Monday, we went to  a dog training place. We watched various demonstrations of obedience, agility, and a police dog demonstration. It was all very interesting, and I understood quite a bit, but it was a very cold day. I was freezing.
On Tuesday, we just stayed in the classroom. I read, and worked in my German workbook, and wrote in my journal, then went to German course.
On Wednesday, we went to a play. It was about an island, and someone being kidnapped, but I didn't really understand it. I asked one of the kids afterwards, and she didn't understand it either, so that is okay.
Friday, we had breakfast. It was very German and very good. There was a lot of bread, and pretzels, and cake. At the beginning of the week, the kids were afraid to talk to me, bu they had warmed up to me by Friday. I walked into the classroom, and half of them pulled up extra chairs for my to sit next to them. It was really sweet. It was also really good for my German. They didn't speak English, so I had to speak German with them, and I had to explain myself IN GERMAN if I didn't know the word for something. I think I learned a lot this past week.

Now we have a two week break for school, so I get to just lay around and hang out with my friends for two weeks. And of course learn German. It's also really weird for my to say German instead of Deutsch. I have begun mixing my languages together, and my English grammar is struggling. Oh well, I guess that comes with being in Germany, and it is very exciting.
More soon.

Alles gut zum Geburtstag!

Wednesday was my birthday! It also just so happens to be a national holiday so everyone go the day off of school and work. 

On Tuesday night, I went to a party in Bad Homburg with a few other exchange students, and came back on the Nightbus with Paula. She stayed the night, and on Wednesday I had a few people over for Brunch. 

I woke up on Wednesday morning, and I finally got to open the box from my family that had been siting in the dining room for a week.

I was all smiles opening my boxes, and the present from my host family. They got me one of these cool pens that I don't know the English name for, but it's real fancy and makes my writing look really pretty. And EVERYBODY uses them. I was SO excited.

So about 6 of my friends came over, along with my host-grandparents, and my counselor. Later in the day, the girls from my dance group came and we played Solo (Which is like Uno). My host mom had made these two soups that are my new favorite thing. One of them was a pumpkin cream soup, and the other was a Gyro soup. I'm not exactly sure what gyro is and it doesn't translate, but it tastes like heaven. Seriously. On Thursday, I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is amazing. So overall I had a very nice birthday, and my host family is amazing. 

German Test

Right now, I can't even imagine myself being fluent in the ridiculously difficult language. Compared to German, English is a walk in the park. 

Today, I had German class as my third and fourth lessons, and we took a test. For the test, we were supposed to read a passage, write a summary, and answer questions (I think). I started out by trying to translate the passage to English, and here is what I came up with:

Of a barrier ladder the Supermarket, with his television umbrella, the wife (something), scared to death.

Then I wrote a story about a cat.

It was awesome.

I worked for a solid 45 minutes, and handed it in to my teacher (who doesn't speak any English).

She read it over, and we both started laughing hysterically, causing everyone to stare at us. 

Next Monday, when I have German class again, she is going to read my story to the class.

I can't wait. :)

German class!

Last week, I started a German class with all the other exchange students who live close to Bad Homburg. Our first day was quite the adventure. We got to leave school early on Monday, so I don't have to go to History class anymore. Nidya (Illinois) met me near my school, and we walked to the train station together. There, we met with Paula (Chile) and two people from our school that now live in Germany. Jaunius is from Lithuania and Olga is from Poland, and we all have Spanish class together.
Anyways, we took the 4 o'clock train to Bad Homburg (about a 30 minute trip) then walked to the Volklhochschule were our class took place. It started at 5:30 and lasted until 7. The first day was insanely easy. It was basic stuff like introducing ourselves and telling about our lives, which I already knew. A few of us decided we should look for another course. In the meantime, we went to the same course again on Thursday and we learned "apartment" words, like furniture and kitchen appliances. It was fun because of the people, but we needed a harder course. The following Monday, 5 of us took a placement test, and we were all placed into the A2.1 class, instead of the A1.1 class that we had started. The new class is on Tuesdays and Thursday from 1-4pm. Three hours twice a week, and we might be adding a third day. I better learn fast, because that is a LOT of German. There are 3 "oldies" (people who came in January) and they are all from Brazil. Also in the class with me is Coco (France), Nidya, and maybe Jaunius, and about 10 other people who are mostly from the Middle East. It shouldn't be too bad, because I have lots of people to entertain me, and I am really excited about learning German.

Dreaming

Last night I had my first dream in German. It was amazing. It wasn't entirely in German, because my brain doesn't know enough to think in German, but there were some German sentences that I know. The dream itself was actually pretty weird and something about me having amnesia, but it was really cool that it was partly in German.

More later.

Sports!

Well I joined a dance team. My host mom leads a dance group for Karnival, and now Paula (from Chile) and I are in it. I'm not sure that either of us really knew what we were getting in to because of the language barrier, but it is a lot of fun.
I also played volleyball with my host parents on Thursday. Usually the family goes, but Maike was in Berlin on a class trip, and Gerrit had soccer practice. It was my first time ever playing, and I loved it. I might consider playing for the school team in Alaska next year. It depends of if it interferes with Robotics or shooting.
The robotics season in Alaska starts TODAY! The kickoff is at 11am Alaska time, which is 9pm tonight here. I'm so excited to find out what the game is. I have a lot of good ideas already that I would love to share with my team. 5358 is going to the state competition again this year. No questions about it.
I was hoping to be able to skype in to the kickoff, but no one has responded to me so I'll just watch it here when it's released and email my team of something.

Nerdettes for life! <3

More later.

Language Camp

I just got back from language camp, and my brain is a huge jumble of English, German, and Spanish. Along with the French songs I learned.
Language camp was so much fun. I made a lot of new friends, and I had a blast. We did everything from hiking, to rock climbing, to feeding random cows. We went to a zoo specializing in German animals and I saw my favorite animal. BISON! We also saw a TON of cows and llamas just hanging out on the side of the road.
Along with all of this adventure came rigorous German lessons. The material we worked on at the beginning was stuff that I mostly knew, but by the second week we were doing grammar that I didn't even know existed.
Parts of the camp were somewhat frustration because of all the Spanish that was being spoken. Whenever we were learning German, there was also Spanish in the background. I got confused occasionally because I was learning the German word and the Spanish at the same time.
But the people I met and the connections I made are indescribably important to me.
I got back from the camp yesterday afternoon, and then immediately went grocery shopping with my host family. After that, we went to the Laternfest in the Bad Homburg. we ran into some other Inbounds, and it was like we hadn't seen each other in ages. We were all screaming and hugging, and it was so much fun. We walked around for a couple hours, and then we went our separate ways. Now I'm sitting in the front room with my host family, and helping my brother with his homework.
I feel a little inadequate though. He is working on English homework that I don't understand. It's old British English, and it's really hard. Poor kid. Luckily when I read some words in context I can help him figure out the jist of the story. Yesterday we learned new English words together. :)
Anyways, I should probably get off the internet soon.

I have pictures up on my Facebook. Don't hesitate to add me. I use it responsibly, and I won't be annoying. :)

More soon.

Heading to camp!

It's finally time! Today (in about an hour or so) I'm heading to language camp! All of the exchange student in my district are getting a crash course in the German language for 2 weeks. We're going to Wasserkuppe (In Fulda I think. Maybe...) if anyone is interesting in looking it up. 

I'm so excited! I might actually know what's going on in school when I get back.

Right now, i can understand enough to get by. My host mom doesn't speak to me in English very often anymore. I think I'm doing pretty good.

I don't know if I will have internet or anything for the next two weeks, but I promise there will be lottssss of pictures when I get back! 

Also, IT'S SO HOT HERE!!!!

Today is supposed to get up to 100 degrees F. 

.. 0_o ..

I;m not excited.

I'm going to melt.

And I'm really sunburned because the public swimming pool is outside. It's ridiculously hot.

But I did buy new sunglasses. :)

Alright. Well I'll post when I can, and I'll have lots of pictures up within the next few weeks!

More later.

LEARNING DEUTSCH!

So yesterday evening, I was talking with my host mom about seasons, and I forgot the English word for Fall, but I knew the German word!!

Just though I would share my little triumph.

More later.

School.

Well school has started. Today was the second day, and the only thing I understood was English. Germans here in Neu-Anspach speak British English. And to me, they all have British accents. It's quite entertaining to listen to them speak English.

School here is very different that it is in Alaska. First off, it's in German. Secondly, I'm currently taking DOUBLE the amount of classes I would be taking if I were at home. It's very intense. I'm taking Spanish, English, German, History, Political Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Ethics, Music, and Sports.

I aced an English test though. :)

I had Chemistry yesterday, and I understood it somewhat. I knew that they were talking about the definition of Organic Chemistry, and what things were and weren't organic and what made them so. So I think I did okay there.

It's going to take a lot of getting used to, but I think it will be a good year. I've already met some very nice people.

More later.

Every step of the journey is the journey

Germans are tall. Very tall.

Karen is short. Very short. 

I find myself looking up at people a lot.

I arrived safe and sound early this morning, with only a little trouble in customs. The lady didn't want to let me into the country, and I'm not entirely sure why.

When I finally made it out and found my bags with the 5 other exchange student I met along the way, I went through the gate at customs and saw a big green sign that said "Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland Karen!". It was held by a family of very tall people. I shook hands and hugged everyone, and we set off to the car. 

Getting to the car was the equivalent of walking across the entire Anchorage airport 5 times. The Frankfurt airport is absolutely huge.

We drove for probably about half an hour to our town of Neu-Anspach. It is a very beautiful place. There are trees everywhere and birds hopping between treetops. There are more sidewalks that I have ever seen in my entire life, and the two-way streets are one car width wide. The town seems very quaint, with old ladies tending to their gardens, and not much traffic. The house I am staying in is absolutely beautiful, and there is a tree in my room. I am so happy. But I'm also exhausted.

More later.

My life weighs 47 pounds

My life weighs 47 pounds. One bag for one year. Everything I'm taking for the next year is crammed tight into my biggest suitcase.

Today is the day.

Tonight at 11:55pm I will be leaving Anchorage. First, I will go to Denver and meet up with another girl who is going to Germany. They we will continue on to Chicago, and finally Frankfurt, meeting up with more exchange students as we go.
I honestly am freaking out a little bit. My mind is racing, and I can't wait to get on the plane. At the same time, it is hard to leave my entire life behind to start something completely new.

But here goes.

The Quest for Pins

I have been on a mission to find pins to trade with the other exchange students. I started by asking one of the senators who forwarded my email to the governors office. The governor sent me 25 Alaska flag pins, and the information about the company that they got the pins from. We went to that company, and they wanted $1 for every pin! That was insane, and I didn't want to have to send that much money. I continued looking around Anchorage, and came across the visitors bureau. It was closed, because it was Sunday, so I had to come back on Tuesday to talk to someone. Well, today is tuesday, and I just picked up our exchange kid from the airport! He is from our partner school in Germany, and he will be staying with me for 3 weeks. I dragged him around downtown for a little while, and got 100 Anchorage pins and a bunch of lip balm from the visitos bureau. As we were walking back to the car, we passed the legislative offices. I ran inside for just second, and the guy at the security desk told me to go to the information office. When I got there, she told me to go upstairs to see my representative, Max Gruenberg. I went to his office, but the lights were off and the door was closed. Right next door was Rep. Gardner's office. I went in there, and he was by nice. He gave me 200 pins, 25 each of 8 different kinds. They are so cool, and now I can stop freaking out about that. On to the next thing!

Willkommen zu Deutschland!

I just received an email from my host club in Germany. I will be living in a small town outside of Frankfurt! My YEO sounds awesome. He works in the science department of Goethe University, in the Biochemistry department, if I understand correctly. That is amazing, because biochemistry is something that I am looking at studying after high school.

I have been looking at pictures of my host town, and it is beautiful. I couldn't wish for anything more. It's called Neu-Anspach, I believe, and it is stunning. It is separated form Frankfurt by the Taunus mountains. Check it out here: http://www.neu-anspach.de/infos0.html (although the website is in German, so good luck!)

My German definitely still needs some major work, but I'm excited nonetheless. My school looks very interesting. It is called the Adolf Reichwein Schule. The description makes it sound like some of the alternative schools here in Anchorage, check it out: http://www.ars-hochtaunus.de/hp1/Startseite.htm (Again, in German).

My fund raising is going great! I am getting close to the minimum goal I wanted to reach. I can not believe that I have such an amazing opportunity. To everyone that has helped me get to where I am, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Country Assignments

As Shakespeare said, Some were born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. We, the outbound team of the 2012-2013 rotary international youth exchange program, were all born great. I recently returned from the rotary international) youth exchange winter orientation at hotel Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska. We were supposed to meet at a central location, and all take the buses to Alyeska on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible and the road to Girdwood was closed. So on to plan B. We all met at UAA, where we spent the rest of the day. Everyone got a chance to talk to one another, there were interview, we watched a movie, and we had discussions about cultures. My interview went very well. My YEO (youth exchange officer) couldn't make it, so I had someone else from the club, Steve, there with me. I went in to the interview and it was a lot less formal that I thought it would be. I hadn't been given a list of questions before hand, so i was a little worried and frustrated when I found out that everyone already knew the questions. Anyways, I sat down at a table with the Rotarians, and we had a very nice conversation about me, my family, my interests, and my previous exchange (which can be found on a different blog). I had a very pleasant time talking to them. I almost forgot that it was an interview!

After the interviews, we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and compared and contrasted the different cultures. It was such a funny movie. I loved it. After that, we went to the Hilton where we stayed the night. We left bright and early the next morning. Actually it was more like DARK and early, because the sun didn't rise for a few more hours. We drove to the Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska, had breakfast, and stared off our morning. We investigated different aspects of the countries involved in the Rotary exchange program. We talked to the students from the various countries about what school is like, what their cities are like, and what they do in their free time. We also talked about the history of their countries and their opinions of the United States.

The next day was insane. I barely remember what happened throughout the course of Friday day because of my anticipation for the banquet that evening. I was nervous, and excited, and jittery, and losing my mind. All of us Outbounds were. We couldn't wait to find out our country assignments. When the banquet started, we all ate and talked or a little while, then we listen to two different speakers. One of them was a former exchange student, and the other was a lady that works with the Rotary polio projects. The majority of what I remember from their speeches is me hoping they would hurry up and finish talking! (I actually listened and enjoyed their messages).

Then came time for country assignments.

I listed as the countries were called one by one and the Rebounds and Inbounds from those countries walked up to the stage, took the flag of that country, and read the name of the Outbound who would be spending their year as an exchange student there. They called the names of the countries that were my second, third and fourth choices. Switzerland. Austria. Brazil. Then they called Germany. My heart skipped a beat as I heard the name of my first choice country. I watched as all of the German Inbounds and Rebounds took the German flag and walked onto the stage. One of them opened the envelope and pulled out a name and read it.

"Welcome to Germany... Emily."

My heart sank a little as I heard that.

I clapped and cheered along with everyone else, happy that Emily had the amazing opportunity to go to Germany. But then one of the Rebounds stepped forward with another name.

"Oh. And also, welcome to Germany, Karen"

I honestly have never before felt that many emotions at one time in my entire life. I was happy, and excited, and relieved, and suddenly nervous, and a million other different feelings that I can't describe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, one-of-a-kind experience.

The rest of the weekend went by fairly smoothly. We talked about getting visas,traveling, insurance, life with our host families, and how things in general were going to work. At one point between one of our meetings, I was called out into the hallway to talk with the people in charge of the exchange. They asked me if there was any was I would be willing to trade countries with the girl that was going to Denmark. She was too young to go, because they have a minimum age of 16. I said that of course I was willing to trade, because although Germany was my first choice, I would be just as happy anywhere else I was sent.

In the end everything worked out. Brazil and Denmark traded, and I'm going to Germany.

And I couldn't be happier.

Beading projects

Host gifts

Today And yesterday I spent the day beading! I made native style earrings, sun catchers, and ornaments with my mom and our good friend. I hadn't beaded for a long time, and I remembered how much I absolutely loovveeee to bead. I'm planning on making a couple fancy sun catchers and ornaments for the host family gifts, as well as other beaded things for other people I meet on the exchange. Winter break ends tomorrow, and I'm going back to school. Hopefully I will be able to take my beading to jewelry class and work on it there. I am sooo excited about this. I will upload some pictures shortly.