Aufgeregt!!

I'm so excited to go to Austria now!!! I leave at 3 in the morning my time, so I still have 7 more hours and I don't know what to anymore! Everything has been going great and everything is going great with my host family too! I couldn't of asked for a better time to go snowboarding with my host family!! I am going to a city called Saalbach-Hinterglremm, Austria, for a week with a few other families and that is about a total of 35 people or so. My family makes up for 10 of them. But it will be a week of hopefully only German and I believe no internet!!! But apparently the Austrian accent is difficult and I have to take a snowboarding course for a few days with Austrian instructors, so hopefully it goes well!

I also got my report card today. It's probably the most dissappointing report card ever, but it doesn't matter to me because I was only there for a month....

Well I'll make sure to fill everybody in when I get back, and hopefully with some pictures!! This year of adventures just keeps getting more and more adverturous!

Halfway there...

Well I've never actually counted the days before today, but I was sitting in class with a friend and she wanted to know where I was in my exchange. So I counted and as of today, if I leave when I intend to, then I am exactly halfway done with my exchange. It was freaky to notice this, but at the same time extremely sad because I came to the relization today that I am going to back to the U.S. in what seems like no time at all. I look forward to all of these things that are about to happen, but every with event that is going to occur in the next 5 months, is just leading me closer to my departure. I do love the U.S., don't get me wrong, but still apart of me will be German forever now. I've lived the life of a German for the past 5 1/2 months and I've grown more than I ever have in my entire lifetime. I have a much different outlook on life. I hardly knew anything about the world 6 months ago and now that I've finally gotten to live life abroad, and everything is just so much different. It's one of those things that are impossible to explain even to other people that have had the same opportunities as me. Every experience is different, and I'm glad that I've been put where I am. Through all the struggles that I've endured, they have only made me stronger in the end.

This half will be much different from the first half for sure. I now know Berlin very well, unlike at first where I got lost the first time I ventured out on my own. I can also finally communicate in only German when I really want to, but I'm still trying to make it better every day and I've finally got the techniques down to learn German faster and better. I realize that my German my not be perfect when I leave, but I tell myself everyday that even if I left now, I would still be satisified with how my German worked out! So I'm really looking forward to this last half, and definitely for the new adventures that are to come!

5 months down...

...and unfortunately only 5 or 6 months left....

I really don't know what to write for the post other than it's reaching the half way point and I'm not excited. But I am excited to see how much more I'll change in last half of the year. My German has improved tremendously since I've gotten here. I hate talking about it, because I know it's not good, but I am able to only speak in German when I really want, and I understand almost everything now. I did speak some English on Friday because I was at Giulia's going away party, but other than that I've hardly spoken English since the holidays.

I am also very happy with my school and I finally do stuff often with them...every Thursday is officially DÖNERSTAG(Donnerstag), and we just eat Döner because it's still probably the best food in the world. Then we are also often hanging out, or just doing stuff. I really like my last school, but my new school is a lot more frendly and welcoming. I've already visited my old school twice and I really don't miss it too much. I miss a lot of the people, but definitely not all. I think I was just better off at a Gymnasium.

There is also a lot to look forward to in the next few months. I have this week, then next week and then the week after we go on holidays. So me and my family are driving with a few other families to Austria!! And the best part is, is that Rotary is giving me 400 Euros to go!! So I might even be getting to keep some money. Then the weekend after break I have another Rotary conference. I'm not really excited because it is mostly held in Berlin and we are getting a city tour of the city I already know well enough. Last year it was held on an island on the Baltic see, and that would of been a lot cooler, but it's held with another district and our district is in charge of hosting this year!

Then like I've said 1000 times already, in April I go on Eurotour!!! I don't have any school for a month because when I get back we go on break! The end of the year is very easy. Also in June I get to go to Holland on a school trip and we ride around in a boat for a week on go on shore everyday. And it's not expensive! It'll be a good last couple days with my school. Then after that I have 3 weeks and then probably going home. I still haven't picked an official date yet. I am waiting until February or March to say for sure...But I'm still not excited at all to decide!!

What to do?!?!?

Well this is one thing that I never had really hoped to worry about. But I am stuck on when I should go home and it's bugging me enough that I had to blog about it. I'm contemplating when I should go home! There is a big conference in July at the beginning of the month, the same one that I attended last year. If I go back I will be there for the 4th of July, but I will have a total of 4 or 5 days of Summer. But if I go back 1 or 2 weeks later then I get to experience German summer and learn more. At first I planned on going to this conference no doubt, but suprisingly I enjoy things a lot more than expected. The thing that's stuck in my head is that I only get to experience this once and I don't know if a weekend long conference is worth leaving all this behind early....the sad part is, is that I'm not even have way through, but I've been told that I need to make up my mind soon! What to do?!?!?

A Very German Christmas...and New Years!!

Well....I survived what is supposed to be the hardest part of the exchange year...the holiday seasons....and suprisingly, it wasn't too bad.

Well my holidays started the 23rd. I got a messaged after posting my last blog and some kids from my new school wanted to go a Christmas Market, and it was a great time! Then later that night my older host sister from Düsseldorf came with her Australian boyfriend. I realized that I was going to speak too much English when he started out by introducing himself in English...

Then the 24th came, and this is considered to be the official Christmas day in Germany. But it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all like in the U.S. Mornings aren't so exciting. We got up, had breakfast, and then me and the Australian set up the tree. Then we kind of just chilled and took the whole day to get ready for church. Then we walked about a half hour to the church and met the Grandparents. It was a very short and simple mass and the first time I had attended a mass since I left, so I'm glad I got to go to church.

After the mass we headed back home and had dinner!! Very typical Geman meal with a lot of meat, fish, potatoe salad, and of course beer! It was one of the best Christmas dinners I've ever had. Then right after dinner we went and said down and exchange presents. It's not like how we do it in the U.S. where we go and take all of our presents and sit down. People pass out 1 or 2 at a time and it's a lot more patient. I suprisingly got quiet a bit from my host family, something I wasn't expecting or asking for. Everyone was so generous and I really felt like I was a part of the family.

Then after presents we had another little thing in the church. It was just a Modern day play of the birth of Jesus and it was interesting. Then I went to a party at my older host brothers and I got to speak a lot of English because I was around the Australian the whole time and people just speak English to him, so they would do the same to me too. But it was a great party and I got home around 4:30 and got to skype my family a little...probably a dumb idea on my part.

On the American Christmas day, we didn't do much at all. Two more Australians came to us in the early morning and we just went sleeding on the back of a car. Then we had a big dinner and pretty much the same thing the next day. Except we had a lot of people come over for a bonfire with Swedish fires!! Best idea in the world!

The rest of the break was just relaxing. We went sleeding a few times. We went to a place called Tropical Islands, which is the biggest water resort place in Europe. I even tried to go shopping one day but it didn't work out because I forgot my credit card at home, so I had a total of 50 euro! So I didn't accomplish anything, and I have yet to buy Winter clothes.

New Year's Eve in Berlin was incredible!! It didn't work out how I planned it, but it was was still great....I met up with some friends at the main station in Berlin. Then we went to Brandenburger Tor, which is the big place where the party is at in Berlin. Then everyone was cold, so we walked back to the main station and with a little time left we walked back but I managed to lose almost everyone but a few people, and we just ended up staying at Reichstag(German Parliment Building) because they closed the gates to get in to Brandenburger Tor at 11 because there was already over a million people there. But Reichstag was still good too and the moment it turned midnight you just heard eveyone screaming and fireworks going off into the air, and it was one of the greatest moments of my exchange. I can't even describe it how great it was.

We stayed for a half hour, then walked back to the main station to meet up with the others. I ended up leaving with Guillermo to meet my host sister and the other Australians at a party. We meet a ton of Germans because we had no idea how to get there, and they didn't either. So by time we found the place I had a group of over 10 people that I had brought with to the party. It ended being a typical German techno party which are actually the best ones!! We stayed for a couple of hours and left at 3, and got home at 5:30. Best New Years ever!!

New Years day was nothing special. I came down stairs at 1 to eat breakfast and got hugs from everyone. The we chilled and watched a couple of movies and just had a lazy day. Today is the same thing but now I have to get ready for school to officially start. I was already there one day, but I'm still extremely nervous!!

O, and...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!