...

I am sitting here, with everything packed, waiting. In about thirty minutes, I will be leaving to go to Hamburg. My checked luggage is about 7 kilos overweight, so I will be paying for that for the first flight, but luckily, for my other flights, I should be able to switch stuff over and not have to pay. Hopefully, everything will go as planned and I will get home without any problems. Wish me luck!

meine Zeit in Deustschland ist leider zu Ende

so. I am packed, tired, and ready to fly. Physically, that is. Mentally, I am still not ready to go. All of my friends are sad, and so am I. I don't want to leave them, my family, or this country. I have done a lot since the last time I wrote. I cook traditional american snacks for my host family, which I ended up eating. I cooked my host family an american meal of hamburgers and beer battered pickles. it was very tasty, but took a lot longer than i thought. on wednesday i had my goodbye party. it was a lot of fun. we all ate pizza and enjoyed ourselves. i thought it would be hard to say goodbye then, but it wasn't. but today, man that sucked. my class prepared a going away gift for me, which i didn't know about. i almost, but luckily didn't, cried. it was very hard saying goodbye to all of my friends. I even cried a bit today, which is saying a lot, considering the fact that i hardly ever cry. i do know, however, that i will cry even more tomorrow in the airport. i had a little goodbye party with my best friend, Fabian. it was fun, but short. i just can't wait to skype with him on saturday. it will be the highlight of my day. until then. I will miss you Germany. thanks for being so nice to me.

2 Wochen von letzten Freitag......

2 weeks. only 2 weeks. wow. I never thought my time would go by this fast. It seems like it was only yesterday that I first arrived with all of my fellow YFUers. It is hard to believe that I leave in only two weeks, but still harder to believe that I have spent the last 10, almost 11, months in Germany. I can't really describe the feeling right now. I am not fully aware that in less than two weeks from now I will be a world away. It just hasn't sunk in yet. It is starting to, but, maybe my brain just doesn't want to accept it. I've had so many experiences here, mostly good, but all have been life changing. I am super nervous to see everyone back home and see how they have changed. I just hope it won't be too different than when I left almost 11 months ago. I've missed my prom, senior trip, and graduation, but have made new friends, went on trips to Munich, Berlin, Minden, and many more cities. I have learned a new culture and made friends from all over the world. I have three new families, with whom I hope I will never lose contact. I have ridden a bike more in these past months than in my entire lifetime before. I have a new home. I am a different person. It is simply unbelievable what this exchange year has done for me and I am truly grateful. I can say, as I have said many times before, that I truly do not regret missing my senior year to be on an exchange in Germany. Not one bit. So, enough of my thoughts, here is what I did the past week.

Pretty much nothing. Monday I went to Hamburg and finished buying the majority of the gifts for family back home. The bike I rode to the train station was stolen. It was half my fault and half my host brother's. He rode with my bike to school that day without telling me, so I had to ride with his to the train station, which had a lock, that I didn't know the combination to. So I had to hide it somewhere, unlocked, at the train station. I thought I did a good job at hiding it, but I guess I didn't. It was a very cheap bike, so my host family wasn't angry, thank God. But I still feel really bad about it. On Tuesday, I chilled for the entire day. On Wednesday, I had tennis practice then, afterwards, went to a soccer game and then to the club. On Thursday, I went over to my best friend's house and we grilled. I introduced him to A1 Sauce and KC Masterpiece. He like the KC Masterpiece, but wasn't a big fan of A1. His mom's boyfriend even suggested that A1 would go better with fish. I really wanted to scream BLASPHEMY!!! and jump across the table and hit him, but decided against it. On Friday, I went back to Hamburg to spend the day with the DeShazos, a family from my hometown who where on vacation in Europe. It was a lot of fun just walking around and getting to see Hamburg. We went up into the St. Michael's Church and got to see the city from there and also took a boat tour of the harbor, which is the second largest in Europe. I had a great time. Yesterday, I chilled with an exchange student from Brazil. We had probably the best ice cream ever. It was awesome.

I do have a pretty fully two weeks ahead of me and am going to try to enjoy every last second I have in Germany.

weniger als 3 Wochen

So. Here I am. Last Friday was my 3 week mark. I can't believe that I have so little time left. But what I really cannot believe is that I spent almost an entire year away from my family and friends. I have a full three weeks ahead of my and I am going to enjoy them.

Anyway, I just got back yesterday from the Berlin CBYX Re-Entry program. It was awesome. On Tuesday we arrived, just chilled, ate, played the usual ice breakers and then had about two hours or so to just hang out in Berlin.

On Wednesday, we met together in the morning to go on a bus tour of Berlin. We were able to get out and walk by the wall and everything. It was a lot of fun!! After dinner I went with a group the the Russian Circus. It was pretty good, but not exactly a real circus. I was definitely impressed by the brazilian dudes who rode motorcycles in a giant metal ball. There were 5 of them at one time!!! After that I walked around a bit with a couple of friends.

On Thursday I went with a group to the Berlin Underworld. It was basically a tour of the bunkers built as possible underground shelters in case of an atom bomb being dropped during the cold war. It was one of the most interesting tours I have ever taken and made me really not want to have a nuclear war ever. I could not imagine living under there. It was intense to say the least. After the tour we all had free time for the rest of the evening. I went to the KaDeWe, which is the biggest mall in Germany, I think. Everything there is super expensive, but the had American things like Poptarts and Jiff!!! Then we just walked around the city, checking out the downtown.

On Friday we woke up at 5 am to go to the Bundestag, the German Parliament. It was somewhat interesting, but honestly completely boring. Plus, I was super tired, so......yeah. I fell asleep. But afterwards we went to the American Embassy and that was pretty cool. All of the other CBYX exchange students in Germany were there and we all just had a good time. After that we went back to the youth hostel to plan for our last night party. After the party I went back out into the city with a group of friends. Then, on Saturday, we packed, cleaned up, and had our last goodbyes, along with advice from the teamers. It made me realize just how little time I have left here and how much I want to enjoy every second of it.

Overall, Berlin was amazing. I got to see my fellow Americans again, made a couple new friends, and got to see Berlin, which is truly an amazing city with an amazing history. I can honestly say that I know my relationship with Germany won't end when my exchange here does. Like one of the teamers said, Although I will be back home, a part of my will always stay here in Germany, mein zweites Heimatland.

Ich hab nur ein Monat noch

As of today, I only have one more month in Germany and, seeing as how I have already been here for 10 months, I know that it will go by way to fast. I know I say this every time, but I am not ready to leave this place yet. I mean, will I ever see my friends again? When? I hate the uncertainty of it all. I have had a great year and have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to experience the amazingness that is an exchange year. I miss everyone back home and can't wait to see them again. However, as soon as I get back to the USA, I know I will miss everyone back at my second home: Itzehoe, Germany. I get sad every time I think about missing graduation, prom, and the senior trip, but I can honestly say that I regret nothing in making the decision to come here for a year. I have lived with amazing host families, made wonderful new friends, and have had the experience of a lifetime. I would gladly recommend a foreign exchange to anybody. It certainly is no vacation, but a life-changing experience. I am going to try and do as much as I can in these last four weeks than ever before. I am also going to try to update at least twice a week, but we'll see how that goes. I am not a very emotional person, but I know it will be very hard for me not to get emotional when I have to leave this all behind. I just have one thing to say to that: Everyone back home, you better be ready to party-hardy, because I will definitely need some cheering up.

On another note: On the weekend before last I went to Hamburg with some friends and went to a Panic! At the Disco concert. It was amazing!!! Super crowded, super hot, and afterwards I felt like I had just gone swimming, but an overall awesome time!!! Last weekend I went out with some friends and then went to the club. We all had a great time, except for the fact that my friends, who were supposed to be my ride home, lost track of me in the club and decided to leave without me, forcing me to take a taxi, which certainly isn't cheap. But I still had fun! This next month looks like a fun one. I do have to present to Referaten, which are basically like research projects, in two different classes, but if it means getting a decent final grade, I'm game.

Also, my best friend here in Germany, Fabian, is going to visit me for almost two months next summer!!!!! I am super pumped and he is, too!! Honestly, it will be the thing that I will be looking forward to most next year!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

6 Wochen noch

Today is the last day of my last break here in Germany. I mean, I will have a day off here and there, but this was the last two week-long break. It was probably the best one I've had so far.

I did what I enjoy most - hanging out with friends. I was with friends pretty much every day of the break. The first week I just hung out with friends - went to Hamburg, went to the club, simply had fun. Then, for Easter, I woke up to a bag full of candy and the first season of an amazing TV show that I watch often with my host-mom, Fringe. Not to mention the two packages I received from home filled with enough candy to last me the rest of my stay. For dinner we ate at my host-grandmother's house and ate the best thing to have for Easter - rabbit. It was the first time I think I have ever eaten rabbit and was very very tasty. I also had to search for another bag filled with chocolate. I probably have enough junk food now to kill a horse.... and I am planning on eating it all before I go home. On the Monday after Easter, my host-parents and I went to a beach. Well, a beach on the North Sea, which is really more like Stockton Lake in the fact that there is really almost no sand, just mud. But it is always a lot of fun to play in the mud.

The next day I woke up early and got on a train to Minden, which is about four hours away. I went to visit my brother from another mother, Immo. He was an exchange student who stayed with my family last year for half a year. We became very close in that time and I was super excited to see him for the first time in over almost a year. I only stayed until Friday, but those were, without a doubt, the best days of my break. We didn't do much, mainly played MarioKart and went bowling, but just hanging out with him again was amazing. He told me that, if he has time, he will visit me for a weekend before I leave. I really hope that he will have the time.

On Friday, I got back and just chilled. On Saturday, the 30th, pretty much everyone got together and celebrated with bonfires. I don't know why, but the Germans celebrate the beginning of May in this way. They call it the Dance of May. I still don't understand why they do it, but I had fun getting together with some friends and hanging out. Today, I am going to finish up some homework and prep myself for school. I am pretty upset that all of my friends in America only have about 4 days of school left and I still have to go for another month or so.

I was also reminded that I only have about 6 weeks left in Germany. I don't want to believe it. I am still not ready to go home. Well, I am ready to go home, just not ready to say goodbye to Germany and all of my friends. I really cannot imagine a life without them. I have become pretty close with a couple and it will be hard to leave. I don't know why we have to live a world apart. I am lucky that we have today's technology, so it won't be difficult to communicate, but still. And I know that these next 6 weeks will go by really really fast. Next weekend I am going to a concert with some friends in Hamburg. Then I will only have two more weeks of school because during the last week of May I will be in Berlin with the CBYX program. After that I will have about two weeks left, well, most likely only one and a half. I can imagine that half of one will be spent packing, making sure that I have everything I need, hopefully having a goodbye party, etc. I can say that, right now, I am not ready to go home. It is going to be weird, different. But I do hope that, when the time comes, I will be ready. But, whether I am ready or not, I am definitely not looking forward to the almost 20 or so hours of traveling to get back home.

Meine Zeit ist fast vorbei

In ten days I will be hitting the 2 month mark. and two weeks will be spent enjoying a spring break. The feeling I have just writing about going home is not great at all. I am lucky that my camera is working again, so I will be sure to put it to good use. I am really regretting some things. I remember at the beginning of this exchange year, a former exchange student told all of us that we need to be active and not just sit around all of the time. I told myself that I definitely wouldn't do that and that I would be as active as I could. Well, I wasn't. For the first half of my exchange year I spent most of my time in my room. Sitting on the computer or watching tv or just sleeping. I really regret it now. Luckily, after Christmas break I got more involved and now hang out with friends a lot more often. But I really wish I would've started that sooner. So much time was wasted and now I don't have much time left.

Every time I think about going back, I get a sick feeling in my stomach. I miss my family and friends, of course, but I really cannot imagine my life without this family, these friends, and Germany. I want to be home, but I don't want this to be just a memory. I don't want to say: "When I was in Germany...." I want to stay. In all honesty, I want to stay. The biggest thing for me is the language. It is a very difficult language and I still get frustrated a lot with my lack of fluency. But I still love this country. I don't know.... I just.... I'm ready to go back home where I know I will understand everything and everyone will understand me and to see my friends and family. But I'm not done learning this language, these people, this culture. I just hope that, after these next couple of months, I will be able to come back.

Anyway, on to a more cheerful topic: my plans for spring break. I am really not sure what I will do the first week. I am thinking about visiting both of my other host families and just hanging out with friends and what not. For Easter, I think we are going to grill and just spend time with the family. The week following Easter Monday I am going to visit my brother, Immo, in Hannover. I am super super super excited!! I haven't seen him in a long time and cannot wait to hang out with him. Other than that I am going to Hamburg this Saturday with some friends. Next week I will be getting grades from my classes. And next Thursday I have a presentation over Bach in Music. We'll see how that goes.

3 Monate noch...

SO. School is getting better. I mean, I am understanding more and more of what the teachers are saying. So that is exciting!! I actually, amazingly, understood entirely what my physics teacher has been talking about for the past two periods, which is the first time that has ever happened! I have been getting my oral grades these past weeks, most of them aren't bad, ranging from 3-4, with one 2 in English. So school is going pretty well. However, I have to do a presentation in music and a book summary in german. So that will be interesting.

We also are getting two or three more exchange students at my school. One is already here. Her name is Jessica and she is from Brazil. Not sure when the others are coming, but I think they are from Costa Rica and Panama, or something.

Last weekend we celebrated my host dad's birthday!! It was a lot of fun!! We had a great chili/soup thing and just had fun dancing ( I didn't dance) and just hanging out. I met his work buddies, who are crazier than most of my friends!

I have also been asked by a relative to help out in his Flat Stanley project. I will be taking pictures of Flat Stanley in Hamburg, Kiel, and maybe Flensburg. But I will also be sending him to other exchange students in the other three corners of Germany. I really cannot wait to see where he goes!!!

I will also be finally going to a concert here in Germany!!! I have talked to my host mom about going to one about three other times, and have never gone. But this time I am definitely going. I even have the tickets already!! I cannot wait!! A couple of friends and I are going to see Panic! At the Disco in a club in St. Pauli!! HOW CRAZY WILL THAT BE?! I cannot wait!!

Finally, to end on a sad note. I applied for two major scholarships to two different colleges a while back and have now found out that I didn't receive either of them. Now I am really going to have to think about where I want to go and what not. But hopefully it will all work out. Also, a sad note for me, but a happy note for my American friends back home: Yesterday was my 3 month mark. In less than 3 months, I will be arriving back home in Missouri.....

I really cannot believe it. I can't picture myself without Germany, without Itzehoe. This place, whether I wanted it to or not, has become my new home, and I really don't think I want to leave it. I know I will miss all of my german friends terribly. I also really cannot imagine talking only in English again. I know I don't talk or think 24/7 in German, but the majority of the time I do and I have gotten used to doing so. Everytime I think about home, I get scared. Really scared. It sounds weird, I know. But it is true. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am super excited to see all of my family and friends again and DRIVE!!! But, still. Germany is now my home and I just don't know if I am ready to leave it.

München: einfach geil!

Okay, I think it has been long enough to post again. The main things that have happened to me the past couple of weeks are my mid-year seminar in Munich, the final prep for college, and, of course, a party!

Munich was amazing. I left early on Sunday, Feb. 13th, at about 7:30 from Itzehoe. Then it was a good 7-8 hour train ride to Munich. Luckily, I was accompanied by another American, who lives up north. Besides a train being delayed by 35 minutes and missing our S-Bahn, it really wasn't that bad of a trip! It was the coolest thing ever to show up at the youth hostel and see all of the Americans, whom I hadn't seen since D.C./Frankfurt. The rule of the seminar was to only speak in German, but that lasted maybe the first five seconds. I mean, I talked to the leaders and host siblings in German, but I wasn't going to pass up the chance to actually talk in English to people that could understand everything that I was saying! Shortly after arriving, we ate dinner, which wasn't that impressive, but, then again, it was only a youth hostel and not a 5 star hotel. After dinner, we introduced ourselves to the rest of the group, showing where we are from in the United States and where we are currently staying in Germany. Funny thing is, of the YFU exchange students, I come from the southernmost part of our region. Most of the students are from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconson, etc. But in Germany, I am one of the northernmost kids. I live in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany, however, there are two or so other exchange students that are even more north than I am. After the introductions, we split into our little AG groups, which consisted of two leaders, and 6 students/host siblings. All of the leaders had already had an exchange year in an English speaking country, most in America. The AG groups were mainly for the typical YFU stuff. Like reflecting on our exchange year so far, expectations, etc. And we where in our AGs pretty much every day.

Monday, we had a Bayern competition. We split up into teams, ours was called the Raccoons with Lightsabers. We had to read a sentence in Bavarian, which is completely different from regular German, outloud and not only pronounce it correctly, but determine what the translation into Hochdeutsch was. I think our team did pretty well! We also had to hold a giant beer mug, I believe it was a Mass (not sure on the English), filled with water for as long as we could. I just have to say that, after doing that, which was only one mug, I have complete and utter respect for the ladies that carry eight of them in one hand during Oktoberfest. After that we had to throw pretzels like horseshoes, in which we failed miserably. Then we played a game where pretzels were tied onto strings which were tied onto one big string, that was tied to a tree, but at an angle. One team member had to start at the lowest pretzel and, using only his/her mouth, had to break the pretzel off, without undoing the small string. It was pretty funny. Next, we had to try and dance like Bavarians (Schuhplattler, I think it is called). It would've been fine, but we had to be synchronized, and that killed us. Finally, we had to pour beer into a glas so that there was a nice thing of foam at the top, but not to much. We also failed at that. We had, basically, no foam in ours. Overall, we ended up in dead last. But it was still a great time!! That night we watched a very interesting film about Sophie Scholl. I was glad that we watched it because I go to Sophie Scholl Gymnasium and had no idea who she was.

On Tuesday, we went into the actual city of Munich. We could choose to either visit one of several places offered, or just have free time. A couple of friends and I chose free time. I used this time to buy myself a pair of Lederhosen!!! I also got a hat and socks to go with it!! So cool!!! We also had to do a little scavenger hunt thing that was, honestly, pretty stupid. But my group was smart and just went to tourist information and asked the lady there all of the questions. I do have to say that Munich is, by far, the prettiest German city that I have been to, so far. All of the buildings are really old and elaborate. Exactly how someone would think Europe looks like. The people, however, are rude. Well, most of them anyway. Some of them were really nice, but for the most part, they are not as nice as the northern Germans. Anyway, after the scavenger hunt, my group met up with a couple of the leaders and ate dinner at a Weißbräuhaus. The food was pretty good, but the waitress was rude. Big surprise!! After dinner, we met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the youth hostel.

Wednesday, we went back to Munich. This time we took a tour to some of the most well-known places there. We visited the Frauenkirche, which was AMAZING!!! We also went to the university in Munich where Sophie Scholl was caught throwing anti-Nazi flyers into the main hall. It was definitely a special experience to stand there where history had been made. After touring a couple more churches and other awesome buildings, we ended at the America House. There, we listened to a diplomat talk about her life as a diplomat. It was pretty interesting. After that we had a couple hours of free time before we had to meet up at the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. There I had traditional Bavarian food: Weißwurst and pretzels. We also were taught the real way to dance Schuhplattler. That was a lot of fun! After dinner, we went to the movie theater and watched the newest Til Schweiger film: Kokowääh. It definitely was not my kind of film. It was funny, but too lovey dovey everything ends happily. But aren't most of his films like that?

Thursday, we prepared our final night celebration. We limboed, played "Honey, if you love me", danced the Macarena, watched awesome projects made by other exchange students, and ended it all with a campfire and smores. Well, seeing as how there are no graham crackers in Germany, they weren't really smores, but it was as close as you can get to them here, and that was awesome!!

Friday was one of the sadest days of my exchange year. We woke up, packed, ate breakfast, and then had to leave. The train ride back was not so much fun, seeing as how at every stop a friend left. But, overall, that week was one of the best weeks of my exchange year and I cannot wait to see all of them in Berlin in May!!

Unfortunately, I do not have a digital camera, but a friend of mine took a lot of pictures. I am going to try and see if I can get a hold of a few to post later.

After I got back from Munich, I had an interview for a scholarship to SLU, which was made via Skype. After the interview I celebrated my host brother's 15th birthday. It was a very fun night. Although a couple of French foreign exchange students were there and they couldn't really speak German, so the night was filled with French, which I couldn't understand at all. Then, just this past weekend, I had another interview for a scholarship to Hendrix College. Now, both interviews are out of the way, I am done doing what I can do for college, and I just have to wait. I find out about SLU next Wednesday. So, hopefully, I will have good news in my next post.

Until then, fingers crossed!

Pass auf, München! Ich bin gleich da!

Well, I am almost packed. Tomorrow I leave for almost a week to go to Munich for the mid-term seminar. It will be around 20 some odd Americans all in one place for a good 5 days. Talk about a party!!!! Anyway, I will be sure to take as many pictures as I can. It is snowing right now, so I don't know how the trains are going to be running tomorrow, but I'll survive. I am not sure if there is internet in the youth hostel that we are going to, but I will try to post as soon as I get back!! Can't wait to see all of my American friends!!

Meine Erzeugnisse

Last Friday was the official last day of the first semester and, therefore, we received our mid-year grades. Mine were not too bad, with the exception of English, which is, personally, very embarrassing for me. But, on the bright side, we only had a half day of school on Friday and had today, Monday, off.

So, here are my grades and explanation: They score on a number based system from 1-6, with 1 being the best a student can receive and 6 being the worst. If I didn't receive a grade in a class, it is because the teacher couldn't give me a proper grade because I was either not there enough times or because I didn't participate* enough, and because of those two reasons, the grade would be so bad that it might be bad for my self-esteem and they don't want to hurt that. Keep in mind that they are only doing that because I am an exchange student.

Now let me explain just how they grade. A student's overall grade is based on two things: mundlich and schriftlich. *Mundlich, which makes up around 90% of the overall grade, is determined by how often a student answers or asks questions in class and whether or not those answers were correct. Schriftlich, which makes up 10% of the overall grade, is based on turned in assignments and tests. Because of this, exchange students have a hard time getting good grades, because of the lack of language.

The main reason for the absence of most of my grades are that I wasn't there. This is not because I skipped, it is because I was put into another German class instead of certain other classes. I also had an intensive German course, which lasted the entire day every Wednesday, as well as a weekly meeting with a teacher-liason on Tuesdays.

Finally, my grades:
German - --
History - --
Economics/Politics - --
Geography - --
English - 3
Math - 2
Physics - 4
Chemistry - 4
Biology - 4
Music - --
Art - 3
P.E. - 2

Yes, I know, English should've been a 1, but I really didn't answer many questions in that class. It was my personal opinion that the other students in the class were the ones learning the language and, therefore, I should be the one answering most of the questions. However, my teacher thought otherwise, apparently, and I will act next semester accordingly. Fortunately, these are just mid-year grades and are taken like progress reports. So I have until the end of the year to get them up. Here are my end of year goals gradewise:

German - 3
History - 4
Economics/Politics - 4
Geography - 3
English - 1
Math - 1
Physics - 4
Chemistry - 3
Biology - 3
Musik - 3
Art - 3
P.E. - 2

If I get better than that, I will be overjoyed. But just getting those as grades at the end of the year, I will be very satisfied.

Let's catch up....with pictures!!

Here are some pictures of the various shinanigans that I was a part of during the break, before my camera broke.



Two friends of mine from my class at the Christmas Market in Itzehoe. Rika and Jana.


I had to take this picture because, at the time, they were playing "Feliz Navidad"!!


Me and Valeria (Italian), at the Christmas Market in Hamburg.

Anton (German) , Lex (American), and LaShaTanya (she's French)

My Christmas loot. :D

My very nice host family from Blunk.

The wonderful giant spinning ornament in the Hamburg train station.

My favorite thing about Germany: candy stands.

I am pretty sure that I was more afraid of him than he was of me.

Yes. I did play a spinny organ thingy.

Ostsee. Pretty, regardless of how cold it was.

Let's catch up

Okay. This is probably going to be one of the longest posts so far. But I will try and keep it short.
Here is what has happened (that I can actually remember) since my last post.

Christmas:
On the Wednesday before Christmas, the school got out around noon. It was probably one of the most fun school days I have ever had. We had P.E. in the morning and played Badmitton. Then we spent the rest of the school day watching The Hangover (in German, of course). After that a couple of friends and I went to the Christmas Market in Itzehoe. We certainly were not the only ones. It seemed as if every teenager was there. Anyway, we enjoyed a nice Glühwein and Hot Chocolate with Amaretto and french fries. That night I met up with a couple of friends and went to the club, which was free for that night.

On the 24th, we all opened our presents. I got a lot of great gifts!!! After we opened the presents, we walked through the woods behind our house to my host-grandmother's house. There, we ate a wonderful German meal!! Duck, red cabbage, potatoes. It was all delicious!!

New Years:
For New Years I was in a town called Blunk, which is near Lübeck. I was super excited to know that I was going to be celebrating New Years the traditional way!!! We walked around the town throwing firecrackers at things, which I actually thought was a little stupid and had no point. But then, at midnight, everyone started shooting off fireworks. And I mean EVERYONE!!! You could look across the horizon and just see the fireworks going off at all of the houses. It was amazing.
We also ate steak, homemade pretzels, potato salad, and then had a traditional Berliner for dessert.

Winter Break:
Speaking of Blunk, that is where I stayed for the two weeks of winter break, while my host family was in Spain. It is a complicated story as to why I didn't go with them, and I don't want to go into it, so just know that they went, and I didn't. Anyway, they were a great family and we did a lot together. The mother was actually an exchange student in Canada for a year. We went bowling a couple of times and played card games a lot. We also went to the East Sea and walked around on the beach. It was cold and snowy, but still pretty!

Recently:
After the break is school. boring, never changing, school. But I do get to see my friends again and that is always nice! The first week was pretty bad, but this week has been better. I am slowly getting back into the school-mode. but....only 13 more weeks until the next break!!!!
This weekend was my host-grandmother's 60 birthday. We had a great party! I ate deer for the first time in my life (I think) and it was very good. Except for the music, the party was not bad at all. The only thing they listened to is what they call deutscher Schlager. Think very old pop music. Not my cup of tea.

That is pretty much what I have done since the last post. My second camera broke (not my fault) so I will be waiting on another camera. This one actually uses film!! Old school!!

I got a great package from my family and letters from friends. I also would like to announce that my nephew was born over the break! Little Bahnam Augustus Scott!!! Man is that a mouthful. I hope he gets a nickname!

Overall, this was a great Winter Break!

.....

The winter break was great, but coming back and going to school is not fun at all. I really don't know why, but trying to readjust to the school routine has been really hard on me, hence the lack of posts this week. I still don't feel 100%, but I just wanted you all to know that I am at least still alive. I will hopefully post about my break on Saturday or sometime next week, if I feel better. Until then, Happy New Year!!!