well these are some of the places ive seen. of course this isnt all ive seen, only a handful.

so berlin is great! my sister, mom and i went on a museum tour last week. there were 100 museums to go to. but we only visited 5 i think. xD

last monday i started german school in a gymnasium, 10th grade.. yes, all of the kids are younger than me. ugh. but they are super nice and fun to talk to. they have all been helping me so much, and its helped to improve my german.

ok. my family: is the deal. its like ive been with them for forever. its great. my sister is really fun to hang out with and my parents are hilarious. and balu, the dog, is like this gigantic teddy bear. he's so adorable.

i have started playing soccer again to top all of that off. my skills have improved and all, but i love the team. they are super easy to get along with. all of the nonsense i heard that germans are hard to talk to and whatever is such bull. ive had more random conversations with germans than i did with americans. and all i do is talk to germans. and i never see any of them after one conversation sometimes.

about my classes in school: i have 18 classes.. in one week. imagine all of the high school classes. in one year. yeh, its rediculous. the only classes that i can actually follow along with are: history, chemistry, biology, and of course english. sometimes i can keep up with the french teacher. but her accent is horrible in french. and her german accent i cant even understand. soo yeh.

well, sorry for the short update. i will write one next weekend referring to a YFU meeting in berlin.

bis bald!

First Days In Germany.

Well. The day I left was a really long day.
I didn't sleep the night before & everywhere I went I was early.
My plane left at 0917, but I arrived around 0500.
So I walked around the airport the whole time.
I arrived in Germany late because my connecting flight at Frankfurt had to go to Paris with a special load.
Then when I arrived at the Dusseldorf airport, I couldn't find my greeting party. lol
Btw: German airport officals are not helpful.
Later in the afternoon I went to the eldest daughter's horse show.
She won first place that night and the morning after.

Ok, about the family.
There are 3 children. Lea, 10; Toni, 7; Paul, 6.
They have 8 dogs, 2 cats, 4 horses, 4 ponies, 4 turtles, 6 cars, motorcycles, bikes, mopeds, a pool, and waaay too many shoes. XD
Oh and Opa, their mom's father lives with us in the three story house.

I have been eating bread in every meal!
And omg is it good.. drool.

The doors open 2 ways. the top pops out so that the house can be cooled down.
and to open the door, you make the handle parallel to the floor.
pulling the handle down will lock it; and up is the window.
the toilets have a button above the toilet that flushes it.
when we go swimming, the water is 21 degrees C. (thats extremely cold!)

My siblings have been helping me tons on my German.
Today I read a book with them and they are always speaking German to me.. and i have no idea what they are saying. =D

I also brought a few American things.
One of the things they could not understand was the armidillo.
We discussed that one for a long time.
They love sour patch kids, and germans never have cinnamon in their candies or foods, so they did not like the hot tamales too much.
the starburst and skittles were too sweet for them.
My parents were also surprised to hear that Nutella is popular in the states.
weird, huh?

Well, tomorrow I start my German classes and i will be getting up early.

tschüs!

My Permanent Host Family.

So This Is My Host Family!
I've Been Speaking With Janni, My Older Sister, For A Short While Now.
She's 25, Has Two Dogs & We Will Be Staying In A Flat [Located In A Villa, ].
Which Is Just For Us.
Balu Is Her Dog. He Is So Adorable!
She Speaks English, But Our Parents Don't.
And Will Give Me A Tour Of BERLIN!!
I'm So Excited!! :]

My First Month In Germany.

Ok. So I Will Basically Summarize The Recent Letters:

Yes, It Is An 11 Month Stay.
The First Month Will Be In Recklinghausen.
I Have 2 Sisters, 10 & 7; And One Brother, 6.
My Pre-Dad Is A Doctor & My Pre-Mama Is A Dental Assistant.
I Will Have 10 Orientation & Language Courses
With Students From US, Australia, Mongolian, Ghana, South Korea, India & One Thai Person.
I Start My Studies July 28th & End August 22nd.
I Arrive With My Pre-Family On The 25th.
The Days Consists Of 2 Hrs Of Orientation Lessons.
4 Hrs Of Language Lessons. Students Eat Together. Attendance Is Mandatory.
Families Live Nearby. Public Transport And Food Costs Are Paid For.
We Will Be Counseled By A Teacher.
Provided With Practical Advice & Support In The Culture.
Counselor's Info Will Be Given Before We Arrive At Our Host Family's Home.
All Families Are Carefully Chosen By Organizers.
They Only Provide Us With Meals & Accommodations.

In The 3rd/4th Week We Receive Info Regarding Tips & Regulations For The Year
& Will Have A Short Informal Interview To Clear Up Queries & Questions.
There Will Be An Excursion During The 3rd/4th Week
Where We Get To Visit Historical/Cultural Interest.
All Of This Is Paid For By YFU.
At The End Of The Course We, The Students, Organize A Farewell Party.
We Take A Train To Our Host Families On August 23rd.

THIS IS LIKE SCHOOL.
The 4 Week Orientation Is The Only Time To Learn German.
We Are Expected To Learn & Practice. We Make What We Want Out Of It.
We Will Attend A Regular School Where German Is Spoken.
We Are Expected Not To Speak Often In Our Language With Fellow Course mates.


Omg. I'm SoOo Excited!! :]
I Looked Up My Address On Google For My First Home.
It Looks Freakin' Sweet! I Think There's A Pool In The Back Yard. But I Can't Be Sure.
I'm Walking Distance From A Soccer Field & A Track&Field.
So I Can Only Imagine That The School Is Across The Street.
It Looks A Bit Confusing.
There Are A Lot Of TREES!!!
And Some Farm Land Some Distance Away.

International Pre-Departure Orientation

sweet.. my first post.

well today was the pre-departure meeting.
it was cool. i met some really nice people
saw some crazy german kids [& other foreigners of course].
it wasnt a nerve-wracking experience at all
quite the opposite. i felt relaxed the whole time.
[btw: thats a big deal]
it was probably because none of them were from austin
and one of the area heads [or whatever she called herself]
knew something about rj and i because she always
came to talk to my dad and i about him and was always
asking me how i felt about overseas and blah blah blah.
soo yeh.

i didnt really learn anything new today. it was just a refresher.
most all of the things they covered were in this book they sent.
it was a bit slow in the beginning.
the only thing it really did to me was make me even more excited
to leave and learn all of this new stuff. i dont think i can explain
how freakin excited i am about this.
i may be worried about a few minor details, but its a small amount
compared to how excited i am about leaving.
i can finally be my independent self. which is exhilarating!
ooohhh im excited!!!

there were 7 of us US kids leaving to go overseas.
3 of us were going full year. the others were 6 weekers.
and there were a BUNCH of international students!
obviously the majority were german.
and 4 came from berlin and hamburg. so they were constantly
bombarding me with questions. it was hilarious.
some of them barely even had a german accent...

the session started at 9a and ended at 4p.
long.. but amazing.
we played a couple of games. not much to say.

ok. i'm bored now.
laterz