Holidays, holidays, and more holidays

I know I've been a bit of a slacker with posting these past few weeks, but with the holidays approaching at such a rapid pace, I haven't had much time to sit down and write. Today, I will take you all the way back to November and tell you about my Thanksgiving feast. So, sit back, relax, and try not to get too hungry.

My host parents have had a Thanksgiving dinner with the other four exchange students that they have hosted, so we decided to have our dinner on November 29. A few exchange students came to my host home with their host families and brought some of their favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I decided to make two of my favorite dishes. I made a salmon dish that consists of brown sugar, soy sauce, and some asian spices, and I also marinaded some mushrooms using my mom's secret recipe. These two dishes made me remember home as soon as I smelled them cooking. I was actually super nervous to make them. Although I enjoy cooking, I get a little worried when I cook for large groups of people. I texted my mom almost the whole afternoon to get pointers on cooking. I even sent her pictures of my dishes during the process to make sure I wasn't making any grave mistakes.

Thankfully, everything turned out really nicely. My host mom made an apple and potato cake and of course cooked a turkey. Also, I don't think I've ever seen so many mashed potatoes in one kitchen in my entire life! Potatoes are a huge thing in Germany, and they did not miss the memo that Americans like to eat mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. We had so much food, and I was really happy to taste food that reminded me of our American holiday. I stacked my plate with delicious food just like I do every year at Thanksgiving dinner, and then I sat with all the exchange students. It was nice to feel like a part of a hodgepodge family and share our traditions.

One thing I also really liked was that we had at least four different cultures mixing together at our dinner. One of my friends has a host family that comes from the UK, and one of the exchange students is from Italy. Our Thanksgiving dinner was shared between the American, British, Italian, and German cultures. I really liked that we all came together and celebrated. It was a good way to start the holiday season and share a lot of our traditions.

To make up for my lack of posting, I am sharing some Thanksgiving pictures below. I promise I will post more in the next couple of days about Christmas in Germany. Happy holidays!

Things I've learned so far on exchange...

1. We should never underestimate the power of chocolate.
        - My mom has always told me that chocolate is an antidepressant. Because of these beliefs my mom would bring chocolate in the car when she picked me up from school after I had a test or just a rough day. There have been many days (I think all exchange students will agree with me when I say this) where I have wanted to throw in the towel or pull the covers over my head and stay in bed forever, but with a little bit of chocolate and a motivational speech in the mirror I was able to keep pushing myself. Of course sometimes the chocolate is just overindulgence, but I'm a teenager and an exchange student, so that's expected.

2. We should never underestimate the power of voice.
       - I chose this topic for several reasons. When I was a little kid I was pretty outgoing, but I still had trouble talking to strangers. When I had to trade my toy for ice cream at Chick-fil-A, I usually mulled it over in my mind and then decided that the my little pony action figure would suffice. I mean who needs dessert anyway? Now, I have learned that there are many things I need to do for myself. I no longer have my mom riding copilot and ready to fight my battles with me. Of course she is only a text message away, but there are many times that I have to speak up and tell people that I need something. I learned this quickly when I realized just how many times you have to bother the school secretary until you can get a bus pass. My point is that no one can read your mind. I know sometimes people can read your emotions and see when you are sad, but if you really want change or help it is your job to voice your feelings. In all of my experiences here I have noticed that most people will be happy to help once you tell them what you need.
      - My second point under this topic has to do with homesickness. This time of year is one of the worst months for exchange students because of how much we start to miss home. Our year has started to become normal, culture shock is still in full swing, and home starts to seem more and more appealing. The power of voice I am talking about here is the voice of familiarity. Of course it is good to keep yourself busy around town and become more integrated in your new environment. However, sometimes an exchange student will go through a rough day at school or feel lonely and depressed and need to talk to someone familiar. This familiar voice can make a huge difference in that exchange student's day. Even just receiving a motivational email or text message can make us feel much more hopeful. I will admit that I miss the southern accent and southern hospitality that I could find so easily in Memphis, so when I hear it here (this of course is very unusual) I get extremely excited. When we visited Munich on fall break, we heard a large group of southerners talking. Of course the first thing we all said was "Man they are so loud. Geez they must be from America;" however, as we kept listening it was the comforting southern drawl that made us all remember where we come from.


3. Books are an exchange student's best friends.
      - I will admit that it is pretty hard to make new friends in the middle of high school. This difficulty is definitely increased when you add the fact that I can't fully communicate with all the people in my school just yet. Although there are times when I feel comfortable to sit with a group of kids or talk with a friend between classes, there are also times when my friends are in class, and I have a free period. I have always been a book worm, and my love of books has definitely helped me stay occupied during school. Thus the lonely girl sitting on a bench is no longer lonely. She is just engrossed in a novel.

4. Smiling, laughing, and music are all universal languages.
     - One of the biggest stereotypes that people believe about Germans is that they have no sense of humor. However, every German I have met seems happy and knows how to make jokes and laugh. I also like how many people will smile at me at school. I was afraid that people would seem incredibly cold and distant compared to my southern upbringing where strangers will talk to you in the checkout line at Kroger. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when strangers on the street said "Hallo" to me, and classmates smiled when we made eye contact. I just believe that smiling and laughing must be a universal language because everyone I have met is very lively and fun-loving. Music is also a universal language. It doesn't matter whether the song is in English, German, Spanish, or French; if it has a good beat people will dance. I play in an cello orchestra on Fridays, and we all enjoy playing music no matter what language it is in or where the composer is from. Music has always been a part of my life, and it is definitely a part of my German life too.

5. It doesn't really matter what people think about you.
        - I have always marched to the beat of my own drum, but of course there was always that little voice in my head telling me that I was weird or awkward. I would feel extremely hurt when I heard someone had been gossiping about me, and of course that hasn't totally gone away. These past few months have shown me that it's okay to look stupid or weird. It's okay to need help just as it's okay to ask for help. A few days ago I was walking to my bus, and some kid yelled something at me from across the school courtyard. His friend laughed, and for a second I felt confused and offended. Then I realized something. I had no idea what he had yelled to me, so what did it matter. I figured he needed to look cool for his friend, and that was okay. I didn't understand what he had yelled, so there was nothing that could hurt my feelings. In fact, I found it kind of funny. I started thinking about myself a year ago. I had no idea I would be in Germany yet alone in that situation, and for some reason that made me laugh. The fact that I was in that situation and didn't care at all made me laugh. One of the teamers in DC told me that your exchange year will strip you of your pride, and I definitely understand what she meant. I often catch myself laughing at the predicaments that I get into instead of worrying about how I look to other people. Usually it is normal everyday problems such as, butchering the name of a food when ordering at a cafe, getting lost in a new city, or missing my bus stop. For some reason this year has made me take myself a little less seriously. I think that's good. It isn't like I wake up and plan to make a fool out of myself. I do take myself a little bit seriously, but I don't take myself too seriously. I remember feeling awful and stressed out when just one thing went wrong, but now there is always something to laugh about. I am glad these past few months have taught me that. I don't know if I would've learned that so quickly without this year.

6. We are much stronger than we think we are.
           -If you had told me a year and a half ago that at the age of sixteen I would get on a plane and leave my home and family for a whole year, I would have probably looked at you like you were insane. I was that kid who could mentally convince herself that she could physically not run any longer during cross country practice, and until my coach yelled my name I would give up. I was also that kid who could stress over a test or a theatre production so much that I would get stress dreams and forget theorems and lines. There have been some tough moments on exchange (basically at least once every day) when I have felt lonely, homesick, confused, or just frustrated. Despite these feelings, however, I have never felt more confident in my ability to know where I am in the universe. Yes, there are days when giving up seems like the only possibility, but I am not the same girl who stopped running during cross country practice or stressed for weeks about tests and plays. I know where I am and I know where I want to go. I don't think I could've told people that I was independent a few months ago, but now I feel like I can take care of myself, push myself to reach further, and I probably know myself better than ever before.

It's been a while!

I know it has been a while since my last blog post, and I am very sorry for that. It has been hectic and confusing and all in all the most crazy few months of my life. I have been going to school and working on virtual school as well as trying to squeeze in a couple naps here and there. I also began taking cello lessons before my fall break, and they have been amazing so far! I will be going to orchestra on Friday nights starting this week.

 Believe it or not, I have finished 1/3 of my exchange year so far. I have been here for 3.5 months, and it has definitely been difficult. They warned us at orientation that the third and fourth months are always the hardest because things start to settle down and homesickness sets in. Of course, they were completely right! Many of the other exchange students agree with me when I try to explain how much I miss home. I have never been on such a crazy emotional roller coaster. Mostly I miss the familiarity of my home, my school, and my city. However, I hope that by the end of this year I will not want to leave Germany! :)

I have made a few friends at school, and everyone at school is very nice. I am attempting to exercise more because of all the yummy food in Germany, and I might even look into some nearby swim teams. I think keeping myself busy is the best medicine for missing home. I am excited for the holidays though too, and I think they will be very fun! I will be having a Thanksgiving at my host home the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but it will definitely be weird going to school on Thanksgiving. Since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I am super excited to celebrate and discover new traditions. I am especially excited to visit some Christmas markets and bake new Christmas cookies! I believe some of my family is going to visit in January, and that makes me extremely excited! I cannot wait to hug them again. It is really weird to think about the fact that I haven't hugged them in almost 4 months.

I promise the next post will come sooner! I miss you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Herbst Ferien (Fall Holidays)

These past two weeks have been extraordinarily busy because I was on fall break. I did a ton of traveling and got to see many of my good friends. On the 8th of October, I took a train all the way to Munich with Mahalia. It was actually pretty tiring because the Deutsche Bahn has been striking, and many trains were delayed, including ours. Then, our train had technical difficulties, and we had to move to another train. It was all worth it though because Munich was amazing! I don't think I realized just how much I missed all of the other exchange students, but when I got to the train station and saw all of them, I was so happy and excited. We took a city tour of Munich, went shopping, had delicious food, and visited castles. It was a very busy trip because we had to do so much in only four days. We visited Schloß Neuschwanstein, which is the castle that inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella castle. It was beautiful! I think the bus ride to the castle was one of the most beautiful parts because we got to see the Alps and the countryside of Bavaria. One of the hardest parts during my fall break was leaving Munich. I had to say goodbye to all of my friends all over again, and I wanted desperately to explore more of Bavaria.

After Munich, I only had one day's rest before heading to Hannover in order to take the PSAT. Again, I got to see one of my good friends in Hannover, and it was awesome to catch up with her. I had to take a train to her house, and on the day of the PSAT I had to take a bus, a train, a subway, and then a short walk in order to get to the international school. I think that trip made me feel extremely confident about traveling by myself. I really liked visiting the international school Everyone was very nice, and taking the PSAT reminded me of being at home.

Once I got home from the PSAT, I rested and relaxed A LOT. Then, some of my friends decided to meet in Bielefeld for an afternoon, so I caught a train with Mahalia, and we traveled to Bielefeld. We did a little bit of shopping, A TON of eating, and we even went bowling. I have to say, I think our German skills may be better than our bowling skills, but it was very fun. It was fun to just goof around and ignore any stresses that we may be having. I also got to visit Mahalia's host mom's organic store, and it is complete heaven on earth! It reminded me of home, and it smelled delicious! I'll definitely be going back. Today I have been doing lots of homework for my Gymnasium as well as for my virtual classes. I am also getting really excited for the holidays, and I can't wait to blog about them. I'll post more soon.

Tschüss

I didn't expect my year to be so busy and tiring, but learning a new language is extraordinarily tiring especially when you try to see sights and meet new students outside of school. Last Friday another CBYXer, Mahalia, and I went to a party with many other students. We danced and attempted to speak German with kids we met. It was really fun, and I met a lot of new students not only from my school, but also from surrounding schools. I was really sleepy after my long week at school and spending time with friends on Friday, so most of my Saturday was spent asleep in my room, reading, or working on school work. Sunday morning I got a phone call from Mahalia's host mom asking me if I wanted to go to a castle in Hannover with them. Of course, I said ABSOLUTELY! I was so excited because I love sightseeing and learning about history. The Schloß (castle) we visited is called Schloß Marienburg. It was built by King George V, the last monarch of the kingdom of Hannover, and given to his wife Queen Marie as a gift. I don't know about you, but I would love to get a castle for Christmas or my birthday. The castle was built between 1858 and 1867, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Sunday was a pretty rainy day, but we were still able to walk around the grounds without getting too muddy. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photos inside the castle, but I did take many pictures of the castle's exterior. It was so nice to have a relaxing and educational day with Mahalia and her host parents. We got ice cream in between our tower tour and the ground floor tour, and I still am convinced that Spaghettieis makes everything better! After visiting the castle we drove back to Stemwede. Mahalia and I were so tired that we fell asleep during the car ride home. I had a really nice dinner with them, and then I headed back to my house. My weekend was definitely very busy and fun! I have started to become homesick for some aspects of home. I often miss spending time with my family, especially my mom. I miss my dogs a lot, and I have been craving a lot of food from home. Keeping myself busy is really helpful, and I have started to get over some of the homesickness that I was feeling last week. Today, however, I have been feeling really sick. I think when you feel sick you realize just how much you miss your parents. I have been longing for my dad to make me one of his grilled cheese sandwiches, and I have been longing for my mom to make me some tea. Thankfully, after making myself some tea, I am feeling much better. I am planning on going to Munich on an Experiment hosted/planned trip during my fall break. I am really excited to visit Munich and to see some of my  exchange student friends! Tomorrow I have four hours of German class to start my morning, so I should get some rest. I can't wait to update more, and hopefully I will have time to write a new post this weekend! Viel Spaß!

I have had a really fun and crazy few days. Last Friday night I went to game night at the library with Madalyn (a fellow CBYXer). We played Cards Against Humanity and Spot It3 with a few Brits and some Germans, and it was really fun and entertaining. On Saturday Madalyn, Mahalia, and I went to Osnabrück, a nearby city, and shopped. We went to several stores and a wok restaurant. I was so excited about the wok because I have been craving Asian food for quite some time now. Later Saturday night, Madalyn's host parents took us to a festival in a nearby town called Quernheim. Quernheim was celebrating 825 years of existence I think, and there was a lot of dancing. On Sunday I ate my first pancakes in Germany, and it made me really happy! School has gotten a lot better. I feel a little more like I belong in my classes, and I have made some friends. Today a girl approached me and wanted to talk about High School Musical and learn about American proms, so now we are friends. During my free periods I usually get coffee or shop in the grocery store or the book store. Right now it is getting a little colder, so I don't like to stay outside for too long during breaks. I feel like I am understanding more German...I hope. Several times this week I have been able to answer people even if I didn't know all the words that they used, and that made me really excited! I really hope to post my pictures soon. I have been really busy, but I think I will have more time this weekend.

I finally have a schedule!

A lot has happened in the past week, and it has all been really positive! I got my schedule Friday after school, and it is pretty nice. I take two German classes, one 6th grade and one 7th grade, a politics class, English, Spanish, Religion, Art, and Music. Even though I feel like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, my German classes are really fun. The sixth and seventh graders are very nice, and they are really interested in me and want to talk to me. Politics is pretty difficult considering I do not understand anything, but my teacher is really nice. English is by far my favorite class! I understand everything, my teacher is really nice, and all the students are interactive and fun. We are going to take a class trip to either Scotland or London, and I am extremely excited! Spanish is a good class, but it is extraordinarily easy and taught in German, so I am quite bored most of the time. I am always lost in Religion class and Music class because all I hear is German all the time. With my musical background, music class should be easy, but the German questions really confuse me. Once I translate the questions I can almost always answer them. Art is also really fun. Although I'm not the best artist, I really like my teacher. Art is like my quiet time during my busy, German-filled day at school, so I appreciate every time I walk into the art room. I am really excited to start some of my virtual school work because then I can work on Math and English Literature in my native tongue. My host family's exchange student from last year, Katy, had extended her trip until September, and her mom came to pick her up, see Germany, and take her home. It was really nice seeing Katy and her mom because they are from the same part of Georgia as my mom, and both of them speak like my mom and grandmothers speak. My host family and I have been baking all week. We baked a lot when Katy's mom came to visit because we wanted to celebrate. We had lots of family time and played games. My host sisters and I also baked more yesterday and today because Angela's birthday is today, and we are having a party. I made my grandfather's chocolate fudge cake. Considering the different ingredients and measurements, I think it turned out really well. I am excited to eat cake, but I also know I will have to discipline myself more and run a lot. There is so much yummy food in Germany! The first guests just arrived, so I am going to join the party. I hope to update more soon and post some photos later this week.

Now, I am going to try to write in Spanish and in English in my blog because I want to practice Spanish. I had a really nice birthday with my host family! We had three cakes, and two CBYXers came to celebrate. Last night my host dad, host brother, host sister, and I went to a festival, and we watched fireworks and ate lots of food. Because it is so cold here compared to Memphis, I bought myself some big socks. I didn't really believe the CBYX alumni when they said I would be tired all the time, but I am getting very tired every day, and I usually take a nap after school. Amazingly, I got out of bed this morning and was not too tired, so my host dad, host grandma, and I went to church. My host dad and I climbed up to the clock tower after the service and watched the bells ring. The church is very old and pretty, and today many children were baptized. I am going to have a German tutor, and I am hoping that I will meet my tutor today because I cannot wait to start learning more. I am also really excited to get my school schedule this coming Friday and start going to my classes. I am really interested in taking art, politics, and spanish.

Yo voy a intentar escribir en Español y en Inglés en mi blog porque yo quiero practicar Español. Yo tuve un muy buen cumpleaños con mi familia anfitriona. Nosotros tuvimos tres tartas y dos CBYXers vinieron a celebrar. Ayer por la noche mi papá anfitrión, mi hermano anfitrión, mi hermana anfitrión, y yo fuimos a un festival. Nosotros vimos los fuegos artificiales y comimos un montón de comida. Yo he comprado calcetines grandes porque hace frío aquí. Me estoy cansada cada día porque es cansador para aprender un nuevo idioma. Está mañana mi papá anfitriona, mi abuela anfitriona, y yo fuimos a la iglesia. Mi papá anfitriona y yo subimos hasta la torre del reloj después del servicio de la iglesia y nosotros vimos las campanas. La iglesia es muy antigua y bonita y hoy muchos niños fueron bautizados. Yo voy a tener un tutor alemán. Yo espero que me reuniré con mi tutor hoy porque yo no puedo esperar para empezar a aprender más. Yo estoy emocionada por mi horario en la escuela y yo tengo ganas de empezar a ir a mis clases. Yo estoy esperando asistir a las clases de arte, política, y español.

First post from my host home

It has been a few days since my last blog post because adjusting to my new home has been very time consuming and fun. My trip to Stemwede was kind of eventful. I missed the train from Hannover to Minden because my train from Marburg to Hannover was delayed. Thanks to the teamers at language camp however, I easily found the information desk and got a ticket for the next train. My host family has been extremely welcoming and nice. I have gotten to bake with my brother and hang out with my sisters and parents. I really feel at home here, and I get along really well with my host siblings and all the host pets. Today was my first day of school, and it was pretty difficult. Angela, my host sister, took me to my gymnasium in order to get my schedule, but it turns out that I will not have a schedule until next week. This week I am shadowing another student in order to feel comfortable with the school and some of the teachers. Of course, I don't understand anyone, but I hope that within a few months I will be able to participate more in class. After this rough day at school, I got a great "pick-me-up" and got to go home with another CBYXer who goes to my school. It was really nice to see her host home and have a little "American time" together. We both agreed that we miss language camp and the other CBYXers more than we thought we would. I was dropped of at my house and played with the kittens. Angela and I also went to the pool this evening and hung out. It was really fun, and it helped me recoup after my stressful day at school. Tomorrow I will be going to school alone, and I am still a little nervous, but I hope that it will get easier.

Tonight is my last night at language camp, and it is pretty melancholy because I'll be leaving my teamers and friends tomorrow at 12:30. I am extremely excited to meet my host family tomorrow and go to the Stemwede Festival! I am also really excited for the talent show tonight (hopefully there will be videos of it). I am singing with three other girls and also preforming a skit with some of the other kids. We just had a really big, yummy last dinner, and we are still writing "sugar cubes" to each other. Sugar cubes are nice, supportive notes that everybody gets in order to stay motivated during the year. I really like this because I know there will be many frustrating days when I have trouble speaking German, and I like being reminded that I have a support group behind me. Today has not been very busy. My friends and I have played the game Catch Phrase and packed our suitcases. The teamers also told us to write letters to our future selves, and we will read those at end year seminar. When I first got to language camp I thought that the teamers were scary, and I wanted to be at my host family's house immediately. I now realize how stupid that was because I love the teamers, and I'll be sad to leave them. I didn't believe the teamers in the U.S.A. when they explained how fun language camp would be and how fast time would fly. I definitely have grown to love Schloß Wittgenstein and all the teamers and teachers here. However, I think I'm even more excited to see my host family than I was before. My host brother and I have been talking these past few days, and the more I talk to him about the festival the more excited I get.