(From April 15)
I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, wondering where on earth all my time has gone. I know it's only April, and I know I don't fly 'home' for a few more months, but I can't help it.

I just finished filling out my 8th monthly report for my RC (Rotary Club) back in NH. After that, I opened our 3rd Quarterly Report questions, read through them, and my eyes started watering. Listening to my first host mom and I's favorite song at the same time, really didn't help. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU0drMX5N0g ). The questions are mainly looking at our year as a whole. How many host families, if we had visitors, how we've grown, our return date... All of it kills me. I have the answers to the questions somewhere, but truly explaining them becomes the difficult part. I've also got this awful type of feeling in my head that my Exchange is in a way just about over, like the mindset of 'I have to go home any hour.." and it's really, really awful. It's distracting and makes me really sad, almost in a depressing kind of way, and I do everything I can to ignore, change, or get rid of it, cause I don't want it to interfere with how much time I really do still have here, so I guess I'll just do my best. All the reports and talk about going home, however, really aren't helping. I have the feeling like I'm running out of time, like I'm still while it's all rushing past, like sand in an hour glass, slipping through my fingertips. And I really can't stop it. Sounds intense, I'm sure, and it's really not like I'm not still fully present here, but that's the thing about this experience, it's so difficult to explain, and even harder to understand, even for me sometimes.

ALSO: after many failed, and accidentally deleted attempts to update my blog, I'm trying again today. Unfortunately, it's been a lonnngg time since I last wrote (January), and after writing a really long, picture-filled entry that got completely deleted on accident, I'm just going to write about this past weekend, and go back to the past month later on.

So, this past weekend, Rotary District 1890 had our third, and [unfortunately] final orientation! All 60+ of us traveled to Foehr, which is a North Frisian Island off the west coast of Germany, in the North Sea. We stayed in Nieblum (mid-south of the island), with some of the Rotarians, Rotex, and our new group of Inbounds!

In der Zug nach Dagebuell : In the train towards Dagebuell
Yuri (Brasil), Laura (Colombia), Carlos (Venezuela), und Berenice (Paraguay)

Ein paar von die Inbounds : A few of the Inbounds :)

Alle warten auf der Faehre nach Foehr : Waiting for the ferry to go to Foehr

We went from Friday, March 21., until Sunday the 23., and the only thing I'm honestly upset about is that it was our last one. I look forward to them for weeks, but never want the time to pass, and literally treasure every moment I get to spend there, with the people I'm able to call the best friends that I have honestly ever had. And I really could not ask for something better.
Friday night we all walked from Nieblum am Strand (on the beach), and some of us were crazy enough to go swimming in the pitch blackness, despite the freezing temperatures. It was actually too cold for me to go in the ocean (I was freezing just standing with my friends), but was still extremely fun and funny.

Andrea (Mexico), Lucas (Brasil), Matias (Argentina), Eugenia (Argentina), Eduardo (Brasil), Hideyuki (Brasil), and Ariel (Taiwan)

Saturday was interesting, and really really fun. There are two Inbounds in our group from India, and this past week in India, they are celebrating something called Holi Festival. We celebrated part of the way they do to; we popped water balloons on each other to get our skin and clothes wet, and then powdered colors (red, yellow, green, and purple) were thrown and put on each other, which turned out to be pretty fun. Unfortunately they didn't tell us ahead of time, so I willingly said goodbye so my now very stained and colorful clothes, but the fun was well worth it. The bad part of it though, was that the colors didn't exactly wash off the way they were supposed to. I mean tens of teenagers walking around even till now with stained skin, hair, and clothes (myself included) (although a lot did wash off, its a water activated powder, so the more we washed it off, a lot of it just didn't come off of our skin and clothes, hair, eyes, and teeth. It's still on my hands, arms, and hair (yes, all four colors), but it doesn't bother me 'cause it was a lot of fun. 

Lotta (Finland), Mae (Ecuador), Calli (USA), and I

End result of my hair..

Later that day, we walked 10km on the beach from Nieblum to Wyk (south-east of the island), spent some time there, which was really beautiful, and later that night we all had a Tanzstunde ("dance-hour," or two hours), where we were taught by professional dancers steps of the waltz, a fun type of line dance, and more like that.
The next afternoon we [sadly] had to return from the island, but it was such an amazing time with so many amazing people (there's so much more I'm leaving out), but we already have so many more times and dates planned to make the most of every second here, and the countdown to Euro Tour is 40 days away. So I'm really content now with the way things are. I don't want time to move, so I'm letting it continue as slow as possible, but I also have some pretty incredible experiences waiting for me. It's an odd kind of happiness, but I honestly couldn't dream of anything else.

Hideyuki, Calli, und Ariel am Strand

Lucas, Me, Maria (Mexico), Arturo (Paraguay), and Greta (Argentina) in Wyk am Strand

I've learned a lot, [I mean a LOT] since being here, and there's no way on earth I could actually spell it all out. But if perfection is something you're searching for, you really better open your eyes, and know that you'll never get there. You're never going to reach that point in your life where everything's the way you pictured it, not a care or complaint in the world, and all goals accomplished. You're searching for something that simply doesn't exist.
You don't work for a while, do your job right, and then find your way to happiness, fulfillment, and success. You have to actually open your mind to ways of thinking, life, opportunities and experiences that you didn't even know existed before, and be content with the fact that you're not working towards a point in your life, and always a new goal. Those are still great to have, but it's not going to fill you with incomparable happiness, love of life exactly the way it is, and all it's imperfections, and you're ability to find joy and be unbelievably thankful for just being alive in the situation you are. 

My life is completely imperfect, in the most perfect way.

Think it's finally time for another post... In the past month, so much has happened. I've learned so much more, spent more time with my friends, started back at school, changed host families, and reached my 6th month here in Germany, today.

Christmas (25th) was spent Skyping my family throughout the day which was really really nice, and the rest of my year I think was pretty quiet. Went with my first host mom to a really amazing Tierpark (indoor zoo, and aquarium) in Hamburg, and that was so much fun to do together. I love aquariums, and there was one of the biggest I've ever seen, and parts of it were interactive, and I ended up having a lemur on my shoulder, and another hanging on my arm at one point.

My first host mom, Ilona :)

In front of the biggest aquarium section : Vor der größte Aquarium Abschnitt

For New Year's (Sylvester oder Silvester), which is pretty much celebrated the same as in the States, some of the other Exchange Students and I went together to a party at our friend Jake's house (also USA). That really was so much fun. Unfortunately, following that, I was really sick for about 2 or 3 days (they think I ate something that wasn't good anymore), so not the best way to start the new year, but it's gotten better since.

Berenice (Paraguay), Laura (Colombia), Me, and Yuri (Brasil)

Since New Years, I've switched my host family (!), and will stay with my current one for the rest of my Exchange, gone ice skating multiple times, welcomed newbies from Brasil, Argentina, and Australia (:O !), met with my friends a lot, started back at school for 3 weeks now, and we finally got a little snow about 2 days ago, and this week, temperatures plummeted, and it's been extremely cold and windy (we'd been having a very mild winter until this past week), visited a German movie theatre again, and gave my first presentation to my Rotary Club which went a lot better than expected, and also started playing field hockey (finally) at a local club called THC (Tennis- und Hockeyclub Ahrensburg e.V.)

Meine Erste Gast-Familie die Ulbrich's (Phillip und Ilona) : My first host family the Ulbrich's

Schlittschuhlaufen-Tag mit unser Rotex und Inbounds! : Ice skating with our Rotex and Inbounds!

Schlittschuhlaufen mit Matheus, Hideyuki, und Yuri (Brasil)

SO: Not only is today Christmas Eve, but it is also officially 5 months that I’ve been living here, in Germany. Time scares me. It runs before you can blink, and changes your life before you know what happened. But I’m also very thankful for that. I was never very good with change before I began my Exchange. It was difficult, frustrating, annoying, at times seemed useless, and more, but now it’s one of the things I appreciate the most; because that’s exactly what got me to where I am.

Christmas is celebrated early (to me) here in Germany. [Just about] every family celebrates Christmas today, on Dezember 24^th, and I’m not really sure what tomorrow is seen as, but let’s say that it’s different than what I’m used to. Basically the whole season this year is/was surprisingly different than I’m used to. In my real family, we get and decorate our Christmas tree closer to the beginning of the month, and we use lots of different ornaments, and do it all together. Presents slowly accumulate under the tree during the month, Christmas music is played daily in my house and swarms radio stations, we have Christmas decorations; lights, little villages, figures, the Nativity Scene, and more, I make special cookies with my sisters and mom, and watch more Christmas movies than anything else. I absolutely love it. And it’s also extremely rare to not have a white Christmas.

My December this year was nothing like that. I’m yet to see a single Christmas movie, one of the first holiday songs I heard was about two days ago, and besides a few this morning I’ve heard next to none. I’ve made no holiday cookies and only seen and eaten a few, we have very seldom decorations around our house, we got our tree and put it up about yesterday, and today I decorated it alone (my host mom did the lights, but said decorating it is a girls job, but the whole thing barely took me 15 minutes with only 3 different ornaments). I haven’t seen a single add on TV that had anything to do with Christmas (I’m used to the good old ABC 25 Days of Christmas<3), and also have yet to watch a single movie, did not go Christmas shopping with my family, and we also have no snow (it’s been surprisingly warm for December). Needless to say: it doesn’t exactly feel like Christmas (not to mention that I don’t understand why everyone celebrates today, if Christmas is the 25^th, and not today). It feels slightly special, like a nice day; we had goose, special potatoes, and a kind of cabbage (both extremely common here (not the goose)), and I loved being able to go to a church service today (although my family is not religious) because my real family does every year; but overall, Christmas isn’t exactly Christmas. I miss baking cookies with my mom, decorating the tree with my sisters, watching Christmas movies with my dad, going to the House by the Side of the Road, Christmas shopping together, decorating our house in red, green, and lights, seeing more of my family, and hearing my favorite Christmas songs every day. I miss a lot (the season I’m used to in general), but I’m still not homesick. I’m surprised actually, because I know it’s really common for Exchange Students this time of year, or for someone like me that doesn’t really recognize the season the same way, but I’m also pretty happy for that, that I’m not overly upset, and wishing to go home. I still love it here; I just love Christmas with my family.

Christmas time around here really is beautiful, though. I love going into Hamburg to the Weihnachtsmarkts (Christmas Markets) which are extremely popular and common here, the lights decorating the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and parts of the city, ice skating with my friends, and due to my specific request, I was able to make a make-due Lebkuchen Häuschen (kind of like a Gingerbread House) with my host mom yesterday, which I was really happy about.

Today we all kind of had a late start. I woke up earlier than usual, but early afternoon I kept my mom company as she worked on the lunch/dinner (there was really nothing to help with), my mom’s friend came over and we ate together, talked for a while, went to a church service, and now were back. I’m not exactly sure what we may do later on (I’m Skyping my family soon<3), but that’s basically what my Christmas looks like. Tomorrow, actually Christmas, unfortunately I’m not all that excited for. My mom has work all day, Katrin (my mom’s friend) leaves early to visit family, and my brother also leaves early (all probably before I even wake up) to go visit his dad for the rest of the week. That means I’ll be alone most of the day, and won’t be able to be with friends because they all have families to be with. This Christmas will be the most different than any I have ever had. I look forward so much to Skyping my family, and plan on catching up on my Christmas movies tomorrow.

Also earlier this month we had our second orientation for 1890 (my district here) which was in Lübeck (about 40 min NE of Hamburg by train), which is a really beautiful city. It’s famous for is Weihnachtsmarkt, Lübecker Marzipan, and also the many old churches there, that we also got to visit. After a day and evening in the city and a night bowling, we stayed in groups in different host families, and the next day we met again. Each country was to make a small presentation about Christmas in their country, and we finished with our entire group singing Feliz Navidad J

I switch host families in about two weeks, and switch with my friend Daniel from Mexico, who’s family I was able to meet during a Musikabend (my host dad is a musician) which was really great.

It’s all different, confusing, difficult, frustrating, happy, sad, rushing by, my favorite thing, and so much more.

Frohes Weihnachtsfest!

Rathausplatz am Alster zum Wiehnachten : Town hall plaza on the Alster for Christmas

Rathaus Wiehnachtsmarkt

In Lübeck für der 2. Orientation mit Ariel (Taiwan) : In Lübeck for the 2nd orientation with Ariel

Eislaufen in Hamburg mit Matheus, Hideyuki, und Yuri (Brasilien) : Ice skating in Hamburg with Matheus, Hideyuki, and Yuri

Weihnachts Deco in Hamburg Hauptbahnhof : Christmas decorations in the Hamburg Main Station

Skypen mit meine Schwestern! (Ich auf dem Computer) : Skyping with my sisters! (Me, on the computer)

Wow. So, today (now yesterday) is another important day for me; the marker of my 4th month here in Germany..! I just reminded my mom of that, and she was the same as me; I really can't believe it. It doesn't seem that so much time here has already passed, but the last few weeks have been going by so fast I'm afraid to blink. I watched the last week slip right by, and again I'm already onto the next. It's easier now, with a daily routine, knowing things I'm able to do, having set things to do to pass time after school, but it's still unbelievable. Trying to explain simple things like this would probably hold little importance or interest for someone outside of Exchange, but for someone in a seat like mine, it's something completely different. I don't think that I've treasured something as simple as time until now (at least in this way), because now I know that I'm running out of it everyday, and after my time draws closed, I'll never have the same thing again. I love the time I have here though (obviously some times more than others, and of course it's not all a walk in the park for me, but I try to make it worth it), and I think I can even better appreciate simple things now.

Take this weekend for example. Friday, unfortunately, I didn't get to meet up with any friends of mine which I had honestly spent most of the previous week looking forward too. After being alone most of the night, the next day spent with my host mom was really great. We went shopping together, to our favorite bakery, and later on to a Christmas Market (yes, already). It still feels early for me for it to already be the Christmas season because in the States, Thanksgiving is next week (a very big national holiday), and THEN everything for the Christmas season can officially start. But I still absolutely love this time of year, so I was more than happy to go there with her. Most of the time we were looking around inside different shops which was really great actually just looking and talking, and we also had something called Glühwein (translated I think is something like mulled wine), but was basically heated and slightly flavored red wine, which definitely suits the upcoming holiday season. It was so many little things yesterday like talking in our favorite bakery, looking at Christmas decorations, finding out we both know and love a funny Christmas movie ("Christmas Vacation"), and so much more; but we walked away from the Market together laughing and smiling so much, that the whole day really helped put me in such a good mood. These are the kind of days that I wait for, and love.

A great weekend didn't stop there though. Today (now yesterday), my city's Fußball Mannschaft (foos-bal mahn-shaft a.k.a. soccer team) HSV (Hamburger Sport Verein ((Hahm-burgehr shpohrt fer-eye-n)) Verein = club) played against the team Hannover 96, which we got to go to! Both teams are in the Erste Bundesliga (First Nationwide League) HSV was in 14th, and Hannover in 12th (of 18). The game overall was really really good, with the incredible fans, songs, and overall atmosphere. I got to go with my mom, brother, and a friend of my brothers too. I loved being there, even in 7 degrees Celcius (about 45 Fahrenheit), and our team won 3:1. That helped move HSV up to the 11th spot, and Hannover 96 down to the 13th. HSV (as my mom told me) is the only team to never leave the Erste Bundesliga, and so also holds a record for their time there, now at 50 years and 9 months.

Imtech Arena!

Red: Hannover 96; White & Blue: HSV!

Es wurde gesagt, dass 52.091 Menschen waren im Stadion: It was said that 52,091 people were at the stadium

As I'm sitting here listening to a song showed to me by a friend back home (now on repeat again for about 30x), I can't help but think about how fast people must forget (or forget to really think about) what it's like for someone like me to be here. You're in a foreign country you have probably never been to (or maybe for a very short period of time), all alone with no one from home, you haven't seen your family in months (with many more to come), you now are trying desperately to learn and improve language skills and just wishing that you could speak with and understand everyone around you, you constantly have 1989823 things on your mind, you're trying to make connections with a brand new family you suddenly started living with, and trying to find the right balance between how and what to say is not always an easy task, and sometimes, no matter which language or who it is, no one will be able to completely understand you and what you're going though, and that might be the most frustrating and tiring of all. It's not just that simple to go into a school of lifelong friends and find someone that's willing to jump up and be your friend, (although I have made quite a few friends, I couldn't say that I'm especially close with them), as well as things like being frustrated and feeling stupid in school because you have to ask for a translation or better explanation after every assignment is given, and really so so much more.

On top of that, earlier today while talking about the Winter Ferien (vin-ter fair-ee-en a.k.a. winter holidays/break) with one of my German friends, she asked if I would be going home for the break and Weinachten (vi-nakh-tehn a.k.a. Christmas), which of course I answered no. I've been thinking a lot lately about the upcoming Holiday's; how Thanksgiving will pass as just another Thursday here while the rest of my family is gathered together at my Ohma's for the first time without me, how Christmas will be very different, somewhat similar to how the last few years have been, but I know that I will miss the Christmas season with my family how it normally is doing everything that I love, but I'm also excited for the season here. Christmas markets, skating in HH, trying Glühwein with my host mom, and so much more. But that also means another marker for me... I'm in my 5th month already here.. Christmas will come quickly, and with it my 6th month here.. Sometimes really wish there were more days in a year.

I keep trying to write more often, but somehow I always get side-tracked, busy, or just plain tired. The last 3 to even 5 weeks have gone flying by. All of a sudden its Friday, when I get to hang out with my friends in Hamburg which I absolutely love, and then the weekends over, Monday starts again, and I'm anxious for the weekend so I can see my best friends here. Plus, going to school most of the day, then killing time before I go to bed goes faster than you'd think. It's like the days here are zooming past me, or I feel like I'm sitting in my most boring classes for hours during the school day.

I think it was a few weeks ago, or maybe just last week or so, but I went through this awful patch where I was alone a lot due to my host mom and brother both working (which I was okay with for the most part really - I have enough time to myself here, and I'm used to family members working, so it wasn't really the main part), and I don't know why, but I couldn't really focus on anything at home or at school, my brain couldn't or just wouldn't decide which language to think in and so I just had a really difficult time overall just trying to hold conversations in German that I normally could, and I don't know why, but I just felt awkward at times with my family (sometimes a little unwelcome), and things my brother did/does ate at me much more and faster than usual. I hated feeling that way; always tired, frustrated, low on patience, not wanting to talk to anyone, but doing it anyways to hopefully feel better (which it really didn't because those I could talk to didn't or wouldn't've understood, and the others I couldn't explain it to due to language barriers, but I'm not close enough really to someone special I could talk to here anyways, not that I particularly wanted to 'talk about my feelings' with anyone. On top of all of that, getting a rant from my biology teacher about 'why I'm here,' how my 'German isn't improving fast enough' and that the private lessons I'm taking 'aren't enough' for me (all talking to me in German like I couldn't speak at all in the middle of class), was less than welcome and enjoyable, and what could I do but sit there. That was awesome on top of everything else. Having to listen to someone tell me everything I've learned and all of my efforts over the last 4 months aren't good enough, and talking to me like she knew all about my exchange, why I was here, and exactly what I should be doing. Dealing with things alone or in my head is generally what I do, so I kept most of it quiet (about all that wasn't going great) because I really didn't want or need to create a big[ger] problem out of something somewhat small, and I didn't realize how frustrated and just upset I was until I finally Skyped my mom mainly, but also most of the rest of my family, and I could finally talk to someone I felt understood most of it, or just would listen, although dealing with my own problems is something I've gotten very good at, and will continue to do.
(It has never been a problem to go to my Rotary about, and if I needed or wanted to, I do have my host mom here, although none of it really came to that. It all sounds and feels slightly different writing it than it does when I think about it, or when it was all happening).

I'm still not fully over feeling like that, and some of the problems I was dealing with are still continuing, but that's what a Rotary Smile is for (thank you Bob and Phil), and I also just didn't want myself to go into this huge patch of homesickness I think I almost felt, because everything was just so frustrating and just wasn't feeling great, and of course I knew I would never feel that at home. Hanging out with my best friends here (the Exchange Students) is something that I absolutely love, and look forward to every week, and this past weekend it was the first I got to see them (our Hamburg-group) in over two weeks, and after being alone so much and just everything that happened, it was so great and just relieving to hang out and have fun with them, and it really did help to make me feel better too actually.

Going on right now is a type of carnival/festival called Hamburger Dom in the city Hamburg, and I got to go for the second time this past weekend when I was hanging out with the Exchange Students. My mom told me beforehand that the Hamburger Dom is "So wie Oktoberfest aber ohne die Bier," (like October Fest but without so much beer), which I definitely saw once I got there. So much was the same, so many stands, the Lebkuchen hearts, games and rides, but as my mom said, without typical beers or Brauhauses (or the Dirndls and Lederhosen), and definitely much smaller. We definitely had fun there though, and I'll hopefully be going back before the winter Dom ends.

'Hamburg' Riesenrad : 'Hamburg' Ferris Wheel

Ein paar der Austausch Schulern : A few of the Exchange Students

Me, Ariel (Taiwan), Aranza (Mexico), and Yuri (Brasil)

I was sitting on a bus to my school yesterday (Nov. 6), and a certain song came on my iPod. Since the very beginning I've tied this song directly into my Exchange (for multiple reasons), and it made me just think. A lot. About time, how fast it moves, and how it can change people, places, and things, how it's changed me already since I've been here, and also about chances. If I made one different decision through this entire process of coming on Exchange I could be living in a completely different country, and have completely different lessons and memories than the ones that I have now. I wrote this next part in about 3 minutes, while sitting on that bus, listening to my Exchange song, and every word is true:

"I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this whole process. There's no way that I could explain, or fully describe what being on Exchange is like, but I have never been more grateful to myself for the decision I made to come here. It's uncertain, exciting, opens your mind, and gives you something you could never experience any place else. I could never explain how grateful I am for being able to come and live here, and I don't know what may happen in the future, but I know that coming on Exchange is the best decision I could have made. I've already learned more than I could tell you (in many different aspects), opened my mind in ways I didn't know was possible, and let me find a kind of happiness I could never find somewhere else."

NOVEMBER. O.O
Somebody please slow down time, and do it now. Although I know it's still the first half of my Exchange, I can't help but notice how quickly a month really does fly by, given school, my weekly/daily routines, and dates for Rotary I'm always looking forward to, days are long, weeks are short, and months are shorter.

As a kind of last minute decision 2 weeks ago, I slept at my friend Laura's (Colombia) for 2 nights, and we went to Berlin with her host dad! We saw the famous monuments, got to climb one of them, saw pieces of the Berlin Wall, saw a protest, went in a really cool museum, and later met up with her host mom there. We also ran into these two soldiers in front of the Brandenburger Tor, which turned out to be extremely funny. The day I got to spend there really was a lot of fun, but later on, we both got an Überraschung (oobeh-ra-shung a.k.a. surprise)! Laura's host parents got tickets to a type of circus-stunt-show called 'Flic Flac.' They had jugglers, gymnasts, BMX bikers, motocross bikes, acrobats, and so much more. We were on the edge of our seats through a lot of it, but we both thought it was amazing.

Vor dem Brandenburger Tor! : In front of the Brandenburger Gate!

Blick von der Siegessäule : View from the VIctory Column

Deutschland wichtigsten Kongress Gebäude : Germany's most important/main Congress building

Flic Flac!

Bikers innerhalb der Holzkugel : Bikers inside the wooden ball

Drei, fünf, und dann insgesamt neun ging hinein : Three, five, and then nine in total went inside

Eines der Akrobat Teams : One of the acrobat teams

A week or two after that, I finally went again to one of the weekly Rotary Club Meetings here, which was mainly a finance presentation, but still good to get to know more Rotarians and Club members better, and they are all very understanding and easy for me to talk to, however the meetings are still at a much more formal level and feeling than those back home, and I am actually the only inbound that the Club is hosting, so I can count on being the only Exchange Student there every week, but they're still good nonetheless.

It's been about a week since I attended the last Club meeting, and within the time I've had a few really fun days (a Hamburg-Tag done by the Rotex for the Inbounds, and meeting up with the Exchange Students again<3), but I mainly have quiet days; go to school, come home and help my mom with dinner, study for school and do homework, watch German Soaps and Crime-shows with my mom and brother, and things like that. But even on the 'boring,' or not-so-good days (like last week when I got sick for the second time), I still wouldn't want to be any place else. I hear some people complaining of- or saying that they're homesick, and every time I'm asked that question (am I homesick?), the answer is honestly no. Sometimes I do miss being able to laugh and be with my sisters, my dads hugs and my moms loving smile, but I'll be back home waaay too soon for me to be comfortable with, and any time I would spend here 'wishing I was somewhere else' or 'wanting to go home,' seems like a waste of the opportunity of a lifetime that I'm getting to live right now. But it's not just that, (it's so much more than I could say), but I really do love it here. The people I've met, the friends I've made, and the memories I already have I honestly wouldn't trade for anything. 

Blick von St. Michaelis Kirche : View from St. Michaelis church

Hamburg Tag mit Austausch Schulern<3 : Hamburg Day with Exchange Students<3

Meine Stadt bei Nacht auf dem Fluss : My city at night on the river

So: I've been planning to write now for a pretty long time. So much has been going on and I've been so busy I kept pushing back a day and a day and before I knew it, it had been 3 weeks. Time seriously flies. Fast. In the beginning of Oktober on the 3rd, I left with 19 other Exchange students for a week long trip to Bayern!

http://mapsof.net/map/germany-and-netherlands-map#.Ul4XKVBmim4

This map ^ shows the German 'states,' and Bayern is the southern-most state

http://www.gss.ucsb.edu/projects/hesse/events/German/images/180px-Garmisch-Partenkirchen_in_Bayern.jpg

We didn't actually stay in München, but actually in a town called Garmisch Parten-kirchen, which was about a 2 hour train ride from the München Hauptbahnhof (howpt-bon-hoff a.k.a. the central train station), and this map ^ shows approximately where the town in located - extremely close to the Austrian boarder.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Garmisch-Partenkirchen.JPG

And this map is a basic overview of the town lined by the Alps

We stayed in a Jugendherberge (yoo-gund-hair-bear-geh a.k.a. a youth hostel) and right out the window you could see the view of the mountains. I roomed with all native Spanish speakers; my friends Berenice (Paraguay), Aranza (México), and Laura (Columbia). I can't think of a single day that went by that wasn't such a great, fun time, where I definitely made a lot of memories, but the trip in a whole definitely had its ups and downs. I know I became a lot closer with most of the people there on that trip, some of which I had never actually really spoken to before that. I know that we all had such a great time though, and I miss being there with all of them.

The highlights of the trip were: visiting Schloss Neuschwanstein (noi-shvan-shtine), München Stadt (city), Zugspitze (tsoog-shpit-tsuh), an Olympic SkiJump Stadium, and Oktoberfest!!

Schloss Neuschwanstein was beautiful. A long walk up to, and around it meant tired feet and legs, but definitely worth it. The castle (schloss) was so huge, had amazing details, and we were given audio-tours in our native languages (most of us), however no cameras were actually allowed inside. We got to go out on a balcony on the castle to take pictures of the incredible view looking down on the town with a lake, and the beautiful mountains surrounding it.

The view from the balcony on Schloss Neuschwanstein

View from the walkway up past the castle to a bridge

Beautiful Schloss Neuschwanstein

And the balcony we stood on is on the far left side of the castle

The view from standing on a bridge across from the castle

Another thing we got to do was go to Zugspitze (rail-train up most of one of the mountains, and then walk a little to a viewing spot near a restaurant). I absolutely loved it. It was incredible, and unreal, and breath-taking, and I know I could never describe it good enough for how it really was. Some of my Latino friends (as well as an American friend actually) got to see snow for the first time, and we also all got to go sledding down a small hill on the mountain!

Views from the lower viewing area of the Alps<3

After a while, we took a Seilbahn (tseyel-bon a.k.a. cable car) up to the highest point there, and I got to 'free climb' using just a guide wire attached to the mountain and go to the spot with a golden cross, which is really the marker for Zugspitze (2,962m). Absolutely incredible. I definitely did not want to leave. I stood and looked out at mountain-tops peaking out above the clouds, watched an entire mountain range disappear behind a curtain of fog in less than a minute, and reappear with millions of details like magic.

Just some more views from the top of Zugspitze.<3

And yes, I am crazy, and yes, I did climb up to where all those people are ^ if I fell, I seriously would have been hurt; I walked on the edges, it honestly was a little nerve wracking for a few seconds, but it was so amazing, and I'm so glad I got to see everything for myself - because there's no way that these pictures can do it anywhere near justice. 

And  a little view from the other side

Up next: München Stadt und Oktoberfest! I was really looking forward to both of these a lot, since I had heard how beautiful the city is, as well as everything that I had heard beforehand about Oktoberfest!

I thought that the city was absolutely beautiful. So much old architecture and incredible Kirchen (keer-khen a.k.a. churches, but more like or cathedrals), cobblestone streets, café's, shops and stores, restaurants, but really all the beautiful buildings of the city. We visited I believe 3 different Kirchen, climbed 306 steps (yes, we counted) for an amazing view over the foggy city, and got time to ourselves to also explore for a little. OKTOBERFEST! :D I think that all of the Exchange students were pretty excited for that. It went from Samstag (Zamz-tak a.k.a. Saturday) Sept. 21. bis Sonntag (Zone-tak a.k.a. Sunday) Okt. 6., and we went only for the last day. For those who wanted to and/or could, they rocked their Lederhosen (lay-deh-ho-zin) und Dirndl's (dern-delz) but unfortunately I didn't have one, so the rest of us wore traditional fishing hemps (type of shirt), and braids which is classic for Bavaria (more for older times). It was a huge festival with games, rides, Brauhauses (very large restaurant-type places with loud music), stands, and so much more.

Kirche 1

So ein schönes Platz : Such a beautiful place

306 Treppen Später... : 306 stairs later...

Kirche 2

And now for some Oktoberfest:

Workin it.

Maddy, Charlotte, Matheus, Laura, und Berenice

Brauhauses!

Very popular Lebkuchen, worn with the string around your neck, and of course, edible

Bayerish is almost completely different from Nordhochdeutsch (North High-German; what's mainly taught as German and what I learned, and the two dialects sometimes actually can't understand each other.)

Bayrish: I mog di

German: Ich mag dich / Ich liebe dich

Englisch: I love you

Aranza und ich!

I had such an amazing time in Bayern, and have gotten to meet with the Exchange Students quite a bit actually since then. And yesterday, for my birthday, I was surprised by about 12 of them who all came over, and we definitely had such a great time.  I love my crazy friends, am so grateful for everything I've been able to do and experience so far.

Also, today I sent in my first Quarterly Report... the time's going fast. Done counting days, even weeks, now I'm keeping track of months. It scares me that it's going so fast, but I remind myself almost daily to just relax, and enjoy.