This week has gone from cold to colder, with wind and rain almost every day. I'm trying to decide if the weather has something to do with me finally getting sick. Typical head cold for the past few days, but unlike at home, I really can't do anything for it here. And I'm still going to school as usual, but I kind of wish I wasn't. But just like when I'm at home, I still just kind of deal with it, and go as normal. 

Earlier this week I got to Skype with my real mom, sister, and dad for the 2nd time since I got here, exactly seven weeks ago. It really was great to talk to all of them. There's not quite anyone here that I'm that close to yet in comparison to my family, and it was nice to almost catch up with what's going on in their lives, and also my little sisters new life in high school (which I still can't really believe she's old enough for..). We talked for over 3 hours, which for me, definitely flew by. I understand how my sister must've felt. Being connected back home for a while, but when you finally hit the red button; you're left alone, without your family, in silence. It wasn't necessarily a 'bad' thing, but it was much different than I remember it being on the other side of the calls. One of the Exchange Students in my district here told me that he Skype's with his family almost every day. Granted I was able to learn German before I came here, so it's easier to communicate here, I'm happy with Skyping or really talking on a less frequent basis. I think that it's probably a lot better (at least for me); so I'm tied into my new family and friends much better, instead of my computer. 

Also during the past few weeks, I've had my first private German lessons with a friend of my host mom's who's gotten to study languages. My first lesson was with another girl in the district who's from Colombia, but my second was just Frau Fröhlich and I. The beginning of the lesson's was just an overall assessment, but she said that my German was already very good, and she was surprised at how much I could speak and understand. Our lessons are about 20 minutes from my school (by foot), and we've read, written, spoken, sang, and of course laughed. I already like going to the German lessons (1-2 hours), and I'm also beginning to read short Märchen (fairytales) for us to work with. I think that I was one of the only Exchange Students in the area that didn't actually attend a language course provided by Rotary, but I'm glad now that I'm getting extra help to hopefully get me speaking and understand everything so much faster!

Just a little while ago we got a call that my Rotary allowance was finally in my account here for July, August, and September. Later this month we have our first Rotary Orientation, and I've been making plans with Exchange Students, and my friends from school. Now if only I wasn't sick!

I realized a few minutes ago that I'm in my third month on Exchange... July, August, September... August seems to have definitely flown by. I'm sitting here astonished, thinking there's no way that that much time could have already passed. I'm passed the first stage of Exchange, and now I really have settled in, gotten closer to my family, and kind of begun a day to day routine here. I get to school on my own, I know how to help around the house, and my mom and I have our favorite bakery that we love going to. 

This past week I got to meet with a group of Exchange Students again in the city! Meeting with them is easily one my favorite things to do. I'm already good friends with a few guys that I met from Brasil, as well as people from Mexiko, India, and others. Someone that you've never met before, know nothing about, and just start talking to can become your best friend in a matter of hours. One of the girls here (from India) just started upa conversation with me, and five hours later we were still talking, knew more about each other than some of the people I've known for years back home, found out so much that we have in common, and have already made plans to hang out sometime soon. Already, I've made such amazing friends, and talk to them on a regular basis. Exchange gives you a connection to people that you could never get any place else.

            L --> R: Juhie (India), Yuri (Brasil), Me, 劉克薔 (Taiwan), David (Taiwan), Mathues (Brasil), Carlos (Mexico)

Also this past week, I went to the 'Big Band' that my school has. There's no way that I could play an instrument for 6 years, improve so much, and then somehow just stop for a year without losing so much progress. I definitely took my band class back home for granted. Here, there were 17 people including me (compared to about 60-70 at home). I didn't even play because the instrument they had for me was such a different make that I couldn't even do it. I didn't realize how good our program at ConVal really is. The director here is also my Deutsch, and DSP teacher. They don't focus as much on intonation, beat counts, dynamics, etc., and their 1st clarinet part was about equal to our 3rd, or maybe 2nd. Because schools in Germany don't have sports teams, unlike at home, there are no pep rally's, no big events to play at, so the band itself is a much smaller ordeal, and for the most part the atmosphere is just so different.

I finally filled out my first Monthly Report for Rotary yesterday. Everything I'm experiencing now was once just stories I'd heard about from Rebounds at meetings in my home district. I never knew how they would come to life for me, and I've definitely learned first-hand to put any expectations away, and just embrace everything that happens just as is comes.

As of today, it is officially a month since I left the USA to travel here to Germany! I already have so many memories and met many amazing people. As my mom and I were sitting in a café today, we found ourselves talking about how crazy time is. How a year ago, or even six months, neither of us had any idea that we would be sitting there today, didn't know I would be living with her and who is now my brother, and didn't even know that the other person existed; living halfway across the world.

Not even a full month ago, I finally met my host family (the Ulbrich's), and had no idea how close I would be with my mom, how great it would be to talk to my brother, and that I would really find myself living in this town and country so fast. I've walked throughout parts of the city, gone on bike rides with my mom, I've gone to the movies, started school (just finished my third week), made so many new friends, met exchange students that I already can't wait to see again, and so much more. People always ask if I'm homesick, or miss my family; and of course living here is a lot different, but there's also so much here already that I would just never experience back in the States, and I already wouldn't trade a second of my Exchange for anything.

Home will always be waiting for you, but being able to really experience another part of the world is really something that you just can't describe. It helps and forces you to grow, it makes you think (a lot), it helps you learn many different things, allows you to meet amazing people, and gives you something you just couldn't get anywhere else. Less than a year ago, I didn't know I would be here, I had no idea my life would look the way it does now, I hadn't even filled out the Rotary Application yet, I really didn't know how much could really happen in a year; but look at where I am now.

Time is a crazy thing.

This entry doesn't have too much to do with things like what I've been doing, places I've been, or other things of that sort. I've had a lot of time to myself lately due to my host mom working, my brother working or busy, and that leaves me as the only other person here. It's really not a problem, and I definitely don't mind being left alone at times, or having time to myself, but it's definitely given me a lot of time to think about things here and back home, how they tie in in different ways, and more of what I think about certain things. 

I'm not gonna lie, while I've been here, I've really wanted to forget about some things back home, move on here, really live a different life[style], and hopefully think about certain things differently. But every day people from school, my family, or their friends always ask about how things at home compare to here in Germany, what my school-life was like, what I used to do, people I used to be close with, the list goes on. This isn't shocking; they know nothing about me except that I'm foreign. And sometimes people can't even tell that. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, or if I was expecting anything for that matter, but it's definitely just not that easy to white out certain things back home, and get them off of my mind; even though they're 3,500 miles away.

Eight o'clock in the morning and I've already been up for about 3 hours. Today my sister Lisa is, and will be flying to Mexico to begin her Exchange year. I've always hated goodbyes. All kinds. With Exchange, I've had to say goodbye to 4 [host] sisters (repeatedly), a multitude of Exchange students; as well as my own family. No matter what, it's like once they (or you) leave, something inside of you changes, and suddenly you feel different than you had a minute ago. And it can really take a lot out of you - if you let it. I only got to live here with her for about 3 weeks, but I cried when she left. I got to see this experience again from another point of view. Just last month, this was me boarding a plane by myself - unsure, happy, confused; you name it. But I know how things feel afterwards. When the tears stop, you get where you're going, and you begin to build a new life somewhere completely new. And I know everything she has to look forward to.

Later on today, I actually have plans with a few girls that I met from my school. In a few different classes, and during free blocks or pauses, I was able to really talk with certain people about my life in America, how I feel here, differences between America and it's stereotypes (no, I've never seen a car in a swimming pool), as well as plans to go out, shopping in the city, and a lot more. It was great getting to know people so fast, as well as extremely nice seeing them go out of their way to talk to, help, and include me. I look forward to school here so that I can see them again, which isn't always something I could've said back home.

I don't think that getting used to life here (food, language, school, etc.) is as shocking or difficult for me as it may be for people in other countries or situations, for multiple reasons. My sister went to Germany for Exchange, and we hosted another girl from there as well. Then we hosted again. After hearing hours worth about types of lifestyles here, I got to experience it as well this past year, when we got to visit my sister's host-families as well as the girl that we hosted. I saw and went to two different schools there, got used to the public transportation, knew what typical meals would hold, as well as being able to be surrounded in the language. 'Culture Shock' really wasn't as shocking for me, which I'm kind of grateful for, because that way I could focus more on making connections with people, and less on 'woah, that's weird..'

Second Step

So. Today was my first day of school in Germany. Originally I was supposed to go to 'Stormarnschule,' but after looking further into that school, as well as another; I decided to go to 'Emil-von-Behring Gymnasium,' in Großhansdorf. Yesterday I went back to the school with my sister and mom to make my schedule for the year. As of now, I'm taking: Englisch, Deutsch (German), Mathe, Biologie, Philosophie, Spanisch, Sport (gym), DSP (theater), and Kunst (art). As I already knew from my sister, and other host-sister, you have different classes every day of the week. Some days I only have 2, while other days I have 4 or 5. Oh, and the school goes until about the middle of July.

I've never been the 'new kid' before. From my first day of school until last year, I had always been in the same school system, always knowing at least a few people in classes. I didn't know if I should've been nervous or exited or what, but I was mainly thinking about how other students at home must have felt when they were thrown into a new school and had to work out who was friends with who, and where each classroom was and etc. I honestly wasn't too worried about all of that, but at least in the US I would've been able to understand everyone.

Today I only had two classes: Kunst und Sport (my DSP class was cancelled), and amazingly actually began making friends in both of them. It was kind of weird knowing that this year I was the exchange student, the new girl, the foreign one, and I felt that more at some times than others. Everybody I really talked to was good about helping me with German and explaining what we had to do, and some were surprised that I actually knew how to speak a little. Some people talked really slow, and also sometimes in Englisch, which I really didn't need all the time, but I'll take that over not understanding what someone's saying. It's frustrating sometimes. It's like I draw a blank on different stuff that I learned in school like what certain words mean, conjugations, tenses, and sentence structures. I don't know why, but hopefully it'll get better soon. 

Also. As far as I know, I'm the only exchange student in my school. Back in America, the past few years we've had at least 3 or 4. I think that's good in a way because that means I'll definitely make friends with the local students, but I also have yet to meet a single other exchanger here, because I've never had luck with timing, and my first orientation isn't until September.

I realized a day or two ago that I really feel comfortable here, and also that I'm beginning to see this place as a home. I recognize road signs, highways, stores, and places that were new to me less than two weeks ago. Also, I've gotten to see and do a lot in the past few days. My family and I've gone swimming am Großensee (a lake near the house), visited one of my possible schools with my mom, went on bike rides around the town, and today went into the city again with Lisa und Ilona (sister and mom) which I loved.

I didn't really notice before that I was a little reserved in my host-family's house; but I have noticed differences now like when I joke around with my brother and sister, I know how to help around the house, and just now different feelings towards different things. Walking through the city today, I thought about Rotary and how I'll have to change family's at least once while I'm here. I quickly realized the people that were strangers a few weeks ago, I would already be really sad to have to leave or say goodbye to now.

My sister was right. Soon you'll be counting the days instead of the hours; the weeks instead of days. It's actually weird to think that I already have great relationships with a new family, while some of the other outbounds are still back in NH, weeks away from leaving. But as fast as it already seems it's going; I know it's just the beginning.

Meine gastmutter und ich in der Stadt : My host-mom and I in the city

Hamburg<3