After midstay

The "New" museum (egyptian museum)

EVA! at the parade

Klettern park

drinking coconut juice from a coconut :)

Pergamount museum!

Since I’ve been back from my midstay(may 16^th) time has been going faster and faster! I had one week of school, and I have been on break ever since. I go back to school tomorrow. (June 1^st) During the break I have been hanging out with friends and finishing things on my to-do list before I leave Berlin. There was also the Karnivale der kulturen! The Karnivale der kulturen was really cool! It was several blocks closed off and set up with booths all over the place with different foods, music, and goods from all over the world! Everyday was a little bit different. So Darcy and I went every day. On Sunday (may 23^rd) was the parade. All the exchange students walked in it. We painted our faces, and dressed up according to our countries. It was a lot of fun! (The getting ready part.) I met up with Eva who was visiting Berlin for the weekend. Eva was in Missouri last year with AFS. It was awesome to see her again! The parade went on for about 4-5 hours, and we all got extremely bored because we weren’t very organized and all the other floats were really awesome, and had music and stuff, but 15 of us stuck through until the end. :p During break, I met up with a group of American AFSers, and we all went to see Sex and the City 2 in English. Since Berlin is a multicultural city there are a few theatres that play the movies in original version rather than the German dubbed version. I’m very happy I saw it in English because I’ve decided that what language a movie is made in, is the language one should watch it in. Subtitles are good for when you do not understand that language. When one reads subtitles they can at least hear the real voices of the characters and the real tones. Another thing I did was I went to a klettern garten. I’m not sure what the word is in English, but it’s a climbing park where you have clips and zip lines and climb between wires and stuff extremely high up! I really love Berlin. I really can’t believe it is coming to an end. The year I had been waiting for years for (starting around the 5^th grade) is coming to an end. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it. I really love it here, but there are things I miss from back home a lot! I am feeling man I really want to stay here, but also I want to go back to see my family and friends again! I know this is normal from my years of volunteering with AFS, but still it’s really hard. The quote “It’s not how much you know; it’s how much you experience” is defiantly proving itself right now.

pics from midstay that woudlnt fit in the first blog post

i look like a boy in this pic..but whatever..that's my host family form my midstay!

THE LION KING!!!

Beatle's Museum!

Chillin at school :)

a sign in Hamburg that I find really really funny! It says weapons are not permitted! and your not allowed to carry open bottles of alchol because they can be used as a weapon.

midstay :)

Yesterday I started to make a list of all the things I still want to do before I leave from home. I have realized there isn’t much time left. It seems like yesterday I had 100 days (knowledge thanks to the countdown of my cousin) and last month I was in St. Louis airport crying my eyes out leaving my mom and my best friend. This past year has gone by so fast. They always say the second half of the year goes by so much faster, but now it seems like its going by a week per eye blink.

In the week of april 19^th, my class was suppose to go to Spain for the week. However our class has extremely bad luck, and we were not able to fly because of the volcano that exploded in Iceland. We ended up not having school that Monday, and Tuesday was all vertratung (all substitute teachers). Then we had to go to school the rest of the week, which was really sucky since all our us were thinking if the volcano had not exploded we would def be in Spain right now. We got through the week, and were still sour, but then we moved on.

The next week ,on april 29^th, I left for my midstay in Lübeck. AFS Germany offers a program where students can pay a small rate and go visit another city for two and a half weeks. I was selected for the midstay die Hanse: Lübeck. Lübeck is a very nice little city. It is in the north near Hamburg. Lübeck is known for its ports. It was at one time the second biggest port in Germany because of its location on the coast of the Ostsee. From that Thursday we stayed in a youth hostel, had seminars learning about Lübeck, and getting to know the other students who were also there. We had an awesome group. We always had fun! Then on that Sunday we were picked up by our host families. We stayed with a host family for two weeks in the area of Lübeck. I stayed in Reihnfeld which is a city in between Hamburg and Lübeck. My host family was A host mom, dad, and two sisters (14 and 17). On the first Sunday there it was the prettiest day I had seen in Germany so far. It was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit the whole day without rain. It was Lusaynne’s birthday (14 year old), so Ann Christin (17 year old) and I went on a bike tour through Rheinfeld. There wasn’t much to see, but it was very nice to go through and see all the nature. The next day we went to school. Another girl in Annie’s class also had a midstayer, Domi from Brazil. We were partners in crime. We always at next to each other, and drew/talked until the day was over. During the midstay I was able to go to Hamburg several times. Hamburg is one of the prettiest cities I’ve been too, but I was missing Berlin. On the first weekend we went to the Haffen Geburgstag. The port of Hamburg had a birthday and there were a whole bunch of ships all over, and it was really cool! The coolest thing I got to do while I was on my Midstay was see the Lion King the Musical! I have wanted to see that for so long, and I was so theatre deprived. I bought a tshirt saying König der Löwen (the lion king) because it was the first shirt I had found with German written on it. Most shirts are written in English here because all the shirts are printed in Asia, and just shipped off to the chain stores. I went with Domi, and it was probably one of the coolest things I could have done while there. The show was amazing! While I was on my midstay it was during the time of the German father’s day. Father’s day in Germany is when all the men go out and drink a whole bunch. They find random spots and carry around huge wagons just full of alcohol. The teenagers usually join in the celebration too. Ann Christin, my host sister, was working on her paperwork to go to the u.s.a. next year. It was really cool for me because I was like wow I know exactly where she is at. I was there just last year doing the same stuff. (I still can’t really believe it’s almost over.) When I left reihnfeld, and had to go back to Berlin, I was really sad, but happy at the same time because I was on my way to my favorite German city BERLIN! Going on my midstay made me realize one thing. There are lots of really awesome, pretty cities in Germany, but Berlin is the best city for sure! I had missed my normal host family while I was gone. I am really happy I went on my midstay!

School Schedule in Berlin and thoughts on the school!

Monday

8:00-9:40 English Professional course (my favorite class out of all my classes)

9:55-10:40 Biology (sitting and thinking class/waste of time. I don’t understand ANYTHING!)

10:55-11:35 Chemistry (fill of worksheets from copy other people/ daydream when teacher is talking…I don’t understand this class either :/ )

11:45-12:30 Deutsch (sitting with my translator and writing the neglish word above every german word I don’t understand.)

Tuesday

8:00-9:40 Geography Professional Course (the class I understand the most besides English)

9:55-11:35 Geography normal class (I understand this class too! J )

11:45-13:35 Math (I got my first 1 in this class other than in English! The 11^th grade here is doing algebra 1 and 2 things, so basically what I had last year J )

Wednesday

8:00-9:40 art (I love this class! I don’t understand the theory behind what we are drawing, but it is still fun to learn how to draw new things. I’ve learned that when I take my time, I can actually draw some pretty cool things. J )

9:55-10:40 Physic (the class that I only understand the math stuff, but nothing more because the teacher sits in front of the class the whole time trying to get us to tell her why everything is the way it is. To make her a better teacher she needs to teach us first why things are and then the next class ask us why..duh!)

10:55-11:35 English normal class (I think this teacher is scared of me or something. She never grades my stuff, and when she grades everyone else’s then everyone asked me if her corrections are really right, and sometimes they aren’t always. She speaks Germish; English with German word order.)

11:45-12:30 Geography normal class

12:50-13:35 Biology

Thursday

8:00-8:45 Physics

8:55-940 German

9:55-11:35 Sport

Thursdays are my favorite days because I get to leave after the 4^th hour, and I have lots of time to go exploring the amazing city of BERLIN!

Friday

8:00-8:45 German

8:55-9:40 Math

9:55-11:35 English normal class

11:45-12:30 Chemistry

I find school in Berlin a lot easier than in Thüringen. I have fewer classes, so I get out of school earlier. What the students are learning now I can usually understand a little bit. It’s not as advanced as in Thüringen. I do really love the school better though in Berlin. The teachers are a lot nicer. The only big downfall of the school is the bathroom. The bathrooms are really gross, and I only use them when I really have too. There is graffiti all over the place, the stalls are not even big enough for a person and their school bag to fit in, and the toilets are just circles above a pipe. So over all they are very gross. Other than the bathrooms the school is very nice. Defiantly different than what I was used too, but it doesn’t bother me. I like the differences. It is completely different from what I’m used too!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

hey...yea I know I’ve been busy out and about and I’m even going days at a time without using the comp...or just checking facebook really quickly then going back to doing something else..I like it that way sooo much better.I think people in bigger cities are just nicer...like they may not be true friends, but at least I have people to do stuff with...you know?? I think I’m on the ways to true friends which is really nice!!

Today we went to the Naturkunde museum for a class trip...I really felt like people like me...like people were ooh I want a picture with jess I want a picture with the Americaner and so forth it was really cool! Then after Uscha, Marve, Esra, and I went out to eat and we had falafel it was sooooo good! Then I went and met up with Darcy and Timea in Alexanderplatz and we saw Alice in wonderland in 3D...it was good but there are DEFFINATLY better movies. Yesterday, I went to Bundestag, Where the parliament works. I introduced flat Stanley to the parliament house and the tour guide...it was pretty cool! Flat Stanley was sent to me from my aunt’s pre-K class. I really like their parliament it’s really really pretty...there is also a guy who works there who was with AFS in Jamaica for a yr a long time ago...Then on Wednesday. We went to the aquarium of the zoo and that was really fun! I have some pretty cool pictures from there. Then Tuesday a group of us went to the east side gallery…which is a really long piece of the Berlin wall that is still up, then the Thursday last week we went to the Judische museum which was cool but kind of boring...and then the wed. before that we went to a cafe and that was fun too...so far I have not met any kids from my area team...BSO (Berlin Sudd ost...[south east]):D (I did all these activities with the Midstay kids who were in Berlin only for 2 weeks. March 4^th-march 14^th)

So…umm yea that’s what has been going on... Just really busy….and having an AMAZING TIME!!!

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing stuff with Darcy and Uscha. Darcy was a midstay kid but her family said she had to stay in Berlin and couldn’t come back because there was a problem in the family. She is from Oregon, but we speak German together. We’ve found a ton of parks in Berlin that are great to just go and listen to music and chill. The weather is getting better and better. I’m now on spring break. I’ve been going out with friends everyday and chilling.

Things in school are going pretty good. I’ve found that science (chemistry and biology) is just impossible to understand here. Physics I can sometimes understand. All the experiments I understand because they are all the same as the experiments I did last year in Physics. English is really easy. I usually have fun in that class because my teachers ask me how I would say things, and I can really participate in the class. In Geography I understand pretty much what is going on. In Math I’m helping others. I’m basically taking Algebra 2 all over again. Art is really cool. We are doing perspective drawings, and learning about architecture. Sometimes school gets really frustrating, but for the most part it’s pretty good.

So yea that’s a quick sum up of what is going on with me. I leave for Spain in 2 weeks for a field trip with my class, and then I am going on my midstay to Luebeck for 2.5 weeks.

weekend of 22. January

So….It’s been a really long time since I have written. I’m sorry about that. What is new….hmmm. Well now I am living in Berlin. I’m actually on a train right now for 6 hours from Muenchen to Berlin. I just spent a wonderful weekend in Muenchen. I stayed with Traudl a member of the TOE project that I met when they had their meeting in Chicago. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my WHOLE life. Her husband is also very awesome! Friday was my last day of school in Ilmenau. At 16:11 I got on a train and headed to Muenchen. I had all my stuff packed up; three suitcases, a computer bag, a duffel bag, and a bag of stuff to give to Moria. It was all very heavy. I had to change trains two times. I changed trains in Arnstadt and Saalfeld. In Arnstadt I was able to get off the train and from platform 2 to 1 with ease. I was thankful for the elevator. While waiting for my next train a man who had his skiing gear asked me if I needed help on to the train. I told him that I would like htat very much! WE then started to talk, and he was like o well I’m also getting off as Saalfeld, so I can help you off the train too. We made it on the train very easily. In Saalfeld I only had 6 minutes to change trains and get from platform 1 to 4. I knew this beforehand so I had called Moira and asked her to meet me there, so I could give her the bag of stuff, and have her help me get form on platform to the other. When I got off the train the nice man helped me off the train. Moria came running up with her host mom and sister. We grabbed my stuff and started running for the next platform. We were able to make it there in one minute. I was very thankful! When I arrived at the platform I saw that the nice skiing man had carried my heaviest suitcaseto the next platform, and Moria’s host mom had carried his Skiing poles. I thanked him again. I had also called Moira and asked her to get me something to eat since I knew I would not be getting to Munchen until almost 9 pm, and I had no time to get anything. She got me a döner. It was my first actual döner. It was delicious! J (DANKE MOIRA!) I gave Moira the bag of stuff, and gave her a really big hug; WE had just enough time to cry say our see you laters, and then my train came. Moria and her host family helped me onto the train really fast, and then got off the train so they would not be take to Muenchen with me. I could not have made that change of trains without them! Once on the train I called Traudl to let her know I made my train, and that I would be arriving in Muenchen right before 9. One I got to Muenchen I washelped off the train by all the nice German people. I then began to head toward to the front of the platform. My train actually came in 10 minutes early. Traudl and I then went to the ticket counter and bought my ticket from Muenchen to Berlin. It was a very good thing my train got in 10 mintues early because I was the last person the counter had taken before they closed. After buying my ticket Traudl and I had shared a soda to kill some time before the next S-bahn train came. We took some pictures and I had a traditional Muenchen pretzel. It was a nice beginning to my weekend in Munchen. We then headed to Traudl’s house. WE took the S-bahn to her house in graeffenfella (perhaps misspelled). At thet rain station we were greeted by her husband, Walther. He is just as nice and sweet as Traudl. Upon arriving at the house they gave me a key to their guest house. It is connected to the house but the entrance is on the side of the house and has plenty of space for all my stuff without having to take them up stairs. Traudl then took me on a tour around the house. It was soo pretty. Walther is an artist, so the house was very well decorated! I marveled at the beauty of their house. (The house was built on land that Traudl’s grandfather had owned. She used to go there on weekends and play. The 20 years ago they received the land, and built a house on it.) After the tour, we sat at the table had a little bit to eat and I had my first Bavarian beer. We talked for a very long time. Traudl and Walther have the best stories to tell about their life! It is so interesting. I then called my mom to let her know I was safely in the hands of Traudl. The next day we had breakfast around 10. Then Traudl and I made a plan of what we were going to do for the day. WE decided to go swimming in a swimming pool that was outside with snow around. I had been to München before, so I wanted to do something that I wouldn’t be able to do if I came back at another time other than winter. It was soo relaxing and the water was very warm. After swimming we went back and ate lunch. Traudl had then told me that she had called AFS München to see if there were any AFS American students in the area from München. There was not, but there was Turkish student that spoke really good German. Traudl had called her up, and asked her if she would want to meet up with me and do something in the night. The Turkish girl’s name is Müge. She came over for coffee and cake. I found it was really good to meet up with her because she is an AFSer, and I will be staying with a Turkish family in Berlin. (I do not know much about my family besides that they are of Turkish decent, there is a mom, dad, a daughter, and two sons. The kids are all in my age group.) WE then went into the city and had the plan of going to see a movie. When we got to the theater the line was way too long and by the time we would have gotten to the line the movie would have already started. We then left and went to another movie theatre. While walking through the city I recognized lots of things that I had seen 5 year before. It was really cool that I was able to remember them after 5 years. WE then went to another theatre, but by the time the movie would have ended it would have been too late because Trauld was going to pick me up around 11 in the city, so I wouldn’t get lost trying to get back to her house. We then kept walking and saw more of Müchen, and I could remember more and more the closer we went to the Rathaus (Glockenspiel). WE then went to another theatre, and found a movie called Friendship. We didn’t really know what it was about besides from the pictures we had seen that were from the U.S.A., and it looked funny. We went in asked how late the movie went, and the time was perfect. It was planned to let out around 10:30. WE then had an hour and a half to go and do what we wanted. We then walked to Maerienplatz (perhaps misspelled); the place where the Glockenspiel is. We took pictures in front of it, and headed towards the Hofbräuhaus. I had never seen it in the night. We walked in and took some pictures then decided to go across the street to the Hard Rock Café. There were no tables available so we sat at the bar. We order drinks and a little bit to eat. It was cool I wasn’t once asked for my ID. Every time we tried to talk to a waitress or waiter they could tell we were foreigners, and kept asking us if we wanted to speak English. Müge and I both kept talking German anyways. It was cool. I pretended I didn’t know English. It was a little annoying that they would still talk to me in English, but I stood strong and used only German. I automatically talk in German. To talk in English I have to think about it. It’s pretty cool! After we had our drinks and eats we headed over to the theatre. The movie was really good! It was about two teenage boys who lived in the DDR (East Germany), and wanted to go to the U.S.A. because one of the boy’s dad lived there and he had not seen him for a long time. They wanted to go to San Francisco, but they only had enough money to go to New York. During the film they travel across the country with very limited English. It was very funny and mostly in German, but was also a little bit in English. It was a very good movie. After the movie I called Traudl, and she and Walther came to pick me up. IT was a really good night! I was so thankful (Dankbar) that Traudl had made these plans with Müge! She and I will stay in contact for sure. When went back to the house we drove on the autobahn. It was cool! I really like the fast speeds! When we got back to the house we drank some more Bavarian beer, and talked for several hours. WE talked until almost 1 am. We lost track of time, but Traudl and Walther are VERY interesting people and have lived enough that their stories are so fascinating. WE then went to bed, and I wrote them a thank note that I left behind for them. This weekend was really really great! I couldn’t have asked for anything better other than more time! This morning (Sunday, January 24, 2010) I packed everything up again, and loaded it into the car. WE had to be at the translation before 12, so I could make my train. After a nice breakfast at 10 we headed off to the transition. At the train station I bought USA Today (the newspaper) to see what is going on the USA. Traudl and I had been talking about what is going on in the USA and I felt so lost! She suggested that I buy a newspaper, so I can know what is going on with the government (Obama, the health care plan, the new Massachusetts Senator elected being Republican making the difference in the Senate even closer.), and with Haiti (the earthquake). We then bought another pretzel, and they gifted me a book on Berlin. I was sooo thankful! It will help me know what to do, and to ask people to do stuff. I believe I will never be bored living in Berlin. There is just so much stuff to do, and always stuff going on! I am looking forward to living in one of the best cities in Germany! Right before I got on the train I met up with David. (He was also on the German TOE team, and I had met him too when he came to STL to visit before the meeting in Chicago.) He told me his girlfriend lives in Berlin, and he visits often, so once I am settled in that we can meet up. I then said my see you laters to Walther, David, and Traudl. It was hard to leave them after such an AWESOME weekend! München is a very amazing city! I will deffinatly have to go back especially to visit Traudl and Walther. They are really really some of the most Amazing people I have ever met in my life!

Right now I am sitting in the train a direct train to Berlin from Muenchen. I will be picked up by my host family that I will be staying with for a week before I go into my real family. After that I have no clue what will be happening. I’m just gonna go with the flow. This new chapter in my AFS year is beginning, and I am looking forward to what my second half year has to bring me! :D

last weekend in November

Last weekend I went to the Erfurt Weihnachtsmarkt. It was the first weekend of Advent, so all the Christmas markets began then. Moria and Katie (the new American that is now living in Ilmenau) spent the night Friday and Saturday. Friday we just chilled around the house, and watched some more Glee. On Saturday we left early for the train station to head to Erfurt. The train ride went by really fast because we could not stop talking. When we arrived in Erfurt we met up Bluette (France), Tiziana(Italy), and Johannes(U.S.A.). They are also AFSer’s and we all had our first orientation together. It was nice to meet up and enjoy the Weihnachtsmarkt together! We all had some Glühwein (hot wein..better than Hot Chocolate!), and a bratwurst (typical food at such events). We also went on the really big Ferriswheel! It was soo cool! Because not only did it go in the circle that a normal Ferris wheel does, you could also spin the car in a circle as fast or slow as you wanted! We had a lot of fun, and laughs! Moria and Katie also rode the little kid train. It was funny because they had tried to talk to the little kids in German and they either didn’t understand, or they were too scared to talk back. Later we met up with Estaban Raffel (Columbia). WE spent the whole day wandering in and out of the stands set up selling stuff. At about 5 pm we had seen most of the Weihnachtsmarkt. When I was in Erfurt, before, I had gone to San Marino (the really good ice cream place). I had suggested to the group that we should go there. Some people didn’t really want to go because it was so cold outside, and ice cream didn’t exactly sound like the best idea when it was really cold, but we went any way! Everyone ended up getting ice cream and it was awesome! After ice cream Johannes, Bluette, and Tiziana had gone home. Moria, Katie, and I wanted to go shopping, so Raffel Estaban also said Tschuss because he wasn’t exactly up for shopping with three girls. WE shopped for a while, and then headed home. The day was really nice, and fun filled, but I think anytime you spend with other AFSers are always awesome!