I’m SEVENTEEN, how old.

Well hello there! I hope all is well on your end of the world. Today I figured, hey, why not write about things that happened weeks ago but are blog worthy. As you may have noticed, I know my parents have, I’ve become horrible at this blogging thing, and just never update. But, as I may have said in a previous blog, my life is just so normal, that I forget there are other people on the other side of the world wanting to read about what I am doing as a year as an exchange student. Well world, I am living life as a German teenager.

I will begin with Spring Break. I went to ENGLAND! It was really great. My host sister and I tagged along with the school trip made up mostly of sixth graders and their parents. My school has a few teachers that do this trip every spring and fall. Franzi and I were parentless, since my host mother had done it three times already in her lifetime. We were old enough, and didn’t get into toooo much trouble.

We drove, YES AMERICA, DROVE, on Saturday March 31 to England. It took 12 hours, and we drove through Holland, Belgium, and France, then took a ship over the channel and hello English speaking world! We stayed in a little seaside town, Hastings. Sunday morning it was rise and shine and time to drive to London! It was about a two hour drive, and as soon as we got there we met up with my older host sister Thesi. She is currently living and working in Windsor or somewhere near there. She, Franzi and I spent a little time with the group and saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, along with a few little things in between. We split up from the group at lunch time and went our own way. We had lunch at  market then jumped on the Underground to go to Camden. Camden was just a huge secondhand market mixed with food from all over the world and the craziest little shops you can think of. We spent a few hours just wandering around and looking at all the neat things. It was a great afternoon. Franzi and I then went home to Windsor with Thesi for the night. We were lucky that we were allowed to split from the group for the night, so that were could spend time with Thesi and see her new life. The next day we just wandered around Windsor. I got to see where… the Queen or someone lives, and also Eton, the fancy schmancy boarding school. Thesi says its really funny to go by there on a normal day because all the boys are all dressed up. Sadly, it was Easter break. Franzi and I caught a train back to London and got there with an hour to spare. We met up with a really good exchange student friend of mine, Meredith. She was in London for the week with her American mom. Even though it was only about a half hour, it was great to see her. We met back with our group and drove back to Hastings for the night. The next day was spent in Canterbury. We saw the big cathedral and then the afternoon was just Franzi and I wandering around. It was lovely. The last day we spend in the seaside town of Hastings, where we were staying  for the week. Franzi and I found one of those arcade places, or more gambling than playing. We decided to use all of our leftover money to play, it was a great afternoon. We won all sorts of dumb prizes.

England week was over! And on to EASTER! I love Easter, and lunch at my grandmothers house is always the best thing in the world. Sadly, here really didn’t live up to it. We had lamb, which was interesting, but I missed the normal buffet of the Blackleys. During the afternoon we just hung out around the house. And at night, there was Osterfeuer, Easter fire. It was a village event, and just a HUGE, I mean huge, bonfire and beer, the typical German way to celebrate something, drink beer. I went with the girls from the village, and all the others from the village were there as well. It was just a fun night with friends.

The second week of break was dance course week. I don’t know, it’s not something that happens in America, and from what I have heard from friends, it doesn’t happen here either, but its normal for my host family and their friends, so I was included. Franzi and I went to someones house to live for the week with 20 other kids, I was the oldest, most were around the age of 14 or 15, 8th and 9th year in school. They were all really nice kids and I had a great week. We learned classical dancing in the morning, and friesenrock in the afternoons or evenings. We were there from Monday until Saturday, but I unfortunately got sick. I was sick the whole time with a sore throat, but on Thursday night it got pretty bad, I had a fever and just was so cold the whole time. My host mother picked me up Friday morning. I was hoping to be able to go back Saturday night for the party, but was feeling still pretty crappy. Luckily I felt better on Sunday and was allowed out of the house to take the dog on a walk. It was wonderful, freedom. I still had a cough the rest of the week, but a week and a half later, I think I am pretty much back to normal.

I had my birthday! The weekend basically was just eating cake and being with friends. I had a kind of party in the village, but really it was just the normal meeting and hangout, but with the added bonus of cake and everyone telling me happy birthday.

 

I would like to apologize for lack of writing, but as I have said, my life has just turned into life. It’s not longer the exciting new life, its my normal. And I really don’t have much to write about. I just go to school, don’t do anything, but go nevertheless, during the week. And weekends I am usually in the village with friends or on the rare occasion, at a party. It’s nothing special to y’all in America, but it’s so special to me. I don’t know how I will leave this life.

 A birthday cake made for me by two of the boys from my village. They were very proud of this cake.

Franzi and me in London

Thesi and me in front of the castle in Windsor

yes, I know, it’s been too long

I am lazy, I will not deny that. But life here, has just turned into nothing more but life, and I forget that people back home are wanting to read about my adventures here in Germany. Honestly, I have just adapted so far into my life here, that adventures with friends or my host family seem nothing more than normalness, just as it would back home. But I will do my best to entertain you readers out there.

A few weekends ago Charlotte, my older sister, came to visit. She came on a Wednesday night by train. It was quite the happy reunion. She cried. I didn’t, but was nevertheless so excited to see her. My host mother made a fantastic German dinner, and Charlotte and I just spent the night catching up and whatnot. Thursday I went to school like normal, and Charlotte slept the morning away. When I got home my host mother said “She came down for breakfast at ELEVEN!” She was shocked. We would NEVER be allowed to do that, but Charlotte got lucky because she was a guest. I came home from school, and Charlotte and I walked around Bonenburg and visited the horses. She just got to see the basics of life during the day in Bonenburg. The next day I skipped school and we went and walked around Warburg with my host mother. It was a lovely morning. We met Franzi for lunch when she got out of school, then Charlotte and I caught a train to Hamburg to spend the weekend with Ette. We had dinner at Ette’s apartment, then just walked along the harbor at night. Saturday we went out to breakfast and spent the day shopping and walking around Hamburg. Charlotte was very excited to see a real German city, but I think more excited to go into an Urban Outfitters in Europe. At night we went to a birthday party of a friend of Ette’s.

We put Charlotte on the S-bahn to the airport, and I caught a train back to Warburg on Sunday. I have to say, it was a great weekend. But the whole switching to English from German and then back was really confusing.

Life goes on in Bonenburg. I have become good friends with some of the boys in the village, and usually hangout with them on weekends and sometimes on random days during the week. They like to grill bratwurst randomly after school, and I am always a fan of food. I also have taken a liking to this bench on a hill, where the sun just hits perfectly so it is always warm there. I go there just about every single day. To read, listen to music, or just sit and enjoy being outside. Very few people go by, sometimes walkers or bikers, occasionally a tractor , and then the boys from my village on their mopeds. Well they are more like dirt bikes, not the annoying slow little things that people drive when they get their license taken. You can hear those boys from the main road waaaay down the hill and across a field. So I know when they are coming. I sometimes like to sleep on the bench, it’s just so warm. My host mother told me not to do that because I might get stolen. I laughed, and figured it was just one of those random things she says. But then a friend from the village told me the same thing. He tells me that every time he comes by and sees me when I am there. So not just a one thing thing. Stolen? Yeah, okay. I mean, I cannot imagine getting stolen in Bonenburg. So I will continue to nap there, I think.

I went on a school trip! I have basically just joined in the class ten. That’s where most of my friends in school are. So when my friend, Regina, asked if I would be allowed to go on the trip with them, I figured it would be fun. I was right, I had a great time. The grade was split into two, and my group went to an Abby, or Kloster, I guess that’s an Abby in English, there were nuns. Anyways we stayed in like a guest house by were the nuns were, so we were allowed to be loud teenagers. It was a great four days, and I think I have made quite a few new friends. The amount of times that I heard about how my accent was cute and funny…. Yes, I am American, and yes, when you speak English it is just as funny.

But after the trip to Bestwig, Germany, I was home for a night. I went with the boys from the village and my friend Regina, who also lives in Bonenburg, to a big party at the closest thing to a club or disko. It was called “Schools Out,” and they have these every time school lets out for break. It was a funny night. Sadly, the next day I had to wake up super early to get on a bus to drive, yes drive, to England.
I will post something next week about England. Or maybe tonight. Depending on if I can sleep or not.