My Host Family...

...is great!

I figured since I've been with them for almost a month now, I should probably tell you about my home life here in Germany.

If there is one word to describe them, it's "relaxed."
The second word would be "funny." They love to poke fun at eachother and have a good laugh, and if you know me, you know that I love that.

I have a host mother, host father, and a 17 year old host sister. My host sister and I get along fine, and we have a few similar interests, which is always good. The really have done an incredible job making me feel welcome and at home since the very first day. 

Last Monday, we went to this big family gathering for a relative's birthday. I didn't feel uncomfortable or out of place at all. I was included in conversations, and everyone was really friendly. I really felt like I was at a family gathering. Then on Thursday and Saturday, we had two other birthday parties of family friends. I met so many other people. I'm basically a professional at introducing myself and answering the standard questions everyone asks (where I'm from, how long have I been here/will be here for, do I like Germany, do I speak German, etc.). Of course, each person has something specific they want to know, and I have to say my favorite question was "So what do the Americans say about the Germans?" I wasn't expecting that, but I answered. Then I threw the question back at him and wanted to know what Germans say about Americans. I'm pretty sure the answers won't surprise anyone, but they said that we're fat and have no general knowledge... 

These were also great opportunities to speak German, and I've been noticing lately that I've been speaking a lot more. 

My host family has been great with helping me learn as well. They speak slowly when they're talking directly to me, but I'm usually able to follow their conversations with each other. My host sister speaks English, so she is also really helpful when I don't know a word that I want to say or I don't understand something. If I'm being honest, we probably speak too much English when it's just us two, but I'm working on that. 

On Fridays and Saturdays, I either do something with my family or hang out with friends. Sundays are interesting though because it's part of German culture to not be so active on Sundays. It's actually really great because I never have to worry about when I'm going to have time to study German and do schoolwork because that is what Sunday is for. I sleep in, relax, have a big meal (lunch), do homework (or anything else I must do), paint my nails (it has become a weekly ritual), have "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake) at about 4 or 5 with my grandparents, get ready for the week, have a small dinner, hang out with the host family, then go to bed. As mellow as Sundays sound, I would say it's the most productive day of the week for me. 

On Saturday I went to Berlin with my host sister and a couple of her friends to go winter clothes shopping. It's 55 degrees here and only September; needless to say I needed to buy a winter coat and winter boots. 

Next Friday is a national holiday, so we have a three day weekend. We're hosting a barbecue for our friends, family, and neighbors; it should be a lot of fun. On Saturday, we're going to Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, the state I live in. It's supposed to be really beautiful, and it has tons of things to do. 

Two pieces of unrelated, yet very exciting, news. First, I made it into the newspaper! I went to this cultural event for small children about Asia and Austrailia with a few other kids from school, and we learned some Chinese calligraphy. We ended up in the newspaper! Second, in two weeks I leave to go on a school trip to Brussels, Belgium!!! Then two days later, I have two weeks of fall break! The first week my host family and I are going to the Baltic Sea for vacation! Then about a month or so after that, I'm going to Izmir, Turkey also with my school. This trip, unlike the Brussels trip that is "touristy", is apparently a research trip. I honestly have no clue what I am doing there, I'm just going for the experience *said literally every exchange student ever* In all seriousness though, we have a sister school there, so we're staying with host families for the week. Could this be considered a meta-exchange? An exchange student on exchange in Germany going on a short exchange to Turkey...?

Anyways, I've heard Izmir is beautiful and the trip is a lot of fun! 

Just a bear casually wearing Lederhosen...

Middle of the night in Sacramento when I walked past the World Time Clock. 

Anything blue and white means it has to do with Bavaria (southern Germany), which equals Okterbfest.

We walked past this spot at around 11:15 am from the metro station and there was a man simply writing words on the sidewalk with chalk. When we were walking back to the metro station at around 5, this is what it looked like. The best part is, he was still going at it. I would have loved to know what more he was adding to the picture. 

Hey look, it's me!