Laughing for the First Time in Two Months

Things have just been so busy and yet not so busy. I guess it's just been taking me some training to get over procrastination! Okay, so for the last months update for the two weeks!

On the 4th of November: I had a talk with my host parents. Together. I expressed my feelings about how I felt about my exchange so far and that it wasn't going so great. I expressed willingness to try to fix this. I was caught off guard by my host families replies and reactions and just their thoughts on how to fix the problem. I realized after the talk that I needed to change host families. I could not just skim the surface of an exchange, I don't want to; I want to dive deep and really taste the real meat from which I have only smelt the wafting aroma from afar. It was a difficult decision for me because I am always hopeful that things will get better. However, being almost three months into my exchange now, I don't see things with my current host family getting any better anytime soon. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they HAD to take an exchange student, but they didn't necessarily WANT one.

So I emailed my counsellor to tell him what was up (after receiving my request for him to search a new host family for me, he passed on that responsibility to my scheduled second host mom...they have really odd ways of doing Rotary in Germany...not that they are wrong, but I don't particularly agree with everything. I am really glad I am from district 5060!!!!!!!! I love you guys!) . And in the next couple of days, I heard from him and my second host mom, and they said that they have another host family that I could go to in a couple of weeks. I was so overjoyed!!

On the 6th, my current host mom had an art exhibition to set up for for the weekend. So I helped her a little bit with the set up.

On the 7th, I helped her out again, and then afterwards, went to Göppingen for a Rotex weekend! It was the first weekend the exchange students from the district met for the weekend! it was so much fun! I had such a wonderful time with them! It is such a wonderful feeling to know that they are going through some of the same things as you; learning the language, some family problems, club problems, cultural differences, etc. So it is really comforting that you are not alone on this and you have someone that understands you right now! There are about 20 or so inbounds in the area. We are all fairly spread out, so we can not really see each other without spending at least 20€ on a train ticket (which is a real bummer!) and host families aren't too keen on driving us places, I am sure...or at least my family isn't. I have been hearing about places the other exchange students have gone already, and have been really wondering if my family is the one not-so-great family I will get for this year. I have been told that every exchange student has a bad family, and I am comforted by that. I just wish that it would end already...but I have been trying to learn to be patient.

Anyhow, so the Rotex weekend was so great! I have posted pics. It was the first time in two months that I have really laughed. Honestly. I mean, other than maybe some forced laughs and some little ironic chortles, it was the first time that I laughed and really meant it and enjoyed myself! It was a great feeling, and yet a sad one at the same time.

We met on the Friday, and that night we went to a youth hostel on the outskirts of Göppingen and we did some introductions (auf Deutsch of course! But hardly any of us could speak worth anything!) and we did some other stuff, talked and basically just hung out. It was so nice to hang out with people around the same age that spoke ENGLISH and WANTED TO KNOW YOU!!! (that was the biggest thing...just being interested in getting to know you) On Saturday, we woke up fairly early and went for a walk after breakfast to this castle (Hohenstaufen) that was very small. But there was this guy there that gave us a little tour and there were a whole bunch of instruments that were upstairs from the middle ages and he was playing a few. It was really neat. (hence the Fox bagpipe I am holding up in the pic to the right hahah!!!) When we got back from the castle, we took a catapult and a bunk of the Dickemann marshmallow things and were throwing balls at the circle to make them go in the air, then we were supposed to catch them in our mouths! That was fun. Although it was really, kind of hilarious, because no one caught it in their mouths, because the marshmallow things were WAY bigger than any ones mouth! Then we had a lot of free time, which was spent mainly taking funny pictures and waiting and talking, and stuff. Although we were practically dying of starvation (well, maybe just me) the whole weekend because they barely fed us! (Germans eat a lot and far between...I like to eat small yet often..so it doesn't really work for me..but I have been trying..what more can I do??)

Anyhow, then after dinner, we went outside for a walk in the dark with these long candles on a stick. It was nice. I got to know this one guy from Mexico and was talking a lot with him. He is a really nice guy. Then we had a little fire (although it was SOOOO cold outside! My toes were frozen solid!) and after we went inside. We were supposed to have a dance with costumes or a movie night, but the rotex people were not very organized, because they had no CD player or movies! So it was a bust. A lot of people didn't have costumes either, which was disappointing too. I was a Spanish lady and I borrowed the costume from my host mom (she had a whole wack of costumes that she has made for shows for peoples birthdays). It was really nice of her to let me borrow it. Jorge (from mexico) was trying to teach me to Cumbia dance. It was fun. But after playing a game of musical chairs, everyone vacated to different rooms and the party was dead. So yeah. The boys were having a little party in their room and most of the girls were sleeping (we have 6 girls, and so its really nice! We all were in the same room and we have bonded so nicely I think!!)

On Sunday the 9th, we went to the Marklin Museum after clearing out of the hostel and eating breakfast. Marklin is a miniature train company that is famous, apparently, and very very expensive. It took us all of a half an hour to look around the whole place because it was very small. So then we walked to the train station to drop people off, and we went home. I had dance that day too, and it was good, as always. I love dancing!

That next week was pretty boring, and honestly, I can't really remember what I did last week...just normal things, I think. Nothing spectacular. Oh, but I went to Schwäbisch Gmünd to get some information about touristy things to do. I decided that since my family wont take me places, I will find things to do and see if other people want to come with me! So I went and I actually wanted to go to this ballet and asked about 6 people, but no one wanted to come. So I bought a ticket for myself and on Friday the 14th, I went alone. It was okay. I was fine with it. I mean, it would have be so much more fun with someone else or a friend, but I loved the ballet so much! It was so great! It was put on by a Russian Ballet Company...and they played Romeo and Juliet! It was so beautiful! I would go everyday if I could!!! I loved it so very much! The ticket was really cheap too. It was nice. And there weren't a lot of people, so most of the expensive seats (the front rows) were empty. (So I could see!!)

On Saturday, was the Rotex Round Up. I had to email Janis about my submission. I was hard to make it sound really cheery, when things haven't been. But I was honest and tried to be positive and help out the exchange-students-to-be so it was okay, I thought. I just wish that I had more positive things to write about my last two and a half months. Hopefully things will be getting better though!!

Also, I went to Stuttgart with some of the other exchange students. It was so nice to hang out again. We didn't really do much when I was there, just walked around the town and enjoyed each others company. I had to head back early for dance, and dance was really really good. I had fun. (I am going to plan for my classes to be during the week, so that I have time on the weekends to stay longer with the students for example!) Then on Sunday, I went to church, went to dance, and then went out for dinner with my first and second host families and their two couples of friends. It was okay. We ate duck. It tastes like chicken...or turkey...which made me miss home because of thanksgiving dinner!

Today was okay. I almost lost my beloved red mittens, but it was an okay day. I had German lessons, and have really grown to like the teacher. She is such a sweet lady. She offered her help if I need to talk to her or about the host family situation. I am very grateful for her and even though she is not a part of Rotary I think that at some point in the year, I will take her up on her offer. She is such a nice lady!

Anyhow. That's all I have for now. I haven't been doing anything exciting really. I have mostly been staying home and doing nothing. I should be studying German, but I find it very overwhelming especially when no one really wants to speak High German. But I think that in the next host family, it will be 100% better (the mom is an elementary teacher and has lots of patience!!). So. Thank you for your prayers and all your support! Things are starting to look up within the next couple of weeks, but I am fearful about my birthday not going so well...Anyhow! Thank you so very much! I don't know when I will post again, but hopefully before my birthday, or right after. OKay! So until next time!

K

Castles and Familiar Faces

On the 22nd, I didn't do anything except go to German class. It was nothing new.

On the 23rd, I went with the Rotary club to the Fein Factory, where they make power tools. The man that was showing us around said that there is a factory in Canada too! (but I think that it is in Toronto, or somewhere east) It was kind of cool because we saw the workers doing their jobs and these robotic machines that made the different parts of the tools. But it really looked like a boring job to work there, though, because the job you do takes about 1 minute, then after your done that, you start over again, then you do it again, and again, and again, and again, for 8 hours or more a day. Oh, I would not last very long there. It was an okay tour. I also talked to more Rotarians, and asked if I could come over to Alex's and Ulrike's house (They were on the Hiking weekend, and I really warmed to them and they are super nice people!). So then, because we had holidays starting on the 24th, I went to Ulrike's and Alex's house. And I was totally in love with the house at first sight! It is a very old house, built in the 18th century, and the garden is absolutely exquisite! It has been kept in its original state, and is the last old garden in Schwabisch Gmünd (oh, yeah, that's where they live). And the house is so lovely. It has so many rooms and Alex has his Doctor's office on the first floor (he's a medical doctor and Ulrike is a type of therapist where if you get your driver's license taken away because of drinking, she can say whether or not you can get it back after a certain time..she works in Aalen), and it is so beautiful and so old!! After we had lunch, Ulrike showed me family photos and took me walking around Schwabisch Gmünd, where we went to two of the churches there, the library, and a small museum. Ulrike knows a lot about the history of the town, and it was like having my own tour guide! It was such a lovely day! My heart was so full that day, I had realized that that was what I wanted to come to Germany for, the old history and just enjoying the everyday things and the kindness and hospitality of someone that wants to share their culture and life and is willing to hear about mine. It was such a beautiful day!!

That night I had youth group, and it was nice. Then on Saturday, I had a dance class practice, and I had a new partner that was really nice, and a good dancer, so it was a very fun class. On Sunday the 26th I went to church, and later, dance, and my other partner didn't come, so I danced with the teacher (which was okay, because he knows how to dance, but a little awkward). Then on Monday, the 27th, I went to Gülsah! She lives in between Nagold and Fruedenstadt in the Black Forest and I stayed with her and her family for a couple of days until Thursday evening. It was so nice to see a familiar face! And it was nice to get out of the house and hang out with someone my age. We went shopping and went to a little castle ruin in the area, and visited friends, and even though we didn't do a whole lot, it was still a very nice time.

On Wednesday night, the 29th, it snowed a little, but by Thursday morning, it was gone. It was crazy though, because I am not used to snow in Oktober, and didn't really welcome it. But the last week has been really nice, and sunny. So it's very different weather here.

Then I went home on Thursday, and packed and didn't do a whole lot. But on Friday, my host family and I, as well as their two friends and their two sons went to Füssen to visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau! They were so beautiful, but I wished that I could have stayed longer at the castles. We took the tours to go inside and it was so great! There are amazing stories behind the castles, and some crazy facts. Like the kings bed took four years to carve and the floor of the throne room took four years to finish, and the Singers Hall was finished only four days before the king died, so no one ever sang in it when King Ludwig was alive. And the kind only lived in the castle for about 100 and something days!!! It's insane, because it took such a long time and took so much money, then the king died. And the ironic thing is that no one from outside was allowed in the castle, and yet not even two months after King Ludwig's death, the castle was opened as a museum to the public! Also, Hohenschwangau is still inhabited by the family! Only some of it is open for tours, etc. The tours were very short, but the Neuschwanstein was the better one because there was a live guide and he was very good and you could ask him questions. It is so beautiful in that area of Bavaria, I like it very much!!! :) :P I hope one day to go back. I love that era of castles and knights. Oh! and Neuschwanstein has a man made cave in it too!!!! It had, back in the day, a waterfall in there, but not anymore. And there was crazy technology in that day, where there was enough pressure, naturally from the rain water, to provide running water to every room in the castle (even the servants rooms had running water, and they were really beautifully furnished, and looked really comfortable for servants rooms!). OH, the castles were so beautiful. But I loved Neuschwanstein the best! :)

Then we came home on Sunday, after taking a little hike up the mountain for about 20 minutes. It was nothing compared to the hiking weekend, my goodness!! But it was nice to be in the mountains again. It really feels more like 'Germany' in Bavaria! I love it!

So there are some pics as well, with me and the castles. I couldn't stop taking pics. I have tones more. I just love castles and was so glad that I was finally going!!! :)

Things with my host family are up and down. Some days are okay, some days are horrible, and some days are better. But all in all, I have been feeling very homesick the last month. Hopefully, soon I will make one really good friend and that will trigger more happy memories and overlook the bad days. But I am waiting still. Concerning my host family, I don't know what it is, but the month of Oktober was really not so great. I will have to work on it, I guess it's normal though, to have a low month. I pray this month with be better!

It was a little odd without Halloween this year, actually, without a lot of the holidays that I have missed. But it was nice to have a week holiday last week. A nice break from school, since I haven't really been here without being at school. (I started only three days after I got here...) But anyhow. I discovered a new singer that I like. His name is Xavier Naidoo...I will put him on the track list when I have time. He is a great singer, and he sings German and English (but I think he would sing better if it was all in English...German is not such a pretty language sometimes :P ).

Well, thank you to all, and I appreciate your prayers and your wonderful words of encouragement, you don't know how much they mean to me at this time! They are like sweet honey in the desert! Really they are! So thank you so ever much! Until next time,

K