God has been teaching me so much these last couple months!! It's amazing! On the 18th, I realized that I need to forgive, forget, and move on. Yes, sure, it wasn't going so great with the first host family, but I need to work on having the right attitude to handle things! And it was so great, once I realized this - it made things SOO much easier! (I understand now, the importance of not fussing over the little things and the crucial positive attitude you need as an exchange student! ....once again, Rotary is right!)
On Wednesday the 19th, all of the grades (I think of all Baden Württemberg) 12 and 13 got to go to a University, or further schooling of their choice to check out what they want to do. So I went with Josie and Selin (and this dude named Philip, who was a friend of Josie and was from grade 13...I think.), from my class to Stuttgart. We walked around mostly, and didn't really pay attention to the information being offered, then before we headed home we did some shopping in Stuttgart. It was so nice to hang out with Selin and Josie outside of school. We could talk and not have to worry about being quiet because the teacher said so! :P It was really great!
On the 20th, a Thursday, Alex, Bärbel's daughter had phoned me to invite me for hot chocolate after school and talk a bit. It was really great, because Alex told me that Bebe wanted to talk to me that night, and Alex was going to mediate between us two (which I thought was perfect, because then it would be kept rather rational) and I told her my side of the story about living in the Sporys family and Alex could then get boths sides. And it was really nice to have an ex-excahnge student understand, having been through some similar situations herself. And the talk was alright. I was really glad to have Alex there. I mostly listened to Bebe talk, and afterwards Alex (and her mother) had offered me to come to their house for the week until I went to the Messners, but I decided against it, just to get some closure from this first family, and try to make things smooth before I left. So as much as I wanted to leave, I stayed. I believe it worked out for the best, because by the time that I left, a week later, things were much better between us all and even though I didn't spend a lot of time with the family, I didn't have such bitter feelings towards them anymore (which is a good thing, and something I knew I needed to work on and now things are great).
On Friday the 21st, I went to Youth Group and then went to a Iris's house (a girl from youth group) with some other people and hung out there for a while. It was nice to get out of the house and to spend some time with other people!
On Saturday, I went to dance, and then when I came back, I was supposed to go with Julika to a choir concert that her cousin was in, but it was snowing and the trains didn't go anymore. So I stayed home. Which was probably the best anyways. I watched Indiana Jones (most of it, anyways) with Ralf and Nils...there's just something about watching English films in a foreign language, with the voice overs that really get to me...But it was okay.
Then on Sunday the 23rd, I went to church and dance, and then Edi had invited me for cake and coffee at his house in the evening. Toli and his girlfriend were supposed to come too, but they ended up not showing up, but I had a great time with Edi anyways. I brought my picutres along with me from home and we talked and ate cake, and it was really great! It was so very nice to find someone that I can really talk to. (Edi understands English because he went to Canada a couple years ago...I can't remember if I already said that....)
Anyhow, then Monday I went to visit the Messners! It was so great! I was really looking forward to coming then! Bärbel drove me and we had tea with Ursel and it was so great! :P
Tuesday the 25th, Bärbel and Alex came over for a visit (and brought me some winter boots! yay!) and I went to Enchiladas with Edi for dinner - we discussed different places to go and things to see (I brought like a thousand pamphlets of stuff that I wanted to do!) :P
Wednesday, I went to German school, then afterwards, Daniel from dance asked me if I wanted to go to his choir with him. It was so great! Here is the website: liederkranz-unterkochen.de . It was really great. It was funny too, because I was trying to sing 'Winter Wonderland' but the German version, and I found that 'erschroken' is such a hard word to pronounce!! It was great though! The ladies were funny. Hehe!
I was supposed to go to this Monestary (spelling??) on Thursday with the Rotary club, but that was cancelled because the lady doing the tour had an acciedent.
Friday, I went to Small Groups (every second week they do small groups and every other week they do youth group) at Iris's house and then hung out with Edi afterwards and just talked. It was so great! (even though I didn't understand a lot of what they were saying, but it was nice, once again, to hang out with friends!)
Saturday was the big SWITCH!! It was the 29th of November! Finally! After a month of waiting! It was so great! I basically packed the whole day, then went to dance, and right after I got back, Willy picked me up! Things are going SOOO much better now! I am really feeling comfortable being in Germany, and I am really starting to like it here now. The Messners have two sons, but they are grown and are out of the house. I will meet them when they come for Christmas though. And they are completely different people, and are very patient and trusting. I lied...Ursel is actually retired. But she was a teacher. And it's so great! We barely speak English (although I don't say a lot in German, just because I don't know what to say yet, but it's only been a week and a bit...) and I understand almost EVERYTHING that they say. They speak nice and slow and high German, so it's really great!
Sunday I went to church with the Messners to see where they go to church (also because Edi, who is my ride to church now, because he lives closer to me than Kristina, sings in the church choir and they went to another church that day). It was funny. :P I thought it was great though. Hehe. It's a bit more old fashioned, but it was great to see where they go to church. Then I went to dance, and it was the last day of dance until January. It was nice!
On the 1st of December, Monday, I recieved my advent calender!! It's this box with a tree on top that has the windows on the side. (and it's GOOD German chocolate too!!) It's great! I also went with Ursel and Willy to this Advents party for the Hospiz organization that they volunteer for. It was nice. :P Really nice people.
On the 2nd, a Tuesday, I took the wrong bus home from school, but I thought it was utterly hilarious! I laughed. It was great too, just because normally I might get mad at wasting time, but it was just funny to me. And I ended up talking to Lena (from the 11th class) and she walked around Gmünd with me for a bit while I waited for my bus from Schwäbisch Gmünd to Bargau came. It was nice, actually, because I walked around a little to the Weihnachts Markt (Christmas market) and that was nice. I love them. But I just walked through and didn't really look so much. It was nice, though!
On Wednesday, I went again to German school and then to the choir with Daniel. They are such nice people in the choir. It was great. We sang more Christmas songs and 'Fame.' It was funny. When they sing, you wouldn't think they were German at all... but then they say a word and it gives it away. Hahaha.
Thursday the 4th was my birthday!! YAY! but it didnt feel like my birthday at all!! It was so weird. But anyhow, I got gifts from the Messners - an angel and a book about Ostalbkreis, which is the area that we are living in and chocolate and a poinsettia! And also a sweater from Bärbel, an angel from Eugenio, two books with photos from my stay at the Sporys house from their family, and cards and more chocolate from other people. My favourite was the PJ's and the Socks mom and grama made for me! Thanks!! :P I ate dinner with the Messners and Edi, and then Edi and I went to Schwäbisch Gmünd and walked around. It was a nice small birthday... but was okay.
I really appreciated all the cards too! Thanks so much to everyone!
Friday the 5th, I went with Edi to this 'Feuerzungenbowlen' night. It's this drink and you make it in a pot over the stove (they had hot plates there) and it's wine with fruit tea, and you have this peice of metal over the pot with holes in the bottom. Then you have this clump of sugar you put on the metal and then you pour rum over the sugar and light the rum on fire. Then the sugar drops into the wine - tea - rum mixture. It was really interesting. It tasted okay...if you like wine. :P Also, they showed a Charlie Chaplin black and white film, and we had to dress up. This was at Edi's University in Gmünd. It was nice. :)
Saturday I went to Ulm with the other exchange students. We went skating and visited the church (highest church in the world) and went to the Christmas market and drank Glühwein and Fruchteepunsch. It was nice. Then I went out with Julika, Nadine, Selin, Josie, Alex, and Lisa to Sancho Panchos for my birthday! It was nice of them to take me out. My gift from them was a Schwäbisch Dictionary. It was kind of funny...of course to them. Haha. But its great. It was nice to hang out with the girls! (they are all from my classes) There was this crazy dude that was singing and playing the guitar at the restaurant too. It was fun.
Then on Sunday, went to church and made straw stars with Willy, then went to Gmünd with Ursel to this Choir concert and the Weihnachtsmarkt there too. It was a nice evening and it was a nice day too. Although I am lacking in sleep!!! I need to catch up tonight!!
Anyhow, today was an okay day. I have German school in a couple of hours and have to get ready for that. Man! I am not saying things in detail, because I just realized that I have had to catch up on pretty much two weeks! But things are going much better, and I am making friends, and things are going good and I am having more fun! It seems like I wish I had more days to do things, especially on the weekends! But I am starting to get the feeling that I don't want to come home (sorry, mom.. :D)
Thank you to everyone for the Birthday wishes! I feel only as old as I was last week, but I know that I am changing faster in the last three and a half months than I have in six! So it's so awsome to be here and to grow and change and figure out who I am and the person that I want to be! It's so great to say that I finally feel like this is what my year should be like! I am so very blessed and thank everyone for making this possible!! Thank you thank you thank you!! VIELEN DANK!!
I can't post pics now, but in the future sometime, I will!! Okay, so that's all for now, but until next time!
Gruß
K
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