The Day Before Mother's Day

Today is the 9th of May. Time has passed quite quickly the last couple months. I don't know where it went. I supposed it's normal for exchange students, so I have been told. :) I have been undergoing a lot of traveling within the past month and have been realizing the end of my exchange is drawing near...very near. It's just about 8 and a half months since I have arrived in Germany. Here are some things that I have learned this year:

- German
- Confidence to meet and talk to new people...in a different language
- Time passes quickly
- Beware of European horse radish
- Importance and impact of friendship
- Languages take time
- Observing how another culter worships God
- Clinging to those who love me
- Standing up for myself
- Remembering that I can always come home
- Not everyone are like Canadians
- Thrills of going 180 down the autobahn
- Perfecting seeing things from retrospect
- I really miss skiing
- Relying on God
- It's not a good idea to leave your H & M shopping bag on the bus
- What to do better next time
- and among many other million things: realizing the person that I want to become.

On the 21st, I went to my first (and most likely last, as I will be gone before the next one) Abschlussball for my dance course. It was a lot of fun. It is this ball at the end of a season of a dance course. There are three every year.

From the 9th of April, we had spring holidays for ten days. During that time, I went to church and hung out with the family for easter. Then easter monday, I went by train to visit Eva and Elisabeth, the neice and great neice of Uncle Otto. It was reallying interesting to live with them for a couple of days. The welcomly with open arms, took me in, showed me all around Austria and fed me way too much! :) It was interesting getting out of the country to go and see how Austrians live, see some of my distant relatives and also just get away from home for a while. :) It was a nice short holiday. After coming back, on the friday, the next day, my host family and I went to a communion up north for the twin cousins. It was interesting, having never beein in a catholic church before. But...it was a little boring. Next thing I know, its monday, the 20th, and Spencer is coming to Stuttgart airport and I have to come and pick him up!!

I was so excited to go! It was a little weird to have Spencer here, only because I have not seen him or any one from home in so long. Also, just that I have changed and grown so much and here I am showing him in real life, my life now. We took off the next day to Switzerland and stayed with one of his host families while he was there on exchange. We toured around Switzerland for 8 days on little day trips, and it was great! Then we headed off to Venice and then Rome, by train! It was great! Everything turned out really well, and went fairly smooth. We got back on Tuesday evening and spent this last week hanging around Germany. I showed Spencer where I am living and what I do and just the round abouts of my daily life. We also did a trip to Dachau concentration camp on thursday. Today, I took him to the airport really early in the morning. It was sad. I got so used to him being here and not having to be alone anymore.

I guess it's only two months until I am home. It wont take long, I am sure. I have two weeks of school, and then there is the Europe tour for three weeks. Then once I get back from that, its only another 5 weeks until I am home. I have mixed feelings about going home. It would be nice to stay here to learn more German of course, because I have TONNES still to learn, and it would be nice to stay longer to develope more stronger friendships, etc. I have also grown to like the idea of being out by myself, without anyone. Mind you, I am glad to go home because then I will be starting school in the fall, I will be off of Rotary eyes, and I can see my friends and family again. It's all so catch 22. :) But, I am looking foward to it, none-the-less....as it is the third part of this exchange adventure. (the preparing, the experiencing, and the readjusting)

Well... I believe that's all for now. I believe that I can say that I am more confindent in my German, and am taking proactive steps (finally!!) to better it by not speaking English, and that I am sure that my bags will definately be over weight when I come back, dispite the load Spence took with him! :P But in the mean, I want to thank everyone, once again for helping me out with this year. I am so utterly greatful! I wish you a most wonderful month and Mom, Happy Mother's Day!! :)

K

Raining into Spring

Hello all, once again!! It seems the last month has been full of overdue replies to everyone! I am sorry I haven't been a more faithful blog writer!

So for the last two weeks I have been trotting the country of Germany. I was in Hamburg for two weeks visiting some friends of my mother's. We went to Berlin, Lübeck, Timmendorferstrand, and some other places!! It was so great to see the northern part of the country and talk REAL HIGH German with people! So refreshing for my brain and my sanity!! :P

The last week I was in Munich with Edi, a friend of mine, visiting the city. Although it was so rainy!! I think I am coming up with a cold!! Highly contageous, I can tell!! Then we were in Belefeld, which is up in the north again, for this youth conference on Saturday! It was so great! There was a guy from Texas there who did two messages! So nice to hear English sermons!!! :) I definately miss them from home!! Also today, we went to a church service with an American Choir from Liberty University. So great!

I am home now, and so very thankful to be sleeping in my own bed again! I am glad to get back into a bit of routine and rest a little. However, not so thrilled to go back to school tomorrow. Ugh! My German seems to have taken the characteristic of a stalemate and I seem to have gotten in a one step forward, two steps back habit. Not to my liking of course, but just seems to happen that way. Perhaps I am not taking enough effort??? I have my rotary presentation on thursday and I have to say everything in German...that should be interesting!

Anyhow, this is just a short update, and hopefully once I have more time (HAhHAAHAHH!) I will write more next time! I wish you all a very warm thank you and liebe Grüße aus Deutschland! Vielen herzlichen dank für alles!!! Bis bald!

k

Finally!!

Wow. Just realized that I skipped a whole month!! I have been just too busy. I figure that I am not really going to recall details. But I will just try to keep you up to date. Okay. so!!

Had the best new years ever! went to turn gala with the messners, was this gymnastics show, which was cool! Went to Their house in Müllheim. Took a trip to Freiburg for the day and walked a little in Rotweil, and Basel, Switzerland, but it was Sunday that day. (everything was closed) Also had some nice days without school! yay!!

Things at the Messners were getting a little tensionous. But on the 23rd I switched!!! Yay!! Things are going 100% better now and I am loving my new family! They are so great! I have been talking more English, but its necessary to form the connection of friendship. That is what was lacking at the Messners. The Kienzles have no prejudices against me, and therefore things are going much better! I am able to do more things and I am feeling like part of the family!! I am so very greatful! We went on a skiing weekend just this past weekend. It was nice. We got back yesterday evening. My muscles ache so bad. But thats okay. I have started up dance again, and Daniel is my partner. Oh, yeah and the Weissball is this dance that the Messners invited me to and I invited Daniel to be my partner. It was lots of fun because it was ballroom dancing and even though there were a bunch of old people, it was always fun to dance. :) I borrowed Bärbels dress. It was so nice of her to let me borrow one!! :)

I really missed going skiing! It was so great to get up on the mountain and go skiiing! I was nicknamed 'woody kay' because I kept going on the peanut trails in the trees. It was a lot of fun. I think that perhaps my good side might have finally surfaced to this rock hard Rotary Club. We shall see. Last week I also went to a relaxation Thermal. It was so great! I wish we had more of these in Canada. I wish I could take it back home with me. There were saunas and realxing pools, it was just really nice. So tiring though! I have been eating well these last couple weeks. Bärbel is a Thai cooker! So I have been getting asian food! Therefore, my belly, I believe has been the fullest this whole year this last week! It is somewhat terrifying!!

I have really gotten into the youth group here and have been talking to more people! I went to this girls sleepover last weekend and I really enjoyed that. Although, I am sure it would have been much much better, had I understood more. But it was nice to get to know the girls a little bit more! It was great!

School is same as it always it. Langweilig. Aber es geht. Wish I didnt have to go, but ahh..its only a couple more months! haha!

I am going to Hambourg in a couple of weeks to visit one of my moms friends. I am so very excited! It will be fantastic, I know it! I am really looking forward to going. I will be gone for two and a half weeks. So it will be nice!

Time is passing so quickly now. And now that I am starting to enjoy my time here (finally!! cant believe that it took so long!!) I am sure that I will be home before I know it. :( I am sometimes thinking that I dont want to go home. That I would rather just stay here. Although I know that with Rotary, I CANT. But perhaps afterwards, I will come back. I will miss the Church and youth group and the friends from there, and the Kienzles. I know it. I am so glad that things have finally turned around!

I am so very thankful for everyone that has helped make this exchange possible for me! I have not forgotten your graciousness! I remember it always! I am so very thankful and I just wanted to tell you that things are finally turning around!! Thank yo so much! Until next time...this time I am hoping to reply sooner! Thanks again and bis bald!

k