Recap, Reflection and Comparison

I am ashamed.  When was my last post?  Like, a month ago?  Crap.  That was NOT supposed to happen!  I've been busy with, as I like to say in German, "Zeug, Kram und Sachen."  Those are pretty much three different words for "stuff."  I may have also gotten a tad bit lazy.  Just a bit.  It's summer, after all!  And I do have to admit, I was getting a little burned-out from writing almost every day.  But yes, a month is definitely long enough of a break to take!  Since this is my last post probably EVER (gasp!) I know I should have posted sooner and gotten it done with, but instead I've left you hanging for a loooong time.

Let me begin with a recap.  I'll try to sum everything up as best I can, but I'm not promising that I'll remember everything.

Before and After: The Flight Home

I haven't posted in a long time!  Sorry about that!  A lot has happened since I showed you the pictures from our Holland trip, and I'll probably leave some stuff out in this post because I've forgotten already. :)

Holland: A Story in Pictures

Let me just give you a brief summary of yesterday, and then I'll show you all the pictures of the past couple of days!

Yesterday we drove home, making a two-hour trip a four-hour one by stopping to look at castles and things.  We also looked at some castle where Germany's ruler lived in when he was banished from Germany.  There were a lot of bikers out, which makes me just want to tell you something that has applied to our entire stay in Holland: there are bikes here outfitted for whole families!  I've seen bikes with a tiny kid seat screwed to the bike in front of the rider (it's not a tandem), windshields for bikes, tandems with an added kid seat, and special bikes that have a big compartment in front of the wheel where you can store goods or kids. There will be some pictures of just a few varieties in the picture section of my blog. :)

And now...  what you've all been waiting for....  Picture time! :D Warning: there are a LOT of pictures.  As in 55.  They're also, unfortunately, not in order because I downloaded from my mom's camera and mine. :/ Mine are in order, and my mom's are in order (I think), but together it's kind of humble-jumble, so read the descriptions. ;)

Market and Marken

We were all very excited today when the sun showed its face.  Woohoo!  We got to wear capris!  I know, it's sad.  I've probably had a total of a week of summer so far this year because it's been rainy and cold in Germany so often, and apparently it's even colder here!  I'll only have about four or five weeks of summer this year, unfortunately. :( But, as my mom pointed out, that's four more weeks than the people here! :)

Boat Tour, Flowers and Art (Oh My!)

Today was a very long day in Amsterdam.  We left at about 10:30 by car and parked near a train station, then took a train into Amsterdam.  That took about a half hour, and we arrived in Amsterdam shortly after eleven.  We spent about five and a half hours in Amsterdam before taking the train and car back home.  As you can imagine, my feet hurt really badly by the time we made it home.

Say Cheese!

Today was awesome!  I told you yesterday we were going to Amsterdam today, but we're actually going there tomorrow.  Today we went to Gouda, home of the famous cheese market.

We drove about an hour, and then parked near a canal.  That is one thing we haven't seen in a Dutch town so far: Gouda, like Amsterdam, has a lot of canals, which I think is really cool.  A lot of the railings along the canals had flower boxes of red flowers, which really added to the quaint atmosphere created by the old buildings, cobblestone roads, the canals, and the bikes.  Unlike Nijmegen, where we were yesterday, ALL the buildings were old and adorable instead of just some.

The Dutch Adventure Begins

I am currently writing to you from the laptop in our rental in the Netherlands.  The laptop has the same keyboard as in the US, and I am having a little trouble typing. ;)

We left at about 9 this morning to drive to Naarden, the Netherlands.  We made a few stops along the way, the first being a city called Nijmegen.  We walked around and took lots of pictures.  As far as I could see so far, buildings were made up of adorable old buildings, ugly middle-old buildings, and interesting-looking new buildings.  The shopping street, however, still had old buildings and an old church.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Today was the Sportfest!  I believe I have told you enough about it in past posts, so I will cut to the chase and tell you how it was. :)

The Sportfest took place at the school and also took just as long as a normal school day, so Lisa and I biked to school like it was any old day.  We spent about five minutes in the classroom, signing the t-shirts of people who didn't get theirs yesterday and discussing the schedule and roles of everyone.  Then it was straight to the back field for six hours outside!

New Shirts!

Okay.  I know what you're thinking.  Did Julia go shopping again?  As a matter of fact, I did!  Just kidding.  I'll explain the title.

**On a random note, I went to bed at 8 pm yesterday because I was so exhausted after the birthday party :)

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

I know, I know.  I haven't posted in what, three days?  Don't get me wrong, lots has happened, I just haven't had the time (or the mood) to write about it!  This seems to be happening a lot lately.  Sorry...  But part of it is your fault!  I hardly ever get comments anymore, and I feel like I'm writing to myself.  But maybe you don't comment because my posts are boring because I never feel like writing.  So maybe it's my fault after all. ;) Anyway...

Surprise!

I have the best friends in the entire world.  It's a fact.  Let me tell you why...

I'm not going to tell you about school today because it was boring.  Oh, except for one thing: yesterday two kids in my class were singing the "Ain't nobody got time for that" song.  It was pretty much the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Afternoon Adventures

Today I am not going to talk about school because Tuesdays are always incredibly boring in that regard.  I have German, chemistry and history.  It's not a great combo.  My afternoon was a lot more interesting.

By the way, my mom just told me that I should talk more about my reactions to everything instead of just report on it.  She's told me that before, and I did start doing that more, but I guess I slipped back into the I-don't-feel-like-writing-let's-just-cut-to-the-chase type of writing.  I hope I haven't been boring you!

Instead of just telling you what happened today, here is a summary of everything I will tell you about:

Let's Talk About Food

Hi everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog! :) Over the past couple of weeks, I've been asked repeatedly what the food's like here.  So today, you will essentially follow me around as I eat.  Okay, I promise it will be more interesting than it sounds! ;)

Abi 2013

I'm not really sure how to start this post in a clever way, so I'll just start telling you about my day. :)

Since Lisa's bike was at her cousins' or something like that (long story; I don't remember much of it myself), we walked to school, even though the weather was nice.

Three Days, One Post

So sorry I haven't posted the past two days!  Stuff has happened, but I haven't had time to post or I just wasn't in the mood.  Mostly I just wasn't in the mood.  I also have stuff to do today, so I'll just give you a shortened version of events.

When Two Worlds Collide

Hmmm...  That is a cool title for a book, no? ;)

It has recently been brought to my attention that some of my sentences make absolutely NO sense.  Sorry about that.  I never feel like proofreading, but I guess I probably should. ;)

When I woke up this morning, it was rainy and cold.  There's nothing that welcomes you into a new country better than wet, cold weather, right? :P Luckily, it didn't rain while Lisa and I were biking to or from school.  For once!

Liege!

After our nine hour long class trip to Liege, I am exhausted.  The trip, all in all, was okay.

Since I finally had my camera with me at school for once, I was able to take pictures of how many people ride their bikes to school!

Happy, Happy, Happy, Sad

I couldn't fall asleep last night because all the One Republic songs from my new CD were stuck in my head.  Lesson: when you get a new CD, do not play it over and over again and memorize the lyrics to boot.  I learned that the hard way. ;)

This morning Lisa and I walked to school instead of biking like usual because it looked kind or rainy.  It didn't rain AT ALL.  I'm starting to think that it only rains when I'm on my bike.

Then Lisa invited me to go shopping with her, Sara and Celina in Cologne tomorrow!  Yay!  When I asked if we were going to go right after school, Lisa was like, "We don't have school tomorrow."

Whaaa?

Kleingärten

My cold is getting worse in that I'm coughing all the time.  But my nose isn't running anymore, so that, at least, is good.

Today has been pretty darn uneventful.  Really, all that's happened today was going on a walk and my grandparents' friends come over.  So let me tell you about those two things...

A Fantabulistic Birthday Party

Fantabulistic. Yes, it's a word.  Yes, I made it up.

Anyways, yesterday, I celebrated my birthday with my friends.  It was, well, fantabulistic! :D I had an awesome time.

First, my grandma and I set the table and made the food.  I had brought a package of brownie mix with me from America, so I baked those.  My grandma baked a cake, and also bought some cookies.  My grandpa went and got lots and lots of strawberries.  The table looked like this:

Ditching, Shopping and Reading

After reading the title, you probably have a lot of questions.  "Did Julia ditch?"  "Who ditched?" "What kind of ditch are we talking about here?"  Before you read this, I want you to know that I didn't mean to ditch, and I wouldn't have if I had another choice.

Now you are probably extremely curious.

After a very boring English class (that reminds me–I have homework!) and spending between periods in a very light rain that attacked you from all sides, I went to EGE.  You know, that English History something-or-other class.  I will find out exactly what it stands for eventually.

Anyway, when I reached the floor with my classroom on it, I didn't see anyone from my class in the foyer thingie.  Usually everyone hangs out there until the teacher comes and unlocks the door and then they all go inside the classroom.  My first thought was, "Oh, they must be in already."  But when I pulled on the door, it was locked.  I then stood there for a couple of minutes, trying to figure out what to do.  Were they in a different classroom?  Sometimes we go to a different room to see the projects on the computer.  However, I didn't know how to get to that room.  I probably looked like an idiot to the seventh graders hanging out in the foyer; not knowing what to do, I was just kind of slowly walking around the foyer, looking for something that would help me to decide what to do.

That something didn't show up.

School and Rain and Shopping and Stuff

Today was...  Well, I don't really know how to sum it up in one word, so I'll just start writing about it.

Today was significantly cooler than yesterday.  Since I didn't write yesterday, I'll just tell you this: we got fifth and sixth period off because of the heat.  Yay!  Today, though, it was back to capri weather, and it rained a little off and on throughout the school day.

Hot, Humid and More Hot

Holy crap!  Today was so insanely HOT!  It was a solid 30 or so degrees, which might be really nice in Utah, but add some (no, a lot) of humidity, and you are pretty much a ball of sweat all day.  In my case, a very attractive ball of sweat, but a ball of sweat just the same. ;)

Le Day d'Awesomeness

Turning fourteen must be magical, because I had an awesome day today.  Really, I haven't had such a good day at school in a while.

Today was really warm.  We get about three warm days before it gets cooler, then a little warmer again.  The weather is seriously confused.

Happy Birthday to Meee.....

Indeed.  Today was my birthday!  Is my birthday!  Will be my birthday for a few more hours!  Just kidding!  I started this post yesterday, on my birthday, but didn't finish it until today.  Honestly, I wasn't expecting much of my birthday.  I've already gotten a LOT of presents, like my Kindle and my schoolbag in Germany, so I wasn't expecting many presents today.  But I definitely have enjoyed my day!

A Trip to the Picture Book Museum

We spent the majority of the day today in Troisdorf.  I'm not sure how you spell it.  Anyway, we went to a picture book museum there.  It was in this old building that used to be part of a fortress thingiemabob surrounded by a moat.  The moat is still there, but, unfortunately, there was no bridge that can go up and down, just a normal stone pathway across.

Boys are Disgusting

TGIF! :) This has seriously been the longest week EVER.  Five days felt like forever!  It feels like the last time I had a weekend was way longer ago than it actually was.

New Day, New Opportunities

After a downright sucky day yesterday, I am happy to tell you that today was much better. :) Unfortunately, it rained about half of the day, but it wasn't cold, so it didn't bother me all that much.

At Least Volleyball was Better

After a fairly horrible day at school, volleyball was a pleasant surprise, for the most part.

Only nine people were there today, instead of the usual fifteen, because a lot of the players had beach practice.  This was really good because a) less pressure b) the coach can pay more attention to each individual and c) easier to talk to others and participate.

Good Start, Bad Ending

 I was looking at some blog posts from a few weeks ago and realized just how dull my blog posts have gotten recently.  My witty comments have dwindled significantly and have been replaced by "I want to go home" and "This and that was boring."  This is because I haven't been in a great mood lately and just never feel like putting the time or effort into making my blog posts interesting.  Sorry. :(

School, Errands and No Camera

School was really boring today....

First we had German, and we are STILL doing this stupid poetry unit, and I still have no idea what the rhyming patterns 'daktylus' and 'jambus' are, amongst lots and lots of other things.  After a while of actually trying to pay attention, I gave up.  I am just so done with school.  Knowing that all my friends in Utah are enjoying their summer break and I'm still schlepping myself to school everday isn't fun.

The Truth About Old People

Today was my grandpa's birthday. :) His is exactly one week before mine.

The morning was just a calm morning including breakfast, replacing old flower bouquets with new ones, and reading.  The first rose bouquet of the year has been picked. :) The last phase of flowers are starting to die, being replaced with the new ones, which is always exciting.

In late morning/early afternoon, we opened presents.  My grandpa got a book from my family, a book from my cousins, and a book from my grandma.  Yep, he likes to read.  I, however, deviated from the book theme and gave him this:

A Laid-Back Day

This will be a fairly short post. :) Today was my second day home alone.  Everything went smoothly, and I didn't manage to lock myself out of the house or anything. :)

The morning was one of those nice, quiet mornings where you get all of your crap done and then relax.  First I read in bed for an hour, then ate breakfast, did some homework and a workout, then returned to my book and the internet. :)

At about three my friend Nadine came over.  I showed her the entire house, and then we went shopping.  I love shopping. :) We biked because the weather is, for once, being nice to us.

A School Success

Yesterday was a very spectacular day when it comes to school. :)

First period was German.  (Haha, when I was typing this I started to write it in German.)  This was probably the worst class of the day, even though it wasn't necessarily bad.  We had to keep analyzing that poem that I don't understand, but this time as a group.  I pretty much just copied my partner without knowing what I was writing.  It was probably just a waste of paper.

Volleyball Surprise

I don't feel like giving you the details of every single class today, so I'll just give you a brief description of each and then move on to the real subject of this post. :)

First was English.  Instead of taking a vocab test like we were supposed to (and I actually studied for this one!) we did more work with our novels.  The teacher told me "good work" for participating. :) We are reading a book in which a class at school plays the Color Game, where everyone randomly pulls a color that represents a social status, and they have to act out their social status at school and at home for four weeks.  Also, women are treated as the superior gender.  The point of the game was to show the students the prejudices and discrimination going on in society.  After discussing it in class, we might possibly do something like that!!! :D It would be just for a week or something, and also just at school, and not as extreme.  I think it would be super cool!

School and Stuff

I was under the impression that my blog posts were getting boring and repetitive, as a lot of them are just "at school we did this and that," but I was recently told otherwise, so here are my previous two days of school.

But first...  The weather is FINALLY getting better!  It's finally not raining anymore, and it's getting warm and sunny.  YAY!  However, it rained so much that another city in Germany, which is on the river separating Germany from Austria, is flooded past the first story of the buildings!  That's higher than it's gotten in the past 500 years or something! :O (Yep, I watch the news here....) :)

Babies + Towers = Happy!

The past two days have been extremely baby-oriented.  I see my adorable cousins once a year, so I'm trying to create enough special moments to last me a year. :) I'd say that it's been working!  They have done so many cute, funny, awesome and memorable things that I can't exactly tell you all of them, but I can show you lots of pictures! :)

Babies: You Gotta Love 'Em

This late morning to early afternoon was pretty miserable.  I had a stomach ache and was laying in bed for about two hours, writhing and twisting from the pain.  Then I puked. :P But after that I fell asleep, and when I woke up I felt fine again, so thank goodness for that.  I have plans for this weekend after all! :)

My aunt, uncle and two cousins came last night, and they'll be here for the long weekend. (no school Thursday and Friday!  Yes!)  Finja and Louisa, my twin almost-two-year-old cousins, are pretty much the cutest things ever.  I haven't seen them in a year, and they've changed so much!  They actually respond to what people are saying now.  I played with them a lot with blocks and stuffed animals, and also went down the slide with Finja on my lap when we were at the playground.  I think they like me! :)

Welcome to Dramatown

After a gloriously sunny day yesterday, I was extremely depressed to find out the weather forecast predicted rain all day, which the weather kindly (not) actually followed for once.

First period, I have to say, was awesome.  We are reading an English book (oh yeah, I forgot to say it's English class), and today we did an excercise where we were shown sentences from the book and had to explain the context of it (who said to to whom, what it implies, etc.)  I was a ninja at it.  I was the first one to raise my hand (or actually my finger... they raise their fingers here).  I answered multiple, and the teacher told me I gave a really good answer and also that it was really good that I was participating so much.

A Day of Participation

Today was the first Monday of school I've had in three weeks!  We've had Monday and Tuesday off from school for the past two weeks, and I have to say, I've really gotten used to the four-day weekend thing. :)

The Sports Events of the Past Few Days

At first I wasn't going to blog about this, but when I realized I inform you about every boring detail of my school day, I should probably tell you about this, just to keep it in proportion. :)

Friday afternoon was Basketball Night at my school.  Each class can put together a basketball team, and each team in its age group plays against each other.

Lisa and I came two hours before it even started.  I really have no idea why.  Some other kids from class were coming early too, so I guess it was to hang out with them.  But since I'm not exactly a social butterfly, two hours with your classmates and not all your friends can be a little daunting.  Most of the guys (and some of the girls) were playing basketball to practice, and the other girls were standing off to the side talking.  We also made a pyramid just for fun, and I got to be on top. :) I don't have a picture yet, but Lisa is going to send it to me at some point.

Settling In

The weather was disgusterous again this morning.  It wasn't raining quite as hard, but it was just as cold.

The First Day of Volleyball All Over Again

It's my third blog post today!  Lucky you! ;)

Today I rode my bike to volleyball for the first time.  It was really fun, and for some inexplicable reason I felt really cool.  Everyone bikes everywhere here, and I wish we could do that at home.

I got to volleyball about ten minutes early and was getting ready next to another girl from my team.  Then the coach came in and changed everything with these words: "You're going to play with the women today."  The women, as in the adults, as in the best.  Gasp sputter gulp.

Weather, Grammar and Cup Songs

After yet another glorious four-day weekend, I had to wake up early again to go to school.  As if this wasn't bad enough, the weather was disgusting.  Wet.  Cold.  Horrible.  Miserable.  It was raining really lightly, kind of misting, and coming from all directions.  By the time I had gotten to school by bike, my hair was wet, my hands were cold, and Lisa's glasses were covered in water droplets.

A Day in Cologne

Sorry this post is a day late.  I was exhausted yesterday and would rather read for two hours than write a blog entry. :)

Yesterday morning I biked down to Aldi, which is kind of the German equivalent of WalMart, except smaller and awesomer.  I wanted to get some scarves that their magazine displayed.  It took me a lot longer than it could have.  I found the scarves I wanted right away, but then I was sucked into being an old lady's fashion consultant. :) I had been wearing a cream and white scarf that I had gotten from Aldi last year, and an old woman asked me about it.  She was looking for a neutral scarf like it.  She kept asking me to open the scarf boxes so she could see the scarves better and also asked my opinions.  I guess I did a good deed. :)

Going Back in Time

Today my grandparents went to check out a 250-year-old house with a mill and a workshop.  It was super cool!  It's not in use anymore; it kind of functions as a museum, just minus all the boring information everywhere. :)

We drove through a really pretty, lush forest to get to the mill.  SO.  GREEN.

The Ultimate Friend Day

Here I am, writing to you on a Monday afternoon, not being in school.  Why?  Well, I have Monday and Tuesday off from school–again.  May is an awesome month to go to school in Germany because there are so many days off!  Thursday two weeks ago, last Monday and Tuesday, this Monday and Tuesday, and next Thursday and Friday!  Yeah, it's pretty awesome. :)  This week we don't have school because of a holiday called what sounds like Finxen.  I have no idea how to spell it. :)

But my post isn't about all the days of school I have off, it's about the awesome day I had yesterday!  I commence:

A Long But Great Day

Since I didn't write a blog post yesterday, I would just like to mention the random fact that I saw a kid scootering to school yesterday. :)

Anyway.  Today we went to the market again, but never fear, I have new things to tell you.  Mostly. :)

First I was given the task of unlocking the door and locking it again after we were outside.  I know, this sounds pretty darn easy.  At the beginning, I thought so too.

My Bus Adventure

Okay, so this actually happened on Thursday, and I wasn't planning on writing a blog entry about it, but I have changed my mind.  So I guess my last few posts will be a little out of order.  Whatevs. :)

On Thursday I had volleyball again.  I was originally planning on riding my bike, but it was pouring rain.  Unfortunately, I could only be driven to, and not from, volleyball because my grandpa had a Rotary meeting.  I would have to take the bus home.

Just Another School Day

Sorry, I seem to be getting in the habit of being a day behind.  But from now on I probably won't be writing daily because I'm settling into school and not as many new, exciting things are happening.

This morning Lisa and I biked to school for the first time (for me anyway) instead of walking.  Twas fun. :)

German was our first class.  First we discussed the movie we watched last time, and then we analyzed some song and speculated the different meanings of it.  I was pretty much no help with that.  I did, however, manage to do the homework about it.  I wonder how many spelling and grammar mistakes are in it...  We also did a crossword with poem and figurative language.  Of the twenty or so questions, I answered.....(Drumroll please)......

Volleyball: Take Two

Yesterday was my second try at finding a volleyball group for me.  Luckily for me, this time it was the right group.  It was the better 13s/14s group, and they had been playing anywhere from one to two years, which is how long I've been playing.

A Boring Day

Sorry about the lack of a blog post yesterday.  Nothing interesting happened.  At all.  But there is  blog post today, although today, for the most part, was pretty boring too.

It's been rainy for the past few days, and it was kind of cold on the way to school.  What a great mood setter for the school day!

A Day of Thrills

Here I am writing to you, satisfied with the day but utterly exhausted.  I spent eight hours at an amusement park with Lisa, Celina, Celina's younger sister and her two friends.

Movie Park is an awesome amusement park about an hour away from my grandparents' house.  Despite what the name suggests, it is not a movie theater.  One section of the park, called Nick Land, has rides based on Nickelodeon shows, but there are other sections as well.  (If you click on the link, you'll see the page is in English.  Click on the tab 'attractions' and you can see great pictures of almost all of the rides.)

The Prettiest Walk Ever

Today will be another blog post of mostly pictures, and trust me, there will be a LOT of pictures!

As promised, my grandparents and I went on the awesome walk again today, and I brought my camera. :)  The weather started out kind of drizzly, but it got progressively better throughout the walk.  Let us begin with the pictures!  (I swear, there are about a million of them!  Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but you get the point.)

Market Day

This morning was pretty uneventful.  I woke up, got dressed, and ate brötchen.  Then my grandparents said they wanted to go down to the market to get some things, so I said I'd go with them.

On the way into town, I saw a few interesting things:

A man walking around wearing sweats and Crocs.  Nothing is cooler than sweats and Crocs!  Just kidding, jean jackets are in style here. :)

A dog that looked like a gorilla, minus the head, which was really cute.

A girl walking around the market singing to herself.

Best Day Yet

Today was AWESOME!  I am so incredibly excited to tell you all about it!!! :D

So.  School.  First period was English.  I've decided that I like the teacher (Frau Fügemann).  Today people had to read aloud their papers about Ground Zero and the buildings that are there now.  After every person, people had to give feedback, and everyone's mistakes were corrected.  Even though I actually speak English, I was slouching in the back corner of the classroom thinking don'tcallonmedon'tcallonme!  Luckily, I was not called on until later, when we were reading a story in the English textbook out loud.  Whew.

A Day Off From School

We had off from school today, so I can't complain about my anti-socialness or school problems or anything. :)

This morning we had brötchen for breakfast. :) I guess we have them every day there's no school.  I remembered to take a picture of them for you!

First Volleyball Practice

Oh, volleyball...  Where to begin?  How about a one-word summary:

Disappointing.

In the car, I was so nervous.  From what my mom had told me, I was expecting a group of girls way better than me.  I was prepared to show them what I could do and probably be worse than all the other girls.  Instead:

Third Day Done

Three days down, a ton to go!  Day three was definitely better than day two. :)

Something done in every class that I forgot to mention until now is the teacher greeting.  After the teacher walks in, all the kids stand up and say in a really slow, bored-sounding way, "Good morning Mrs. (or Mr.) Teacher," or whatever the teacher's actual name is.

"Goooo-ten Morrrrgen Herr Meyyyerrrr."  Like that.  I don't even remember which teacher Mr. Meyer is, but I know I said that at some point, so there must be a teacher named Mr. Meyer.

School: Day Two

Today was...  Well, it really wasn't that bad, but it's raining and I'm in a bad mood, so I'm probably going to make it seem bad.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school, and now my whole German adventure finally seems real.  I'M FREAKING GOING TO SCHOOL IN GERMANY!  Well, the first day really went well.  Let me begin:

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

I woke up today at ten in the morning.  I definitely could have slept longer after going 24 hours without sleeping, but I wanted to adjust to the time change as best I could, so I thought ten was plenty late.

I didn't let myself sleep at all yesterday, even though I was dying for a nap at times, also because I wanted to get used to German time.  At one point, I was so tired I literally fell asleep while getting on my bed during unpacking.

Flight Time

It has been a long day (days?), but now I'm here in Germany, writing to you on a very frustrating keyboard.  The keyboard here is different; the z and y are switched, the return button's in a different spot, the apostrophe button is in a different spot, and so many things are switched up that I type quickly and then go back, frustrated.  But don't worry, I'll get the hang of it by the time I leave. :)

I woke up at about 5:30 yesterday and said goodbye to my dad and my sister.  We didn't eat breakfast because, in my opinion, 5:30 is just too early to eat.

The Journey Begins... Or Does It?

It's Thursday!  I woke up at 5:30, insanely nervous for the airport adventure ahead.  After twenty minutes of lying in bed and wondering why no one was coming to wake me up (yes, I was already awake, but I wasn't planning on getting up until someone came), I decided to get dressed anyway.  After emotionally bracing myself all of yesterday, I was ready to board a plane and embrace the adventures waiting for me!

Prep Week

Thursday's the big day: the day I board a plane that will take me to Germany and the two most daunting months of my life (so far).  But let me tell you, the preparation is just as stressful as the trip itself.  Let me give you a short summary of my prep week so far:

Last Day of School in PC

The papers have been signed, the laptop has been returned, the locker has been cleaned out...  School is officially over!  At least, for the time being.  I have three months of school in Germany, but for now I can pretend that spring break is summer break. :)