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!