Christmas Eve

Hello all!

Today is Christmas Eve, but in Germany that pretty much means "Christmas". We go to church tonight, eat a special dinner, and open all our gifts. Have to admit, it really doesn't feel like Christmas to me. I think it's the lack of "A Christmas Story", "Elf", cheesy Christmas Music, the room perfume we spray around our house, and Santa Clause that is getting to me. Also disappointed that I will not be going to India Pavilion tonight... seriously I think that is my favorite Christmas tradition. There is nothing like chicken tikka masala on December 24th to stir up Christmas spirit in me. Despite my unfortunate lack of Bock auf Weihnachten, I'm still looking forward to tonight! It should be an interesting once-in-a-lifetime experience (sorry for all the Schmalz, but it's true).

In 10 days I will be traveling to SPAIN!!!!! Alone!!!! I am so excited! I'm going to visit a friend of mine who was an exchange student in State College last year, Marina. There's a direct flight from my town to hers (which happens to be on the bargain airline... 150 Euro there and back!) so travel should be no problem. I'm looking forward to the 60 degree temperatures... should be a welcome change from the arctic weather I have been enjoying in Germany. Look out for lots of pictures on Facebook!

Merry Christmas to you all, hope it is wonderful!

Love,
Anna

Pre-birthday

My birthday is tomorrow!!!!! I can hardly believe it. Time goes wicked fast here. It seems like just last week that we were in Berlin!! I've been sick the past 4 days, but I've managed to get fit for mein Geburtstag! I'm starting my birthday off right tomorrow by opening presents as soon when I get up (a nice Junkermann family tradition). For my birthday dinner I'm going out with my host family to Gigi's Pizzeria. Seriously the best pizza ever. I'm also having a party on Saturday which I'm really excited for :D A little bit nervous since parties in America are different than they are across the pond, but I'm sure it will be unforgettable!

Today is December 1st, which means we got to start our Advent calendars. Looking forward to the next 23 days in which I will get even more european chocolate goodness. In my town, we also have these 3 huge wooden trees (not real trees, just wooden things made to look like trees) with 24 windows in them. The kids from Keidelheim paint Christmas themed pictures to put into the windows. Then starting on December 1st, every night at 6pm we go down to the trees and all the kids who painted a picture reach into a bag and pull out a nut. If you pull out the golden nut, you get to open the window to reveal the picture for that night. All the children get so excited to see if it will be their picture that gets unveiled, it was adorable! Phew. That was way too hard to explain and you still probably don't completely get the concept.

Thanksgiving on a Tuesday

Hello all!

Last night I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for 14 people!!!!! All of my host families were there plus the australian exchange student, Michelle. On Monday I started the ordeal by making an apple pie. After school yesterday, Michelle and I roasted a turkey, made stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and cranberry sauce (out of dried cranberries hahaha). It took all afternoon, but it turned out amazingly if I may say so myself haha. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the Thanksgiving favorites. I also ate as much food as I possibly could, so it really was just like home :D

School has been getting tougher and tougher the past few weeks. I find myself having a lot more homework and actually feeling compelled to do it (what kind of exchange student AM I???) I'm really looking forward to Ski Tour and then Weihnachtsferien so I can finally get a break! Just 2 weeks left! Yessss.

We have a 3 day weekend coming up for Parent/Teacher conferences. Unfortunately, I don't think mine are gonna be able to fly up for that. Schade :(

Liebe Grüße
Anna

Berlin

Sorry for the huge delay! I've just started to get really busy with school, friends, and everything. Haha I guess I'm finally getting to that point in my exchange where I actually have a LIFE.

Berlin was amazing! It has been a while since we were all together on that trip, but the memories are still strong :) I had so much fun with all of the other exchange students! It was a great opportunity to bond with my district and see the wonderful city that is Berlin.

On Wednesday we took the train from Frankfurt to Berlin. It was super super fast and got us there in around 5 hours. We stayed in a youth hostel with 7 people per room with only 2 keys... you can just imagine how that worked out hahaha. We saw all the typical sightseeing places such as the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, a section of the Berlin Wall, the Bundestag, and the Holocaust memorial. It was really cool to see things that you've only seen in history books right before your eyes.

We had some planned activities all together, like a city bus tour and dinner at an Indian restaurant (Poor restaurant. They had to deal with 40 exchange students. Enough said haha), but other than that we had a whole lot of free time. We were allowed to hop on the trains with small groups and navigate around Berlin by ourselves! We went shopping a lot, bought some chocolate, but most of the time just wandered around because we had no idea where we were going or what there even was to do. Wish I could have planned that one a little better haha. On Friday our group took a trip to Potsdam to see Schloss Sanssouci, which was really beautiful. In Potsdam we did even more shopping... ended up dropping the equivelant of 40 USD on a t-shirt, but it was really cute I swear.

Other than Berlin, nothing too exciting has happened to me in these past few weeks. I'm moving to my next host family on Saturday which I think is pretty crazy! That means that I've already been in Germany for THREE MONTHS. Whaaaaaaat? That also means that more than a quarter of my time here is gone! Crazy! Ah! Guess that means I'll just have to make even more of the time I have left.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

Boredom

Home alone. Not much to do. I got my hair cut today... that was a frightening experience! I didn't know any of the hair cutting terminology in German, so there were some minor miscommunications. Oh well. It looks fine haha.

Yesterday was so much fun! Gudrun took me, Robin, Victor, Michelle, and Raisa on a boat tour of the Rhein from Bacharach to Boppard. It was sooooo cold so we'd go outside and take pictures for as long as we could stand it, then run back inside and drink hot chocolate haha. There were so many castles everywhere. When we got to Boppard Robin showed us around town for an hour before our train came. After that we had to take a ferry back over to the other side of the Rhein to drop Victor off at his house... that kind of freaked me out haha.

Tonight I'm going to see that movie about Facebook in Bad Kreuznach with my host sister, Conny, and some of her friends. Should be funnnn!

Still really, really psyched for Berlin Tour!!! It's basically all that the exchange students in my district can talk about right now. Less than a week now! Get ready for the onslaught of pictures afterwards.

Gotta go for a jog now so all those Brotchen don't catch up to me!

Liebe Grüße
Anna

Herbstferien + 2 months already??

Hello all!

Today officially marks my 2nd month in Germany. I think. It's the 12th. And I got here on August 12th. So yes. The time has flown by! It seems like just yesterday I had my first day of school... now I'm really starting to get settled. It's true. As my host mom Gudrun wisely put it today, "Dein Urlaub ist vorbei". Your vacation is over. I thought somehow I would beat the exchange student homesickness curve, but it appears as if I'm just the typical exchanger hahaha. Don't worry, I'm not moping around my house or anything like that. But now that nothing here in Germany is really new or exciting anymore it's starting to be more like, well, living.


Right now I have 2 weeks of vacation for Herbstferien (Fall break)! The first night of Ferien all of us exchange students had a party to celebrate Danielle's (USA) birthday. It was awesome! There's nothing I love more than exchange students :) District 1860 is amazing. Yesterday my friends and I went to Phantasialand. It was so much fun! It's not very big, but that means we got to go on everything once... or twice... or three times hahaha. We took such funny pictures on the on-ride cameras... too bad I'm too cheap to spend 5 euros on a copy. In the car home Selena, Lesley, Katha, and I had some serious karaoke time. I tried to take a video but they wouldn't let me. Boooooo. Tomorrow my host mom is taking me, Michelle (Australia), Robin (USA), and Victor (Brazil) on a boat tour of the Rhine.

The thing I'm most looking forward to during Herbstferien is our trip to Berlin! Most of the exchange students from our district are going and it's going to be such a great time. The adventure begins in Frankfurt with a 5 hour train ride to Berlin... super lang aber mit Austauschschülern wird es bestimmt Spaß :D I don't remember exactly what we're doing... but I know that we're going to Potsdam for a day which is where fellow D7350 exchanger Simon lives! I'm so excited for our mini-reunion hahaha.

Ok, I gotta get back to the living room to watch the soccer game! Germany is playing Kazakhstan and it's quite exciting.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

PARIS!

I just had the most wonderful weekend of my life! I am totally and completely in love with Paris. Don't get me wrong Germany, I like you a lot too. But there is just something so great about kissing everyone you meet on both cheeks, eating fancy cheese, and being able to see the Eiffel Tower from virtually anywhere. On Friday night we arrived in Paris after driving for about 8 hours... so much traffic! Michelle and I made good use of the car ride by trying to teach each other our accents. The first thing we did was have dinner at one of the Garches-Marnes la Coquette-Vaucresson Rotary Club's member's house. It was absolutely delicious. First a very nice tomato salad, then clove and honey ham with rice, followed by a cheese course and finished with authentic French tarts. I ate so much this weekend, but it was definitely worth it.

We had the loveliest hosts in Marnes-la-Coquette! The Sagassers made me feel right at home. Anna and Bernd are actually from Germany, so there was no fickle language barrier there. They also happened to serve the best breakfast in the world. Which was a super hybrid of German and French breakfasts. This means awesome croissants, amazing cheese, and the most delicious baguettes ever. Ok I'll stop talking about food now.

Saturday we went on a small tour of Paris. Obviously we couldn't go everywhere in one day, so we just stayed in the area of Notre Dame. Unfortunately the tour was in French (and then translated into very quiet German) so I didn't really understand what we were seeing. Then we had lunch. Michelle and I sat with all the 12-and-under boys which was quite an experience! I even learned how to ask for an iced tea in french (thank you, Thibault). Afterwards we all went on a boat tour on the Seine River. Many photo opportunities. I was totally exhausted during the car ride back to the Sagasser's house and kept falling asleep... kind of embarrassing considering I was with my club president and his wife AND the president of the Rotary Club in France. Eberhard had a good laugh about that one.

Later that evening we had dinner at La Coupole, a very well known Parisian restaurant. The food was very French and very good. A little too good actually, I could only eat half of what they gave me-- it was so rich! We did what we typically do at Rotary functions... listen to speeches, schmooze, and for Michelle and I, pay attention to the kids hahaha. Afterwards the Sagassers took me and the Nolls on a small tour of the area we were in. It was actually a special night in Paris, Nuit Blanche, in which all of the museums are open until very early in the morning. The weather was fantastic and there were so mant people out and about. We went to a bookstore where I bought some very sophistocated postcards (check your mailboxes soon). We also stopped to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up, which really is all that I imagined it to be. It is simply stunning!

Sunday morning I went with Anna, Daniela (our club president's wife), and Max (the son of our hosts in Paris) to Versailles to check out a market. It was bustling to say the least. Max and I took a small tour around the outside of the palace and the actual town of Versailles, which was quite nice. There were sooooooo many tourists around. It's fun to be a tourist in a town, but not feel like a tourist because you're hanging with the locals. I recommend everyone try it sometime!

We finished up our stay in Paris with a lunch together at an Italian restaurant. Michelle and I were asked to say a few words (I said mine in English while Michelle said hers in German, naturally not everyone understood everything haha), just thanking the clubs for making our trip possible. The club president presented us with pins, a Wimpel (I actually can't think of the English word, nothing sounds right! Like one of those flag things, but not exactly. Look it up), and an invitation to come back.

All in all, I got a great first impression of France! I can't wait to come back! And I can't wait to learn French hahaha.

Au Revoir,
Anna

Wandertag

At the moment I'm still pretty cold and wet from school today. Today was "Wandertag", a day where everybody in school goes on a field trip! Each Stammkurs (main subject) goes somewhere away from school to do something different than regular class. For example, the German class went to Trier, the Physics class rode their bikes to the Rhein, the Social Studies class took a trip to Frankfurt, and so on. And while everyone else in my grade got to go to a big city or somewhere exciting, our Geography class walked to a village 10 minutes away and took soil samples. Seriously hahaha. It was also the worst weather ever... cold and rainy. But I love my Geography class, so it was still fun! We started out the day in the classroom by playing a game of "Reise nach Jerusalem" or auf Englisch, musical chairs. Instead of trying to get your own chair though, we had to all fit together on the chairs without our feet touching the ground. It got increasingly difficult as our teacher kept taking chairs away... we got down to 3 chairs for 18 people! Pretty impressive :)

After that, we made our way towards Kümdchen to take some soil samples and measure random objects in a park. It was cold and rainy and not a very good day to be doing any of this. Then we had lunch at the soccer field in a grill hut and grilled hamburgers... it was a very American meal complete with Heinz Ketchup and some substance called "American Style Hamburger Sauce", which I have never seen nor eaten in the U.S.A. hahaha. Everyone was asking me questions about America, especially about Christmas. They were amazed when I told them that we do actually hang stockings over the fire place and get presents inside them... they thought that was pretty much the coolest thing ever! The concept of milk & cookies for Santa Clause was also a hot topic. Trying to explain Funfetti cake was also a difficult feat. All in all, one of the most random field trips I have ever been on! Trotzdem hat Spass gemacht :D

I'm baking brownies tonight with Jill and Caro! We've been looking forward to it practically all week. Hopefully I won't overbake them this time... German ovens baffle me. Tomorrow I'm going to Boppard which will be nice. Hopefully the weather gets better because the fest is outside. Fingers crossed. Next weekend the Simmern Rotary Club is taking a trip to Paris... this time next week I will be at the Eiffel Tower!!! I'm unbelievably excited. We're staying with French host families though, so I'm hoping they speak either German or English or it's bound to be a quiet weekend haha.

lg
Anna

I like lists

Random things I've learned since being in Germany:

1. It's not possible to be an exchange student and go to sleep at a reasonable time.

2. "Ich bin kalt" and "Mir ist kalt" do NOT mean the same thing.

3. Hausaufgaben is a word for something I should do, but most likely won't.

4. When a teacher is sick, you don't have class. End of story.

5. It's totally acceptable to forcefully push your way past people in line while boarding the bus in order to get a seat.

6. Artistic skills really do improve when you draw all day, every day, during the school week.

7. Donal Macintyre is just as good auf Deutsch as he is in English.

8. It is possible and normal to have the same thing for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even your mid-morning snack.

9. The concept of skim milk is foreign and NOT accepted.

10. People are willing to spend insane amounts of money for water with bubbles.

11. No matter how hard I try to say "Herr Gresch" or "Regenschirm" or "sprechen" correctly, people will always find my accent "voll süß!".

12. Facebook really is an exchange student's best friend.

13. I've come to a conclusion that Cheez-Its are an acquired taste.

14. Frut Roll-Ups truly are a novelty.

15. One must eat everything with two utensils. Otherwise ya look like a bum.

16. Germans really DO love David Hasselhoff. I think.

17. "Ich habe Hunger..." is a REAL SONG!

...this list could go on forever but I should really go to bed.

Tschau

Anna

Castlesss

Yesterday the Tenhaeffs took me to a Medieval Castle near the Mosel River, Burg Eltz. It was very picturesque, one of the best preserved castles in the region! To get to the castle we had to hike for 20 minutes through the forest which was pretty cool. I love going to tourist attractions because there are always Americans around! And being an exchange student, it is now totally acceptable to talk to anyone I see that speaks English hahaha. Just one of those perks. I met some nice ladies from Seattle that were eager to hear what I was all about. Also, the Tenhaeffs insisted that these other people we saw were speaking English... but they totally weren't... and they don't believe me. Weird. The most awesome part of this castle to me is the fact that PEOPLE STILL LIVE HERE. What the heck! I had no idea people actually still lived in castles... crazy. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice "Kakao" and then hiked down the mountain again. Gotta love the Wandern.

I'm still way excited to spend the weekend in Boppard for the Wine Fest! I'm staying with my friend Robin (American exchange student from Alaska) and her host family. It will be great to see how people in other towns in the Pfalz live :) And there are fireworks. Anything with fireworks is good.

Not much else going on this week... just school and more school. My counselor's wife, Dagmar, has started to give me extra German lessons on Thursdays after school, which is really nice. Although I know a lot of German already, I still suck.

Liebe Grüße

Anna

Frisbee pro

Today we played ultimate frisbee in gym! It was really exciting because I was totally pro. I guess they don't play it very often in Germany, because I was one of the best in the class! That really has never happened before. I lol'd whenever the gym teacher said "A point for Pittsburgh! Go Penguins!" whenever I scored. I was like, actually, I don't live anywhere near Pittsburgh, but thanks anyway. Everyone in my gym class is so nice, so I actually look forward to having long school on Mondays!

I'm getting to that point in school where I actually have to start doing my homework if I want to succeed at all this year. Great. I've been slacking off a lot since I've been here, but now I'm starting to remember that I actually have to get acceptable grades! Remind me why I didn't do a gap-year again??

I'm looking forward to spending next weekend in Boppard for the Wine Fest! There are a bunch of these wine fests going on this time of year along the Rhine, I'm glad I get to go to one. There will be fireworks, exchange students, and a very picturesque view. Can't wait! :)

Bis gleich
Anna

1 Month!!!

I've been here for a exactly a month today!!! It has gone really fast so far. I can't believe I'm about 1/11 done with my exchange...?! I got to meet the rest of the Inbounds this past weekend, it was a good time!

Ouch. On Tuesday a friend invited me to come along with her to gymnastics class (you're allowed to laugh). I was really nervous because it was like nothing I've ever done before. All the girls in the class were so good, and they only have class once a week! Crazy. They were doing backflips and handsprings while I was struggling to do a handstand on the wall hahaha. It was so cool to try something I would never dream of doing in America! Maybe this year I'll finally learn how to do a cartwheel... just maybe.

I got a care package from home today! It was seriously the best feeling in the world :D It's probably not good that now I have two giant boxes of Cheez-Its, brownie mix, cake mix, cookie mix, Oreos, Doritos, and fun-size candy bars. I already have a stomach ache. Great. I won't be able to fit into any of the clothes my mom sent either! Hahaha nevertheless, I love American food.

I'm actually in school right now. I have a free period and am taking advantage of the computers with internet access. You know what's awesome? That no sites are blocked here. That's right, I can Facebook and play games without having to use some shady tricks. Jealous, State High kids? Thought so hahaha.

Liebe Grüsse
Anna

Real American

Hallo!

I made my first apple pie ever on Friday!!! It was so much fun... I felt like a real American hahaha. Well maybe fun isn't quite the right word. It was difficult (I had to make two! By myself! Without a peeler!) and time consuming but the result was definitely worth it. Yum.

The reason I made the pie is because the Tenhaeffs hosted a "Welcome Party" for me, my 3 other host families, and my counselor's family. It was a really nice evening; Wolfgang grilled and we had all manner of salads and side dishes. I also got some nice gifts. My counselor got me a nice hardcover book of the Rhein-Mosel region (complete with an English translation... perfect for the parents) and my 2nd host mom gave me a bunch of awesome CDs of bands we both like. After the dinner with the Host Families, I went out to a "beach" party with my friends and spent the night in Kastellaun, schön!

The Tenhaeffs were away for a wedding this weekend, so I spent Saturday and Sunday with my counselor and his family (the Wilhelms). I had a great time with them! They have two girls, Laura (11) and Anna (6). I spent most of my free time this weekend playing with clay and learning about all the different kinds of horses in the world.

Saturday night my friends and I went to the movies and saw "Die Legende von Aang". For you English-speakers, that's "The Last Airbender". It was actually very good, there were a lot of 10-year old boys in the theater who thought it was the greatest thing ever.

On Sunday the Wilhelms and I drove to Frankfurt and went to the Museen Fest! It was really cool. It's a day where all the museums on this particular street are open. There's a ton of awesome international food and loud music. We actually didn't go to any museums, but it was fun to enjoy the big crowds (after living in a village of 1,000 people for the past 3 weeks it was great to see lots of people).

My school schedule is about to get a whole lot more difficult. I have way too many free periods so I'm adding Chemistry, Geography, and another English course. I still don't have any homework though... the teachers don't really bother to check it from me at this point hahaha.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

P.S. I just found out that the letter ß (Esszet) is obselete... I'm really disappointed because I love writing it haha.

Weekend Overview

Friday was my first party here! It was a birthday party for someone I don't know yet. It was so much fun, I met lots of people, and I can't wait to do it again. Fortunately I won't have to wait long, beach party in Buch Friday! :D

Saturday we went to Schwäbisch Hall to see My Fair Lady (in German of course). Schwäbisch Hall is beautiful! It's a medieval city with a river that runs right through it. I went to H&M and fortified my supply of clothing. I really did not bring enough! We had dinner at this great "Lokal" (restaurant with typical cuisine of the region). Spätzle, some form of rolled up meat, salad, and for dessert, Rote Grütze (a red berry dish topped with ice cream and whipped cream... it tastes like pie filling!) My Fair Lady was great, it was on the steps of this gorgeous church in the center of town. I didn't understand it word for word, but the story was easy enough to follow. All in all, a very nice Rotary trip!

Today we were in the center of town today for the Ellern Holzkerb Festival. It is Ellern's late summer craft fest. There were a bunch of booths set up around the Sporthalle with handmade wood crafts, Deutsche Honnig (honey), pottery, baskets, and all manner of German goods. Conny, Maike, and I went to the teddy bear booth and stuffed our very own Bärchen. I now have a stuffed polar bear named Yannick (shout out to the family, yes I did name him after our GPS) sitting on my shelf. Süß! Also we took part in some games... the first of which was walking on stilts as fast as you could. Needless to say, it was a disaster. There are some very unflattering photos that were taken. Everyone laughed at me, apparently in Ellern walking on stilts is a popular childhood activity. Hm.

Of course there was food involved... I had the "meat sandwich" (not very descriptive) and my goodness. It was an entire pork chop in a roll. Very good, but very filling. I kind of regretted not choosing the mini-Hunsrücker Bratwurst... a much more manageable portion hahaha. We also went to the cake and coffee room. There were tons of cakes that the Frauen of Ellern made for the special occasion! I could hardly choose. I settled on an apricot tort, which was very tasty.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

P.S. This Friday I'm making dinner for my 3 host families. They want me to make something really American and I'm seriously at a loss. I'm up for making almost anything, as long as it's true to the US of A and doesn't require extensive time. Please post suggestions below in the comments! Please!!!!

Updates

Hello!

Today I chose my courses for the year. Typically students in a Gymnasium take 3 Leistungskurse (main subjects) and a bunch of other Grundkurse (things you still want to take but not as intensively). Since I'm an exchange student, I get the option of taking as few Leistungskurse as I want! The tentative plan is that I will have an English Leistungskurs and probably a Biology LK also. For Grundkurse I'm taking Chemistry (just as a trial... it's bound to be difficult), Math, History, German, Art, and Sport. I'm taking less than the average student, but that is fine by me. The more Freistunden I have, the better! Also, I don't want to be stuck in school until 4:30 or 5:00 every day.

I had my first experience with Sport today! Herr Schlich is very big on fitness tests, so we had to run as far as we could in 12 minutes. It sounds short, and it is, but when you haven't run for a while it can prove quite difficult! Also I had lunch at school today in the little cafeteria which was fun. I'm starting to be able to contribute to the conversation which makes things a whole lot more interesting :)

Tomorrow I'm going to my first German party! It's a friend of a friend's birthday party and I was invited to come along. I can't wait! Saturday Rotary is taking a trip to Schwäbisch Hall to see My Fair Lady at the open air theater. I'm sure that will also be great.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

The New Kid

Hallo!

Today was my first day of school. As of right now I don't have my own schedule, I'm shadowing a girl named Caro who is also in my grade. I'm just getting a feel for the school this week, and then on Thursday I'm picking out my courses! Woo!

Today was very exhausting. First, the English teacher took me around the school and showed me all the classrooms, the cafeteria, and the ever important Toilette. Then we had a double period of German (a very exhausting way to start the day), followed with a period of Biology, and lastly we were supposed to have Chemistry but the teacher decided not to show up so we had a free period (which is ganz gut bei mir). At 1:00 Gudrun picked me up from school and we went home for lunch. I like these school days that end early. But tomorrow I think I have school until 4:00... and Conny has school until 5:00!

This evening I had my first Rotary function! We had an excursion to Koblenz to go see the future site of the 2011 Bundesgartenschau. We rode in these huge gondolas that are usually made for skiing over the Rhein to the over side of the river. It was very scenic. Then we took a walk around the Schloss and in various little gardens. Afterwards we returned to the bus parking lot that conveniently overlooked the bank of the Mosel and had a very nice Abendessen. I had my first glass of genuine German wine, and well, schmeckt's! All of the Rotarians are so nice and they have lots to ask me about Pennsylvania. Everyone greeted me with a hearty "Herzlichen Wilkommen!" and an equally hearty handshake. They also made me feel welcome by telling me my German was "Schon wirklich gut!" (translation: already not making a complete fool of yourself). Dieter even entertained us with a song about Koblenz on the way home, much to his granddaughters' dismay!

I had so much fun on the way home with Jule, Hannah, and Karen. Jule and Hannah are Dieter's granddaughers and Matthias' Kinder. Karen is my host sister in my second family! Karen and Hannah are in 8th grade and Jule is in 3rd grade. It was a lot of fun talking to them because they had so much to say! Also, they weren't afraid to correct me. We talked about everything from Ski accidents to how funny and American I sound while speaking German. It was the longest conversation I've ever had in German, and easily the most fun!

I also learned today that we're going to go to France in October for a Rotary Meeting! We're going to a suburb outside of Paris, close to Versailles. Our Rotary Club in Simmern is paired with a Rotary Club there and we have a meeting together every year. I am so excited to go to Frankreich! I met a girl today who lives there and is currently in Koblenz for a couple weeks to work on her German so we'll get to hang out again, which is always nice.

Ganz müde,
Anna

New favorites

I've been in Germany 2 days and I already have a new favorite drink, Apfelschorle (sparkling water with apple juice), and a new favorite fruit, Plattpfirsich (basically a flat peach). I also tried a fresh apricot today because we don't have them in America! I'm really liking the food here, but I have to adjust to eating more at lunch time and less at night. We have our big meal of the day at around 12:30, at which point I'm still full from breakfast and not ready for more food!

I went on a little walk around Ellern today. I checked out the sport club where people can play soccer or badminton or take an aerobics class. Also, I was just walking around and I turn the corner and right there are 3 huge horses! Ellern is very small so there really isn't much distance separating the town from the farms. Everyone is really friendly and they always greet you with a "Hallo!" if you pass them on the street.

This evening Conny's friend Meike came over and we watched some movies. They were American films but the language was of course, auf Deutsch. Meike also brought over the O.C. which I was very excited about hahaha. Tomorrow I get to sleep in because Conny has Fahrschule (driving school)... I'm thankful for that. I've been napping a lot lately.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

I'm here!

I had a rather uneventful day of travel yesterday (thankfully). My flights were on schedule and not unpleasant. We met an exchange student traveling home to South Africa from Canada, which was a highlight of my 4 hour layover in Washington. I made some friends on the plane which made the 7 hour trip not so bad!

Right now I'm sitting in my new room for the next couple of months. I absolutely love my house! It is rather modern and it is very nicely decorated :) There is a huge spiral staircase that goes from the basement all the way to the second floor! Pictures will be coming soon. I also have a bathroom all to myself, which is a welcome surprise.

I just had my first German "Fruhstück". It was a whole wheat roll with butter and rasperry jam (here they call it Himbeermarmalade). Tomorrow I'm going to Simmern to enroll in school! I can't wait to explore Ellern (it probably won't take very long) and go for some nice walks.

My German was really shaky at first, but now it's becoming more natural even though I've only been here a few hours. I'm going to get back to packing so I can take a much needed nap.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

Mein letzter Tag!

Finally, I'm leaving for Germany tomorrow! I just got an e-mail from my host mom, Gudrun, telling me that the next few days in Germany are sunny and around 70°F and that they will be there bright and early at 5am to pick me up.

It's weird to think that this time next week:
1. I will be in a completely different country.
2. I will already be in school (State High doesn't start until August 30th!).
3. My parents' names will no longer be Bill and Mary, but rather Wolfgang and Gudrun.
4. I probably will not have spoken English for a solid 4 or 5 days.

Next time I check in I will already be in Germany :)

Tschüss!
Anna

Vier Tage

Sooo it's really down to the last few! Only 4 days until I leave! It has been insane this past week trying to get all my thoughts, clothes, and life together. I'd say I'm about 1/3 of the way packed, but that is subject to change depending on whether or not my baggage is overweight. If so, it's back to square one. Fingers crossed.

I had my going away party last night which was very nice :) It reminded me of all the lovely people in State College I will be happy to see when I come back! I got some pretty ridiculous gifts, including a t-shirt with my face on it and a calendar featuring the humorous artwork created by myself and Stephen Zimmerer during history class. Also, the famous Carl Hill made a special appearance which was a pleasant surprise.

Next time I check in, I will probably be in Germany or at least en route to Germany in an airport!

Liebe Grüsse
Anna

The Home Stretch

Alright. 31 days left. I've already started packing. We're setting up bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, insurance. I've never felt more like and adult, yet at the same time I feel more dependent than ever. I have farewell parties to attend as well as host and there are goodbyes everywhere I look. I never know if it's going to be the last time I see someone! Now August 11th is almost tangible. Real.

There's still so much I have to do before my departure! When I said I started packing, what I really mean is that I put some clothes in a basket and put some in a garbage bag. I can't even begin to express my anxiety about fitting everything in 1 suitcase, 1 carry-on, and 1 backpack. A whole year's worth of stuff in 3 bags. I'm not even sure if that's possible. I'm not sure what clothes they wear in Germany. What's going to be useful, what's going to be cool, what's going to be in or out, what's practical, what I should bring and what I want to bring. I don't even want to think about packing next year when I'm coming home. 2 YEARS worth of stuff. Oi.

There are also multitudes of supplies I need to get for my adventure. Thanks to a day at the beach during camp, my year-old Nikon camera is filled with sand and alas, I am filled with sorrow. Along with that, I need to get a huge memory card-- 512MB just won't do. There're journals, clothes, toiletries, electronics and more that I would prefer to have squared away before I go across the pond.

Also... I should probably work on the German. It's gut, but not that gut.

Liebe Grüße
Anna

57 Days

Hi!

I'm Anna Bahnfleth. I'm 16 years old and live in State College, Pennsylvania. Next year I'm going to be living in Simmern, Germany for the whole school year. There are 57 days left until I say goodbye to my friends and family, board my plane, and embark on the journey of a lifetime

I'm going through Rotary Youth Exchange, which is basically the best program on the planet. I've met so many amazing people this year already! I will never forget all the crazy Inbounds and Outbounds I've become friends with this year. You guys are
amazing and I intend on visiting every single one of you :) Rotary has seriously changed my life. Even just preparing to be an exchange student this year has made a huge impact on me. The orientations were memorable to say the least, and District Conference was insane. I'd like to give a shoutout to Carl Hill, the best Youth Exchange Chair ever!!!

For those of you not so hip with the Rotary lingo: inbound = exchange student currently in their host country, outbound = student leaving on exchange in the coming year.


So I'm actually going to be living in 3 little towns (Ellern, Keidelheim, and Liebshausen) around a slightly bigger little town (Simmern) where I'll be going to school. Ellern, Keidelheim, and Liebshausen all have under 1,000 inhabitants, while Simmern has around 8,000. It's going to be a big change from State College (pop. 60,000 when Penn State is in session), but I think I'm up to the challenge. I'll be attending the Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium, the main high school in Simmern.



I'll try and keep you updated as August 11th looms closer and closer (can something loom in a good way?)

Viele Grüße
Anna