Christmas Time is Here

Well, it's Christmas time in Germany!!! I mean I guess it has been since November (these German's start really early), but it's now actually Christmas time! Honestly, it doesn't really feel like Christmas. Yes, there are tons of Christmas markets, but I don't know. It just doesn't feel like Christmas. I feel like time is going by so quickly here and the holidays just kind of snuck up on me!

Christmas Market in my city, Goeppingen

The other day I received two packages from my family! One from my grandparents (Thanks Gramma and Grampa Kunkel!!!) and one from my parents. In them were a bunch of christmas presents. Although it kills me not to open them, I will wait until Christmas. I find it strange that my host family doesn't have the Christmas tree up. Are we even going to put one up at all? Also, I learned from my host mom that they don't do stockings from Santa here. Santa doesn't even come here! What they do have is St. Nicholas. He comes on the 6th of December and tells you if you've been good or bad. He's basically Santa, except for he always has two black men with him. The black men are the supposed bad men that will reprimand you if you've been naughty. St. Nicholas is the one who tells them what to do. Little kids all over are scared to death of those black men. They are honestly really creepy.

St. Nicholas and the two black men

I know it's a little late to be posting this, but here is a picture of me on Mt. Titlis in Switzerland.

I absolutely love getting together with the other exchange students. We always have so much fun together. Eurotour is going to be absolutely amazing. This past weekend we got together in Ueberlingen to celebrate Lake(USA) and Pietro's(Brazil) birthdays.

Running to the other group of people who were coincidentally also wearing onesies

Picture with the other people in onesies

With the other American girls at a Christmas market

I have gotten so lucky with my new class. They are so nice and welcoming and I'm so thankful for them. On the last day before winter break we did Secret Santa and I about died when one of the guys received a pack of beer. Only in Germany. I personally got a small stuffed reindeer and some chocolate. I'm always ready for chocolate. Maybe that's why I'm gaining all this exchange weight. Oh well!

New Month, New Family, New Experiences

I have officially been gone for 3 and a half months now! My lack of blog posts are due to somedays not having anything to say, and then others where I have too much to say. Well, I began my 4th month of exchange in Switzerland where Delfi(exchange student from Argentina) and I were staying with a Swiss Rotarian and his family. It was probably one of the best weekends I've had on my entire exchange. Delfi and I missed school on Friday the 5th and took a 4 hour train ride to Zurich, Switzerland where we met Roman and Susy Fuglister and one of their daughters. We spent friday going around Zurich and it was so beautiful, but so expensive. On saturday we went to a thermal pool that had half of it indoors and half outdoors and it was amazing. It was so relaxing. That night we went to a christmas market in town. The next day we went skiing on Mount Titlis and the view, although cloudy, was amazing. It was so beautiful. That night we were supposed to take the train home, but due to traffic conditions, our train pulled away just as we were running to catch it. So we ended up staying another night there. Apparently all of Germany seems to think that Christmas starts in November. Although weird, I'm not complaining! I love going to all the Christmas Markets because they are so beautiful. My favorite would have to be the one in Ulm. It takes place right in front of the Church and it absolutely stunning at night. I also switched families this week. I chose to switch families early for a variety of reasons. Although I knew it was for the best, telling them that I was leaving felt like a lot like we were breaking up. It was not a good feeling. But I am much happier in my new host family. I will stay in this family until May. I'm sorry if this posts lacks interesting content, it's just that I find it very hard to sum up everything. I will try to post more regularly, but no promises. As always, thank you for reading! I hope to be more interesting in my next posts.

These Days..

My city, Goeppingen, is so pretty nowadays. They are starting to string lights over the main street in preparation for the Christmas markets! I love walking through it at night because it's so pretty with all the lights.

I took this while walking to my language course.

I have developed an addiction for Kinder Chocolate. It's so good. I don't understand why they banned Kinder eggs in the US! Because I mean the kid would have to have a really big mouth to choke on the thing containing the toy inside the egg. Honestly, how would you even be able to swallow that?? America doesn't make sense.

These Kinder eggs are bigger than my hand.

In Germany I find it hilarious how people can just bring their dogs anywhere. Out shopping, to a nice restaurant, to a little cafe in the city for coffee. It's not just little dogs they take places, they will bring their big dogs, to be honest they look more like a bears than dogs, out to public places! I'm not sure if you can even do that in America! But I tell ya, there is no way I would bring my dog to a restaurant. She would jump up and try to eat some stranger's food.

Dog just chilling while it's owner drinks some coffee.

This past weekend I took the train up to Heidenheim to visit my other exchange students friends and have a "party." There were only I think 13 people there. But hey, still counts. I love getting together with the others because that's when we can really let out our frustrations and I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with a bunch of foreigns. I love listening to their accents too. When they speak they sound so cute. None of us are really that homesick. I mean we all have moments, but they pass fairly quickly. 

*NOT A PICTURE WITH OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS*

Picture with two of my classmates.

You Know You're an Exchange Student When..

You know you're an exchange student when..
-You have no idea what the meaning of "homework" is
-You have developed a rare talent enabling you to sleep any time and anywhere
-You have mastered the "smile and nod"
-You use your nationality as an excuse for anything and everything
-You have a secret stash of snacks in your room
-You count waking up in the morning as exercise
-You freak out when you hear your native language
-You spend a ridiculous amount of money on foreign candy
-Your hobbies include Nutella, Nutella, and.... oh yeah, Nutella
-You have pretended to understand your host language, and then said "yes" to a non yes or no question. For example, "What did you do yesterday?" "Yes!"
-You're scared to ask what the food is
-You find yourself avoiding conversations so you don't have to talk
-You never know what's going on
-You spend most of your time on the internet.. Stalking other exchange students
-Your "jam" is a song in your host language that you don't know the meaning of.. but you'll still sing it like you do
-You try to mix languages
-You are the only student who is allowed to sleep in class, because you're foreign so it's okay
-When you get packages from home that contain food, the food is gone within an hour(feel free to send me more goldfish)
-You spend money like it's Monopoly money
-People stare at you all the time, because you're foreign.. and fabulous.. Like Shakira
-You look down upon the 1 week long "exchange students"
-You feel bad about yourself when other exchange students speak the language better than you do
-You haven't spoken with another person from your home country in so long that your own accent is starting to sound weird to you
-You quote movies from your home country all the time but no one gets the quote so they just think you're super weird..
-Your oh so original nickname is your country/state
-You use "I'm not fat, I'm an exchange student" as a legitimate excuse
-You can relate to the song Talk Dirty to Me by Jason Derulo, "Been around the world, don't speak the language"(Except that's the only part of the song because Rotary says No Dating)
-You have given up all hope that someone will pronounce your name correctly

1 month!

                After 1 month is Germany, my language skills are pretty eh. I find myself hesitant to speak in German because I don't have the words to voice my thoughts and opinions yet. However, people seem to think that because I don't speak in German, I don't understand anything they say. Surprise, I do. I'm not saying I understand everything, but I understand a fair amount. So when people think they can talk about me and I won't know what they're saying... think again! I mean come on, you would be surprised how much body language conveys.. On occasion, if I'm really focusing, I can understand what is being said, or at least guess. I listen for the words that I do know and piece by piece I put together what is behind said. It is very helpful when people speak slowly and clearly.
                Before I got to Germany, I was unaware that I would be taking a German language course(on top of school). Although I am thankful for the opportunity to learn the basics of German, I find the class extremely painful. I die a little inside with each lesson. It is so boring. The teacher speaks very quickly at times and then I don't know what is going on and neither does anyone else in the class. The class is from 6:00-8:15 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I dread each class. I would love to skip class altogether, but I know that it is in my best interest to attend the lessons no matter how much I hate them.
                Last Saturday, the 4th, I celebrated my 1 month of being in country by going to Oktoberfest in Munich with the other exchange students in my Rotary district. It was not a Rotary sponsored event, we just all got in contact and planned it ourselves. It was s much fun! We were in a beer tent for 7 hours that day(to go in the beer tent you have to be at least 16). If you leave the beer yrny there is no way you're getting back into it. So that is why we were in it for so long. I learned a new Germany word, "Prost!" Prost=Cheers. I also me several other exchange students from other organizations. It was really cool to talk to them about their experiences so far. I had never seen so many people drunk before 12 pm. I guess that is normal at Oktoberfest?
               I have also attended my 1st soccer game! It was a game between Stuttgart and Hannover. At the stadium, I noticed a section of the stands were fenced off and filled with security. Confused, I asked my friends why. They explained that it was the seating for the fans of the opposite team(in this case Hannover) and the fences were put up to keep the fans of rival teams from beating each other up! These Germans really take their soccer seriously... The atmosphere reminded me a lot of a NASCAR race I went to in Alabama. So much drinking and smoking. It was quite the experience... By the way, Stuttgart won.

Things I have Learned as an Exchange Student

• Washing your whites and darks together in the washing machine will not kill you.
• You only truly need 3 pairs of shoes.
• That strange foreign food that looks extremely questionable will not give you food poisoning.
• Frequent contact with your family will not cause you to lose touch with your life on exchange
• Being an exchange student doesn't make you feel any different, you're still you, just living in a different country.
• Unfortunately, you will not have best friends within 2 weeks. Not even 3 weeks.
• Accept the weight gain, it is inevitable.
• Riding the train and bus alone is no big deal.
• You can't always do things according to your schedule. Other people have plans too.
• Sometimes you must do things that you dislike in order to benefit you in the long run.
• Sometimes you have more in common with a group of adult immigrants who are from all over the world than you do with people your own age.
• The United States education system needs to step it up. Every student in Europe can speak at least 2 languages.
• Defining a culture is impossible. You can't fully understand until you live it.
• Take every opportunity. You never know what doors it might open up.
• If you think everything will be taken care of for you, you need to step into reality and accept responsibility for what needs to be done. Your Mommy will not always be there to make sure everything gets done.
• Exchange is what you make it. You can make it the best year of your life, or the worst. 

The Trials and Tribulations of Learning a Language

Language will always be a mind boggling concept to me. The fact that a different series of sounds can mean something to one group of people and then mean something entirely different to another is fascinating. Often times when I am sitting in class, I will listen to everyone speak and at first it will sound like they are having a conversation, but then as I focus more on the sounds they are making, I understand everything! Just kidding. I wish. In reality, to me they sound like they are crazy and just making random noises. But then, on very rare occasion, I actually understand what they are saying! The feeling of actually hearing a conversation between other people is extremely comforting. It doesn't matter if it is a simple, "It is so cold in here!" Just the fact that I am starting to comprehend the language makes me feel better. It is like I am finally being let in on a big secret that everyone else knows. I can not wait to be able to understand more of the puzzle that is called German. 

The Little Things..

It's strange what you miss when you leave home. For me it's the small things. I miss arguing with my parents, holding my dog hostage in my bed, my brothers eating the rest of my food when I can't finish it, hugs, my Mom's cooking, and even my older brother's painstakingly slow driving. When you leave home you would never guess that you would miss arguing with your family. I mean who in their right mind thinks, "I will miss yelling about stupid things that don't matter in the long run!" So far, this exchange is teaching me to appreciate the small things in life. I know this isn't a super upbeat post, but I just thought it was interesting what I actually have ended up missing the most. Also, no, nothing is wrong, I am still having the time of my life in Germany. I am just a little homesick.

Just Another Day..

I have been in Germany for almost two weeks now and I am head over heels in love with my life here. No, not everything goes perfectly, but I wouldn't change where I am for all the wealth in the world. I don't know how I will be able to leave here.. For those of you who were worried about the age difference between my classmates and I(Mom), it has not been a problem. Everyone in my class is super nice. Today Cedric took me out for lunch (I had classes from 8-12:10, then more classes from 2-5:15) and we met up with a bunch of guys from class at an outdoor restaurant. The restaurant was called "The Rock." At this restaurant you can order food named after famous singers such as Jennifer Lopez and Greenday. I personally ordered the Conchita Wurst. For those of you who don't know, Conchita is a singer. He/She/It won Eurovision last year. Eurovision is a singing contest that is really popular in Europe. The Conchita Wurst was actually very good! It was chicken, cheese, tomato, and bbq sauce wrapped in a toasted tortilla. Although I have only really talked to guys here(Dad I know you're reading this and please don't have a heart attack), it's all good. I've only been in school for 3 days. I have a whole year to make friends. For gym class today (we have it once a week and it is the last class of the day) I chose football(soccer for all the Americans reading this). I was THE ONLY girl in the entire class. I don't think any of the guys had ever even seen a girl before. The teacher made us run in the forest and it was awful. But I needed the exercise, as Cedric said(he's in the class)I worked off that Conchita Wurst. After running we played a mini football game. I am absolutely awful. I have the skills of a 2 year old. It's okay though because I'm foreign. Anyways, I am having a great time here.

Love living in "Farmville"

Lunch today

Selfie with Conchita Wurst (featuring the guys in my class)

This is Conchita

First Day of School!

Today, September 15th, 2014, was my first day of school. They put me in grade 13 with my host sister, Isi. Everyone in that grade is at least 2 years older than me! This guy in my class is 20 years old. I am 16. School started at 8:00 am and Isi drove us there. My school is so big and confusing! Once we got to school Isi saw all her friends in the class and they started speaking German very quickly so I just sat on a table awkwardly. I felt so antisocial. I could tell that everyone in the class was looking at me like "who is this strange person sitting over there?" Finally people started talking to me. I was so thankful because it was incredibly awkward. I sat next to a guy named Cedric for home room. He was very nice and spoke english very well (he was an exchange student to Virginia 3 years ago). My next class was Chemistry. I sat next to Isi and I understood nothing. My next class was economics, taught in english. It was so funny to read what the teacher had written in english because most of it didn't even make sense to me! He kept calling on me to ask about words and I felt so bad when I couldn't remember the english word. That class lasted 2 hours long and I sat next to Cedric again. My last class of the day was Religion. I was so surprised that they had a religion class! That is not allowed in America. For religion class you separate into 2 groups, Catholic and Protestant. I have no idea what happens if you're atheist. That is when Isi and I went our separate ways, she is Catholic and I am Protestant. I followed Cedric to the Protestant class. Religion class is by far my favorite. All we did was sit at our desks and sing as our teacher played guitar. He described the way we sounded as being "like angels.. on drugs." We sang Read All About It by Emeli Sande. It was sooo funny. I think I will enjoy school here very much. Sometimes I just sit there and think about how I can't believe this is my life. I am so thankful for my parents supporting me in this. I am having the most amazing time. I am in love with Germany. Update on the food: I am getting used to it and even starting to like it!

My German Mom makes the best bread ever

First Few Days

In my first few days I have realized how much of a struggle this year will actually be. Only other exchange students can truly understand what it is like. I do not understand anything. I am so confused all the time! I am fairly nervous for school too(it starts on Monday). What if everyone thinks I dress funny! More importantly, I UNDERSTAND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Most of the time I just smile and nod. But I think everyone knows that I really have no idea what is going on. It is very lonely and hard to not be able to interact with other people. Yes, most people speak english. But when people are in groups they all speak German and I sit there and wonder what everyone thinks is so funny. It's like one big inside joke that I can't even begin to understand. Also, when people approach me in German I just smile and say "Ja" because I feel like I'll disappoint them when they find out that I'm actually American and have no idea what they're saying. As the hashtag on Twitter goes, the struggle is real. Another one of my problems is getting used to the food. Oh how I miss my Mom's cooking! Germans eat a lot of sausage. In America, I refused to eat sausage because it looked disgusting and I didn't like the taste(I wasn't a big meat eater). So you can imagine how I felt when suddenly it was on my plate at almost every single meal! But I will eat it! And I will learn to love it! They have so many different types of sausage and to me it all looks so gross... But I am an exchange student in Germany so I will eat it all. I know it sounds like I am complaining too much... but I am having the best time! I swear my host family's goal is to make me fat! They feed me chocolate all the time and I wonder how some of this food qualifies as lunch! I would classify it as dessert. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine with eating dessert for lunch, but I don't know if my clothes will fit me if I continue eating like this! However, they say that if you don't gain weight on exchange you're doing something wrong. Last night all of Leonie's (would be host sister but she's on exchange in Sitka, Alaska) friends came over and met me. They were so funny, at least they were when I actually understood what was happening! They all speak so quickly and they speak in slang terms. My host family is great. My parents are so nice and my sister is really cool and my little brother... well... we have some serious language barriers! Till and I have the funniest conversations. Sometimes I just give up and have him type what he's trying to tell me. I'll say something in english and he'll look at me funny and then I'll remember that he doesn't speak english. It is hilarious. Anyways, I'm having a great time. We went to the castle in Donzdorf yesterday and it was so pretty! I'm absolutely in love with Germany. I can't wait to be able to speak the language! Best choice I ever made.

Journey to Germany

On Thursday at 5:30am I left my house for the biggest adventure of my life. I had absolutely no idea that what was supposed to be a smooth 21 hour journey would become a very stressful 26 hour journey. My flight to Seattle from Anchorage went very smoothly. The lady who sat next to me was very nice and that was a relief. Once I got to Seattle I had a 2 hour layover. During that layover, I met Morgan (I have previously met Morgan, he is from my same district in Alaska) and Gordon, from Canada. We formed a "posse" and hunted around the airport for icecream. We ended up getting frozen yogurt. As we were boarding our flight, we saw the flash of another blazer. The girl saw us at the same moment and raised her arm and shouted "I see you!" Then we all boarded the plane. Once on the plane, we learned that all of our seats were super far apart from each other. We kept waiting for the plane to fill up with people, but hardly anyone else boarded! There wear probably only 20-30 people on that flight. So I ended up asking if I could move seats to be next to the other exchange student girl. The flight attendant said yes and Morgan and I picked up all of our stuff and scrambled around the plane to get to Gordon and the other girl (we didn't know her yet). I sat next to the girl and Morgan sat next to Gordon. Once the flight took off, I learned that the girls name was Kierstin. We talked the whole flight(4 hours) and became friends. Once our flight landed in Detroit, we realized we only had 30 minutes before our next flight took off. We hurried and got to our gate and met a whole bunch of other exchange students. We then asked them to watch our stuff as we ran through the airport to Mcdonalds to get some lunch, seeing as this was the big flight across the Atlantic to Amsterdam. The "posse" ended up ordering 20 chicken nuggets for us all to share. Once we got our food, we sprinted back to our gate just as they were about to close the doors (the other exchange students were freaking out). We made it on without a second to spare. Once on the plane, Kiersrin and I asked the men who we're sitting next to is if they could switch seats with us so we could sit together. They said yes and we thought we were in the clear. Wrong. The other delightful people on the flight had used up every single overhead bin. All the other exchange students were able to make theirs fit but mine wouldn't. So I was frantically asking the people on the flight if they could move their purses (why they needed to be in an overhead bin I will never know) under their seats that way I wouldn't have to pay $100 to check my bag. The people on the flight seemed insulted that I would even ask them that! I was extremely appalled at how snobby, difficult, and selfish the people were. It was a tiny purse! If I moved it over my bag would fit in the bin! There I was. Running around the plane practically begging people to make a little extra room and I was nearly in tears and it was so stressful and awful. Then an angel appeared in the form of a flight attendant. A kind man in the first class had seen me panicking and had  volunteered his overhead bin that was completely empty. The flight attendant took my bag away, and with it my stress. Until another thing happened. We spilled all 20 chicken nuggets on the floor. The lady flight attendants were 100% done with us. That flight seemed to last forever. But at least I had Kierstin! All the other exchange students had to sit with other people that they didn't know. A poor boy from Wisconsin sat in the last row of the flight with an Asian woman who didn't say a word the entire time. I was only able to sleep for an hour during the 7 hour flight. As we flew over the Atlantic Ocean there was a lightning storm and there was lightning all around us and really bad turbulence. It was really cool but really scary at the same time. Once we reached Amsterdam, (it was beautiful by the way) the two other exchange students and I realized that we only had 20 minutes before our flight was scheduled to take off. We booked it all the way through the airport to where we went through customs and then another security check. After that we only had 7 minutes until take off. Still hopeful we would make it, we ran to our gate and walked up to the counter only to hear the 4 most hated words in exchange student history: "Your flight has left." Immediately the stress sweating kicked in and it was extra bad because we were all in our heavy blazers running around. We were 4 teenagers, stranded in a Amsterdam. I asked the lady at the desk what're should do and she directed us to the transfer station to transfer our tickets to a different flight. That went smoothly. I went to text my host parents, then I realized: I lost my phone. The panic began again. I had Gordon (he was still waiting for his flight to board) watch my stuff and I ran back to security in hopes that they had my phone. I saw another angel on disguise that day. In the form of a Dutch airport security lady. She handed me my phone saying "I hoped you would come back." If we had made the flight I would have left my iPhone in Amsterdam. Exhausted from 21 hours of travel and immense stress, I sat on a couch in the transfer area with the 2 other exchange students headed to Stuttgart. We then waited for 3 hours for our flight out of Amsterdam to Stuttgart. We got to our gate an hour early just to be sure that we wouldn't miss our flight. I went and tried to buy some water, only to discover that my card was declined. I ended up paying with USD. I then took advantage of the free wifi and texted my dad asking him to call the bank and ask why my card was declined. He called them and apparently the shut off my card because they thought my 3 in flight wifi purchases during my flights across the US (worth it) looked "suspicious." Who are they to judge what I buy! After I got the whole debit card thing figured out, I opened my water to take a drink, only to notice that it was carbonated. It was absolutely disgusting. It tastes so wrong on so many different levels! All I wanted was regular old normal bottled water and I ended up with some crazy fizzy water. Finally our plane to Stuttgart started boarding. I was asleep before the plane even took off. That's how exhausted I was. I didn't wake up until I heard "In 10 minutes we will arrive in Stuttgart." I was so confused because it went by so quickly! One minute I was awake in Amsterdam and the next I was about to land in Stuttgart. Germany was amazing from above. There were so many farms and cute villages. Once we landed, we all went as fast as we could to get to baggage, that way we could collect our luggage and meet our families. I got my bag and I said goodbye to the other 2 exchange students and walked out and was immediately greeted by my host family. They made me a sign and everything! It was so great. They asked me if I was hungry and I said yes. I hadn't eaten since we flew over Canada. They took me up through the hills (there was a castle on top of one of the hills!!!) to a restaurant that served traditional German food. I had my little brother, Till, order for me since I had no idea what anything was. I also ordered water and it was brought to me in a big glass bottle with what looked like a mini wine glass. I was so confused! My sister, Isabel, and Till ordered sprite and it came without ice. Till ended up ordering me some schnitzel. It was soooo good. It's kind of like fried chicken except its pork and everyone judges you if you eat it with your hands. I also tried German potato salad. It's a far cry from American potato salad. It tasted so bitter! I must say, their food will definitely take some getting used to. After dinner we drove along a winding road leading through various villages. My host family has a big green Volkswagen van and it is the cutest thing ever. We finally reached my house and it is also super cute. They had a big American flag hanging up and it was so nice. My bedroom is AWESOME. It's on the top floor and has a skylight and a balcony. The balcony is next to an apple tree and there are fresh apples hanging from it. I love how the church bells ring to mark every hour. It is so beautiful. I think I will enjoy living here very much. Today my host parents took me to a plane show. It was very entertaining. Please enjoy these pictures and thank you for reading!

Making my way to the plane

Last mother daughter selfie; in line to board

My view once we took off in Alaska

Morgan and I found Shamoo in Seattle

Kierstin and I

Flying over the Atlantic, towards day light

My first meal in Germany, schnitzel 

My water in a glass bottle

One Day Left

1 day left in my wonderful home state. Last night I had my last home cooked meal: barbecue chicken and potato salad. It was absolutely delicious. I will miss my Mom's cooking. I also ended up seeing Harper again! She had a dress of mine that I let her borrow back in May.. So we drove to her house and picked it up. This goodbye was a little sadder and I actually teared up. I also said goodbye to Kelsey, my friend since the 4th grade. However, the saddest goodbye is yet to come; leaving my dog. I will miss my Lucy so much. I wish I could put her in my suitcase and bring her with me. Speaking of suitcases, I have probably packed and unpacked everything 6 times. The first time I had everything all packed up and then I went and weighed it and it was 60 lbs. That's 10 lbs over the allowed amount.. So obviously, instead of going through and taking out stuff, I just put all 13 pairs of shoes in my carry on. We'll see if it's still too heavy... If it is, I guess I'll just have to wear lots of layers on the plane. After all, no shoe left behind! It still doesn't seem real that I'm doing this. I don't think it will hit me until I'm on the plane taking off. I'm so excited! But I still have so much left to do! Today I have my last Rotary meeting with Anchorage East. I love going to them because it helps me stay connected with the club and the food is the bomb.com. Lukas promised he'd come so we could say goodbye. Will he actually come..? I don't know. Even if he doesn't end up coming, it will still be great to say goodbye to the people who have given me such an opportunity. I doubt I'll get any sleep tonight... Well anyways, this might be my last post until I've actually left. So please pray that I have a safe flight!

All packed!

Lucy, my dog

Last last best friend selfie with Harper

Saying goodbye to Kelsey

Saying Goodbye..

It is crazy that I am already saying goodbye to people. This morning I said goodbye to Harper, my best friend. We both cried so hard as we hugged and exchanged our final words. Just kidding, that's not what happened at all. We awkwardly hugged and said "later." I know, I know. Not a very touching goodbye story, but that's how it went down. I would have expected myself to be a little more emotional... but I guess I'm not. But she isn't either so it was all good. Our goodbye was short and painless. It is really weird though that that might have been the last time I'll see her(there is a chance I'm moving after exchange). Farewell Harp-a-Karp. I will miss you.

Last Best Friend Date at my favorite restaurant

Thank you Target worker

Last sleepover(notice Ben&Jerry's)

Last Best Friend Selfie

Last Few Days..

As of right now, 4:03 PM on August 30th, I have 4 days, 14 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds left in Alaska. We are now frantically getting everything ready. For example, today we went to AT&T to get my phone unlocked so I can take it to Germany. I'm not really sure if I'll actually be able to use it as a phone, but if I can't it will work as an iPod/camera. My suitcase is mostly packed and I have taken down everything on the walls of my room in preparation for my little brother to have it. Yesterday I hung out with Lukas again. For those of you who read this and are considering exchange, don't be dumb and make new friends right before you leave like I did. Tonight I am having my last date night with my best friend Harper! Harper and I have been friends since 5th grade. So 6 years. That's crazy! This is the second of my moves that we've gone through together, so we're pretty good at this whole "goodbye" thing. I will post pictures from tonight later. I'm very excited to leave but also scared to death. Once I'm on that plane there's no going back. Well actually there's already no going back because I already told a bunch of people I'm going to be an exchange student.. Prayers for a safe flight would be greatly appreciated! Thank y'all so much for taking the time to read this. Bye! Tchuss!

Lucy doesn't want me to go

1 Week 4 Days

I leave so soon! I have even begun my first phase of packing! You know, the one where you grab everything you could possibly want before you go back and think realistically. I have 13 pairs of shoes that I want to bring.. I know what you're thinking, "Madde, do you really need 13 pairs of shoes?" Well here is the answer: YES. Just kidding(kind of), I will TRY to get to under 10 pairs, but no promises. Also, being from Alaska, I have a jacket for just about ever weather type. That means I have about a million jackets. I don't know which ones to choose because I like them all! I mean what if its snowing but not quite cold enough for it to stick? I need a rain jacket, but one that's warmer than my rain jacket for the summer! So obviously I need to take a whole other jacket just in case that happens. On an entirely different note, 2 days ago was the Rotary softball game. Lukas and I practiced batting and I was really surprised and slightly jealous that he was actually not terrible. Maybe it's because he's a guy, or maybe I was just so awful that he looked great in comparison. It could go either way! Anyways, I ended up taking him to the State Fair with me and 2 best friends yesterday. I think he had fun. I mean I'm pretty sure he did, but again, it could go either way. We had donut burgers. They are burgers on a donut bun. It was kind of good but kind of weird. Make that REALLY weird. Lukas keeps trying to teach me German and I don't think my mouth was made to make those sounds! I sound like I'm choking/throwing up! Crazy to think that it's the language of my ancestors. I mean if they had never decided to come across to America I would probably be living in Germany! So today my little brother Riley looked at me and said, "I'm going to miss you Madde." That's the first time that he's said that. My Dad told me today, "When you leave I'm selling all of your clothes." Thanks Dad... Alright that is all I have to say! As always, thank you so much to Rotary for the best opportunity of my life and for being the greatest program out there!

Lukas, Harper, and I at the State Fair(Ayasha isn't pictured)

My little brothers on their 1st day of school

Me on their 1st day of school (note the pajamas)

Meeting the Inbound

Last week I was able to go to the airport and meet the Austrian inbound for my club as he got off the plane. The look on his face was a mix of happiness and immense confusion! It was interesting to see what it was like for him to step off a plane in a foreign country where no one speaks his language. I can only imagine what it will be like for me. His arrival only heightened my anxiety for when I leave. To be honest, I was fairly put out that his exchange had already started and here I was, still stuck in my home country. I know it is not the most mature way to look at it, but I can't help it! I'm just so excited and ready to set off on my own adventure. As excited as I am, the reality of what I'm about to do is starting to set in. Last night I dreamed that it was my last night in Alaska. I was terrified. In my dream I couldn't stop crying and I questioned actually going. When I woke up I had to remind myself that I still have 21 days until I leave. Even after the occasional self doubt, I am still 99.99% sure that this is something that I want and need to do. This might just be me but, I feel like there is an invisible boundary separating me from my friends who have already left for exchange. Just because they have already experienced what I'm waiting for. I don't feel like I can call myself an exchange student yet. That bothers me. It's like they're in a "club" that I can't join. I don't know, it's silly. It's something that a child in elementary school would think. Oh well, I will try to enjoy my last 22 days and attend as many Rotary functions as possible. Lukas, the Austrian inbound, and I made a pact that we would attempt to play in the Rotary softball game; neither of us know how to play. Wish us luck!

TICKETS ARE BOOKED!

Today I logged on to Its Your World Travel and discovered that I had received my itinerary! I leave on September 4th at 7:00 am. I will fly from Anchorage to Seattle to Detroit to Amsterdam and then on to Stuttgart. I will arrive in Stuttgart at 1:30 in the afternoon on September 5th. I am so excited to finally see everything coming together! Although I am what you could say "bitter" about being the last one to leave District 5010, I understand why I must go so late. After all, school starts September 15th. At this point I'm just ready to go. I would be thrilled if I received an email stating that I'm actually leaving next week. But I guess I will just have to wait for my time. God has a plan for everything. Even if I don't necessarily agree with that plan at the moment. In the mean time, I will just continue down sizing my wardrobe (why keep what I won't bring) and decluttering my room(my brothers want it to be their "man cave").  On a completely unrelated note, I have begun messaging Leo's (would be host sister but she's coming to Alaska) friends. They're really cool but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it... Maybe I won't have as much of a choice to pick my own friend group once I get there. Oh well, I guess I will find out!

Rotary Presentation

Today I gave my presentation about myself and Alaska for my home club, Anchorage East. It was mediocre at best.. I had to sit at the head table which was on a stage facing the entire Rotary club. I was so paranoid that people were watching me eat. It didn't help when I spilled water on myself... I'm pretty sure everyone saw that.. One thing about those blazers that they don't tell you is how incredibly hot they are! I thought I was about to melt right off the stage. Also, there were tons of german speakers in the room. So they all knew when I butchered the german language. You wouldn't think "Mein name ist Madde und ich bin aus Alaska" would be too hard. But it is. I physically can not pronounce "ich." Everyone always tells that I'm doing it wrong! I know it's wrong, but I just can not make that sound. I am convinced that it is impossible. Even though my german is pretty sub par, at it's best, everyone still clapped for me at the end. Also, they were kind enough to give me a really nice hard cover book with photos of Anchorage. It is so pretty. I will really miss it here. Tomorrow I am going to a going away party for the Thai exchange student with Anchorage East. His name is Boom and he leaves to go back next week. I will really miss him. Thank ya'll for taking time out of your day to read this! And also, thank you Rotary for this opportunity. I haven't even left yet and it is already changing my life.

My Mom and I before the Rotary meeting

Goodbye Boom! I'll miss your presence at the Rotary stuff

1 month 18 days 15 hours 53 minutes 35 seconds

After months of waiting, I have finally received my host guarantee form from Germany. That is the form that securers me a place in Germany! I honestly thought it would never get here and that everyone else would go on exchange but mine would fall through.  Luckily, we have now begun to book tickets! The only bad thing is, all of the other Rotary Exchange class of 14/15 people are starting to leave and most will be gone in the next 3 weeks. It makes me so jealous that they're leaving so soon. I still have 1 month and 18 days left in Alaska. Yes, I am counting down. Although, every now and then I will have a mini breakdown. I realize how much I will miss my family, especially my parents. For the other future exchange students reading this, don't try to hold it back. It happens to ALL of us. One of my friends, she leaves for Austria in 3 weeks, has panic attacks. I think it's finally starting to hit all of us that we're actually doing this and we won't see our families for almost a full year. There have been times when I've considered backing out and not doing it, but I know this is what God planned when he moved my family back to Alaska. He meant for me to do exchange. That might sound silly, but I am a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason.

Fundraising

I have decided to start earning money to put away for while I'm in Germany to hopefully help cover extra expenses (traveling, phones, food, ect.). One of the things that I have done to make money is selling my old clothes. One day, while doing some "deep cleaning," I realized that my dresser and closet were filled with clothes that I haven't worn in years. I probably only wore about 15% of the clothes I had. It was ridiculous. So instead of letting that massive pile of clothes gather dust in my closet, I decided to take it in to the local resale store (Plato's Closet). I made over $200 just selling the clothes I don't wear anymore! I have also been applying for jobs. Unfortunately, that's not going so great. I might just be being too picky on where I'm willing to work. (For the record I turned 16 a month ago so I have only been eligible to get a job for a month.) Since I have not gotten a job yet, I have been doing quite a bit of babysitting. The family I am currently babysitting for is paying me 10 dollars an hour. Thats more than I would make at any job that hires people with my qualifications! I have raised about $700 dollars from these two things alone. My goal this summer is to end up with at least 1,500 dollars. I'm not sure if I'll make it to that, but it would be nice to know that I have extra cash just in case I need it.

Rotary Blazer

So one of the Rotary traditions is to give the exchange students blazers, which they decorate with pins that they collect from their travels. A great way to spot a Rotary exchange student is to look for any color of blazer(the color depends on the country). The blazer will most likely be decorated with random things, the craziest I have seen is a rubber chicken. The blazers also help other Rotary exchange students to find each other in airports. Not many people wear blazers decorated in colorful pins on an airplane! It is a great system to find each other so you are not traveling internationally completely alone. Rotary always tries to match your flight with another exchange student who is going to somewhat the same area. For example, I could meet a kid in the Seattle airport and we would fly together until Amsterdam, where we would go our separate ways. It is a great way to meet new people and stay safe, because after all, safety in numbers.

My blazer

1st Host Family

This afternoon, as soon as I left from orientation, I received an email from my first host family. I was at the mall with my mom and when I saw the email I freaked out and so many people stared at me! My family lives in a small little town with a population of about 10,000. That is around the number of people that live in my town. My family seems like such a good match for me! I will have a younger brother who is 13 and an 18 year old sister. Their other child will be leaving to be a Rotary exchange student in Alaska shortly before I arrive. She is also 16. The mom is a ballet teacher and the father is an engineer. They also enjoy flying. That is great considering my dad is a pilot and I have grown up around planes! The mom also enjoys baking and gardening. I love to bake and I've never really had the chance to garden because I move during the summers (military family). I also dabbled in ballet and I hope she will let me sit in on a few classes and learn! I would be awful but it would be a great way to meet people. The cool thing about the daughter who is coming to Alaska is that we can exchange information about where we live and what we're going through as exchange students! Well, at least I hope that's what happens. I would love to ask her questions about Germany and answer any she has about Alaska. I also have every intention of begging my host brother to teach me to play soccer! I've never had a sister before and I hope we become close, despite the age difference. I could really use some tips on how to dress so I don't end up looking like a slobby American. After all, Alaska is the worst dressed state in America! I am so excited to meet them and I can't thank Rotary enough for this opportunity.

Spring Orientation: Outbounds

This weekend I have been fortunate enough to attend the Rotary Spring Orientation! It is strictly for outbounds and gives us a chance to bond with each other before we leave for exchange. I am so thankful that I am able to see everyone again. It's been so long and I truly missed them. For many of us this will be the last time we see each other until after our year abroad. This orientation is a lot more relaxed than the Rotary Winter Orientation. They don't take our phones away! It's a miracle! When we arrived we were thrilled to find out that the hotel we are staying at has a pool. For people in Alaska, a pool is a big deal. It is a rare occasion that we actually have the chance to swim. Tonight, after countless hours of sitting in a conference room, most of us went to the pool and enjoyed the luxury of a magical thing known as "hot tub." It was amazing. I can not thank the volunteers enough for how much they've given to us. It means so much to me. From the few short months I have been in the Rotary family, I can say I truly believe that this is the best exchange program in the world. If anyone is looking for a program I highly recommend Rotary. Thank you everyone for this amazing opportunity.

Outbound love! (I'm the girl being held)

Rotary District Conference

This past saturday I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Rotary District Conference selling balloons with raffle tickets to support the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. I can not thank the generous Rotary family enough for their donation of around 3,700 dollars. All of the Rotary members are so sweet and I aspire to be as caring and generous as them. They take the Rotary motto, "Service Above Self" extremely seriously. I also was able to see and try on my Rotary blazer for the first time. To be completely honest, my blazer is so unattractive. It is not the blazer itself that is horrendous, it is the way the blazer fits me. Well, the way it doesn't fit me. Nothing a little altering can't fix! Well actually, it was built for a man so the shoulder pads stick out further than my shoulders, the buttons that should be at my waist are at my hips, and it resembles a big navy blue box. The boxiness can be fixed but I doubt the other problems can. Oh well! It is mine. To me it is more than just a silly blazer that has some Rotary patches on it. It signifies that I am actually going to do this. I am leaving my childhood behind through this trip and am looking to the future with open arms. Actually, I'm leaping. I am diving headfirst into the real world. I am half scared to death and half speechless with excitement. As excited as I am for exchange, I shall try to enjoy these last few months in Alaska with my family. Thank you Rotary International for this amazing opportunity.

As my name was announced for Germany

About Me

             So I thought I would give you a more in depth introduction to my life. I am the middle child out of four kids (my little brothers are twins.) I have three brothers, Drew, Brayden, and Riley. I also have a beagle named Lucy. I have lived in Alaska, Washington D.C., Texas, Alabama, and England. I have spent half my life in Alaska so I consider it home. I am currently a sophomore in high school, but school gets out next week. My goal in life is to either join the Peace Corp or travel to third-world countries as a missionary. I love volunteering, traveling, and my Savior so why not combine them all! When I was 15 I traveled to Nicaragua on a week long mission trip and it was the most amazing experience of my life. I believe that is what sparked my interest in seeing the world. When I was younger all I wanted was to be famous, but as I've grown older I have realized that my life shouldn't be about just helping myself, it should be about helping others. What I have learned is that true joy can only be obtained by putting others before yourself. One thing I have been asked a lot is if Germany was my top choice in country. No, it was not. My top countries were Italy and Austria, however, I am thrilled to be going to a country filled with so much history and culture.

When I first received my country.