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.