Food.

Ok So half of you reading this were probably drawn to the fact that the title is Food. Honestly if I wasn´t writing it, I would click the link too. If there is food, everyone is there. Ok well moving on. The food here is good. People dont exagerate about German Chocolate. Chicken Schnitzel, I have had one. It didnt taste too bad. Also Flammkuchen. Delicious. Its like a messed up pizza. Its a thin crust like flatbread with a special sauce, kinda like cream cheese and sour cream but  different. Its called quark I think. Then on top there is bacon or onions or ham or more cheese. Well anyway its pretty darn good. But a big juicy steak takes the cake in my mind still. Speaking of steak.. I haven´t had one since I´ve been here. Sad life. I also haven´t heard the humm of a big ole´ diesel truck. I haven´t even seen a truck! And the semis. Mercedes Benz. Yupp. No Peterbilt up in here!!! Well yea I find that interesting. I also think its funny how I think of steak and end up talking about trucks. In my world they go hand-in-hand. Back to food. Im getting sidetracked. Too much coffee. My brain can´t handle it..OK food. Italian Ice Cream. HUGE here. Every town has multiple cafes for it. But I will say its pretty good. The tirimisu kind is great. :) And these Germans!! They eat like crazy! Always eating! For breakfast we have almost a full meal with bread and cold cut sandwiches. And coffee! always coffee. Then lunch is usually warm. And if you are home we eat together if we can. Supper is the same, If everyone isnt home for lunch we then have a hot supper too. But sometimes we have sandwhiches too. With all this eating I need to start running. A lot. I dont understand how everyone is soo skinny when they eat constantly! Yes.. there are few exeptions but nothing like back in America. Im sorry America but we have earned our reputation. Well I think that is enough about food for now...

So what have I been doing since last week..? Well on Wednesday I went to a Kletterpark with other afs students in the area. It like an obstacle course in the trees. Zip lining and climbing. It was fun!! Then after I went to Landau were I met with Ashvini (From Malaysia), and two other students from Brazil. The next day Ashvini and I went to meet Elena (Italy) in here host town. I also bought some shoes! they are grayish brown and are little ankle boots.... And back to Landau..... we were meeting with some more people for supper but my cold was getting bad and I didnt feel good so I went back home. In the next couple days I didnt do much mainly because I was sick and because I have no school! :) I watched a couple episodes of Little Britain. British humor. Hilarious. I met up with a girl in the neighborhood and we had a nice walk and chat which I did in almost complete German!! WooHooo! Sunday we went hiking again with another family in the neighborhood. There is a girl my age so it was nice to visit with her. I also went shopping with her yesterday. One of those days I made Apple Crisp for my family... I couldnt tell you which one though haha the joy of being busy. thankfully today was a nice chillaxing day. Not too much goin on. I think Ill go drink some hot lemon. Fresh sqeezed lemon in boiling hot water cures all cold and clear ya up with one cup. But I do suggest you add a little sugar or honey. Plain is ok but not that enjoyable!:) 

Tschüss Alle!!

ellie

"Tall Mocha Frappe Bitte."

Thats all I said. Tall mocha frappe bitte. And the very nice McDonalds workers says.."Is that all?" WHAT?! How does she know I speak english? I asked in German, a simple phrase.. how? Well I guess my german isn't that great.. But thats ok. Some day they won't seconf guess my german. So its been what.. 1 1\2.. 2 weeks since last post? ahh who knows. Well what I do know is that a ton has happened. Like literally this just may be the longest post yet. 

On Sept 23 we had another orientation. This time with many people from a little larger area than before. It was interesting to say the least. Friday was basically meet and greet the other students who will be your support for the rest of the year. "Ok Hi ich heiße Ellie." But some didnt know german so I then switched to English which everyone knows.. everyone. We also played the lovely name game. And I officially apologize to Hei Hei for my incorrect pronuciation. Saturday was even better. You know the infamous "banana condom" demonstration. Yea been there, done that. With a group of people I had never met. Night came and they dinosaurs were let out. Taradactle..? Spelling.. not sure. But you pretend you are one then you go around the cirlce saying taradactle or Sqwaking... But you cant laugh. and you mouth has to look like a bird. So if you see some beautiful pictures on Facebook or somewhere... I really didnt loose all my teeth and I am not a nutcase. The hangover is funnier in english. and stews song.. not known to everyone. So when I and Julianna (girl form america at the orientation) decided to sing that for the talent.. it wasn't funny. It was potentially the most embarrasing moment of my life. We also had a dance party in one of the rooms. We got funky. We were also divided into groups and were set out on the town for a giant scavanger hunt. Fun Fun. Thanks to the lovely couple trimming bushes we didnt have to go very far. Julianna, Roberta and I enjoyed some deicious ice cream and cake:) The whole orientation was good. In the end we tallied our kills for the huge game of Murder something. I won. A HUGE jar of nutella. It made my weekend complete. 

28 September. I got lost in the Stuttgart train station. It was during a class trip to learn more about the current Stuttgart 21 issue. I really would be bad at explaining. But if you are interested the the hottest political issue in my area right now.. google it. So I was lost but I was found and it made for a great adventure:) thanks to Sophie and Eileen!! The next day.. 29th we had sport and had to run 5.6 kilometers. Then Sophie and I took off to Speyer to enjoy a little beach cafe on the Rhine River. Wonderful. I also bought a scarf. Consider myself German.!!! 

That brings us to this past weekend which I spent in Bavaria!! Woohoo!! It was soo beautiful there with the Alps and all. I went with my host family and we spent most the time in Allgua. Amazing. I dont have pictures up yet but I hope they are soon to come! We got to our hotel which was like the Adams fmaily. Scary but ok.. it was a place to sleep. On Saturday we went to Schloss Neuschwanstein. Google it. Look at it. Love it. It was gorgeous!! While there we took a little hike to get a view of the castle at a differnent angle. It was breathtaking! I met a couple girls from Iowa and Minnesota. Small world ehh? The water in the mountains is so clear. I noticed this the whole weekend when we were hiking. It looks like it should be dyed but it isn't. And its so clear. I could see leaves on the bottom!! It was just as clear as the pool!! Wonderful. The area is so old and has its own little culture it seems like. We took a little tour into Austria so I have been there too. Check that off the bucket list!! 

Today I woke up with a little head cold.:( Tomorrow I go to a Kletterpark with other AFS students. Cant wait it'll be fun. The first few days of my Fall break. 2 weeks off of school! I love it. Im gonna try and get some pics uploaded! Tschüss!

Ellie 

My math teacher is Albert Einstein

He really does look like him! I think I have a reason to be a little bit nervous. At least I recognized the topic.. kinda.. dividing polynumials. And thanks to Mrs. Bergeson, I knew exactly what I was doing. NOT. Aparrently the way I know is not right. So my moment of (sorta) understanding was now a buzzkill. So... school really is stressful, in its own way. For starters my understanding of what is going on in class is like below absolutley none. But thats ok because that means I can sit and count the ceiling tiles. Woopee. There are some subjects I actually do understand. Like English! Even though my teacher loves British English I still am happy to have something I understand. And the interesting thing about that class is it is the same as English would be in Hampton. Right now our topic is basically covering the novel Q&A, the book Slumdog Millionaire was based off of. So it is a bit easier but not much. All my other classes are just.. classes normal and its school. If you are still reading congrats because I know school is quite a boring subject.:)

So in my last post I informed you we were going to a castle. And we did! It is amazing. So old and yet still together and not falling down! It was Burg Bewartstein..? I think.. But anyways it was very interesting. Legit knights lived there. Think about it. Legit. Knights.Knights in shining armor. Crazy. Well, what I didn't know prior to Saturday was that I woul dbe taking a trip into France!! Say What Now!?! France. I was there. And the weirdest thing was.. I hardly knew it! The sign "You are entering France now" was the same as you are entering Butler County haha. It was the kind of sign you see out of the corner of your eye, you do a double take but you are already passed. So yea.. France was great. We walked downtown a storybook village. Like it look like the twon jumped from a fairytale picture.It was beautiful. There were little cafe's all along the street and also clothing shoppes, with some VERY cute clothes might I add. I will definitley be going there while Im here to get a better look at them:) 

Well Supper is ready.. and I'm hungry so Bring on the Bread!!:)))) 

Tschüss!

-ellie 

Which Castle...?

I feel like i am in the midst of a fairytale. I mean honestly ask yourself when was the last time someone said to you, "We will hike to a castle." and you had to ask, "Which castle?" because the posssibilities were far to many? Never? Well you should come to Germany. Tomorrow I will go with my host family hiking up to a castle. Crazy. Well if you are reading this you might be curious as to what I have been doing, what I think about Germany and how is school is going. Well all those will be answered so don't lose faith. Ok so I have been here for approx 6 days? yea. thats right. My host family has been wonderful to me. They have given me my own room and bathroom which I am very thankful for. They also are giving me plenty of food. I mean TONS. They never stop eating. But I can't blame them because the food is absolutly amazing. The bread?! Wonderful. I recently had a orientation with other students in the area. A short one for one day. The longer orientation will come next weekend. Its nice to know that there are other students in the area experiencing the same things. 

So a little about what I have noticed so far... Its spotless. The amount of eco-friendly care they put into everyday life is nothing but moving. There are so many different garbages that I am still questioning whether I am doing it all right. All the roads are clean and the ditches have so little liter. I dont think it is because they have clean up teams out there 24/7, I think it is because people, in general, here truly appreciate and respect the enviroment in which they live. They house I live in has solar panels to reduce the cost of electricity. When you go to the super market and forget your bags you must buy plastic ones. They are cheap but are still a reminder to bring your reusable ones. Its almost like things are more expensive so you become more aware of what you are doing. The cars. Tiny. The speed they drive. Fast. I was so scared on the rode home from the airport because my host father, Wolfgang., was driving so fast. But it is the autobaum. Go as you please! Literally! Everyone rides their bike also, its crazy! My butt hurts! I have a 15-20 min bike ride to school in the morning. Well.. thats with my slowish riding. Hopefully it will decrease with time. But yea.. moving on to school...

School is big. Tons of kids, well more than I'm used to. Most of it is because it is 5th through 13th grade. Here I am in 11th grade so I have more of a college scheduale. Some days I need to be in school at 7:40 and others around 9:30. I also get out at different times.  The classes I am taking are usual for school back home. Mostly the same subjects. I took a risk and joined choir. And for those who know how I sing.. Ha... it should be interesting. I also took art which I have taken in a couple years. Other than that school is school. I have only been to one day so Im sure I will have more to say about it later on. 

My home life is good. Wolfgang, Elke, Annina, & Sarah are all wonderful. Because of Wolfgang I am now a steady consumer of Italian Coffee. Mmmm... Wolfgang & Elke both prepare meals, both are good cooks. A couple days ago I helped Annina get Facebook. She loves it. And Sarah is Sarah. A headstrong child with sand in her shoes... Always:) And as of this morning, I am an offical resident of Germersheim, Germany. Fingerprint offical and everything  :) All is good here!!!

Tschüss!!

-ellie

Today & Tomorrow...

Whats left.. Today and tomorrow. Well the last few hours of today anyway. This will probably be the last post before I take off. I finally have everything packed... and in my bag! I will have to ship a box over though! Packing was hard, knowing just what to bring and how much was a challenge but I got it in the end! 


So here is a run down on my past couple days... Friday night football with my friends!! Im going to miss going to those games to support and watch my friends play. Saturday I chilled, went shopping, and then had a wonderful going away party.:) I got to say goodbye to many of my friends. I can't wait to come back and see them all again. I mean their support was one of the drives that got me on this adventure. Sunday. My family got together at my Grandmothers to help her with fall cleaning and just to be together. We hadn't really been all together since.. oh.. Christmas? Well it was nice seeing everyone. Monday we had a family meal with just close family. Now it is already Tuesday!! Not that theres much left of it but ya.. One of my best friends Ruth and her mom April stopped out to say goodbye. It was bittersweet because they are so supportive of me going. 


Tonight is the last night here.. in my house.. for 10 months... woww. My mom & dad are going to take me to Des Moines Wednesday night, I fly out there Thursday at 7 something in the morning:) I get to D.C.  at 10:30 where Kendra will pick me up to take me to Dulles airport. We have out orientation there in D.C. All the Germany students will fly out Friday night at 5 and will arrive at 7 in the morning Saturday. (Germany is 7 hours ahead so midnight U.S. time.) In Frankfurt my host father, Wolfgang, and sister, Annina, will pick me up! Somewhere around noon I will arrive in Germersheim where my host mom Elke, and sister, Sarah, are waiting!:) 


Ahhh!!!


Bis Später!
Ellie. 

Sad Goodbyes are just Happy Hellos waiting to Happen.

It's almost here.. I take that back... It is here. My first goodbyes to family. Goodbye to cousins & my grandma. It is a sad & happy moment, knowing whats ahead and why I am saying goodbye. But they are still goodbyes never-the-less. 


Not going to lie, I am starting to get just a little freaked out about all the things I need to do! Trying to pack a couple days ago did NOT go that great. I weighed my bag and it was approx. 2 pounds over.. I then realized ohh I should probably throw a pair of dress pants in there & my host family gifts & a couple pair of athletic shorts & pajamas... etc. So suddenly there I am with more things I need to pack and I am already over the limit. Great. Soo I have some rearranging for me to do here in the next couple weeks.  No worries I will work it out!!


Today is my birthday:) Woohoo 17!! So I am going to go celebrate! doing what?.... I have no clue. Not having to work is enough for me! 

Bis Später!

It's Almost Time for a Countdown!

I'm here in Okoboji, Iowa enjoying vacation with my family.  I am starting to realize that I'll be leaving in just over a month! I'll officially leave on September 8th from Iowa and then depart from Washington D.C. on the 9th! It has really become real now! I have many loose ends that need to be coming to a close.. like packing?! How am I going to get 10 months of clothes and shoes into a 44 lb. checked luggage? It could be interesting! 

My host family in Germany is great! Skyping with them was so exciting, can't wait to meet them face to face. I have been in contact with other students going abroad and they have been very helpful. Especially Kendra! When I get to D.C. it is encouraging to know that I will know someone. 

Well.. that's all I've got to say right now! 

..ellie