Moi, Salut, Salam, Ni How, Ahoy, Hola, Oi, Bonjour... Hi?

     God lord, I have never heard so many languages in my life.
     I spent this weekend in Marburg with the most amazing group of exchange students. There were 20 of us, all living around Giessen, who went to the Late Stay Orientation Camp.  We all come from such different places; Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, Finland, France, Mexico, Columbia, China, Venezuela, Guatemala, Switzerland, and the good 'ol USA. I'm happy that the world is full of such great people.
     On Friday I left school and caught a bus to the train station.  Then my five classmates and I took a train to Marburg.  It was so cool, I had never been on a train before. So quiet, fast, and clean. We got to Marburg in 13 minutes, and began the best weekend. I was so happy when we walked into the Hostel and I saw Hallee from my pre-departure orientation.  She was in my group there so we got to know each other really well. (And it was nice to be with someone who only spoke English.)  the few of us that were there then went to go eat and during that time everyone else showed up. There was so much, "Hi I'm (insert name here) from (insert country)."  We then did some activities and fun games and such; to get to know each other and learn some things about our stay so far. That night was so fun.  I shared a room with Su from Turkey, Eve from Finland, Evelin from Hungary, a girl from Slovakia, and Bruna from Brazil.  We stayed up as late as we could talking to each other till everyone got so tired they could translate from their language into English anymore.
     Saturday was such a fun day. We woke up, had breakfast, did some activities and game, and had lunch.  Then after lunch we had an activity where we had to go into Marburg with just an apple and an egg and try and trade them for the best things we could. Talking to totally random people we don't know.  It was so much fun because we got to go around and see the city, and CASTLE, and talk to German people.  Though most of the talking was in English.  One group ended up with a beer, another with a dildo (it was a funny story), my group had a flower and some candy. We came back to the hostel, and had more activities, one of which was the "sex talk".  It was probably the funniest sex talk ever, though no one ate bananas for the rest of the weekend.  After that it was time for the talent show.
     We were all so skeptical of the participation mandatory talent show, no one really knew what to do.  I was glad Elliot had mentioned it to me before we came because I brought my Ukulele. We were taught a Turkish dance, and the Macarena.  There was a power point and music from Brazil. Singing from Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, and Guatemala.  I have to thank Jean, the boy from France for saving my life.  My Ukulele was out of tune and I didn't bring my tuner, but he tuned it for me with his guitar.  We ended up doing our talents together and played You and I by Ingrid Michelson in a nice little duet.  Then we got encored, so we played Five Years Time by Noah and the Whale, and one of our advisers sang because he knew the words.  After the talent show we didn't have any activities planned so we had a dance party and ate sweets.  It was so much fun to compare dance moves from all the countries.  When the room got to hot to dance anymore we went outside and played the quietest game of Hide-and-Seek ever.  No one got to bed till around 2, but it was so worth it.
     Sunday was so sad, having to say bye to everyone. We had a few activities, but we mostly played ninja.  Ninja was our game of choice for the weekend, everyone loves it.  The day ended after lunch, with everone going home.  Everyone got so close this weekend and had so much fun, we're all counting the days till January when we have our next Orientation.

The new additions to my wrist, thanks to such kind women.  The first beaded one is from my Grandma and Grandpa and is old.  the second one with the dragon fly it from Turkey.  The eye is to protect from bad ideas, I can dig it.  The third rainbow one is from Guatemala, with my name written in Chinese.  The last one is from Jack and is old.

 The castle in Marburg. There is a really cool river too.  I definitely wan't to go back there and explore.

The group of us on Sunday.

P.S.

No wonder Germany is know for being an intelligent country.  They have Nutella & GO.

Today I Learned the Importance of Taking the Right Bus

     Every Wednesday in the language class we do something fun, a learning by doing sort of thing.  So today we walked all around Giessen and talked about all the cool things that have happened and all the cool stuff that exists.   So we did that for five hours, straight walking around town.  It was fun, and I found out Giessen was pretty popular during the War. We ended the day at Marktplaz so all us kids went shopping and such, another hour of walking around.  Then Elliot and I decided to head back home.  So we hopped on a bus to Liebigschule to catch one home. 

     The next bus coming was the 377. I’d never taken it, always the 375 and the occasional 372.  But Elliot said it got him to his stop, so I went with it.  I only live on the other side of Pohlheim…   So the bus dropped Elliot off and after instead of going straight like all the other busses it turned right, and ended up taking me to a town 3km away. And the bus stop only had one bus coming to it, the 377, and not for another hour.  So I decided to walk back home.

     The walk back to Pohlheim was pretty nice, but long.  On the way I passed a pick your own Sunflower place, so I bought myself a Sunflower. Then after I got into Pohlheim I walked to a bus stop the 375 stops at.  I had missed it by 5 minutes! ARG! So I kept on walking, following the route the bus takes. I looked back as I was turning down a street and saw the 375 at the stop I was just at.  I knew there was a stop ahead so I started sprinting so I could catch the bus.  I looked back and saw the bus drive by the street I was on, I had turned one to early. So I walked another 30 minutes home.

It ended up being a nice day consisting of 9 hours of straight walking, so I’m pretty sure I burned off that *Raisin Bread* I regretted eating.  But now I really need a foot rub.

Yay Today!

     Ahh, today was such a good day!  These last 5 days have been so hard, it's nice to have a good day.  I love my walk to the bus, and the bus ride because it give me time to think.  I do a lot of thinking.  Today I realized that I've got to make the most of what I have, because these two weeks have gone fast, and I know it's just going to speed up. Then, on top of that, I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING IN CLASS! It was the most magical experience. I know I'll still get confused in it, and it will take me a while to memorize it, but I'm going to rock reflexive verbs.
     I came home so happy and played Go Fish and Phase 10 with my sisters.  Phase 10 is so much fun, even though I've never finished a game.  It's like Monopoly, but with cards, it will never end. My host parents are going to be gone tonight, so I might have one of the neighbor girls over to watch movies.  I really like her even though I can't remember her name. Katarina?
     I also finally got a letter, thanks mom.  And Declan sent me such a great funny long email.  It's so great to hear from people and know what's going on back home. I've also been hired, at the pay of a "Welcome Home Estebans Burrito" to pass out CDs here. I can't wait.
    I know my host mom is a great woman because I just spilled a bottle of black nail polish on my bed, and she didn't get mad. Though, this is why I had my nail-polish-towel back home. I think I'll make up for my lack of one, and prevention of having this happen again by painting my nails at my desk.
     Bis Bald!

I'm Never Staying Up Late Again

     So last night I decided that it would be okay to stay up will 12am Skyping. I was so wrong.  This morning I managed to sleep through my host family waking up.  A feat I never though imaginable because they are quite loud at six in the morning 7 days a week. And on top of that I slept through my two alarms.  I ended up waking up at 7:40, with a ten minute walk to my bus stop, where the bus comes at 7:55 waiting for me. I don't know how I did it, but I managed and made it on time. I only know the the buses I ride, so if I missed it I would not know how to get to school.
     Then not sleeping took it's other toll in school. I for the life of me do not understand irregular verbs and Akkusativ and Nominativ, anything. So today; stressed out from almost missing my bus, having little sleep, and being homesick, had a break down in class and just started crying.  My teacher had to work one-on-one with me for 20 minutes, and I still don't fully get it.  I'm pretty sure everyone in my class thinks I'm crazy. Then on top of that we were talking about our friends, colleges, neighbors, and all that jazz. It made me miss Declan and Kit a whole bunch. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've ever been away from home.
     Now I'm home and I just want to relax. Maybe after I do my 6 homework sheets and study for my quiz tomorrow.

Going to the Rheingau

     Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to skip my second day of German school and take a 2 hour bus ride with 70 teachers to the Rheingau.  That's the part of Germany where they make the wine.  It is so beautiful.  When you picture old historic Germany, you're picturing the Rheingau. There's Fachwerkhaus and a castle, small little streets and bakeries galore. 

     I love being 18 in Germany because I'm old enough to drink, and go on vineyard tours.  We went on a cave tour in town.  Way back in the day (hundreds of years ago) people dug caves all over the underneath of the city.  No one know what exactly they were for at the time, but they have had a bunch of different purposes since being dug.  They we're used to store wine, or hid during air raids in the wars.  Now they're are tours that go through them, and sometimes during the year theater performances go on in them.  I was super lucky and had an English teacher (Ralf) in my group, so he translated everything for me.

     After the caves we went on a two and a half hour tractor ride through the vinyards.  We stopped once for sausage and bread, and then again to try red wine.  The wine was all really good, even the red.  I think I'm starting to be less judgmental of foods and drinks since being here.  The tractors were really cool with a long table in them with spots to hold your wine glass and bottle. There were really nice people in our tractor.  Some really nice old men who did their best to get me drunk.

     Then the tractors took us to a restaurant where we had dinner.  I talked more about US politics during dinner yesterday than I have in a year.  Dinner was good.  I had a brick of 'sheep cheese', it seems that all I get when we go anywhere.  Though I stole Babs salad, which was good.  It's funny how when ever it rains, no matter how hard the Germans always say it's raining cats and dogs. 

 A map of part of the tunnels running underneath the town.

 My tractor around the Vineyard. It's a bumpy ride so the cup holders were a good idea.

   This as far as the eye can see. There are the strangest little white bugs everywhere.  For a while a thought they were cigarette ash.

Two Weeks Down

     So, I've been in Germany for two weeks.  It seems like I left home months ago.  I've done so much and been so busy since getting here that the time has flown by. I'm just finished my second week taking language classes at the Haddeschule.  I've got three more to go and then I start at the Lebigschule full time.  Right now I'm just going there on Fridays.
     The language class is not what I expected it to be.  There are 7 of us in the class, and I'm the only one who doesn't speak Spanish.  It's cool because maybe I'll come home knowing more Spanish too, but it's also really hard.  Thing are often explained in Spanish, so then I have to ask for extra clarification, and sometimes I can't tell what language the teacher is speaking.  I also feel really left out of the social element.  When ever there are breaks and we all sit around and talk it's always in Spanish, so I can never contribute, or even know what's going on.  It's good though, all the kids are very outgoing and I feel like they can become good friends.  They all have so much character, and I'm just trying to fit in.
     My host family is wonderful.  It's so strange being in a house with a family in it, considering it's just been me and a parent for 3 years. Barbara (or Babs as we all call her) is so sweet and helpful.  I'm so glad that she speaks English, as it has made the transition much easier.  Though now that I'm almost halfway done with the language class I should have them start speaking more German.  Pina is such a help, she speaks so much English.  I wish I knew half as much German as she does English. Victoria is so cute.  I taught her 'Go Fish' and now she always wants to play, or show me her progress in learning to shuffle a deck of cards.
    I love how involved the whole neighborhood is with each other.  It's really like living in a huge family.  It's not uncommon to just drop into a neighbors house when you have nothing to do.  Everyday last weekend I spent at either a barbecue or a party with the neighbors.  On Saturday I went to one of the girls' house and watch movies with 3 of them.  I feel so bad because I've met so many great people but I can't remember anyone's name!  I guess that's the issue with being the new person.  You have to remember 100 different names, but those 100 people only have to learn one.
     It's been tough being away from home.  I don't really feel homesick unless it's brought up or I get super stressed out.  And then I think about all the people I want to share my stress with to make it go away, but I can't because it two in the morning and they're all asleep. I've Skyped people a few times now and it has been really nice.  Though it probably wasn't a good idea to have my dad send me pictures from when I was little, no matter how much my host family wanted to see some.  They made me so homesick and nostalgic.  I have this burning feeling that in a few months everything is going to get so much harder, because me living here will actually be real.  Right now it's just like I'm on a weird vacation for a while.  But in a few months I'll realize that I'm still here for months and it will still be so long before I go home.  I keep telling myself this is home now, and it helps a bit.
     Tomorrow I go to the Rhiengau with Babs' school.  It is the part of Germany where they make a lot of wine.  On Saturday, there is an Oktoberfest of sorts at the Tennis courts where my family plays.  It sounds like it's going to be super fun.  My family and neighbors are dressing up and singing ABBA.  It will be a great chance to hear A LOT of German, and maybe even practice some.

Bis Bald,
Kimber

(Disclaimer:  I'm really bad with keeping up with things like this. But hey, this is a new year and a new me, so maybe that will change.)

 I went for a walk over the weekend and found this in the forest.  I think it will become my new little spot.

 My bedroom while in the chaos of unpacking. The windows are so cool, but so different than in the US.

 The neighborhood kids at a Barbecue the night I got there.  Pina is in the pink T, and Victoria in the blue.

They have some mighty strange Banana Slugs here.  I guess this is what it would look like if a  Banana and an Orange had an Ariolimax baby.