Ich bin immer Müde

     I have been so busy this last week.

     The three days I spent in Wiemar were so much fun.  I got to meet people my age, and make a friend or two.  It is still kind of disheartening because I don't have any friends that go to my school.  I keep telling myself that will happen soon.

     I woke up on Wednesday, and made it to the bus stop just in time to meet a girl and sit with her and her friends on the way to Wiemar.  They are all very nice, and I ended up staying in a room with them for the two nights we were at the hostel.  I was in a room with 7 other girls, so it was never boring.  When we first got to Wiemar we ditched our bags at the hostel and went walking around the city, seeing all the sights.  The students had to pick a location and present it, of course in German.  One of the teachers, realizing I wouldn't understand any of it, gave me a translator.  His name was Martin, and he was such a helpful nice guy.  After seeing Goethes house and Schillers house and numerous other ancient landmarks we had free time in the city.   I went with 4 other girls from my room to a little Creperie. I'm still not used to the German life style of eat all the time, so I didn't get anything.  By the end of the weekend Dilan said that I eat so little it's scary.
     That night we were going to see a Shakespeare play.  I didn't know I had to bring fancy clothes for it, being from Humboldt County where there is no such thing as a fancy event.  Luckily I had brought a dress to wear one day, so I through that on and the girls were so sweet and did my hair and makeup very fancy.  The play was... good?  As good a modernized Shakespeare in German can be for a girl who doesn't really like Shakespeare, or understand German.  That night we wandered around town, enjoying talking with eachother and seeing the town.

     The Thursday was a full day.  We went on 3 museum tours and wandered around town for hours.  Goethe was a pretty cool guy.  It is so amazing to me that he was so famous when he was alive.  It always seems like no one get's famous till years after they die.  I got to go into his house, which was so beautiful.  He had good taste in art (harharhar).
   
     This trip had one of the biggest culture shocks so far yet in it.  In the states school trips are never really fun and there are always a million rules and strict deadlines.  Not so in Germany.  We had our activities during the days, but after dinner there was nothing, and we could do as we pleased. The girls from my room and some boys all planned on going to a Sheesha bar that we had found in town that day.  So of course before hand the necessarily pregame was to be had.  At first when there were students running around the hostel 5ths of vodka in had I was worried the teachers were going to freak out and lock us all in our rooms that night, and sentence us to death.  No. The teachers didn't care at all.  I had never seen so much booze amassed in one place that wasn't a bar than in one of the students rooms. So we eventually made our way to the Sheesha bar.  Right after we got there Felix, one of Martins friends, didn't feel well, so the three of us walked back to the hostel.  On our way there we ran into the teachers hanging out on the street outside a bar.  It was so weird.  Two of the teachers took Felix and talked with him, trying to console him.  Then the 4 teachers and the three of us students walked to a different bar.  (WHAT?!)  There we met up with the rest of the students who were enjoying many a beer and a soccer game.  We eventually made our way back to the hostel late and I got some much needed sleep.  It was all so surreal having teacher not freak out with drunk students and students running around town.

     The next day we saw some sights in the morning and then made our way home through the rain, getting there around 3.  I had just enough time to unpack and eat some food and then I was swept away to go "Kayaking".  It was white water paddling, in a swimming pool.  I went with my "Uncle" and "Cousin" who live next door.  It was so much fun to get to go to a pool and swim and get to try something I've never done.  They were both impressed that I did the "Roll" my first time paddling.  The roll is where you flip your boat upside down with you in it, and the try to get topside again.  It was hard, but went well with Harry's help.  I had pizza with them that night, and then got a few hours of shut eye.

     The next morning I was awoken by the sweet voice of Victoria telling me we were leaving in 30 minutes to go to my "Grandparents" house. I quickly got dressed, jumped in the car, and settled in for the two hour drive up north.  Wow, Germany is so beautiful.  It reminds me so much of Oregon.  It did nothing but rain the whole drive up and while we were there, but I didn't mind, it reminded me of home.  My Grandparents own a farm with horse stables where people can ride.  They have 42 horses, wow.  They also have the only German National Equestrian Team coach on their staff, high class. It was fun there, and I got to play with dogs and a cat!  I miss having pets. They're so much fun, and bring so much joy.
     There is so much road construction going on everywhere.  The drive home took us for ever, and I had planned to go to a musical with my friends that night at 7:30.  My bus left at 6:28, so we had to hurry home.  We ended up getting home at 6:20, I had to speeeeeeed to change my clothes, then Babs drove me to a bus stop where I could catch the bus in time. That is one thing I find different too.  Why not wait a little bit and drive me to the actual play.  German parents and American parents are very different.
     The musical was so cool.  It wasn't like a musical play, that I was expecting.  It was more like Glee.  They just sang and danced to a wide selection of songs.  Some serious, some funny, some in English.  The ones that were in German were songs I knew in English, so I could translate them in my head and it helped. When it was done I walked to the Bahnhof (train station) with some friends and got a mini car.  Babs didn't want me taking the bus home, because she was worried for my safety it being 11 at night and all.  I don't really mind, but I had to pay for it with my money, and I'd rather spend 15 euro on a scarf.  It was cool because I'd never taken a cab before.  The ride went fast, and the driver played good music.  I got home and got to talk to Kit for a bit, which is always fun.  Then quickly fell asleep.

     Today I'm supposed to go actual kayaking on the Lahn river, to a castle.  Then we are coming back and having coffee and cake.  Let's see if I can stay awake long enough to do that.

 I'm glad Humboldt was named after a famous German man, because I'll always have a little bit of home with me. 

 The church where Geothe married his wife.  It was so big.  He was so in love with her.  It made me sad to hear how sad he was when she died.

 Buildings older than The United States of America, no big deal.

 Shakespeare with his creepy eyes and skulls.  This was in a really big park near Goethes grave.  It is so pretty, I could spend an entire day just walking around it.

 I can't remember what these are called, but I know my mom has some. This is what they are made from.  Apparently they are really old and expensive and hard to make.

These cute little guys were in the 4 story museum of things Goethe was interested in.  

I can home from my trip and found this on my desk.  Can I claim to be a celebrity now?