My first two weeks in Germany!

Hallo Leute!

I have safely made it to Germany and have been here for two weeks so far.

The plane ride was 7 and a half hours long and very boring… the food was okay but I couldn’t sleep… and then I had to sit in a bus outside of the airport waiting for the other group for 7 hours (their flight had gotten delayed). All in all it was a very long day.

So, I’m in this town called Hedersleben right now for a language camp that lasts until September 8^th. I’m living in a monastery on the third floor without air conditioning. There is a church next door that loves to ring its bells. This town has own grocery store and a shady ice cream machine outside a butcher shop (the ice cream is actually REALLY good… but there is a possibility of getting mad cow disease…JUST KIDDING). Also, this town smells like manure.

It can get boring at times but it’s cool because I’ve formed a group of misfit toys. They come in the form of humans named Kate, Fiona, Robert, Olivia, and Laurah with occasional others thrown in. J

I have six hours of classes Monday-Friday and three hours on Saturday. We get Sunday free except for the required meals at 8am, 12pm, and 6pm.

We’ve been on day trips to Leipzig and Quedlinburg so far and tonight we had a talent show at the monastery. It was hilarious.

I finally got my host family this last week.  They seem pretty cool. I’m located near the Dutch border and will be in the 10^th grade at my school. My host sister is 17 and has been an exchange student in the US on the program I am on. There is so much stuff to say and I don’t know how to express it all… so … maybe I’ll add more later.

Also, everyone here is getting sick… I hope I’m not next. Any questions about my experiences thus far? Comment and ask!

Picture to come!

I Think My Head Might Explode... Less Than a Week to Go

I'm reposting this because I accidently deposted it... It's from over a month ago...

There is so much do... but I don't know what to do.

I leave at 8am on August 12. That's this Sunday... less than 6 full days away.
I need to finish copying my German1-3 notes into one notebook. I need to make a list of things I want mom to send later (Food and stuff). I need to take photos of clothes that I may want mom to send me when it starts to get colder... and the clothes I don't want Alex to permanently kidnap. And, among all of those things, I have to pack clothes, electronics, and personal sentimental items for 10 months... and make it fit into a 50 pound max checked bag, an 18 pound carry on and a personal item no bigger than a laptop case.

Where do I even begin? I feel like I've been running on autopilot; I can't even remember half of the things I did today, which pretty much consisted of me sitting in the living room staring at my over full suitcase.

I have made at least 10 different lists... I'm not even sure I know what they all mean anymore.

I need to get my picture taken for mom, my picture taken for a visa, fill out paperwork for a visa, find all the paperwork I need to take, help mom at work, get my haircut, possibly clean my room (it looks like my closet exploded, which it kind of has), and maybe actually get to spend some time with my family.

I am SO stressed out right now.

Less than 6 days to go... and I still have 20 different things to do... that's what I get for being a procrastinator, I guess.