Today was my first day of SCHOOL! When I woke up this morning I was expecting to go to a building, sit through a bunch of classes, make awkward conversation, try to find my way around... and yeah.. thats about it! Boy... What I WRONG! School today was nothing like I've ever experienced.

I woke up around 6.00, took a shower, went downstairs to have one of my host-moms AMAZING smoothies (and a pretzle), then drove to the school with both my mom and dad. When we got the school we had to go to this classroom and wait for the women in charge of the school. I was really nervous because I got the impression that it would just be a meeting with me, my host parents, and her, but I was relieved to find that it was a meeting for ALL the new students. So I was one of about 15. The women in charge called our names and introduced us to our homeroom teachers. Every student got a different teacher. I'm in class 11-B. My host parents were a little suprised that I wasn't in Sabrina's old class (because they were expecting me to take her place... and to have the same connections and friends), but everything is good. I like my homeroom teacher. He seems really nice.

I think I finally have a small grasp on how my school works. In my class there are 4 subgroups (11-a, 11-b, 11-c, 11-d), and a homeroom teacher for each one. Each subgroup stayed with one another for the subjects that everyone is required to take. Those subjects are Sports, History, Deutsch, Religion, Math, Phisics, Biology, and Chemistry. For most of these classes we stay in the same room and the teachers rotate from class to class. The 2nd and 3rd hours are devoted to our 2 subjects that are MOST important. They are the two classes that we pick, and we have more hours of them because they are our favorite or the ones we are best at. The two classes that I have chosen are English and French. I think English will be fun... but I think French will be very challenging because A- The teaching language is German, and B- The European community seems to be more advanced with language in general (Students here actually take it seriously).

After I finished the meeting with the new students I trailed my homeroom teacher around the school and he showed me our homeroom, then he left me with these two guys in my homeroom. I sat down and a girl came up to me and told me we all needed to go to a meeting in the gym. She was very nice, but unfortunately she is leaving in a few days to go on her own exchange to England. I kind of was the awkward new kid walking in back of the group of friends who have known eachother for years. Once we arrived in the gym, I found a place to sit behind the group of kids in my class. A man came up and started singing this call and response thing in German, and I had no idea what was going on. Then everyone sat down and he started to talk about the Berlin Wall, and he was incorporting it to a wall built up inside of all of us... at least thats what I think he was talking about! Again... I don't really know... It was in German believe it or not.

There were a few more songs and prayers and it was a little bizzare, but after the get-together we went to homeroom. I sat in the back... by myself! haha... SO NOT LIKE ME! Its hard enough being a "new kid" let alone not being able to communicate to the people around you!!.. so I was just kind of sitting.. pretending I had something important to do. The teacher was 20 minutes late so we just sat there and eventually we all ended uo talking and I introduced myself to most people. THe teacher came in and he talked about who knows what. I'm pretty sure these two girls were elected to be representatives for the class.

We got our schedules and I had a ton of blank spaces! Since I never chose what classes to take the school just didnt give me any classes, they just gave me the required courses. I went to the office after homeroom was over and asked if I could have my 2 important classes be French and English, and somehow everything worked out and I was so proud of myself for talking to someone IN GERMAN and actually MAKING SENSE! I also had the choice to take Art or Music and I decided to ake Art because the music class was more music theory and had math incorporated with it so I'm staying awayyyy from that!

The man I talked to told me that the new classes would take effect tomorrow. I headed off to my next class which was history. WHen I arrived there was around 10 people there and no teacher. We waited and waited and waited... but no teacher. We found out after some time that the teacher was sick. So... that left me with 4 hours of free class. I had NO IDEA what to do so I hopped on a bus and it took me to Potsdamer Platz. I walked around... alone :( haha... but it was fine... When I came back to school I had only one class left- German. It was my first class in Germany ever! Before class eveyone talked for a while and I got to meet more students and talk a bit more with everyone. I learned that there is a girl who just moved here from England with her family. She's fluent in German because her family is German, but she knows ENGLISH!

When the teacher walked in the room all of the students stood up... I was in disbelief that students here actually have respect for their teachers (unlike in America)! We were given this sheet of paper that looked like a play and people were reading it,and then we were told to write the pros and cons of some argument and I had no idea what to do so I just copied the board. I really like how everyone in the class answers questions. I'm so used to teachers practically forcing students to answer questions in America, but at this school everyone has a desire to learn, so everyone raises their hand, and everyone participates in discussions... well... everyone except me :/ I WOULD PARTICIPATE... I WANTED TO PARTICIPATE... but I couldn't!!! It was a bit aggrivating because I felt a bit stupid.

I got to go home an hour before most student (13.45) which was GREAT! But I couldn't find the right bus stop and I ended up going on a bus driving in the opposite direction (most bused in Berlin usually have 2 of the same number and they go in opposite directions) so I started going in the complete opposite direction, and I had to get off after 10 minutes, cross the street, wait for the other bus to come in the right direction, then go all the way to CheckPoint Charlie (my subway station), then take that all the way to the south of Berlin, and from there I had to take another bus to get home. I ended getting home at the same time everyone else! Nevertheless, Over-all it was a very easy first day. I wish everyday were like this!

My weekly schedule.. as of now. I think more classes will be added tomorrow.

Monday: Sports, French, History, Deutsch
Tuesday: Deutsch, English, Religion
Wednesday: Math, French, Phisics, Deutsch, Sports
Thursday: History, English, Chemistry
Friday (aka- worst day of the week) : Biology, Math, Phisics

So Basically things have been pretty good lately! I really have nothing to complain about but a few very small things happen a lot that I really take for granted back in the states.

- In America, when people in my family are angry at eachother, it isn't a big deal to me because it's just normal and it will pass and I am comfortable. Here, when my family has an argument I have NO idea what to do. I don't know if I should go into my room, or stay where I am, or ignore it, or WHAT! I don't want to make anyone angry... but I really don't know what to do! My little host brother is kind of a handful! He causes a lot of stress to his mother and they bicker a lot, so yes... I don't know what to do with that!

- I have preferances in America. I know what I like and I know what I don't like. Here, I have NO IDEA! My host family is asking me all the time what I want. Certain foods to eat, certain places to see... but I have NO idea. Its not that I'm too shy to ask, I just have no idea.

- I don't know who to please! Today I went with my host mom, Oma, and host brother to this lake about an hour north to visit a castle and eat. My host brother was forced to go by my mother as a punishment for something and he really did NOT want to be there. I felt bad because I didn't know whose side to be on. I really tried to remain neutral but it was hard when they were asking me what I wanted to do. My mom was like, 'Do you want to visit the castle' and I knew she wanted to see it, but my brother was like, 'Ben you dont want to its so boring.' I didnt know what to do! How to answer. I was at a loss for words. I just kind of sat there and said, I DONT KNOW like 5 times. I felt really bad because I didn't want to dissapoint anyone or make anyone angry. It was frustrating.

.. These things are very small and it probably isn't even worth writing about! I know it is just part of settling into the family and becoming aquainted with eachother.

hahaha... changing the subject- Today was the SECOND time I've had a phoning-mishap. By that I mean, I phone someone I know, and someone else picks up and they speak German and I have no Idea what to do... the first time this happened I was trying to call one of my exchange friends and for some reason the number I typed in was wrong... but it wasn't because they were the same but anyways... the lady who picked up was NOT and exchange student and she just talked in german for like 30 seconds and I didn't know what to do so I just hanged up... and Today... hahaha... I was trying to call the SAME friend on her house phone and her dad picked up so I just said in German, Is Kate there... then He started talking in German and I had NO idea what he was saying and then he startd to repeat a certain line... and I thought he was just saying there is no Kate here... there is no Kate here... but really he was saying who is this! AND I WAS CONFUSED AND SCARED OF THE SCARY GERMAN MAN... so I hung up! ohhh... what a great idea! He called back and then told me something in German along the lines of.... When you call this house you must say who you are and who you want to talk to... then I got to speak with Kate! Long story... but it's funny! hahaha... such a typical exchange student moment.

Speaking of exchange student... the ones here in Berlin and surrounding areas are awesome! I really like them! I've met one girl from Australia who is AWESOME! (Kate... the one who is causing me so much phone trouble... haha jk... Ich hab dich lieb) I'm interested to meet all of the students in our district in 2 weeks.

OH... I have a handy (cellphone) by the way. It is ancient, but I'm very lucky to have one! Right now I can only recieve texts or calls but I'm hoping tomorrow I will be able to buy some minutes and/or texts.

Well... Today is the last day I'll have this much access to a computer. I'm not sure how frequent I'll be able to write. School starts in 2 days. I'll be sure to post something up about that!

Tschüss!

Yesterday me and my host mom and Oma woke up at 6.30 had breakfast and went to Dresden! It was my first real time out of the city and into countryside so I was very excited! We saw many small German communities and towns on the way over and many windturbines. it was also my first experience on the AUTO-BAHN. Its the road with no speed limit and we were going 210 km! I definately think America should adopt that policy on roadways because it works really well! The slow people go in the right lane. the fast people go in the left lane... as simple as that!

When we arrived in Dresde my host mom got us tickets to see the city by double decker bus! haha... we were such tourists but it was very fun to see the city! It was such a perfect day! Not too hot not too cold not too windy... PERFECT! The bus tour allowed us to get on and off at any time... so we crossed a river and got off and rode this lift up a big hill to go and eat at a restaurant.

... I NEED A SEPERATE PARAGRAPH TO TALK ABOUT FOOD! food is important in Germany... or at least my family. Get ready for this... when we were in Dresden we stopped not once, not twice, not three times, but different 5 times to eat or drink something!!! First we had espressos and ice cream, then we had lunch on this huge balcony overlooking Dresden, then we stopped at a cafe for water and lemonade, then we stopped at another cafe for traditional Bavarian beer, then we had dinner at an outdoor steakhouse! CRAZINESS!!! The food was so-so-so good though! However, I really hate that water cost money here though. it is so expensive (like 5€) to buy in restaurants because it comes in these huge glass containers... I also hate that it is nearly impossible to find a bathroom. After looking everywhere for one you need to pay 0,50€.

So Dreseden was wonderful! We had a lot of fun! We visited Germany's oldest dairy (tried buttermilk... gross) saw a bunch of beutiful castles and things, and at the end of the day we went to the top of this HUGE catholic church that was destroyed in WW2! It was so cool... a great view of the city. Also, my parents wanted to go to a service at the church so we ended up going to an evening devotional at this massive catholic church... too bad it was all in german! haha.. I couldn't understand a thing! But the organ was awesome! It was so powerful! I realized as I was sitting there how unique music is... despite the fact that there were people from all over the word in the room... Everyone could understand the music. After the service a man came up and told everyone about the history of the church... which was also in german! haha... It wasn't very interesting because all I heard was big words in German!

Anyways that was my day! It was awesome. I've always wanted to see a European town like that and now I finally have! Untill next time...

This has been my 3rd day in Berlin and so far I love it! It is so amazing! It's very difficult to even start telling you all the things that have already happened. First off- I have no idea how frequent I will be able to update because the computer I am using is my host brother's and he is out of town... so once school starts I'm not sure if I'll be able to use the computer often. But since I have access now I will talk a little bit about what I have been up to.

today I woke up very early and couln't get back to sleep. My time is still a little bit messed up! Anyways... after the family woke up we had an amazing breakfast with smoothies and meat and bread and cheese and expresso and coffee and so many very good German foods. After that me and my family went to Potsdam. It is a city a couple of kilometers outside of Berlin. We first went around the famous landmarks and castles which was very cool to see, and after we drove around the city and ended up going to a Biergarten! It was so cool! Like authentic beer garden. Next to a lake... I had the best food I have ever had! So many things I have never even seen or heard of before. And of course I had some famous Berlin beer which was so delicious I have no words to describe... It is nothing like American beer! One thing my family is good at is feeding me. They do not take NO for an answer. They are always telling to to eat more and more and I always say, Nein Ich bin Satt (no I am full) but they think I am being shy! hahaha... I am not being shy! I am very full ALL the time! I definitely will be putting on weight! Well thats it for now... Tomorrow I am going with my mother to get my public transportation pass and then I will meet a bunch of exchange students in downtown Berlin. I'm super excited for that!!! After that I will go to my first rotary meeting and present to them about myself. I am not sure how that will go but I hope it will go good... Just for the record... It is so weird having German around me at all times. My speech is getting so German-like ALREADY! I was laughing today because I caught myself speaking in English to my family and pronouncing the W with a V. Well.. .Until later!

I am here in Berlin! Finally! The plane rides were okay... worst of all was the flight from chicago to Detroit because there was bad weather and (I was freaking out because there was bad turbulence) and we were forced to fly flight patterns, and then me and my rotary buddy Margaret had to run through the Detroit airport to make our flight to Amsterdam which we BARELY made! I dat next to this really nice Canadian lady who was awesome and she made the flight experience much more pleasant! In the Amsterdam airport me and margaret met up with a bunch of exchange students all going to Germany and we hung out in the terminal for an hour or so. The flight to Berlin was fine as well, I was so excited to see my host family! ... As luck would have it my baggage and Margaret's baggage did not make it because of the short connection time in Detroit.


My first sight of my host family was right through a security checkpoint... they waved hello and had a sign and I yelled, "mein gepäck ist nicht hier!" but right as I said it a sliding door closed and i was yelling in a little security room and the security guards thought I was yelling at then like 2 feet away and they got really angry and started to yell at me in German! haha... great first experience! The family is so great so far! They have helped me so much and I even got my luggage back within a few hours! When we arrived home we went to the supermarket to buy things for lunch and dinner and we also bought some very yummy bakery items. For the rest of the day I was very tired because I had no sleep on the flights but I ate a lot and my host mom made me coffee and expresso! (mom... they have an automatic coffee/expresso/cappicino maker SCORE!!!) I ended up going to a few more stores with my host brother and then later that night me and my host sister (who is now on her way to Quito) went to a famous Berlin street and met up with a friend who goes to Canisius Kolleg! We had ice cream and I got to practice my German! haha.. I don't know why I said that.... I gues I'm practicing my German all the time! I suprisingly understand more than I thought I could! I can usually get the point across by using a mixture of Germand and English words! I've already asked my host family about a thousand times how to say certain things and I'm learning so much faster with German round me at all times.

Today me and the family woke up early to see Sabrina off the the airport. After that we went downtown Berlin and there is a marathoin going on! It was very cool to see the sites like Brandenberg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial. We had a birthday lunch for oma at an outdoor cafe/resteraunt and now I am home! Germany so far is everything I hoped it would be. I've had a little bit more culture shock than I thought I would and I am WAY more tired than I thought I'd be... but I couldn't ask for a better situation. Alles GUTE!

I know it sounds crazy... but I think this whole "foreign exchange" thing might actually happen! And by might actually happen, I mean is going to happen- TOMORROW! (9 hours approximately)

If I had to describe what I am feeling right now I would say this: akhfsatpoalk thewjs;D 9359%*( KASJDSETY JK BE0-2567.

By that I mean... There are no words. It is the most intense variations of emotions... I don't even know where or how to start. I'm happy, but sad. I'm excited, but afraid. Most of all, I am anxious. I am in disbelief that this whole... "thing" that I've been preparing for and dreaming about for months and months and months... is actually happening- Okay enough with whats running through my brain right now! I don't even know how to make sense of it so there's no use in me trying to explain it through writing!

I know that last post I said that my last week in America would "fly by" but I was totally unprepared for the flying. It FLEW! I don't even know where it went! I spent my last days hanging out all day with my friends ! We didn't really do anything crazy or out of the ordinary... just typical summer nights!

Today I woke up suprisingly early and finished my packing. It was kind of hard to pack before today because I still needed clothes to wear, so it was really nice to have everything finally packed this morning! I have all of my papers ready, I have my travel documents, and I have lots of EUROS... which are sooo colorful by the way!



During the daytime I drove all around town and visited my closest friends to say goodbye! It was awesome to be able to see all of them one last time! For dinner I went home to my family where I enjoyed one last American meal.... Steak Fajitas! hahaha... Americanized Steak Fajitas... which were DELICIOUS! I'm going to miss my mom's nachos and guacamole! I also will miss the AMAZING meals my mom makes every single night (the salad MMmm) and dinner as a family in general! ( the constant noise??? haha maybe) After dinner, my family went to ColdStone for dessert and yeah... now I am home.

These months of preparation have been pretty crazy. I remember way back to the beginning of everything and it seems like an eternity ago. The funny thing is, I haven't even started yet! I have so much to look forward to! I'm not sure how much I will update when I am in Germany... I don't have a computer so it depends on what my host family has access to. I WILL have a journal however, which I plan to keep up on pretty religiously. My goal is to update a few times a month but I really have NO idea! I'll be sure to update when I get there and how the first week is going!

So I guess... Here we go! This is going to be quite a year!

Thanks for reading!

Well technically I leave in basically 6-day (ish) because its Thursday night... and I leave next Thursday morning, but I thought I'd just write a few things about what I'm up to because stuff like this was always the part I was most curious about 6 months ago... weird I know! Well for future reference- This time is not exciting AT ALL! It is more like prolonged pain! Now that the last week in the USA is here I don't really know what to do with myself! I feel like I should be doing something... BIG! But I find myself doing the same thing everyday... just hanging out with my friends. hanvin fun. goofin off. doing random stuff teenagers do. The two other outbounds to Germany in my district are already there and settled in. One flew in on the 10th and the other has been there since the 31st of JULY!!! Thats like THREE weeks! craziness! I know that this week will fly by and before I know it I'll be getting on the plane but to tell you the truth waiting is getting really OLD! But I guess I've waited for roughly 270 DAYS... so I can wait 6 more.

Speaking of everything being proolllooonnngggeeeddd I hate the whole goodbye thing! I never know if I'm going to see certain people again before I leave so I don't know whether to say goodbye or to not say goodbye... Its just really awkward because if I say goodbye to someone then that means I'm not going to be hanging out with them before I leave... but thats awkward because I'm still here for 6 more days... and what if I ran into them sometime before I leave and then was like, "just-kidding... goodbye for real now!"

.... okay I'm 98% positive that didn't make sense but it does in my head!

So yes... I'm not having a goodbye party because I figured the people I really want to say goodbye to, I'm sure as hell going say goodbye to! I guess its just not ME to invite a bunch of people over for the sole purpose of saying goodbye to me! I'm leaving for a YEAR people.. not my whole life!!! Its not like I'm never going to see everyone here again! I'll be back for senior year.

Other than goodbyes I'm just livin my life. I am realizing how amazing summer is! I love being able to sleep- in and fall asleep however late I want. I love being able to eat what I want. Go on the internet when I want. text or call when I want. drive when I want. talk when I want. Basically do anything when I want. This isn't to sound spoiled or anything but I'm just really appreciating what I have here in Madison before I have to go to Berlin and start over from square one.

wow... so this post was meant to be a paragraph or two! Obviously I think too much- but you know that already! I'll try to be a bit more cohesive from now one ;)

psssttt-- the real reason why I'm writing this post is because I had 31 posst in total... which is NOT an even number! and I know how much that upsets you Lindsay Quella (aka- coolest friend in the world) So I wrote another one! YAY FOR 32!

HOW'S THIS FOR A SHOUT-OUT????

Wayyyy back in the winter months... when I was waiting and waiting and waiting for any scrap of information about foreign exchange- I would always read the blogs of American outbounds and it would make me feel so much better and get me excited about the future! Most of all, I liked to read about all the stuff going on BEFORE the exchange because it was the stage I was going through at that very moment! Now don't get me wrong, exchanges themselves were very interesting to read about, but I always liked reading about when everyone found out their host family or found out their city/country! Something I really wanted to know about was WHAT goes on in the few weeks prior to the exchange, because most of the blogs I read would have a post in July about getting plane tickets, then the next post would be at the end of August and they would be like, "I'M IN MEXICO!"So this is random, but I've always wondered
...WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT MONTH???

Now I know...

So I have all of my information. I'm not waiting for a VISA, plane ticket, departure date, host family, host rotary club, or guarantee forms. I am now waiting for my departure date itself, August 20th, which is 13 DAYS AWAY!!! Let me tell you... It is so strange to go from looking forward to receiving information for nearly 9 months... then suddenly have all of it and now you look forward to actually leaving the country!

So I talked to my host parent about picking me up from the airport and everything! They're all very excited and want to bring the dog! We also talked about taking care of all the legal issues in the first few days I'll be there... my host mom is so on top of everything which it awesome. As of right now... I'm kind of wondering where the summer went. It went by SO FAST... yet at the same time it was so slllooowww. I remember when I had like 80 days left. Anyways..I'm slowly starting to pack (mostly winter things)... and I finally went downtown a few days ago and bought everyone in my host family a gift :)

There isn't a day that goes by I don't think about exchange. I can't believe at the end of the month I will be starting school in Germany. I will have a new home. new room. new dog. new friends. new family.... thats pretty exciting.

A WORD OF ADVICE TO EXCHANGE STUDENTS: BEWARE of CALENDAR STARING- calendar staring gets very addictive. Once you turn you calendar to the month of your departure... you will stare at it... for a very long time- periodically throught the day. and night.