East, South, West of Deutschland, Sylt, Belgium, and Spain!!!

So, in the two months I have been here, I feel like I have pretty much seen the world. About a month into my exchange, my family rented an R.V. and with two other families, we went camping on the Island of Sylt, which is located on the border of Denmark, and is on the North Sea. It was really warm, and just beautiful. I took my bike with me, and on the first day I went with these two girls (one who wants to go on an exchange as well!) and we went to this really big beach and watched this windsurfing competition. We rode our bikes for like ten miles that day, just looking around the island. Then the next day I did the same with my host family. I thought my legs were going to fall off after all that riding. Three weeks ago, my state (Lower saxony) had no school for two weeks, so my host family planned the greatest vacation ever. they have an apartment in Mallorca spain, so we spent the week there! On the friday, we got in the car and drove to Aachen, which is in western germany, and on the border to the netherlands and belgium, and happens to be 45 minutes away from liege, which is the city where two of my friends from south carolina are on their exchange. Dirk has a friend there, and it was the friends daughters 18th birthday, so thats why we were there. We stayed until sunday, and then we drove to belgium. My host family said it was ok to go to liege for like an hour, so i got to see my friends for a little bit, which was awesome :) then we drove to brussels, and flew to Mallorca. I absolutly loveee Mallorca! it was so warm and beautiful. We went to the beach every day, and the water is so clear and blue. i so want to go back there one day!! the day after we got back, i left again, for a tour of germany with 40 exchange students in my district. this was the best week of my life. we went to this town called erfurt, where are hostel was, and then we drove to Weimar, and we visited the concentration camp Buchenwald. which was indescribable. to think about where i was stepping and what had happened there was such a powerful emotion, and i really cant put words to it. later, we went to lunch in the dowtown part of weimar, and i went with my american girls, to this pizza place, and while we had five hours to tour weimar, we spent all our time there. We were talking to the most amazing woman. She is a representative from the united nations for womens and childrens rights. she is from australia, and speaks five different languages. she was pretty young, but extremely wise. as we were leaving, we tried to pay, and she said no, you guys just made my day so go on ahead. then the next day we went to berlin, and we spent the rest of the week there. Berlin is just AMAZING. i love it. i saw the berlin wall, we went to the arch, and then the checkpoint charlie museum, the ddr museum, and the bundestag, and this beautiful old church. We were pretty much left to do whatever we wanted, we just had to make sure we made the 11 'o'clock curfew. On the first day in berlin we got totally lost, and spent the whole day riding pretty much every train in berlin. like three times each. but since we had the mexicans and brazilians with us, it was entertaining, because they were all singing and being loud making it fun. there are sooo many brazilians here, i feel like i ought to be learning portugese when im with the exchange students instead of german! but the trip was great, and i got to know the other exchange students a lot better!!  the day after i got back from the deutschlandreise, i went with my host family to Halle, which is in Eastern Germany, so they could meet with some old family friends. we toured the city all day saturday and walked up a billion stairs of this monument dedicated to napoelean. And this Friday, i am flying to Ulm in southern Germany. So it is late, and the link for the pictures will be posted soon. Liebe immer,
Katherine

Ich liebe Deutschland!!

So, I am a terrible blogger. I created this so I could let me know what I'm up to over here, but I've only written one blog. So I apologize to those of you who check this regularly!! So I have been extremely busy seeing the world, and have been loving every single minute of it. When I first got here I was super afraid of everything, and though I was going to get completly lost, and never understand anything. But it's totally different now. I'm starting to understand german a little bit better (i still suck at speaking, but its getting easier!) and I know my way around my city. I absolutly love where I live. Oldenburg is like a college city, and is clean and fresh and is old and modern at the same time. I think I was placed in the best city in my rotary district! There is always something going on! School is going pretty well....at first it was really interesting, because it was new, but now, not so much, and it's especially hard because I can't really follow what their talking about. So I normally write in my diary, practice my german vocabulary, and more often that not, I sleep, which drives my classmates crazy. The kids in my class are super nice, and they speak to me in a mixture of german and english. A couple of weeks ago I went with them to the biggest festival in my town, called krammermarkt, and had the most amazing time! they talk to me a lot, and ask me lots of questions, and i absolutly love how close my class is. In germany, the same kids are with each other pretty much all day, so they know each other and are really good friends! My school is really old, but i still love it <3 My host family and I get along really well. They are kind of annoyed at me, because I can't speak german yet, but this past week i kicked my german up a notch and their happier about it. My host sister Hanna, is the most adorable person ever! I love her to bits, and its like she is my little sister. We joke around and tease each other, and sometimes she will drive me up the wall, but i always return the favor. I live in the country and sometimes in the morning when I wake up I can hear a rooster outside my window. Since my family lives 30 minutes away from my school, they drive me in the mornings. Both Kathrin and Dirk work in Oldenburg, so its no problem for them. A couple nights a week, I will walk about two miles, and meet Kathrin at her dentistry at like 7 and she takes me home. The other nights I take the train from Oldenburg to Bad Zwischenan and then they pick me up from there. I take the train A LOT. And I love doing it! they dont have trains in Bluffton, but they should because they are so efficient. Since train tickets are expensive, and I use it so much, I have this youth pass, that costs 15 euro a month, and it lets me ride any train i want, as many times as I want, within my state. On mondays, tuesdays, and thuresdays I have to go to this school called AGO and take german lessons with the other exchange students in my town. And we always hang out afterwards. They are so amazing, and I love each and every one of them. They are my best friends here. We talk for hours, and are with each other on the weekends too. We normally go into the center of the city, which has some amazing shopping and we walk around, or we go sit in a cafe, or we go to the mall and sit inside after grabbing something to eat from the supermarket. Another thing-I feel like all I do here is walk, and then eat. I eat so much here it isn't even funny! But the good thing is, that I walk so much here, I haven't gained weight-yet. Its the same with the other exchangers. Here I get out of school at 1:15 except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays when I have long school until 3:45. But I have 45 minute classes, and then every other break is 20 minutes, and I get an hour for lunch, and I'm allowed to go to the center for it. I'm excused from afternoon classes on tuesdays because i have german lessons. Also another thing that i love-when the teacher is sick, and they dont come to school, there are no substitutes, so the class is cancelled. So like tomorrow my french class is cancelled, and its right before lunch, so i have like a three and a half hour break! the weather is getting colder and colder....i wear scarves, whereas in Bluffton i never would have! and during breaks at school i go stand as close as possible to the heater. germany is soo beautiful, and im so happy i ended up here :) i have been uploading all my photos onto photo bucket, so when they are all up, i will send the link :)
Liebe immer,
Katherine

Boomer Has it, Elephant Paper, Big Cheese, and a New Beginning

So, I haven't posted since before I left, but that is because I am still trying to catch my breath. I have somehow ended up in the most amazing place, and I have to remind myself daily that I actually get to live here for an entire year. I have now been here two weeks, two amazing spectacular weeks.
So my flights went well, except that I missed my flight in Munich, but I was able to catch the next flight to Bremen. When I arrived at the airport, I found my luggage quickly, and then walked through the doors, to be greeted by my host family! Kathrin and Hanna were standing there holding German and American flags, and a big sign that they made that said Welcome Katherine...Finally! I was so excited and nervous, but relieved in a way, that I had finally made it and could now start my exchange. Then I met my host father, Dirk at the car, and we were on our way! German roads are very different-as in there are hardly any rules. We drove on the Autobahn, and I didn't even notice anything until Dirk asked if he was driving too fast....over a hundred miles per hour!! It doesn't scare me though- I like it, because its more efficient. Officially I live in Oldenburg, but I actually live in the outskirts of the city, in the village of Edewecht. It's in the countryside, and is probably the most beautiful place ever. It is so green, and Kathrin and Dirk told me its the main place for plants and greenarys and nurserys in the country. There are also cows every where. I love cows. My house is really big, and I love it. I have my own room and bathroom, and its an old house, but the inside is completely modern. I have to say it-the knob to flush the toilet isnt a knob. Its two buttons on the counter. One button is for a lot of water,and the other is only for a small amount of water. IT IS AWESOME! Also in the public places, when you flush the toilet, a little machine pops out of the toilet bowl, and cleans the seat for the next person. I think its pretty cool. My host family is the best. My host father was an exhange student in Florida twenty years ago, and speaks to me in very good english. I am constantly learning things from them. 

Singing Session and Bawling Besties

So. After a year of tears, trials and deliberations, its done. I am leaving tomorrow for Germany. I think I am excited, but I can't tell. The birds (NOT butterflies) in my stomach are going crazy. I hope I don't throw up. Today was pretty emotional, cause every time I looked at my mom or sister, I wanted to start crying, cause I know I'm going to miss them so much. Then this afternoon, I stopped by my youth group for a couple of minutes so I could say good bye to my best friend and a couple of other friends. I walk in excited to see them, cause I haven't seen anyone since school started. I gave my best friend a letter I wrote and talked to another friend as she read it. A couple of minuted later, we were walking into the bathroom with the two of them bawling their eyes out. I felt HORRIBLE. I hate seeing my friends cry like that. And what was even worse, I couldn't cry. I mustered up everything inside of me, but not a single tear. And I was really sad, and actually wanted to cry! But we kinda waddled out of the bathroom, because we were clinging to each other, the two of them crying, and they walked me to the door, and we said the official good bye there. One of the hardest things I have had to do. Ever. Naturally, the moment I walked out the door, I started bawling my eyes out, and I get in the car, and my mom gives me this look, that just makes me love her to pieces, and I cry even harder. I have basically been crying on and off again since seven. Not good. After a while, I came into the living room where my mom was watching the news and knitting a scarf (yes, a scarf, I think it's the cutest thing ever!!) and I move all the stuff next to here, and I just flop down next to here, and I am not afraid to admit I snuggled my mom. Sounds weird, but I felt like a little kid again, and it made me feel safer. Then my sister walks in with the laptop and plays one of my favorite songs, and we sing along to it, and my mom tells us we suck, so we just HAVE to sing another one! We play My Body by Young the Giant, and start dancing, and my mom is sitting there laughing her head off. It boosted my mood by a zillion points! I love my sister, cause she is the craziest person ever, but knows exactly what to do to make me happy. Anyway, I am all packed and ready to go tomorrow, but still majorly freaking out. Which I do think is normal. And my room is cleaner than it has been in months! Sitting here in the dark all alone, can't be good for my mental health, so I am going to sign off for now!

Liebe,

Best Friends <3

Family! gotta love em <3

Schwesters, and Beste Frendins forver <3

Katherine

School Starts and the Chipmunk cheeks are deflating!

So here I am today, August 16, and just how happy do you think I am? To be honest, I could be a lot happier. Two days ago I was supposed to leave for Germany, and earlier today, my host brother left for America. Unfortunatly, since I can't leave the country for a couple of weeks and my mom is a teacher at my school, I started my sophomore year at Bluffton High. Don't get me wrong- I love my classes, and being able to see my friends more before I leave is great, but I kinda resent not being in Germany right now. Pretty much the only thing I have been able to think this week was " what the heck am I still doing here?". One thing I am happy about, is I get to have more time with my mom and sister- I wasn't ready to leave them! So a quick side note...I just made a complete fool out of myself! I was talking to my district chair on facebook about recieving my passport faster, and she said she has a connection at Lindsey Grahams office and could help. I then replies saying if Ms. Graham could help that would be great. She then replied asking me to google this Lindsey Graham...turns out HE is South Carolina's senator. Mission accomplished. I am a total idiot. But on the plus side, the chipmunk cheeks have gone down after my wisdom teeth were removed. I asked my mom if I looked any better, and her response? Yeah they do! You don't look like a chipmunk anymore-you just look fat!...that was exactly what I wanted to hear. Everything will work out in the end. Now I am off to look up more important stuff about South Carolina, because I obviously lack some knowledge in that department!
Liebe immer,
Katherine

Visas, Passports, Citizenship, and Chipmunk Cheeks??

The pros and cons of being South African? It's really cool to say, and hilarious to see the look on peoples faces, when they realize I'm from Africa, and I'm NOT black. The downside, is that it is becoming almost mission impossible to leave the U.S. Last week my travel agent informed me that as I am not an American citizen, I would need to go to the nearest German Consulate and apply for a visa. Americans don't have to have a visa. I do. Special, special me. So my mom and I got in our car and drove for five hours to the German Consulate. We arrived there and the German man at the counter said, oh no she cannot enter Germany unless she has a permanent residency visa before she gets there. Americans only have to apply for one after they arrive. From America, this process could take three months he says. I was supposed to leave this Sunday. So my mom flips out, and tells him we can't do that, so he tells us to sit down, and wait till all other customers leave, and then he will help. There were three men shifting through my paperwork all afternoon, and they were actually really helpful. Instead of sending the application via snail mail, they faxed to Germany on the spot. And they are fedexing my passport for the visa under diplomatic mail, so it will arrive in Germany on friday! And it will be shipped back to me as soon as possible. As early as next week! So now I was set to go. We got home and my mom and I realized that my green card expires in February, and unless I renew it or become a citizen, I won't be allowed back into America. So this morning, my mom and I went to the department of Homeland security, and they told me I was already a citizen, and to go and apply for an american passport. So now I am beyond confused! And I think everything will work out! Ohh and the chipmunk cheeks? I got my wisdom teeth removed on Monday, so I have had to do all of this with cheeks that are unnaturally puffy. Lovely lovely. Anyway thanks to the German consulate, and my mothers brains, I just might make it out of this country. Liebe immer,
Katherine

It hit me...

So here I am laying in my bed trying to fall alseep at 3:21 a.m. My mind was going through about a million different things, and most of the those things revolve around my exchange. And then it hit me. Like a punch in the gut, a bullseye on the target, I realized that I am actually leaving. This whole year I knew I was leaving, but it has always felt surreal, like it couldnt be happening to me. Like this is to good to be true. But that was months ago. I leave in three weeks, and I am now realizing what all that entails. Its an excited feeling, but at the same time nervewrecking and bittersweet. You know the saying that when your excited/nervous, you have butterflies in your stomach? Well mine aren't butterflies. They are ginormous birds flying in my stomach. And they won't go away. Even though I am unbelievably excited, I have a new feeling with this exchange: I'm scared. I am scared of leaving my mom and sister behind, and I am not sure what all is going to happen. They are going to change so much, and I can't stand the idea that they can't be a part of this expierience with me. I've always been close to my mom, and we always have conversations that last for hours, and I can trust her with everything. It's always been comforting to me to know that she is there for me. I know that next year she will be with me mentally, but not physically, and that in itself scares the crap out of me! And my little sister...is my little sister! It's going to be strange not having her around to annoy, or to annoy me. Sitting here in my bed, I am realizing I only have three more weeks in my bed, my room, my home, my town, my state, my country, and my own family. Starting in three weeks my life will change dramatically, for better or for worse. Change is my worst fear, but I am going to attempt to overcome that. And hope I can get through these next three weeks with out totally freaking out.

Liebe immer,

Katherine

Yes, As a Matter of Fact, Exchange Students are ALL that!

Even though my journey has yet to have begun, I have met so many wonderful people, who have been an amazing support system throughout the past few months. In other words, these people are my fellow exchange students, who next year will be taking the step into the great unknown. Just like me. You may think I'm overthinking this by saying "the great unknown" but that's exactly what it is. Anywho, back in March, all the inbound and outbound exchange students met together for the first time at the State Interact Conference. Lets just say, that meeting them, drove away all fears and reservations I had previously held. They are the most amazing and fascinating people I have probably ever met. The outbounds got to ask the inbounds questions about their countries, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I fit in perfectly. I always had a different mind set, leading me to disagreements with friends, but the exchange students...we were on EXACTLY the same page. We got along well, even more so than I do with my own friends. Sorry if this is too cheesy for you, but they are literally my second family. Since then, the inbounds and outbounds met for a weekend on the beach. It was amazing. I learnt so much, and made friendships that will last. That was the last time I saw the inbounds (with the exception of two, who live in my town, and the town next to mine). I'm sad that I won't see them again, but I wish them all the best. At the beach weekend, we also met with former exchange students, which was great, because we got to hear from them about what they went through, and what it was like for them. It's been helpful :) Recently the outbounds met for a training weekend at Dr. Vicki's house. It was great to see them all again....I was surprised to find that I had missed them...and generally speaking I don't miss anyone.Ever. I won't see them again until after our exchanges, but I hope they have a great time, and of course we will stay in contact. Punch line of this long monologue, is that when you become an exchange student, it's a pretty big deal. And you get to meet and welcome amazing people in your life who think like you, and want the same things you do. I don't think there is much more you could ask for! I think exchange students, in general are seen as all that. And just for the record, we are ;) Love to all the exchange students! Liebe immer,

Katherine

Danke Danke Danke!

So I have yet to explained how I actually got to the point of embarking on the GREATEST thing that has pretty much ever happened to me. The organization that has made this possible is Rotary, and this is a program that I respect and appreciate greatly! Rotary is a program that strives to make communities and the world a better place. They do community outreaches, and create fundraisers to raise money for the community, or big projects, like their current End Polio Now campaign which is to eradicate polio. Each year Rotary sends thousands of exchange students all over the world, and starting in August I will be one of them. When I tell people I'm going to be an exchange student, one of the first questions they ask is how I got the oppurtunity. Basically, at the end of last year, I asked my mom what kind of clubs there were to join at my local high school. One of the clubs that she mentioned (which is supervised by her friend) is Interact. Interact works closely with Rotary, and organizes its own fundraisers to donate to local charites. Back then my mom told me that if I was interested in doing an exchange, I could do it through Interact...after that I forgot about it, but when the school year started, and I attended the first meeting, they told us that if we were interested in being an exchange student, then tell them, and they would put you in touch with the YEO of the local rotary club. Well I said I was interested, and it has been a whirlwind experience ever since. I had a meeting with the club president, and YEO and they agreed to sponsor me. I had a phone "interview" with the district chair person, sent in a preliminary application, got accepted, sent in a final application, got an offical interview, and then was given my country! I would like to take the oppurtunity to thank my Interact sponser who set it up, my YEO for helping me along the way, and a big thank you to my district chairperson, Dr. Vicki Tatum, who has guided me, and numerous amounts of other students through this process and who made it all possible. So danke, danke, danke to Rotary and all the amazing people who helped me and continue to guide me through this experience!
Liebe immer,
Katherine

Host Families!

So about two months ago, I came home after school and checkes my email like I do every day. But that day, I actually had something other than Facebook notifications in my inbox. I had two emails waiting for me, which caused me to scream and dance around, which naturally brought strange looks at me from my mother and sister. The first email, was from my YEO (youth exchange officer) welcoming me to Oldenburg. He gave me the name of my future school, which is to be Herbartgymnasium. It looks like a good school. The next email only added on to the best day ever. It was from my host sister Jule, who is a year older than me. She is also an exchange student, who will be in Brazil while I am staying with her family. It's unfortunate, because she seems like someone I could easily get along with. But she told me all about her family! She has two younger sisters, Janne and Jette, and her parents names are Christina and Ulf. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to skype with them, and they seem like the nicest people! I can't wait to meet them :) A couple of days later, I recieved an email from my first family, who also seem very nice! The parents are Kathrin and Dirk, and the they have Finn (16) who will be an exchange student in America next year, and will be located in Conneticut. They have a younger daughter name Hanna, who seems like a sweet girl! I have corresponded with them over email, and hopefully I can skype with them soon :)

Liebe immer,

Katherine

50 More Days!

So to start off, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Katherine, and I am currently 14 years old...15 in two weeks! I'm going into 10th grade, and I live in a small town in South Carolina, United States. This blog's purpose (because every blog needs a purpose!) is to keep you posted on everything I do next year. This is because on August 14, I leave to go to Oldenburg, Germany to live as a Rotary Youth Exchange student for a whole year. I am beyond excited to go. I know I will miss my family, but an oppurtunity like this only comes once in a lifetime, so I chose to take it. More posts to come :)
Liebe immer,
Katherine