The opposite of a tell all.

I have now been back from my eurotour for two weeks now, and my mother finds it less than amusing that I have yet to write a blog about it. Considering she paid for the trip, I figured I owe her some sort of news. Before going on the tour, Rotary kept telling us that it would be the best two weeks of my life. I would think it safe to say that it was not. However, it was perfect in every single way, and I would not have had it any differently. Maybe not the best, but definitely one of them. I enjoyed the trip thoroughly, not just for the sights, but for the people as well. The other exchange students, and the energy they bring to everything we did, made it all worth while. Had I made this trip alone, yes it would have been cool, but no where near as special, as it was with the people I have grown to love, and cherish as a second family. We started the trip off nice and early, leaving from Oldenburg. We spent the first day in the bus, making a quick stop on the border to France, to visit an old Cathedral. Unfortunately, I forgot to pay attention when they were telling us about the history of the Cathedral, so I have absolutely no idea what its importance is. That night, we arrived in Straussburg, France. Needless to say it was beautiful. We spent two days there, which were amazing. While there I roomed with Melissa from Mexico and Veronica from Venezuela (Hello Spainish= very confusing conversations) which was really cool, and I got to know them a bit better. The first (and last) full day in France was spent with the American girls, walking around, exploring the city. We went shopping, and walked around the city center. We went and sat at this cute little cafe that overlooked the river that runs through the town. Then we walked around some more, and found a quiet spot on the river bank, and sat there and talked a bit. Then we went and grabbed some lunch, accompanied by ice cream. I swear-I ate ice cream every day of that trip! Nothing can beat European ice cream. It's a wonder that I didn't gain any weight from this tour. We had to meet the rotarians and the other exchange students by the cities main Cathedral at 2, so on the way there, we bumped into the Brazilians, and stayed with them for a bit. Just a little hint. This is Central Europe, so naturally everything is very picturesque. Also, it was France, so pretty touristic, so it's made so that you can get in touch with your "romantic side". There were street musicians every five feet. So naturally we found the Brazilians with them, singing and dancing. Then Kenzie and I saw an artist, drawing a picture of Marianna, so we decided we wanted one too. So for 15 minutes each, we had our pictures done. At first I thought mine looked exactly like me, but the longer I looked at it, the more I realized it was totally different. Life lesson-don't buy into the tourist crap. It really is fake. Then we went to the church, and from there we all climbed on this little boat, completely made of windows, and did a tour of the city by boat. From the boat, we saw the European nations building, some old castles, and some very touristic sites. Then we were given free time again until six. My friend Hanna and I went back to the Hotel to sleep, and get ready for dinner. Then when we got out of the Hotel, it was raining, so we rain through the streets, until we got to the restaurant we supposed to eat dinner at. Growing up in America, you always see commercials, trying to advertise how their food is "real" French Cuisine. Well they are way off. But then again, I think french food overrated. That night I just wondered around the city with friends, talking, until curfew. Thank goodness I stayed in a group. On these tours we are given free time and a map and set free, and I cannot comprehend a map by any means, so I need all the help I can get. But I do have to say my map reading skills have improved sufficiently. Anyway, the next day we headed off to Luzern, Switzerland. There, we have to convert our money, into Francs. Stupidly, I converted 30 euros, and I had to use it all up in the one day we were in Switzerland. So then I had to be very careful with my money the rest of the trip, because I spent two days worth of money in one day. Anyway, Luzern was a very nice surprise. I was a little bit upset we were going there, instead of somewhere cooler, but I am in fact, very happy that we did go. It was just so beautiful. The sight I saw there was indescribable, and no photo can ever do it any justice. It was purely magnificent in every way. After going with the Rotarians to this statue/fountain thing that I have no idea what it actually was, we had free time. So me and the American girls, and Emily, Franco, and Truman, all went back to the street that runs along the lake (stunning). We bumped into Gustavo there, and after walking a bit we saw everyone else. Then we saw something way cooler. A hippie parade. Coming down the street, there was a ton of smoke, and loud folk music, and homemade street cars, and wagons. hundreds of people walking, laughing, drinking, talking, dancing, smoking, singing, doing everything imaginable. Every wagon had different music, and about twenty people. So the we all hopped into the middle of this "parade" and danced and walked along with. Definitely a high on life moment. That night, we went back to this spot, and they had set up camp under the trees, and there was a concert going there, so we went and danced along with. For me, every day was a bit of a culture shock. From one day I went from hearing German, to French, then to german then back to french, then italian, and then swiss german. Then more french. Then Austrian German. Then czech. I have to say that is the strangest language I have ever heard in my life. Anywho, I really loved being in Switzerland. Later that night we got back to the Hostel, and all sat downstairs, Dudu and Gabriel playing the guitars and ukuleles, with all of us singing. The next morning, we woke up early, and were told to wear clothes that could get dirty. Then we drove in the bus for a couple of hours, and arrived in some mountains. I sat next to Gussie Bussie (Gustavo) on the bus, and we listened to his ipod and talked, which was really nice. That's what I love most about Eurotour. Getting to talk to people I don't get to talk to very often. Anyway, when we arrived we got off the bus and were met by these two men, dressed in overalls wearing gumboots. They had the THICKEST swiss german accents ever, and I could not understand a word. They had us suited up with hard hats, and gumboots, and off we went into the the third largest cave system in the world. After climbing up the mountain a bit, we entered the cave. It was really slippery and muddy. Needless to say, it was pretty cool. But at one point, he had us turn our lights off and walk in the dark for ten minutes. Scariest thing ever. According to him, this is what it was like to be blind. Everything was black, not even a hint of light to be seen. Eventually we were able to turn our lights back on and the tour was pretty much finished. We entered this big cave thing toward the end, that had some lights and little prop up tables every where. There we had our packed lunches and took a lot of photos. Then we got back on the bus and rode the rest of the day to Italy. Absolutely beautiful! And thankfully back to a currency I actually understood. To me that was more important than the language! The first two days, we spent in Lavagna. On the first night, our Rotex Okko took us all down to the beach, which was a lot of fun. I didn't really like the beaches in Lavagna, because there was no sand, it was only rocks. Then some of us dipped our feet in the water. Then Rene splashed water on Melissa and it was an all out water war. Every one was in the water squirming splashing around laughing and screaming. Fully dressed mind you. Our rotex shook his head, saying he knew he should have told us to bring a bathing suit, but in all honesty, had we brought them, we wouldn't have used them, because swimming with our clothes on made for better laughs. Four crazy brazilian boys accepted a dare from our rotex. To strip down naked and run screaming down the beach. Naturally we had an interesting night. Then some of the boys put their underwear back on, and insisted on wearing only that back to the hotel. So of course, they recieved plenty of honks and calls from passing cars. Ohh Italy, a country that makes exchange students even crazier than they already are. Then the next morning we were loaded once more on the bus, and we drove for like 20 minutes through the city, and arrived in St. Margehrita. There we had to wait half an hour for the ferry, so the guitar was broken out, and we were all singing and dancing, as is usual for exchange students. Once again it was a major high on life moment. The energy, and character, and the love of life I get in these moments are simply incredible. When the ferry got there we continued singing and dancing, much to the amusement of the other passengers. Then we arrived in Portofino. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous. And I mean that in every sense. I got separated from the American girls, so I spent the day with some of the brazilians. I don't really understand what they are saying, but sometimes I can understand the topic, and who feels what about it. But thats about it. Dudu was there, so the whole time we walked through the city, he was strumming away on the guitar, with us singing along. We went inside this old castle and stood at the highest point of the Island. Then we climbed to the edge of the cliff, holding hands, trying not to look down. At around three, we headed back to St. Margehrita and laid out on the beach. The water was really warm, so I went swimming with some of the Brazilian girls, and Gustavo. Then I went exploring with Kenzie and Gustavo. Afterwards, we all watched the Brazilians play soccer against some Italians on the beach, and get their butts kicked. That night once back at the Hotel, we ate our dinner, and then we headed back down to the beach. I stayed on the rocks with Hanna, Gustavo and Daniel, and talked the rest of the night. A lot of other things happened that night. All I can say is, that the next morning, everyone was tired, and Ana had the nickname Scar face, and I lost the ring I bought in France, and Hannas Northface is forever burried under rocks on an Italian beach. The next day we drove to Florence. Let me just say this-Italy is EXPENSIVE. The first day in Florence, I went shopping with Emily, Mikayla, and Kait. Then we met up with an Italian boy, who was on exchange in Emilys town last year. He showed us around, and we got pretty lost. Then we had lunch at this cute little pizza place, and then slowly wandered through this flea market. Once again. Don't fall for this. I bought a ring from one of the vendors, and it broke the next day. Also, don't ever look at the men looking around trying to catch your eye. They are going to try and sell you fake name brand bags. And if you make eye contact, you're done for. They won't be leaving you alone. They scream from their stalls about how pretty you are, and how just because you are such a good person, they will make a special price for you. Don't ever go for their asking price. It can be bargained. I got that ring for three euros, when he originally wanted twenty-five. Afterwards, we went to the church, and there we met all the other exchange students. This church is gorgeous. It's made of marble, and is basically white, with a golden dome, but when the light hits it, it flows into different colours of pink, blue, yellow, and green. It's impossible to describe. The next day we got in the bus once more, and were headed to Lido di Jesolo. Yes this is still in Italy. On the way there, we made a pitstop. In Pisa. As in, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Pretty cool. The moment our bus pulled up in the parking lot, it was surrounded by these men, arms full of fake bags, and holding trays of sunglasses, hoping we would buy from them. One of the rotary woman got off the bus first and screamed at them to go away, that we werent allowed to buy anything. Only some of them went away. The moment we got off they were calling out, trying to get us to buy their things. Some of them tried to convince us by calling us Lady Gaga. Anyway we eventually made it to the Tower, which was amazing. We were able to climb all the way to the top. Took forever though, and I was really scared climbing up, since the steps are slanted.anyway, the view from the top is memorizing. Then we went into the church next to it, and I had had my flag wrapped around me, as a joke. It got really hot, so I took it off. Then one of the security guards ran over to me and told me to put it back on, because I wasn't dressed properly for a church. Surprise of my life. Not really, but I was a bit surprised at how strict the Italian churches are. Every time we went to a church, we had to either wrap scarves around our shoulders or waists, so it was suitable to go inside. Walking back to the bus, it was just Kait and I. Kait made the fatal mistake of making eye contact with one of the guys with the bags, and we were surrounded. more and more kept coming and blocking our way, and the bus was still pretty far away. they were getting louder and louder and more kept coming, so we looked and each other and said "run?" so we held hands and pushing through the guys, sprinting screaming across the parking lot, until we got onto the bus, collapsing on the ground laughing, with everyone staring at us. So, from there, we traveled further to Lido di Jesolo. We arrived there early afternoon, so we spent the rest of the day  on the beach. I have to admit, I was a little bit sunburnt. Then the next day, I'm going to call sundress day. Basically every female exchange student was wearing a sundress, and all the guys looked like they were vacation ready. That day, we used a public bus, and rode it to this ferry thing. Then we rode the ferry, right into the heart of Venice. This is what I was looking forward to the most on the trip. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in Venice. It was exactly what I expected, which I guess was the problem. I think I needed to have gone in an off season, and explored it a bit deeper. But there are so many tourists you can hardly walk, and I find it a shame that such a famous and beautiful city, is now subject to the cheesiness of tourism. Regardless, it is a fascinating city. We started the day off with a tour of the city, and a visit to the main church, where we once again had to break out the scarfs and shawls. Then after we had free time, so I went with some of the American girls, and Truman, to a pizza place, tucked away in a little alleyway. It was such a nice afternoon. We sat there for a couple hours, and toward the end, I realized there was wifi, so I broke out my ipod, and we skyped Raul for a little bit. Then we explored Venice. We visited the Grand canal, and then on the walk back to the main square we walked in and out of the cute little stores. There were a lot of stores meant for masks, which are used for Karneval. Which is really big in Italy. Then as we were walking across this little bridge, I hear my name called out. Docked to the walkway, are two Gondolas, each full of Brazilians. They needed four more people, and then they would be able to ride it for pretty cheap. So we agreed to it. For thirty minutes, we rode in these gondolas, talking and laughing. It was truly beautiful. The water is a pretty blue color, but at the same time, you dont want to dip your feet in it, because of how filthy dirty it is. The chemicals, and waste in the water is shocking. We ended the day, sitting on the docks, writing in our journals, and I once again had one of those high on life moments. They come randomly, and when I am most peaceful, and relaxed. Then we got onto the next ferry back to Lido di Jesolo, and went back to the hotel. It was Kenzie's birthday, so we decided to go out and celebrate. This would be the second night were not much can be explained. All I can say is that it was lots of fun, we made new friends, and Kenzie became a mermaid. The next day, was a free day, and we could choose between staying on the beach, or going back to Venice. We all decided to go to the beach. I guess we were all just kinda done with tourists. Anyway, I was as red as a lobster, and at one point the Rotary ladies made me go inside, cause they were afraid something might happen. That night I used a TON of creme. That was also a good and interesting night. The next day, we went to Vienna. We were on the bus for ten hours, so I was in sweatpants...because they were the only thing that wasnt totally painful to wear. My sunburn hurt so bad, I couldn't walk straight, and it hurt to sit. We arrived a little bit late in Vienna, and so we went straight to dinner. That night we all went to the center together, but didn't do that much. The next morning, we went to the castle where Marie Antoinette grew up. It was so nice! Then we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere and told to be on a certain street later that night. I spent the day with Mikayla, Emily, and Truman, and we pretty much just looked around, shopped, and went to a church. Then we went back to the Hotel for dinner, and we all went out again. The next day, we left for Prague. On the way there, we made a small detour. It was a rope climbing course. We were given harnesses, and hard hats, and a quick lesson, just to make sure we don't die. Scariest thing ever. We were hundreds of feet from the ground, with swinging ropes and pieces of wood behind us, and a thin rope holding us up. I liked the parts where I could glide, but the others not so much. Towards the end, I started freaking out, so I had the guy in charge bring a ladder over and I climbed down. Just about gave me an anxiety attack or something. After that, we arrived in Prague. New currency, new language. Both strange beyond comparison. 200 kronz is equal to 4 euros, so about 6 dollars. Mind blown. That's pretty much where all my money went, because I had no idea what I was doing. That day we just ate dinner, and I went with the Brazilians to explore around a bit. The city was about thirty minutes away, so we just went to the outskirts. Those were pretty sketchy, so we just went back to the Hotel. The next day we had a tour of Prague. I have to say, this was one of my favorite cities. Perhaps of all time. It's not too touristy, and it keeps the charm that naturally belongs there. We walked around, and then were given free time. We went and did some more exploring, and I ended up getting separated from the group, so I just stayed on the main street the whole time, until we had to go to dinner. The food we ate was really weird. That would have to be the one thing I didn't like about the Czech Republic..the food. Then we all ran back to the Hotel, and got dressed for the disco. Among being an amazing city, Prague is home to the largest disco in Central Europe. At first the night kinda sucked, cause a ton of people got caught without tickets on the train, and we had to bail them out, and we were late, but after a little bit, the night turned into something truly amazing. What happens in Prague, stays in Prague. Or better yet, what happens on Eurotour, stays on Eurotour. The next day, we woke up bright and early, after the two hours of sleep we had, and headed back to Germany. We stopped in Dresden, where we would spend the night. We had free time immediately, but first we said goodbye to our Rotex, Okko, who was going home to see his girlfriend who was in the hospital. In this free time, we went to find doner. Aka the best food in the world. We found some and then when we got back to the hotel, we had to go on a tour of a church. I fell asleep in the video, but then the actual church was just beautiful. Other than that, I don't really know why we went to Dresden. There wasn't that much. That night after dinner, we all went out, to the center, and tried to play hide and seek at the easter carnival, that had just closed. Then the police came and told us to cut it out and we went to the skate park across the street from the hotel. There everyone was running up the ramp, and sitting on the top. When we got back, we were all together, talking, exchange pins and bracelets, signing flags. It was pretty sad, because that's when I realized that it's pretty much over now. Not just eurotour, but my exchange year. I never knew time could move so fast. I could tell everyone felt the same, because it was just a really somber mood. The next day on the bus, we had a long ride home. We were all singing and laughing, and talking, for what felt like the last time. And for some of us, it was. And all at once, we were bawling our eyes out, and hugging. I don't think I've ever experienced something quite as painful as that. They are like my family, and it's as good as if they are dying, because most likely, I will never see them again. Or if I do, it's a very long time from now. It was such a weird feeling. I won't ever forget a moment on my eurotour. It was nothing how I expected, and yet, everything I wanted, and needed it to be. It gave me memories to last a lifetime. And this would be for my exchange students: Der Austauschuler aus Distrikt 1850, Ich hoffe das du schon wissen, das zu mir du meinst alles. Du bist einfach die beste, und ich werden nie ein momente vergessen. Unsere reise, und auch dieses Austausch Jahre war ganz toll, und ich hatte ein richtige glucklich zeit mit euch. Ich wunsche dir die beste, und bitte, komm suche mich noch, wann ich wieder im dem USA bin. Ich liebe euch, und werden dich viele vermissen. Liebe fur immer noch, deine, Katherine

My life as it is now

Life is busy as always, and I'm constantly moving on to the next and what not. Any who, it's been a while since I posted anything and I thought I would just send out an update to those poor souls, who actually read this wretched thing. Two weeks ago, I went with what is now my old host family, off the to Ostsee (Baltic Sea to the rest of the world) for my host dads family reunion. To get there, we had to ride the train for five hours. Normally people would cringe and think of how awful that is, but I absolutely LOVE riding the train. I find it so relaxing, and just having my ipod in, and watching all the people, and the beautiful scenery rushing by, is for me, total perfection. I end up riding trains a lot, and I prefer riding them alone. I come up with any excuse just to ride the train. It's my thinking place...as weird as it is. I just love it, and will definitely miss that when I'm home. Ok back to the main topic here- the family reunion. Marc's (my host dad) cousins and their kids and parents where all there at the Ostsee, and it turned out to be a fairly enjoyable weekend. The weather was so nice, and we were right on the beach. I just sat among the dunes and read my book, trying to enjoy the sun, which is so rare here. It hardly comes out in the winter, and sitting there, it was just pleasantly warm. Okay, and then the following Thursday, I switched host families. Now I live in a tiny village, called Hundesmuhlen. This is about 8 kilometers from the city center of Oldenburg. I absolutely love it. I have to say, I was looking forward to this family the most, and they have not let me down one bit. They are quite simply amazing. They are Ulf, Christina, and the Janne, who as of an hour ago is 14 and then Jette, who is 10. What I love most about them? They are normal. And they like me. Not too much to ask, I think! They are just so sweet, and they've hung the American and the South Carolinian flag from their flag pole in the garden. And they greet me as their daughter. I just love being here. I love the family. I love my room. It's the best feeling in the world. So it's actually very cool, right now I have a four day weekend, because Monday and Tuesday are a national holiday. Don't ask what for, because I have no clue! Any way, on the Monday, all the young people (aka 16 and up) start drinking very early and they all decorate a big tree and set it up in their garden. Then that night, everyone has to try steal someone else's tree. I quite like the idea of it haha it sounds funny.Then I go back to school on Wednesday, but what is really cool, because it will be my last school day for three weeks! Because on Thursday, I leave for my EUROTOUR!! Words cannot explain how excited I am. I just know that this will probably be one of the best couple of weeks of my life!We go to France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and then travel a little bit around the south of Germany. For 16 days, I will be on a bus with about 35 other exchange students, all from different parts of the world. I feel bad for those rotarians that are stuck with us. hahaha. Well as I am busy with worldy travels and all, you won't see another post from me in a while. So viel spass nach, and see you soon! love always, Katherine

Elephants, Integration, School, Repeat.

 I do believe I can now say I am partially integrated into German culture. I understand Germans, and why they do the somewhat strange things they do. When I got here, I saw these differences as weird, but now I see it all as perfectly normal. I have slid into a daily routine here, that I am very comfortable with. It was changed very suddenly when Raul left two weeks ago, but I have managed to get things back under control. Nonetheless, it's weird that he isn't here anymore. He was such a big part of my year here, and with him gone, I've realized that a big part of my exchange is over. And that scares me. About a year ago I created this blog. The purpose? To write about my exchange year in Germany. Which I kinda have followed through with, no matter how seldom I actually post. When I created this blog, I had just discovered that I would be going to Denmark. I was so excited, but so extremely, nervous. At that point, I had been accepted as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, but I wasn't sure yet if I was capable of doing it. Did I want to spend the year in Europe? Of course! But as a fourteen year old girl, the idea of being away from my mom for an entire year, was pretty much the scariest idea I ever thought of. So why did I do it? I honestly don't know. But I can honestly say, that going on exchange was the most right thing I ever did. It felt right, and I followed my gut, instead of my head. And something surprisingly wonderful happened. I'm experiencing the best year of my life. So much changes in the course of a year. Exactly a year ago, I was with the other outbounds, in Charleston, for the Rotary District Conference. At that point, I had still thought I was going to Denmark, if I was even going at all. I was scared, nervous, and honestly, didn't know that much about anything. And now a year later, a year older, here I am. In Germany. Having the time of my life. Experienced so many emotions and feelings in the lapse of one year, that I don't think should even be possible. I've been given so many wonderful oppurtunites, and chances. To excel. To learn. To love my life. My life is completely different from how it was one year ago. Back then, I was afraid of leaving home. And now that feeling has returned. But it's because I'm leaving my new home, knowing I will never come back to it as it is now. I am afraid of my life for when I come home. I'm not sure what it's going to be like. I know that not that much has changed. But I wish it has, because I have. And it would make everything a lot simpler. I love my life here so much, and I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the time I got to spend here. I came here, not really knowing what to expect, just knowing that I wanted to get away, and to change. Find myself if you will. And even though I don't really know what I came here to find, I feel content. Like any questions I held before are somehow miraculously answered. Naturally I owe a lot of people for this year. So thank you to my wonderfully brilliant mother, who supported me even when I drove her crazy. Thanks to my sister, who puts a smile on my face every single time we skype. And a huge thank you to Rotary, for all the amazing work they do, and putting their trust in me, and giving me the greatest chance of a life time. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Time flies, and you never realize what you had until it's gone!

Being an exchange student is fun, and contains all those wonderfully glorious moments, but at the same time I am ever changing, ever growing. Learning more about life and how things work than I could ever have thought possible. Last week, I found out that my best friend, Raul, is being sent back to Brazil. This has given me a lot to reflect on, and made me realize just how important time was, and now that I look back, I also see, just how fast time flies by. Before going on Exchange, I looked at this year as intimidating, thinking it would be long and drawn out. But it's been the complete opposite. Here I am, more than halfway through, and I am wondering where the first half disappeared to. The thing with Raul is, I have never had a friend as close as him. Ever. And I thought that I had five more months left with him. Five more months of fun, laughter, carelessness, friendship. Five more months before I had to say good bye. Due to the sudden change of events, I now only have a week. A week to say unspoken words and enjoy his presence all the more. When on Exchange, exchange students are your best friends. But Raul is more than that to me-he's family. Only now that he's going, it's different than saying good-bye to my own family. When I said goodbye to them at the airport, I knew exactly when I would be seeing them again. With Raul, it's a mystery. There's a chance I will never see him again. I have never cried so many tears as I have in the past two weeks. He, Kait, and Akseli, have become my family here. People I will never forget-that I never CAN forget. They are such a constant in my life, I simply can't imagine what it's going to be like without them. I didn't think that I would have to wonder about this for another five months, but now it's all thrust into perspective. This shows me how truly special every moment was, and how much I value it. But now I value time even more. It escapes from you in the blink of an eye, leaving you not realizing what you actually had. I knew I had a friend in Raul, and thought he would always be there for me. I know he is, the only difference is, now we are continents apart. There's an expression, "life each day like it's your last" and another, " don't regret anything, because at one point it was exactly what you wanted." I plan on living my life by these. I don't want there to be regrets, only love and fun. I want to jump on all these opportunities, and enjoy every glorious, happy, tragic, hilarious, unbelievable moment that life has to offer. Raul has taught me a lot, and I love him for it. He's shown me how a true friendship is, and I will not forget it. So live for every moment, cause in the next, it could be gone.

I am an Exchange Student!

So this has been going around facebook for a couple of days, and it is so philosophical sounding, I thought I might as well share it!
I am an exchange student.
How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one?
How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one?
How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears?
How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone else was saying?
How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world?
How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it?
How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself?
How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course?
How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it?
How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said “I am so far away”?
How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends?
How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted “I love my country” holding a flag in your hands?
How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one?
How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one?
How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realising how much you have accomplished?
How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast?
How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones?
How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally?
How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours, to see what there was on the other side?
How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home?
How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student?

Just another lazy week...haha just kidding, I'm in Europe!

Oops, I haven't updated my blog in a little bit, but hopefully this will suffice! In the life of an exchange student, there are never lazy weeks, and hardly ever lazy days. Today is one of those rare days! The past couple of weeks since my last post have been fairly productive. In the last blog I wrote, I had talked about my AMAZING  praktikum, and that the woman I was with was going to let me do a little bit of reporting with her. Well she did something way better! When I walked in that morning she looked at me and said, " Katherine, we all think it's awesome that your're so young and an exchange student! What would you think about doing todays segment on yourself?" umm YES! So that day, it was all about me. Not to sound conceited or anything. We went to my house and had an interview with my host mom, and then one with me in my room. We had shots of me riding my bike, and then also at school, hanging out with my friend Kait! Then we headed back to the office and pieced the segment together! I had to leave before it was finished though. I had to catch a train to Bremen, because a friend was leaving to go back home and I had wanted to go and say good-bye at the airport! Unfortunately I arrived five minutes too late. After the airport I went and hung out with some of the exchange students for a couple of hours, and when I got home that night, I went to watch the segment online! It was so cool! It also aired on the television. I will attach a link at the bottom of the page so you can watch it. Look up 7000 kilometer vom zu haus! All in all, my praktikum was very interesting and a good experience. That weekend, my host family and I packed our bags, and headed for Spiekeroog. Spiekeroog is a small Island located on the North Sea and is about a two hour drive for me. To preserve this Island, cars and other forms aren't allowed on the island, so we had to leave the car in a parking garage and go on a huge cargo ship. It was very cold, and the water was beginning to freeze, so the ship had to make its way through a lot of ice. We went with another family, and all in all there was 11 people. When we got there we had to walk about two miles, and then we reached the "cottage" we were staying in. This cottage was humongous and we all got our own rooms. It was beautiful! The majority of the time we played board games, as it was too cold to go outside. When we did venture out into the cold, we layered up..every time I walked outside i wore three pairs of stockings under neath my jeans, two pairs of gloves, two hats, an undershirt, a shirt, two hoodies, a jacket, this neck warmer thing and another scarf that was long enough to also cover part of my face. I was still freezing. It was about a five mile walk to the beach, and every day we decided to go to the beach, but out of the four times, I only made it there twice. The other two times, I stopped halfway and went back, because I was so cold! But it was a good weekend overall! The next week I went back to school, and it was nice to see my class again. We talked forever, and filled each other on everything that had been going on. That week passed by being pretty uneventful, seeing as it was only a three day week. Then that Saturday, I went to Brake, which is a city about 30 minutes from Oldenburg, and attended the exchange student sleepover. The ski trip to Austria was that week, so about 20 exchange students were missing, and some didn't show up, so out of the 89 exchange students in my district, only about 35-40 exchange students were there. These sleepovers are organized by Rotex, and Rotex is an organization kind of part of Rotary. Its a group of past exchange students, generally all between the ages of 18-24! They're pretty cool, but the sleepovers aren't all that great. The only reason why I like them, is because I get to see everyone again. This was a pretty good sleepover. It was nice to have everyone together again, and I was hanging out with the american girls the whole time, with a couple of the brazilian boys. We had wanted to all sleep together on one of these big mats that they had set up around the gym, so we were lucky enough to be one of the first to grab one, but as we were dragging it to our corner, the boys kept hopping on, making it practically impossible for us to move it. Eventually we were able to claim it for ourselves and set up camp. The ironic thing is we all pulled an all nighter. Not by choice though. Paco wouldn't stop singing "we wish you a merry christmas" and "we found love in a hopeless place". How would you like to be awake from 12, until 5 hearing a mexican exchange student singing very loudly and off key? Very annoying, but positively hilarious. Then Jakub, one of the American boys, came over to us in the middle of the night, and said, "guys, lets make whale sounds" so we did. I must say, I came away from that sleepover with some fond memories.Then this past week was pretty good. On Wednesday I went to Bremen and hung out with like 20 other exchange students, and on Thursday I went to Raul's house with Kait and Akseli, and we had a movie night, which was pretty fun! Then this weekend was really, extremely fun! I went to Norden for another exchange students birthday party, and we spent the night there. Unfortunately my Jugend-Freizeit ticket doesnt work all the way to Norden so I had to pay 7 euros and split a Niedersachsen ticket between me and four other exchange students. Pierre and Larissa met Hanna and I at the train station in Oldenburg and we met Kait and Raul on the train. Train rides are always more interesing when with exchange students! Then my friend Crystal hopped on in Augusfehn and then Gabriel and Rene got on in Leer. It was about a two hour train ride, so we had to keep ourselves entertained, so we ended up singing songs from Disney Classics aka Mary Poppins, Lion King, etc.. Then when we arrived at around 9 in the evening, Piotr's host brother was there to pick us up, the only problem was he could only fit four people in his car, and there were nine of us, all with a ton of luggage. So Hanna, Larissa, Crystal and Gabriel squeezed in the back, and Rene sat in the front, and I sat on his lap, with all the luggage on my lap. A very funny car ride. We had the music full on, and rolled the windows down and we got a lot of stares from passing cars. Anyway, Piotr had rented out this old abandoned factory, so thats where the party was, and we just kinda slept wherever we fell! It was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of people there. The next day we woke up early and walked to the train station to go back to our cities, but we were going to go straight on to Bremen for the Carnaval. We missed the train and had to wait an hour at the train station. Luckily I didn't have to, because my friend offered to drive me home, because Oldenburg is on his way home. Then I dropped off my things, and got on my bike and rode to the bahnhof and got on the same train that my friends had gotten on in Norden. Unfortunately I wasn't able to sit with my friends, because the train was so crowded I couldn't move a foot, let alone look for them! It's always really crowded on Saturdays, cause those game days, when the soccer team Werder Bremen is playing, and the public transportation system is crazy! Anyway, when the train arrived in Bremen, I found them, and it turns out that Kait, Raul, Akseli, Rene, and Gabriel and gotten off in their cities, so it was just me, Pierre, Larissa, Crystal, Hanna, and Gustavo. So then Crystal and Gustavo went off to find the Carnaval and the rest of us went to Pierres house so Hanna could drop off her stuff. Then we went and joined the others at the Carnaval. It wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I had been expecting more people, and more entertainment, but it wasn't bad! Then I got on the train with Hanna and Crystal and went back home. This upcoming weekend, my host family is taking me and my friend Kait to Aachen for their Carnaval, and for that one, I'm dressing up. Carnaval is like this big festival almost all the cities have annually in February, and there's a lot of music and dancing, and crazy costumes. So this week my mission is to find a costume! Wish me luck. Well that's all for now, and I will update soon, I promise. So once again, leave questions or comments! Liebe immer, Katherine

Pshh I'm an Exchange Student!

Something the world ought to know about Exchange Students; we get away with EVERYTHING. Literally. No train ticket? " I didn't know, I'm an exchange student!" No money? "I'm so sorry, I'm an exchange student, therefore I am very broke." The perfect excuse that works every time..I am an exchange student. You would think people wouldn't fall for it, but I don't think they actually care- they just get a kick out of it, and continue on just to humour you. Well as long as the excuse works, anything goes. I do believe I am getting better at this whole blog thing. AKA I am actually updating this two weeks in a row! Wahoo! Not too much has happened since the last time I wrote. The weekend was pretty boring, because I was on house arrest. I was getting very sick. German weather and I do not agree with each other, and my host father who is a doctor said that there was a great chance that I might get pnemonia. So no going out for Katherine. I stayed in bed all weekend, and watched Pretty Little Liar episodes online. Then my best Brasilian friend Raul came over to keep me company on Saturday night, and I made him sit through Little Miss Sunshine. I love that movie so much, it never ceases to make me laugh and I could honestly watch it a million times and still love it. On Saturday there had been a Rotary function, and unfortunately I couldn't go since I was bed ridden. My Rotary Club (Rotary Club of Oldenburg) went to the local Kohlfart. Which means I was super jealous of Raul and Kristlaug (the two other exchange students in my club) who got to go. A Kohlfart normally occurs in every town in Germany once a year- generally in the winter. Why it happens in the coldest time imaginable, I have no clue. Sometimes Germans are just a little bit crazy. Anyway a Kohlfart is when you walk around the city and at different points in the city, there are stations, and at every station, you stop and take a shot of some sort of alcoholic beverage. This was also something I thought odd- Rotary has four main rules :No Dating, No Drugs, No Driving, and NO DRINKING. So then why would the Rotary club take their Exchange Students on a drinking trip? One can wonder for the rest of their life- these things only happen in Europe! Maybe South America too.. On Sunday I woke up at an ungodly hour and went to watch my host brothers band performance at the local library/cultural center. Rasmus (My host brother) is ten years old, and pretty much the cutest little boy ever. He looked pretty grumpy at having to play on stage in front of everyone. According to my host mom Heike, he's been doing this for a long time. After the concert we went back home, and I wrote in my diary for a bit, and then went and slept. During my time here, I have been keeping up with a diary, and I have been much better with that than with this blog. I try to write every day and if I don't I always try to catch up with what I have been up to! Right now, I am on my third diary. You could say that I have a lot of thoughts, and points to make. I like writing in them, and I've started to reread them. I have to say, it's really interesting to see my thoughts and feelings from when I first got here nearly five months ago, and how different they are now. Who would have thought it! On Monday, I still had praktiukum. If you couldn't tell from my last blog post, I felt that praktikum was the boring, and basically the worst thing ever. Last week I was working in advertising, and now my opinion about praktikum has totally changed. I LOVE it. This week I am working in the broadcasting department of the newspaper, and I am so happy about it, because reporting is something I am seriously thinking about pursuing. So this week I am following the news team, and we drive through the city, and film different segments, make interviews and get different angles, and it is amazing, fascinating and I am so happy that I got this opportunity. The woman I am working with is very nice, and extremely interesting. She speaks German, English, Spanish, and French, all fluently. She was born and raised in Germany, lived in the US for a year, did a study abroad program in Madrid, and lived in Paris for a year. I'm really glad that I was paired to work with her this week. On Monday afternoon, I hung out with my friend Kait in the Schloss Hofe, aka the local mall, and we window shopped a bit, and then headed back to my house. As I was unlocking the door, I remembered that I had a Rotary meeting in ten minutes, so I ran upstairs to get my jacket, and ran back down, hopped on the bike, and rode it to the Bahnhof (train station). The Rotary meetings take place in this building that's attached to the Bahnhof, and is what used to be the waiting room for the royalty when they were waiting for their trains. Pretty snazzy if you ask me. As usual the Rotary meeting was okay and there was good food. At these meetings I normally sit next to the other Exchange students, and we pull faces at each other...often enough a Rotarian will notice and start laughing their heads off. Busted, but oh well! At least we are quiet..for the most part anyway. Today I went with the film crew to a new spa that opened up and we filmed a segment on this new Chinese massage. The owner was all excited and happy, and gave us all a voucher for a free massage at the spa. I know what I'm doing next week! Not only is it the coolest job ever, you get added bonuses like that! Who wouldn't want that! Tomorrow we are doing an actual news segment, and the woman I'm working with asked if I would like to try  reporting a little bit. Hell yes. Pardon the french. But this is amazing. Back to Rotary for a second-my Rotary blazer. We basically attach anything we can to them, and try to beat each other as to who has the most junk on it. Compared to the others, mine has a relatively small amount of things on it. Nonetheless it is getting there! This weekend is a four day weekend and my host family is taking me to the Ferien Islands, and we are doing some sort of bike tour. Wish me luck, because I suck at riding a bike. Not so sure what else will happen this week, but I will keep you informed! I will also be making a vlog for those of you who prefer to watch instead of read. Let's face it, we are all couch potatoes at some point! So once again, I ask for feedback-comments, questions, anything, talk to me! Liebe immer, Katherine

Pictures! Finally :)

http://s1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd453/kag2663/
http://s1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd453/kag2663/Deutschlandreise/
http://s1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd453/kag2663/Spain/
These are almost all the pictures I have taken all year! There are more, but I have yet to even upload it onto my computer, so those will come later! Hope you enjoy, and please leave me comments, or questions, I would love some feedback, so I can answer your questions, or just tell you about anything you want! Liebe immer, Katherine

Praktikum ist LUNGWEILIG.

Praktikum. Something old german men made up so that they don't have to deal with annoying students for two weeks. It's where you go and do an internship for two weeks...generally it could be fun, but all I do here is insert data on a spreadsheet and it's pretty boring. I'm doing my praktikum with the local newspaper in my city, so the first two days it was very interesting, but now, not so much. I'm working in the advertisement section, which would probably explain my lack of interest. Anywho, I am going to Bremen tonight with friends, so I will be saved from complete boredom. This Saturday I also have a big rotary event, so I am kind of excited for that. I should probably stop playing on this computer, but when you sit a teenager down in front a mac book, what else should you expect? Oh well, hopefully next week is more interesting. And I have also changed the format for my blog-hope you like it! Liebe immer, Katherine

Woah! Surprise Surprise!

This is totally abnormal for me; I am actually updating my blog! But instead of blogging, this time I am doing a vlog. The sound quality and video quality is terrible, but nonetheless, I am there! I have also uploaded a vlog I made about two months ago, the information is a little outdated-I ever went skiing or to Egypt, and I am now in a different family. But it still gives you a basic idea of what my life is like-the downside is that it is upside down..one of these days I will get this right!! I will also be uploading a funny video that I filmed in the first couple of days in Germany, where I am in the city center with the other exchange students, and they are doing to macarena...cause well, all exchange students are nuts! Also I would like to point out to my mother, that this post did NOT begin with a so. But I think my videos did...oh well! Much love, and please send me questions and comments, so that way I can answer them on the vlog or on the blog!  http://www.youtube.com/user/kag2663
Liebe immer,
Katherine

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