You Only Turn 18 Once....

Well, it sure has been a while since I wrote last. And now I have so much to say. Well, lets begin shall we!

I am now back in the 'Can-speak-some-German-Oh-wait-actually-I-am-fluent' class. After my second lesson of "Ein...Zwei...Drei...Who knows what comes next?? amd then getting to the top of the class by being able to count above ten, I decided that if I were to have any brain cells left, I should move up a class before I pulverise them against a table somewhere. So yes, back in the fluent class, although I am not fluent. Ah well, I'll get there eventually. I understand what is happeinig in the class, I just can't speak very well at all.

Last weekend I had my first. My first Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough icecream. It was pure heaven. And people gave me the oddest looks as I sat outside the trainstation in -6 degrees, eating a pottle of icecream with a popsicle stick. However, I then got on the train to my first ever Rotex Weekend in Hundisburg, about 4 hours by fast train from my city. I walked into a room full of 70+ inbounds, all knowing each other and 85% of them being rather rowdy South Americans and just KNEW that no sleep was going to be had! The first night, they took us on a 'scary walk' around the castle grounds that we were staying at. However, while I was expecting Zombie or something to jump out at us, nothing happened UNTIL the very end where I loudly announced that I was expecting something to jump out at me and that I didn't know what the huge hype was about, just as three people leapt out at me. I then screamed, lost my balance in the snow and slid straight onto my ass much to everyone's delight.
That night the music was on full volume until way past 2am, vibrating the entire building. The next morning, we were woken up bright and early by some charming Rotex's armed with pots and wooden spoons. I then discovered I had no voice. And when I mean no voice, I mean not even a sqeak. I spend 3/4 of my day whispering. That day, we went to a village named Hotensleben,  where part of the Berlin wall still remains. We also did a tour of what I think of as 'deadly customs', where people had to go to be allowed to cross the border into west /east Germany. I was horrified to learn how many people were killed at these palces, and it really hit me how dark Germany's history is, and that I was standing on ground that people had died on. Even looking into the surrounding woods I could imagine people running, being shot down and just the whole place being a warzone. That day any ;andscape I saw I could picture soldiers, bodies and war. I was reminded of what country I was in. However, while I found the entire day all very interesting, I was very sick, very cold and very wet (the whole tour was outside in the rain and over 5 hours long) and I just found myslef longing to get back on the bus. Is it bad that my favourite part of my entire weekend was getting back onto the bus?
That night we had a costume party, and I was a nerd - suspenders and all. And  Iwas a party pooper, going to bed at 12 because by then, sickness had really sunk in- my ears were so swollen and sore my earplugs wouldn't even fit into them. Not fun. The music stopped sometime after 4 that night, and yet again we were woken by the pots.
The next morning we were taken to the train station two hours before our train, to a trainstation with no building for us to take shelter in and 5 layers later, (two of which were wool) I was still cold, shaking and miserable, and sounding like a pack-a-day smoker. Eventually our train arrived and I eagerly went home and straight to bed. I speak of this weekend like it was horrilbe, but that is just because I was miserable and sick and wanting some peace and quiet and sleep - it really was a great weekend where I met so many amazing people and learnt so much.

My health somehow managed to get even worse, with a pounding headache from the continuous coughing, sore throat, stomach pain, aching ears and eyes, fever and the chills. This lasted from sunday through to Friday. And yes, for those that know me well enoguh, that means it covered my birthday.

I woke on my birthday feeling rotten. The first thing I did was skype Mum, who sang her usual whiney, sqeaky and tuneless happy birthday song whcih tugged at a few heartstrings. I then opened the cards I had been sent from her, Gran and Sarah. We spoke for a while, and then I skyped Mason. After the skype sessions were over, I came downstairs to the mos wonderful surprise - on the table was laid out: A signed German flag from my host family, some gifts, some milka chocolate and a beautiful homemade cake. My host mum was also making some cupcakes at the time, so I helped her tidy up by doing the dishes - never has that bowl been so well licked I believe. I was amazed - I didn't know what I expected from my birthday, but I figured I would just let it slip past like any other day. It's weird - until that day it didn't really feel like my birthday at all. It's like my life in NZ has stopped and is on pause. Birthdays don't happen, no holidays or anything. It feels like i'ts just..frozen until I get back, and that I am in a new life in Germany until I get back and my life continues.
After a breakfast of fresh rolls and nutella, I retired to bed for the afternoon until Alina and her mum, my amazing counsellor and Dalton came over. We sat and ate cake and cupcakes and then I skyped Lou. Dalton stayed for tea, and I think if he hadn't come over, it wouldn't have felt much like a birthday at all - for me, my birthday is about spending time with my family and friends, and  Iam glad to say that I saw some of my friends on my birthday or else it would have been very sad indeed! I was also touched at how many people said happy birthday to me on facebook - it sounds silly, but it did mean a lot to me to know I wasn't COMPLETELY forgotten in New Zealand!

On Fraiday I helped Dalton cook a traditional Brazilian meal - beans and rice. Yep... that's it. They eat this twice a day, every day. I made myself useful yet again by helping with the dishes - this time, two condensed milk cans left over from the desert that I DID like.

On Saturday I was asked to help out at a Rotary Charity Dinner that was Spanish themed - everyone was dressed to the nines, and there I stood in Rotary blazer and Chuck Taylor shoes... We were given a four mean course, suposedly Spanish themed - who knew Beef Wellington and roast veges were Spanish! And the deserts were all made by the Rotary Wives - yet again, I wasn't really feeling the Spansih vibe, but the food tasted fantastic nonetheless of it's country of origin. That night, selling raffle tickets we raised 13000 Euros for children. It was a fantastic night, and I sat next to the lovliest old man who was a solider in the German army when he was 16, and rode in the cavalry for a year until the war ended. His job now is to travel around schools, speaking to children about what life was like to live in a Dictatorship and to make sure something like that never happens again. He was the sweetest man who enjoyed talking A LOT and his wife was 96!

And that is all I have to say for now! Having a fantastic time, and very very tired so am off to sleep now,
Goodnight!

Life...

Well, it has come to the point where I have lost track on how long I have been here. Jetlag is all gone, and I have slipped into the daily routine of everyday life.

My alarm goes off at 6.15 every morning. EVERY. MORNING. I then get dressed and head down to breakfast. Leaving the house at 7, I bike to my friends house and then through the village until we reach the train station, to catch our 7.15 train. Then, after an 8 minute train ride we are in Lueneburg. We then get on our OTHER bikes, and bike to school ready to begin school at 8am. Twice a week I finish school at 3.15, the other 3 days I finish at 1.15.

Classes are going...varyingly. History and Geography, I have no clue what we are doing. None at all. Whatsoever. Nilch, zero, nil. Biology, I have some idea - it's kind of transportation over a cell membrane, active transport using Na+ and K+ pumps etc - stff I learnt in Year 11 thankfully. German, I have a little bit of an idea. A little. And Philosophy I have had only one class of and I can keep up (barely and very briefly) if I pay verry close attention. Maths...Maths. Ahhhm. Well, I think we can all agree I was never any form of mathematician in New Zealand, and unfortunately that is no different here. Whilst I can understand the numbers obviously, I have no clue how to work things out or anything - its all calculus and functions and eugh. And English. Well, I seem to have some form of gift for English. Due to my French teacher requesting I leave her class, I am now in two English classes - one in which I enjoy and have made some good friends, and one in which I tolerate.

After school, there is always the mad rush to the Train station to catch the train that leaves at 32 minutes past the hour - if you miss it, you have to wait another hour. My afternoons are slowly filling up - on Monday and Wednesday I have my verrry basic verrry beginners course in German. Origionally I was in a course for 'Knows some German words" on a Tuesday and Wednesday - this course, I soon learnt 5 minutes into my first class that it was a "Can speak fluent German and have fluent German converesations and oh look that girl there looks rather lost and confused and LETS TEACH HER HOW TO SPEAK GERMAN IN GERMAN". After that night of horror, I went home and spoke to my host mother asking if I could please change classes. The problem wasn't that I had no idea what people were saying - it seems I am quite good at understanding some things, it's just I don't know how to structure my own sentences and form my own responses - I don't know the rules and guidelines and when to use the small tricky words like mir or aus or how to say their or theirs or ours etc. Things I need to be taught, that I won't be able to learn just by listening, and the more advanced class has learnt aall of this. However, my beginners class is the complete opposite. When they say beginners, they REALLY mean beginners. My first lesson consisted of 45 minutes of introducing oursleves, back and forard around the room - "Hallo, Ich heisse Emma, wie heisst du?" and the other half consisted of "Gut-en ab-end", "Gut-en Mor-gen" - never have I felt the urge to bash my head repeatedly against a table more than that session! However, I must stick to it. This is the class that will hopefully cover what I need to learn, where the other class has already passed that.
Starting in March I will aslo have a Grammar course on Thursday nights.

Friday evenings are now filled with Choir, in the beautiful St Johannes Church in Lueneburg. There are around 20 singers, and myself and another girl are the oldest by two years, but I still enjoy it, and singing hymns and religious songs in German is definitely an experience!

Weekends are starting to get very full also. This weekend alone, I went clubbing with the two other exchange students in Lueneburg (after choir on Friday), stayed the night at one of their houses, got up at noon, was invited to go out with school friends but had to decline due to exhaustion and then spent today with one of my good friends at his house in another village, and met his horse, Lucky. Next weeknd is the Rotex weekend in Hundisburg, and the following is filled with a Rotary dinner and potentially some form of birthday celebrations (yet to be decided). The following weekend is a choir weekend away in Uelzen. Very busy!!

I have made some really great friends here, and most of them are German! They are definitely helping me embrace the German life - some even insisted that I join them for a tradition in germany, where the night before they get their school reports they go out to a club for most of the night, and then straight to school with no sleep. I joined them for some time, however was picked up by my lovely Host brother at 1am as I had no way of getting to my school in the morning and to be honest, 1am was definitely enough for me! The club was smoky, hot and incredibly crowded and I was surrounded by a lot of drunk, smoking people - not really my scene at all! My friends also aren't too impressed with my 'No drinking' rule, but I have proven to them that one can have fun without the help of gross beer!

I also seem to be losing a bit of weight - I think it is due to the small amount of mean consumed here as opposed to New Zealand. Whereas in Nz we have meat with almost every meal, and we have a large quantity of it, here meat is used more to give flavour or texture to a sauce or something, rather than a vital component of a meal. And yes, I am confirming the sterotypical German diet - bread. Bread for lunch, sometimes dinner, and fresh rolls for breakfast in the weekend. Mmmm covered in nutella - I absolutely love it!

Theres not much else to say - its still bloody cold here, and will be for another two weeks at least. More smow is expected tomorrow, which I am surprisingly not looking forward to - biking in snow storms is horrible! But hey, all part of my new life!

But I am exhausted now, and am off to sleep.
Nuhnight!