Monday, November 28, 2011

"Sometimes it takes seeing the most beautiful things in the world, to know just how special your true home is."

I know I haven't written in a LONG time, but I've been very very very busy these past months.  It started with me going to Galaxy in October which is a large diskothek in between Wiesmoor and Emden. It was an Abi-Party which is a party for 16 and up to celebrate the Abitur, their entrance exam to college.  There was probably three hundred people there if not more. It was crazy.  However, the DJ ruined it because he talked every ten seconds which ruined the mood.  Other than that it was great.  We didn't get back to Wiesmoor until 3am though and Esteban stayed at my house like always and we were both exhausted after the night.  We were planning on going to Leer the next day with the mexicans, but we didn't get up until 1pm the next day and it was too late to catch the bus, sadly. So we just stayed in town for the day.  But the real fun of October started in our Herbst Ferien. We had two weeks of vacation for some reason but we also had our Deutschlandreise or German trip then.

I had it the first week of the Ferien. It didn't start out very well because I thought we had to be in Oldenburg at 7pm but it was 7am.  We were luckily taking Paula too and she called me at 6am and said no it was 7am. The bad thing was that I hadn't packed my suitcase yet so I had to quick do that. By the time I finished packing I left so I didn't get to take a shower that day but I put enough cologne on to kill a horse. I made it to the bus and everything was good.  First we went to the old border between the old East and West Germany. It was really interesting and it showed the old fences and it had a museum of artifacts and it was really cool.  After that we went to our hotel in Erfurt which is halfway between Bremen and Berlin. We got there at 6pm and once we ate and got our rooms ready it was 7pm and they let us check out Erfurt. Luckily, there was an Oktoberfest that weekend and we all went to it.  It was a lot of fun. We line danced, sang, and drank.  I bought one of the liter mugs and the beer was good but it was waaay too much.  After what seemed like 4 liters I looked and I was only halfway.  It seemed bottemless but I finished it and we went to see all of the attractions that they had there.  We had to be back to the hotel at midnight but there were a lot of people who were late so the chaperones got mad.  The next day we went to Buchenwald the concentration camp.  It was very silent in the camp and there was a very somber mood all around.  I would have to say I'm glad I was able to go and see it. Though I would wish it never happened, it was a good experience. After Buchenwald we went to Weimar but seeing as it was sunday hardly anything was open.  It was fun though because Weimar is a very old town so most of the buildings looked like old style european cottages.  We got back to the hotel at 4pm and then our chaperones talked to us all about being late. They made us choose groups to go out with and we had to come back with that group. So I got my group and we went out.  That night we went to more the center of Erfurt and saw that and it was a lot of fun. We got back promptly at 11:50 to make sure we weren't late.  The next day started late at 11pm and started the drive to Berlin. We got to berlin at 2pm and got our rooms situated and then we had a bus tour of the city. We went around and saw all of the usual tourist sites: Brandeburg gate, reichstag, sieg turm, fernsehen turm, the dome, Main train station, berlin wall, and Olympia stadion. It was really cool but I wanted to get out into berlin. We got back to our hotel at 7pm and then they let us free with our groups until 12pm again.  With my group we went around to Alexander Platz to see the fernsehen turm and the dome.  then we had just enough time to go back. Berlin is a big city and it takes a while to get from one side to the other.  the next day we did something in the morning but I can't remember then they let us out at 3pm. This time I changed groups and went with 3 argentinians, 2 venezuelans, and an ecuadorian.  They spoke spanish most of the time but it was still a lot of fun. We just hung out in a restaurant and then walked around berlin a while then went back to the hotel.  But we got back at 12 exactly because our train was late.  The next day we woke up early because we were going to Potsdam palace.  It was the old palace of the king of the berlin area.  It was very lavish palace and had a lot of cool features. We were there until about 5pm and then we had free, but the last night I went with my friends old exchange student who lived in his house in Arizona.  He showed us berlin and it was awesome. He told us stories and where there are hidden bars and things like that.  We were with him until we had to go, and he said anytime we were in the Berlin area to give him a call.  So we went back to the hotel and since it was our last night in Berlin all of the exchange students partied of course.  I didn't go to bed until 3am and we had to get up at 8am so I didn't get much sleep.  The next morning we left at 9am back home.  We stopped at Auto Stadt in Wolfsburg and checked out the history of volkswagen and it was very cool. We got back to Oldenburg at 6pm on thursday and I got finally home at 7pm. I went straight to bed and didn't wake up until 2pm on Friday.  It was awesome.

Then on Saturday I woke up at 7am because I was going to Bremen for Freimarkt.  It started with me taking a bus from wiesmoor to bagband then I had to transfer to another bus that took me to Leer.  From Leer I took the train to Oldenburg then from Oldenburg I had to take a train to Bremen.  In that one trip I took more public transportation than in my entire life in America. But I got to Bremen at 10:30 it took me two and a half hours. Once I got there I met up with Jeremy a guy from Iowa and we went all of Bremen.  Freimarkt was really cool because it hat a lot of food, games, rides and attractions.  We had to go back at 7 to the train station because my train was at 7:10pm.  But we got there and it said my train was cancelled because of rail construction so I had to go home with Jeremy because that was my last chance to get home.  So we got back to his house and since buses don't go to Wiesmoor on sundays I was stuck until monday.  So Sunday we went to a climbing park thing.  It's a place where they have obstacles that you climb over, under, and through.  We went with Luiz a Brazilian exchange student who lives by Jeremy.  We did that all day and I will say I was sore.  We went home and slept and I got up the next morning just in time for my train.  I had to run to catch the train to Delmenhurst and I just barely made it. Now I thought the trip from Wiesmoor to bremen was bad but my trip from Nordenham to Wiesmoor was 10 times worse. I had to change trains in Delmenhurst to Bremen then from Bremen to Oldenburg then from Oldenburg to Leer then take a bus from Leer to Bagband then transfer to a bus to Aurich then a bus from Aurich to Wiesmoor. I left at 11am from Nordenham but got back at 6pm to Wiesmoor. Worst trip ever.

My next week was very bland until Friday when I went to Deckers our local disko.  Which was a last party before school again. It was a lot of fun but that disko is very boring unless all of your friends are there which was the case. Once school started again nothing really happened for two weeks then I went to Bremen on a Friday.  Bremen is the meeting place for all of the exchange students. They organize meetings and it's nice to see everyone especially when they live on the otherside of Niedersachsen. Paula and I got there at 7pm and waited for everyone to come in the Bremen bahnhof. At 8pm is when all 20 or so kids were there. We all went to our usual party place. It's a huge statue of an Elephant and when we go there we refer to it as 'Elephanting.' It was a lot of fun but I was supposed to go home with another America because it's easier to sleep at his house than go home, but he was too drunk to catch the train. So I had to stay at the train station until 6am. I slept on a bench and felt like a homeless person. It was so cold and uncomfortable, but our train came 30 minutes early which was a pleasant surprise. It was a miserable train ride home but once I got to the comfort of my bed it washed away the night before.

Then on November 10th it was St. Martin's day.  It's like my area's halloween.  There was a party that night at deckers and everyone went though it was a thursday and we had school the next day. I ended up not going to bed until 5 and then waking up at 6 for school but thankfully I had a short day and got enough sleep after school. The next day I found two new exchange students in school. Both are from AFS another exchange program. One is from China named Edita and one is from Honduras named Irving. They're both very cool people. The rest of my weekend was quite relaxing because I didn't want to go out I just wanted to spend some time with the family and catch up on my sleep. The next week went quite slowly. However on friday we went to Leer to see a couple friends. We met Rene a Mexican and Gabriel a Brazilian. We walked around, ate and talked. We were going to go bowl but there was no space for us to and we had to leave early. So we just played a game of pool which was fun because I wasn't the worst player there. Then we said goodbye and went home because I had a big night on saturday. Saturday night Irving, Haiko, and I went to Twister Which is even bigger than Galaxy and is in Sande which is between Wiesmoor and Wilhelmshaven. It has 3 dance halls and there was probably 500+ people there. We had so much fun and it was the best night I had in Germany so far.

The next week was a stressful one. Paula is going back to Argentina on the 30th of November so we were setting up for her Abschiedsparty or farewell party. Her party was on friday and we had to find places for people to sleep because wiesmoor's buses aren't the best. But when Friday finally came it was a relief. We picked all of the people up from the bus stop and we went to paula's house. We all talked and laughed and had a great time. It was definitely the best night with all of the exchange students. I went home at 3am and had a very good sleep until 9 when i had to help put away things for winter. After that I had to get ready to go hunting with the rotary. We hunted for about 5 hours and only got 4 animals. The rotary guys were not very good shots. But after that Esteban, Junior (mexican friend), and paula went out to eat. I had planned to stay home because I wasn't feeling super great from the night before but they convinced me into going. It was paula's last party in Germany so of course I had to go. We went to Twister again but this time with Paula, Junior, Esteban, Irving, Mikaella (ecuadorian), Marissa (mexican), Haiko, and me. Since it was a party for paula we all stayed together and had a really great time but in the back of everyone's mind it was very sad. We got home at 6am after we got our taxi after 45 minutes of waiting. Paula made us some eggs and toast and then we went to bed. I stayed at paula's house because I came home so late. I had to share a very very small bed with Junior and he doesn't like sharing the blanket and pillow. So after 3 hours of cold, uncomfortable sleeping I decided to just go home. Once I got home I went straight to bed but when i got up at 12 I felt sick so I went back to bed until monday morning. I still felt sick so I didn't go to school. I still feel a little sick but sooo refreshed I'm ready for the week ahead. I will say now that I am a little home sick. It's a weird feeling. I'm having so much fun here but I still miss home. I'll go away I know but it's a nasty feeling. I know it's natural but that doesn't help it. However, I PROMISE to update more. I will make room for it in my hectic schedule. Bis dann!