So Far, So Fabulous

To be fair, I did try to update weekly. Sunday night I got to the very end of the post when my iPad spontaneously restarted on me. I got a little impatient after that. Today seemed like a good day to try again because today, my friends, marks the first month I've spent abroad. 

I had originally written a long long long entry with tons of details, but I think I'll try to spare y'all some time this go round.

So, I've gotten my schedule. I got it the 2nd day of school, which was also my birthday. On a side note, I had more people say Happy Birthday to me at this school (yes, the one that I had gone to for all of 2 days at that point) than any year in America. Period. And they were all sincere with hugs and songs. Germany, y'all. Anyway, I was lucky enough to have Sarah (my host sister) and Jana (my new friend from my grade) to help me pick out classes. They told me which subjects to go for and which teachers to avoid. Yet another time I found myself crazy grateful to have such great host sisters and now, a friend. I'm actually spending my senior year as a junior, because the seniors here don't stay in school the whole year and the Bundestag requires that of us Experimenters. I have several classes that my teachers don't even know I'm a student in. I'm not on their attendance sheet but I'm waiting to see how long I can go without them noticing the American in the class. My English class is very interesting to take part in because Germans learn British English. Also, we are discussing, in depth, the American dream. It's really crazy to see how other countries view ours. MERICA. German class is impossible. I'm in 11th  grade German. I should be in 5th grade German. Gym is mandatory here but I chose the best possible class. We did aerobics and dance today, and at some point in the year we're doing badminton and rugby. Score. :) For the first time, I don't dread gym class. Math class on the other hand... You know how Cady Heron said math was the same in every country? Yeah, she lied. Turns out Mean Girls is not a viable source for guidance and lifestyle advice. Who would've thought.

The weekend was parties and dancing and a ridiculous amount of fun. If there's one thing I can say about my German experience so far, it's that it hasn't had a boring moment. If there's another thing, it's that they aren't kidding when they say that Germans eat a lot of bread. I'm not totally sure who "they" are, but what they failed to mention is how delicious the bread is! My favorite food here so far is either my host moms homemade bread with cheese, or the rice, veggies, and eggs meal they make. I don't know how to explain that stuff, but I swear it is beyond delicious. I'm hungry now that I'm writing about it. Going to get cheese and bread, shall return shortly----

Alright, folks. I'm back and fully loaded with cheese and bread. Even a few grapes. Back to blogging. Yes so the combination of stress (subconcious from language barriers and adaptation) and weather had me pretty sick over the weekend. Yet, my sisters still managed to show me a good time. I didn't really feel up to going to the club on Friday night, but I said yes and had probably one of, if not THE, funnest nights of my life. That has been the case planty of times here in Germany. Going to the club, joining someone in their class, even yoga class, anything that wasn't exactly appealing to me ended up turning into another great experience. Because of this, my exchange motto has become, "Say yes." Because if I had holed up to read and sleep that night like a normal sick person, I would have missed a really great time, and a chance to get to know people outside of school. If you're reading this as a soon to be exchange student here in Germany, please take that advice. Saying yes is the easiest way to bring you out of your comfort zone. There's a fine line between "Yes, I know this and I like this" and "WHOA THAT'S NEW NO THANK YOU NO NOPE NO." and if you just push yourself to cross that line, you'll find out all kinds of new things about yourself. For instance, I have never in my life enjoyed anythign remotely athletic. My host mom and sister asked me if I wanted to go to yoga, and that was a very easy thing to say yes to because yoga is so calm. Then they asked me if I want to go to aerobics and I didn't particularly WANT to, but I said yes anyway and I adored it. Seriously entertaining and "worth it" experience. I have always hated gym class, and it's my favorite class here. Now I'm going to yoga once a week, aerobics twice a week, and 3 hours a week I have dance. And I completely love it. I honestly want to do more. I never would have known how much I actually enjoyed all of this if I hadn't said yes and left my comfort zone. So try everything, it's worth it. :)

I think that's all I have for now. We're going to Dusseldorf this weekend, so I'll have pictures and a post for that. :) Tune in Sunday for yet another riveting blog update~

My hostfamily gave me my very own Frühstückbrettchen for my birthday. 😍