Home, but different....

After 26 hours of traveling, I'm HOME! But it's different, or I'm different. So that just makes it hard.

A friend from my CBYX group wrote this, but it describes my exact feelings:

but on top of that ... my heart is still in germany. i'm trying so hard to just be brave and it'll all be ok. i'm trying to just take in all the good and leave out anything i now consider bad

it's soooo hard to get off the plane and hear english exclusively and be looked down upon for speaking something else, it's hard to throw all your trash away in one container, it's hard to see friends you've come to realize things about that you don't want to, it's hard to sleep in a bed that is not my own in a room without rolladas in a house that is huge and has air-conditioning but no heating. it's all so very hard .. and it's only the beginning

Also, adding something, it's hard for me to speak only English. I can no longer throw in those German words and still be understandable. It was really hard while I was traveling too. When saying thank you or asking a question to strangers, it naturally came out in German. That was followed by a weird/confused look from the stranger. Oops.

Well, time to start a new chapter in my life. I hope I'll get through this reverse cultural shock quickly. :D

Time is running out...

Can't believe this. I'm really going home. It can't possibly be true. Everything is so surreal. I don't even know what to do with myself. My emotions are unexplainable....just everything mixed together.

My host family, my life here in Germany was so perfect. Everything I had expected happened, and more. It really couldn't have been better. I'm so very grateful for how blessed I am.


My family:

Now I have to go through Reverse Cultural Shock. That'll be an interesting experience...

Neverlands? no...not quite

Netherlands!!!

I had so much fun this past weekend with my host family. We spent four days in Westkapelle, Netherlands.


We stayed in a hotel on the beach. It had a heated pool, which was good cause the ocean was supercold! (But that didn't stop me from swimming in the ocean. And naturally I made Laura go with me...or perhaps I dunked her...)
And I had lots of fun playing with Sammy. She loves playing in the water.



Weather was fabulous! Lots of sunshine. (I have a wonderful tan to prove it.)

We also visited Middelburg, a city nearby. Tons of sailboats and ships everywhere. Also lots of old buildings. It was beautiful.

And check out all this cheese! The Netherlands are famous for their cheese.

Saturday night....dream come true
Yep, we rode horses on the beach. Galloped through the water! So AMAZING!


I loved this past weekend. It was an great finish to the end of my year here in Germany. I'm so grateful for my wonderful host family. I couldn't have had it better. :D

Great picture of Heidi and Dieter. They are awesome people!

And of course Laura and I...

Meine tolle Schule: Gymnasium Schloss Hagerhof

Today was my last day of school here in Germany. I'm glad to be done with it and move on to university, but I'll miss all my wonderful friends!

So, now to the pictures of my beautiful castle school.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to go to this amazing school. I learned so much, met tons of amazing people, and had loads of fun!

The reason why ich bin dicker geworden

(this post is especially for my Papa...)

Essen (Food) in Deutschland

The typical breakfast on Saturday or Sunday.

Heidi cooks some pretty amazing food. Here are some of my favorites:

Zuericher Geschnizltes
(no idea how to translate that, but it is chicken and onions in a very tasty sauce.)

Pfiferling Spagatti
(chicken and mushroom sauce)

One of my very favorites: Kaiserschmarn
(comparable to something like pancakes covered in powdered
sugar and eaten with applesauce)

Spätzle mit Huhnchen und Piltz
(Spätzle with chicken and mushrooms. Spätzle are typical egg noodles served as a side in Germany)

Spargel Sauce mit Kartoffeln
(White asparagus sauce served over potatoes...)

Eier, Kartoffeln, und Spinat
(Sunnyside-up Egg over Potatoes and Spinach)

Now to those typical foods:

Bratwurst
Check out the huge long wurst in the tiny brötchen....so normal

Currywurst und Pommes

Leberknödel Suppe
(took me a while to get used to....didn't realize until last month that Leber=Liver. No wonders I didn't like it particularly.)

Döner
I love these things. So good.

Käse (Cheese!!!) - Heidi discovered in the first two months that I love different types of cheeses. And let me tell you, they have quite the assortment of cheeses here in Germany. DELICIOUS!



And of course:

German ice-cream

Spagatti Eis

So that was just a little overview of the types of foods I normally eat here in Germany. It's going to be weird having to eat American food again.

When I get home...

...it's PARTY time!

My list of things to do (no particular order)...
- Hug and catch up with the family and friends who I haven't seen for 11 months
- Hug my dog (Man, I really miss him...)
- Puppy sit for Guide Dogs for the Blind
- Play my harp (perhaps a few harp lessons?)
- Ride Bro. Adams' horses
- Jump/Swim in our swimming pool
- Go to Jamba Juice
- Enjoy my Papa's delicious Pizza
- Share my Germany Year Slideshow
- Play with legos with my little brother
- Have an adventure with my siblings
- Register for BYU classes and prepare for university
- Cook delicious German food for my family
- Watch Psych with Arianna
- Enjoy life in the USA (try to avoid all that reverse cultural shock stuff)....


Sometime in all this, I'll get around to sharing the goodies from Germany. :D

The count down is on!!! One week left!!!!!!! Ahhhh.... am I sad? happy? excited? scared? I just don't know. I'm everything all at once. :D

Brescia: The Lioness of Italy

Life is hectic. I have only a week and a half left. Ich bin sehr traurig!

Changing things up a bit from Germany....my trip to Italy!

I traveled to Italy for a few days with my friend, Anya. We stayed in Brescia with Marco (who is a former exchange student that my family hosted when I was in first grade) and his family.
Marco and his father showed us around Brescia, and then Anya and I visited Verona and Venice on our own.

Here are a few pictures (unfortunately they don't even capture how amazing Italy is...)

Weather was a little too warm, but having the sun shining was a pleasant change from Germany. We both came back with nice tans and grateful hearts for Germany's cooler weather.

Word to the wise: Italian drivers are verrückt!
Lines on the road are simply optional. People weave in and out, going where ever their cars fit. Marco told us that in Southern Italy, especially Rome, driving is even crazier. In Rome, the street lights are just suggestions. So if the light is red, one can simply decide if it's worth waiting. Also Italians crazily/constantly honk their horns without any real reason.

Italian food: I tried out some true Italian pizza: it was scrumptious. I'm proud to say that my dad's pizza is pretty much the same. He makes killer Italian Pizza. I also ate a Sicilian Cannoli, which was heavenly. Yum yum. I love Italian food. :D

I felt so at home in Italy. I was quite happy to see that there were many people with curly hair, just like mine! And the boyz there were HOT. :D

The food, the people, the culture - all of it was great. I will be definitely going back to Italy in the future. Perhaps a study abroad program for a semester of university or something...