Warum hab ich nicht geschrieben??

Pictures: Heidelberg trainstation, Ashley (canada) and I with Santa at the christmas party with the exchange students, driving a excercise mat carrier around the gym, Ashley and I having a snow war outside the gym, in Freiburg (from left, Jaime, ecuador, hiroshi, japan, me, john, tennesee, matt, arkansas, morgan, canada), long ice, Christmas. Ok I have been pestered to post. My mom even called me. ANd then informed me that my blog is the coolest thing on the internet and so says people I dont even know...wow, I really, REALLY feel special!

Ok...so I suppose since the weekend with the 92 exchange students quite a bit has passiert, happened. Well I came home and there was about a meter of snow on the ground. And its snowing again...that was 1 1/2 weeks ago. Its been snowing for the last few days and so now we have even more. Makes it impossible to run with ice coating the streets. Anyway...Christmas came and went although it didnt feel in the least like Christmas, probably because there was no tree in the house until the 24th and no decorations or music. The 23rd I met some of the other exchange students in Freiburg to do some last minute christmas shopping and we had fun. Then on the 24th was the main celebrated day here. Manfred's parents came over for dinner, around 4 or 5 or so. Then they left and then at 9 we went to the Evangelische church in Herrischried for an hour long church session and then came back home. We then opened the presents. But let me tell you, American Christmas gives a lot more gifts!! They were surprised at how much I gave, because I had stuff that I had got for them, then also stuff that my mom sent from CA to give them. Oh yeah, and we brought the tree in on the 24th and then decorated it before dinner. It's still there.

Sunday morning we went to church in the Catholic church in Richenback (both churches Carola was singing in with the choir) then to Carola's parents house in Rheinfelden to eat. Then we came home and I believe that was the Christmas!

Monday night I went snowboarding in Herrischried...the next village over with 2 tiny ski lifts, each one with one run. I went with some friends from school...ahha that was funny...a new lift. The kind there have these plastic hanging things that look like upside down T's and one side goes between your legs and pulls you up. I think the first 5 or 6 times I managed to fall and then when I couldnt unhook the T from me it would keep dragging me up the hill. very amusing I must say. It was fun though, especially since I was snowboarding! Then yesterday I went again, but in the Alps!!! I was invited from a Rotarian to go so I most definitely said yes! I went with his sons, and it was very cold, but downright cold!!!! -12° celcius, windy, ''snowing'' (in quotes because it was more like blowing tiny pieces of ice around, small enough that they got through the foam breathers of my goggles). And whenever my breath managed to get inside my goggles, it would then turn to condensation and stick to the lense and instantly turn to ice. Needless to say I couldnt see that well. It was nonetheless fun and crazy awesome because I was in the Schweizer Alpen!!! SO SURREAL! Unfortunately too foggy and couldnt see far so I didnt take any pictures. I was at Mt. Flumes. It was so cool though to go up to the place with a gondola and then there is another gondola, lift, and higher up the mountain is more lifts. There were 8 lifts, of differnt kinds and sizes, and 2 gondolas. It was lots of fun though, and the family was so nice to me. The mom was really kind and i was so proud of how much german i spoke and she said my grammar is really good...and thought for sure I had studied it for a few years. NOPE! only one semester! I just have a good book! Anyway that was fun and that was yesterday so nothing new now. Ok Im going to Basel tomorrow to hang out with an exchange student and his friend thats visiting tomorrow...cool!! ciao....

es tut mir Leid...

That is Bruna (Brazil) and I, and then from left, Morgan (Canada), Me, Belen (Argentina), and Bruna. I know I haven't posted in a long time, quite a long time, so I guess I will now. Since I last blogged...hmmmm...well on the weekend of the 10th I was in Ulm again for another get together with the inbounds in our district. That was fun but I was sooooo cold the whole time. It was windy and had to be minus something degrees outside. Other than that it was good. It was so cool to see all the other inbounds...I would have to say we made quite a scene in the Ulmer Bahnhof (train station). The weekend went fast, but it's ok because last weekend was awesome beyond cool. We had a weekend orientation for all the kids going on the eurotour...it is organized by Rotex, which are all past exchange students...but from a district up north. The Rotex district takes kids from other districts whose districts dont have a eurotour...so all but 2 in my district are going on this one, along with some kids from the district above ours, in the stuttgart region, and also a few from Baveria. Well since the train ride was so long, I stayed at the house of another exchange student (Matt from Arkansas) who lives norht of me in a town in the Black Forest. The train was starting near his city pretty early, so that was easier. Well it was about 8 hours or more until we got to our destination, Holzminden, just south of Hannover. We were staying the weekend in the gym of a secondary school in the city. It was a pretty big gym...but if you can imagine 92 exchange students and about 10 Rotex (past exchange students, all around 18-24), it was CRAZY!!! There was a lot of English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and random outbursts of German, usually something like ''scheiße!!!'' or other things in German that the exchange students seem to learn before the grammar etc. hahah the joy of a foreign language....

Well the first night we played a few games...the funniest one being where we were split into 4 or so group and then had to make a chain of clothing as long as we could, with was we were wearing in about 3 minutes. That was funny hahahahah. I had a jacket and some super long soccer socks to add to the chain, and needless to say, we won!! Then the music got cranked up and people we dancing and being crazy till about 3 or 4 am when they turned the music off. Waking us up was blasting the music again at 7am...German music, haha. On Saturday we went ice skating then back to the school for lunch, then we got the information on the eurotour (90 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!). We all meet on the 24th of March (blainos bday!) in Hannover, then half go west and half east, but we all go to the same cities. We meet in rome for 2 or 3 days...wow that is going to be fun! Most of the kids in my district are all on the east tour so thats good. Then that eveing we had a christmas party so i was decked out in red and green woohoo! we danced and sang until 3 or 4 am and then got up early again to clean up and eat and a lot of people had to go home early. But oh man it was sooooo fun. I pretty much lost my voice then came home to a whole bunch of snow...new snow. I guess it snowed the entire weekend. well that weekend was sooo much fun----i lost my vioce but i have even more foreign friends now!!! Yep so thats the details for now. I gotta go because we are about ready to eat. ciao!

I was in Ulm again...

It was cold!!! From left: Kelynn (South Carolina), Me, Ashley (Bristish Colombia, Canada), and Juan (Mexico). Then me balancing on some pillar thing in the city. Oh yeah, my hair is brown now...woohoo!!

I was in Ulm again this last weekend with the other exchange students...a thing set up by the Ulmer Rotary. I havent got time, but heres a few pics. I did manage to get sick though. I suppose a combination of very little sleep, outside in below freezing temperatures a lot of the time, and lots of people together didnt make the little cold virus better.

HOORAY FOR...

MEINE COUSINE:

MELANIE MARGARET MALLORY

FUTURE ROTARY ITERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE STUDENT!!!!!!!!!

That's right everyone! The above mentioned and photographed young lady and precious cousin of mine will also be embarking on the ''Year of HER Life,'' some time next sommer. She, like her cousin (me, muhauha), was also attacked by the travel bug, stung by the foreign-obsession bee, bit by the ''enthusiastic-outgoing'' gopher (haha bit by a gopher..Mel and Korinn you should know what I am talking about, remember at the fair??), and so decided, ''Hey! I wanna be an exchange student!! And learn another language! And make foreign friends! And experience another country, new culture, different customs and everything else that goes along with it!'' SO she applied to Rotary International Youth Exchang in Houston, Texas. This past weekend she dazzled the host Rotarians with her intriguing (sp?) sense of humor and intelligence and bright blue eyes. How could they say no?? She also partaked in the making of a human pyramid with not only Americans, but other members of this world (i.e. exchange student inbounds in Houston), and confused some random University students with her craziness. So everyone raise their glasses and give a HIP HIP HOORAY!!! to my fantastic cousin Melanie...who will be traveling to hopefully (in order of choice) Brasil, Turkey, or Japan next year!!!

I LOVE YOU MELANIE!!!!!!!