ahhh die schweiz ist wunderschön

Mom, I will post another time about interesting comparisons of Germany to the USA. Right now I am just going to post some pictures of yesterday. Hiking in Switzerland with some friends from school. It was sooo cold, but sooo pretty. So the pics from top to bottom: from left to right, Matthias, Andi (they were both on exchange in USA two years ago), me, Julia, and Ben. I had my camera on timer so then i had to run back to make it in time and kinda tripped, so I am leaning back. it was funny heheh. next, pretty view of the apls, then LOOK AT THAT CAR POP!!! Remember me saying you should paint my car zebra stripe??!!! How cool is that??? It was hand done with cheap paint too!! And then there are some more good views....

Feels good to be making friends

Well I tell ya, I knew from the start that people would talk to me if I talked to them. But it was intimidating (even for me), so just talk to near complete stangers, even though i knew most would eagerly talk to me. The maing thing that held me back was that I didnt want to speak in English because I needed to learn German. Finally my German is coming along and I can nearly carry on an entire conversationg, in simple language, in German. Of course, it comes with many breaks where I look to the sky trying to remember a word or have to say it in English (in which case my peers at school always know, because most have had at least 5 or 6 years of English), but nevertheless, I can speak. So since I got back from the HerbstFerien (fall holiday, a week off from school), I started talking to people. They realized that I DO know some German. WOW the exchange student can speak! Many still just automatically say things to me in English, so I tell them, ''Du musst mir Deutsch spechen!! Ich muss lernen, und jeden Tag es ist besser!!'' You must speak german with me! I must learn and every day it is better! Funny thing too, here they often say sorry, not just with me. At first I thought they just said sorry to me because I speak english, but i have since discovered that they say it anyway. I am hopefully going hiking with some friends on Sunday (ironically all past exchange students in the states), in SWITZERLAND. It's about time I go...seeing as that I am right on the border and have only seen the airport, highway, and a grocery store. The sad thing is that many ask me what I do in the evenings. hah. I live too far away to do much. But whatever, right now Im just looking foward to Sunday.

Oh yeah...I have been meaning to mention this for a long time. When people find out I am not just from the states, but from Kalifornien, they are so intrigued. It's like it's a whole other country or something...I say, Ich bin eine Austauschülerin aus Kalifornien, USA, and they say, ahh schön, Kalifornien ist wunderschön!!! And then ask me if I live by the beach and go surfing a lot. Oh, and of course mention Schwarzenegar...or however you spell his name. Er ist dein governor!!! ja, ja, er ist mein governor. lol. Many are surprised to hear that Cali actually has mountains, let alone snow. They seriously think it is all LA orange county beach life. And I say I have snowboarded for 5 years and a very large mountain is only 1 hour 15 minutes away...and they are surpised at that too. Interesting eh. i thought so. Well I lucked out because my deutsch teacher didnt show up today and then it turns out my history teacher isnt here today either, which i didnt know until i sat in the classroom for a little while and no one showed up. There is a list every week showing the teachers that wont be here on which days for which classes, but I only know the names of 3 of my teachers...and I have 7 or 8 or somehting I dont even know. So that makes it a little difficult. oh well tho...I am going to go to the shopping square and scout out a pair of flat heeled black suede (or fake suede) calf-high boots for the winter. muhuhauhaua. i am excited.

la de dah

Nice weahter today....

So i am posting because I know if I don't my brother and father will begin to complain. But there is really nothing to say because I havent really done anything for the last week. (rather boring...this lack of a social life sucks). Saturday I went to a maketfest thing in Görwihl to sell drinks for the fussball club. That was kinda fun and then went to a big concert thing that night but it was just a huge building full of smoke, bad music, and extremely drunk young people. It was alright...but I definitely would rather be with a smaller crowd of people. Oh and we had another soccer game yesterday and lost again. And then the captain quit because she didnt like losing. lol pathetic I'd say.

On the bright side I saw one of the prettiest things I have seen since being here. This morning on the way to school, the sun was rising (since daylight savings its not dark the most of the bus ride now), and we were up on a high point looking south to a valley that was completely filled with white swirling fog nested down inside it and then sillouetted against the slightly pink organge yellow sky were the alps. IT WAS SO PRETTY. they are huge i love looking at them...had a pretty good view on the way home from schoo...but naturally when i go to take a picture the clouds moved in. gah mother nature.

Oh, and Blaine, thanks for the details about the leaves, but again, why do they fall? ANd Pop, what are you talking about with the McRib thing'? Was it cause you always thought it was a cheesy commercial or something?

zwei monaten

Ive been here two months. How cool is that?!! Here's some pictures.... theres a shot taken looking straight up to the top of the Münster before the fog cleared out. ANd another leaf picture. ANd Pop, it is suppose to be unfocussed in the background...so that the focus is on the leaf in the foreground. And yes, thats my car...MY FERRARI: thats the only one ive ever seen in my life and there was a bunch of crazy controls on the inside it was crazy! I think the owner saw me taking pictures of it. But I wasnt the only one...one my my friends and then some other random person also. It was funny. hehehehe

Blaine you really must miss me!!!

Photos from top to bottom: Inside the Cathedral in St. Blasien, the Münster in Ulm, the inside of the Münster, some pretty architecture along the Danube, some leaves on a stone wall with the Danube in the background, and a park area with pretty trees. I hope the order is correct.

And now Blaine, you must feel very proud because you made it into my title, my poor (literally), lonesome, University brother. I take it you are having much fun reading my blog and miss my conversationg...ah my oldest brother misses me...how sweet!!! And I hadn't posted because I wasn't at home. I was in Ulm for the weekend staying with some other exchange students. Ulm is quite a big city (comparison to Bad Säckingen: In Säckingen at the train station there are two lanes...one going east and the other west. In Ulm there are 8 or 10...I hope that makes sense. hehhe). Anyway Friday morning I met with the director of the private school. All went very well and Carola said I spoke very good German, almost no grammatical errors. He said he had a good impression of me, and I am pretty sure I would be going except I probably won't be because it costs €95 a month...which after the year is finished it will be over $1000. Und das ist ein bisschen zu viel für mich zahlen. (too much) On the other hand the school was absolutely gorgeous...the entire inside is all white and marble floors and there are big pillars everywhere and spiral staircases and the church dome was really something to stare at. Wow. And St. Blasien, the town it's in...is down right really really really beautiful. Especially in the fall because the fall here is like nothing I've ever seen before...All the trees are turning colors...Except the pines of course...but the others are all mingled in between and their leaves are orange and yellow and red and pink...its SO PRETTY. I seriously just can't get enough of it. In Redding all you see is a bunch of dead looking oak leaves all over the ground. Here the edges of the roads and trails along the forest are leaves inches deep, and full of color. So anyway...picturesque town right in the Schwarzwald. Well Niedergebisbach is too, but this is even more in it.

Ulm was fun...I visited and climbed the Münster church in Ulm...The began building it in 1377 and finished in 1890 and it has the WORLDS tallest spire at 525 feet. And I went to the top, nearly...well as high as humans can go. Had to take a few breaks because the stairs are narrow and sprial up the entire way and a kinda steep. It was pretty awesome though. It was very foggy when we began...couldnt even see a third of the way up and then by the time we got to the top the fog was cleared enough so that we could see the ground, but all was white around us. By the time we got the bottom it was all blue skies...very cool. The church is so amazing on the inside too...an extremely old gothic cathedral, and we (me, Odin (Canada), Morgan (France), Jordan (Michegan), and Brent (Oklahoma)), stayed for an organ concert played on the montrous pipe organ. It was awesome, whoever was playing played one other most famous organ pieces ever...I dont know what it is called, but if you heard it, you would know. Brent knew because he plays the organ (and was at the moment of the concert pretending he was playing..since he knew all the notes and whatnot. very very amusing). The inside is huge though. The ceilings are super tall and all the architecture is amazing. Look it up on google...it will make more sense.

Then we walked through the city center and down the cobblestone streets (which are everywhere here) and into an older part of the city right on the Danube. Most of the buildings have been built since WWII since something like 80% of the city was destoyed (but not the Münster....talk about strategic bombing...everything around it was hit). It was so pretty and the weather was perfect. Perfecto day. That evening we went to a get together party for a kid who just got back from exchange. Saw two of the other exchange students in Ulm so that was fun. And then Sunday the weather was a little dreary so we went to this huge swimming complex thing where they have indoor slides and pools and saunas and whatnot. Afterward we had to get to the theatre and ended up running half the way there through Neu Ulm (Ulm's sister city on the other side of the Danube in Bavaria) because we missed our bus. Oh that was fun lol. Saw an opera at the theatre and Rotary bought our tickets! Didnt understand a darn thing as the opera was in Italian and the subtitles in German and it was very very strange. Came home the next day but I gotta say that the bus and train systems in Europe are the coolest thing ever. Especially in a bigger city because they come so often and they are so easy to use. Really am lovin it.

Finished making a pair of pants today and had a soccer game and got my foot and ankle stepped on. And we lost. And that's all for now.