So long my friends:
Unfortunately, February started in one of the worst ways possible for an exchange student. My exchange student friend group and I had a going away party with just us because out of the 9 of us, 3 had to leave Papenburg. There were no classmates and no exchange students from other cities; it was just us. Earlier that day, a Friday, I walked around the city with Atticus and Julia for a little while. We walked through the main street of the town and then to the supermarket which is probably the closest thing Papenburg has to a Target, although nothing will ever be as exceptional as Target. It was really nice for the three of us to spend some time together. We had some extra time before their buses so we just hung out in the park for a little while. Then, I went home for a couple hours before going to Paulina's house.
Since my birthday was coming up, my parents sent me a birthday package containing supplies to have a party. I wasn't so into the whole birthday thing this year so I decided to celebrate early and brought the stuff to Paulina's house. So when I got there, everyone got a birthday hat and I hung up little sparkly streamer things in Paulina's room. I also wore a very sparkly tablecloth as a dress; you can find a picture at the bottom.
As we were waiting for the pizza for dinner, we made some Tik Toks as a group and just hung out together because who knows if we'll ever see each other as a whole group again. When the pizza came, we all ate and then began to dance and cry together. We resorted to standing in a circle and singing sad music together because that was our way of staying together. Paulina's host dad was getting ready to take a couple people home but he didn't dare say anything when we were standing there together, Eventually we gave in and started saying our goodbyes. We got one final group picture before the end. And for the first time in my 6 months here, I properly cried.
The next day was heart breaking because that was my last time seeing Julia. Paulina and I went to her house the next day before her mom and uncle picked her up. We had about one hour more together before she left. I held it together until her car was pulling away and then I cried a tiny bit more. I never understood what it was like to have friends leaving because I was always the one moving. It's weird because you still have your normal life and schedule but it's like this little piece that's missing. I never had to experience that before, so having it on my exchange year-- a year that's missing things (and people) I've had my whole life, but is also full of new and amazing things-- was really odd. Fortunately, we live in a time where keeping in touch with people is super easy and there are many ways to do just that. So I am still able to talk with my friends that live everywhere.
New Family:
Despite that weekend after my friends left being four days, it was a still little sad. I spent some time packing but I also spent some time with my host family before I had to switch. Noelle and I finished our High School Musical movie marathon together and I watched the super bowl with Michael, my host dad. We were watching it live and I intended to stay up to finish it (which would have been at 4 am) but I couldn't make it. I watched to the halftime show and then I went to sleep. It was a good halftime show but unfortunately, I couldn't see any of the good commercials because I was watching on German television. I spent the whole next day packing up everything else that I had and preparing for the change of host families. I was able to fit all of my clothes into my suitcases and only used two extra boxes to put other stuff in. Basically, I need to get rid of some stuff because I have too much. And for once in my life, I have too many shoes. Who am I now???
I woke up on Tuesday, had breakfast, relaxed for a couple hours, and then left for my new host family. Now, remember how I said I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere before? Well now I live outside of the middle of nowhere; a city called Herbrum. It's a beautiful house at the end of the street, a 5 minute walk to my bus stop (past some sheep), and right by a nice river, but it's in the middle of nowhere. It's only about a 25 minute bus ride (at most) which is nice, especially when it rains because now I don't have to bike in the rain!
In the family I'm with now, I have two host brothers. Philipp is a couple years younger than me and is my actual German host brother; he has a British accent and a good sense of humor. Also, he loves to bake and cook so we've baked a bunch of cookies and brownies together. For Purim, Philipp, Santi, and I made hamantashen. Santi is 16 and from Paraguay. He's the other exchange student that was staying with this family. Unfortunately, he was only here for 4 months so he has gone home already. When the weather is nice and sunny, we go for walks together. He is one of the reasons why I haven't been able to write so often. I love the kid but he isn't dependent and he feels the need to be with me almost all the time. In just the month that I've been here, he and I have become really close and we even fight like siblings; but we've been doing that since the beginning. I miss him a little bit because life here just isn't as fun without him.
My Birthday:
So I'm 17 now. I've been forgetting about that because how? I don't understand. I'm actually an exchange student in Germany and I'm 17 years old. Man, how time flies. Like I said earlier, I celebrated my birthday a little bit with my friends at the going away party. I wasn't gonna do too much with my host family, and I didn't really. It was a Monday so there weren't any big plans. As luck would have it, school was canceled for a big storm that was passing through, so I didn't have school on my birthday!
I woke up that morning and went downstairs to find a cute little place setting for me with little presents. A couple were from my host families daughter who's in Canada right now, and the others were from my host family. I got a puzzle cube, make-your-own snow, and a school sweatshirt. Santi also gave me a really pretty bracelet from Paraguay. In my birthday package from my parents, I recieved two presents. I waited to open them until my birthday and they were the most perfectly timed presents ever. You can see a picture at the botton but basically, they were pillows with the faces of my pets and I love them so much. The next day at school, I received fun socks from Paulina. Here in Germany, I am known for my fun socks that often match with Birkenstocks.
I didn't do too much that day; just the way I like it. I mainly just hung out with the boys and then we went out to eat. The Italian place we were going to go to was closed so instead we went to a Greek restaurant. Even if the menu was in English, I wouldn't have known what the food was. So I just went with the safe bet of spaghetti and meatballs. It was really good though. We came home and I took pictures in the famous birthday hat with my host family. Those'll be included in the gallery.
Klimahaus:
The next weekend I hung out with some exchange friends. And those two weeks were filled with spending time with my host brothers. The following weekend, my host family and I went to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven. The first half of it was a tour but since it was loud and crowded, I couldn't really hear what the guy was saying. So I was kind of exploring and being in my own head. At the end, we split up because the tour was over. Santi was there with his friends so they went off together and Philipp and I stuck together.
We got to walk through an area simulating a desert and then through a room filled with ice. There were also parts that made you feel like you were a small bug walking through the grass. My favorite section is now one of my favorite places I've ever been to. One of them. Basically, you walk through the curtains and enter this long hallway/corridor like thing. It's curved with a hill in the middle so you cant see the other side. Once you walk in, you're surrounded by stars. The pathway makes it look like you could just keep walking into them forever, and there were little benches to lay down on so you could look up. I really love the stars. The whole room was just so peaceful.
The other notable room/area was the beach place. They had a llittle simulated ocean with waves and when you wanked down the stairs, you could see fish. There was a fun little stingray that kept going past the glass. After the Klimahaus, we went home and stopped at McDonalds for dinner. I don't know if I mentioned before, but Germans love McDonalds. I don't know why though; probably because it's the only place you can go on Sunday.
Next Post:
I will get started immediately on my next post. Recently, I just haven't had much motivation. This whole corona virus quarantine has given me a lot of time but I just feel unmotivated. Apparently it's not just me though. I've talked to others who feel the same way. But I'll get started right after I release this post. It will update you all on the month of March and my situation dealing with corona virus. I don't have it but it has caused some major inconveniences for me during me exchange.
Gallery:
The Herbrum sign by the river so boats going by know where they are; my host family and I on my birthday; Philipp and Santi making hamantashen; the most perfectly timed birthday gifts ever; a random picture with my girls in Oldenburg <3 ; pictures from the Klimahaus; Santi and I and a sunset we saw; sheep :)
