Lack of posts & homesickness:
As you may have noticed, I skipped posting last week. I won't sugar coat anything because this is meant to be real, so I'll just be honest: it hasn't been the best 2 and 1/2 weeks for me. The first week back from break was especially bad. It wasn't that there was any reason in particular, it was just my general feelings. I didn't feel great about myself, I got a little homesick, the weather has been starting to really get to me too. Its always cold, cloudy, rainy, and there's very rarely a day with a lot of sun. Being here has given me a new appreciation for the sun. I didn't do much so I didn't have anything to write about.
I feel like even though it might make some people sad to read that I wasn't doing too well, it's important to share. Hopefully this blog will end up helping future kids who are considering study abroad. It's important for everyone to know, and for me to remember, that this is not amazing 100% of the time. Rotary told us all about the ups and downs of exchange. But I haven't been experiencing them like I was told I would. It's a lot of mood swings and the bad times for me don't ever last too long (knock on wood). My life here started out kind of boring but it has drastically improved. I see my friends every weekend, sometimes I go places after school, I have been reading for fun again, I go to work out classes with Noelle sometimes too; recently we tried zumba and are now going to go every week. Homesickness is rough and it's always there a little bit (sometimes it's just more prominent) but I have found ways to cope with it. I focus on the good things in my life now, because there are actually so many. Life here is good and I'm so sad that time is flying by so quickly. Right now, it seems like it will be forever before I get to go home; but I've already been here for over 3 months. Time is going by so fast and I am still confused on how I feel about that.
Concert:
Last Monday, the 11th, I went with Michael and Noelle to see Cate le Bon in Groningen. It was my second trip there and we walked down the same street as last time. It was much nicer this time around though. There were lights up, not a lot of people, and it was quiet and peaceful. After we parked the car, we walked around a little bit to find somewhere to eat. We settled on a restaurant that was US American style. They had potato wedge fries and amazing burgers. I can't stress how good that tasted (and apparently I won't get good burgers very often even when I get home because my family's vegetarian now! yay.) But anyways, after we ate, we walked to a small club kind of thing. I don't even know what you'd call it, but Nirvana played there in 1989. It was a small room with a bar, stage, and standing area. There were some high tables in the back but we stood towards the front because I'm short and many Germans are tall.
In my opinion, Cate le Bon and her band sounded better in person than they do on Spotify. I observed how many times her band switched instruments and with the exception of the drummer and Cate, they all switched at least once or twice, working with multiple instruments. I also notices that everyone did back up vocals too. Overall, it was a very cool show.
The weekend:
For the second week in a row, I did nothing again. I wrote a 5 page paper about my Praktikum, but that was about it. So on Friday after school, I went to Paulina's house to sleep over. Her, Arthur (the Brazilian kid she's living with), Julia, and I all stayed up late, just talking. The next morning, we got up and took a train, 10 minutes, to Leer. We met another exchange student from Mexico and we all hung out in the town for a few hours.
We got Chinese food, which was actually pretty good, and we went shopping. At the 1€ store, they sold...wait for it... Reese's!!! I got a bunch for whenever I'm homesick or sad, and I bought a pack to share with my host family because it's a good US candy that should be shared. We spent some time in a store with make up and I tried on some bright red lipstick because it was fun. Little things like that are important to do. In that same store, I bought a candle and a little box of chocolates for my host parents because it was their anniversary on Sunday-- 19 years!
To celebrate their anniversary, my host dad took us all out to dinner; we had Chinese food. Since it was a weekend, this place was very crowded. Thankfully, we had reservations so getting a table was no problem. My grandma has this place that she loves, Sweet Tomato, and it's basically like that. You pay one fee for each person and it's unlimited food and desert for everyone from a buffet. So me being me, I wanted to eat a lot so my host dad wasn't paying for nothing. Long story short, I ate a lot of food. Probably too much but it was really good so it's okay.
Rhapsody 7:
So I was talking to my mom on the phone and we were talking about when I get back. I told her that I have the full intention of making my senior year fantastic. I'm not living for it right now, because I'm happy where I am in life, but when I have to get back to my old life, I'm going to make it good. I'm learning so much this year-- about myself, about life, about how to actually live. Before coming here, I did nothing. I rarely saw friends outside of school and even when I did, we didn't go out to too many places. Here, I'm learning how to live, how to have fun. I want to bring that lifestyle back. There are so many wonderful adventures just waiting around every corner but so few people actually go and take those opportunities.
The reason that I always used for not going anywhere was that I didn't have a ride or a friend to go with. I won't let that stop me anymore, and it can't. I will be able to drive, and so will all my friends. Even if I can't find a friend to go with, I have my best Bro. Bro with a capital B. I'll need to spend some time with my best Bro. Although adventuring alone can be nice, I will not be taking no for an answer anymore. USers (as one Brazilian called us), tend to do this thing where we don't actually make plans. We just say that we want to make plans. Now, I'm completely guilty of this because I did it too, but I've changed. The way I live now, my friends and I say "let's do something" or "lets make plans," and than we actually make plans and do stuff together. Even though I'm slowly going broke, I love this way of living. I'm getting to make so many more memories with people that I love and enjoy spending time with. So as a word of advice, make real plans with people. Getting out and doing stuff has the ability to make your life so much better. You don't even have to go far to do it. Go to a mall, go to a downtown shopping area, go to a park, go for a walk, watch the sunset, see a movie, get coffee, go to a museum, just do something that gets you out and brings you closer to a friend. Chances are, you won't regret it.
I have so many things I'm looking forward to for the rest of this study abroad year and also for the rest of my life. So many things to do, places to see, books to read, music to hear, things to learn, people to meet. I intend to do it all. I want to live a worthwhile life. I want to be able to look back one day and be happy with the things that I accomplished and the life I had. Something tells me that I'll be very happy.
Gallery:
the concert, food, and street/holiday lights, are all from Groningen. The fog was from today because it was like that all day and I thought it looked cool. The rest of the pictures are from Leer on Saturday
p.s.
I posted more pictures on my travel account on Instagram, so be sure to check those out. Using Instagram is easiest but you don't need an account to do it. Just go through my blog, click on the post, and scroll through the pictures. There are a lot of new posts though, so I recommend using Instagram so you can see all of the photos. I hope all of you are doing well. If you made it to the bottom, thanks for reading! I really appreciate it <3
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