Time flies

Ok. This time it has seriously been WAAY too long since my last post. I have been to the Nordsee, taken a ton of tests in school, celebrated Halloween, learned some guitar, aced a German math test, Introduced Settlers of Catan to my host family and had an all around blast.
The Nordsee was super cool. We didn't see much water because it was always far away from the dyke and there was constantly a layer of fog between it and us. We did go on a tour where I learned that there are small sharks that live in the cold water as well as a ton about the large number of sheep that live in the area. Overall the highlight of the trip was the seals. We visited a seal sanctuary where the rescued seals that could not be returned to the wild are kept and used to teach the public. There was a super cool museum exhibit and the seals were sooo freaking süß! There was a feeding session while we were there and you could go to a part that was under the water and watch them swimming around often upside down so their super sensitive whiskers could scan the bottom for food.
School has been a blast. There was a Tuesday recently where instead of having the normal 8 classes which is awful two teachers were absent and since substitutes aren't really a thing here I picked up their assignments from the office and hung out with friends for a little while before going home. I am also doing really well in math and physics as well as English where recently we talked about the recent election and I was asked many questions about The Donald and some about the election system and my own views.
Halloween was spectacular, my host mom worked super hard on a ton of decorations and hosted a Halloween party. It was a fantastic time we played Die Werewölfe von Düsterwald and I shared american candy corn, candies and Cheetos. The candy corn was more of a hit than the others but I think my host family is going to stick to German chocolate and why would't they. The party was a lot smaller than some others that I've been to but the people there were awesome. Halloween was fantastic!
So far our family has played Settlers of Catan three times and I've only won once so they're picking it up pretty fast. I think they like the game but we've also played a lot of Carcassonne. And my host brother and I are in an intense battle because I beat him by one point in the first game and he beat me by three in the next. I really enjoy playing these games with my host family, it is a blast.
Yesterday was the 11th grade party on 11-11 and we spent the day making the coolest school assembly I have ever been to involving throwing large amounts of gummy bears into a crowd, dressing up in a horror theme, eating a brain cake and showing off my skilled dance moves to highway to hell. There were a ton of games and afterwards the 11th grade knows how to throw one hell of a party.
Next week is the project week so instead of classes everyone is working on a project and I think mine is something to do with photography but I'm quite fuzzy on the details.
I'm thinking of making a photo dump to Instagram or more likely a google folder because I've been having such problems posting them here. Anyways until next time (I'll try to keep it in November!)

Last Week

Again a long time since my last update but I have to because Last week was extremely busy because it was the last week before Herbstferien (fall break). There were a bunch of tests in school and a couple of Klassurs which are kind of like finals but not really. The klassurs in german and geography both didn't really go very well because of the language but both teachers are very nice and are giving me a chance to learn the language better before crushing my grades. In math and physics tests I have done very well and got a perfect score on the math test (Thank you Mrs. DelValle!).
This weekend we went to a MINT expo. MINT being Mathematik Informatik Naturwissenschaft and Technik (Basically STEM). It was weird going to an event like this without a robotics team but it was super cool to wander around and see all of the exhibits and not rush back to running one. There were a ton of cool exhibits about everything from senses to topography to playing Pac Man with controllers made out of fruit. A FIRST team would have fit in perfectly.
Last weekend was possibly the most fun I've had to date in Germany. The third was both the final day of Kirmes and der Tag der Deutschen Einheit. The party was legendary. There was Blasmusik and the band was fantastic. Many people got on the dance floor to dance the most popular being a dance similar to a waltz but not really because the music was all in 4/4 time. It was Linkstrinken as well so if anyone was seen drinking with their right hand they would be called up to a high chair and sit there until they saw another person drinking with their right hand. This game was absolutely hilarious to watch. Another game was a game played by people sitting around a log with an equal number of nails sticking in it. The players would then take turns attempting to hammer the nail in with a hammer that was made out of a pipe so that only the edges were effective. Another cool thing at the event was the typical bb gun game at carnivals and street fairs. In this game I won the best hat I have ever worn. This last week has been FANTASTIC and since it is ferien now, I have another awesome week coming up including a trip to the Nordsee in Schleswig-holstein.

A Day in the Life.

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile, I've been having a ton of fun with my host family and in school and I'm just overall having a great time experiencing this wonderful culture. An average day is hard to describe because on Tuesdays I don't get out of school until 4:30 because of sports. In sports I am taking volleyball and I had to get white soled sport shoes so that I wouldn't mark up the gym floor with my keens. On the other hand, on Wednesday I get out of school at 10:45 and have time to walk around Heilbad-Heiligenstadt with Sarah (the other exchange student in my village) and some of my friends from school until the bus comes at 11:50. on Thursdays there is also a catholic service (Gottesdeinst) in between my classes. This is not required so I probably won't go anymore. I have been playing viola a whole lot after school and on Thursdays after school I go to Leinefelde where I am the first chair viola in the orchestra. (Sadly I'm also the only viola but that's a minor detail.). I've also been working with a guitar teacher and my host brother on a Stairway to Heaven duo.
This weekend has also been eventful I have gone to a big mall in Göttingen, painted my desk bright yellow, and gone to the Hainich National Park. The national park was very pretty. There was a large amount of oak, red birch, and lindon trees. There was also lots of information about the reintroduction of European Wild Cats into the region. These cats are the size and shape of normal house cats but live in the wilderness and feed on mice. The national park also has lots of information about the trees in the park as well as trees all over the world like redwoods.
Everything is going super well and I'm having so much fun here. I miss you all so much but I am not letting it affect me too much.

HOST FAMILY!

Last Saturday, I said goodbye to all of the other exchange students at language camp until the mid-term event in Köln and joined my host family. We drove through the naturpark in northern Thüringen and had a picnic. When we got to Reinholterode We had a fantastic barbecue with the entire family and some friends. I also began my first week of school on Monday. I go to a catholic school which is strange because on Thursdays there is Gottesdienst, which is basically a catholic service, in between two of my classes. The schedules are very different here and I love it because I get out of school at 10:45 on Wednesday and 11:30 on Thursdays. There is also a lot less homework so I have a lot of time in the afternoons to play card games with Johannes, Football (both varieties) with Julius, and practicing my viola (I'm also thinking about actually learning guitar). This weekend is Heiligenstadt's stadtfest so there are a bunch of tents on the street right outside of my school. Today I walked through the park with Annette and Julius family and saw a waterfall, and a cool saltwater thing that was for the hospital and was 588m (1,900ft) deep. Johannes has really good taste in music and blasts Nightwish in the kitchen, Julius also plays Highway to Hell and Stairway to Heaven on the guitar. School is fantastic, math is all review since I took calculus (thank you Mrs. Delvalle) and Physics is also review but I have a very hard time understanding the teacher's handwriting. I miss everyone back home (Norbert espescially) but I am having so much fun and I am so glad that I am here in Germany.

Quedlingburg

Today (yesterday) we went on an excursion into Quedlingburg. We had to get up at 6 am in order to get to breakfast at 6:45 we went into town by public transportation and went to the school. We then had a guided tour by students from the school. We saw a legit castle and the grave of King Henry I father of King Otto I. After the guided tour I got strawberry and pineapple ice cream then crammed 65 people on a bus meant for like 40. Overall Quedlingburg was super cool and I might go back in freetime because we can.

The last week

This Photo is old but I didnt post it earlier. Over the course of this week me and 3 other exchange students put a birds back in its nest, got pizza (finally), and I got to rude in a firetruck with the Hedersleben Feuerwher. A group of us got to shoot the hose which sprays sechzig meter. There have been no excursions this week but there have been a lot of fun things in class like baking kuchen and going for a walk around town and naming all of the plants in german.

Leipzig

Leipzig war sehr schön. We visited the Nikolai Kirche and the St Thomas Kirche where J.S. Bach played and is buried. We also visited the DDR museum in Leipzig and I saw a bass for an east german rock band and a russian Jethro Tull album. There was also exhibits about the reunification of the country in 1989. After that we went back to the Bach museum and saw original scores and his house as well as listened to a bunch of his music.