Used my amazingly large shower today :). It was awesome. I could see and everything cause theres a light in there. And it doesn't flood within the first five minutes. It doesn't flood at all! lol And theres like 6 different showerheads. Crazy right? So now I'm just chillin. I'm staying home for new years tonight. One of my brothers is in london right now for new years and will be back on sunday. The other brother is throwing a 'small' party of sixty people in some other place that isn't home lol. Apparently the brother that is in london usually has a big party of about 500-1000 people in that same place, but since hes in london the other brother is taking it over this year. Then my host sister is having a 'few' friends over. Meaning 30 friends and it's a party in our garage lol. So I'm just gonna stick around the house. Hang around the garage and talk to people. Should be fun. I'll straighten up my hair and look pretty. Happy new years eve everyone!! A whole lot has changed for me since 2009. It feels like forever ago. Hope you guys had an amazing year and a better next year. I should probably decide on my new years resolution huh? Wish me luck!

All moved in! I have all my clothes unpacked...but the rest can wait lol. This house is sooo nice. They have a sauna.... lol I have the basement pretty much to myself. My room is huge with two couches and a chair and a table and a tv. Plus my bed and desk and night table and cabinets for my clothes. I don't have wifi in my room yet, but will soon I think. And the family is just so nice :). The parents don't speak any english, but thats ok cause I speak enough deutsch to get by and when i dont understand my siblings help cause they do speak it. I get along with them really well. I can sleep in here and the meals arent all prompt and stuff. So I can sleep more and dinner is just kinda when you want cause their hot meal is at lunch. I even get to sleep an extra hour on school days cause I don't have to catch a bus. And they might have a bike that will fit me....hopefully. Its my host sisters old one from when she was smaller..... lol

My massive headache took its time going away. When I layed down last night it was still there and I almost felt a little woozy in my bed. I woke up this morning and my headache was still there, with lots and lots of drainage, and I felt really woozy. Almost dizzy like. Thats never happened to me before, but it seems to be ok right now. Maybe it's nerves. I have everything packed and ready to go. Today so far has gone by pretty slow. I thought it would take alot more time than it has to get everything done. Now I'm just waiting for my hair to dry so I can straighten it up and put on my makeup. Then everything will officially be done.

Big car is back! whew I'm safe :) Wicked was amazing of course. The props and costumes and everything were so so awesome. You could tell a ton of money went into it and the acting and singing and dancing were very very impressive. I wanted to take a picture of the set before the production started, but Rebekka said it wasn't allowed....as everyone around us took pictures...sorry guys. gotta follow the rules lol drinking a cherry coke and hoping it helps make my massive headache go away. Got that from the dumb people behind us that wouldn't stop wooing and talking. They didnt talk during the performance, but they were really annoying beforehand and during break. My headache was so bad from it, I had to fight to keep control of myself from snapping at them. And it was actually a really hard fight too. But my better side won so it's ok.

Alrighty!!! Wicked today :) I'm leaving at 4 for Oberhausen. Lunch is at 1:30. I have a feeling it's gonna be a late night, but I'm not actually sure. I'm super duper excited lol. Guess I gotta finish everything today. Cause the big move is tomorrow at 3 I think. And apparently we only have the little cars....I'm not sure how that's gonna work with my huge suitcases....Not the smartest thinking on my host parent's part. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have the big car again by tomorrow?

So I'm kinda getting nervous for this move lol. Didn't think I would, but I guess it's just cause it's something new. I know it's gonna be fine though. Did almost all of my packing today. Now I'm just waiting on some laundry and then finishing touches. After that I went to Borken and went shopping with some of my christmas money. Bought stuff like a straightener, a toothbrush, two pairs of tights, a casual everyday kind of dress, leg warmers, a new purse that matches stuff, and I think that's all. Maybe a couple more small things. I was lucky. There were some sales going on :). Then I came home, had dinner, walked eika, and downloaded my pictures to facebook. Tomorrow is Wicked!!!

Ok went to Hartmut's Mom's house today. Alot more people at this one. At one point they all broke into some sort of song....it was crazy. They were all in perfect harmony and it was completely random, but really really good. Spontaneous singing...lol they sounded literally like a choir it was so good. I ended up playing with the little kids for alot of it today. Much better than just sitting there twittling my thumbs while the adults talk. They grandma even gave me a present :) same thing as all the other older kids. I got a chocolate bar and a red hand towel. Why? I have no idea.

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!! Today we went to a resaurant for lunch and had a 4 or 5 course meal with the extended family on Sofia's side. The grandparents buy everyone this lunch as their christmas gift. Then afterwards we went to their house and played cards, drank champagne, and then ate some finger food dinner for the rest of the night. Just got home about an hour ago. Tomorrow is something similar I think with the other side of the family. I took more pictures today. There isn't a whole lot, but I'll put what I have up after Christmas is over.

Got my package yesterday! Felt amazing. Total relief. Today is Christmas eve!! So Germans celebrate their Christmas on Christmas eve. Then continue celebrating with the different branches of family for the next few days after...so lots of Christmas as of now!! Everyone opens their presents tonight. I hope my host family likes what I got them! I'm also feeling alot better today. Although I am still kinda sick, less flu like and more cold like now. Just coughing and stuffy nose and such. Today we went out and bought a christmas tree. They put it up the day of, a real one. No fake trees here. And then in an hour or so we are going to the service at the church. Then tonight there will be pictures taken and presents opened :)

No school today! It is officially winter vacation thank goodness. Tomorrow is christmas eve. I'm feeling slighty better today. Not loads, but a little. I keep forgetting to breathe.... :/ it's kinda weird. Don't have any plans for today obviously. But tomorrow everything starts so I hope I'm better by then! Then after the Christmas plans I should start packing since I'm moving families.

stayed home from school today. thought i could do it, but i cant. I'm pretty sure I have the flu.

Still sick. I hate being sick. I went to school today determined to get through the day, but my teacher and Meghan convinced me to at least go to her house and rest. So halfway through the school day I left with her and went to her house. Her host mom gave me advil/ibprofen. And some meds to help with my nose and throat. And some nasal spray to clear me up so I could breathe. That's what happens when you go to a pharmacist's house when you're sick. Then I slept in Meg's bed until she woke me up at 1. Then I ate at her place and drank this hot lemon drink. And after that I went home on a bus. Now I have to go and sing in an hour and a half. Technically I don't have to because I'm sick...but I will. I feel like I should. I hate that I had to leave school already.

Every bus was late today. My teacher held us after school for thirty minutes of extra practice. Which made me miss my bus home. So I had to wait an hour. Then my bus home was 20 minutes late getting there and getting me home. It's really cold. My deutsch teacher moved our lesson thirty minutes later then cancelled it. And to top it all off, I'm pretty sure I'm sick. I feel terrible. It's this cold I know it. My day hasn't been the best to say the least.... I'm sure it will get better...but I'm not feeling so hot right now. Going to the movies with my host family later today. I move families in nine days. I should probably start packing a bit. Tomorrow I have to sing in Raesfeld at night with some people at my school. The cold is not my friend. I'm ready for spring now.

Another day of doing nothing....reading...computer...music...facebook. Maybe I watched a movie? I don't remember. I went sledding though with my host dad and Benni. But I only went twice cause I was really bad and I kept falling off really big and rolling in the snow. Which would have been fine. Except i got snow everywhere and it was super cold and my gloves are fingerless so my fingers actually hurt really bad they were so cold. I talked to Stefan somewhat today though and of course he made me smile and feel good again. Thank God for good friends. They make you feel good when the weather is determined to do the opposite. And I looked up the recipe for pancakes cause I knew you had to be able to do it without pancake mix, but I didn't know how to do it. So I wanna make them for my next host family. And maybe this family on Christmas eve or Christmas or something.

Rest in Peace Kim Brack. You were too young. This wasn't supposed to happen. People love you. You were an AMAZING person. After you moved we didn't talk so much, but just recently we have been talking since I've been in Germany and sometimes you would just brighten up my day. You had an awesome sense of humor and we clicked really well. I was really looking forward to maybe hanging out with you or something when I got back in the states....You are so beautiful...and many people miss you...I wish you had realized that beforehand...

Snowing...more. It's cold....I don't want snow anymore.....Why can't it go back to rain? :/ oh well...so two of my classes were cancelled so I got to come home early and only had English. That's about it for today. No plans or anything.

My hair turned out fine and I got the first payment for tour all payed for. Nothing real interesting today. It's been snowing constantly. We got out of school early because of it. That's about it though. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have a snow day tomorrow :D

About to perform one of the most difficult tasks in life...dying my own hair. I've only done it once. But I've had my hair my natural color for a very long time now. These Germans haven't seen me with anything but my natural red. It's time for a change. I'm not sure whether they'll like it or not. We'll see. If not...well it fades quick anyway. The only reason I hesitated in the slightest is because I'm the only girl around with this color of hair. So I've had alot of people tell me never to dye it. And now I'm about to do it....but I used to really like my hair this color. So we'll see how it turns out. Maybe they'll like it better on me...who knows? Maybe they'll beat me up for changing my hair to something so normal. It's possible :P. Gotta go to the bank later and get the first payment for euro tour all sorted out. But once thats done I can relax a bit.

Normal day of school then had a rotary meeting. Meghan was making her end of the year speech :(. It was really sad for me. Really stressful for her. And really confusing and funny for David. Boys...lol Then I caught the bus home and here I am. No other plans for today.

Regular day of school today. Meghan is coming back from Finland late tonight :) So I'm excited to see her again. Time is really flying by.... My deutsch teacher couldn't come today. Sick. :( but she'll be here on Thursday so it's fine.

Didn't do much of anything. Just kinda sat around and read a book. After lunch Hartmut tried to teach me how to play poker....but it's hard to learn it when it would have already taken me a long time to understand in ENGLISH. But to teach me in Deutsch was nearly impossible. Oh well. They told me to ask Stefan to teach me. So I'll do that. After that we went to Sofia's parent's house. And the grandpa had bought us all chocolate :) it was sweet. He's a nice old man.

Well...today I was going to a town outside of Muenster to make cookies with my friends. But David said that we were taking a train at 2....and while I was at the bahnhof 40 minutes early, David wasn't there until 1:40. Which I thought was fine. Until he told me that we had to take a bus to Muenster at 1:30, then a train. Gah! Latins...LOL So we ended up taking a bus to Muenster at 2:30. Which is fine...except that the last bus from Muenster to Borken was at 4:30. And it's an hour ride there. So we called our friends and instead just decided to hang in the city for an hour. At least it's free and we can say we went right? Then the bus ended up getting to Muenster 25 minutes late! So we had 35 minutes in Muenster. Then had to leave again. Once we got into Borken again I just went and had ice cream with one of the girls that was with us. Pato is her name. Then we both caught our buses and we went home. I couldn't believe everything was so closed up and the buses stopped so early on a Saturday. You would think there would be more, not less. Borken was like...deserted. Crazy people. Oh well...at least I was out of the house.

Today I went to school...my schedule should be changing soon, but the teacher doing it is taking forever. After school Stefan came and picked me up and we just went into Borken and walked around. Had some pizza. Then he dropped me off at my house again. That was it. Only Benni is home I think so I don't know about dinner or anything. Guess we'll see.

nothing much more to post today. just a normal school day. Deutsch lesson. I'm getting better at past tense :) And my deutsch teacher compliments my deutsch alot now. so its a good feeling.

Yesterday I wasn't able to post because I didn't get home until 8:30 and quite honestly I forgot by that time. I went to school and then had a rotary meeting. And of course the guy making the speech couldn't stop talking so I missed my bus home. The next bus wasn't for an hour. Then Stefan texted me to tell me that he would be there an hour earlier...so he was arriving at my house 10 minutes after I missed my bus. And I didn't like that cause I had absolutely no makeup on, becasue I had planned on going home before hanging out with him. I knew he wouldn't care....but I would want to put on makeup even if I was hanging out with girl friends. I hate being in public with no makeup on. And it's not like the US where theres a ton of girls putting on their makeup in the school bathroom every morning. Oh well. He just met me in Borken and of course I was right and he didn't care. And eventually I forgot I wasn't wearing any. So then he drove us to the Centro. Which is one of the biggest malls or the biggest mall in Germany. And it's in Oberhausen, so a big city only 30 minutes away by car. So we hung out there for a few hours. Then went outside to the christmas market. Then went back inside and hung out in there for awhile longer. Then we left and he dropped me off at home. Today I accidently got up late, ten minutes before I had to walk out the door...I was ready in time. With out a shower...but whatever it wasn't too bad. But my host mom was pretty upset I missed breakfast. They didnt care until recently if you accidently over slept because thats on you, not them. And if you have school that starts later then you can sleep in and dont have to go to breakfast. But for some reason on monday all of the sudden the rules changed. And I have to be at breakfast every day. And they get mad if I'm not. Like on Monday I found this out because I slept in because I had later school and after school they gave me a talking to. Then today she was upset about it in the morning. I felt really bad about it all day. But I decided the best way to make it better is just to apologize again when I see her. So I when I came home and saw Sofia's car I just took the iniciative and found her right away and apologized thoroughly. Explaining that it was an accident and I wasn't skipping breakfast. Then she was ok. So it's all good now I guess. I cleaned my room and everything so ya. No plans for today.

Nothing exciting to report today. Went to school and it was just a normal Monday. Meghan isn't here because she is in Finland visiting her host sister from Australia. She doesn't get back until Thursday. I miss her already. I hate that she's an oldie and leaves in a little over a month. I'm gonna miss her so so much. My friends here are my family. I hate that we all have to leave each other eventually. And most of us will never see each other again. It's like they filled this hole in my heart that I didn't know was there and as soon as they leave it will leave that hole gaping open. Never to heal properly. And to be reopened everytime you are reminded of them. Because your german friends are amazing and you love them and they will be the best friends you have ever had...but your exchange student friends...there is something completely different there. Something magical that no other person, but those exchange students can reciprocate. Ich liebe meine austausschuleren freunde!!!

Pirates...thats the first thing you think of when you send a package? hahahah and I was fine. no, no straightener. I'm good without my laptop when I'm with my friends. I typically forget about facebook and stuff. Today I got the nutcrackers!!! woo!! So now I have almost completed my christmas gifts....Just a couple more and I'm done! I had an AMAZING weekend. I love my exchange student friends :) they make me so happy. We toured the city...went shopping, went to the zoo, went ice skating....it was awesome. Then I went to the weinacht market with Stefan and Kaleigh. That was fun :) even though it was all slushy...and my shoes and feet were soaked. But I got the stuff I wanted! And had a little adventure trying to figure out a new way home cause it was too cold to stay in Munster for too long. Yay for trains!

Busy day today! Went to school and had a deutsch lesson for an hour and a half directly after. Then right after that I went and got my hair cut. Cheapest hair cut I've ever gotten. Only 20 euro. But it wasn't bad. She just trimmed it up a bit like I wanted. Then came home and ate dinner. Then walked Eika. Then packed for the rotex weekend that starts tomorrow. All one right after the other. It was kinda fun in a way....Even busier tomorrow. Unfortunately I will not be bringing my laptop or anything to this weekend so no new blog posts until late sunday or monday. I'm sorry if you're really torn up about it ;). Thanks for understanding!