So last day in germany. I might do maybe one more post once I get home to tell you that I'm safe and such, but otherwise this is probably the end. Theres not really a need to blog and this was supposed to just be about my year. I'm pretty proud that I even made it through the whole year blogging. Usually with diarys and such I get tired out and stop after awhile. But my diary and my blog made it through the whole year. Tiff left earlier. Hopefully she can make it to the airport tomorrow. I'd rather it wasnt goodbye. but we'll text all the time back in the usa. My plan for today: shower, get dressed, triple check packing and bag weight, run to atm for money to check my bags, ..... actually thats all. pretty sad for my last day in the country right? I'm sure theres more planned by my host family somewhere in there, but I don't know what. Dinner and eating is in there at some point. oh and sleeping. I'll sleep at night. hopefully. Then tomorrow I'll get up early and get ready. Gotta leave the house at nine. be at the airport at ten. Then my plane boards at 11:40 and takes off at 12:10. On the plane for 8 hours and have a layover in new jersey. then two more hours and then home in KANSAS for a night. I'll get there at 6:40. Not sure what the plan is from there.

So my last day of school was uneventful. My teacher was sick so I ended up having three lessons free in the beginning of my day. Then I had religion then my day was done. sad huh? so i didnt really see any of my friends from school to say goodbye. a few though. The problem was that the teacher that was sick was herr rose. And he had to give me my paper from the end of the year with all of my courses and report for the year. So I was really worried. But then he called that night and worked it out so he was supposed to come by the next morning to give it to me. I got up early so that I could meet him but he never showed up. I didnt have his number to call him so i had to text all of my friends to see if they did. Luckily one did and I finally got ahold of him the next day on friday. I was worried maybe he had come earlier than I got up but it turned out he literally never showed up. He said sorry and asked if I was at home then. I said I was and would be and so he came over a couple hours later and gave me the papers. Right before Tiff came over and we closed my bank account, then made tacos. We just hung out all day and then left for the party in bocholt. Then we took the first bus home afterwards. It was my last party here so I had to say goodbye to everyone. Of course we were all exhausted from the all nighter and no sleep and emotionally crazed because it was the last time we were all together. It was like 7 in the morning. I was crying pretty much the enitre time saying goodbye to everyone. I can't believe I probably wont see these people again. It seems so unreal to not see a person or a place again. Especially these people I'm so close to. The thought of living without them for the rest of my life is so bad. Then I came home and slept for about four hours with tif and lindsay. then we got up and got pizza. Then came back home, watched half a movie, ate the pizza, slept four more hours, got up, watched the rest of the movie, started another one, and ate ice cream. Just me and tif btw. lindsay left after we picked up the pizza. Now we're chillin and prob gonna go to sleep for the night pretty soon. last night together. Hopefully she can come to the airport on monday with me and my host mom and maria and david and hopfeully lindsay. Got everything packed pretty much. gotta check in for my flight tomorrow with the help of maria and google chat with mom. wow...

So tomorrow is my last day of school! I'm feeling good. Today was my last rotary meeting and my last german lesson. I had to make my speech today. I wasn't nervous... just anxious until about the time when it was time to make it. Then I got nervous. I just had to remind myself that its only talking. But they seemed to like it and I somehow made these old buisness men laugh quite a few times. I recieved many many compliments on a speech well done and when we traded flags in front of everyone afterward the speaker complimented my german and asked if i had had lessons before coming because it was so good. They gave me three flags. One for me, one for my club back at home, and one for the district back at home. They also gave me a book all about the NRW. (the state in germany that we live) And they signed it and left me a note inside. I got through my speech without any serious mishaps except that i had a powerpoint and in the middle of my speech it stopped responding and i had to start the program over. And my computer took awhile to start up. But they were patient with me and we all got through it. I think I was glowing with all the compliments they were giving me about my german. I was really nervous that the speech wouldnt be good or not what they were looking for but it was the right amount of time and they seemed to like it. Apparently I looked alot more confident than I was, and like I wasnt reading off the cards (which it felt like I was, but apparently it looked like I was just looking at them a few times for reference. I guess I did some good eye contact.) So ya. I have that huge thing off my chest. And with german lessons over and only one day of school left... I guess all there is to do at this point is hang out with friends, take pictures, pack, and party :D. But not too hard cause I don't wanna get the flu or something like a friend of mine had recently. I'm worried she was gonna get me sick cause i was just getting over my sickness when I was with her and she got super sick. So my ammune system wasnt what it normallly is. And she had to go to the hospital so I don't want that. I just wanna come home healthy and happy :)

Speech tomorrow! I'm not exactly nervous... but I hope I get all my grammatics right and such. So wish me luck! I timed it and its 15 or 16 minutes long. Tiffany said all speeches get longer when you actually present them too... so hopefully thats true. But I'm sure that it will be long enough. Exactly one week until I come home. Time has definitely flown. But this last week has actually been quite slow. I only have three days of school this week cause we have thursday and friday off so my last day at school is wednsday. Theres a party on friday I'm going to but I'm not sure what I'm doing besides that. And I know theres a girls night thrown in there somewhere also.

So there was the party on Friday. More people came than I thought would. They just kinda came with their friends. It was awesome and everyone had a really good time. I cut my finger on a glass bottle though. not smart. Then most everyone slept for a couple hours and then we got up and ready in about 15 minutes. all 14 of us. some people even showered in that amount of time. amazing right? Then we left for district conference. We were there all day. But the last couple hours they took us to a movie theater and paid for us to watch a movie :D. it was awesome. Then I lost my bus home by two minutes. So I was going to have to wait two hours by myself in a strange city in a chair at the bahnhof. my friends completely saved me though. Panda, Al, and Gavin asked me what i was doing and I told them. They were completely surprised, asked why I didn't say anything, then said I had to go with them. So I did and we hung out pretty much all day. Then I took the train with them and went home. It was a goodish day. I wanted to go to the party with them after but i had to stop by home first and there werent any buses and trains there any more. So I slept. Then today is my host moms bday so we're going out to dinner.

Had to add alot to my speech last night. Hopefully its long enough now. I'll do it again outloud today and practice so I know how long it is. I can't think of anything else I could possibly say. I've covered all my bases. Currently I am eating strawberry shortcake and planning my party for tomorrow! yay!! And... i have absolutely nothing else to do today. I wanted to go to muenster but my friends backed out :(

Finally printed off my speech and cut it out and pasted it to notecards all in order so i dont get confused. Even double spaced and made it 14 size font cause i really dont wanna get lost. I'm really worried its not gonna be long enough though. Even after all this work and I have it all perfect. I'm probably just gonna have to comment on a few extra things that wont be written it. like explain a picture or tell a short story. So more people seem to be coming to my party :) hopefully it will be something around 20 people. not all staying the night of course. ok well im gonna go practice my speech in front of the mirror with the powerpoint presentation so i know how long it is and get it better flowing. Besides that I really dont have much to do today. Maybe I'll watch a movie or something. And shower def. i kinda need to even up my hair since i cut it myself the other day.

Went to amsterdam today with Alexandre, Lindsay, Joanna, and Bruna. Our teacher Herr Rose took us. We went to the Anne Frank Museum. Her house. It was so sad but completely interesting and I read I think every possible thing I could read and watch and look at. I touched what I could touch... just so I can say hey... I touched the same sink handle that Anne Frank did. The same walls she spent so long pasting pictures on to make it seem more lively. I couldnt take any pictures though... i was really upset about that. but i understand why they would make that rule.

Sadly we're already having a problem with the party. Most of my exchange student friends dont wanna come cause we have district conference the next day earlyish. I don't see the problem as long as they bring their blazers and we all leave the next day together. but then jaime pointed out that everyone needs to shower. I was like... well cant they shower right before they come over? the party starts at night... but he said that everyone stinks after a party. which is true. but are they really gonna stink THAT much that EVERYONE would have to shower right away in the morning? they can't wait until they get home after district conference?

So I'm having a party at my house on Friday with maria! We decided we needed a reason to party so it's gonna be my goodbye party since I'm leaving a little over a week later. Officially only two weeks left. time flys. I'm actually really excited for it. I'll probabaly wear a dress and stuff since its technically my party now. Tomorrow I don't have school so I'm not sure what my plans are for tonight or tomorrow. I should probably get on packing but that wont take two days. If I actually get on it and do it then it will be done in like one night. Then I'm all packed for two weeks. I'm not sure if I should wait a little bit longer or not. I'm packing a year but I already have one suitcase packed. And I'm not sure if I should just leave out one weeks worth of clothes and pack the rest or pack it all and live out of the suitcase. my toiletries would be the thing I'd have to leave out but I'm not bringing those with me anyway. My toothbrush and toothpaste ya I guess, but I can get new stuff. same with deodrant. but my shower stuff stays. my razor I'll bring. I finally finished my speech yesterday I think. So now its just time to print and practice it.

Added some of the latino music to my ipod haha. i had alexandre write down the names to the songs they always play. Not that anyone will know the difference except me but still :D. long weekend this weekend. I think I'm gonna chill in my room and watch movies. Theres a party tonight but i opted out. it was gonna be mostly spanish speakers.

Finally went to the doctor today. I have some antibiotics and now I'm ready to go! A little over two weeks left and I'm finally ready to come home. I'm just gonna write my speech, pack my things, and enjoy the time I have left in preparation. I'll go to parties when I can and keep hanging out with my friends. Hopefully I can go to amsterdam on tuesday and see the anne frank house. Nothing else really to do today except this speech. Time to really get it finished up!

hey sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I don't really get on the computer when I have friends over. So there was the week with victoria. We had a really big sleepover at my house with ten people during the week when we didnt have school but thats really all to say about it. We went to oberhausen earlier that day and then met some exchangies there and they tagged along. The next day we laid out in the sun in the back yard. I got a sunburn on my back and a little color everywhere else haha. The sunburn looked really bad but it faded a bit each day so it wasnt so bad. it was just sore. Then it was adventure weekend. I was camping with all the exchange students in my district and some from out of my district that were on our euro tour. There were also the german kids going on exchange next year there. So maria was there. We went canoeing and swimming and had big bonfires and went to a beer garden. But we were only allowed one beer. I'm pretty sure some people drank more than one though haha. That night I got sick though and threw up :/. not from the beer. I had apparently had just way too much sun. We had been laying out pretty much all day and walking. So ya. sun exhaustion. its not fun. I was freezing but my body felt steaming to the touch and I was grumpy and my stomache hurt. The next day everyone went home and when I got home I slept pretty much all day. Then got up and threw up again. Then teddy came over cause he needed a place to stay the night until he could take the train in the morning. I threw up again while he was there. I was so sick and I felt terrible that he chose my house to have fun and stay at and I was too sick to really hang out. We ended up falling asleep during the movie and just going to bed. I've been sick and in bed pretty much ever since then. My throat hurts too though and im not sure why. I'm gonna try to go to the doctor tomorrow since the rest is ok now. I cant imagine what my throat has to do with sun exhaustion so that must have been a separate problem. like a sickness i got while i was sick cause my body was weak. Today I felt well enough to leave the house. So I went to a small get together of the exchange students at my school and our teacher at his house. we bbqed and ate ice cream and swam. hopefully on tuesday we'll all go to amsterdam and visit the anne frank house since the england trip wont work. monday i dont have school. thats about it.

Victoria came last night. Her train got in at 7:30. I picked her up and then we walked back to the house and watched movies. We went to school today but it was all rainy so we got wet cause we had to walk all the way to and back from school. Then we watched the breakfast club together after eating lunch and a little bit of hoodwinked. I had a deutsch lesson that she had to sit in on. More like the teacher made her participate in. haha. Then we just kept on with the movies and watched house bunny and then anchorman. Now we might watch step up 2 but since its kinda late then maybe not. we'll prob put it on and fall asleep. Tomorrow we have late school and then we'll go to oberhausen. Since we have thursday and friday off school I'm hoping to have a big sleepover tomorrow night also.

Victoria comes today. Alot later I think. like after 6:30. She said afternoon but she said she was going to a city with her friend. I'm wondering if she meant she was actually gonna look around in that city or her friend was only traveling that far with her and then she would go on. She'll be in that city at 3:30 and it takes 3 hours to get from there to here. So I hope she doesnt think she has time to visit around. We have early school tomorrow. And we have to walk so we gotta get up a bit earlier. Short school today though! only had three classes. No german class today either. not till tomorrow. My friends got back from london today. But I'm sure they're tired so no seeing them today.

So yesterday I got up and ate and then got ready for this family event I had going on. It was the 25th wedding anniversary of my host uncle and aunt. Apparently this is a really big deal in germany. Because I didn't realize first off that I needed to dress up. But Maria and my host mom picked an outfit out for me real quick. I had to wear a dress and tights and my cardigan and my nice flats. It started at 4:30. I thought oh... we'll be done by say... 7 or so. Maybe 9 if it goes a little late. oh no. i was so incredibly wrong. First they had this big church service about it. Then everyone moved to this restaurant where we had the whole thing to ourselves in this big room. For a long time everyone just talked outside and drank champagne and beer and such. congratulated the couple and gave them gifts. not to mention that it was kinda raining on and off and it was quite chilly. So we finally went inside. We didn't start eating until at least 7. Then it was a several course meal with plenty of time in between each course. Then they had a slide show of old pictures and such. Then they had us all get up and they started moving the tables so that the band could play their music and everyone could dance. Drinking and dancing. which continued. and continued. and finally we were some of the first people to leave. wanna know what time? 3. 3 in the morning. I was exhausted. I wanted to go home way before then. My feet hurt and my mind was on overload. Maria wasn't happy about going home but I stopped caring at that point. Once I got home I crashed. I fell asleep before I hit the pillow I'm sure. Then I woke up this morning and couldnt get to sleep after ten o clock. I'm not happy. I wanted to sleep in desperately.

Alrighty so I have it all worked out with my school and my host fam. Victoria is staying with me for the week before adventure weekend. I'm not sure if she comes on monday or sunday though. Yay for the weekend!!! I can sleep lol. And since most of my friends are out of town it seems my weekend is gonna be fairly calm. Not much to do. I should start putting together my ending speech though. really. I have to give it in like 25 days or something. on the 21st of june. I think I'll start that today. It will be best to do it slowly over several days because there will be less mistakes and it will be better thought out that way I think. Maybe I'll just go through my pictures today so I can get an idea of the highlights of my speech so I can write an outline. I'm starting to crave the food and stuff of back home.. so I think my body knows the time is coming soon. its starting to revert back into its old ways. I seem to always be going into the kitchen and looking for something to eat but nothing looks appetizing and I can't figure out what I want. The weather has not been looking good. I was soaked this morning driving my bike to school in the rain. And it wasn't warm rain either. Isn't it supposed to be summer? cause it looks and feels strangely like the very beginning of spring.

Oberhausen was fun. We were only there a couple hours to get a belt for tif and get her computer fixed. Just had to drop it off at the mac store and talk to the guy about the problem of course. Then I came home and a friend of mine came over for like two hours. I wish they would have stayed longer though :(. Then I went to bed early. Today was school and then I picked up the duffle bag for the flight home. After that I've pretty much been chillin in my room all day. NOt much else to do. Dominik might come hang out with me later, but I'm not sure. MOst of my friends are in London until Monday. :/ school kinda sucks with out them. NOt that it was ever my favorite thing in the world... but yous get it. And... tomorrow is.. friday friday gotta get down on friday... the day before is thursday.... after that is saturday. partyin partyin ya! partyin partyin ya! Rebecca Black.... singing the song.. Friday. look it up if you havent heard it yet. it gets the award for worst song of the year. then glee did it in an episode. it sounded good... but it will never be good. the lyrics are just too dumb. please look it up. it really is entertaining and great for inside jokes.

Tomorrow I have no school because the upper class is graduating. So I'm gonna get up early still and meet Tif in Oberhausen. She want to buy a belt an drop her computer at the mac store. Then I'll come back in the afternoon and hang with friends. Most of them are leaving on thursday for london and wont be back until monday so I have to hang out with them while I can. Today I went to school and picked out the duffle bag I'm gonna buy in my free period. My new hair reminds me of a small furry animal but im not sure exactly what it is yet... perhaps a squirrel?

So I don't REALLY have anything to say today. I went to school, but when I went to chemistry class... no one was there. I couldn't figure out why except my class must be cancelled. but it wasnt on the cancelled classes board. Once I was in my next class, physics, i realized... uh oh... the chemistry class wasnt there because... i had english. not chemistry. oops. I had my deutsch lesson today. and died a streak of blonde in my hair because i had two other friends who did the same thing and we decided to just do it together. It's more red than blonde though. i guess it looks like a really dark strawberry blonde so its not too bad. Then I went through all of my stuff and threw the stuff away I wasnt gonna bring back with me and i didnt need. I weeded out the old clothes and trash and school papers... everything. it was sad to do. but it needed to be done. hopefully now all my stuff will fit in the other suitcase and the duffle bag im buying. plus my two carry ons. i know that seems like alot, but when you go on exchange... this is my life for a year im packing up. you collect alot of stuff. at least triple what you came here with. But I weeded out a TON of clothes that I never wore or I wore out too much. And all the junk stuff that wasnt worth keeping as a souvenoir. So now its a count down.