This week is the last week of the semester. That means semester exams in every class which counts 20% of the total grade and that almost half of my exchange year is over! Thinking about this feels so un real! Didn’t I just arrive here? Didn’t we just went to la and Disneyland for the first time? Hasn’t school just started and haven’t I just joined the cross country team and now the season is over and I started track?!
Time is running so fast. And it’s kinda scary.
I haven’t wrote a blog entry for quite a long time so here is a update:
On the 17th November we made our way to San Diego. Tim had to be there for work so we did some fun stuff there. We went to the San Diego zoo two times in a row and then we went to LA for thanksgiving.
The San Diego zoo is really big. It was great there where so many different animals and we got to feed giraffes with biscuits. But I still felt very sorry for the sweating polar bears.
Because the zoo is at such a large area there is cable car from one side to the other. We watched the mere cats the for a long time because they are Kellan’s favorite animals. In San Diego and other big cities they have these cool scooters from lime, uber... you can connect with your phone and pick up every where. I hope that we also have them in Germany soon.
After our stay at San Diego we went to Disneyland. This time we had a hotel right in front of the entrance. It was great because we only had to walk over the street. When we passed the security line I heard the Christmas music playing. As I looked around an saw all the palm trees I finally knew that this Christmas is going to be very different. We walked around in T-shirts and in Germany it was cold already. I loved the Christmas decorations anyways. There where giant Christmas trees at both parks and the “it’s a small world “( from which I always get a horrible ear worm) was set up totally different.
At the end of the day we ate and bought ice cream from a place at Disneyland called “salt & straw”.
I got salt caramel but you could choose from many different flavors like goat cheese or pumpkin.
When we went back Kellan saw the real Santa. Not one of the actors of Disneyland but THE REAL ONE!
It was very cute.
At the next day we went to Disneyland one more time.
Now I almost saw and did everything there I only missed toon town by now.
Then we went the Shauna’s sisters house in LA.
On thanksgiving we went to celebrate with Shauna’s family. It started in the afternoon and we had so much good food. My favorite was the stuffing. It is similar to Knödel but it is not stormed to balls. It is just one big thing. I tried everything. The pie was very good too. I love apple pie but I’m not the biggest fan of pumpkin pie. We played cards, with a ball outside and Yazzie. The funniest thing was that one of the family members married a man from HANNOVER! It’s crazy how small the world is. I talked a bit German. It’s so hard to always switch between German to English. When I talk german for a couple of minutes it’s normal again but when ich switch between both languages it’s harder. At night we watched homecoming on Netflix.
We went to the movies to see the new fantastic beasts movie which I liked better than the first one. Not that much fantastic beasts any more but more story. I can’t wait for the next movie to know answers for all the mysteries from the end of the movie.
Even tough it was Black Friday I didn’t bought anything.
On the 24th we all went to the natural history museum of Los Angeles. They had a spider explosion where you could walk through and see the free spiders sitting in their webs. That was pretty cool. While we where in the museum there was a college football game between USC and Notre Dame. Even though it was “only” college football so many people came. We already saw them in the morning tailgating. That means they came with their pickup trucks, opened the tailgate (the door at the back of a truck) and set up chairs, food even TVs. When we started walking to a pizza place there was a huge crowd of cheerleaders and the marching band of USC coming. At the pizza place we ate Chicago pizza, watched the football game and played heads up. As we went back home we waches the end of the football game. It was so funny because Stacey was so passionate about it. Luckily Notre Dame won. Then we watched a dog show but as the tiny “doges” came (which every one hated) we switched to homecoming.
The next morning we already had to leave again.
With school the track and Feld practice started. The season doesn’t start until March but we already start practicing. The first week was horrible because I was so sore that I barely couldn’t walk down the stairs but it got better pretty quick.
I tried hurdles, distance and long jump but sprint is my favorite event so far.
On the 28th we picked up the package mom send. There where German Christmas treats, advent calendars, jello powder and much more in there. I’m always so excited when I get a package from Germany!
The next day it started to rain. It’s to rear in Vegas. Maybe the third rain day since I’m here.
School was as usual. I finished another art project, did some videos in video production and tried to keep up with my (super easy) algebra II class with which I struggle. I should be at least in precalculus but I dropped the class after my first weeks. Now I’m in algebra II not even honors and we do stuff from 8th grade but I still don’t get it 😭.
At least I get out of the band. I don’t really learn anything in the class and the teacher should have taken an other job because he really isn’t a good teacher.
As it was almost December Tim brought our Christmas tree and in the evening me and the boys decorated it. I’m so happy that we have a real tree and not one of the fake one like most of the others. Tim also set up the lights at the house.
On first of December we all opened the first door of our calendars. Later in the day I made jello and pudding (more or less) with Kellan.
They liked the jello but the pudding wasn’t their favorite so I could eat more of it.
The next days I Skyped with Angela, went to track practice and watched houses that are decorated like crazy. Some of the houses are synchronized to Christmas music and one of them even had a trivia quiz. So we went these by car and in front of the houses are signs which say on which radio station the songs are. Then we parked in the street and as we listened to a couple of songs we went to the next house. (Ben you would love it)
on the 6th December the Nicolaus came to Vegas. As I told Lincoln and Kellan to put their shoes at the front door, they looked at me like I’m crazy. But as i said that there will be candy in it the next morning, Kellan even put two shoes outside.
At the 10th was the start of an other dress-up-week:
Monday ~ winter gear
Tuesday ~ Santa heat
Wednesday ~ ugly Christmas sweater
Thursday ~ all white
Friday ~ pajama day and assembly
The students at my school don’t really participate in it but I wore a jacket and a beanie, a Christmas sweater dress and a pj on pajama day. The assembly was kind of the same as the one before the homecoming football game but it was stilsl nice.
December 8th was a fun day. After I woke up I walked with the boys to their school. Shauna organized a breakfast there. I couldn’t stay long because CHI, the exchange organization I’m with, made a Christmas party at a shopping center near by. We went ice skating there and at noon me and some others took a uber to a very good pizza place called Settebello. We had a few Italians with us and they confirmed that the pizza was good. I loved it because the things that Americans call pizza... one are still good but it’s definitely not the same as real pizza. I had pizza with buffalo mozzarella and for desert we all had Nutella pizza. The water was funny and we had all a lot of fun. We have been there for hours. Some of us went back to the mall. From there I took a uber with Petra and Anna me and my host family drove right away to a Christmas party at one of their friends house. There was even more food and I played a couple rounds of pool. He loves it and some times I let him win😉.
It was a long day and I was very tired at the end of it but I had a lot of fun.
The next week the boys and me decorated ugly Christmas sweater cookies and I got german Christmas cookies from my us history teacher because his girlfriend is from Germany too. He gave me Pfeffernüsse, Spekulatius and Self Made Cookies. I think I never had Pfeffernüsse before but I really like them. The self made cookies I already ate in class. They where really good!
One night I hid the elf on the shelf. I put him in the fridge and put eyes out of paper on all the groceries. The elf on the shelf is send by Santa to every house to watch the kids and tell if they are naughty or nice. At night he returns to the North Pole and when he comes back he is at a different sport. But you can’t touch him or he loses his magic.
A few days a go I had a winter concert. I want to get out of band but I still had to go to the concert because it gave me 100 credits.
At the week end I went with Shauna and the boys to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to see the Christmas lights. We had to pay entrance but it took us a while to get through the amazing maze of lights. It was great. After it we went to Red Robin. It was a very fun day.
The next day I meet with some exchange students at one of their house. She set up a taco bar and we made s’mores and root beer floats. It was fun we talked a lot and I really like root beer float. In the evening there was a small Christmas party at my neighborhood. We had hot coco and cookies and then we walked around to see the decorations.
On Sunday Shauna and I did grocery shopping. I bought more Nutella, a gingerbread house set and a Marzipan Stollen. Thank you trader Joe’s! Then we checked out the Dutch Bros which just opened and it is right on my way to school.
When I came home on Monday Rigley was running towards me and wanted to get pet. In the next moment I heard a miauing from the other side of the room. I went to look in the bathroom and a tiny, scared kitten looked with it’s adorable eyes at me! I knew that on Kellan wish list is puppy and kitten. So I thought that it was maybe the Christmas present. As Shauna came home she told me that she found it in a bush when she went for a run and that we might have to give it to it’s owner when it has one. Since now no one notified us and every one especially me loves the kitten!
On Tuesday the semester exams started. I’m already done with biology, video production, band and algebra so far. Tomorrow I write us history and I’m terrified of it. But as long I don’t get under a C I’m save.
After school I went to Dutch Bros with Petra and Anna.
Petra only stays for the semester so she is leaving on the 29th. I’m gonna miss her so much and we already made plans that I have to come to bologna to visit her.
Today Tim’s parents arrived. They life in Florida and stay over Christmas. Two more days and I finally have winter break!!!
ps
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