Newspaper Article #2

I forgot to mention that I will be publishing the articles about a week or sow after they have been printed in the paper--don't want to ruin the fun :P

10/5

A Work in Progress

Hallo aus Deutschland! I have been here for over a month now, and am falling more in love with this country every day. I’m also proud to say that my ability to speak and understand Deutsch has improved drastically! (Though it is still a work in progress!!) I have started attending Deutsch lessons in the evening, and am now able to communicate with my family and friends in Deutsch! It still is extremely challenging for me to speak in German, but its all part of the experience. :) My English is already getting worse which is exciting because that means my German is getting better!

This has been a crazy month for me! School is getting easier- I have made many friends and enjoy most of my classes. I am on a soccer team with a couple girls from my school and many girls from a different school who do not speak English. It is very difficult to communicate with them during a game, but we manage! :)

Also, I’m happy to say that I have found the perfect shopping partner- a girl named Julia who is good friends with my Host Sister in Mexico. We have gone shopping twice now in Dusseldorf! We like the same stores, get tired at the same time, and both have an addiction to Frappuccinos from Starbucks!

I went to my first Rotex Weekend from 9/11-9/12. We were in a city called Borken, which is about 2 hours by train away from my city. All of the Rotex Members, Inbounds, and Rebounds were together for this event. We went by train to the Schalke 04 Soccer Stadium, had a tour, and went into the museum. I must mention that nearly all of us Inbounds were wearing our flags as capes- you can imagine the looks we received while walking along the sidewalk! :) After we returned to the Haupschule where we were staying for the night, we ate dinner and then went into the gym for a Toilet Paper Race. The Rotex split us up into groups and assigned each individual a number, and then called out two or three numbers and gave a position. My task was to be carried across a gym by a guy from Venezuela while holding the toilet paper between our noses. It was so much fun! Sadly, a girl had a medical issue, so we were all cleared out to the Cafeteria where we were sleeping. Here we played a Cooperstown Classic- Never Have I Ever! This weekend was so much fun and I made a lot of new friends!

On the weekend of 9/24, my Host Family and I took a trip across the country for my Host Grandmother’s birthday party! It was about 6 hours to get from Wevelinghoven (our village in Western Germany) to Zwickau (a city in Eastern Germany). Eastern Germany is SO different from the West! Here, it is mostly flat. In the East were the largest hills I have ever seen. It was shocking to see cars parked at such a steep angle- I don’t know how they didn’t come rolling down!! On Saturday, I helped my Host Grandmother, Aunt, and Father set up for the overnight party at a Hostel in the woods. We had about 30 little figurines holding each person’s name, flowers, and candles- it was beautiful! I had expected it to be a calm party. It was anything but calm. We started out with a nice dinner, champagne, and relaxed chatter. As the night continued, the adults continued to drink, and then a DJ arrived. We were all given white bags filled with clothing to put on. Some had long white gowns, my Host Uncle had a very tight Disco outfit, one man had a cow suit with a neon green Afro wig, an elderly man had a short plaid dress- it was crazy! I had to wear a maid’s outfit with a black wig. Then we all switched! We were dancing, singing, and all laughing hysterically! It was the best party I have been to in my entire life- even better than the Mulan Party I had when I was 6! :) I never thought I could have so much fun with a bunch of older adults!

I love this country so much, and I have only been here for about a month and a half. There is always something that blows my mind! I am so happy and have so much fun! My friends and family here have gone above and beyond to make me feel comfortable- I can’t thank them enough. We all have so much fun together! I wish the best of luck to all of the students currently applying! I can already tell that my Rotary Exchange Year will be one of the best and most memorable years of my entire life! Tschus!