Anna and Germany

On Eurotour, we spent a day in Nice, although we spent the majority of the time visiting the small country of Monaco. This stop was different than most of the other ones, since we didn't see lots of historical buildings, but rather a nice view. 

That afternoon we spent on the beach in Nice. The water was fairly cold, but it was amazing to be able to go swimming in France. It was also crazy because another group of exchange students from a different district in Germany just happened to walk by. My friend, John, that I met at Outbound Camp was there, and it was great to be able to talk to him. 

That night we had time to walk around the city or go sit by the beach. My friends and I went to a crêpes restaurant, and that was amazing. I got to try chocolat claud, which Anna raves about in Anna and the French Kiss (one of my favorite books set in Paris). It tasted... good, but not move-to-France-good. 

2nd picture, from left- Pen (Taiwan), me, Parry (Thailand), Alicia (Canada) is sitting in back, and Giullia (Italy). 

It was really nice to just hang out with my friends and eat delicious foods. I had 13 days left in Germany, and I've said goodbye to all but one of the those pictured above. I don't know when, and really, if, I'll get to see them again. Which is unpleasant. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQF-hE-cvYo

Prague was the first stop of EuroTour. After riding in a bus for many hours, we arrived in the Czech Republic. We visited a museum about a village that was massacred by the Nazis. Then we visited a beer brewery, because Czech Republic. Trdelník is a cinnamon-sugar delicious bread that I got to eat a few times. 

Last photo cred goes to Laura, on the far right. My favorite Chilean. :) 

This is from last week, Wednesday, which was the approximate halfway point of my exchange, at 170 days. And since it's the median day, 

10:45 pm- arrive home after Rotary meeting and giving a presentation about my life in the US

8 am- woke up for school. Glad I don't have first period on Wednesdays.

9:20 am- Rode bus, reading this adorable book. I can understand most of it. With the dictionary app on my iPod open the entire time.  

9:40 am- 3 pm- Attend school. English is pretty good, and I tried to understand in Chemistry. And in German, the teacher put me in a group to analyze the characters in a play, and um... yeah, mine weren't too great.

3:15 pm- walk to the library, since I have one free period before p.e. And they had my favorite TV show in the entire world, so I'm really looking forward to watching that with my host family. 

3:45 pm- sport class. We played table tennis. It's not really my sport.... 

5:15 pm- on the bus home

6 pm- My host mom made noodles with  zucchini-tomato sauce. It was very delicious.

7 pm- Watched the "The Fault in Our Stars" trailer. It's brilliant and perfect. It comes out in the US on the 6th of June, and in Germany, the 14th or so of August. So the timing is not really fantastic for me. :/

8 pm- made a nutella mug cake. Estimated the ingredients, since it was made for American kitchens. It still turned out delicious. 

8:30 pm- study German. And some Tumblr. 

10:30 pm-  go to bed, because unfortunately, my first period on Thursdays is at 7:50. 

So that's a pretty average day. Nevertheless, they're still exciting and wonderful. 

It's so crazy that my exchange is half over. I'll go home around the 17th of July, and that feels so soon. Germany is my home, and the people that I've me there are amazing. My host families have taken me in and truly been fantastic, and my classmates have been so kind. And the other exchange students are incredible, and I know I would have never made it this far without them. 

Brennan Macklin

I changed host families last Saturday, and earlier this week we went to a nearby park, where there were lights set up everywhere.

In the second picture, is my host family. The third is my host sister and me. 

So a couple weeks ago I went to Cologne (Köln) with my host dad, Jürgen, and Laura, from Chile. She also resides in my host city, and we hang out a lot. We're also destined to be friends forever, since we found that lock. 

There's a bridge over the river in Cologne, and couples put locks on it with their names, and then they throw the key into the river. There are thousands of locks there, of all shapes and sizes. 

I went to Cologne the second week of my exchange, and it was strange to be there now, thinking about how long ago it was, and how so many things have changed. 

Laura and I walked to the top, and we took pictures by this giant bell, and I have a picture from my first trip, and it's kind of surreal. 

We also went to a Roman-German Museum, since Romans lived in Cologne long, long ago, and they left stuff there. The floor was found under things, and it's entirely complete and it's just ancient. 

We visited two of the Christmas markets there. One was right next to the Cathedral, and I tried hazelnuts there. They were pretty good. We also went to the other, older one. 

The last picture is of my host dad and me. I change families in a week, and it's going to be very strange. I'm excited to get to know my new family, but I've had such a wonderful time here. They welcomed me into their home with open arms, and I don't know what I would have done these past months without them. 

I was emailing my friend, and I typed "Write now..."

What?!

My English is just, well it's not getting any better, for sure. Which is to be expected.

And with spelling, I have to think a lot harder about how to spell things correctly. I also can think of ways to spell things in German, though if that is right, is a little sketchy. 

I also want to write Englisch, the German way. That's probably good for learning German, but the whole thing kind of freaks me out. 

Three months ago, I got off a plane. It definitely does not feel like it was so long ago. 

The time is passing reaaaaaallllly fast. I have about eight months left here, which sounds like a long time to me, but significantly shorter than eleven. And I don't really ever want my exchange to end. It's still hard to believe that I'm actually in Germany, being an exchange student. 

My German is improving a lot. I think I'm finally at a point where that I can learn more German while having conversations with people in German. Or just hearing people talk in German. Rather than learning things from English to German, pointing at objects, or talking super slow.

Those do work, but they're not as fun.