Monat: Oktober 2023

I got up as normal around 7 a.m. and made myself the breakfast I eat here and in Germany under the week (oatmeallll)! Then we went to school and first we had Algebra and it was funny for us that Pipers class had to shorten every term in maths and we often just use calculators. So there head/brain calculating is much more better than ours. After that we had Musical Theater and we were impressed how good some students performed! I can’t describe it here because that’s something you should see in real life – it is crazy how good DA students are in their art (and how the teachers find always something to improve, I mean that’s their job but for us it’s crazy!).

In the lunch breack there was the club rush where all clubs of the school stood outside and wanted to get new people for their clubs! 🙂 It was really interesting to see how other students try to make the school a even better place. Then Annemarie went to us to Thester History and I like this subject and the teacher because the script we’re reading is so interesting and meaningful. And this lesson is really relaxed! In the last lesson we had English with Mr. Barnes and I read my English book I brought there.

At home I went for a short walk with the dogs and then Piper and I began to prepare for Homecoming. It was so cool to do this together and I loved the atmosphere in the house, the excitement, the photo shooting in the house and the music we listened to in the car with the sunset on the horizon – unbelievable! I gave Piper a self-knotted bracelet as a gift because we were going to Homecoming together!

Then we arrived at the Homecoming Location, the Glassfactory. It was a big hall and the decoration was huge and beautiful and everybody looked so dressed up and good! The music wasn’t really my taste but that was okay! We danced, took pictures and found out who the Homecoming queen and king were. It was a impressive thing to experience and I liked a lot! 🙂

At 10 p.m. Abby’s mom drove us to the White Lie party from Pipers friend. It was a nice place to stay and the atmosphere was good! At a White Lie Party everyone writes a lie about themselves on white shirt/paper. I wrote „I hate hiking“ because I actually love it!

Then Abbys mom picked us up and took us to her house where Sarah waited for us and took us the house at the beach they’ve rented for the weekend. Standing on the balcony and watching the big waves of the Atlantic reminded me on Anna (she’s sailing across the Atlantic with Thor Hyerdahl) and especially how lucky I am to experience this adventure right here at such a beautiful place with so many nice people that already feel like family 🙂

What for a wunderful day! 🙂

The room where we have lunch everyday at DA (Douglas Anderson School of Arts) 🙂

What a typical American classroom look like!

The club rush

And now the homecoming pictures:

🙂 🙂 🙂 ✨✨✨✨✨

Unfortunately I didn’t sleep well this night and I still got a sore throat, cough and a running nose so I had to make a decision: Because of the next days will be so full of events and trips I wanted to stay at home and rest so I’m healthy for that all. So I texted my teachers, my family and friends that I would stay home! I slept almost the hole morning till lunch and after that again. The dogs always slept beside me and kept an eye on me the hole time 🙂 In my no-sleeping breaks I read the English book (‚See you‘) I brought with me from Germany. That is funny because I got it from a free library and Sarah told me that the Lynches were one of the families who had their own free library in their front yard in ther old house!

When everyone was getting home I felt so much better and that rest was exactly what I needed today! I was so fit again that I took the dogs on a walk to the St.Johns-River and a park again and that was really fun! 🙂 After that I took a shower and felt so much better. Piper and I went to her hairdresser and we chatted so nice. We talked about languages, France, French (his favorite city is Paris and I told them about my France exchange last year) and especially learing them 🙂 It was so interesting to talk as three for the hour and after that Pipers curles looked sooo good and she’s definitely ready for homecoming tomorrow!

At home we had such a good dinner, Sarah and I have definitely the same taste :)! JAX Jaguars are playing today in New Orleans and we’re watching that game while doing some other stuff done 🙂

I am so happy that I’m almost healthy again and that the restday was such a good decision! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow because it’s Homecoming and it’ll be sooo exciting! 🙂

The view of my window is soooo good!!!

Today Sarah drove us to DA and there we were able to experience a normal school day like our exchange partners have 5 days a week.

First Piper and I went to „Algebra“ were they studied about a topic we had already in Germany.

Then we went to the „REP Course“ were the students from the Theater Musical basically performing songs from musicals in front of the teacher and the class. It was so impressive for Laura, Aleks and me but in the end the teacher wasn’t satisfied with the performances. From our standpoint it was really hard to understand his professional critics because for us it seemed really good!

After that we had lunch breack and hung out at the lunch area in and outdoors and met also other friends from our exchange partners.

The 3st period we had „Theater History“. My class is reading ‚Cat on a hot tin roof‘ a very interesting story about a family with a big farm and who will get it when the grandfather dies. It was so interesting to sit in this lesson because the teacher was really relaxed and let us do whatever we want. But for me it was very cool to follow the lesson where they read a part of the story aloud! 🙂

In the last period we were again in the class of Mr. Barnes and finished the last part of the Halloween story in the Italian catacombs. It is funny to see how difficult this „old English“ is for us to understand because of some words in it we don’t understand.

Celias (a friend from Piper we always drive to school with) mom drove us home and there we had a little snack and rested for a little bit.

Then I wanted to take the dogs for a long walk while Piper would go to a class in the gym. The whole way to the bridge over the St. Johns-River went well and was really cool with both dogs. But was a walk without adventure: Moxy got something into her foot and I was not able to get it out alone so I called Sarah because I wouldn’t force Moxy to went the whole way back home with it! So Patrick picked us up and drove us the 2 miles home again where I met Piper again 🙂 There wasn’t something bad in Moxys foot and Patrick got it out in less than one minute 🙂

We all rested for a little bit and after that we had dinner together and I teached Margot how to play „Maumau“ what is basically the same as Uno just with other cards (I brought some with sights of Munich) 🙂

Today was a great day and I experienced what a normal day here would look like. Even if there are some differences it reminds me of my allday life in Germany! It was so cool to learn more about that today and to share that day eith my host family I’m so grateful for! 🙂

This is Mollys Halloween costume that cames today! She was so happy because it has arrived!

Housetour – where I live

My room, or exactly Margots room where I stay while I’m here 🙂

Our big kitchen

The hole living area

Our porch

The huge back yard

And what the whole house look like 🙂

I love this whole house – it feels like a home! 🙂

After waking up I ate my oatmeal with an apple and packed my lunch in! Then Patrick drove Piper and me to DA and there I met all other exchange students and Mrs. Kaindl, Mr. Costa and Mr. Barnes! With three cars we drove into the direction of St. Augustine. I sat in a car with Janna, Annemarie, Anna and Mr. Barnes drove us! We stopped at Bucc’ees and it was the hugest bus station I’ve ever seen!

Then we drove to the parking place (I’ve never seen such a big and beautiful one) and got tickets for the Fort Castillo de San Marcos. That’s a fort near to the Matanzas River and we had a beautiful view over the harbour of St.Augustine and at the horizion we saw the Atlantic. This fort was actually the first city of the United States and was very long spanish!

We spent less than one hour in the tourist street of St.Augustine and I got 2 wunderful stickers for 7 $ 🙂

Then we went to the Outlet Shopping mall and stayed there for almost 2 hours! I bougth a very pretty Columbia Fleece that looks soooo beautifulllll 🙂

When I came home I took the dogs (Maisey and Moxie) for a long walk around the neighbourhood which was pretty fun! Baby Kitty was really cute because she followed us the hole way long :)!

Then friends from the family came over for „Taco Tuesday“ and this dish was soooo tasty! The friends from the Lynches had been to Germany so we chatted a bit about it and they got two sweet children who where at our house too!

It was such cool day and it was so interesting to see the first city of the US and get to know the historical backround! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow where I go to school with Piper 🙂 I’m so happy to be in this host family because it seems like home :)! ✨📌

I woke up around 7:30 a.m. After breackfast we talked a little bit and then Patrick went to work. Sarah, Molly, Margot, Piper and I picked up Cassey and drove to an area called Guana at Pontevedra Beach where we went on a hike with friends from the family! That was Ms.Caroline the woman who babysitted the Lynches for years and her kids Jack and Gorgia. They have a really close relationship and the kids of her were so cute! Jack was running around with Margot and Molly and in the beginning his shoes looked white and in the end they were brown 🙂 Gorgia was sitting in the stroller (in the end with Molly :)). It was really fun and the nature here looks so diffrent than in Munich!There were a lot of interesting things: an old vessle of a sailing ship, many diffrent birds and a „banana spider“. And we ate cake pops, yummy!

For lunch we went to Chick-fil-A, the most popular fast food store in the US everybody likes! The chicken nuggets and the fries were very tasty! Then something really unusually happen: An employer of Chick-fil-A gave us 2 milk shakes for free and that’s very uncommon here! I just took a small zip because I was full but it was a very nice suprise!

Because I was a little tired I took a 30 min nap and then facetimend my parents and there were talking with the hole family and I was very happy to see them and tell them how glad I am to be here! I gave them a house tour and it was so cool to show them all this!

Then Patrick came home from work and took us to the Bolles School Campus where Margot and Molly had track and field lessons. It was funny to see how enormous and huge this private school was with many cool places to go there. But I’m glad that I go to my public school in Munich and get more sigths of the world than the rich people in this (I would call it so) „gated community“ because they never learn there how lucky and privileged they are and how happy/satisfied they should be!

But for me as a guest it was really nice to see the whole campus and walk around there! Molly and Margot did soooo good and the sunset was amazingly beautiful! ✨

Their logo does look like that from the school my best friend Nele is in Oregon, Baker City!

So many Olympics went to Bolles?!? And one where at the olympics in my Olympic village in Munich too!

I love the trees with the moos, it’s so special!! And look: I stood in front of a yellow school bussss!!! 🙂

The sunset was extremely beautiful and Patrick, Piper and I watched Molly and Margot practise and we played with a ball Piper found! ( I was really excitee because I took my cirst steps on a real football field)!

At home I felt a little sore throat but Sarah had made the best chicken soup and I got a „sleepy tea“ and so I’m feeling better now. And we watched the cool series Legomasters together where pros build Lego statues based on a theme and in this episode they built „Kitty palazes“ 🙂 Hopefully I’ll have a good night sleep!! 🙂

It was such a wonderful day with so many new sides of the life here and I’m so grateful that I have the chance to experience all that! 🙂

Today I stood up around 8:30 a.m. I teached Margot and Molly how to knot bracelets and they both did so well! Then I ate a proteinbar with Piper! I also prepared me a oatmeal and the size of the milk and the oat box was so huge! 🙂 After that we drove to the gym with her dad and meet Casey there. I lifted weights the first time in my life and it was so much fun 🙂 I tried out some new things and it was really interesting! I lifted 75 pounds/34 kgs for backsquat and it was such a nice atmosphere there because everyone was motivating each other!

After lunch Piper and I went for a walk with the dogs and walked around the neighbourhood! Then Molly and I knotted bracelets again. Molly made brownies that tasted very good! And after that Patrick (Pipers dad), Sarah (Pipers Mom), Molly, Piper and I drove to a paint ball place where we picked up Margot! Piper and I walked around a little and talked about huricans and alligators – it’s funny because for them it is totally normal and they got used to it and for me from Germany it seems so uncommon and dangerous! And Sarah gave me really cute flowers!! 🙂

After a nap back home Piper and I went to her friend Audrey. On the way were so many trees with moose and it seemed so fantastical to me! At her house we picked her up and went to „Whits“, an ice cream shop in the neighbourhood, and I got the smallest one of ice cream but it was sooooo huge! The portions here are soooo big and there cheaper than in Germany. But Piper is rigth – so we Germans don’t have to pay for our health care! Then we did a soap water trampoline party and as you can see in the photo – it wa sooo funny and I have to do this again.

The swimming in the pool after it was soooo cool and fun and it was so warm! 🙂 Piper and I walked back home and the hole family sit outsixe in the garden near the fire pit! After that I took a shower, had some dinner and now we’re going to watch Ted Lasso together, one of the favorite series from my host family! 🙂

It was such a nice day and it was really cool to experience the allday life weekend with Piper and my hostfamily 🙂

Today I woke up and streched and make a bit of yoga. After reading a book and knotting my bracelet a little bit, everybody woke up. Margot made a fire in the yard and I tried the tasteful grapefruits out of the yard.

Then we had a typical American Breakfast: Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon! That tastes really good!

We rode with the car to an outdoor mall (which means that the stores are not in one big mall, instead there just all big halls of one store and there stand next to each other) and searched for a homecoming dress for Piper and bougth her new soccer shoes in one really big sport market! My host family also showed me the hiking and outdoor shop REI and it was really cool in there and sooo much to see!

After that we went into the big shopping mall Cosco and I’ve never seen such a big supermarket before! You can buy literally everything there and everything is soo big! Just look at the picture where Molly has this 3 pound bags of sweets in her arms, everything is there like that 🙂 We had our lunch there and I’ve never ate one pizza slice that just fulled me as one meal because it was sooooo big!! I also got two skort (skirts for sport with shorts underneeth) for 26$! Compared to Germany that’s really cheap and when we got home I tried them on and was soooo happy that I got them and one other shorts (for 8$ for sale in the Urban Fitters) 🙂 And in the Cosco there were many samples where you could try food for free!

Then we hang out the evening with one of Pipers friends from her childhood. First we brougth her parents to a foundraising party with the theme „80es“. After that we walked through the neighborhood and to the St.Johns-River. In the picture I’m almost crying because I was laughing so hard because I’ve never got such a big pizza in my life as you can see in the picture & and I’ve never been in such a big truck like in the picture!

We drove around and that was interesting bdcause I ride my bike with friends in Germany. It was really cool because we talked a lot about how thankful we are to live our lifes and we have many characteristics in common. For example we all love to move our body and work out! So tomorrow we want to go to the gym together but now I’m pretty tired so I’m going to bed! 🙂 But it was such a cool and nice and impressive third day :)!

Here you can see how funny our evening went! Casey (name of Pipers childhood friend) just got on one spaghetti top!

My day was soooo exciting!! I woke up (first I cuddled with this sweet cat) and nobody from my family was awake so I woke them up and we eat breakfast togehter! Then we drove to DA (Douglas Anderson School) and we started our school tour in the artirum and went to so many impressive places 🙂 The theatre is soooo big and all students perfrom so well! We went to the cinematic arts studio and there we had the „code red drill“ and it was a bit scary. Afterwards we watched other students perform in the music theatre class and that were so impressive songs from musicals!

Before we had lunch we went to a concert from a part of the orchestra and it was really great! The atmosphere in the theater history class was so cool and the last period we had English with an old text about italian catacombs! 🙂

Home we ate a snack (they do have tasty vegetables here, the tomatoes are really good and the chip bags are almost 10 times bigger than in Germany ) and prepared our selfs for the football game. The clothes theme was „pink“ so we put on pink clothes and went to Wolfson Highschool and I saw my first football game and it was soooo exciting! The music, the cheerleaders, the game and so many nice people, it was overwhelming impressive and cool!

Then we ate dinner at home and now I’ll went to bed! 🙂

I stood up at 5 a.m. and said goodbye to my sister and my mom. My dad and I drove to the Munich airport. There I met my class and my two teachers. I said goodbye and my first transatlantic flight started! I watched two movies and knotted a bracelet. We arrived to late in Charlotte, so we have to take a fligth four hours later and now I’m waiting with my friends!

But i did my first step in Americaaaa!!!!

Let me introdruce you to my „America stuffy“ Bonnie, my younger sister Laura gave it to me as a gift this morning!

At some point we were so tired that we just laied on the floor of the Charlotte airport. But the flight from Charlotte to JAX went very well and I slept the whole time.

My hostfamily welcomed me soooo nice and right now I’m laying in my bed in their beautiful big house with such a friendly and familiar atmosphere. I’m really excited what the next days are gonna be like, but now I just have to sleep because I’m really tired! 🙂

Monday, 09.10.23: Today I finally started packing my suitcase for my exchange. I’m so excited that it is so soon! When I laid my clothes on the floor before dinner I found our cat Sisi afterwards sleeping on them 🙂