Christmas Time/January/February/beginning of March

It's been a long and busy couple of months with many memories made! Just recently the weather has been getting much better... the sun is finally shining and because of that I think my mood has been drastically boosted! I almost can't believe just how fast time has gone by!

Here are some snapshots from some of my favorite memories!

March:

A highlight of a city near me is that they have the best sushi restaurant! I went there with a friend and ordered crunchy sushi.

New sunglasses for the bright sun!

I have been taking long walks every afternoon after school. It is very pretty!

We went to the "tierpark" (zoo) and got to see and feed the animals!

Trips to Berlin! I am about 2 hours away from Berlin but only discovered just how easy it is to go in February! I wish I would have gone sooner but I’m  planning to make a lot more trips this spring because it is a huge and amazing city with lots to do! I have made some wonderful international friends who are also exchange students and are placed in Berlin, which has been very fun!

Settlers of Catan games with my host family. I can't say I'm the best at it but I have learned to really enjoy it! 😊

   February:

Learned to do some new crafts during wintertime! One of the cool things I made were beaded animals. 

Nancy knows how to sew very well and taught me how to sew these baby pants!

My friend from school also performs in the Karneval for her town so I went with another friend to see her perform! I performed in my towns Karneval which they also visited.

Below is a photo dump from my CBYX week-long midstay camp in Munich! We got to do a lot of cool things and explore the city of Munich. I was very glad to see my friends that I hadn't seen for a long time again!

We learned about the very devestating history of Consentration Camps in Germany. We also visited the Dachau Consentration Camp Memorial. Not only was it very moving and beyond sad, but also incredibly eye opening.

Deutsche Bretzel!

It rained for a lot of the trip but that didn't stop us at all!

Lebenkase is a very classic German food that we had to try!

More classic German food!

The hostel we stayed at was located near the Starnberger See (lake) because we weren't directly in Munich. It was very beautiful and you could see a view of the Alps right from the lake! 

We played games together every night!

These pictures are from the first time I went to visit Berlin for a weekend! I visited an exchange student friend who is placed in Berlin and he showed me all the famous places!

We went to the Jewish Museum Berlin

We walked along the East side gallery

Checkpoint Charlie!

Very delicious asian food!

Berliner Dom!

Since September, I have been training with the Karneval group in my town every Thursday. In January we performed twice! Karneval is a German festival that begins on November 11th (at 11:11 a.m.). In big cities, there are parades and other celebrations, but in such a small town like mine, there are just parties the week leading up to Ash Wednesday. People dress up in costumes and different groups perform dances and comedy. It was very fun and felt so special to be a part of something very traditional to German culture!

I found a very beautiful and secluded road in Sandau that I love to walk and run on!

New Years Eve party!!

I ran in Sandau's "Pfannkuchen Lauf", a race that happens every year that is funded by a woman who makes homeade "pfannkuchen" or "Berliner's"; a pastry that is stuffed with jam. I got second place and had a lot of fun!

My exchange organization, AFS, attends career fairs in the area. I have volunteered at 2 so far!

December:                                                       

Went to the movies with my friends! Something different I found out was that German movie theatres only have sweet popcorn! 

Christmas! Germans celebrate Christmas mainly on the day when we celebrate Christmas Eve, so the 24th of December. I can't say it was easy over the holiday's to be away from family and my normal traditions, but it was very interesting and cool to learn about the German traditions and spend it with my German family!

Facetime with family when they opened their gifts!

Yes...you're seeing this right...German Christmas dinner was a hot dog and potato salad! This is the traditional meal that Germans eat on Christmas evening.

Weinachsmann" came to visit us! He comes door to door and gives the children their presents on the evening of the 24th. Every kid has to perform a "gedicht" or a poem in order to receive their presents. I performed a very simple poem in German and received a German cookbook and necklace!

I tried to bring an American tradition to my German family by sewing them all stockings and stuffing them with gifts on Christmas morning! Since Weinachsmann comes from door to door (and not down the chimney, which now that I think about it is probably a more normal way to visit someone's house...) Germans don't have stockings!

It was quite a project, but I was very proud of the results!

💕💕💕

I must say, the past seven months have been very eventful and full of growth! I've definitely gone through my highs and lows but I feel like I am finally at the high point of my exchange! I am very grateful for the people around me and the experiences I've made, and also appreciative of the growth that I've made! I'm really excited for the last few months!