Hey!
I haven't written anything for a while, sorry about that! But finally a new blog post:
It's June and I only have about 3 weeks left, I can't believe it. Somehow I already starts missing this wonderful place and my entire American life even though I'm still here. But I also try to enjoy the time that I have left to the fullest, and I think I'm doing a pretty good Job.
What happened?
1. We finished the lacrosse season. I had a wonderful time learning this new sport and I can't imagine finding a sport that I will love as much as lacrosse. My team was amazing and although we didn't always win we had fun together and worked hard to get better. I'm sad that it's over and I wish there were more teams in Germany!
2. I saw my first baseball game. My honest opinion: A boring sport to watch... but it was an American experience and I got to play with the band before the game in the stadium , that definitely made it worth it!
3. PROM!!!!!!!! Another very American experience! A good friend of mine alreade promposed to me in February, so I didn't have to worry about who I'm going with. My sister helped me find a dress which was easier than we thought, it ended up being the first one I tried on. On the day of Prom, my mom helped me get ready after I got my hair and nails done professionally. She did an amazing job and made me feel so beautiful and loved! Sadly the weather didn't really cooperate with us, it rained the whole time so we couldn't take pictures outside and one of our friends even got flooded with his car. But at some point we all got to the ball hall and had a great night with lots of dancing and fun!
4. Speaking about flooding. Apparently the bad flooding that happened here in April even found its way into the newspapers in Germany! It rained nonstop for two days which meant no school for us! Sounds great, and I actually kinda enjoyed at least the first day but then my friend's house flooded (the second time, it happend last year around the same time of the year too). So we spent the second day at her house, helping to move things and trying to save as much as possible from all the water.
5. AFS trip to San Antonio: All the Exchange students from Houston were invited to spend four days in San Antonio, a city about three hours away. We lived with a families there that showed us around and took us to the "Fiesta Texas" during that weekend. Watching the huge parade was so much fun, and I especially loved seeing all the amazing college and high school bands!!
6. Banquets! Every club and sports team has its own banquet at the end of the year. I got to go to the choir and band ones. It basically means that everyone dresses up and goes to a country club to have dinner together. Then the directors give out awards to appreciate some people that have done a lot this year and we watch a slide show with pictures of this year. During the band banquet every senior gave a speech and since I'm also leaving, I did one too. I was sooo nervous but I'm glad I did it!
7. My birthday:) Thank you so much to everyone that thought about me on that day!! I had a wonderful time at school (I didn't have any actual classes, only band and choir where we ate cake and cookies the whole time), then my best friends took me out to lunch, that was so cute! In the afternoon, we had strawberry cake that my mom baked for me and then we went out for dinner too. Soo much food :D
8. Graduation! My high school lets all the exchange students "graduate". It was a great experience, we got to wear the typical cap and gown and walk on the stage to take a picture with the pricipal and our "diploma".
Now summer break started and I enjoy getting enough sleep and then living from one fun activity to the next, e.g. festivals, concerts, hanging out with friends, tubing at a lake house etc.
I'm having the time of my life and I don't want it to stop, but I'm looking forward to see everyone in Germany soon too.
Lots of love to everyone out there,
Johanna
Auf geht's!
Livin' a dream!
Montag, 6. Juni 2016
Montag, 4. April 2016
"Exchange is..."
Hey! Another exchange student wrote this text a couple of months ago. I just read it and I thought is it so accurate, I couldn't say it any better! So I decided to post it here, for anyone that's interested. I know it's a little long, but especially other exchange students will understand, I promise!
Exchange is change. Rapid, brutal, beautiful, hurtful, colourful, amazing, unexpected, overwhelming and most of all constant change. Change in lifestyle, country, language, friends, parents, houses, school, simply everything.I can only say I totally agree with everything written above. Exchange is one of the most amzing things that I have done so far. And once again, thank you to everyone who's making this dream come true!
Exchange is realizing that everything they told you beforehand is wrong, but also right in a way.
Exchange is going from thinking you know who you are, to having no idea who you are anymore to being someone new. But not entirely new. You are still the person you were before but you jumped into that ice cold lake. You know how it feels like to be on your own. Away from home, with no one you really know. And you find out that you can actually do it.
Exchange is thinking. All the time. About everything. Thinking about those strange costumes, the strange food, the strange language. About why you’re here and not back home. About how it’s going to be like once you come back home. How that boy is going to react when you see her again. About who’s hanging out where this weekend. At first who’s inviting you at all. And in the end where you’re supposed to go, when you’re invited to ten different things. About how everybody at home is doing. About how stupid this whole time-zone thing is. Not only because of home, but also because the tv ads for shows keep confusing you.
Exchange is people. Those incredibly strange people, who look at you like you’re an alien. Those people who are too afraid to talk to you. And those people who actually talk to you. Those people who know your name, even though you have never met them. Those people, who tell you who to stay away from. Those people who talk about you behind your back, those people who make fun of your country. All those people, who aren’t worth your giving a damn. Those people you ignore. And those people who invite you to their homes. Who keep you sane. Who become your friends.
Exchange is uncomfortable. It’s feeling out of place, like a fifth wheel. It’s talking to people you don’t like. It’s trying to be nice all the time. It’s bugs.. and bears. It’s cold, freezing cold. It’s homesickness, it’s awkward silence and its feeling guilty because you didn’t talk to someone at home. Or feeling guilty because you missed something because you were talking on Skype.
Exchange is great. It’s feeling the connection between you and your host parents grow. It’s knowing in which cupboard the peanut butter is. It’s meeting people from all over the world. It’s having a place to stay in almost every country of the world.
Exchange is exchange students. The most amazing people in the whole wide world. Those people from everywhere who know exactly how you feel and those people who become your absolute best friends even though you only see most of them 3 or 4 times during your year. The people, who take almost an hour to say their final goodbyes to each other. Those people with the jackets full of pins. All over the world.
Exchange is falling in love with this amazing, wild, beautiful country. And with your home country.
Exchange is frustrating. Things you can’t do, things you don’t understand. Things you say, that mean the exact opposite of what you meant to say. Or even worse…
Exchange is understanding.
Exchange is unbelievable.
Exchange is not a year in your life. It’s a life in one year.
Exchange is nothing like you expected it to be, and everything you wanted it to be.
Exchange is the best year of your life so far. Without a doubt. And it’s also the worst. Without a doubt.
Exchange is something you will never forget, something that will always be a part of you. It is something no one back at home will ever truly understand.
Exchange is growing up, realizing that everybody is the same, no matter where they’re from. That there is great people and douche bags everywhere. And that it only depends on you how good or bad your day is going to be. Or the whole year.
And it is realizing that you can be on your own, that you are an independent person. Finally. And it’s trying to explain that to your parents.
Exchange is dancing in the rain for no reason, crying without a reason, laughing at the same time. It’s a turmoil of every emotion possible.
Exchange is everything. And exchange is something you can’t understand unless you’ve been through it !
Freitag, 1. April 2016
Photos!!
Just to let you know, I finally uploaded a bunch of photos from Christmas until now. Sorry, it took me a while... But here you go!
Freitag, 11. März 2016
March?!
And another month has passed... or was it just a week? Or even a day? That's what it feels like!!
What happened since I wrote the last post? A lot:
1. I joined the Bellaire Women's Lacrosse Team. Lacrosse is one of the fastest ball sports, originated from the Native Americans. Women’s lacrosse teams use netted sticks to carry, throw, and shoot a ball along a field in an effort to score goals. I like to explain it to Germans as soccer in the air. The rules and the field are similar to soccer, but you throw the small ball instead of kicking it. If you want to know more about it, just google it :D
I love my team, the girls are so nice and try to help me out as much as they can. The coach is great too, she let me join the team late and still lets me play a lot during games.
2. March is Houston Rodeo month. The Rodeo includes a huge carnival (Jahrmarkt aehnlich), a livestock show, the typical bull riding and concerts at night. All the Houston Area AFS students were invited by the International Rodeo Committee to spend a whole day there. We got to see new-born animals, we did a bunch of fun rides and ate too much unhealthy food: Fried oreos , fried cheesecake etc. (Fried things are a specialty of the Houston Rodeo, apparently they have fried beer too). Of course cowboy boots were part of our typical Texan outfits!
3. On one Saturday in February, all the band students came to school for the "UIL Solo&Ensemble Contest". I realized at the beginning of this year that American high schools are very competitive. They have competitions and grades for everything. Not only sports, but also choir, band theater etc. For this contest, students could learn one of 100 (I don't actually know how many, but A LOT) solos and perform it in front of a judge. I was pretty nervous because I was the first person to play. But apparently I did a good job, I got a 1 which is the highest possible grade.
4. Just something I noticed: I think spring break ( starts tomorrow) is the point of the year, when everybody starts thinking about the summer and next year. Maybe because 3/4 of the school year are almost over. During the last week, so many people started talking about how sad it is that I'm going back to Germany soon. And I totally agree that it'll be sad to leave everyone here, but I also think I still have 4 months... I should use the time and not think about leaving yet! And of course I'll be happy to see all the great Germans again when it actually comes to leaving:D
6. Yesterday I had a choir concert. At Bellaire (my high school) we have 7 (!!!!) choirs. That is great, but also the reason why the concert lasted over 2 hours. It was still a lot of fun and listening to the higher level choirs is awesome. It really makes you want to work hard to get to that level!
Okay this has to be enough for now. As you can see, I'm still totally happy and super busy here! I'm looking forward next week (Spring break vacation in Florida)!
Hope everyone is doing well,
Johanna
What happened since I wrote the last post? A lot:
1. I joined the Bellaire Women's Lacrosse Team. Lacrosse is one of the fastest ball sports, originated from the Native Americans. Women’s lacrosse teams use netted sticks to carry, throw, and shoot a ball along a field in an effort to score goals. I like to explain it to Germans as soccer in the air. The rules and the field are similar to soccer, but you throw the small ball instead of kicking it. If you want to know more about it, just google it :D
I love my team, the girls are so nice and try to help me out as much as they can. The coach is great too, she let me join the team late and still lets me play a lot during games.
2. March is Houston Rodeo month. The Rodeo includes a huge carnival (Jahrmarkt aehnlich), a livestock show, the typical bull riding and concerts at night. All the Houston Area AFS students were invited by the International Rodeo Committee to spend a whole day there. We got to see new-born animals, we did a bunch of fun rides and ate too much unhealthy food: Fried oreos , fried cheesecake etc. (Fried things are a specialty of the Houston Rodeo, apparently they have fried beer too). Of course cowboy boots were part of our typical Texan outfits!
3. On one Saturday in February, all the band students came to school for the "UIL Solo&Ensemble Contest". I realized at the beginning of this year that American high schools are very competitive. They have competitions and grades for everything. Not only sports, but also choir, band theater etc. For this contest, students could learn one of 100 (I don't actually know how many, but A LOT) solos and perform it in front of a judge. I was pretty nervous because I was the first person to play. But apparently I did a good job, I got a 1 which is the highest possible grade.
4. Just something I noticed: I think spring break ( starts tomorrow) is the point of the year, when everybody starts thinking about the summer and next year. Maybe because 3/4 of the school year are almost over. During the last week, so many people started talking about how sad it is that I'm going back to Germany soon. And I totally agree that it'll be sad to leave everyone here, but I also think I still have 4 months... I should use the time and not think about leaving yet! And of course I'll be happy to see all the great Germans again when it actually comes to leaving:D
6. Yesterday I had a choir concert. At Bellaire (my high school) we have 7 (!!!!) choirs. That is great, but also the reason why the concert lasted over 2 hours. It was still a lot of fun and listening to the higher level choirs is awesome. It really makes you want to work hard to get to that level!
Okay this has to be enough for now. As you can see, I'm still totally happy and super busy here! I'm looking forward next week (Spring break vacation in Florida)!
Hope everyone is doing well,
Johanna
Samstag, 6. Februar 2016
Halftime
Hey guys!
I just came back from the AFS midyear orientation. All the AFS students in Houston came together to talk about their experiences, accomplishments, challenges etc. It was fun, as always, because after the serious part, we had to participate in a talent show and everybody brought food from their home country - delicious. We enjoyed traditional Chinese piano music, Scandinavian dance and French singing and so on.
Yesterday, I performed with the band at our annual mid-winter concert, after we tried to convince some middle schoolers to come to Bellaire next year (for some reason it didn't really work and most of them seemed to plan on going to other schools - but we tried!).
When I came home last night, I finally got to celebrate my host mother's birthday with family and neighbors and a huge birthday cake. I also got to see my older host sister and her boyfriend. It was fun playing some games together (including Mexican train - a game that I already knew for once)!
One of the best news from last week: I already got asked for Prom!!!!!!! I'm so happy and excited, although I have to wait until May.
Last weekend I was pretty busy with band activities: Remember when I talked about the All-city contest? All the people that were "good enough" had to come together to practice for 6 hours and then perfom at a concert. I was a very intense and exhausting project, but working hard for something that sounds good in the end was a great experience! After the concert, I went to a thrift store (Second Hand Laden) with some friends. It was sooo much fun, we spent almost 3 hours there because we couldn't stop looking at all the great stuff they had. And the best part: It wasn't very expensive).
The Sunday after that I met two other exchange students (from Thailand and Kuwait) to visit the San Jacinto Memorial (a mexican war memorial) and a US battleship that was used during World War 2. It was a day about US/Texas history. Very interesting, but also a very long day and a busy weekend. But who needs sleep?!
Maybe you noticed, but I'm kinda going backwarts from now to the last post. And I'm realizing that I did a lot of stuff during that one month. The time is going by soo fast!
So, the week before that very busy weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the dress rehearsal of the opera "Rusalka" for free! It is a czech opera, telling the original story of "The Little Mermaid" (Arielle). What made is even more interesting and impressive for me was that my choir teacher was part of it. Although it is three hours long and I didn't understand a word, I enjoyed the music very much and I had at least an idea of what was going on on stage.
At another weekend, I spent a day with one of my friends that lived in Hannover for 3 years before she came back to Houston. She wanted to practice so we spoke German the entire time. It was so funny to see how I am forgetting words in German now, and how I try to translate American phrases literally into German. ("Das war Spaß" - that was fun)
Another highlight was seeing our high school musical "Addam's family". I was surprised how professional it was. Almost like a real broadway show, with excellent singers, actors and dancers!
Oookay I think that are about all the interesting, special things that I did during the last month. In addition to school, few homework (luckily), band and choir pracitices after school and so on.
Half of the time here is already over, I can't believe how fast that happened. I only have about 5 months left, but I am sure that they will be full of more new, interesting, exciting experiences. I am very much looking forward to everything that will happen!
Thank you again at this point for everyone and everything that helps making this time as wonderful as it is!
Bye for now,
Johanna
I just came back from the AFS midyear orientation. All the AFS students in Houston came together to talk about their experiences, accomplishments, challenges etc. It was fun, as always, because after the serious part, we had to participate in a talent show and everybody brought food from their home country - delicious. We enjoyed traditional Chinese piano music, Scandinavian dance and French singing and so on.
Yesterday, I performed with the band at our annual mid-winter concert, after we tried to convince some middle schoolers to come to Bellaire next year (for some reason it didn't really work and most of them seemed to plan on going to other schools - but we tried!).
When I came home last night, I finally got to celebrate my host mother's birthday with family and neighbors and a huge birthday cake. I also got to see my older host sister and her boyfriend. It was fun playing some games together (including Mexican train - a game that I already knew for once)!
One of the best news from last week: I already got asked for Prom!!!!!!! I'm so happy and excited, although I have to wait until May.
Last weekend I was pretty busy with band activities: Remember when I talked about the All-city contest? All the people that were "good enough" had to come together to practice for 6 hours and then perfom at a concert. I was a very intense and exhausting project, but working hard for something that sounds good in the end was a great experience! After the concert, I went to a thrift store (Second Hand Laden) with some friends. It was sooo much fun, we spent almost 3 hours there because we couldn't stop looking at all the great stuff they had. And the best part: It wasn't very expensive).
The Sunday after that I met two other exchange students (from Thailand and Kuwait) to visit the San Jacinto Memorial (a mexican war memorial) and a US battleship that was used during World War 2. It was a day about US/Texas history. Very interesting, but also a very long day and a busy weekend. But who needs sleep?!
Maybe you noticed, but I'm kinda going backwarts from now to the last post. And I'm realizing that I did a lot of stuff during that one month. The time is going by soo fast!
So, the week before that very busy weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the dress rehearsal of the opera "Rusalka" for free! It is a czech opera, telling the original story of "The Little Mermaid" (Arielle). What made is even more interesting and impressive for me was that my choir teacher was part of it. Although it is three hours long and I didn't understand a word, I enjoyed the music very much and I had at least an idea of what was going on on stage.
At another weekend, I spent a day with one of my friends that lived in Hannover for 3 years before she came back to Houston. She wanted to practice so we spoke German the entire time. It was so funny to see how I am forgetting words in German now, and how I try to translate American phrases literally into German. ("Das war Spaß" - that was fun)
Another highlight was seeing our high school musical "Addam's family". I was surprised how professional it was. Almost like a real broadway show, with excellent singers, actors and dancers!
Oookay I think that are about all the interesting, special things that I did during the last month. In addition to school, few homework (luckily), band and choir pracitices after school and so on.
Half of the time here is already over, I can't believe how fast that happened. I only have about 5 months left, but I am sure that they will be full of more new, interesting, exciting experiences. I am very much looking forward to everything that will happen!
Thank you again at this point for everyone and everything that helps making this time as wonderful as it is!
Bye for now,
Johanna
Mittwoch, 13. Januar 2016
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year 2016!!!
I hope everybody had a great New Year's Eve and Day, and is looking forward to a great 2016.
I definitely am, and I also had a fun evening at a friend's house, playing games and eating very good and much food. By the way: I found out that fireworks at midnight aren't nearly as common here as in Germany.
Two days after that, I got the chance to go to Colorado together with my friend and her host family. It was wonderful!!! The little town where we lived was sooo pretty, and when I stepped out of the plane I realized how much I loved snow and that I actually missed it a little bit in Texas (However, back in Houston now I'm glad that I don't have to worry about icy streets etc.). My friend Rieke, her host sister and I spent three (of 5) days skiing. I have only been skiing once before when I was about 8 years old, but I was surprised how fast I got back into it. And it was soooo much fun, I absolutely loved it!
Now school started again, which is okay since I got to see everybody again, and my classes are still pretty easy. I guess that's everything I wanted to tell you for now, so...
... bye bye <3
I hope everybody had a great New Year's Eve and Day, and is looking forward to a great 2016.
I definitely am, and I also had a fun evening at a friend's house, playing games and eating very good and much food. By the way: I found out that fireworks at midnight aren't nearly as common here as in Germany.
Two days after that, I got the chance to go to Colorado together with my friend and her host family. It was wonderful!!! The little town where we lived was sooo pretty, and when I stepped out of the plane I realized how much I loved snow and that I actually missed it a little bit in Texas (However, back in Houston now I'm glad that I don't have to worry about icy streets etc.). My friend Rieke, her host sister and I spent three (of 5) days skiing. I have only been skiing once before when I was about 8 years old, but I was surprised how fast I got back into it. And it was soooo much fun, I absolutely loved it!
Now school started again, which is okay since I got to see everybody again, and my classes are still pretty easy. I guess that's everything I wanted to tell you for now, so...
... bye bye <3
Freitag, 25. Dezember 2015
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to everyone!
This time I won’t wait two months after everything is over :D I'll tell y'all right now: I had a great Christmas!!!
To be totally honest I wasn't so sure how my first christmas without my family is going to be, but all worries I ever had were completely without reason. I spent a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day with my second family and I enjoyed it so much.
On Christmas Eve we went to a German Christmas Service of a Lutheran Church in Houston. That was great for me. It especially made me very happy to know all the traditional Christmas carols. Later our family friends came over for dinner, and we had lot of fun together playing games and eating lots of food. I made German pancakes and I think the Americans liked them.
Later that night we got our first christmas presents, matching, red pyjamas for everybody with our first initial on it. We slept in them, and also wore them during half of the next day.
Most of you probably know already that Americans get their gifts in the morning of Christmas Day, so that's what we did then. I got so many things that I absolutely love! Thank you again to everyone who thought of me in these days!
After that I got to skype with my german family/ies. I realized that I now have three wonderful families that I love so so so much, and I couldn't live without a single one of them!
Tonight we had another dinner with friends, which was a lot of fun too. Now we are all going to bed, very tired and very happy (at least for my part)!
So Merry Christmas again, for the Germans it isn't over yet, enjoy your Second Weihnachtsfeiertag!
Love, Johanna
This time I won’t wait two months after everything is over :D I'll tell y'all right now: I had a great Christmas!!!
To be totally honest I wasn't so sure how my first christmas without my family is going to be, but all worries I ever had were completely without reason. I spent a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day with my second family and I enjoyed it so much.
On Christmas Eve we went to a German Christmas Service of a Lutheran Church in Houston. That was great for me. It especially made me very happy to know all the traditional Christmas carols. Later our family friends came over for dinner, and we had lot of fun together playing games and eating lots of food. I made German pancakes and I think the Americans liked them.
Later that night we got our first christmas presents, matching, red pyjamas for everybody with our first initial on it. We slept in them, and also wore them during half of the next day.
Most of you probably know already that Americans get their gifts in the morning of Christmas Day, so that's what we did then. I got so many things that I absolutely love! Thank you again to everyone who thought of me in these days!
After that I got to skype with my german family/ies. I realized that I now have three wonderful families that I love so so so much, and I couldn't live without a single one of them!
Tonight we had another dinner with friends, which was a lot of fun too. Now we are all going to bed, very tired and very happy (at least for my part)!
So Merry Christmas again, for the Germans it isn't over yet, enjoy your Second Weihnachtsfeiertag!
Love, Johanna
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