Lindsey in Germany: New Year: Update

Okay. Yes the last time I updated my blog was in October. I'm on holiday now so I can finally update my blog. So I went on the Germany trip for about a week. The Germany trip was so amazing. We ended up going to Cologne, Bonn, Mainz, the Warburg Castle, Weimar, Buchenwald Concentration Camp, and then Berlin. We drove with a charter bus throughout the whole tour. The first day in Cologne we had a bus tour around the city and then to the hostel. That night in Cologne we could go around the city by ourselves in groups of at least five people. We visited the cathedral in Cologne and the Cathedral was so amazing. We got there about ten minutes before it closed, so we could only stay in the cathedral for a bit. The next day we went to Bonn to visit a museum that talked about all different aspects of Germany's history. The museum was really interesting and I loved getting to learn more about the country I am in on exchange. After the museum we went to Mainz which is where we would stay the night. We were staying about 30 minutes from the city, so we could not go out. We all played hide and go seek outside in the dark and lots of other games. It was fun just getting to have a relaxing night. The next morning we went to the Wartburg Castle. The castle was so nice and we had a guided tour throughout the castle. After the castle was Weimar. For me Weimar was one of the best nights on the Germany trip. After dinner we found out that we would be having a scavenger hunt around the town. There was the Rotary wheel drawn in random places all over the city. We had no clues to where anything was we just had to go around the city and try to find them. My team had 10 people and we ended up finding 11 wheels. Sadly we did not win, but it was still lots of fun. It was fun just getting to go around the city and be with my group. The next day we went to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. It was my first concentration camp to visit. I think its important for everyone to visit a concentration camp at least once. I learned a lot and it really makes you see how it was in during the days when the Concentration Camp was going on. After the concentration camp for the next two days we were in Berlin. I was so excited for Berlin. Berlin is the biggest city in Germany and I had heard so much about Berlin. When we arrived in Berlin I instantly fell in love. First we all went to the Berlin wall together then had about two hours of free time before the ROTEX would take us to a disco. We all became so excited when they said they would take us to a disco. The disco was so awesome there were about 1000 people there and it was seriously so much fun with everyone. The next morning we had to get up early for a long bus tour about Berlin. Everyone was so tired from the night before that we were struggling to stay awake during the tour. After the tour we had about 5 hours of free time to roam the city. My group and I went to the mall, holocaust memorial, and Berlin wall. The next thing we did was tour the Reichstag building with all of the exchange students. Then after the tour we had free time for the rest of the night, so we just walked around the city and had fun together. That was the last night of the Germany tour. That morning we drove to Autostadt which is where there are lots of cars from the Volkswagen brand. That was the end of the Germany tour. The Germany tour was so amazing and I learned so much about Germany traveling with my closest friends.

My birthday! December 9th was my birthday so in the morning I woke up and came downstairs to candles all around the area where I would eat breakfast and decorations all over the room. I opened all of my presents then we ate breakfast together. I kept asking my host parents what was planned for my birthday and they kept telling me "Im not sure yet". When I got home from school my host mom said a friend of mine and her mom would come over for coffee and cake, so I was like "Okay." I came downstairs and the lights were turned off in the kitchen. All of a sudden I hear "SURPRISE" and see all of my friends standing there. I was really so surprised. Wow. One of my friends had told me she couldn't hang out today and I was so upset I could not hangout with her on my birthday, when in reality they were planning a surprise party for me. The party was so much fun and I was so glad to be spending my birthday with my closet friends

So now on to Christmas. My host family had 12 family members staying with us for the holidays. On the 24th all of the family came and here in Germany they celebrate Christmas on the 24th. So on the 24th we opened the presents and went to the church together. December 9th was my birthday and my parents had sent me a package for my birthday and another package for Christmas. On the 24th I still didn't have the packages and I had really wished that the packages would be there. To my surprise my host family received the package on the 23rd and waited to surprise me with my packages. When we walked into the room with the presents under the tree my packages from my parents were there. That was so amazing and such a cool surprise. I had expected to be so homesick on Christmas because I have heard from many previous exchange students that this is the hardest time during the holidays. I was a bit sad that I was not with my family, but with 12 other family members being with us on Christmas it made me less homesick.

New Years Eve I spent with my host family and friends. We watched "Dinner for One" which is a tradition to watch every year. Then we made vegetables and meat for dinner. After dinner we played games into the New Year. At midnight EVERYONE in Germany does fireworks at once. I really mean everyone. The street was filled with fireworks. It was even crazier than the fourth of July.

In a few days it will be 5 months here in Germany and soon I will switch to my second host family. On January 22nd I will go to Austria for a 9 day skiing trip with Rotary. I'm so excited its my first time skiing ever, so hopefully I am not too bad.

EUROPE TOUR!!!!!!!
I have the cities and countries of where I will go on the Europe Tour with Rotary:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Paris, France
Geneva, Switzerland
Venice, Italy
Postojna, Slovenia
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria
Bratislava, Slovakia
Prague, Czech Republic

I will be on the Europe tour from May 21st to June 4, and I'm beyond excited to travel Europe with all of my friends.