A day with me

Where I live everything is the same it is normal to me, so my life always seemed so simple. Now my days are the opposite, opposite time, opposite setting, opposite meals, family, trasportation, and even opposite drinks. Its like my world has been turned upside down. So I would like to show you all a Day With Me.

My mornings I wake up to the smell of bread(brochen), I go downstairs and sit with O-ma, Caro, Caren, and Jona, and somedays silke. We all eat brochen, with what ever we want on it, some put cheese, jelly ( mamalade), philidalphia cheese, fish bacon, turkey, ham, or my favorite nutella. We all have our mugs of milk(milch) and it is either warm, or cold. We all put our favorite taste of kaba, I choose chocolate, jona gets strawberry, O-ma drinks coffee. The first time I had breakfast I could not read anything but i understood milch but i did not read any further so I poured a mug full and drank. I almost choked because I grabbed O-ma´s milch creme for her coffee. No it was not sweet, it was actually very very sour. After breakfast I take a shower, and yes sarah I laughed when they told me to deusch myself in the morning. After my shower I go to my room where I fall asleep in my towel because It is 4 or 3 in the morning nebraska time. I watch movies, or walk the market, or do other things the rest of the day.

Lunch is my warm meal for the day and o-ma cooks, today we can pancakes with apple. Once again I did not know you put the apple in the pancake so the family laughed when I ate the pancake plain, and than my apple.

At night I than have a cold meal, its either brochen, cereal, or today it was ice cream. We went to a resturant and they serve only ice cream. I could only finish half of my plate because it was so sweet, and it was an actual diner plate serving of ice cream. At night I play cards, or games with Jona, and whoever else wants to play. Than I come to the room and write to everyone. A day with me is more exciting than I can write down. Everyday there is something new, something opposite to my habitual routine. Now that I am upside down, I think I will view my world differentally.

I think the first sign of that is that I bought a book today in one of the stores. It is called the flirt, and actually I got it because the characters name is leticia, and when i read it I laugh because i picture a petite brazilian, with dark hair, and eyes, and looking up and saying "what". I cant laugh at her know because Im always saying Was ist Das or just Was ( what is that, what). So hopfully I gave you a good day with me

O-ma

O-ma which is my host familys grandma has helped me with alot of my german. She really makes me feel welcomed here, not that the family does´nt but she always talks to me, even though i do not understand her, and she cannot understand me.

I start school next monday well on the 4th, i go to a language school and I hope that I will get better at my german. O-ma always tells me her english ist nicht good, and than i can understand that she says she cannot wait for me to go to language school so I can speak german. O-ma also cooks everything, I only get one warm meal a day... no its not like jail, actually in germany you only have one cooked meal a day the other two meals are brochen, or bread.

my host sisters also help me along as well, jona is always playing games with me. She does not speak any german either but she talks to me, and is always asking me to play monopoly. caren speaks english and is always plracticing with me, and caro takes me everywhere. I go down the street shops and they all look like cottages. They are small shops but they are so tiddy, and neat. On just about every corner there is a bakery that sells bread. The ice cream shops are wonderful, all the ice creams and sculpted into works of art, to look like cakes, or places, or even animals. I truly love all the art here, and even though I am not one for walking, or riding a bike, i find myself walking and riding a bike every where. It does not bother me though because the weather here is always just right.

Well O-ma has cooked some apple sauce pancakes, I know it does not sound very good but its my warm meal for the day.

tchuse

Home Sick.

Before I left, I said I would not be home sick. The truth is, I think everyone gets homesick sometimes. I think that even though people may get in fights or family members seem to just forget the other. I still think we all at some point in our life feel home sick. The love built inside a family is a love unmatched by anything. It may not be love like firworks but its hidden in your heart, its a piece of you, and whithout that piece your life feels un-whole.

I am home sick, not because I do not like it here, I love it here; but because I came from a huge family and even though we do not show it sometimes we love each other so much. Thats really what I miss, I miss that love, the kind I wake up to every day, and go to bed with at night. Even though that love has not changed I am miles away from it. Home sick to me is not the feeling of wanting to go home, but the feeling of wanting your family here to share your expericences with you.

I was told I will find myself here, and I think I will. When soemone is taking away from everything familiar they find out what truly makes them.... well them. I will find what is me in good time, I know one thing for sure right now, a part of me that is truly me will always be with my family. That is the love that keeps me going.

So yes I love my faimly, and yes I am Home Sick.

Kiss

Ticking away,
another day has gone by.
My heart is´nt whole
now at night I cry...

Before I left
I said Home Sick I wont be.
But the truth is
the person saying that was´nt me.

I wanted to stay strong
set an example for The Girls...
my life is spiriling downward
like one of Abby´s banana curls.

I miss everything I hate
and remmeber what I missed.
I want to be held
and accept a mothers kiss.

Being here has opened
but another door.
I dont know what to expect though,
I know nothing any more.

I don tknow who I am,
or what I can truly be;
I dont really know
what is actually me.

I hope I find myself here,
and I know that I am missed.
I will never again take for granted.
The love.... in my familys kiss.

Guten Tag

Everyone has probably noticed my spelling errors, that is because the keyboards in germany are very unfamiliar to me. I have learned so much in the days I have been here, Jona always wants to play monopoly, and trionimoes. The wheather in germany is great; to people in germany they do not enjoy the rain, but for a nebraskan the rain is a wonderful gift. The pool here is very different than the one back home. Here peoples bodies are viewed very differently. They are seen as beautiful no matter what they look like, so you see alot of men in speedoes, and women without tops. It will take awhile to get used to seeing that, but its another thing that makes germnay so unlike where I live. I met the family grandma who they call O-ma. She does not speak any english but is always talking to me. Every morning I wake up and go downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone greets me and says " Guten tag, or Guten Morgen", and " Du schlofen gut" meaning did i sleep well. Although I cannot spell german yet I can now pronounce the words. The water here is very different from ours as well, it is all carbonated. Its funny because who ever opens the water it will go every where, and everyone will laugh and look at me and say " das ist deutschland wasser" meaning that is german water. I have really over used words such as nein, danke, danke gut, nein danke, guten tag, morgen, and chao; because they are the only words that are stuck into my head. I actually now have problems saying hello and goodbye and no to my family because my mind wants to use those words instead.

For breakfast I have brochen with nutelle, which is so so good. The bread here is amazing, I also love the candy called haribo. I have tried alot of foods and loved them all. Well I must go so Guten Tag to another day, and Chao to all of you.

364

I now hae a new life. I basically am like a new born baby in a new world unfamiliar to me, but unlike a baby I know what is going on. I woke up this morning and the first thing I thought was was my exchange sister back home said "only 364 days to go". I love germnay though, my family is truly amazing. The house I live in now it just like the movies about germany; its clean, very birght colors, artwork on every wall. It looks like it came out of a magazine it is so beautiful. Today I also got to meet people from Germany, they are also very nice. My host sister took me to a pool, which by the way is the best pool I have ever seen. One of her friends though wanted me to jump off this diving board. There are 5 diving boards two are 10 feet high, the other two are about 20, but the one she wanted to jump off of with ME was 50 feet high. I got to the edge and said "NO WAY" than this guy from behind me was from england and said " well of coarse you are just jump" he was really nice as well. In the end I did jump, but it felt like the air was sucked out of me as I fell. After that I played volleyball, and another game which is like tennis except you have no court and you have to keep the ball in the air, and there is no net. After that I went to a resturant and ordered rumpsteak-rheinbach. I know I sound really smart being able to order something on the first day, but actually it was the only thing I could pronounce.

The diffrences I have found out between Nebraska, and Rheibach are: the cars are relativly small and are not driven alot at all, the bikes are really really tall, the lights are not big they are one small bulb in like a desk lamp shape. Also it is very green there are plants everywhere, and they recyle not just my family but every family. They only have one warm meal a day, which means one cooked meal. All the other meals are breads, fruits, vegetables, salads..ect.. The cholocalte here is also so much better than ours, its not to sweet but its so much better. I have not really found alot of differences but I have found out that everyone and I mean everyone knows america, american music, food, celeberties, and even the language.

My first day was amazing and yes I only have 364 more amazing days left.

Air-port blues

I left to the air-port keeping in mind that I was not going to cry. As soon as I was leaving into security my family bursts into a tearful song. I fought back the tears and did a great job, until i got into the tram.... it was all rivers from there. The air-port was not as bad as I thought it would be, but I can say that now that I am with my host family. My host fmaily is amazing, I have three sisters and they have reallz made me feel welcomed. I do miss my friends, and mostly my family, but i think i can get used to it here.

Mother Nature

My pre-day jitters have left, but now mother nature has decided to pay me a visit and give me my monthly gift....unfortunately. I figured that was going to happen, but at least my suitcases are now packed. After the third time my mom unpacked them I finally told her I was just going to go naked; I don't know why but saying that actually made her leave my suitcases alone.

My lip has gone down a little, those pills did not cure it in a day but at least they made my lips small enough to not be viewed by satellite. Even though I really do not like the fact of having a fat lip it did make for some pretty funny memories. Ill explain; I did not want anyone to see my fat lip, so I got the idea of putting a handkerchief around my mouth. It worked up until I actually went places, because now people are looking at me not because of my fat lip but because they think I'm going to have a "Hold-Up". The rest of the day my sisters called me the bandit, but oh well... I at least got to get back at my little sister Abby by making her buy my monthly gift's monthly solution. Although it was not near as funny as the look on her face as she came out of the store to tell me that the entire check-out line was filled with cute boys. Mother Nature does make for some bad timing, but she also added so some funny last memories.

I now leave in exactly 9 hours, I said goodbye to all my friends although none took it near as hard as my best friend Ashley. Ashley is the kind of best friend who will always be there, and has been, so saying goodbye to her was a hard thing to do. I had to also say goodbye to the family... which includes 5 sisters, 1 brother, 3 step-brothers, parents, grand-parents, and lots and lots of kids. I said goodbye to most of them in person, but e-mail was so much faster. The best thing about e-mail too, is that I only have to write one e-mail and send it to all the family.

well mother nature is calling me.

Pre-Day Jitters

Hi, my name is Hannah Allen and I have pre-day jitters.

I was accepted into the Rotary program to be an exchange student. I found out I was going to Germany which ironically is the country I was born in. I am traveling to Rheinbach, Germany tomorrow and I have just discovered that the world is a big place after all. I live in a small town in Nebraska, and I come from a big family. That's just a little bit about me, but the real point of this blog is that I am leaving in one day and have nothing accomplished and everything to worry about.

My day has started off as such. For my going away party I had a day on the beach on Saturday and Sunday. Today I woke up with a fat lip, its not just the everyday fat lip though. It's the kind where everyone will look out of the corner of their eyes to see just how big it is. My mom took me into the doctor and the doctor said that it was caused by the sun, and stress....imagine that. So she gave me some medicine and sent me on my way, although I know she was doing her job I still don't see how these little tablets are going to heal my fat lip in a day. Once I get home I packed all my stuff really fast so I could spend the rest of the day vegging. Of course moms being how they are mine just so happens to unpack all my suitcases and re-packs them and now is un-packing them once again. So now I have a fat lip and my clothes are being thrown every where. So on top of all that stress I also have never been in an Airport, so I am completely blind going into this... hopefully tomorrow my last hours before I leave will be filled with less pre-day jitters.