Photos

The other day after language school, the exchange students and I went on a tour of Bonn. All the students who were there were Margy, and Clint from the USA, Bruno and Heidie from Brasil, and two other kids who one was also from the US, and the other also from brasil. It was manly Margy, Clint, Bruno, Heidie, and I sticking together though. At first we went into a house where the mayor and queens, kings, dukes, and other upper class people have been. We walk in and we are given a tour of the house but my friends and I cannot help but to make a tour of our own. First we walked past a large painting of a girl, and clint and I both said it looked more like a guy, so here we are taking photos with this ugly he she photo. To us it was just a weird lady, but to the tour it was a priceless painting.... who knew. Than we walked into a ball room, where kings and queens celebrate, and there were two magnificant chandeliers made of crystal hanging from the top of the room. Oh every wall there were tapesties, and the room was light up by huge windows along the walls. Heidie and I starting to dance in the room, making funny faces as we twirrled, and once again everyone was snapping photos, and laughing. Than we went outside and walked around Bonn. It was bethoveen day, so there were sculptures and painting of him everywhere, and we first went to his house in bonn. This is the part where the tour was getting very long, so we started snapping funny photos everywhere we could. I was walking and taking photos of the portraits that were embedded into the sidewalks. Than I took photos of paintings, and than i got to a bethoveen statue and Heidie, Margy, Clint, Bruno and I went up onto the stature and I was holding his arm, and we took some really great photos. Than we walked to the a large chappel, church,,, im not really sure what it is called but we went there. Earlier before the tour i was meeting someone by this chappel and I called him and told him I was by a big I, and now i know the there is more to this I than what i thought. The lady who gave us a tour said people were punished on that I, and tied so people could throw things at them. So of course we acted like we were all in trouble and strapped to this big I. I also had a pair of my cop sunglasses on so Heidie and I took some photos of me having her arm behind her back, and i used my camera case to look like a walke talke. The photos were absolutley hilarious. Than we went around the chapel and there were two large stone heads lying down. So we climbed up on them and took pictures of us on the head, or picking its nose, or me going to kiss the lips of it. Than we walked into a park where there were alot of punks wearing all black with their hair colored and spiked. I wanted to get a picture of them so I stepped really far back from the group acting like i was taking a photo of the group and than really fast tured the camera and snapped a photo of them. I thought they did not notice but as we left they started to laugh and shout in german saying I got a photo they wanted one to, and they were holding up their camera, so Heidie and I laughed and booked it as fast as we could towards the group :D. Finally the last of our funny photos was with a cannon that was by the Rhine river, I got the idea to grab a stick and act like i was lighting it off, and i had one hand up to my ear while lighting the cannon with the other. Heidie and I were laughing so hard by this time, and we also took a photo of where I was donig the same thing but Heidie jumped in teh photo putting a petrified look on her face and plugging both ears. Soon we had margy, and clint doing the same thing, lighting off this cannon, and than we had Bruno who is very tall stick his head in the cannon. I think the cannon was the most fun of all the pictures because it was just something so simple but it was the most fun to do. After wards though i went to see the photos and my camera started to act funny, and said doing this will delete all photos off card so i clicked cancel but than i went to view all my pictures and the camera had erased them all. So i had lots an entire day of photos.... I was not the happiest person ever, but the day was still great photos or not.

My Volleyball team.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am no volleyball player. I was always ok in volleyball in nebraska, but I was never good enough to make it into A team. Now you are probably laughing at the fact that I play the one sport that I am not very good at, but here I am actually not half bad. I think I was always an okay player in nebraska, but i never really tried to play or learn the sport i was really there just to get out of class every away game. Now I play in a club, i miss no class, and i practice....alot. I think what makes playing volleyball here so great is the people on my team. I only know a few names, because I have a memory of names like a goldfish, no matter how many time I hear the name, I cant say it, or pronounce it. But the names I can remember are names that I would hear in america, but just said differently. Like there are two sarahs on my team, but of them are great in volleyball. I met them through my host sister, when she had her going away party. That is actually how i got introduced into m´playing volleyball. Sophie is another girl I know and she is actually the one who told me I should play, well she more as forced me but thats ok. The two sarahs are completly different and I always mix up their last names which they want me to call them by. Eventually they just kinda gave up on me trying to say it so when i say sarah they just both look at me and then i point and smile at the one i need to talk to. I have actually gone to all three girls birthday parties as well, which is really nice as an exchange student to be invited somewhere. Sarah z. had her birthday party last week, sophie had her birthday the week before that, and the other sarah, sarah k. is having her birthday next week. It is funny how I actually make connections through them. I knew caro who was my sister and from her I met jasmine, and through jasmine i met fabian, christine, another sarah, and sophie, and through sophie i met the entire volleyball team and it just keeps going down the line. I never noticed the connections between people untill now, and it really only takes one person to make your stay in a foreign place better, because it seems that they just introduce you and help you get a start in your new life. Caro also helped me join my volleball team, and I am glad that I am in it now. Tonight we had our first game, and i did not think i was good at all but everyone on the team said i was really good, so I dont know either they are really nice, or im not as bad as i thought i was in volleyball. Anyway we lost tonight in our game, its funny though because when we first started playing the team we were against was mostly men. I know volleyball is not just a women sport but from where I come from i have never seen a boy go out for volleyball. They were very good too, they had their hight against us, but in germany you play for fun, and its for a club not for school so It does not matter whether you win or lose. The couches on the other team laughed though because every player has to fill out a card and put a picture of themselves on it, and the card tell them who you are how old you are and of course where you come from. Now it is just expected for everyone to put germany is where they are from, but i was the only one who said america. Of course everyone got a kick out of that, and I have these red hot chili pepper shorts that i brought and somehow they were in my volleyball bag, and my entire team said that i should wear them, I have to wear them. So here I am the only american wearing red hot chili pepper shorts a.k.a my Spicy Shorts :D, overall it was a really great day untill i found out that im to old to be on my team, but once again with the whole connection line going there is a girl who wants me to be on her team, and there are people my age and with me there will be enough players to play a game. I will still go to practices with my old volleyball team though, but now I will have practice every tuesday, thursday, and now friday. So maby by the time i get back to america i will be A team material but I still think volleyball here is alot funner.

Triumph

Finally, after a month of riding the family´s bike I actually was able to ride it for the first time today. I made it through the entire day not crashing into any bushes, or people, or falling in the street. Ever since I came to germany I have been trying to learn how to ride a bike.... I know how to ride a bike, but I am no armstrong on a bike. Everyday it seems I crash in the same places too, I mean you would think after the first two weeks I would expect the crash coming and try to avoid it, but....no i still do the same thing and fall in the same place everytime and its been a month now. I think it was not just the fact that today I did not fall in the street, or clutched onto my handle breaks all the way down the hills, or even hit a curb that i went over and my bike didnt. The greatest triumph on the bike today was this little path i take to get to my school.
Every morning one of my friends from volleyball comes to my house and picks me up, she usually uses no hands while riding her bike, and I have only attempted to do that once before I learned that I have no balance on a bike. I can ride with one hand, but my other hand is still clutched firmly around the handle break. Well anyway, Sophie and I go to school and take every kind of road there is to get there. We take curved roads, gravel, rocks, we take the sidewalks, crosswalks, we go over curbs, sticks, holes, and every crack..... we pretty much go over everthing everyday, but there is this one spot on this path we take through the park that goes up hill and there are two fence like posts sticking out in the path __--- like that except we are heading up hill going through this. Sophie makes it through safetly but i usually crash into the first fence fall of my bike and than walk the rest of the way up hill till i can remount my bike. Now I have tried everything to get through this one spot, i have tried going faster, slower, i have even gotten off my bike before it but somehow my pegs still catch onto this fence. Today i did not even know it was aprouching and i flew up the hill going well as fast as i normally will. I saw the fence in the corner of my eye and i wiggled the front tire of my bike, somehow missing both fences. It was the first day I have not had to walk up the hill pushing my bike and even though I have not a single clue how I did it, I now know to expect the unexpected, and hey maybe tomorrow i wont crash again either, and if I do.... ill just walk up the hill :D.

New experiences

There have been alot of new things that I have tried but today I tried that im used to but in a different way. I have been roller blading before, but I usually go into a bulding where the floor is swept, and knee, elbow, and a helmet are not needed. Today I wore all of those things, and I was not in a bulding. In germany I think everyone has the natural ability to use anything but a car to get places. They ride bikes, skateboards, they rollerblade, or jog to where they need to go. Today my host family took me to the rhine river, I was really excited because the biggest river I have seen for a long time is the platte after a rainy day, and even then its more like a puddle. So when we got there my family had me put on alot of pads like knee pads, elbow pads, and even a pad on my hands. I though it was ridiculous to wear these things but I still put them on not wanting to offend my family. I am not the best roller blader but I though that I could take anything. It was great at first, and than we got to the spot in the park by the rhine river where it was all downhill. Its not that im afraid to go fast, its im afraid of falling, and not being able to stop. So for 20 minutes, every 5 seconds I would wind up into the grass. My family was being so great and staying with me, even though I was keeping them all from going down their favorite hill doing what they like to do. Finally we made it to the bottom of the hill, and it was flat for awhile. The family was strolling along like they have been roller blading since birth, while I was going really slow trying to dodge every stick... and leaf :S on the path. Anything you could possibly imagine to rollerblade on we did, we went over a really creaky bridge, we went on rocks that made you almost fall ever two seconds, we went down hills... well the family went down the hills, i grew pretty fond of walking down the grass. We than went into Bonn, which was the point that my feet couldent take, I bumped into ever person, post, dog, and sign in that street, and my feet felt like they were on fire. Finally we reached our destination Pizza Hut. When the family told me that we were roller blading to Pizza Hut, I was saying to my self oh that will be easy and I love pizza hut, not only the pizza but the fact i can say the names of the food, but by the time we got there, I was not even all that hungry. But I still enjoyed the pizza :D, when we got back to the house, I took of the rollerblades and revealed a half dollar size blister on my feet, and that is not exageration. After that I crashed on the bed for about 15 minutes before we took another adventure into the unknown. My host family found out that I love to ride horses, so they took me to a lady who gives lessons. I once again thought to myself that this will be easy, and that I can ride a horse really well, and I can ride a horse,,,, in a western saddle. We got there and this lady was the top of the line trainer, she had horses from Iceland that she was letting me ride, and these horses were trained. She stuck me into an English saddle, and I was wearing here boots that were 2 sizes to big, because my sneakers would not fit in the stirrups. We got to going, and at first I was sitting in the saddle and it was fine, but than the lady stoped me and told me how I was suppose to sit in the saddle, legs straight and squezzed on the saddle arms forwards, back straight, and stomach in. Now doing all those thins at once, one a horse is not an easy task. I think I was sweating more than the horse, and this lady was having me do everything. I did was was called a Tiat, which is where the horses moves its legs really really fast underneath you and you have the reins close to your chest the the horses head is very high, and it is once of the most smoothes runs I have ever been on, I did not bounce shake or anything while this horse was running. I did however have a problem trying to kick the horse because you kick backwards which for a western rider is very hard, because im leaning forwards and when I kick back my body pretty much falls off the horse ´:D, I did not fall though, but it was a great expericence and the lady even told me I was not bad for never riding english, but for those who think riding horses is easy I would like to see you with this trainer because it was like being in boot camp because she was definatly a german drill couch, I swear it, because there was nothing that she did not have me do on that horse. It was overall a very good day for me, and I am still trying to figure out how she got horses all the way from Iceland, but the horses were really really amazing looking. I think I can also get use to English ridding, because it was one of the best workouts I have ever gotten.

Flip-Side

I am taking a break from writing about all the differences I have observed here because
to tell you the truth there are just so many of them to write about.  I would like to take
sometime to mention though the flip side of being here.  No not the flip side as in all the
bad things, i mean like the other side of the pillow.  My life in Ogallala is still going, even though I am not there to expierence it. 
 Its like I have turned the pillow over and now I am expericening something new, 
while the other side is stil there.  People that I have known for a long time I have lost
 contact with, and the people I least expect to hear from I am now talking to.   I am the 
same person but I have a totally different outlook on things.  The funny thing about 
turning the pillow over is that you are actually more comfortable when you do.  Thats 
how it is for me right now, I have now been here for almost a month and I feel like this 
is my life for well the rest of my life.  Its almost like I like who I am here, more than
 I like the person who lived in Ogallala.  The things that made me happy there do not
 make me happy here, and you really find out who your friends are when you are away
 from them.  Also even in my own family I have noticed a change, people I did not expect
 to get involved or be a part of my experience are now wanting to hear from me everyday
...... and I love it.    Its funny because I hear stories from my family or friends and its almost
like I was there, but I wasnt.  I live two lives now and even though I am the same person the lives are completly 
different, and not just because I am in a different country either.  I was talking to an 
exchange student the other day who said that they missed Nebraska and wanted to go 
back, and I asked them how it was when they got home and they said it was weird.  
The life they knew and was normal to them before was now like a new country just like
 how I felt when I first came here, but they learned to love and appreciate where they 
stayed on their exchange so much that it became a part of them.  I grew up in America so 
It was always a part of me but being here in Germany is exciting, I do now know everything 
here so it makes more motivated to get out and explore new things.  I go out of my box and
 try things I have never done, and I learn things that I never wanted to learn.  My life is 
completly on the Flip-side.  I know most of you are thinking I can say this now because I have only been
 here for almost a month so of course everything is exciting, but I honestly do not
 think it will ever not be exciting for me.  Even though I am not fluent in the language 
I have never been more determined in my life to do something with myself.  No one has
 ever asked me to do anything I never wanted to do, but its weird now that I am doing 
the things that I dont like to do without even being told.  I think the thing that has most
 changed about me is how I was never really a shy person.  In my town I never really
 talked to alot of people, not because I was shy but because I was never outgoing to 
talk to people.  I have to be outgoing here though whether I want to be or not,  
I introuduce myself to people that I dont know, or to people whose names I cant 
pronounce.  I forget alot of their names after the introduction but it gives me a 
feeling of accomplishement.  Or when I actually get something in school here, or 
I learn a new word in german and I use it in a sentance it gives me one of the greatest
 feelings of accomplishemnt.  Sometimes I even forget that my life is going on and that
 I am moving ahead of so many people.  The other day I was talking to one of my 
sisters and I started to put german words in my sentances not thinking that I was the
 only one that could understand it in the convorsation.  Not saying sarah is not smart
 by any means but I am saying that I am living something that not alot of people can 
live " a New Life" .  I think I can get use to the cool side of the pillow, because to tell 
all of you the truth things are much better on the Flip-Side

Difference part 2

Another thing that everyone one probably knows but I failed to know it is that everything is measured differently. Instead of pounds there is kilo´s instead of miles ther is meters and instead of calories there is a Kcal. There are alot more measuring differences such as liters, which brings me to another huge manual, well so far all the cars I have been in. Another thing is how the towns are built, they do not just cut through forest´s or plants, they go with them. Houses are also built close together, so a big yard is hard to find. And I cant forget the pigeons, they just walk right up to you, which ever since my incident with our three geese I am not to fond of birds. There parks here in Germany are absolutley beautiful as well. There is usually a pond with egyptian ducks in them, I dont know how the ducks got in germany but they are there. Also there are fountains and very well constructed playgrounds for the children. Electricity is another thing that I have noticed that is very well saved here, just like the gas. There are great big windows to let the light in, and they also open just like doors to let the breeze in, and the shades are constructed to completly black out a room which is very nice in the night, they also help with keeping sound out. Gas is another big saver, they do not use gas guzzling lawn mowers, they have no need to buy huge mowers because the yards are usually small, so they use electric mowers that cut just as well if not better than the mowers in the US.
Here is a good one for you guys POP. I have not been able to find any pop besides Fanta, Coco-cola, and sprite, and all of them come in zero kcal too. I also have not found wiz-cheese, or doritoes, or alot of junk food in the stores. The only fattining thing I have found here is candy, which by the way is amazing. They also do not freeze alot of things, they keep everything fresh, and the meat is not frozen either. The meat is full of taste here, it took me some getting use to, to all flavors in the meats, but its delicious. Dont tell anyone I told you this, but the beer is also very refreshing, and like I said before you do not drink here to get drunk.
Some of the differences in my school are that everyone does not have a locker, and instead just brings a back pack to school. There is no lunch period just long breaks after every third lesson, and if a teacher is sick there is no subsitute there is just simply no class. I think that its great not having class because then you have an entire free period to rome aroud the school, go on the computer, or finish you homework from another class. Trainsportation is another big thing here, If I have already said this I will say it again, cars are not essential here unless you are driving a long way. In germany there is a great trasportation system that can get you any where you need to go, and all the towns are close together so you could also walk if you chose to. Well thats enough for today, I will write again soon. Tschüss

Difference

Everday I notice something different about the way of life here. In germany they are very GREEN, not just their plants but the way they recycle, or clean up, or even when you go into the grocery store and see the containers you purchase things in. Of course everyone knows about how the outlets are different, but the electronics that go into those outlets are completly different too. I have said again and again that the meals are different, but its amazing because so are the portions. My family cooked pizza and everyone had a full pizza on their plates. I stil have not figured out how everyone is so skinny here either, because compared to me they eat alot more. I think it may be the fact that they walk, or ride bikes everywhere. Which is not a bad idea, because not only does it save them money, but its also makes the air smell that much better because there is not as much polution. This morning I had eggs for breakfast, and it was the first time I have seen eggs coocked in a machine, or eating in a little cup with half of the shell on. They also dress different but not in the way most people think, they dress really how they want to. I do not know if there is a style here but from what I´ve seen I think anyone can wear anything and its okay. Well Ill write more differences later tschüss

Art

The life I used to live is not forgotten but in the past. I keep those close with me in my heart, and in my memories. My New Life now is here in Germany; when I first got here I was a new lump of clay, but now I am being sculpted into a piece of art. I do not know what I am being sculpted into, but i can feel pieces of me being pulled apart, and others being rounded off, or shaped to make something new. When the Rotary program and my family told me that I would find myself here, they never told me that I would be completly altered. The Hannah from Ogallala, is not the Hannah in Germany. Of course I act the same, I do not try to be anything but myself, but im still changing. From the way I view myself, to the way I think about things.... Its almost like its the last piece to the puzzle to stay here. I thought I would be completley different from everyone else, but in all reality Im really not that different from the people in Germany. Sure there fashion is different, or their hair cut, but that stand out blue eyed girl in Ogallala is now staring into the same blue eyes of germany. Not everyone here has blue eyes and blonde hair either, they are as different as you and me to each other, but much more accepting. Im not being weighed down by the catogorey i was stuck in, in Ogallala. The drama from my town is miles away. Im a new person here, I can be who ever I want to be, and the best thing is, is that I have room to become who Im meant to be. I can change my abstract painting into something that will be more visible. The things I have noticed that have been shaped so far with my the lump of clay which is my life, is that Im happier, more content, more self-sufficient, reasponsible, more matured, I have a greater view of the world, Im becoming more out-going going into sports that I thought I would never play because of the standerds that came with the game, but now I to match those standards. Of course Im not popular, but if I think about it, really no one in my school is, im equal. Even though some may not think the best of me, they do not put me in the lower group, no one is seperated by a standard, well If there is I have not seen it yet. I really am finding myself here, and good or bad, the experiences here will shape me into what i should be, and not what i was.

Sometimes the best pieces or art are those that were not so great the first time. But hey everyone deserves a second chance.....

Busy week

This week thus far has been a busy week. On sunday i went to phantasia land which is a rollercoaster theme park. I went with my host sister Caro, jasmine, sarah, and sophie. We took a lot of pictures, and went on every ride.....twice...some three times. The great thing about the park was that ever section was a different theme, there was china land, south africa, the west, and than i was not quite sure what the other one was but i think it was germany...land because of the berlin wall monument. Each theme had its own rides, and attractions, some even had shows. I got to take a picture with a troll\dragon\anastasia looking bat, i was not sure what it was; I got to meet some more americans at the park, and the park´s rides were for the most part in english so that helped alot too, I even got sophie to ride the mechanical bull. I spendt my entire sunday in phantasia land, and I cannot describe how great it is. It was like a 6 flags except better and bigger. On Monday i started language school which actually could be a whole blog in itself. First caro, jasmine, christine, and I got lost. We missed our stop on the underground train ( which was my first time ridding in one, that and I rode on the regular train to bonn). Finally jasmine asked a taxi driver where we should go, and he pointed us in the right direction. When I arrived there the lady was so polite and said " Oh your from Rotary, we were expecting you". 5 minutes later though I found out that somehow it got mixed up and I was put in an advanced german class. The lady said that she was informed that I had previous years in a german class. I said no, but that did not help matters, I was now stuck in an advanced class because it was in the afternoons, and when my regular school starts its in the mornings. It would just have to do, so I got in there and to make everything worse the teacher only spoke in german. She would ask me questions and some questions I knew she was asking and I did not know how to answer them, or she would ask me and I had not a single clue what she was saying. So the other days this week have been the same, I get up, go to language school, and get confused. Its not that I do not want to learn, I try really hard, but I do not know any of the basics. Right now we are learning how to say things in the past form but it is hard when I do not know how to say them in the present form. I will get through it though... hopefully. Finally yesterday I went to a birthday party for sophie, which was really fun. We ate pizza... this time i asked for salamie :D; we played a card game, soaked our feet in a footbath, watched jasmine shock her self with a bug zapper not knowing it was on high voltage, played mario party, and finally watched movies( some in english, some in german). So I have had a good week so far in the end, and tonight I will go to a bbq for jasmine, and friday another birthday for sarah, and saturday......I get to go to a bubble party. Im not sure exactly what it is, but all I know is that its like a dance except you dance in bubbles that are up to your waist. I really do LOVE GERMAY and I cant wait till I can speak the language. But for now I will stick to keeping my hand dictionary at my side.

Pepperonie, hamburger, taco pizza!

My host mother silke asked me what kind of pizza I wanted the other night. I told her that I liked cheese, and she looked at me and said every pizza has cheese, you want mushrooms, pinapple on it too. I said no thank you, maybe just pepperonie. Silke and caro, and caro´s friend jasmine looked at me funny; than caro pulled out her english to german vise-virsa hand dictionary out. She pointed at a word and looked up at me and said you like chillies on your pizza i said no, pepperonie. Pepperoine was not in the dictionary, so they asked if I would like another kind of pizza. I than said that hamburger pizza was okay too, they started laughing this time saying hamberger pizza was ist das! I said it is good, so they said they have salamie pizza, pinapple, mushroom, and tuna pizza. I thought politley to myself; hamberger pizza is wierd!, and they eat tuna on thiers and thats ok.... So finally i settled on salamie, which is actually pepperonie none the less. Jasmine and caro at this point were so interested in hamburger pizza they even googled it. They were laughing for hours, and then they both turned to me like if they were on cue or something at the same time. They asked what kind of other pizza´s do they have in america; i started naming off the pizzas i could think of that were at valentinoes. Than I got to Taco pizza, they started to laugh again, and googled taco pizza up too. A picture came up and both of them stopped laughing and thier faces just dropped in disgust. Than I smiled and looked at them and say well its good.

Now everyday I hear about Pepperonie, Hamburger, And TACO PIZZA

Disco Disco Hollywood!

Hollywood is a club here in Rhienbach where everyone one goes to have a drink, and smoke, and to dance.  Caro my sister brought me to the club with some of her close friends.  before entering into the club I had to give them my drivers liscense to show that I was older than 16.  after that they give you a little card that will keep tabs of what you drink or eat i nthe club.  If you lose this little card it is a .45€ fine.  It cost 8€ to be in the club but you do not pay until after you are done.  you can also
 drink as much until 8€ and it will still cost the same.   We walked down a spiral staircase into the 
club.  The first thing I noticed was that there were no windows in the club.  The club had lights 
everywhere, strobe lights, colored lights, and they also had a DJ in the club.  Most of the songs 
were american songs, but as soon as a german song came on I knew that it meant one thing, it was
 a german soccer song and every guy in the club would belt out the song as loud as they possibly
 could.  the club was decroated with stars from hollywood in america, and they had painting 
everywhere.  there were two bars in teh club as well, and although there wre stripper poles there
 were no strippers....thankfully.  The dance floor was at first not crowded, but as soon as people 
began to drink the floor became crowded.  There was not a certain dance style in the club either. 
 However you wanted to dance you could, some people were dirty dancing, others were 
freestyling, some jumping, some robot danced, and others just moved aroud in circles.  There 
were also people who would do what was called the disco fox.   The dancing was great in the club  
and the songs were easy for me to understand because they were american songs.  I had only two drinks in the club and they were called copa´s.   It was a lemon-aid beer thing,  I only had two because one of the ruled being and exchange student is that you can drink when your famiy offers you a drink but do not drink to get drunk.  I would not drink for that reason to begin with, but I had two because it is more of a social type of drink in teh club.  I also found out that when you meet new people instead of shaking your hand they either hug you and rub your back or touch your waist and say hello.  They do not do this sexually at all for that manner, but it will take some time getting used to guys hugging me and rubbing my back.  Actually how I found out that they did this is I met fabian, a really gorgeous guy friend of caro´s.  No worries mom, he has a girlfriend :).  Anyway I was leaving the club and he gave me a hug, and than I pulled away and said that I was sweaty and hot, because it really was hot in the club because there are no windows.  Fabian touched my waist gave me another hug, rubbed my back and said tchuse.  I  smiled because I had no clue what he was doing, he did not speak english and I could not speak german, so smiling is really the only thing I did when people were talking to me.  The night was overall very fun, and in germany people are really interested that I have a drivers liscense.  Well that is one good experince that I will take with me.  I will also have some more on the way because I am going shopping today for some shoes, and than going to fantasia land tomorrow; which is a huge rollercoaster theme park.  Well Disco Disco Hollywood.
 

Das ist gross

  I would like to tell all of you about my experience with the wild life here in Rhienbach.  After dinner I went into the bathroom to wash my face and get ready for bed.  I open the door and I see to antennas poking out above the shower.  I go closer to get a better look at just what it was and I see that its a giant bug.  It looked more like a huge leaf off of a tree but it had huge eyeballs, and it was all green, and its legs were long like a spiders.  I went to caro and said that there was a huge bug in the bathroom.  She didnt undertstand what I was saying so I took her into the bathroom.  It took me 5 minutes to find the bug because it had disapperead.  I than saw it and pointed it out, caro than ran screaming to her mom about the bug.  Her O-ma grabbed a stool from the kictched and brought it in the bathroom.  The poor old women looked as if she was going to die from shock from the size of this bug.  She told silke to get a cup from the kitched.  Silke got her a cup and than caro and I  went outside of the bathroom.  We herd O-ma slaming the cup everywhere.  I didnt see why she just didnt kill the thing, but I guess here in germany every living thing is viewed as well alive, but when I saw that bug I saw it as dead but thats just me.  So O-ma finally caught the enormous bug in her cup and she waded some toilet paper and put it in there.  Caro was half laughing and screaming and I was laughing because everyone was talking so fast but I could uderstand one thing and that was Das Ist gross; meaning that is big.  So I was laughing and silke was trying to hush us because poor jona was sleeping.  Caro flew open the door as if her life depended on it and o-ma took out the toilet paper and shook the cup outside.  O-ma came back in and caro was now fine, but I looked down at the piece of toliet paper in O-ma´s hand and I pointed and said the first thing in my head, but unfortunatly it was english so no one understood.  So I pointed down at the piece of toilet paper in o-ma´s hand and there she saw that the bug was on the paper.  She let out a scream and dropped the piece of paper.  She put the cup over it quickly this time she ran to the door and threw the piece of paper out as well.  She came back in and caro started to scream dance and pointed in the cup where the bug had now managed to go in.  O-ma looked like she was going to have a heart attack, silke was still trying to hush us because caro and I were laughing so hard now that tears were appearing, and poor jona was still sleeping.  O-ma flung the cup outside and than closed the door.  Finally the bug was now outside, and caro and I just kept laughing.  It would have to be the most grossest funniest moment here in germany so far.  But I will never be able to take the image of o-ma´s face and caro screaming das ist gross out of my head.