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Freitag, 30. November 2012

A very normal schoolday

So, Mr Derksen is still teasing me about my English - I sound so very nineteenth century with my properly enunciated words and correct grammar and big words. Thank you. I guess.

I have a killer headache - 8 hours of sleep in the last 48, that's not really optimal!

Well, next week is gonna be super busy - a Japanese quiz I have to take which I missed last week, another 'proper' Japanese quiz, a Biology quiz I missed, our Biology chapter exam, our Spanish chapter exam and our e-mail chapter exam. Oh, and on Thursday, the day after our Biology exam, we will start dissecting our pigs! :) It's also the last Thursday of Journalism (as far as I know, at least) this year, and since our newspaper comes out the week after, I will be staying late again.

Today we started decorating for Christmas!

It is the only halfway-free weekend, because December is gonna be busy!

Dorothea went skiing today! Check out her blog! 

Tomorro I'll meet Ashley at the mall and we're gonna hang out together, and sometime I really have to fit learning and making my Christmas-presents in there.

I also can't wait to start on my Advent Calendar, so I'm staying up till midnight.
Although I am pretty tired, right now... :)

Love you all!

Julia

Donnerstag, 29. November 2012

First day of school!

Okay, so I'm officially jealous:
If I understood Doro's post correctly, she's going skiing tomorrow! And I have to go to school. That's really unfair.

Okay, so I have this wonderful song I want to share with you:


I reach out to all Merlin fans, whose show was cancelled by the BBC!

And, as I promised:
Here is Artistic Wolf Pup's version of Some Nights! :) Have fun!

Well, so I was in school again today. Honestly? I didn't miss anything. Except for dissection of a Moos's heart! That's so totally unfair.

And my English teacher - he's being so mean to me!
He said to me I'm sounding like the 19th century. Thanks. :/ (He was just joking, of course). And when I left the classroom, he shouted something along the lines of "Have a wonderful afternoon, fair Lady Julia" He is absolutely brilliant.

In Journalism I have my own two pages to design! That was something I was happy about today.

And I guess that is all.
Have a wonderful day, Germans!

A Wonderful New York Story

I know I posted about my uneventful day already, and it's way past my bed time, but I had coke and had to reward myself for finishing my Biology stuff, so I just wanted to share a wonderful text with you, which made me cry like not even homesickness has managed to make me do.

But first: Something not so sad to ease your way in:

Source: tumblr (don't be surprised, there is music in the background of this tumblr!)


A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It’s nothing", I told her.. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated."

"Oh, you’re such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It’s not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don’t mind," she said. "I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don’t have any family left," she continued in a soft voice. "The doctor says I don’t have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

"What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I’m tired. Let’s go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?"she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing," I said

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

via
Homestead Survival

And another very, very beautiful thing:

Natalie McDonald, who appears on page 159 of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, was a real person. She was a nine-year-old girl from Toronto, Canada, who was dying of leukaemia. She wrote to JK Rowling asking what was going to happen in the next Harry Potter book as she would not live long enough to read it. The kindly author emailed back, but Natalie had died a day earlier. In tribute, she became a first-year student at Hogwarts named by the Sorting Hat in Gryffindor - the house for the brave at heart - in the fourth book.
Source: Fawkesashes

And now something to cheer you up:

Source: Lost/unknown | tumblr

Source: lost/unknown | tumblr

And:

Source: Youtube.com


And (and this is the last thing here):

Some nights I stay up splashing in my bathtub.
Some nights I bathe in the dark.
Some nights I wish that this water had more bubbles.
Some nights I wish I could dry off.
But I still jump in.
I still take the plunge.
Oh Lord I’m still not sure where I put my sponge.
Where is my sponge? Where is my sponge? Most nights I just use…a washcloth.
This is it boys, this is clean!
What are you dirty for?
Why don’t we wash ourselves already?
I take my tips from the Hygiene King.
Saved me from smelling obscene.
Scrub twice as hard so I’m super clean.
But here they come again to drain my tub.
That’s alright.
I found a rubber duck in my bath tonight.
Keeps Rachel wondering
who I am, who I am, who I am
Who am I
Well some nights I wish that this bath would end
Cuz I could use a shower for a change
And some nights I’m scared
The water will be too hot again
Some nights I just sink in (I just sink in)
But I still jump in.
I still take the plunge.
Oh Lord I’m still not sure where I put my sponge.
Where is my sponge? Where is my sponge? Most nights I just use…a washcloth.
So this is it. I got naked for this? Washed off all the dirt for this? I miss Andrew and Jack for this?
No.
When I see suds that’s all they are.
When I hear the faucet it sounds like a song.
Well that is it guys, bath is done!
Five minutes in and I’m bored again.
An evening of this I’m not sure if anybody understands.
This one is not for those in a hurry
Sorry but I like to take my time
Who the fuck wants to bathe alone
I’d rather have all of fun.
My heart is breaking for the water
Because now it’s gotten cold
But then I look into the shiny surface
Man you wouldn’t believe
The most amazing things
That can happen to you…
When you’re Nate Rueee-ESS-EH-EH-EHHH-ESSS. EHHH-ESS-EHHH…
The other night you wouldn’t believe
The bubbles that formed they filled me with glee
I invited you in and we both agreed
It’s for the best you wash my back
It’s for the best we take turns now
OoOoOh…

Source: tumblr
As soon as Artistic Wolf Pup on tumblr has sung this in, I will of course provide a link to it! Stay tuned!
 

Mittwoch, 28. November 2012

The last sickday

At least I hope it is!

There is a nasty stomach virus going around, but I'm feeling way better than the last few days!

The only thing I have to admit: I stopped writing my German Journal. I try to catch up sometime tomorrow, but I can't promise anything.

My parcel has left Germany! It's en route to Canada!

Yeah... That's it. I think.
Oh, right:
WHAT THE HECK, IT'S ALREADY NOVEMBER 28th?!?!?

Where has time gone to?

Love you all,
Julia

Dienstag, 27. November 2012

Still sick

So, hey guys!

Well, today was rather uneventful - I was still sick (I woke up this morning, stood up, had a severe case of dizziness, went back to bed, slept four more hours), handed in my English essay, did a bit of Biology stuff, and now the world is spinning around me again.

Great day, right?

And to the anon:
Thanks that I'm not the only one!
I didn't think I was, but thinking and knowing a two different things. Two very different things, at least for me.

And Lywe:
Thanks. I thought it was normal, but hearing it from you was waaaaaay better than just thinking!
So, I'm going to bed!

Montag, 26. November 2012

Girl without a home

I don't know...
Everybody: Please stay calm and read this post and I'm sure I can manage, it is no reason for me to abandon my ship here.

That said:
I'm feeling kinda homeless. I think it's a good thing - okay, let me explain what I mean.

I feel like I'm not German anymore. I mean, I haven't felt more German that here, not ever before, but I can't identify solely with the mentality from back home. I feel like back home I was small and dependent and childish and immature and narrow-minded, and I feel like I'm not anymore.
But I also don't feel Canadian, which would be the obvious other choice.
I don't feel like I fully belong here.

I always hoped that I would gain a second "home" with my exchange, but at the moment it feels like I lost my original one.

Okay, so now that I have got this out of my system, I can analyze it:
I guess, this is on the one hand a perfectly natural step to feel so unearthed, because it is a big change, and I've never done such a thing before and I'm honestly a bit surprised how well I've adapted. I thought I would have far more crippling homesickness than I've had so far.
The other thing it might be chalked up to is my emotional high.
I wasn't at school today (I was sick, stomach flu apparently, but at least I got off with a bit of nausea and nothing more, so I consider myself lucky), and now especially in the evening it was very care-free and funny. Okay, there might have been a bit of teasing and (at least what I thought was) good-natured banter, so it ended in tears (interspersed with laughter, though), but I was in a really good mood. And unfortunately, I crashed afterwards.

So, and that's it with my self psycho-analyzing. Enough of that stuff. Feel free to drop me a line, as long as it's nothing saying things like "Maybe you should really go home" or "You're just exaggerating", because that's not something I need to hear right now.

And as I still have to do my English essay (I have to hand it in on Wednesday, probably, but still), I'm signing out with this.

Sorry about the feels!

Julia

P.S.: Just in case anybody is interested: I also paid the $100 deposit for my San Francisco trip! Yay, I'm so looing forward to it, although it's still more than 150 days away! :(

Sonntag, 25. November 2012

Parcel

So, second post for the day!

I'm feeling marginally better, but not yet really well.
I'm tired, but I can't sleep - I went to bed at half past seven, slept till quarter past eight, and now I can't go back to sleep anymore!
I absolutely hate it!

For dinner, there was Chili, which looked exactly and tasted almost exactly like my mum's (that was weird), and although I wasn't really feeling like eating much, I had a small bowl. And it was really good!
And I finally finished my first Journalism Essay, so I'm not in too much of a hurry right now. I will send it to my teacher tomorrow, because I won't be going to school!

The reason for this blog post:
I'll be getting another package!
I will be getting:
  • Leibniz Pick-Ups
  • Tennis shoes
  • Dark chocolate
  • Lebkuchen
  • Christmas presents!!! Both for me and for giving them away!
  • knitted socks
  • supplies for my own Christmas presents
  • Stormy (fake Fisherman's friends!)
And, guilty, bad me, has been teaching her friends German swear word... Bad, bad Julia (and since I almost wrote "bed" here, I will be going thereto!)

And in case anybody thinks I'm sitting too much in front of my computer:
I'm like really not.
But have you ever watched these comedies on TV here?
If no: Don't. Really. You're not missing anything.
It physically hurts to watch those, so I usually flee to my laptop. Not that that's saying much - I've never liked these kinds of shows.
The most annoying thing is the laughing track, I'm telling you. Do they really think the audience is too stupid to know when to laugh, or is it just so unfunny they have to highlight every "joke line"?

Plus, my back hurts. Like really a lot. I have a dent at the top of my spine, and that is ... knotted, I guess.
So I probably shouldn't be writing anything, because I can't really take responsibility for what I'm saying... But still. And I'm getting over-tired, but my mind is still racing. Has anybody yet found the "Off"-switch? I'd be really grateful! (And no, that was not an invitation for yoga/meditation/[insert relaxing practice here]

So, I love you all,

Julia

Ill

Where I was tired yesterday, I am ill today.
I have been feeling sick all morning, and while I thought it might have been caffeine on an empty stomach, I have realized that I may just as well be sick.
Which means: I have accomplished nothing today, and am right now writing my Journalism stuff.
I always write best when I am sick/tired.

I have also taken the Bayrischen Mathematik Test, so the Bavarian Maths Test, a test all tenth graders have to take.
It must have been abysmal in my old school, but I didn't think it was so hard. Okay, there is one exercise, which I just can't find the solution to and regarding another I was metaphorically blind, but it wasn't overly hard.
I have tried solving it again on the Computer, but with out a solution, which is why I have sent it to my Maths teacher.

I hope you're having a better day than I am!

Samstag, 24. November 2012

Tired

Just a tiny toast - er, post, because I am tired as hell.
Today was ... rather uneventful.
I was supposed to do homework, and while I managed about 200 words of 800, I rather read the whole day. Could be due to my eyes hurting whenever I looked at a monitor...
And that's also the reason I'm going to bed early.

We had Tanya's old colleagues over, for a baking exchange, but as I mentioned, I was tired the whole day, so I was rather reclusive.

And now I'm honestly off to bed.
Good night,
Julia

Freitag, 23. November 2012

Go Rockets, go go go!

My throat is raw and my eyes and head hurt, but I am thoroughly happy:
I have discovered a new favourite sport!
It's .... *trommelwirbel* Ice Hockey!

Ice Hockey is just amazing, a fast paced, brutal sport, in which the players have to shoot a puck (small, round flat object) into a small goal using sticks.

I guess you've all heard of it.
Tonight was my first Hockey game, Kelowna Rockets vs Regina Pats. And it was plain awesome.
They were constantly bullying each other into the wall, beating each other, and shooting towards the goal. Kelowna won 5-1 over three periods of 20 minutes each; the goal keeper is a KSS student.
Yes, the players mainly are students. 16 are the youngest, 22 the oldest (as far as I know, there are only 2 22-year-olds allowed on a team), and I can really see why. As I mentioned, it's really brutal.
But nobody is rolling around on the floor if they've been hit by a hockey stick in the back. Nope, it's not soccer! Rather, they go all out. If somebody seriously is hurt (like a stick to his face), the perpetrator gets a 2 minute penalty. The Rockets got such a penalty 4 times in this game, I think.

But they played really, really well.

Dorothea was sitting with the family of a friend of hers almost exactly opposite us, and while I was a tiny bit jealous in the beginning, I'm glad I didn't stay with them:
All the action (except for one fistfight) was on our side, where the Regina goal was located. Of course, they changed after 20 minutes, but the Rockets shot towards our side twice and only once to Doro's side.

And the way they were on the skates! I wouldn't doubt it if somebody told me they were more comfortable on skates than on foot, which Andy did.
It's just... they kind of seem so natural on ice, waaaaay more natural than figure skaters, for example.
And it was so abso-bloody-lutely awesome... Words are leaving me.
Talking about leaving: Before I leave, I HAVE to see another Rockets game. Because they're so great (they've had a streak of 7 wins in succession now).

Hockey is a very demanding sport: The Rockets have 80(!!!) games this season.
(And I honestly hardly can swallow because my throat is hurting so much! I mean, five goals, we screamed like hell!)

Other than that... Not very much today.
I finally "resigned" from debate, the librarian I chatted with on Tuesday (I think) gave me a wristband saying "Whose house?                      Owls' house" and... I have a lot to write over the weekend. Two Journalism articles about Christmas (yes, we are already working on the Christmas edition, and it's only three weeks off!), a persuasive essay for English (topic: A schoolday from 7 to 12 would be better than 9 to 3) and a Biology lab report. At least the latter I have already written out, I just have to make a good copy, and English I have already started.



So yeah, I'll get going then! :)

And to the comments:
I'm not actually that sad. I'm just wallowing in self-pity, believe it or not!

I'm actually pretty fine!
Love you all!

Your hockey-glowing Julia

Donnerstag, 22. November 2012

Me again

... Yes, I am masochistic.
Because why else would I think it a great idea to listen to this? So I am once again sitting here and crying, and everybody who follows that link will think I am totally childish...
But hey, that has been a huge part of my childhood, I can't even describe it.
And this year is finally the end of it. Of my childhood, I mean.
I used to scoff at everybody who told me to cherish my childhood, I just wanted to grow up.
Oh, how much would I give to be so young again? I am only fifteen - 15! - and still I regret all the opportunities I let pass when I was growing up. There was so much to explore, to do, to learn, and yet I elected to stay in my room, reading.
I mean, I love reading, but I could have spent so much time so much more efficient...

I got half a panic attack today:

I spend my lunch usually in me English teacher's classroom. And today, he filmed my Journalism for a timelapse (Zeitraffer) of Mr M's cartoon drawing.
Since I had left my Spanish books in my locker and didn't wanna be late again, I left the room to fetch them without taking my bag with me.

When I get back, the door is locked (of course, so that students can't just barge into the room and disturb the filming), so I knock once and when nobody answers, content myself with waiting until they open the door for the next class.
Outside, a few boys for the media arts class were waiting, so I just stood there and stared at the wall blankly. When the warning bell rang, one of the boys walked up to the door and started knocking ferociously.

After two minutes or so, another girl who had been inside the whole time came up and opened the door, and I slipped in to retrieve my stuff.

Mr D looks at me and goes, "Julia, the next time when we're filming, don't do that."
And I'm like: WHAT?! Until I realize he was talking about the knocking; since I was the only one entering (the boys had to stay outside), he of course assumed I was the one knocking.
And since I hate being reprimanded, especially for things that aren't my fault, I of course defended myself: "What?! Oh, you mean the knocking? That wasn't me, I only knocked once and when you didn't open the door I waited outside!"
And I also hate how my voice got all squeaky when I said this.
But he just glances at me and says, in the process of tidying up, "I almost thought so, it's not like you to do such a thing."

Now I'm just not sure whether he actually believed me or not...

In Spanish, I was exiled from the classroom:
I was chatting with Jade, when my teacher made me come to her.
"Julia, I forgot to tell you something yesterday when I agreed to touch base with you today: I meant to tell you that we have a test today."
I didn't panic there, of which I am really proud!
And then she goes on: "So I need you to step outside while we're writing it."
So I got an additional 20 minutes of reading time!

After school, I actually meant to catch my Business teacher, but he only had a sub there.
I went into the classroom, looking at the man and thinking didn't Mr K. look different yesterday?, but since he greeted me with my name, I figured I was wrong. I wasn't, he was really a substitute, but I was wearing my Ritmo jacket - which loudly proclaims Julia on my collarbone!
I ended up chatting with him for almost a quarter of an hour, about San Francisco, before I had to go and get my stuff from my locker.
And I got all my courage together to go and talk to Mrs T. about me dropping out of Debate - only to find her on the telephone unable to receive visitors.
Well, I really need to do that tomorrow, then!

Steph and Jenna's aunt was here today - also an Avenger's fan!

And since my eyes are kinda glued shut with tears, I say goodnight now!

Mittwoch, 21. November 2012

Late Night Snack

Soooo... the only bad thing about eating so early in the evening (5.30 PM, as opposed to 7 PM) is that I get hungry by about 8 PM. So by 9 PM, I was so hungry I had a peanut butter sandwich. And it was so. de. li. ci. ous. I can hardly describe it.

Okaaay.... so, I'm officially registered for the San Francisco Trip, and there is no problem with my Visa. I just have to talk to Ms White some time in April.
And I even know three of the girls already - two from my Journalism class and one from my Debate class.
[And now I'm sitting here, crying, because I've seen my dog on skype.]

And talking about Debate: I am dropping it.
It's just like this: I can do either Debate or Journalism, as both are very workintensive and require a lot of research, writing and commitment, and I can't do both. The fun of Debate is kind of gone, too, and if you compare them, you'd probably come to the same results as me!

Debate:
Paying money every few month to go to a tournament and having to memorize speeches vs. sitting together (rather informally), eating chocolate and getting Pizza and Ginger Ale... Would anybody have a hard time choosing?
But it's not just that. I literally feel oppressed by the workload handed out in Debate, and I can't handle that!

Today we went Curling!

It was fun. No, honestly, it was!
You wear two shoes, one with a grippy sole and one with a smooth sole, and then you slide over the ground, throwing a "rock". (Better explanation here).
I initially had a group with two Mexicans, but they kind of disappeared after a very short while, leaving me alone. I joined one of the two groups that actually played for the fun of it. I met my two Japanese friends again, the one who can be seen on the picture on facebook, and all in all I had fun.

Internationals in Curling gear!
Eri and me!


So, anyway... Other than that I finally bought earrings (yeay! I left all of mine at home) and now I'm already happily wearing them. It's been way too long since I last wore a pair!

I think that was everything for now... I will try to upload some information about the San Francisco trip, but a) I don't have that much info yet, and b) I'm tired and still have to do my Biology stuff.

So good night!

Censor This!

Hi, there!
There will probably be a more extensive post later on, as I have serious problems typing on these laptops and I am supposed to be reading stuff for Biology and write an argument about it, but I just wanted to post the link to our November edition of Censor this!
My articles (yes, I have two of them in this edition!) are right on the first page after the editor's message!

And I just got the grade on my multiple choice section of yesterday's Biology test - 105%! Yes, there were two bonus questions, and I answered them correctly. Although I have to admit that I relied heavily on reasoning for some of the questions, and not so much on actual knowledge!
So, and now I have to get back to Biology, I fear!

Dienstag, 20. November 2012

The Debate letdown

I am seriously considering dropping debate at the end of the semester. It is a full year course, but I don not feel like I can handle the amount of work and maintain my level of fun.
Yeah. Maybe you can read it already from this opening, but the test didn't go over optimally, and I don't even know why. :/

Well, but the day didn't have only bad things (and I realize once again: I can't make short posts. I am literally incapable of doing so.):

First: Porridge is awesome. Really. The more often I eat it, the more I like it.
Then: Biology was great. English was hilarious! I absolutely love it, and I kind of repeat myself.

And then: ESL.
We didn't get our Hockey tickets yet, but we got our insurance card and - I got handed a yellow stapled pack of notes - not so much a pack, but two pages, but well.

What is it? The itinerary and information for the San Francisco trip!
Yes, I will be most likely going to San Francisco!
Due to my enrollment in "Entrepreneurship 12", I qualify for the San Francisco business trip!
I will give you more information tomorrow, after I have talked to Ms White, because I'm not sure I can even leave the country being an exchange student!

So, and anything I might have forgotten I will tell you tomorrow!

Good night!

Montag, 19. November 2012

Two Tests

... And of course I worried way to much. Seems to be my default state, don't you agree?

Anyway, Japanese was pretty easy - but I had learnt for that, so. Well.
Have I mentioned recently that I LOVE English?
Probably, but I can't emphasize it enough. It's just so absolutely brilliant, it's hard to describe.
I'm so sorry for you over there who have to struggle through some particularly bad teachers!

Debate and Speech ... well, I learnt way too much for it. Honestly. I didn't know she considered me a Junior - in the debate I am a Senior, as I am Grade 11, but she considers all Grade 10s Juniors, all Grade 12 Seniors, all 11 without previous practice Juniors, and those with practice Seniors. Pretty confusing, I know, but the test was really easy. Next week we're having a multiple choice test on our next chapter of reading. Should be manageable. And I had my impromptu today!
So I had 2 minutes to prepare a two minute speech... My topic was "That it is more important to see than to hear".
I don't know how I have done, but I don't think I did too badly! :)

(I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but I really feel bad when I have to correct a teacher/a native speaker in regards to their English/grammar. And that happens more often than you think. And yes, I am a grammar Nazi. I'm sorry. For those who don't know the term: 2. a – A person who believes proper grammar (and spelling) should be used by everyone whenever possible. b – One who attempts to persuade or force others to use proper grammar and spelling. c – One who uses proper grammar and spelling to subtly mock or deride those who do not; an exhibitor of grammatical superiority. d – One who advocates linguistic clarity; an opponent of 1337-speak. e – One who corrects others' grammar; the spelling police. ~ Definition from Urban Dictonary. But yeah,it's pretty embarrassing... Although I think I actually have an advantage with having actually learnt English as a second language... :))

And that was everything interesting for today. Hannah, an exchange student from my English course, and I are thinking about taking up Tennis - that would be pretty cool, huh?
And Mum? We have to Skype again, if you haven't already read your mails!
I'm tyding up my room, but just get online and yeah... I'll notice you! :*

I have a serious craving for peanut butter toast/bagel... I am hungry! That's the disadvantage of eating early :/


So guys, one thing left:
My mum's 'forwarding' greetings from a lot of people who say they read my blog, but they don't dare write a comment:
I LOVE comments. Honestly. And there's no such things as embarrassing comments. I'm happy about everything, from a short "Schoener Blog" to a long and thoughtfull comment which I haven't yet received, but don't feel pressured. I'd just love to hear from you!
Or feel free to drop a line into my facebook, or my e-mail (it's firstname.lastname@online.de)
Well, guys, I'm leaving for now. As I have mentioned, I have a room to tidy!

Sonntag, 18. November 2012

A short weekend

Okay, so my weekend was waaay too short, I'm telling you...

Yesterday I slept pretty long, then we went to Steph's soccer game (she lost, but just barely!), during which I finished highlighting all the important stuff in my Debate and Speech booklet, and fetched Doro from Queensway Exchange afterwards.

Doro and I then proceeded to spend a whole afternoon talking, with me doing my Biology stuff (I'm almost finished, yay!) and her knitting - yes, that's right, Doro's taken up my mom's favourite sport, as she shows here, and after dinner, which was tacos (very similar to our wraps, so I volunteered to do my family's "traditional" wraps, which my mum and me had so often we couldn't see them anymore afterwards while my dad was in South Africa), we tried watching "Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)", the Guy Ritchie movie with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, but we got so bored that we watched clips from the 'Ellen' show instead.
And they were so funny, I couldn't breath and was crying because I was laughing so much!

We went to sleep by one o'clock, I guess...

And today I caught the bus with her to Queensway again, where her hostmum picked us up, dropped me off at the fitness centre (HUGE kudos to her!) and then drove Doro home.
I caught the bus one and a half hours later back to Queensway, where Andy fetched me, because I would have had to wait 30 mins at the station, which is not optimal for a lonely young lady...

The afternoon I spent learning my katakana - I guess I have them down pretty well now, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the exam tomorrow.


And my parcel arrived in Germany! I don't think I already mentioned that, but well. It did. Arrive, I mean.
It was pretty quick; I sent it only two weeks ago. Or rather, tomorrow it would be two weeks.
I just hope my mom abides by my wishes and doesn't open it before Christmas - at least in regards to my Journal.
A pro pos Journal... I really should take two hours and write up what's happened and how I feel.

I don't know whether it's homesickness, but I fell kinda empty. Could be winter depression, or pressure from school, I don't know...
Skyping at the moment only makes matters worse. I always feel down afterwards, and although I actually look forward to doing it, I can't concentrate during the session. I don't know. I feel like I felt in the first few weeks - maybe I'm fully arriving in Canada right now!

On Wednesday we get our report cards and we go curling and yeah... I'm looking forward to that. But till then I have to survive three tests... So I'd be really grateful if you crossed your fingers for me!


Well, and now I'm very tired, so I'll get my kindle and read for another 15 mins, before I go to sleep.

Have a good week, everybody!

I love you all so much!
Julia.

P.S.: If you keep that up, I might very well have a new hit count this month! This is so great!

So, und no a kurze Deifelei af bayrisch:
I komm mim Weg, wia de boaden Madln erzogn wern, ned klar. De Sochen, de si de kloane da beiden Madln assenimmt; mei Eltern hättn mi ungfähr a gonzes Joahr in mei Zimma gsteckt. Oder de Oider da boaden: Mia kemma hoam, ois is still. Wos is bassiert? De wollt an Guglakaunt hom. Fürd Meil. Muada sogt ne. Spada am seim Obend, nam Ignorieren am Disch, Dürnknallen und überhaupt ned sehr guadem Verhoitn: Sie greagt ehrer Akaunt. Des is ned nur inkonsequent, sondan a no bestärkend in ehram Verhoidn. Super. Naja, i holt mei Maul und strei hold immer wieder mui so an Satz ei, dass se mit so am Verhoidn in der großen weidn Woit ned weit kumma wird. Aber des is ned mei Aufgam de boiden afn richtgen Weg zu bringa. Und jetzt gute Nacht, i hoff es kennts des entziffern, i hob bloss a bissl Schiess vorm Gugl Übersetza!

So, and no a short Deifelei af Bavarian:
I come mim way wern wia de Boaden Madln erzogn, ned clear. De Sochen, de si de Runt since leaving takes two Madln, my parents gsteckt hättn Wed ungfähr a gonzes Joahr in my Zimma. Or de Oider Boaden as: Mia kemma hoam, ois is silent. Wos is bassiert? De want to Guglakaunt hom forD Meil. Muada SOGT ne. Spada at seim commensurate, nam Ignore at Disch Dürnknallen and even ned very guadem Verhoitn: You greagt PROFESSORS Akaunt. Ned is the only inconsistent sondan empowering in a no Ehram Verhoidn. Super. Well, I bring my mouth and coat again mui hold Sun egg to set that with so se on Verhoidn in great weidn Woit ned is Kumma far. But the is de ned my Aufgam boiden afn richtgen way to Bringa. And now good night, i hope it kennts of decipher, i just picked a bissl Shooting front Gugl Übersetza!


Please forgive me mz horrible attempts at Bavarian, I just wanted to answer to one of the lettern I received from Anna and Sophia!

Freitag, 16. November 2012

The Day of the Copious Amounts of Homework

... or short DCAH.

We have, honestly, an unbelievable amount of homework. It's really not nice anymore.

What I have to do for Monday:

- Learn 30 pages for Debate and Speech open booklet test. Or at least highlight important information and memorize where to find it.
- Learn 30 Katakana characters. Not. Fun.
- Learn about 16 pages for Biology
- Write 7 Learning Outcome blocks (with an average of 9 questions each) for Biology
- Write a Spanish 3-4 minute play

Ain't it a good start into a weekend?
At least I managed to do my Japanese homework in my Spanish class - we've got a new seating plan. Again. It's the third this year.

Today, Tanya's parents and her uncle were here. We talked for quite a bit, although I mainly listened, before excusing myself to do some homework. Of course, I didn't get farther than checking my e-mails, facebook, and then tumblr. I really have to rework my order of things...

I've kind of forgotten my Journal. If I find a lot of time next week, I might even write everything down that's happened and how I feel about it.
It's just so hard to keep up two "diaries"!

I have noticed, that the exclamation mark is becoming more sparse. I'm proud of that, even though the dash is as prominent as ever - I simply like it!

And in regards to reading: I'm back to the Harry Potter fandom. Thanks to Katrinle for the link to that profile (you know which I mean). I actually have such an interesting book here to read, but I'm stuck reading on my kindle! -_-

Well, I'll go and read for a bit, and then I'm going to bed - I'm effing tired!

Love you all!

Donnerstag, 15. November 2012

A Secret in the Wings

Today was a long, long day - with a German tinge to it!

It started out, this morning, by once again skyping with my parents - it was my dad's birthday, so hey, I guess I'm allowed to!
But I want to tone it down a bit, as it only fuels homesickness - or so I've heard.

Then I had an English Muffin (I guess, it looked like a McMuffin) for breakfast - ham, ketchup (Heinz Ketchup!) and bread - and of course my glass of milk, before I hurried to the bus - I thought I was going to be late, but of course I was ten minutes early again. I just can't seem to understand that it only takes me like two minutes to get to the bus stop...

First lesson: Spanish quiz. And chatting with Jade, my fellow Avenger's fan. Nothing special.
Second lesson: Japanese quiz and the next 15 katakana. I'm so not ready for tomorrow's test... but I have 15/15 on today's quiz! :)

Then: Lunch. I rewrote the setting piece we should have handed in today (as you can read already: We didn't.) And I bought my ticket for my friend Ashley's theatre play "The Secret in the Wings", but more on that later.

In Biology we had a lab, measuring blood pressure and pulse - the whole school must think Spencer, I, and to an extent Krystin, are mad!
It could be because Spencer and I ran through the hallways and up the stairs, laughing almost hysterically and breaking out into laughter everytime we looked at each other (and he was screaming at me "Run, soldier, run!! You call that running?! I call that sleeping!").
No, we haven't gone completely bonkers, I can assure you. But we had to measure my blood pressure after exercise, so we ran. Later on, we had to measure Spencer's pulse after exertion, so ran again. It was fun!

In English class we had a writing exercise: One boy from my class came in, played a short sequence and we had to write down afterwards everything we could remember withing 5 minutes.
I was probably the one with the most details, and when I added some of them, my teacher said something along the lines of "Some people notice more. Like Julia, she's hyper-observant. And I don't mean like this" looks around hectically "But like they notice details that nobody else does and are able to keep them in mind." I guess that's a compliment...?

After that we went up to the library to type up our homework - describe a setting in 200-300 words.
Well, the only problem: The printers didn't work, so we're gonna print it out tomorrow!

After school I had Journalism. I first finished up my two articles, and then went to photoshop a few pictures for some of the pages of the newspaper.
The end I spent proofreading and editing a few pages - you wouldn't believe me how much work that is!
I finally finished touching up my two articles at ten past seven - 3 hours later! - and then went on to grab my jacket from my locker, before I went into the theatre.

I don't know why, but it was only half full!
But it was so amazing!
Two of my friends took part in it; Lolu, the boy I often spend my lunch with, and Ashley, the girl who is in my Japanese class.

They were enacting a multitude of Brothers Grimm stories, and I was so proud to actually recognize some of them!
All the actors were so brilliant - at one point, there were three princes, and they were speaking in unison, and were just so perfect...
I can hardly put it into words, which is why I'm gonna go and brush my teeth now. And then I'm off to bed - I'm drop-dead tired!

Love you all!!

Mittwoch, 14. November 2012

A Preparing Day

Today in school...
we were informed that we had two tests tomorrow - Spanish and Japanese.
Spanish we knew yesterday already that we would be writing a test tomorrow... But still.
And in Japanese we are going to be quizzed on our first 15 Katakana.

School is so much more healthy.
For example, many students bring refillable bottles (I guess I've told you that already, but I'm gonna write it up once more, just because it's my Dad's birthday today! Or tomorrow, from my perspective! :P) and drink water from the water fountains around school (I guess we've got about four or five of them, with two having bottle refillers, too), and it's honestly being used!
Also, only a smart part of the school population (at least so it seems to me) buys things at the Store in school, and even that food is relatively healthy and fresh (as far as I know.).
Most students just bring stuff from home and reheat that in school, if they have to.

Today I had noodles with me, for example, and they were pretty good - just noodles with butter!
And tomorrow I'm taking a sandwich (ham and cheddar and salad and mayonnaise), cottage cheese with Okanagan peaches and an orange. That should get me through the day. And it's gonna be a long day - Journalism after school, and then (hopefully) the theatre production, in which my friend Ashley takes part (she's in my Japanese class).

The thing that makes me feel most like family is the fact that Andy's teasing me. He is my hostfather, and since I ate a sandwich once in the morning, I'll never live that down, I guess! But hey, I can't say I mind!
So I learnt: You don't eat sandwiches in the mornings. You just don't. You eat a toast, pancake (like me yesterday and today) or porridge, but not a sandwich. Thanks for telling me that sooner! :D

I also won't be going to that debate trip. The topic is not quite my case, and there's the Christmas gathering of the Internationals on the same day!

And I'm hopefully getting new headphones with the next package - mine are really, really bad. These apple things HURT!

And that's it for today!
I hope you're all having a great time!

Dienstag, 13. November 2012

Second Post for Today

Good Morning Germans, good evening sane people - or was it the other way round?
Sometimes I do wonder...

... And yes, this is the second post for today, even though the other one says otherwise - I published my blog entry at around 11 o'clock, retracted it as it was only two lines long and then posted it again at 1 AM.

So, two posts in one day!


Homesickness isn't a punch in the gut, I have realised, it's far more a belt tied around your chest being pulled tighter and tighter every minute.

It's usually not so bad, but in moments when I can think, it is a punch in the gut, before the belt kicks in.
Chocolate provides a short-term solution, but in the long run, it just makes me feel worse.
I have very poor impulse control, I fear.

I used to think homesickness was a weakness.
I have come to the conclusion (after extensive talks [I guess I can call them that, right?] with a very important individuum [thanks again, I think you know who you are!]) that homesickness isn't so much weakness as growth.
But growing can be so painful... I really, really hope it's worth it in the end (I know it is - but in those down moments I can't see that.)

Today... well, I got signed up for the Vancouver Trip, got the parent sign form for Curling on Wednesday and a Debate Trip in three weeks - I'm going, although the topic is even worse than the last one: This house supports a national carbon tax. Wow. Really brilliant, don't you agree?

I'm kind of down. I don't know why - I guess it's because I have finally fully arrived in Canada.
And I have a huge bruise on my collarbone - I was drumming my thumb against it all day yesterday, and now it's really read and turns blue! It's kinda funny, I have to admit!
I was also really antsy today. I guess it's sleep deprivation...

We had our Spanish test today (it wasn't hard), but we only watched a movie in Japanese. Grave of the Fireflies, a very grave and sad movie with not just one Character Death about the First World War from a Japanese Point of View.

In English, our principal was there and she, Mr D and the class (so, we) talked about social media. I am one of the few actually using a tumblr!

In Biology I am up-to-date, which I won't complain about. And we will dissect a pig!

Well, on Saturady, Doro is coming over for a sleepover - yay!
And on one weekend, I have to meet up with Claire, my friend from Englisch class, and Steven, a fellow Avengers Fan (that's where she got her name from), and Jade, also Avengers (and Sherlock!) fan...

Fun Fact: (I probably wrote that already once or twice...)
the word you hear most often here, is "like"
Like, I mean, like saying like a sentence and like everytime you'd like say "äääh" like in German you'd like substitute "like" instead.
Really. Everybody does that here.
So when I get back, don't be surprised if I use like three million times more "like"s than I used to!

And since I am really tired, I am going to bed now. Sorry, no pictures today! :P

Montag, 12. November 2012

Snowman!

Wonderland....
Winter Wonderland....

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening.
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Gone away is the bluebird
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song
As we go along
Walking in a Winter Wonderland

In the meadow we can build a snow man
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say "Are you married?"
We'll say "No, man.
"But you can do the job when you're in town."

Later on, we'll conspire,
As we dream, by the fire,
We face unafraid
The plans that we made
Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Jaah... Sorry, I know it's cheesy, but that what fit best to this morning's weather!
Unfortunately, by now most of it has melted away again :/

But we did the best we could!

So, I stood up this morning, had a Peanut Butter Sandwich (My absolute favourite thing here!), then the girls (Steph first, and Jenna later) went outside to build a snowman.
I actually first wanted to stay inside, but then decided that going outside would be great for me, and when I got outside, this was the sight that greeted me:



After about two hours, this was what we finished with:



It really took an awful lot of work for us to actually get this done!

But we were plenty proud, at the end!



And the two proud girls with their creation
After we were finished, we got company; friends of the family came over and well... they kind of (or not just kind of; but actually serious) invited us to their condo over at Big White!
After they left, we went sledding, but the snow was rather gone! :/
This  is what it looked like (sorry, bad resolution!)



Well, and actually I should be writing my Journal, but hey, I've got a few lessons tomorrow, in which I need things to do, so I guess it'll work out!

And I'm saying good night now, because it's already ten to one, and well... I'm skyping with my mom...
Homesickness is a real bitch!

Sonntag, 11. November 2012

Lazy Day

Today was a thoroughly lazy day, so I apologize immediately for the gif spam at the end; I was bored.
Well, I went to the gym, but that was about it...

After Jenna's soccer game, we picked up one of Steph's friends and also had one of Jenna's come over, and the four of them played happily (and quite loudly) downstairs in the basement, while I was sitting upstairs reading.
I've read quite a lot - nothing "real", though, just one of my favourite fanfictions (and no, I won't say which). I've read it probably a dozen times already, but I just love it. And even though I've been reading all afternoon, interrupted by occasional conversation with Tanya, I've read barely a third of it - it has 46 chapters and a wordcount of 225,114 words - that's quite a lot, I'm telling you! For comparison:

Lord of the Rings:

The Fellowship of the Ring: 187.000
The Two Towers: 155.000
The Return of the King: 131.000
Total: 473.000

Yeah... Tanya baked cookies today, and I had waaaaaay too much of those and chocolate milk... But I can't say I'm sorry, not really!
The evening was spent watching TV first (The WE day and then MTV EMA in Frankfurt) and talking to Tanya's parents after dinner.

Other than that? There was nothing. Really. Oh, it snowed again, so it had a feeling like Christmas, but that was it.
Which is why I'm saying good night right now!

One thing I forgot:
I'd like to thank everyone who's reading my blog once again.


You're awesome!

And I'm basically going like this over every comment:

And basically just


Samstag, 10. November 2012

I can't go into the washroom ...

... because there's not just one, but two spiders. Both as big as a quarter. I'm scared.
Wuaah. Luckily, I can use the girl's bathroom upstairs. Lucky me, no?
I was just brushing my teeth, when I suddenly saw a movement out of the corner of my eye in the mirror, and what is it? A spider. On the window. Inside. And then a dangerous thought surfaces: Where there's one spider, there almost always are more. I look down, and just inches from where my foot had been is a second one. They're white and scary!
And what if they assault me during sleep?

But other than that, my day has been truly lazy. All we did was go to Steph's soccer game, and look at the H2O for my scarf. They didn't have it, as I had thought, so I probably lost it in Marina's car, which has already been given back to the repair shop.

I read, played The Game Of Life with Steph - yes, you are correct to assume it's "Spiel des Lebens", and she won. Although I have no idea how she managed that!

We actually wanted to watch a movie this evening, but I had a sugar shock from Tanya's delicious Apple Dessert, and I really didn't feel up to watching anything...
So, and I really need to get started on my Rossland Article right now - although I'm pretty tired... And I have no idea, how to write that! :/

Have a nice rest weekend! :)

Freitag, 9. November 2012

I'msotiredIcan'teventhinkofatitle!

Okay, here is another blogpost - let's see how long I can keep this one-a-day up! :)

First of all: PIA, I answered your question below your comment! I had no other way of contacting you, and I really hope you read this!

Second: As always, thanks to everybody who commented - special kudos to you - and also a thanks to everybody who read it - no special kudos to you. Sorry.
And the most special kudos and cookies are going to ... LyWe! And of course, my Mom.

So, todaaaay.... started out with skyping. With my parents, and our neighbours. And I'm really, really sorry for Google's bad translator qualities! :)

And it started with these pictures:



So it was really really cold today. Totally. It still has minus 1 degree! :o

I went to school packed in layers: A sleeveless shirt, a long sleeved shirt, my bench jacket and my winter jacket, along with hat, gloves and winterboots - and I still was cold during the assembly!

We had every lesson only 60 minutes to account for the 45 minutes we had assembly, and that ... well, it wasn't that great.

We all went outside, then somebody played a tune on the bagpipes [Dudelsack] and then we sang Oh Canada - I almost know the lyrics by now! - and a war Veteran read something, In Flander's Fields was read, a few other things, too, and then we sang God Save the Queen, had a minute of silence and after that everybody went back inside.
It took me two hours to warm up again!

I got my Journalism grade - a B. A B+, but still a B. 84%, which is kind of pissing me off. But well, for the effort I put into it, it's alright.

I'll probably drop it for the second semester - I just don't have the time to write as many articles as there are required, and it's not quite my style of writing.

After school ... Oh, I met a new girl by chance: I was sitting down next to her on the bus, as it is pretty full, and we realized we had the same bus stop!

So yeah. I hope I can meet her again on Tuesday. She was nice.

Talking about Tuesday... No, wait, let me do this chronologically:

For dinner we went to Fatburgers, and I really like them!
And afterwards, we went to the mall. Now me legs are hurting, but overall it was very enjoyable - and Steph reminds me totally of myself at that age... :)

Anyway, tomorrow Bobbie (Steph) has a soccer game, and Jenna on Sunday, so we're gonna watch those. And I will ask at the H2O Centre whether they found my scarf - I really hope they did, and if I really lost it on Monday, they're gonna throw it out on the coming Monday, which would be bad.
I hope I can go to the H2O Centre while the girls are playing soccer in the coming weeks. It would be really great.
And also tomorrow Steph's auntie comes to babysit her, as everybody else will be gone. I'm looking forward to meeting her!

On Tuesday, we have a very stressy day.

We have a Japanese exam on the Kanji for the school types:
小学校 - primary school
中学校 - Middle school
高校 - High school

年生 - Grade

So, for example:
高校一年生 would be high school grade one, so tenth grade. It's spoken Koko Ichi Nen Sei

わたしは 高校二年生 です Watashiwa Koko Ni Nen Sei des. Verbatim [woertlich] As for me high school grade one, or I am grade ten.

I actually do like Japanese!
And we're gonna write a Spanish test on all our Veggies and Fruit!

And I got the mail for the Vancouver Trip!
I want to sign up, but it's first come, first served, and they only have 106 seats on the buses! I really hope I can go, although it's $400!

So, and since I'm drop dead tired now, I'll stop here.
Have a nice weekend!

Julia

Donnerstag, 8. November 2012

Long Schoolday

As promised, one update a day!

Today was pretty uneventful - I woke up waaaay to soon (5.45 AM, because that's when the furnace [Heizung] starts and the air comes rushing out of the vents, but I managed to doze a bit more, and I finally stood up at 7 o'clock.

I had porridge for breakfast - my first porridge (or oatmeal - cooked oats [Haferflocken] with brown sugar and raisins [Rosinen]), and I can't really decide whether I liked it or not. It wasn't bad, but the taste was still in my mouth hours later!
My school bus stop is really not far away from the house, maybe five minutes? So I don't have to hurry!

And the bus driver is really nice - I started to explain to him that I was an exchange student and had just recently changed hostfamily and he was just like "Yeah, yeah, they told me about you, just get in."
And once we pulled up to the school he took me away from the other students, introduced himself and told me "I'm always waiting here, but my bus is the last one, so you don't have to hurry. Sometimes I'm here sooner, but I never leave before 3:35PM"
WHY can't our bus drivers be so cool?

English, my first lesson, was spent writing what I wrote on my blog yesterday into my journal - with a few extras, of course! We're currently reading "Of Mice And Men", which is really weird, and I know already that I won't like the ending!

And we watched Edward Scissor Hands with Johnny Depp, after we had done a bit of school.
In Biology we looked at blood through a microscope, and Lunch I spent (as always) at Mr D's room. I had penne and Bologna sauce with me! Good thing we have Microwaves in most classrooms in school.

In Japanese we had a substitute, as C. Sensei managed to tear his miniscus, and we ... talked. Ashley and me. And in Spanish we solidified our knowledge of -IR and -ER verbs.

After school I had Journalism, and I finally finished my second article! Only one more to go!

And I took the bus back, all on my own!

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, which means all lessons are 18 minutes shorter!

So yeah, and now I have to go and make my Lunch, and afterwards we will probably read again, so have a good day!

Love you all,
Julia

Mittwoch, 7. November 2012

New hostfamily!

So, I've been here for a little more than 5 hours - and it's been five brilliant hours!

My new hostparents are both very nice, and the girls, Jenna and Stephanie, are really, really awesome!
My room is similar in size and located in the basement, just off the living room with the Wii and the TV, but the space is used in a better way. Maybe it's even bigger.

But I guess I won't be here so much alone with the two girls!
They are girl scouts (Pfadfinder) and play soccer and are in French Immersion, and well, it's so much fun with them!

So, I trudged home from school - I didn't hurry, because I was afraid my hostmother would be home alone - and I was lucky, it was only Steven at home.

My coordinator Ms White came pretty quickly, and we packed all my stuff into her car. It's pretty small, but hey, everything fit!

I hugged Steven goodbye and thanked him for taking me home, and then I petted Coco one last time, before climbing into Ms White's car.
We talked on the way to the new house, and I have to say: she's so wonderfully nice.

We arrived at the new house and I realized that I had passed it every day - on my way to school.
The door was opened by a small girl (Jenna), and we were introduced.
Jenna is 10 and Stephanie is 8, and after I've checked back with them (and their parents, of course) you might even get pictures!

They helped me put everything inside, showed me the house and the rooms (my room is as big as the girls' rooms combined! :o) and then we talked to get to know each other better.

We'll go to the gym tomorrow, probably!

At the door to my room there was a nice surprise for me, made by Stephanie (I guess):


And another one on my desk!


I started unpacking, the girls helped me (a bit) and then there was dinner, but not without a dress-up by Stephanie first (I guess I can upload that picture, since she's not really visible there) in my Canada pullover and my high-heels (and yes, 2 1/2 inch count as high heels!)! :)


Then there was dinner, which was a huge thing - there are five people who want to be fed, and I'm not really used to that, but it was very nice.
After dinner, there was another surprise:
dessert!





It was such a nice gesture, I can hardly describe it!

So yeah, afterwards I finished unpacking, I couldn't find my nice shawl anywhere (the rhubarb one Mama knitted me, I don't know where I put it!) and I read with Stephanie - she has to read 20 minutes in French, so I said, I'm gonna read, too.
And she read 40 minutes - 20 quietly and 20 aloud to me.
It was all very enjoyable.

Today Term 2 started - all the grades are set back to 0 (or rather: nothing) and people like my neighbour in Spanish don't have foods, but drama technique now.
Our report cards will come sometime next week, and there is no school on Monday - Rememberance day, where we all remember the fallen soldiers from the World Wars.
Actually, it is on Sunday, so we have the ceremony at school on Friday, but since it is in the weekend, we have the Monday after free!
This is what everybody has on their clothing:



The Poppy comes from this poem by an army surgeon of WW I

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.


Auf Flanderns Feldern blüht der Mohn
Zwischen den Kreuzen, Reihe um Reihe,
Die unseren Platz markieren; und am Himmel
Fliegen die Lerchen noch immer tapfer singend
Unten zwischen den Kanonen kaum gehört.

Wir sind die Toten. Vor wenigen Tagen noch
Lebten wir, fühlten den Morgen und sahen den leuchtenden Sonnenuntergang,
Liebten und wurden geliebt, und nun liegen wir
Auf Flanderns Feldern.

Nehmt auf unseren Streit mit dem Feind:
aus sinkender Hand werfen wir Euch
Die Fackel zu, die Eure sei, sie hoch zu halten.
Brecht Ihr den Bund mit uns, die wir sterben
So werden wir nicht schlafen, obgleich Mohn wächst
Auf Flanderns Feldern.



And now I'm really, really tired. So that's it from me, good night!

For a detailed, day-on-day view, I can again only recommend Doro's blog - now also in English!

All my love from Canada,

Julia

Dienstag, 6. November 2012

I'm moving

Hi guys!

As I have already mentioned, I have a huge announcement to make:

I'm moving. Changing hostfamilies.

My Coordinator will pick me up at 4:05 PM tomorrow, and she will bring me to my new hostfamily.

It just didn't work out here.
I'm constantly feeling intimidated, and we have very few things in common.
After my panic attacks in school, I have talked extensively to a a family friend from Germany, who can understand my situation, my parents, my hostfather and my coordinator, and I have felt that the best decision for me would be to move. I just cannot hit "reset" and start over. That's not in my nature. I feel like I don't hesitate to give trust, but I'm having a hard time giving a refill of that trust well. If you lose it, I can't give you more. Or it takes me a very, very long time to give more trust.

Of course there is more to this matter, but that are not things I want to discuss on my blog.
You can find my whole thoughts on the situation and what's transpired in my Journal, which is already on its way to Germany - so some of you (like Lara, Lydia, Romy, Pizza and anybody else who's interested) will get in in January, as I cannot have it opened before Christmas. I wrote what I'm getting everyone for Christmas inside there!

Anyway, tomorrow my address will change, too.
Please don't send anything to my old address!
People I know (and trust) can contact me tomorrow, but I want to talk to my new hostparents first about giving their address away.

In less than twenty hours I'll be gone.
And I'm feeling more relaxed than in a long time. I feel like I suddenly can breath again.

The worst thing though was packing my things up. I don't know how I ever want to get that all back to Germany!
It's just so much - my suitcase, the big box my parents sent me, the boy my winter shoes came in, the box my hairdrier came in and three bags, as well as my backpack!
It's just so awfully much, you know?
But enough of that,
I hope you're all fine over there!

I got my English Score - 92.3%. Which is pretty good, in my opinion!
Depending on how he counts it - if he has one part names "Tests", like my Spanish class, that counts more than my essays - then it dents my grade. If he doesn't, I'd still have ... 98 or 99%. Which is perfectly acceptable.

I realized today that one of the boys in my Spanish class actually has longer hair than me! And he has a similar shaped face... Creepy. Honestly.

At the moment I'm so afraid that Romney will win the election - he is in the lead. 23 electoral votes or almost 2 million public votes. I'm so absolutely scared. I'm hoping that everybody in the US is being out there and voting - we can't have Mitt Romney climb into office. It'd be a disaster.
I think Joss Whedon, director of the Avengers, sums it up pretty well, what would happen:
Watch that video. It's absolutely brilliant. Really.

 ETA 8:13 PM: Different source, newer statistics: Obama is in the lead! 47 electoral votes, which are important, although he is still about 2 Million popular votes behind Romney, which don't count, though.
But let's just say: Never before has a president of the US won the "throne" without winning the popular vote... Maybe Obama is the first?

ETA 8:33 PM: Obama has won. I can't describe how relieved I am. But he still lost the popular vote, as it seems right now!

ETA 8:47 PM: Obama is pulling up in regards to the popular vote, but he has won. Definitely.

 
Here is a graphic that shows tumblr tags - it'll be probably over, by the time you get there, but I want to have mentioned it.
And I'm honestly going to bed right now!


So okay, yesterday was a rather brilliant day, too.

I got on my biology test written yesterday 99%. And I didn't even prepare! Honestly, a fifth of the questions I didn't know, I guessed and/or went about in the "Ausschlussverfahren" (looking at which not to take). But well, I'm not complaining!
Then our Japanese test was postponed to today (not that I did anything for it, but well), and I have to admit: I cheated. But well, the teacher left the room, what do you expect?
(Admittance two: He was actually still in the room when I cheated)

And then Journalism... We all got a huge "well done" from Mrs Taylor, and of course she highlighted once again that I am only an ESL student...
And then we did impromptus (Stegreifreden). I didn't get to do mine, but we had topics like "Dogs are better cats than dogs", "Why Brownies are better than chips", "Women should join the miliatry" (made by a boy) and "everybody should go out there and vote" (done by our amazing captain Aislinn!).
And they were so funny! They only had 2 minutes to prepare a 2 minute speech, so it was really amazing what they did!

And we ended the lesson with a line debate:
The class is halved and then lined up on two sides of a hall, one side negative and one positive. And then we had the topic "Women are stronger than men". I was on the negative.

But we laughed so much as people of whom we knew that they had different opinions, spewed some bullshit (excuse the language please), especially on our side. Sarcasm was sometimes heavy in the air.
But it was so much fun, I can hardly describe it!

So okay, I'm sending all my love your way - and I'm gonna go to bed now soon, as I am really tired...

Julia

Montag, 5. November 2012

That's Debateable

It's way too late, but I am sitting in my room (of course) and at the moment I'm crying to this song. Go, guys, and listen to it. It opens in a new tab.
And it's a really beautiful song.

But anyway, my weekend was rather magnificent. Honestly.

We left Friday at 12 o'clock from KSS with a school bus, and since there had been a misunderstanding (they thought we were 58 instead of 18 students) we had a really huge bus with enough space for everyone.
But due to my nerves I felt as though I would eat my lunch backwards (and I hadn't even eaten all of it), so I was sitting at front of the bus (5th row or so) on my own, while the rest of the group sat farther in the back. Only our teacher was in the seat across from me, reading her book.

I was listening to Pachelbel's Canon in D-Major, because that usually does a pretty good job of calming me down, and I was looking out of the front window, battling my nausea.
But then my teacher engaged me in a conversation (talking about Germany and school) and so my nausea and nerves subsided, and I was able to enjoy the ride.
One other debater got sick during the ride, but thankfully she didn't throw up - though she came close, she said!
I spent some time talking to my fellow debaters about Doctor Who and Sherlock, and the ride was over pretty soon, although it had indeed been 4 and a half hours.

We had rented four Condos, one for the boys, one for the girls, one for our teacher and one for our bus driver. And they were so nice and beautiful and spacious!
It was awesome.
The four tenth class girls shared one room with bunk beds (Hochbetten), Aislinn and Mary, our two best debater girls, shared another one with a Queensize Bed, and Hanna and I shared the last one with a king size bed.

We put our stuff into our rooms, and then everybody went off to do their own thing - I was sitting in the living room area, browsing tumblr (I actually wanted to finish my contentions, but well..) and answering my mail, until we started making dinner - Pizza, but the girls didn't want my help (I cleaned out the dish washer the next morning, though), and then we all ate. Hanna had made a salad, since she is a vegan, and it was really delicious!
After dinner we all helped to tidy up, and they had a garbinator! It's in the sink, and you just drain your compost stuff down the sink, then you close a lid, and everything is made into mush that will be recycled at the water cleaning facility.
And after dinner, everybody made their speeches.
I just had to write mine up on cue cards (Karteikarten), but that took more than one hour each!
Geoff, my partner, gave me his definitions, and in the end I had 12 cards for each speech - so 24 in total.
It was a lot of work, especially since I had to do it all by hand, because I changed a few things and we didn't have a printer, and my printed out stuff was too broad for the cards, but after three hours I was finished.

I read it out to Geoff and timed it, as well, and he read his out, and we gave each other tips to make the speeches better and then I read my speeches (once I was totally finished) to Aislinn, and although she was still not feeling very well, she listened to everyone very patiently, so I think that our debates would have gone much worse if she hadn't been there; and because of this, I'd like to shout out a huge THANK YOU!!! to her!

At about half past eleven I went to bed, Hanna had already gone an hour prior to that, and our alarm clock rang at half past six. The other girls had gone into the hot tub, but I couldn't fit my bathing suit into my backpack, so I went to bed while they were still showering (we all had our own bathrooms; three bathrooms!).

I actually wanted to skype with my parents, but Mom had been in Schwandorf at her grad class meet up and Dad had been at the Ski Service Day, so I did my Spanish homework and ate a muffin - after half of it, I couldn't eat no more.
There was an excited tension in the air, everybody was vibrating with energy, because it was the first debate of the year and the topic had been pretty heavy.
This house believes that bailouts are detrimental to society.

The bus took us to Rossland Secondary School, and we got to actually see the town.
Rossland is a pretty old town, with houses not like Kelowna (Kelowna has new "mansion houses" that all were built at the same time and look very similar), and the school was also rather old - not comparable to KSS or Gymnasium Neutraubling. On the way to the school, Kevin and I talked about Doctor Who and Sherlock, just to take our mind off things, and so we were again rather relaxed.
We got an introduction, looked at our debates - we had two affirmatives and one negatives, which means I was first speaker twice.
But our teacher had told us that usually the more experiences debater is twice first speaker, as the first speaker also has to deliver the final rebuttal, in which the speeches of your own side are summarized and flaws in your opponents' speeches are pointed out.
But I liked being first speaker so much, and since I had messed up the final rebuttal a bit, I wanted to do it again, so I stayed first affirmative.
We won all our three debates. It was really great!
And considering English is my second language, I am pretty happy with being ninth out of 22 - I made the top ten!
And I was only beaten by KSS students. Yes, that's right. Places 1-9 were occupied by KSS Senior students (Grades 11&12) and so was place 12 (yes, I beat one of the Senior students who had debated last year already!) and Geoff and I placed 5th, behind the other four teams of our school.
That, unfortunately, means, that we have only a very slim chance of making it into the Provincials - usually, KSS gets between eight and ten seats, so there would be only 8 or ten people going. Most likely half junior (10th grade) and half Senior.

On the way back home we talked. For four and a half hours.
And when I tell you our topics, you'll think we're crazy.
So, we started out pretty harmlessly, one boy and I and our teacher, talking about Neuroscience (shared interest between Jeff and me), and then we deviated to Psychology. Next came Eragon and bad movies, and then bad books followed good books and books that are circles/that manage to tie up all lose ends and have basically told you the solution already at the beginning (I'm thinking of Smaragdgruen and the rest of the "Liebe geht durch alle Zeiten"-Trilogy) and then we somehow ended up on the topic of nightmares and different realities (like, everytime you have a choice, the Universe splits, each new Universe following one choice), so there is an infinite amount of Universes. And from there our conversation deviated towards Religion, the String Theory, and some other theories, like
what if dreams are real, and what we perceive life to be is just a tool of coping with reality?
And similar things, and it was very interesting. Honestly. But I was drop-dead tired afterwards.
Like, fall asleep standing.

So, today I finally managed to send off my package - it was rather expensive, but it should arrive before Christmas. And that means, that I also sent my Journal!
I already started my new one!
And with that, I am now saying good bye.

But stay tuned, there is a big announcement coming up in (hopefully) just two days!

Love you all,
Julia

Freitag, 2. November 2012

Hallowe'en

Well, today was Hallowe'en, and what can I say?
Everybody went mad!
There is one bigger announcement (aside from Rossland) coming, which I will hopefully be able to reveal in a week, or at the most two - I hope. But don't bug me, I won't divulge the information sooner.

Okay, that are the pictures (finally), without captions yet.Yeah, the Pumpkin with the moustache (Schnurrbart) is mine. Of course. :)