Go Rockets Go!

Yes!
Today was moderately exciting, so starting out as pretty boring and ending as super excited! (And btw: If you manage to get through the Hockey part, there are pictures at the end waiting for you :D )

It started out with me dreaming I was at home. It's about the fourth time or so I dreamt I was back in Germany and trying to catch a flight back to Canada.
Once I was at the GN (Gymnasium Neutraubling) to do some kind of trip through our school and then tried to catch my flight and almost missed it (but I got into the airplane) and then this night... We were at a pool. And suddenly the stairs went missing, so I just kinda slid down the stairs. But I remember that pool from previous dreams...
And then I was kinda packing but I remembered that I was already back from the grandparents, and then I really almost missed my flight and I woke up and it was 9 o'clock on a Saturday morning, my chest was hurting so I couldn't even go back to sleep and I was fully convinced it was Tuesday.
Whose idea was it to start the semester on a Friday of all days?


So I left my wonderful bed and - did homework. Yes, I can't believe it either. By the time half past eleven rolled around, I was finished with all my homework - and it was a lot, let me tell you:

And if you think now "It's just two pages", well then take a closer look and see how many exercises there are:
it was page 12-15, Nr. 1- 12, 17 & 18.

So these exercises:

Isn't it fun?

This is my Mathbook:

It's seriously heavy! And at least an inch thick... But still pretty new, which is kinda cool.

So, anyway, I finished that, then played around on my laptop a bit, went for a work-out (but only on the stationary bike because my knees have been bugging me kinda a lot) and then did nothing all afternoon long, before going to the Rockets game this evening!
I went with Tanya, and it was a lot of fun!

Here is the rink:

All that orange stuff you can see are noise makers they put on every seat so that we could cheer Kelowna on.
They were playing the Vancouver Giant, whom they had played the evening before (but in Vancouver) and beaten 5-1.
And tonight... it was amazing. They were really, really brilliant.
They scored 3 goals in the first period, then the Giants managed to step their game up during the second, and then twice more in the third period.
Cooke (who goes to KSS) had a shutout - they beat the Giants 5-0, and since Cooke let not a single goal in, that's called a shutout.
The Hawks were playing at the same time, against the Calgary Flames, and Andy texted me the score - Kaner finally scored early in the third period, but then Colorado scored with 4 minutes left again, tying the game.
And we were already out of the car, Tanya and me, when a new text arrived (and I was really hyped up from the awesome game we'd witnessed). It said Calgary scores with 30 seconds left and I'm like "Dang, our first loss in regulation."
But I enter the house, look at the TV and - it's going to Over Time! Tied at 2-2.
Well, no, Andy hadn't forgotten to inform me of another Hawks goal, Marián Hossa had scored the goal that forced Over Time with 2.1 seconds left on the clock. 2.1 SECONDS!!!

Well, it went to Over Time, and then to a Shootout, and Kaner scored for the Hawks and Ray Emery managed to make 48 saves out of 50 - so he didn't let a single goal in during the shootout, and the Hawks won!
Finally!
And the Sharks were defeated in a Shootout, so the Hawks have the league lead for some time! (Whether they can keep it depends on whether or not the Sharks lose their next game on Monday, because they've played one game less than the Hawks...)

So, enough of Hockey, here are the promised pictures!

A lot of snow!

Can you see the mountains in the background?

KSS

KSS front

So, have a great day/night whatever!

Julia

Two nights left

Okay, seriously short post, because I hurt my wrist pushing myself off the floor just a moment ago and am typing with my left hand now.

Today was really lazy; I slept till ten (9.5h! Yay!) and then read, watched a few videos, played wii and Rommee with Bob and then wrapped my last two presents.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!
And we had the grandparents and Tanya's sister with her partner over for dinner, and it was really nice.

I had said Dorothea would give me Photos, right? She did give them to me, yesterday, but apparently I lost the flash drive in one of the Sears shop when I frantically searching for my phone. I've kinda given up any hope of finding the stick again, but I will look for it, okay?

Well, have a good night! And if you want to, you can leave what you got for Christmas in a comment - I'd be very interested!

Julia

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!

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!

Davison Orchard

Okay, here are the pictures I promised you!
Davison Orchard is near Vernon, and, although it was wet and muddy and rainy, very beautiful. Especially the view...

We were supposed to get a trip around the apple orchards, but unfortunately, the roads were too wet, so that fell short.
We did get a pumpkin, though. The variety was huge!

My pumpkin before the painting!

My pumpkin after the painting!

Like a Sir!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge! And yes, there is still more than half left! :)

Today there was a rather uneventful day - the calm before the storm that Hallowe'en will be. I am one of the few (apparently) who won't be dressed up for school tomorrow, most of my classes were abuzz with "What will you be?" and similar questions.

I have my mobile phone as a camera with me, and I will take loads and loads of pictures!

I promise!

And I doubt that there will be so much real lesson tomorrow, but I have pumpkin carving anyway!

And I will write my English test on Thursday and not on Friday like the rest, because I won't be there on Friday! Rossland, we're coming!

One thing left here:

Today was lockdown drill!

So in case of an Amok run, the PA (Lautsprecheranlage) will announce "Lockdown, This whole building is now in lockdown!" And then everybody has to go in the corner farthest away from doors and windows and has to crouch down, in the best case under a table (so I was sitting squished under one for ten minutes, but at least I knew it was only a drill!) and be really, really quiet, and the teacher locks the door and switches off the lights so that any guy going nuts will think the classroom is deserted.

A few years back they had a lockdown in one of the primary schools because some guy was running around naked in front of the school...

And I have barely twenty pages left in my book - exactly twenty two!

Well, I will fill it until Monday I think, which means I finally should get to finishing my other book! (I am colouring and decorating it).

I also cooked for the second time - stir fry! It was really yummy!

So, that was it from me, there are a few more pictures after the cut!

Rodeo

Sooo, I'm finally awake - well, technically I've been for half an hour... :D
The Rodeo was really, really great.

It was a fair, like the German Dult, but bigger (at least than the one in Regensburg), with a lot of a attractions, vendors and animals - pigs, alpacas, horses, cows and chicks.
I ate real homemade fries!
And we also saw some exhibitions about bees and wax, which was the theme this year.

But the best thing was the Rodeo itself.
There was the Grand Entry first - a choreography on horseback (amazing! Look at the Photos!)
Then the Bareback - the "rodeo" you think of when you hear it: Cowboys sitting on horseback, trying to stay there, while the horse jumps up and down. This was without a saddle - very, very amazing!
The next thing was the Steer Wrestling: A Cowboy would ride after the calf, jump off his horse and wrestle the calf down.
Then Saddle Bronc - The "real" Rodeo on horseback, but this time with a saddle. For some reason, more fell off here than at the bareback! :D
After that the National Anthems of Canada and of the USA were sung - that was amazing!


Team Roping was also cool: Two cowboys would catch the calf: One the horns and the other one the hindlegs.

The Tie Down Roping was after that and cool, too: One cowboy would have to catch the calf by the horns, then jump down and proceed to tie the hooves.

And the last thing was of course the Bull Riding... Great to see such a thing live!
One man had fallen off, and he was looking for the door (which opened to the inside) and he actually missed it! :o He climbed the fence, then! It was pretty exciting, 'cause of course the bulls were not amused!

Well, we came home just before midnight, so it was a pretty long evening!

Best regards,
Julia

Grocer's store

So, my first real day in Canada!
I said I'd be writing about the rodeo next, but I find myself having a bit of free time, so I thought I'd write up this morning.

I actually managed to go back to sleep again, but I finally woke up at 8:33 AM.
Steven cooked a lovely breakfast with omelet and bacon, and then we went to the grocer's.

I tell you, guys, it's amazing!
It's super huge and pretty ordered!

And I even got the same shampoo like I have at home!
And a new hairdrier, some toothpaste and headphones.
They were rather cheap (~10€), but Steven's taking a look at my old ones - he said he might be able to fix them!
After that, we went to the food store, and, in all honesty, this is even more crazy.

They have EVERYTHING - LINDOR, which I love so very much (you can put your flavours together by yourself! They are not in a package, but you can make your own package!), then meat (which is located on the inside, but at the walls around the store, then there was this huge aisle with Lindor chocolate, a whole rack of sweets, an aisle of drinks, an aisle of cereals (so, basically an aisle for each kind of thing) and they had like four different sorts of fresh hot chilis, and their vegetables (like salad, carrots and the like) are being spritzed - they are sprayed with water every so often.

I got to know some of the neighbours, too - two doors up, a girl a year younger than me lives, for example - and I met some of the dogs here, too. There is a Dane called Georgia, who dwarfs Dustin - her shoulder is above my hip!

We will be leaving for the rodeo in about an hour, so I have to get ready!


Tomorrow I won't have anything to do, and on Tuesday, there is the introduction at the school and the orientation for all internationals afterwards - I'm really looking forward to meeting the other girls again!

Well, that's it for now, I doubt I'll post about the rodeo today - Marina approximates 12 o'clock for our return! :o

See you!
Julia