So Much to Write About

A lot has happened since my last post, the biggest thing being that I have switched host families. I am not going to go into detail about what happened but I have moved on and am now enjoying my new family. My new host family lives in a town called Riesa. It is in East Germany, about halfway in between Dresden and Leipzig. I have a host mom and dad and two host brothers, one is 14 and the other is 17. However, my 17 year old host brother is currently studying abroad in Ireland for the year. I love it here so much and my new host family is absolutely incredible! Because the switch was so sudden, this is just a temporary placement and I am only here until December 1 unless they decide to keep me for the rest of the year. I really hope I am able to stay here because it is so great here and I love this family so much! Too much has happened since I have been here to go through day by day so I will just write about the big things. Getting to Riesa took about 6 hours. It was an incredibly long day of travel and I had to take 3 trains to get here. When I arrived in Riesa, my host brother met me at the platform and then we went outside to meet his parents at the car. That night, I went with my host parents to a birthday party of their friend. It was so much fun and everyone I have met here is so incredibly friendly and welcoming. The party was so great and everyone was just so happy. Some family friends of my host family are also hosting an exchange student this year. His name is Chacho and he is Mexican/American. He was also at the party and it was so great to meet him! We have a lot in common and it was great to be able to have a conversation in English without having to hold back or speak slowly. I didn't have to start school until that Monday, so I had a 4 day weekend to relax and get settled in. The next day, I went with my host mom to get all registered for school and then after lunch I went with my host dad to meet his friend, Kevin Kuske. Kevin is a 3 time olympic gold medalist for the German bobsledding team! He had his medals with him, 4 gold and 1 silver, and I got to see and hold them! It was so amazing to meet him and I never thought I would have the opportunity to hold actual olympic medals! After meeting with Kevin, we were driving through downtown and the Minister of Defense was in town campaigning for the big elections this weekend. We got to meet him and speak to him briefly! It was so cool to be able to meet such an important member of the German government! On Sunday, I went to my host brother's handball match in a town about half an hour away. We had some time before the match started so my host parents and I walked around town and then had coffee. The handball match was really cool. I had never seen handball before and it is a very fast paced game. The next day, Monday, I started school. I am attending Städtisches Gymnasium Riesa and I was put in my host brother's 9th grade class. The next day, I went to Dresden with my class to see a play. It was a really weird play about werewolves and I didn't understand what they were saying at all but it was still really fun. The next day, Wednesday, I went with my host parents and their Lion's Club to tour a brewery about and hour away. Chacho and his host parents were also there, as well as the third exchange student in my town, a boy named Andrés from Ecuador. That was a lot of fun and it was great to get to know them better! That Saturday I went to Dresden with my host family and my host grandmother! Dresden is absolutely breath-takingly gorgeous. We took a horse and carriage ride around the historic downtown and then we walked around! That night I went to a wine fest in a town a town called Meißen with my host parents. There we met Chacho and his host parents. It was so fun and the festival was huge! It took up all of downtown and there was probably at least a million people there! On Monday, I started in a new class. I had been moved up to the 10th grade so that I could be with people closer to my own age. Also, i was put in an 11th grade English class. My new class is so great and everyone is so nice and friendly,  I have already made some really good friends! We only had school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because Thursday was the German Reunification Holiday so we had Thursday and Friday off. This is the day in 1990 when East and West Germany were reunified as one country. After school on Wednesday, I went with some friends to my class to a café where we hung out for a while and had coffee and talked. Then we went to a the movies and saw The City of Bones, in German of course. Luckily, I have read the books so I could keep up with what was happening pretty well even though I couldn't understand much of what they were saying. That night, I went to my first German party. However, since I have not been in Riesa for very long I did not know many people at the party so it was kind of awkward, but whatever, it was still fun. Today, Friday, I have just kind of relaxed at home and I went to run some errands with my host mom and then we went to and ice café (ice cream café) and had ice cream and talked for awhile, it was really nice. In a few minutes we are going over to Chacho's host families' house for a bonfire and tomorrow we are all going to a Dresden fußball (soccer) game together. I'm so excited, it will be my first professional soccer game ever! Also, Dresden fans are notorious for being the "meanest" and most obnoxious fans of the Bundesliga, so this will be interesting! In a week or two, I can't remember which, we have fall break for two weeks and my host family and I are going on vacation to Hamburg! I am so excited and I will post lots of pictures! 

All in all, my new host family is so amazing and I am having such a great time with them. I am so thankful that they decided to take me in on such short notice and I couldn't have asked for a better family! Also, I love this beautiful, amazing country with all my heart and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here!

Tschüss,
Dani♡

Ludwigsburg to Riesa

Meeting the German Minister of Defense!

Meeting Kevin Kuske!

Brewery with Chacho (right) and Andrés (center)!

Ich liebe meine neue Gastfamilie! 

The carriage we took around Dresden!

Dresden is beautiful!