Deutschland!

So I've been really bad at blogging all that has been happening to me, So here comes (hopefully) a nice long chain of posts! :D I spent the last week of Christmas vacation, the first week of 2011, in Germany with Raphael. on the 2nd of January, I woke up at 5 a.m. to get to Dortmund, Germany at about 2.30 p.m. It was awesome to see Raphael again, and his family was really amazing throughout the whole trip. We spent the first day and a half in Dortmund doing different things in the city, with his family, and friends. Tuesday morning, we took a train 3 hours to Berlin. Spent 3 days there seeing the city. We saw pretty much the whole city while we were there. The weather was cold but I still had a great time. But there is a lot to tell you, so how about I just show you instead!!

Bowling in Dortmund!

German "capital building"

Berlin Main Train Station

The Berlin Wall

Checkpoint Charlie

At the Jewish Museum in Berlin

Raphael and I

Swiss Embassy

One night in Berlin, Raphael and I got to meet up with A-I! She was also in the States last year doing an exchange, and we were all in a show that Rotary put together.

Thank you Raphael, and your family so much for your kindness and generosity! They made my year here in Europe much more memorable. It was amazing to get to see you again. I know we will meet somewhere in the future too!... say, Zürich maybe? :D

5 Months down, 6 to go.

Exactly 5 months ago today, at 9 in the morning, I arrived in Zürich International airport. The last 5 months have been more adventerous and eventful then any consecutive 5 months of my life.
In the last 5 months, I have been to 3 different countries (4 if you count the US).
I have tried new (and delicious) foods.
5 months ago I rode my first train... since then, I've spent countless hours/days traveling around Switzerland with them.
5 months ago I could say "hi" and "where is the bathroom" in German, now I can hold a steady conversation with anyone. Maybe even throwing in a little Swiss-German too!
I've seen castles, churches and buildings older then the United States, Famous mountains and landmarks.
I've missed my fair share of busses and trains.
I've froze on top of the Little Matterhorn with a train load of other exchange students, and had a great time doing it.
I've been skiing in the Alps.
I've been asked about Obama.... a lot.
I can understand movies in German now... for the most part.
I've bought and eaten an 11 lb Toblerone chocolate bar, with the help of some friends.
I've helped a few American strangers find their way around Zürich.
I've lived with amazing host families, that feel more like real family then just a host family.


The next 6 months are going to go by faster then the first 5!

December and the Holidays

Lugano, Switzerland
(in the Italian part, about 15 minutes from Italy)

December went by faster then I would have liked, but it was a good month. I've been skiing a few times in the Alps here, and it was absolutely amazing. I went once with friends, and a couple other times with my host families.

Skiing

Picasso exhibition in Zürich

Castle in Baden.

A traditional Swiss Christmas festival.
Küssnacht am Rigi

My Christmas Tree!
Not as big as back home, but I liked it.

A lot of Swiss families burn real candles on their Christmas Trees.

My Christmas this year was very Swedish. My host mom was born and raised in Sweden, but my host dad is Swiss. They can all speak Swedish fluently, as well as German. My host mom can also speak a few other languages. My host aunt and her son were visiting from Italy(she is also Swedish), and My host mothers cousin from Germany was here too. So in my house there was Italian, Swedish, German, Swiss German, and English being spoken. English because my host cousin only speaks Italian, and Swedish, but a little English. Conversations were always being translated between German, and Swedish, and Italian.
Traditions were a little different here. We opened presents on Christmas Eve, and not Christmas Morning. We had a big dinner on Christmas Eve instead of the usual Christmas morning breakfast of strawberry pancakes with eggs, bacon, and whipped cream, :D That might be the thing that I missed the most throughout all the holidays.

Christmas Eve Dinner.

Christmas morning breakfast. I made pancakes!

A day out with my host family. The day after Christmas.

On the way up to the top of Uetliberg.

Uetliberg is also known as Zürich's mountain.
You can see the whole city from the top.

After coming out from a break in the cafe, it was dark so we got to see the city lights.