School and the HanseSail.

Now the summer holiday break is over and school begins.. I've changed year group from 12 to 11 because I am a distraction in class/it really hard to understand anything in the 12th grade/the guys in the 12th class will be busy studying and it'll be boring for me/my host brothers are in the 11th grade. 

Dienstag 7 August - A new school year with new school friends.
In the morning riding my bike with Leon, in the perfect summer weather was truly amazing, until we got off our bikes and headed for the school... Once inside it was full of people and pretty stressful. Leon and I found Friedi then was ushered into a classroom to figure out our timetables. We meet the new kids; Conrad and Jule, who were exchange students in Canada last year, and we all got along really well. Some of the students were a bit confused about why I'd change year groups, and both seemed to want me - pretty cute.

Mittwoch 8 und Donnerstag 9 August - No understanding and Photo day.
On Wednesday classes officially started for the year, and I was pretty happy that I wasn't alone in any if my classes, I knew at least one person in all of them. My first day started off a bit crappy as my Biology teacher assumed my German was better than it is and asked me questions about Biology which I wouldn't even understand in English and when I replied I don't know or understand she simply said oh yes you do, you know it! She was so persistent about me understanding everything so she wrote things on the board, tried to explain it in German to me, made people sit with me to help... but it was no use I really had no idea what was going on, way too advanced German. It made me feels so dumb as she segregated me and questioned me. My German teacher wasn't any better in the next period as she also assumed my German was amazing and expected me to analyze German texts and asked me questions about a complicated German word and asked for the English translation, when I replied there isn't one she laughed and said oh i doubt that, you just don't know (later I googled it and there isn't a translation). I found it so frustration that the year 11 teachers didn't understand that I've only been there for 6 months and before had no German lessons, yet they expect me to understand and contribute to senior lessons which are difficult for even the German students! Also the whole not respecting me and making me feel stupid topped it off... this was one of those horrible first day experiences I was meant to have in my first month but Roy had saved me from that at the time. I took something positive out of this though.. I realised my German is only conversational, with no reading or writing capabilities, so I will know work hard to accomplish more.
The next day was better as I talked to most of my teachers and explained that I really don't understand everything, but i'll try or I will do easier alternative work/German language work. In the afternoon we had school photos, and I was surprised that both the year 11 and 12 wanted me in their photos.. so people helped me sneak into both hehehe - yay for the token white exchange student! (we have a group of asian exchange students but they don't socialize).

Freitag 10 August - First German nightmare/dream, school presentation, Rotary boating.
At about 4am I woke up in shock from a nightmare, as usual when you have a scary dream, but straight after I had this odd feeling something was different.. that I normally don't have nightmares or the fact that IT WAS IN GERMAN!!?! I sat up in bed stunned for about 5 minutes, how awesome!! When i'm relaxed I can think in both English and German - goal accomplished... I am bilingual!! After the excitement wore off I went back to sleep and continued to dream German :)
At school I couldn't hold in my excitement and told my friends about my German nightmare/dream and they were really happy for me but weren't even surprised.. some said that my German has improved so much lately and they expected it - I was extremely happy. Maybe the crappy past days made me think more about German and made me work harder at correcting myself/thinking - however it happened didn't matter all I know is that I've progressed so much since the first months.. best things i've ever achieved! Today was really all about acceptance.. I went to the school assembly/presentation and was introduced by the school captains in front of the whole school and even received a dorky school t-shirt, yay! After the assembly I went with Leon and Friedi to a Rotary boating event on a lifesaving boat and was introduced to the crew as Warnemunde's only exchange student, so cute! The boat ride was pretty horrific as the seas were so rough, nothing i've ever experienced.. I felt so ill, but lucky wasn't physically sick. I sat up with the captain and listened to his stories, played with the boats buttons and tried to breath in as much of the fresh seas air as possible. Mum, I guess I'm not so lucky and inherited your seasickness...great! But nonetheless it was a good experience with Rotary and I got to fire the big water gun on board, awesome. Later Leon and I headed to Friedi's for a spaghetti, movie and chill sleepover. Overall an fabulously awesome day which I will never forget :)

Samstag 11 August - Maxi, Jojo and Rike's 18th.
So the Ribnitz triplets had turned 18 and wanted to celebrate with a German bbq and some dancing. Mid afternoon I headed to Ribnitz Damgarten West like every time I visit the Ribnitz gang, but this time was different.. No Roy. The train trip was awfully lonely and weird without him.. 25 minutes of no dramatic conversation about love lives or exchange, my heart was broken. Once in Ribnitz I wasn't as alone and decided to forget my sadness and party like Roy and Katie would want me too with lots of dancing and our specialty shots.The party set up was really cool with a big grass area, volley ball court, undercover areas, awesome DJ set up and lots of room for wild dancing. It was awesome to just be myself with the Ribnitz guys and Boek camping people, I'd really missed them. By 2am every was finished with dancing but the triplets wanted to party on so we ended up at the Ribinitz youth hangout where all the hipster/"cool" people hang. It wasn't what they expected but we still enjoyed eachothers company. By early morning we were all back at the triplet's house and regrettably I had an early train ride back to Rostock for a Rotary event, but it was all worth. I love the Ribnitz guys. 

Sonntag 12 August - HanseSail.
So the whole weekend had been extremely Rostock focused as it was the 20 year anniversary of the "HanseSail" - it is a fest where boats and people from everywhere come and visit Rostock, there are lots of stall and people, and lots of money is spent. Due to my Rotary clubs rich nature we celebrated this fest in style, cruising around the Baltic Sea on a massive sailing boat with catered food and good sunny weather. We spent the whole day onboard from 10am-4pm, it was lovely. Most of the time I was with Leon, talking, playing guitar and singing. I also took the opportunity to talk to most of the Rotarians, earning some brownie points and asking some questions about travel and skiing.. just in case some might offer for me to come with them haha. Some were actually open to the idea of me going with the skiing, so when it is closer to winter I will ask them again - how cool if I can go with them!