and another month quickly over... the bitter sweet end!

The last leg has gone extremely fast, in a blink of an eye! I can't believe how much I have fitted in but at the same time still need to do and see!!
As I am writing this I only have 3 days left in Germany, completely mind blowing to think that I have come this far..

So where to begin... after Paris trip everything went flying by!
NOVEMBER: Almost every weekend I was out and about with my German friends and family, soaking in some personal time with them and also living German life in "Sweet home Warnemünde"!!
The weeks of November involved watching many many German movies, since now I can understand pretty much everything.. Highlight was watching my first movie in the cinema called "Das Schwergewicht" (The Heavyweight) with Jojo and Maxi, we were really meant to go out clubbing but then it turned into a lazy night and a spontaneous trip to the cinema. Maxi and I bought the biggest popcorn and drink I have ever seen, so funny - great night!
The rest of the month past by with school, going to dinner, having games/movie nights with Ditschi, walking along the beach with the fam, going out with friends and watching Friedi's handball games - just normal life, but it was amazing. 

DECEMBER:My last full month I ended up always doing something entertaining/thrilling and I took the opportunities that Germany offered, and even in some cases what Europe had to offer!
1 Dec: BERLIN ROTARY GLOBAL PEACE FORUM!! About two months previously I had worked hard on my speech for the Peace Forum by sending it many people and getting feedback, changing words, adding sentences,trying to put exchange and the feeling of acceptance/ peace someone experiences from undergoing exchange into words that everyone would understand. I also organized over 25 exchange students to come on stage with me and after I had done my speech they would all perform a little piece about their country. All in all it was the most work i'd done throughout my exchange.
The forum for a weekend, where people from all over the world came to Berlin (a city which was struck by devastation regarding the Berlin Wall however has yet found peace) to discuss worldy matter and peace.. it was truly inspiring! Throughout the weekend I helped a lot in the wardrobe with other exchange students and also performed my speech. Here is my speech below;

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all here to the Rotary Global Peace Forum of 2012 as one of many Rotary exchange students from all over the world.

My name is Andrea Weedon, an 18 year old girl from Sydney, Australia, and I am here today to explain how Rotary has changed the lives of millions of teenagers, and in effect, the world. Myself along with the other teenagers wearing blazers covered in pins and holding national flags are exchange students with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program this year. We, as teenagers from all over the world, have been given the opportunity for one year to represent our countries by living in a foreign land, ultimately spreading peace through service, by teaching and sharing our culture with a new country, while at the same time learning and accepting a different culture.

Before my exchange a Rotary member said to me “If every teenager in the world would go on exchange, there would be no more wars”, at first I didn't believe that statement, I thought to myself, what can teenage exchange students do to help the world? But now after experiencing exchange firsthand and I completely agree, because I now see the world as what it should be, a big family, like the new exchange student family I have made this year with people from all over the world; Katie from USA, Roy from Argentina, Bub from Thailand, Maxime from France and many many more.. Ultimately I would never want to start conflict or war with members of this unique family!

Through the Youth Exchange Program, Rotary has helped to spread “peace without borders” by breaking down the barriers between cultures and opening the eyes of teenagers from all of the world, shaping their minds to see how every person is just like them, with a family, with friends and an interesting culture to share. One wise exchange student, Roy, once said “If we as exchange students from all over the world can love each other as one big family and accept all cultures, then why can't the world simply do the same?”. As exchange students we know there are always going to be differences among people however we have grown tolerance through friendships and respect through accepting contrasting cultures. Ultimately the Rotary Youth Exchange Program has developed and spread peace throughout the world with a unique web of friendships!

The exchange year Rotary encourages and supports has allowed me to understand what true friendship is and what it truly means to start from nothing, regarding learning German, making friends and being accepted in a new country. There will never be a day in my life that I will forget or won't be thankful for the opportunity Rotary has given me. This ongoing experience, has been and will continue to be, the best experience and year of my life. I think on behalf of the Rotary exchange student family I can say thank you very very much Rotary for everything you have done for us, we are honestly so grateful!

To show exactly what I mean by Rotary's international acceptance, love and why all exchange students are so thankful for this opportunity I have brought some members of my family along with me today, who will perform a small item for you all! So please give a round of applause to amazing exchange students! Please watch and enjoy, thank you!

The Berlin Rotary Global Peace Forum was an amazing opportunity to express myself about exchange and how it also truly inspired me and has given me a new outlook on life.

5 Dec: FIRST SNOW FALL OF WINTER!!

6 - 10 Dec: DÜSSELDORF WITH CORI!! The 6th of December in Germany is called "Nikolaus Tag" (Nicholas Day), which is when the "Holy Nicholas" hides sweets and chocolates in the good children's shoes as a surprise before Christmas. So naturally i had no  idea about this day until I found a little bag of chocolates in my shoe haha, so cute! After getting overly excited about this surprise I headed to Cori's house, taking me about 6 hours by train, where I would stay for 4 days! During the 4 days Cori and I played in the fresh snow, about 20cms, went clubbing in Cologne with a friend, Phillip, and went to the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets), watched "Breaking Dawn" in German at the cinemas, and also had a lazy day where we just chilled and talked for hours on end. Such an amazing few days with my first German friend!!
more soon :)

Birthdays and PARIS

 Freitag 19. Oktober - Kühlungsborn adventure and sleepover
After a normal week of school two good friends and I decided we needed a girls night and a girls night in Germany is exactly like in Australia so it felt really nice! The night involved going to Jule's house along with Shelly in Kühlungsborn; playing some games, listening to music, gossiping (even if i didn't know many of the people it was about) and just having a good time together. We ended up at the small local bar in the town, and danced the night away. I got to know the girls a lot more and the night really helped build our friendship, well i think.. which is sad because I will be leaving so soon! 

20. Samstag Oktober - Franzi's 18. Geburtstag party!
Franzi turned 18 so she organized a cute little dinner party with people from school. We had punch, talked, went for a little creepy winter walk through the streets and ate, a lot! It was a great night because I got to hang out with my older German friends (they are in year 12 and i'm in year 11) and just relax since they have all known me from the beginning of my exchange and have been there for me all the way!

26. - 28. Oktober - Berlin for Bruno's birthday :)
Bruno is one of the "oldies" out of the exchange students, i've known him since Eurotour where we met on the last crazy night in Berlin.. he is not with Rotary however but with some other organization this year. Bruno is like the "king" of exchange students.. he knows everyone!! So his party or should i say birthday weekend, was hilarious and very eventful, filled with exchange students from all over the place. 

Once arriving in Berlin in the afternoon on friday I was greeted by Will and one of his Australian hugs at Berlin HBF (main station), after a brief chat we met up with all the other exchangers and bought supplies for what would be a very big night. The night was really fun and chill as it was the ideal exchange student party, with lots of food and drinks.. brownies, pizza, gluhwien (hot wine), beer.. you name it we had it! I also met another Australian girl, Allison, who lives near Cairns, she is with the same organization as Bruno.. she was so happy to meet me as she hadn't spoken to someone from Australian since January (how sad!!). The night ended with everyone crashing in Bruno's giant room, a very funny sight.. exchange students everywhere (shown below)

 Saturday involved shopping in Berlin with the girls, afternoon meeting up with Riley's friends and some of their American friends and sharing shisha - so much talk about America, and lots of slang i couldn't handle it, so I just talked to the Germans :) Later we ended up going to a "Havana" Club which is a latin dancing club with all Bruno's latino friends and the other white exchange students who couldn't dance. Since I don't know salsa or any dances the latino's thought it was their rite of passage to try and teach me.. or just lead me hahaha. After they gave up since I sucked Till, a German guys who was in Chile for one year, just danced with me instead - hilarious!! (such a shame I didn't take any photos!)

Sunday we went to a massive second hand market in the middle of Berlin called Mauerpark (Wall park - because the Berlin wall went through it).. it was amazing!! I am so sad I hadn't gone in summer and for a long time.. there were stalls everywhere, live bands, street performers and amazing hand made food, loved it! Very fun weekend, i love exchange students :)

Dienstag 30. Oktober - Halloween party
My very first Halloween party didn't really turn out like I pictured or what happens in the movies... the typical American party with loud music, lots of people and always drama, but in a way I am very glad because I had a great night with 3 good friends! Ditschi, Johann, Shelly and I made pizza, played drinking games and dressed up in halloween costumes (Shelly and I hired ours).. my costume was Little red riding hood or originally known as Rotkäppchen since it is a German story! We ended up talking for hours and crashing later in Shelly's room. I love it now that I can speak German so confidently, its just so much easier and a lot more fun :)

2. - 6. November - PARIS!!!!
Paris tour started off with a rough start.. as an "oldie" I was in charge of getting 4 exchange students from Rostock to Berlin by train, I had the ticket and could speak German.. Everything was going to plan until Gary, the Taiwanese boy, got off the train a few spots too early!?!! I called him (his phone was broken) and I went back to go find him, but he was gone! His English and German were minimal so he was pretty much lost. I tried not to let that bother me too much as I really couldn't do anything more.. so I met up with some Aussie friends (Marika, an old soccer friend, and Alana, an Aussie exchanger in Austria) at McDonalds before hopping on the bus, it was great to touch base again and relate to Australia! 
Once on the bus we got a phone call from the German police saying that they had a scared Taiwanese boy and we should pick him up because they didn't want to babysit him anymore hahaha!! After that little hiccup we were on the road to Paris, a big over night bus ride (14 hours). Didn't really get much sleep since the Latino's were singing, American's were talking loudly and the seats were so uncomfortable.. but the time everyone was almost asleep I was getting frustrated so I decided to lie down my jacket on the bus floor, get a pillow and a blanket and just sleep there! When I woke up I saw about 5 others doing the exact same thing.. hey at least I go some sleep! We arrived in Paris at around 9am and that is when the real adventure began!
DAY 1 - After a nice french breakfast we were on our way throughout Paris. First stop: Arc de triomphe! I was assigned as a team leader, the pink team, which involved me taking care of 10 girls.. though it wasn't difficult and i had help from the other pink boys team :) it made it quite funny because we'd always do a roll call at every major check point and we'd race the other pink team to see who was faster. 

After the excitement of Paris wore off a bit we my French oldies, Frenchie and Maxime, met us!! It was so good to see them, just like old times with all the older exchange students.. so many memories about Eurotour and the beginning half of my year popped into my head by just looking at them. They joined us for the whole day, showed us around and told us a bit about Paris/France.. I even escaped the group for a while and went shopping with them, such a great time!

Next stop: Palace of Versailles! French, Maxime and I just found the group before they went inside.. shopping took longer than we thought. The palace was beautiful; full of gold, historic paintings, the room of mirrors and the garden was magnificent!! Such an amazing place, rich with history and surrounded by lovely grounds. The exchange students could get enough of it, taking billions of photos haha. Once we exited Maxime said he had a surprise for me.. he'd bought me a box of real French macaroons from the palace kitchen, so cute! 

The day was so perfect, i loved spending time with my Frenchys and getting to see such an old culture - even more to come!! At night we went to the Montmartre Church, which is on the biggest hill of Paris, walking up the famous steps.. after the long walk and satisfaction of looking out over Paris we went to dinner in a sweet French restaurant. Afterwoods we had free time where Riley, Will and some others sat on the steps with me watching the Eiffel tower glitter = magical! I hadn't go enough of Paris at night so once back at the hotel I went to the roof with a small group and just was memorized by the tower, its so pretty!!
 

DAY 2 - Next stop: Eiffel tower!!!! Being up close and personal with the Eiffel tower during the day is lovely, with the water fountains, green grass and happy people surrounding it.. being on the Eiffel tower is another thing! Such a great view of the black and white, classic city... simply beautiful. It was very funny on the tower as all the exchange students were either excited because they could kiss someone on the tower or depressed that they couldn't. Two friends and I were the single ladies so we decided to be funny and have a three way kiss! 

Next stop: Notre Dame!! Its a really old magnificent church, with beautiful stain glass windows, and creepy gargoyles on the outside; its over 800 years old! The church is in a really pretty area of Paris with a lovely river/bridges, and is surrounded by little shops and cute cafes. Once out the front we lined up to get inside while the hilarious Rachael and Riley reenacted the humpback of Notre Dame!! 

After having a walk around inside and being amazed, Maxime met up with us and took Will and myself around the streets of Paris. We stopped and watched a street performer who decided to pick on me, getting me up and making me help him/proposing to me with a love heart balloon (all in French); Maxime couldn't control his laughter! Once embarrassing Andrea finally stopped, we all sat along a French river which over looked the Notre Dame, and ate the macaroons Maxime gave me, whilst reminiscing about the earlier months of our exchange = a perfect moment I will never forget!!

 

That night we went to dinner quickly and then spend most the night admiring the Eiffel tower on land and also on a boat cruise! Really really really beautiful city, definitely know why it is named the city of love!! Afterwoods we went to the not very classy section of Paris and visited the Moulin Rouge; hilarious because Riley and I sang the theme song and posed like classy Moulin Rouge girls :)

Later on that night the fun continued as we had a little party in a small hotel room, extremely hot and too full on.. so a group of Americans and myself went to another room and just hang out, turned out to be the best decision as we got into some funny discussion and debates, oh Americans and their opinions!

DAY 3 - First stop: The Louvre!! Wasn't overly excited for the Louvre as I was tired and i'm not extremely interested in art.Will felt the same so we just went to see the Mona Lisa, had a short walk and then sat in the cafe for 2 hours talking about life! I bought some macaroons for my host family and then headed outside with everyone to take our group photo. We had to be very careful with our flags because we really weren't meant to show them since the Louvre is a French monument, but we were quick and skilled so we got the photo! Plus Will and I got our special kangaroo and koala piggyback picture :)

After a bit of a wait for some heavy rain to pass, Will, Thomas (American), myself and some Rotarians made it into a fancy restaurant to eat escargot (snails!!) - Will and I ate majority, they weren't actually bad with the yummy butter garlic sauce.. i know crazy, snails!

The Paris trip was slowly coming to an end... we had a nice dinner together one last time and then headed onto the bus. On the way back to Berlin I tried to organize the exchange students to perform at the peace conference, very stressful! Though all the stress was worth it as Kerstin gave me a little present; a personally made bookmark and photo album of my year, as well as my exchange student certificate of achievement = SO HAPPY. Perfect end to the trip... well another 14 hour bus ride with uncomfortable seats, but with good company so I couldn't really complain!
THE END. 

Birthdays, Berlin and Charile Chaplin :)

Samstag 6 Oktober - Ditschi 18. Geburtstag!

Finally finally one of my best German friends is 18!!! So we went out to celebrate! It was a really nice night, we first started at Bar fuss, my favourite bar, and we had a few happy hour drinks :) then after headed to the biggest club in Rostock, LT club.. not my favourite but it was still really fun! Everyone danced and talked, very pleasant!

Freitag 12. Oktober - Schule Lauf!

So my school is kind of a "goody two shoes" and organized a school run to raise money for the less fortunate children in our area, which is really nice! I had my Rotary Club Warnemünde as a sponsor and ran 7km with Jule by my side :) it was actually quite easy and nice to run next to Jule and get to know her more.

Samstag-Sonntag 13-14 Oktober - Berlin :)

Both Leon and Friedeman (host brothers)  had a rebound exchange student orientation in Berlin, and to make the train ticket down cheaper they asked me if i'd join them. So spontaneously I went to Berlin! After a very long train ride down to Berlin due to track work, we all made it to Berlin by mid morning and then I met up with an Aussie friend, Ryan, and his host family. We walked around the suburbs of eastern Berlin and found a very cute/old cafe where we enjoyed tea, coffee and cake! Later in the afternoon I met with two of my favourite newbie exchangers, Riley and Cammy, we caught up with the latest goss. After everything was said more exchangers met up with us and we headed to the Brandenburg Gate for a light festival and some drinks. Funnily enough when we got there, a riot was happening!! Only in Berlin would this happen.. I have never seen so many hippies in my life! Don't stress, it was peaceful and about helping refugees. After the excitement left we all headed to a bar and just chilled.. the night was long and after a few more bars was extremely funny! By the time morning came, Cammy and I were finally at her house and talking to her very good looking/indie/artist host brother, and after practically died of tiredness so Cammy and I went to bed. Sunday morning we woke up quickly got ready, then headed back into the city to meet Riley before I left. I was a short  and sweet goodbye to my favourite newbies, and after another annoying train ride my host brothers and i finally made it back to Rostock. Very exciting spontaneous trip to Berlin :)

Dienstag 16. Oktober - Charlie Chaplin Concert.
There is a real bonus with host parents that are musicians! My host mum played at a Charlie Chaplin movie night, where one of Charlie's old black and white films (the gold rush) was played and the orcestra made a soundtrack over the top, it was brilliant!! Charlie Chaplin is seriously hilarious and can be viewed and enjoyed by anyone :) my little host brother, Gabi, loved it and now wants to be a slap stick actor haha :) so cute!

Neuruppin Conference! New Family!!! New Travels!!

The last month or so have been extremely busy!! I have experienced so much, and a lot has changed in my exchange. First up I went to my last Rotary district conference in Neuruppin, West of Berlin, and I met all the new exchange students, had a blast but at the same time missed all the old exchange students!! (Officially an oldie; so strange). Next I partied at a Holi open air festival (the festival with powder and dj music like in India), which was amazing. I changed host families to the Kirstoffs (musical and bio-free souling family), and I love them already!! And last but not least went to LONDON with two German school friends and met up with two Aussie friends, such a happening city!

27th -31st August; Compact Week
This week really just involved everyone at school being put into groups and learning skills and motivation class, which ended up just being an absolute bludge.. and involved just talking and drawing or watching movies... standard week at school for an exchange student really. On thursday we did a year building exercise at the local high ropes centre - pretty fun, and made me actually made me build on some relationship, surprise!

Samstag 1st September; Caro`s 18th (Sensation white)
So glad i have kept in contact with Katie´s host sister and her friends, because everytime I meet up with them I have a ball! The night started with Maxi picking me up, with a car full of girls, having pasta at one of their houses, borrowing there clothes and then going to the party (Germans are now quite friendly and nice to me since I can contribute to conversation, so glad no more awkward situations!). The party involved everyone wear white, party girls in red, a dance floor and lots.. I mean lots of drinks. Turned out to be a very funny night as some of Caro´s hippy friends had lots of interest in Australia and scouting so many amusing conversations came about :)


7th - 9th Septemeber; NEURUPPIN CONFERENCE

After a 2 hour train ride of the most frustrating conversations I have lived through... seriously language barriers and immaturity is not a fun mixture, me and 4 newbies made it to Neuruppin!! Once there we meet with 58 other exchange students from north east Germany :) but most of my excitement was to see my Australian, Will, and the other old exchange students. The weekend involved a tour of Neuruppin, a campfire down at the Neuruppin lake, and other activities. Also Will, German and I made a spontaneous trip to Neuruppin city from our hostel (10km) to buy some supplies. Got to know some of the newbies pretty well and they seem really nice, but my heart is still with the other older exchangers. During the weekend I translated a lot from German to English for the new exchange students and helped with problems.. by the weekend I was given the name of `Mumma oldie`, not sure if I like it but at least the exchange students know they can trust me! Due to all the work I did over the weekend with the exchange students, one of my Rotary leaders big projects  nominated me to speak at a Global Peace Forum in Berlin in Decemeber - BIG DEAL.. over 2000 people will be there and I will be speaking about my exchange and international relationships-peace throughout student exchange. Also I am the leader of the exchange students at this forum, soooo much responsibility!


Freitag 14th September: The Whos Tommy (theatre-musical)Was spontaneously invited to go to a musical based on the band, The Who, with two school friends; Annika and Franzi. Very cute night with the girls since I have really caught up with them in awhile due to being in a different year group at school. They are the nicest girls and we had fun laughing at the musical since it was all in German, even the Whos songs!!! Pretty terrible acting and singing, but nonetheless a good night with good company.

Sonntag 16th September: Holi Open Air Festival - IGA Park
Holi Open Air Festival is a religious spring festival created and highly celebrated in India, known as a festival of colours. It truely is a festival of colours as everyone is dancing around listening to hippy-cool music and throwing coloured powder everywhere! I went with a new friend, Jule, from the 11th class and some of her local friends - really fun and it was nice to be around some new people. Met up with Caro, Maxi and Jojo as well, danced everywhere and caught up. Such a fun day! The next day Jule and I woke up insanely sick... We just lay in her bed dying, probably because of inhaling too much powder, so we didnt go to school instead we watch One Tree Hill, the tv series - hard life!! Didnt matter we were sick though because it was such a fun experience :) Here is a link to a video of the Holi to give everyone an idea what it was like! ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hh-o5g4tLVE

21-23 September: BERLIN

Spontaneous trip to Berlin! Thursday night I was invited to drive down to Berlin with my host brother (Leon) and his friends for the weekend, and party with them.. also to celebrate 2 exchange students 18ths = a big weekend!!
Friday; Leon, his friends and I drove down to Berlin after school.. Got there around 9pm due to traffic.. but that didnt stop us from meeting up with some friends in Berlin and going to the biggest club in Berlin called The Matrix. 

Saturday; I met up with all the exchange students, we hang out in Berlin, walked around, had a cute lunch together and bought presents for the birthday kids. At night we found the coolest spot, it was a mixture of an old cafe and theatre with fairy lights everywhere, next to a little park with play equipment and it was right on the Berlin river.. also with great views of Berlin - such a shame my camera was broken!! The exchange students soaked up the facilities perfectly, which made it a very eventful night. Exchange students are the most unique people ever haha. 
By the end of the night we all ended up at McDonalds together and meeting new friends, such as a group of tired Americans waiting for their 4.15am train - they didnt know what hit them when 20 exchange students joined their table! When we all started to lose our energy heaps of us headed to Victors (Brazilian) house and watched Hunger games then fell asleep! Always a big day and night with the exchangers.
Sunday; slowly made our way home to Rostock..


24th Septemeber: Last night with the Zeug family.I organised a very cute dinner, and made Mums famous meatloaf with mixed vegies and red wine. I gave the family their presents, Ulla started to tear up when I gave her the opal necklace, and said goodbye and see you soon. It wasnt as sad I thought since I know I will see them a lot during the rest of my exchange.. changing families is just another step. But I have been very thankful for the Zeug family as I actually felt loved and welcome there :) After packing up all my things I had three big and two small bags full of belongings... funny to see how much you can acquire over 8 months!

25th Septemeber: Hello Kirstoff family!After a normal day at school Ulla drove me and my five bags over to Warnemünde, where my last host family lives and which is my new home for the rest of my exchange. It was an easy change as I already knew the Kirstoffs and we get along really well. Even Holger, host dad, and I joke around a lot.. I call him Uncle Colin (because he has the same humour as my Uncle and the same look) and he calls me Andy pandy, funny relationship already! I am very good friends with my host brother, Friedi, and we bond really well over exchange as he was in Ohio USA for 1 year also with Rotary. I have another little host brother aged 12, Gabi, who is a crazy football fan, so we naturally get along too... works out well. The family are all very nice, even for a Bio-recycle loving family who are very free spirited haha - thats why I love them!

28th and 30th: West side story and Philharmonisches Konzert.As I have said my new host parents, Antje and Holger, are musicians.. not like  a rock band, more like an orcestra. Due to this they have many concerts and performances, in which I am always invited to.. so I took the opportunity and went to a modern concert (west side story) with Gabi, and also a classical with Friedi. Both my parents are extremely talented musicians, so both concerts were amazing!! I have asked my host parents to tell me when something new is on because I enjoyed both of the concerts so much!!

1-4th Oktober: LONDON CALLING!!For four days I went with Annika and Ditschi to London, for an new travelling experience. This experience started bright an early Monday morning, 6am, where I was picked up by Ditschi`s mother and we drove to Hamburg airport. From Hamburg we flew to London.. and in under 3 hours we were in our YHA hostel in St Pauls, right in the centre of London... amazing!! Straight away I met up with an old Aussie friend, Marika, and we demolished all the shops on Oxford street, had coffee together, some more shopping and then had a cute English dinner together - it was so nice to have a slice of home with me, even if it was for a few hours.. we connected heaps and shared stories of our travels, loved it! Got back to the hostel quite early and dead due to so much walking!
Tuesday; We ate a nice English breakfast at hostel, I have really missed egg, bacon and hash browns for breakfast so it was amazing! Then we head to the Tate Modern museum, really hip and technological museum - pretty interesting and facinating! After about 3 hours or so we walked around and found the Big Ben, Westminister Abbey and a lot more red buses!! Very typical London. We ended up in Soho and China town looking through markets and stalls.. also came across an entertaining and extremely funny Canadian stuntman-street performer, who worked the crowd by using excellent sarcasm, throwing knives and embarassing the audience. Late in the afternoon Ditschi went to visit a friends host family, so that left Annika and I to discover the crazy London nightlife. First started off in a transport museum drinking tea, then in a bar with cocktail night in which the bartender was extremely flirty and funny, and he ended up making us his favour drink, called the zombie. MnM world came next where we saw the fake Abbey road and experience `four levels of fun`, then somehow we found a rainforest cafe, where everything seemed like real life and then of course to the famous platform nine and three quarters! = one crazy night in London.Wednesday; Woke up with some exciting stories from our old Aussie roommate from Perth, the lady was probably 65 and had been travelling for about 30 years... interesting lady. Since we had such a jampacked day yesterday we started off slowly by walking around London, seeing the Eye, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. In between we shopped in Gilly Hicks, a brand based on Sydney in which I have never heard of in my life.. and there isnt even a single store in Sydney. Also on the way collecting a classic photo with the Abercrombie and Finch models, then headed into a small English town for High Tea; simply fabulous darling! This little tea house we had entered was real traditional English, from the curtains, to the scones even the customers with fancy clothing and cambridge or old fashioned English accents which I thought didnt still exist - such a lovely experience! On the way home I stopped by another local Aussie friend at work, Katherine, and we had a cute chat.. shame she had to work and was busy the days I was in London, but nonetheless it was pleasant. For dinner I met with another local Aussie friend, or really a friend my sisters, Dane, and we talked about our lives overseas and how back home is exactly the same.. also how weird to thnk about going back, very nice and in a way sophisticated, though I hated it when he said I was actually like my sister (yeah, laugh it up Liz).
Thursday; Last day was short but sweet. Annika and I trained it to Brick Lane, an arty section of London where we found an awesome vintage shop with old records and amazing clothes!! The trip was short but very plesant with the girls and i love mixing English and German together over the four days!! Definitely going back to London when I get the chance, awesome city!

All for now...I will update more and with more detail soon. Love and peace out xxxx 

Cori comes to visit! Bergfest and Beach!

Freitag 17 August - Cori is in Rostock!
So I left school early to go pick Cori up from Rostock's main station, I was so excited its unbelievable.. I couldn't wait for her to experience part of my exchange and meet my friends/family here - not many people will get that opportunity so this was really nice! (Cori was an exchange student at my school in Aus). Once i saw her, and hugged her, we didn't stop talking.. German and English combined, so funny - sometimes we didn't even realize which language we were speaking in haha. I took her into Rostock city and showed her around, we went and had lunch in my favourite restaurant - very cute! After she came home and met my host family, they seemed to get along really well, and then we got ready to go to a school dance (Bergfest). Once finished we went to Laury's and hung out before going to the dance, very casual and chill. At 'Bergfest' we talked with all my school friends, watched the teacher perform in little bad (so funny) and then danced the night away! Around 11pm the dance was over so a small group of us wandered to the beach, then to a beach bar - it was a good night!

Samstag 18 August - Finally summer weather!
This was seriously the first weekend it was actually hot! 30 degrees! I was actually desperate to go swimming, odd for Germany, but Cori and I took advantage of the weather and spent the day on the beach with the boys. Warnemunde beach was wonderful and the water, even though it was cold, was really pleasant and refreshing. For lunch Cori had the famous Warnemunde 'fischbrotchen' (fish bread) and we soaked up more sun/admired the Baltic Sea. Once at home we rested, good ready for the night and organised to have dinner with my host parents. Later we met up again at Laury's and chilled, then headed to the beach where  a lot of my school friends we hanging. After about 2 hours Cori and I wanted to dance, so we all headed to LT club. An interesting taxi ride later we were back at home and discussing the nights events. I loved having Cori with me, it was so nice and comforting to have another girl with me, especially one who knew me before Germany.

Sonntag 19 August - Hottest day ever in Germany.A whooping 35 degrees on the Baltic Sea and everyone was dying. Naturally we went to the beach, and so did all the population of Rostock and Warnemunde. The beach was sooooo packed!! I've never seen anything like it before, it was unbelievable! But nonetheless it was lovely with Cori and my school friends.. we played volleyball in the water and swam around - brilliant summer day. By 5pm Cori had to leave, so we packed up our stuff and headed to the train station. It was such a short visit, but lots of fun and it was great to see Cori again. We are planning another meeting later on, maybe in her home down or in Amsterdam hehe. 

The following week was just boring at school, though I organised to go to a one day festival with Jule - so thats exciting. Its called Holi Open Air Festival Rostock and it involves throwing  this weird coloured powder around, like a paint party, and dancing to music, so it'll be different and fun. 

Samstag 25 August - Conrad's birthday night out.
Conrad, the new guy, turned 18 so we had a little celebration starting off at barfuss and then ending at LT club once again. It was really chill and nice to be with a small group and talk over a few drinks. We met some interesting people that night as well, a group of sailors were in town, and their English was excellent so we talked and danced with them, very nice guys with great stories! 

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!  

So much family bonding.. last week of holidays

Literally everyday since Leon has been home we've been chilling and hanging around just like siblings do. Its actually quite cute because we (Luca, Leon and myself) all lay on Luca's bed playing guitars and singing together, or watching movies, or playing lame computer games; it feels a little like family... finally.

Montag 30 Juli - Meeting the new Rostock exchange student.
So for a while i've known that there were going to be new exchange students in Rostock so obviously I was curious when Ryan from Florida, USA, came over to meet me and the family. At the beginning he seemed really shy, but then he warmed up and I couldn't really stop him from talking. He is 16 and into ice hockey, and seems like a real American boy.. so i'm interested how his year is going to plan out. He doesn't know any German, exactly like me when I came here, so I was very sympathetic to him; I spoke English and a very little bit of German with him to try and teach him small things. All the kiddies ended up in Warnemunde as Leon and Ryan needed buy some German stuff like sim cards... we rode our bikes in and then showed Ryan around a little bit, very cute. When home I cooked dinner, Peanut chicken, with Ryan and Leon's help; it turned out very successful - i've really got a hang of cooking now, pretty sweet. After dinner Ryan went home the night became really nerdy as Luca, Leon and I played games until early in the morning - what has my life become?! Brothers are bad influences haha

Dienstag 31 Juli - Cati and more fun.
After more cooking, which the boys insisted I make; Banana cake, I went to Cati's to hang out. Cati will be in my school this year, and she recently got back from an exchange in USA - she's awesome. We just chilled, got ready to go out and then had dinner with her family. After that we headed to the beach and met up with Karl, a guy from our school. All three of us later got to train to go to Fun; the really seedy club which is in a way like Oatley pub - so a local hang out place. Once inside I met all my local friends, and some old friends which I haven't seen for ages... one of them was Johann - we talked for ages and danced etc, it was really nice. I was a little upset as it was my first time in Fun without Roy so he comforted me, very sweet. After being danced out Leon called me and we walked home, only 20 mins, in that time we both talked about the nights events and decided never to go in Fun again (probably a lie but whatever)... that night it was extremely full and crowded, not ideal but i found it nice with all the locals. 

Mittwoch 1 August - Johann's grill
After Fun Johann texted me inviting me to his house for grill with all the local guys, naturally I said yes; it would be nice. Before going I rode my bike to Sophie's house and caught up a little bit, then Johann picked up us. His house was really really nice, its in the countryside near Bad Doberan (half an hour from Rostock) and his house has lots of green fields surrounding it, so pretty. In his backyard he has chickens, lots of trees and its just a chilled nature atmosphere. I loved it. It turned out to be a small group at his; Miri, Sophie, Johann, Ditschi and Stefan - which was really nice. Johann just got back from Vietnam so we looked at his photos and talked about travelling. Another chilled night; perfect!

Freitag 3 August - Family squash.
After being lame and play computers games together until really early in the morning, Luca, Leon and I headed into town to buy some supplies for school/ just get out of the house. By the time we got home we'd organised something with the Kirstoff's (3rd host family) in the night so we didn't just end up being nerds again. Caro (next host sister) and Inken had a choir night and insisted we watched; it was lovely and extremely well done, even though i couldn't really understand what they were singing since it was in old German language. By about 9pm it finished and we were all starving, so Leon, Friedi and myself rushed home and cooked up the world's best lasagna with tons of cheese and beer mince - it was amazing!!! Ryan, Luca, Caro and Inken made it just in time so we all ate together, very family orientated and extremely cute. The night involved just sharing exchange stories, playing cards, and admiring our cooking skills.

Samstag 4 August - Sleepover and wild weather.
We were having such a good time together that we lost track of time and it was completely dark, making bike riding home with no lights very difficult.. so we ended up just sleeping over at the Kirstoff's. By about midday we finally headed home and luckily just as we stepped into the house it started bucketing down! It was so intense, it came out of nowhere.. it was so warm and sunny, it didn't make sense - but we took advantage of this weird weather and got out swimmers on and jumped on the trampoline. It reminded me of my childhood with friends and siblings on the trampoline - it was a beautiful bonding experience haha. We even got a visit from a little frog making it feel a little bit like an Australian down pour :)