10th Juli - FUNNNNNNN
The day started off a bit sadly as Roy and Johannes had a bit of a fight.. so at night Roy wanted to forget about it and just celebrate/say goodbye to local people, they were all going to FUN so we naturally ended up there. First we met the girls and got sassy on the dance floor, then we bumped into a family friend from the Zeug's, Max, so we hung out with him for a while. By the end of the night i'm pretty sure we sure half our year from school and all the local people Roy wanted to see. We also met some new people on the way home, because we are just very accepting people and talk to everyone, especially those who are alone - some very funny videos were made.
There was one really sad moment in my week when I was plant shopping (weird but Germans love it) with host mum's best friend/my new German teacher - I saw a plant which looked identical to the Australian bottlebrush and I also found a eucalyptus plant.. looked and smelled like Australia :(
14th - 15th Juli - Bremen!
Both my host parents, Ulla and Enno, were born in the German city of Bremen (its about 3 hours drive west of Rostock) so naturally they wanted us to see it. My host grandma (Oma) still lives in Bremen so we stayed with her. After being stuck in traffic for 4 and a half hours we finally made it to the sunny Bremen. After a sit down lunch at Oma's we had two new visitors, Paula (my soon to be host sister - she's going to live in my Aussie family in Jan) and her Mum. We talked for hours about exchange, Australia, Oatley and interests, all spoken in German - very impressed I could do it and she understood or so i think. By late afternoon our schedules caught up with us so we sad goodbye/see you in January. My host family, Roy and myself all wandered around the beautiful city of Bremen, eating ice cream and just being amazed at how diverse the city is with lots of culture, art and history. After our local tour we headed to the annual Bremen summer festival, where we listened to hipster music, eat hipster food and just stared at all the hipster people. By 1am we'd all had enough so we ventured it back to Oma's, on the way home the hipster atmosphere never left.. such a cool place!
By morning we all looked like zombies but there was more of Bremen to see, so Enno, Luca, Roy and myself walked around the streets and then headed to Bremen's Art hall. It was so amazing! I'm not really a big art person but the mix of old, new, photography and paintings was awesome, I was never bored. After about 3 hours inside wasn't enough but we need to leave before Bremen before night as my host aunty was visiting us in Rostock for dinner.
Overall a really cool weekend with Roy and my host family - i feel a lot close with both now which is great but also sucks as Roy is leaving and I am moving host families soon.
More photos will be uploaded soon.
3 Juli - Ulla's Birthday
All the family came over for some cake(s) and dinner, it was lovely. I got along really well with the Grandma and we talked for ages in German, it made me feel a lot more confident with my German. Roy and I gave Ulla a present involving a photo of us (she took one of Roy's photos when he left so we thought she'd like one of us) and a pretty scarf.
4 Juni - Crepes with the girls
Some school girls and myself went to Ditschi's and baked crepes/ played board games and cards. It was a relaxing day with bike ride along the beach to get to her house and a bike ride back with the other girls. It really felt like holidays.
7 Juni - Maxi and Johannes 18th Birthday
The night started off tame with us all meeting at Dana's apartment, just talking and figuring out what we were going to do. Maxi wanted a chill night so we ended up heading down to Warnemunde beach thinking it would just be small group of people, but when we got there it was huge! This night was the first beach party of the summer, there was really big stage, dance floor, lights, bars and people everywhere. It was a pretty fun night, even though the group split as Johannes wanted to go to a club, so Roy joined. Though there was a bit too much Jaga, peppermint liquor and vodka for Maxi - Happy 18th!
From the 29th June to 1st July I had my last district conference with the oldies, so sad. There were only about 25 of us as most of the exchange students have gone home. Since Roy and I were the locals from the group we had to help a fair bit with picking everyone up from the station and getting them to the youth hostel etc.
29th Juni - First day of the Conference
At first Roy and I had a few hickups with the exchange students and different time trains/ train tickets, but we finally got to the youth hostel without too much trouble. After settling into the youth hostel we had a group bbq in the hostel garden, sadly though the weather wasn't very kind we got rained out. The rest of the night was spent inside the hostel talking about our adventurers on Euro tour and just soaking up the little bit of time we had left together - it was Corey's last night with us and he wanted to go out on a bang... so we attempted to have a beach party but the weather ruined it due to the cold and wet atmosphere.
30th Juni - Blazers and boatsToday was a very full day! First we headed to on of Rostock's beautiful gardens and had a tour - highlight was the little garden houses and pretty flowers. In the huge garden we found a map of the world and everyone stood where they lived - Will and I pigbacked (Australia is the yellow blob).
Then we had a tour of Rostock's navy boat (Dad you would have loved it) a little bit boring but Corey and I played the Titanic so it was funny. Then we all headed to a ferry and had a nice cruise around Rostock harbour, I never realized how big and amazing my city is. Once refreshed from the cruise we all walked to Warnemunde's most posh hotel where we all suited up in our Rotary blazers and presented ourselves to our regions head Rotarians. Two exchange student gave a speech, Aya (Japanese) performed a traditional dance, Bika (Balinese) sang the saddest song about always being together and all the exchange students sang a German song, Hinterm Horizont - by the end most of the exchange students were crying.
After all the emotions were out a small group ended up getting pommes (chips), as Roy and I always do, and we just chilled. Next on the agenda was sailing, but sadly first we needed to say goodbye to Corey. Corey is one of the nicest boys ever and we got along so well, he is one of the oldies I going to miss immensely - but I'm going to visit him in Rockport USA so everythings good. Once the tears stopped we hopped on the sailing boat and had an hour trip, pretty cool. I talked with the captain, a Rotarian, and he said that Rostock will be getting 3 new exchange students - so that means I won't be alone after all, but still I am devasted the oldies are leaving.
At night we had a beach party since the weather was much better. My school friend, Karo, was having an 18th party there too so we all met up, it was quite nice for the exchange students and my school friends to mix.
1st Juli - Goodbye time :(
Today involved a slow breakfast, just chatting away with the exchangers then packing up and sadly saying goodbye. We all travelled together to the train station and had lunch together still chatting like nothing was going to happen, then all of a sudden all of them were gone and it was just Roy and I standing at the station - so depressing. We had moments of silence in memory of all the great things we have done with all the international exchangers, not thinking about the fact that we are probably never going to see them again, but then again "hinterm horizont gehts weiter" + "zusammen sind wir stark" = never leaving the exchange students and we will meet again.
This was probably one of the most depressing weeks in my exchange so far. It has showed me how close I have gotten with Katie and to Germany. In a way that is really good as I know i've been having great experiences as I am so emotional but also its sad that things are coming to an end.
Dienstag 26/27 Juni - Katie's surprise going away party/Berlin.
Katie had the shock of her life when she walked into her backyard and found all her school friends there, but an even bigger shock when Roy and I jumped out of her bed. Roy and I sang her a personally made mean girls song, showering her with hugs and also shots haha. We played Katie's favourite music, had a bbq and just had a nice time with her, it was lovely. In the morning we shared a German breakfast together, Katie's last, sooooooo sad. I gave her some aussie items for her to remember me by, a silly hat and tshirt, also I made her a page of photos and a letter.
When it finally came to saying goodbye Katie and I were crying like babies, trying to say meaningful words to each other but not hearing anything.. it was silly on my part as I knew I was going to see her again as Roy and I were going to Berlin airport the next day to see her off (a surprise for Katie) but still I love her so it was all worth it. After Caro and Roy had to tear us apart, Roy and I headed back to Rostock/home, but once at Rostock main station we saw a really cheap train to Berlin (19 euros for 2 people - instead of 30 for one person) so we jumped at the opportunity and after calling our host parents we were on our way to Berlin. By 6pm we were in Berlin meeting up with all the exchange students and just chilling. A nice indian dinner later we were in tiergarten playing beer ball and just having fun all together again. By 2am we (all exchange students) were starting to freak out that we wouldn't make the bus to Berlin airport to say goodbye to Katie and also Robin, an american girl, so we frantically go to the Berlin main station and searched for buses. Luckily we made it to the airport by 4am (Katie's plan was at 6am) so we had plenty of time for another goodbye. It is so sad to know that Katie isn't in Germany anymore, I don't have a girl here who completely knows me and understand me now.. but I know this is not a goodbye, its see you soon as we will definitely meet again in the future!! We are after all Sagi sisters and I love her so much.
Donnerstag 28 Juni - UEFA Semi finals (GEHEN 'SCHLAND!!)
The day started out pleasantly with a sleep in and some beach frisbee/ volleyball with Luca, Naima (Luca's girlfriend) and Nick (Luca's friend). Then Nick and I headed off to the Kirstoff's (my third host family) to watch the Germany vs Italy semi final in the UEFA Championships on their projector screen. We had a nice bbq and chatted for a bit then the action started. Everyones faces were painted in German colours and there was such a German atmosphere. I bet that it would be 2-1 Germany's way. But sadly it was 2-1 Italy's way, everyone was devasted, even Roy and I were in shock when Germany lost. The German team was meant to win!??!! It hit Roy and I so hard, so weird, I've never been that patriotic with an Australian sporting game before. Even though they lost I still love Germany tons and their soccer team too! The grand final was between Italy and Spain = Spain won 4-0 so happy it wasn't Italy!
Mittwoch 20 Juni - My last school day with Roy!!
It was not like a normal day as a some group of Germans came back from a 3 month exchange from Hong Kong and Wales so we heard their presentations and talked all about it. I sat with Roy and was a little depressed, though we had our ritual of bludging in the common room so I was content.
I can't imagine school without him, I have really no idea what I am going to do with my time and who to hang out with while my school friends are studying. Here is two photos to commemorate all the stupid times we've spent in the common room when everyone else was doing work and of course one of Roy's drawings.
21 Donnerstag - 24 Samstag Juni = HURRICANE FESTIVAL!!
It was the best weekend I have had in a while :) I was with such great people and listened to lots of amazing music!!
First off I drove with Laury and Luca to the festival grounds, took about 5 hours due to all the people doing the same - lots of fun though as when the traffic was no moving people would get out of their cars, open a beer and chat among each other - really cool. Once at the festival ground we met with Tini (Laury's girlfriend) and her friend, Marie - both lovely people. Our camping area was so small and full of people, but that made it a lot more fun as we became friends with everyone around us. I made good friends with a boy from Berlin, Jan, and his friends, we had water fights together and played cards a lot. Also I kept bumping into some boys from near Bremen who were dressed as sailors, very nice boys, they carried around confetti so we'd run around with them throwing confetti at everyone.
Friday night there was a public viewing of the Deutschland championship game, so much patriotism and so many people... Germany won 4-1. My favourite day was Saturday as i was with the girls; Tini, Marie and Anna (Tini's other friend) and we chilled, and then went to all the amazing bands together - Mumfords and Sons, Florence and the Machines and Blink 182. I got lost once but then I had the most fun as I found the sailors and we had a little adventure together...overall there were about 50 000 people there, insanely big! The only shame was that the weather on the last day was horrible, raining and so windy, that made us leave a little bit earlier, but otherwise the weather for the first 3 days was perfect and warm. We have all said that we will meet again soon so I'm excited, its great to have friends that are older and out of school as they have a bit more time and can come out with me.
From the last time I posted so much has hit me.. the fact that Katie is leaving in less than a week and Roy in almost under a month.. the fact that i'm 5 months into my exchange and my german is still pretty bad... the fact that i have 7 months left and have no idea where I am going to live, who I am going to be friends with and what crazy stuff is going to happen those months...
Dienstag 4 Juni - Beautiful Aussie Dinner.
I made my host family Mum's lovely zucchini slice for dinner and presented them with Australian red wine - it was a sort of bribe so they love me. It turned out great! Here's a picture for you Mum, thanks heaps :) and I miss your cooking tons, mine just wasn't the same!
Samstag 9 Juni - First Deutschland UEFA game!!
For this special occasion Roy and myself headed to Ribnitz, where Katie lives, and celebrated with Katie :) We ended up going to a public viewing at a car yard, pretty fun and a little german atmosphere which was nice - Germany ended up winning 1-0 after not playing the best but still GO 'SCHLAND!! After the exciting game we all walked to the only disco in Ribnitz and celebrated further. I had a moment with Roy and Katie, and I realized how much I am going to miss them and I am so thankful to have met them, it was horribly beautiful. After many shots and lots of dancing we all headed back to Katie's. In the morning I was very lively or maybe still under the influence, but either way I was happy with my friends, playing mario cart and laughing/crying about what had happened = rainbow. These are the moments I am never going to forget!
After the amazing weekend with Katie and Roy I didn't really seem to function.. On Monday I had soccer training so as normal I went home from school packed my bag and had some spare time to do whatever, I decided to have a little read and then ended up sleeping through soccer training!! Over the weekend I had contacted some girls scouts I saw at the train station and was meant to meet with them at scouts on Tuesday night, but I got on the wrong tram and went the complete other direction, then when I realized this I was so far away that I would have been embarrassingly late. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!
Donnerstag 14 Juni - Theatre Night.
Finally something I could actually do! Our drama class had their annual performance night so Roy and I performed an English piece from "Blasted" by Sarah Kane. I played a crazy, mental girl who is very unstable and Roy played a drunken asshole who used her used her for sex.. very suitable, but it was fun. We were nervous that not everyone would understand us, so we tried to speak clear/ slowly and acted very dramatically/big - people loved it so I think we did well!
Freitag 15th Juni - Abi ball after-party.
My soon to be host sister, Caro, finished school and her HSC (which is called abi in Germany) so she had a formal/after party. Roy, Katie and I were invited to the after party to celebrate with her. We had pre drinks at Katie's friends house and go ready together, Katie and I were being extremely girly, it was quite amusing. Once we got to the after party around we danced the night away, talked and just had a blast. I am going to miss these moments with Katie and Roy, it is just so easy to be around them. So overall it was really nice to dress up nicely and look fabulous, quite a pleasant night.
Montag 28 Mai - Fussball grandfinal - My soccer team started a championship competition before I came to Germany and they made it to the grandfinal!! So I went to watch and support them :) We all got the bus together to Malchow - about 2 hours away from Rostock. The bus was a city bus dedicated to us, we even had our name on the bus, soooo cool! I was a little worried that i'd be loner on the bus but I sat with some of the younger girls and talked. When at the field, I met a German girl Anna and we clicked right away. Anna and I sat with Francy (one of my favourites in our team) and talked/wasted time until the game started. It was 3-1 at half time, the other team winning, and by full time it was 4-2 - such a shame we lost! My team tried really hard but the other team were bit fast and were really skilled! On the bus home everyone still partied and celebrated as they made it that far - the whole team did shots in the bus, and supporters too - it was hilarious. I spent the whole day with my team and it was a great time of bonding.
Freitag 1 Juni - Fussball and Christine!!
At night I had a soccer game at my home field - 8 a side game. Enno, Luca and Naima (Luca's girlfriend) came and watched which was extremely nice since the weather was horrible, cold and windy. The game was pretty easy as we won 9-1 - I scored 2 goals :) After the game I got refreshed and then Roy brought Christine to my house. Christine is an American exchange student living in Dresden (south Germany) and she came to visit Roy, myself and the north of Germany for the weekend. We had a really nice night with my host family, eating dinner together and speaking in German - my family loved Christine. After dinner Roy, Christine and myself just chilled and tried to download the Mean Girls movie, but sadly it failed. Roy went home so Christine and I had a sleepover including deep conversations about exchange - I love exchange students. Plus we did a load of washing at 12am until 2am because something exploded in Christine's bag - such fun.
Samstag 2 Juni - Christine and Rostock.
At breakfast Christine asked about how close Denmark is from Germany - I was like really far and my host mum was like nah its about 2 hours boat ride costing 15 euros, I was in shock. Christine's background in Danish so we were thinking of being radical and going on a spontaneous day trip to Denmark, but once we were in Warnemunde (the Rostock beach) reality hit us and so did the weather (windy, cold and slightly raining) so we decided to postpone the trip. After braving it on the beach and having a little walk to the lighthouse we headed to the city centre of Rostock. We walked around Rostock and through a little street market, ate bratwurst and tried to do a little bit of shopping. Then headed back to my house, napped because we were dead from doing washing at 2am and let the Mean Girls movie load. When waking up we were energized and excited to watch Mean Girls - it was great! Later that night we met up with Laury and some other school friends before going to a Uni Bar in Rostock. When at the Uni bar we meet some American Uni students and just danced the night away :)
Sonntag 3 Juni - Bye bye Christine.
At about 2 Christine sadly had to trek it back to south Germany by train. So we said goodbye over a hot chocolate in my favourite cafe, Cafe Paula. When at the Rostock train station we bumped into another American exchange student, Christian - the guy that missed the train after Euro tour (idiot). He was at the station wearing a suit and with all the classy looking teenagers.. they all just came back from a UN debate or something and their were people all over the world there, really cool.
After many hugs Christine was off to Dresden, Roy and myself waited for his host grandma and then went Warnemunde, where I met Maxime (french exchange student). I talked with Maxime for 2 hours and just caught up, filling eachother in on what has happened after Euro tour, extremely nice. Maxime is such a good friend and we have plans to meet in the future which means that this friendship isn't over, so i'm happy. At night my host family and I went to the theatre again to support Caro, Roy's host sister, for a second time - nice night and this time I understood more of the play so I was pretty proud.
Overall the weekend was really pleasant as I got to see Christine and Maxime again before they leave Germany - it also made me sad to think of how many of the exchange students I won't ever see again :(
