Meet the families

Alright well I have shared a little bit about one of my families but I think I should show you the other one I know about too.

The Domhardts

The pictures below are of my first host family in Rotenburg. There is the house I live in and my host brother and sister. Mortiz is my 18 year old host brother that likes to study languages including Spanish and English. He went on exchange two years ago to Chile. I am told that he also likes sports. Lea is 15 and likes french and Spanish. Lea plays piano and dances. Right after i get there she is going on exchange to Argentina! Frank (my host father) "likes music very much, he has studied violin but also likes jazz and so on.He loves to work in his garden, sitting at the pond and watching what`s on."  He teaches music and biology My host mother Martina  teaches German and religion at the high school I will be going to. For more information on the school go to http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.ratsgymnasium-row.de/&ei=uAQFTsPEH4GisQPX4vHIDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dratsgymnasium%2Brotenburg%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1R2GGHP_enUS437%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D612%26prmd%3Divns

The Holstens

The second host family I will be staying with is the Holstens. They have two sons, Jannis and Malte. Malte is 20 years old and Jannis is 16 years. Jannis is an exchange student in
Minnesota near St.Paul/Minneapolis since last August and will come home at the end of July. I have skyped whith Jannis a few times and I am already happy to know him. they live in Waffensen, a little village with 900 people, near Rotenburg. My host mother told me, "Waffensen is a beautiful place which won a price called "Unser Dorf hat Zukunft". That means "Our village is the future". In January 2011 we drove with over hundred people to Berlin (capital of Germany) receiving our price. Only 8 villages from Germany earned this honor."

It sounds like a really special place to me and I feel lucky to live there.

Above are some pictures of their family.

 Kirsten is my host mother and Andreas is my host father.

I can not wait to get there. Bis Später!

Awkward pause...

Whenever I hang out with anyone other that my immediate family, they usually only talk about my exchange. Don't get me wrong I love talking about it but I don't love talking about it when they really aren't interested.  I think that people think it is only polite to ask my about my exchange and I don't the edict it just seems thats all peole ask me about. I feel a disconnect from my friends and I'm sure they feel the same. It is weird knowing that you wont be going to school or seeing these people again for a year.
School has been ok. I like my German class I just have to get used to all the extra work in the summer. My english class is kind of sucking the life out of me and I almost wish i only took one class but i know it will be worth it.

A little out of the ordinary

Right now most 16 year old in my town are either at the beach or hanging out with friends or many other fun things... I on the other hand am not. I am taking a break from doing homework :). Today was my first day at the JC and it really wasn't bad because I got out early. In the mornings I am taking German and in the afternoon I take English so that I can graduate on time. My English teacher scares me! She said it was going to be on of the hardest classes that we have taken at the JC especially because it is only a six week course. I am worried I wont have any time to work on my German and when I get there I wont know anything. Goodbye folks! Now I have to go read a bunch of stuff on writing and I'm going to love it because I know it will all be worth it in 57 days. By the way thank you so much to every ones support it is making my life way less stressful.

Tschüs

Why should you be 18 to leave home?

As you probably already know, being an exchange student takes a lot of time, effort, paper work, patience, and preparation for your year to come. Luckily, I don't have to deal with all the visa paperwork because of Germany's foreign policy towards America. I actually don't have to get a visa at all (as far as I'm aware). Right now I am calling this little break I have my second winter vacation, this is for several reasons. For one, because of the winter like weather, and two because it is only two weeks long. In one week I start school again at the Santa Rosa Junior College. I need to take extra classes to graduate high school on time with the rest of my friends. I have already completed an extra history class so this summer all I have to take is English and of course German. It should be interesting going to the JC during summer but I know that it will pay off in the end.
My feeling towards leaving are a little mixed because right now my family is building a new house in town that we plan on moving into right before I leave. That means that when I come back I will be going back into that new home.
The pictures below are pictures of one of either my second or third host family in Germany! I am very exited to meet them. After skyping with the youngest son Jannis for about an hour I felt so relieved and it began to feel real. He made me feel a lot more comfortable with the whole idea of leaving everything behind for a year.

California's summer

Almost every day I have been checking the weather in both Rotenburg and Santa Rosa (northern California) and it seems like they should be switched!. If I were to look out my window right now (which I wont because it is to depressing) I would see that it is pouring down rain! But if I look at this web cam I can see that it is nice, sunny and warm in Germany.http://www.webcams.travel/webcam/1231070345-Weather-Rotenburg-(W%C3%BCmme)-Marktplatz-Rotenburg Seems a little ridiculous right? Weill I am sure looking forward to the sun in California to bad it will probably come out right before I leave. 65 days and counting....

Where to start?

Well lets start off with an introduction! My name is Shannon, I am from the beautiful wine country in Santa Rosa, California and I will be soon be an exchange student in Rotenburg (Wuemme) in Germany! I will be going with Rotary and if you didn't get the www. address it means I am from district 5130 and will be going to 1850. I really couldn't be more exited for this opportunity. This blog is for everyone that got me to where I am today and where I will be in 2 months. I have already heard from two of my host families in Germany so far and i feel so lucky to know how great they are. Above is the first house I will be staying in. It is everything i could have asked for and more. I have really been stressing about the language because for me I think that will be the biggest immediate change once I get there. I will update this blog with things i find important and fun and also I will post the E-mails I send to people in Rotary.
To anyone I don't know reading this blog I hope it helps with your travels to Germany or experience as an exchange student (through any program).