How is five pictures a reasonable amount?

Chris and Sven in Japan

They have a pool in their garden, not something I am particularly ecstatic about.

This will be my class in Germany. They don't change rooms, just teachers. So basically these kids better be cool because I'll be in one room with them all day. Also, can you say "Claire needs to buy a black jacket"?

Their kitchen. The girl in the yellow is their former host daughter, Mika, from Japan.

Peggy and Chris holding up my application picture. When they sent me this I was mega glad I chose a non-embarrassing photo for that application.

For some reason this blog only let's me post 5 photos at a time...lame.

I delete you!

I have officially deleted both my facebook and my twitter accounts, big moves for a 16 year old girl. I wanted to do this before leaving because I know how addicting both of them are (seeing as I checked them frequently even during finals week) and how much I would be impelled to check them. I did not want to be using English on a regular basis or hogging the computer at my host's house. Now I am left with the life question of, what do I do now?

This weekend has probably been my most productive weekend all Summer. We bought a new camera for my trip, shot and printed pictures of my home town, and also figured out my money situation. My family decided to get me both a mastercard and a visa card for my trip (because some places don't accept one or the other). They are debit cards cosigned with my parents. This way, they can put in money and also check my spendings. We also had two of my final favorite meals for dinner including chicken parm and spinach pasta : D omnomnom

As far as interactions with the host family, they are counting down. I planned to send an email tonight to my host Mom but it takes a lot of time and well...I'm just ganna do it tomorrow (aka Lazy). I am a bit scared as they have not mentioned that birthday card I sent Chris which makes me suspect it didn't go over so well. I'm not sure my neverending sarcasm will go over well there, as it many times bites me in the ass even here. I have also decided to pass up on bringing my laptop or even my Ipod to Germany. Neither will really be of use to me. I say this now, but I may regret the decision about .2 seconds after arriving.

Also, who would have had the first day of school today had she not been going to Germany?! Yes, ME! I was tempted to wait at the busstop and then when it came, get on and go "oh yes, how silly of me, I don't have to go to school!" and walk off. Instead I slept in, which was equally as satisfying.

So I will now post pictures because that's the only part of blogs people actually look at...

The 10 Longest Days of Summer

I've officially decided that the last two weeks in the United States will be my longest and hardest part of this whole experience. This means a lot considering that its competitors were summer school and waiting to find out whether I got accepted for cbyx (my scholarship). But no, indeed the last few days have been killer. Somehow the free time that I would have murdered my best friend for during finals week, has lost its shine and sparkle. One can only play online bingo so long (and not win once) until they have no other option but to sit and stare at walls until the days pass.

I have 10 days left. Technically, I have 14 because there's a four day orientation in Washington D.C... but 10 days to entertain myself at home. I no longer even have companions in my Summer boredom. My brother Tyler moved out on the 17th and my brother Colin left this morning for his Sophmore year at Dickinson. He also took my bedroom TV...*inserts incredibly angry face*. I have considered starting to pack, but seeing as I'm packing a years worth of clothes, I'd be better off doing it closer to me leaving. Some cbyxers started packing last month, which makes me question what the hell their wearing, if anything, right now?

As my last gift before I leave, my stepmom has offered to cook my favorite meals for the week preceeding my departure. Kudos to my stepmom for this brilliant idea. I am helping with the prep process which will be tomorrow. I can't cook, I can just cut shit. So that's what I contribute. My list of "Last Suppers" include black beans and rice, crab cakes, chili, and spaghetti. I obviously have a very sophisticated palate.

Oh yes, so now for the translating disasters that I know you so crave to hear. I seriously start to wonder whether I'm the only kid pulling this stuff. Anyway, in one of my E-mails to my host mother I attempted to ask whether we could purchase a hair straightener when I arrive there (This is because AFS has assured me that if I try to plug it in while in Europe, it will surely blow up. As much as I would like to pull a mythbusters and see if this would actually happen, my parents might not be so proud to hear I set my host families house on fire my first night). Unfortunately, I don't know the word for "straightener". As the lazy teen that I am, I would much rather plug that into a translator than actually look it up in my German-English dictionary. So, I did..finished the E-mail...and sent it. When I got an E-mail back, I was promptly told that I had just asked if I can purchase hair plugs when I arrive. So pretty much my host family is expecting a prematurely balding chick to show up at the train station. Damn you Babble Fish!

School and Birthday Card Fiascos

Haaaalllllooo<--- I actually hate saying hello like that because there is a German blogger named Katrina who literally starts off every single video (she does like two a day) with "haaaaallllooo". Grrr. Sucker punch her in the face. And by that I mean...absolutely nothing. I hardly ever have a method to my madness.

So, I have finally finished summer school. Yey for only having 18 days of actual summer now. Important to note is that I do not in any way promote the summer school program I used- Aventa. It has continually disappointed my family and I by being unreliable and inefficiently run. For example, I got my online report card for the class today and I had an 82 in history. You know why? Because my online teacher decided not to grade any of my discussion questions I turned in, thereby giving me 0/100 for discussions. I know, fascinating. Basically, if you have the option, don't use it.

Moving on to a topic slightly more stimulating. Last Friday was my host brothers 17th birthday. I thought it would be a nice gesture to buy a card for him. Unfortunately, my sense of humor tends to override my sense of judgement. I try so hard to be funny that many times I get myself into a pickle. See, I decided that instead of a regular card, how funny would it be to get one of those music cards, right?? And that's really where I should have stopped. But knowing me, God forbid I not make a total ass out of myself. I then chose the Cinderella princess birthday card for this soccer playing 17 year old boy. When you open the card it makes a magical *dodododo* sound and then has cinderella wish him a happy birthday. The kicker is that inside it wishes "the beautiful princess" a happy birthday. So I crossed out the "ss" and made it prince. And I sent it.

Now, I totally regret it. Of course I would never second guess it before I sent it because that would be all too convenient. Even though in the writing I made sure he knew it was a joke, I feel as if it may not have been my smartest move. This is especially since I have never once talked to Chris or even sent an email. So my first impression is sending him a princess card. BUT they keep raving that they are a very funny family so this will be a true test of their sense of humor. Then again, I have also heard that German humor is completely different than America slap-stick humor. And if it completely bombs, then little to say, it will be a very long year.

Making Up Credits

I know that I wish someone had given me direct guidance in how to handle credits while overseas. I would assume that a big deterrent for people considering a year abroad would be the fact your school may not accept credits. So I'll share what I did, and maybe that will give you some ideas of what you could do.

First step: Stake a claim in the guidance office. I practically LIVED there this year trying to figure out all my Germany stuff. Not only do you need their help on your application, but you'll need their help with credits. I would find the most liberal and probably the youngest guidance counselor you have and go the extra mile to get on their good side. I was really tight with my GC and it seriously pays off.

Second Step: Find out in general what classes you will be taking in Germany. This can be done by contacting former exchange students or asking AFS. Then find out how many credits you already have in school and how many you need for the coming year. If you have taken AP classes or an extra course, this will help you a lot because you wont need as many credits. Take this to your guidance counselor and ask him/her what credits the school is willing to give you for your school year in Germany. Important: Most schools will give you credit for math and science in Germany because it's pretty much fact that their standards are higher there. As for English, you will be taking ESL and therefore will not get credit for that and history will depend on your year in high school. Since I was supposed to take American history, I will not get credit for history in Germany.

Third step: Once you know what classes you wont get credit for, find a good summer school program. I highly suggest doing Summer school (even though it TOTALLY sucks, I'm not ganna lie) as opposed to some kids who do it during their year in Germany. Doing it during the summer gets it out of the way so you can enjoy your year abroad. I would think that taking it during the year would greatly take away from your experience plus your german. Oh yeah, and summer school. This is another thing that guidance will help you with. I did it through a program called Aventa. Important: Make sure that your summer program is the FULL COURSE and not the remedial course. I almost made this mistake and it could have cost me a lot. Also, summer school does cost a fair bit of money. I think each course was about $1000 dollars.

As a sidenote, for those who are told by their guidance counselors that they do not need the credits or that they will work it out when they get back, I would suggest getting a second opinion. The last thing you want to happen is to get back and realize that you should have taken Summer school. Some kids are taking courses just in case, which I think is smart but I would suggest figuring out exactly what credits you need so your not doing too little work but your not making up credits you dont need either.

So thats my two cents on making up credits. The only reason I post it is cause I got so frustrated trying to figure out where to start with making up what I need to for my year away. I am sure others are doing it differently, but I feel comftorble leaving with the credits I've made up.

Meine Gast-Familie

So, my name is Claire. I'm 16 and live in West Chester Pennsylvania. During Christmas break I stayed with a friend Irina from camp in NYC. She had gone to Mexico through AFS and suggested I take a look at what they offered. Long story short, now I have the CBYX scholarship to study abroad for the year in Germany and I leave September 11th, 2009.

After what seemed like a lifetime waiting, I finally got my host family. They live in a town called Forst which is in the former East Germany on the Polish border. It's a pretty big town, about 20,000 people, which is almost the exact same as my town in America. I have a host mother Jutta (though she goes by Peggy) who is....an opthomologist...I think haha it's really hard to translate that word cause so many words in English are close to it. But yeah, something with the eyes. And she owns her own practice which is located on the bottom floor of their house. I have a host father Sven who is a used cars salesman and also flies miniature airplanes<--something that sounds sort of lame but actually looks pretty cool. Lastly, I have a host brother Chris who is my age and plays soccer. I was ecstatic to hear that I had a host brother and not a host sister as I grew up with three older brothers so that puts me in a very comfortable and familiar situation.

This is the house I will be living in. The bottom floor is the practice and my bedroom will be the one in the far left corner. Across the street is a supermarket.

This is my host family of Peggy, Sven, and Chris.

See, sort of cool right?