Putt Putt Saves the Zoo!

After reading several blogs of other AFSers I'm starting to realize that perhaps I veered away from the whole purpose of a blog, which is to tell you what's going on here. Instead Ive just been sharing my reactions lately. So I thought I would try out telling you what I am doing, which is easier now as I am on October break (yes indeed, how awesome is that? Two weeks off in October!) and I am actually doing things.

So as I mentioned in my earlier entry, I am staying with another AFSer Jack. Jack also won the scholarship that I did. We met on the train from Frankfurt to Berlin, became friends at Late Orientation Camp, then I stayed at his place when I needed a host for my SAT weekend where we grew sick of eachother, and then now I am staying with him for the two week October Break where we are both sort of like "I can't get away from you, so I'm just ganna learn to deal with you". I imagine its like being a married couple. Why may you ask, is AFS allowing me to stay with Jack in Berlin for two weeks? Yes, well, I am changing families. And until AFS finds me a new family (cross your fingers not in the same town I was in = major awkwardness) I am staying here, which suits me just fine. I have done more here in the week I've stayed here than I did in a month with my old host family.

Although I can't act like I do something interesting all the time here (aka Jack and I sat with our laptops and ate candy on the couch for literally three days straight until we both turned to eachother, moaned, and went "we have to do something!"). This led to Jack and I taking a bikeride through the town and "spazieren" which is exploring woods. We found tons of creepy old treehouses that were so water-soden that we couldnt climb all but one. The woods in Germany are amazing, theres tons of old abandoned roads and you never run into other people. All you see is farms on all sides of you and a seemingly endless trail. It always reminds me of the movie "Pride and Prejudice" for those who have any idea the scenery I am referring to. I like to take walks on these walks to think and get outside.

Also, Jack and I had taken an earlier exploring adventure in another woods. We rode our bikes to a local "wilderness park"=forest and decided we'd rather walk (actually I wasn't wearing a belt and was tired of worrying about my shirt riding up on the bike so I insisted we drop the bikes). Unfortunately, in Germany, its the national past time to steal bikes, so we had to find a ditch and throw our bikes in there to make sure they werent stolen. We quickly got lost as the path was both neverending and constantly forking. But it was all in good fun. At one point we ended up in this huge field where goats with horns were kept. It was surrounded by an electric fence which of course Jack and I spent about 20 minutes taking turns grabbing...I know, our maturity level is astounding. Finally, we-by the grace of God- somehow made our way back to our bikes. We stopped by the local shop and had Fanta and German pastries and then continued our ride home.

Recently, I've been going out a lot. I went to see...fuck, I forget the name. Some movie with...oh God, I forget that too. This is turning out to be a really good story...Okay, so I went to see a movie with Phillip (Jacks host brother), Dennis (I'll hold out my opinions on this creeper), and Phillips friends. I actually understood the movie! Hooray me. We also went Christmas shopping on Saturday in Berlin. I'd name what I bought but my family reads this thing (hey guys!). Then yesterday, I found out that my Grandpa had passed away. It really hit me hard cause I couldn't be there and he meant so much to me. But last night I went to a classical symphony with the Neubauer's (Jacks family) which was fun, as we got to dress up all fancy-like and the concert was surprisingly more interesting than it might sound. When the last song played I was like, "Hmm that was good" BUT THEN people kept clapping, and clapping-and clapping. And three encores later I was on the verge of taking the U-baun home. This is especially since, 1. High heels are a bitch to wear no matter if your sitting or standing, 2. Panty hose from hell. I hate when the crotch falls down to like your knees and unless you go to the bathroom theres no way you can pull them up (I'm crossing my fingers some girl reading this understands my pain)--panty hose really need some evolving because I dont know a woman who actually likes wearing them . But yes, the concert was enjoyable and the family activities in this family always make me exceptionally happy.

Oh my god, I almost forgot the zoo. Today I went to the zoo with Jack, Phillip, Claudia (host mom), and another family that has a 10 year old daughter, a 16 year old daughter Leo whose a friend of Jacks, and a mom. Oh, the zoo-trip, how to describe you? I'll name my favorite parts.

1. When in the monkey part of the park Claudia goes "Hey Claire, look at those monkeys-so cute!" and I look and go 'Thats officially the ugliest freaking animal I've ever seen!" and promptly asked what the hell was wrong with its face. But then suddenly the monkey turned around and instead of seeing a regular monkey butt-I saw a typical monkey face. Turns out, that ugly monkey I had seen before was its BUTT. It had like a tumor on its butt that looked like a face. It was both incredible and absolutely pain stakingly disgusting.

2. Of course, with little kids we naturally had to go to the petting zoo. Some little kid shoved feed in my hand and insisted I feed the stupid-looking horse, and instead of throwing feed in her face, I did it (I can only imagine how proud my parents are of this). Naturally, my hand was absolutely disgusting and smelled awful afterwards so I just pulled a sheep near me and used its fur as a napkin--crafty right? Then I ran into my new best friend. It was a goat that when it...cried (is that what a goat does?) it sounded like it was choking on a spoon and gurgling water at the same time. It sounds awful but it about got me to pee myself laughing. Also, I got to see an elephant bash as one elephant got pushed over and then the other sat on it. Then when the fallen elephant got up it went out for revenge and pushed over the elephant that had sat on it. P.S. For Christmas, I want a baby elephant.

3. I have no three, that's unfortunate.

Tomorrow we leave for Northwestern Germany to celebrate their Grandpa's birthday. We are staying until Thursday and I'm excited to go to the other side of Germany. So yeah, that was my attempt at explaining a little bit of what I do. I feel like it was a bit dull, but whatever- its experimentation.

OH, speaking of experimentation. I'm going through this really cool 'what-the hell" phase where I'll pretty much try anything if you ask me just to know I tried. This has led to many new foods that I like and very few things that I've tried have been unenjoyable. I tried:

1. Cows tongue

2. Snails

3. Salad ( I actually really like it parents! I know, me liking salad?!)

4. Mexican curry

5. Sauercraut<-- absolutely disgusting

6. Bacon wrapped plum <--- the nastiest thing I've ever eaten in my whole life which says a lot considering I ate mexican worms and crickets for extra credit in Science

7. Gorka<-- like pickles but so much better (Dad, I shall make sure we eat this when you visit)

8. Doenner<-- Turkish meat pocket thats like the German blt

9. Chili Chocolate<--- Delicious at first and then has a horrible aftertaste

10. Buttermilk<-- Really popular here and does that not sound absolutely delicious? I was disappointed that its both bitter and un-butter-like. Fail.

11. My first beer <-- I always thought that beer smelled like perfume, and hey, what do you know if it tastes like it too?

My parents will be amazed by this list, as I've managed to stay a very picky eater-along with my brother- for the majority of my life. Then this Summer I realized that perhaps if I tried foods other than pizza and mac n cheese that I might actually like them, and look at me now!

Mag order nicht zu mag

I think you would be proud to hear that I actually considered putting pictures up on this thing. Unluckily, my computer seems to have other plans and would rather throw a temper tantrum and make me call it foul names than actually have me like it for once. But thats only because I'm technologically challenged and also a wee bit impatient. So no pictures at the moment. I also cant put them on Facebook as Facebook and my computer are working together as evil technological supervillians set on overheating Claire's brain. But yeah, I tried.

Anyhow, I thought Id put a list of simple things I like and don't like here in Germany. I shall start will my likes as those are easier to think of and I'm also currently in an optimistic mood.

Claire Likes:

1. Haribo- I get this weird dejavu feeling when I write this because I feel like Ive mentioned it before and probably have. I repeat myself all the time in person. But maybe that emphasizes how good they are. They are gummy snacks that come in like hundreds of different types. Its both aww inspiring and addicting.

2. Brotchen- It means little bread. But its what you have for breakfast every morning with jams, nutella (Ill get to that later...), fresh cheeses, and meats. Im currently mastering the art of cutting a brotchen in half.

3. Fat "who cares?"- I love that the Germans eat and dont think about it. When its good, its good and thats that. Theres no "Oh, that will make my hips too big" or "Im ganna skip breakfast because Im sure that will solve all my insecurities". Its freeing to not have to deal with the American habit of always concentrating on weight. And ya know what, Ive hardly seen an overweight person here. So, take that.

4. Sheets- When you have a bed in Germany you have one gigantic pillow that takes up like half your bed and then one gigantic sheet that weighs a ton. Ive heard some complaints from other exchange students about it, but I love it! Its like being Patrick Star and sleeping with a boulder on top of you.

5. Transportation- I'm not used to being able to go wherever I so want to. Here, no matter if your in the middle of nowhere, by train or by bus you have the ability to go anywhere. Its not exactly cheap but its not expensive either. In my town theres just a train to Philly and back and you have to drive a car to get to the train station which pretty much deletes the whole freeness of it.

6. Weather- Cold, wet, and windy. Every day.

7. Language- I really respect the Germans, and other European countries, for how well they teach language classes. And not only that, they all take several languages. Here, all language classes are conducted entirely in that language and the teacher actually speaks the language fluently. Its a deduction from your grade when you speak in your native tongue. Kids really know their foreign languages here and could easily pull off a conversation in it. In America, you'd be lucky to pull off a conversation with my teacher.

8. NUTELLA- I am addicted. I go through withdrawal when I don't have it on a daily basis. Its really becoming a problem. And yes, I do know that its available in the United States, but had I ever had Nutella before I came here? No. I remember last year telling my stepmom how disgusting it was that a girl in my chorus class ate a chocolate sandwich, well, that was nutella. And now I am jealous of her for finding this gem before I did. It sounds nasty, but chocolate on bread is magical. Id compare nutella to america's peanut butter. But yeah, it got so bad at one point that I ended up buying my own jar of nutella to eat by the spoonful...I know....

Claire Dislikes:

1. Lack of DO for the BO- I can understand after a sports game stinking, but its like 10 am here and guys are making me back vomit and breathe through my mouth to avoid dieing. I'm not kidding, I really don't know where the governments storing the supply of deodorant but Id really appreciate if the problem was worked out. Its only with guys and the odd thing is that I get the feeling they have absolutely no idea how atrocious their body odor is. Hate to be blunt, but thats how its going down.

2. Copying US- I think this might only be a problem for me as I know a lot of others who like how United States-ish Germany is. But like, they copy our TV shows and put different names on it, and copy our cereals, and theres a bunch of English words in the German language that stand out like a sore thumb such as the word "chill" or "shopping". I'm sure there are good reasons as to why this shouldn't bother me, and I really don't know why it does. I guess I just wish everybody else didn't know so much about my country, cause it makes me feel really lame and boring.

3. No Naturalness- This goes for the women here, and I believe its only where I live. But I could count on one hand the amount of women Ive seen with their natural hair color its so few. Even old old women in walkers have crazy ass dyed hair. The old women with white hair especially like to put pink in their hair ---NOT kidding. Women here also are not discrete about how much makeup they wear. I'm used to at my school girls being embarrassed that they need to wear makeup, but here girls put it on like a beauty pageant. Its crazy colors and lots of liquid eyeliner and I just sort of like the naturalness of American teen girls.

4. Dependence on Alcohol- I know that when me and my step mom talked about drinking, we spoke about the fact that since alcohol isn't illegal for teens here then they don't drink to get drunk. But I'm really disappointed at what Ive seen. Kids in fact still find drinking a "bad ass" thing to do despite the fact its totally legal for them. Theres broken beer bottles everywhere and at night the kids hang around public places, get absolutely smashed, fight, and make complete asses out of themselves. Its also assumed that at a gathering of friends that some sort of alcohol will always be there. I think I'm incredibly biased on this because I'm sure it goes on in the US and I just don't see it. But still, I'm disappointed in how teens here wanna get drunk for fun as well.

5. Homophobia- This is much like the drinking situation. I thought that since Germany had legalized gay marriage that there wouldn't be homophobia and that it would just be totally socially acceptable. Unfortunately, its the same as in America. Kids make fun of gays and have nicknames just like in English for them. Its something to be ashamed over and to poke fun at. I'm really ashamed of the people like this who are so egotistical that they believe others are less human than they are.

So yeah, its a give and take just like it is in any country. But already its broadened my thinking and given me a new perspective on some subjects. And of course on others its only strengthened my beliefs. For now, I am staying with my friend Jack inbetween Berlin and Potsdam and we are being "Faulkinder" (lazy kids) sitting on the couch with our laptops eating Haribo and listening to music. Right now its cold and raining so we are stuck indoors.

I have no interesting conclusion for this so, Tschuess!

Claire Can't Walk

After a couple weeks in Germany Ive come to the sad conclusion that Im not physically capable of walking. Ive given in my best shot here but apparently my best efforts are not cuttin it here. Id estimate that I trip about two times on every street. When I turn onto a new street, two more trips. And God forbid I be on public transportation which seems to make me fall over at every stop. BUT in my defense, all the streets here are cobblestone and if youve ever visited Philadelphia you cant lie and say you never tripped. Also, I have new German shoes that have a heel on them. Cobblestones + Heels= Claire in a ditch somewhere.

Anywho, I thought Id go over some observations Ive made on Germany. Please remember that this isnt for all of Germany, its just for where I live. Ive heard a bunch of things from other CBYXers and a lot of them dont apply to me and Im pretty sure some of mine dont apply to them. So here we go.

Eating Habits. I cant begin to describe the differences in eating habits here. First off, Im almost certain that theres a quick eating competition going on with prizes and Im not aware of it because people eat lighting quick. I have tried to match their incredible speed but have eaten dust. Secondly, its totally acceptable to talk with food in your mouth and I mean like full on "A glub blug aggh Rah fah" type of food-talking.

Blowing Your Nose. This one I find absolutely amusing. Let me start off by saying that the people here seem to be perpetually sick and everyone always has tissues on them. Whats the best part is that here its absolutely okay to FULL OUT blow your nose. You know in America youll like go into the bathroom to blow your nose and when you do it in class its really awkward and loud and everyone looks at you? No such thing here. You can blow your nose talking to someone, eating, in class, riding a bike, you name it. And as loud as you want. You would even do it here talking face to face with a guy you like. Its so weird for me.

Sleepovers. Lets just say that sleepovers have a bit of a different meaning here. A sleepover is between opposite sexes and its perfectly normal. I was absolutely mortified to hear that my host brothers girlfriend was sleeping over (especially after having to spend a whole day watching their out right disgusting PDA). But its perfectly normal here. The thing thats unheard of is having a sleepover with the same sex. I did with my friend Mili (Australia) on a school night and when we go on the bus we were promptly informed wed just declared ourselves lesbians. Not exactly what I was going for with my sleepover but it shows you the cultural differences.

ALSO I went to an AFS meeting for the weekend in Berlin and it was absolutely amazing. I had the best time which rocks and sucks at the same time. Its awesome cause i met great people and had an amazing time but its made this week that much harder cause ive missed them so much.

At the moment Im trying to figure out my weekend because I have to take the SATs on Saturday morning so I need to find a host fam. Im pretty sure my brain will be blasted by the end cause people always ask me the english words for stuff here and I forget 99% of them cause I dont use them now.

Whoa...I just had the greatest idea...

Kein Sex mit Nazis

Ive officially been in Germany for a week. A week seems like such a small increment of time compared to a year and though Ive had to time to think about it, I still cant imagine what a year here would be like. But Ive gotten more and more comfortable in my surroundings and I started school on Wednesday.

Oh yes, school. I never particularly enjoyed school in America ( so much work inside and outside of school) but here its a bit different in both good and bad ways. For example, theres a lot of freetime inbetween class here and you have 2 hours off everyday for lunch. Although in the future Im sure ill appreciate this time, being a new student who cant speak the language and has to find something to do for two hours is a bit...blah. Whatever, hasnt been a problem yet. The kids are really nice and humor my German. I cant understand the teachers one bit and sit and class translating the papers I'm given. My host Mom says I dont have to do the homework or the tests until my Germans good enough. The sucktastic part of school is that I have two trains and two separate buses to get to school so I have to leave at 6 in the morning and wake up at 5. My Germans not very impressive at 5 in the morning.

Food- The food here is okay. I like the sweets and have become addicted to Haribo (its like gummy worms but ten times better). The actual food isnt fantastic but its not bad either. I expected there to be truck loads of meat here but Ive only had one meal with meat in it since I arrived. I also have been introduced to German drinking, which is both frequent but not obsessive. I never drank in the US, but here its a social thing and Im fine to drink when offered at parties or family functions. I just refuse to be the dumb American who gets trashed and ends up embarassing their country and themselves. Oh yeah, and let me say that a dietician would be absolutely bedaffled by the Germans being that they eat ALL the time and Ive hardly seen a slighly overweight person since Ive been here. Its a medical mystery.

Language- I indeed got a nice kick in the butt at school. My German isnt bad, its just sentence structure that I often stumble on. I have a German tutor and I will hold back my opinions on how big a jerk she is. Plus she doesnt speak English. But I digress. I have my good and bad days with language but I am told Im better than when I arrived. I want to buy some books here so I can read in German instead of English. But if I cant even understand my teachers Im not sure if I could read a book. The sucky thing is that my family had a foreign exchange student before me who by the time she left had perfect German. People keep telling me that and I feel like if I dont have perfect German by the time I leave then Im somewhat of a disappointment, especially since the other exchange student started off with no German.

My Town- My town here is really interesting. Its in the former GDR and on the Polish border. But when I say Polish border I mean ON the border. Down the street from my flat is the checkpoint into Poland and everyday I run along the Polish border and if I went a few yards to my right would be in Poland. Whats surprising to me is that my family hates Poland. They think they are cheap and theifs and they refuse to go into their country. In my mind, I expected the countries to be best friends. Its sad for me, because I have a good friend Karolina in Poland and Im not sure my family would support me visiting her. Also surprising is that my family has no problem with the Turkish population. The town has all cobblestone streets and former GDR buildings. On every lightpost theres a poster for the neonazis which is kind of freaky. Im also not allowed to go outside alone cause my family says its too dangerous because the Neo-Nazis dont like "auslanders" or people from other countries.

I would post pictures, but its so freaking time consuming and I still dont understand how to work this computer. So maybe later when Im not so lazy.

Oh yea, and to explain the title. Theres a fair on the street outside my flat right now and the headline of it is "Kein Sex mit Nazis" which is "No sex with Nazis". Im determined to take a picture of this and figure out why this would be their slogan.

By the way, tonight Im going to see Inglorious Bastards with my host brother, kids from school, and my friend Mili whose an exchange student from Australia. Prima.

Orientation and Deutschland

First off, let me complain a second about the fact that my computer adapter doesnt work so I have to use the home computer that has a totally funky keyboard. The y and z are switched and all the keys like $%(/ are in different places. OKAY cool, got that out of my system.

Orientation

Orientation was an experience that I will never forget. Though I think everyone came into thinking it was worthless, I dont think anyone would skip it after they went through it. Along with learning a lot about AFS and Germany in general, the orientation allowed everyone to meet great people who were all willing and open to friendship. It was absolutely astonishing how fast we bonded and how strongly. For the last day or so it has been hard to deal with how much I miss everyone from orientation. Luckily, today it has been a bit better but I still very much look forward to seeing them again.

Travel to Germany

So on Friday I got on a giant plane full of Germans to go to Germany. The flight was okay, though I got no sleep and did'nt get to read the Time Travelers Wife or do my game book. But thats okay, I could read it on the way back. On the flight I was unexcited only because I could never imagine the feeling of being in another country. When I stepped off the plane the Frankfurt airport greeted me in its utter beauty (corny right? horrah!). But seriously, thats when I had my "oh fuck" moment where I realized what have done. From there I was on the train ride to Berlin. Luckily there were other American cb's on my train and I didnt even notice how long it took to get there. Stop after stop, exchange students kept leaving until it was just me and Jack from cb. We both got quiet nervous and I personally felt quiet sick. But my family greeted me off the train and we got drinks and then headed home. On the car ride home I managed to fall asleep a couple times, doing that awkward head-snapping thing.

Germany

This is probably not a good day to write about my impression of Germany because Ive had a rather bad day. We went to see my school, principal (direktor), and my teacher. To my surprise and displeasure we also ran into my class and it was incredibly awkward and intimidating. I did not get one smile...fan-fucking-tastic. My kind of class right there. Oh well, I just have to remind myself that this is not the first time I have started a new school and I should take it one day at a time. Its just hard being lonely, misunderstood, and starting a new school all at the same time D:

Language

I'm absolutely baffled at my German skills. Somehow God blessed me with random German skills on the day I arrived. I came from a German class that hardly actually speaks german and Ive only had two years. But Ive totally held my own in the language department and have gotten compliments on how fast I talk. I think tomorrow that that will all go down the toilette when i go to school and realize that I cant really understand or speak much German. Blah...

So yeah, thats it. Right now Id kill for a hug from a cbyxer, or to have a good laugh with one of them. But I guess patience is a virtue and Im not supposed to be comftorble right now. Now I go to the bank to exchange my dollars and basically ask for the worth of my money to decrease.

Last Day

Today is my last day in Pennsylvania. Am I excited? Not especially. Am I nervous? I suppose. Am I packed? No. So pretty much, I'm not ready in any shape or form. But that's okay, I like doing things the old fashioned way where everything magically comes together the day before you leave. Tonight I have my final dinner with the rents at my favorite Italian restaurant and then hopefully get enough sleep to look half decent in the morning.

From there we drive to Washington D.C. for a delightful four day orientation...

And then somewhere down the road I end up in Forst, Germany. My host Mom has told me that my room is ready and that everyone's waiting for me. So I think I'll write an entry every two weeks... If I don't, don't blame me cause there's a million other AFSers who started a blog and forgot about it a week later.

So, auf Wiedersehen! <--- After years of German class, I just found out today that that phrase is not spelled "Aufiedersehen". This gives me loads of confidence heading into the coming year.

The Neverending Joooourrnneyyy....

Five days. What seems to me like an eternity seems to my parents like a minute. I've finally started packing, started wrapping up E-mails with my host mother, and more importantly planning outfits. I'm convinced that the Travel God has a vendetta against me. I have now received my AFS travel-information from Washington D.C. to Forst, Germany. And here is why it sucks:

Step 1: Six hour flight to Frankfurt <---not including time on the runway. I better be sitting next to someone who firstly doesn't sleep and secondly plays a mean game of Egyptian Rat Screw.

Step 2: Eight and a half hour train ride to Berlin. This step convinced me I'm going to die on this journey.

Step 3: Two hour car ride from Berlin to my house. I will be extremely surprised if I don't nod off in the car.

I will arrive in Forst around 10 pm their time. And considering my hair will not have seen a straightener in at least 16 hours, it will be what's commonly referred to as a m-i-r-a-c-l-e if I don't look like complete bollocks for my first introduction to the host fam. I only pray it doesn't rain. But maybe that God hates me too...

Anyhow, I read a blog entry the other day that entertained me with lists about some guys AFS experience in the Netherlands. Being the blog pirate that I am, I decided to jack his idea...or I suppose his "booty" for less of a better word. I was also asked through a comment for any advice to get the CBYX scholarship. So I shall combine both brilliant ideas, neither of which are mine.

Five Things That May Help You Win a CBYX Scholarship

1. Dress for success. You'll have an interview somewhere along the road against other kids vying for the scholarship. When I woke up that morning I put on jeans and a T-shirt like a complete twit. If it were not for an argument with my Stepmom in which I wanted to punch her in the face for trying to help me, I would have came into a room of claddly dressed kids dressed like I was going to school. Luckily, I acquiesced to her wishes and wore big kid clothes. When I was doing my interview, they promptly complemented the color blue I was wearing. Kudos to Marilyn.

2. Have things that the interviewer will remember you for. Whether this be experiences you bring up, sayings you use, or how polite you are, make sure you're not just another face in the crowd. As an example, I talked about dealing with my mothers disease as an example of why I'm mature enough to go abroad and was also full of unintentional sayings. Like, when they asked me how I would deal with German bluntness, I decided I would use the saying, " I would take it with a grain of salt", but being the dimwit I am, I forgot the words to the saying. Was it rocks...no...sand..no... and out of my mouth came "I'll take it with a grain of sugar". Instantly I knew it came out completely wrong. But then all the interviewers started laughing and going "Oh she's so clever, take it with a grain of sugar! Cunning!" thinking I did that on purpose. In fact, no. I did not. Did I admit this? Of course not. They remembered me for it.

3. Don't come off like a total tool. Remember that although seeming polite is important, you're not trying to be a lapdog, your trying to prove your capable of handling the responsibilities of an exchange student. Prepare examples of things you've done in the past that tells them you've faced challenges in your life that may have given you skills needed for a year abroad. This being said, there's something to be said for admitting a year abroad would be a huge challenge for you BUT one your ready to face.

4. Have your parents at the interview. Not only does it give a comfort level, but it shows that you have a steady support system that will help you get to Germany. They also get to ask questions and speak with the parents of other interviewers.

5. Breath. You'll be hit with some rather odd questions that you can't prepare for and I'm convinced are designed to throw you off. Think them through! Don't just have verbal diarea explode out of your mouth. Make it a conversation with the interviewers because they are people too and you'll be more relaxed if you laugh a little and aren't so stiff.

I know I mostly talked about the interview, but as long as you have decent grades and fair teacher recommendations your set. Its the interview that I found the most pivotal. Also, good bit of luck might help as well and probably attributed to my acceptance. I mean, can you imagine if I had said " Take it with a grain of sand?"...yeah, no.

And now a picture for your viewing pleeeeaa-sha.

Peggy and Chris in Amsterdam.