Life is Good

Second semester started about a week ago. I ended the first semester with an average grade of 2.5 (on a 1-6 scale, with 1 being the best). I received two 1s, four 2s, four 3s and two 4s. Not bad, I'd say. My schedule this semester is a bit different. I now have a history class in place of geography, and no more music. On Tuesdays, I have class all day until about 4pm, but Mondays and Thursdays make up for it (only four hours, each day). We've gotten a couple of new teachers, because some of ours needed to be teach other classes/grades. We now have a man from Greece teaching us math. We had our first math class with him today. Seems like it will be an interesting semester with him... Our religion teacher is pregnant and will probably be leaving us soon. I'm going to miss her a bit, though. She's a really nice teacher, and fun to have class with.

I feel like I've truly been accepted by my friends here. I showed them how to play the card game "spoons", and now we play it during almost every break (thanks Aunt Mary for the cards!!). We joke around with each other, we have inside jokes, we understand each other with just looks... I've even been told I'm the coolest exchange student, because I understand everything and can even dish out some insults in German. I am so going to miss these people next year...

My hostfamily is just great! We get along so well, it's unbelievable. I really feel like a part of the family here. They even use the same nickname as my family in America. It seems like switching really was the best decision for my exchange, and I'm glad I could do it!

In a little over a week, I'm going to Munich for a five-day, mid-stay seminar. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with people I haven't seen since July/August. Plus, I'm really excited to see a bit of southern Germany. However, the 8-hour train ride down there won't be entirely the greatest... Oh well. I might be making the journey with one or two other exchange students. So, that'll be fun!

I went ice-skating with my sisters and a couple of their friends. The river in the area flooded earlier this winter, and now the whole floodplain is frozen over and perfect for skating. I surprised myself, and was actually able to move around on my own. However, that's not to say I didn't fall. After 10 seconds standing on the ice, I was down. I even have a lovely bruise covering the front of my knee... However, it was so much fun, and so pretty (pictures from that evening will be filling my 365 project for the next few days), and we're going again tomorrow. I can't wait! By the way, Louise, I think I can thank our little ice-skating excursion for my bit of confidence on the ice!

Hmm... I think that's about it for this time.

Bis später!