wiiiiiild

I may or may not have cut off all my hair and pierced my nose within the last 36 hours..
GO CRAZAY

PARTAYYY

The party was great..
we transformed the house into a disco pretty much.. and about 40-50 people came.. our theme was neon/blacklight.. we had an INSANE about of food and drinks haha.. It was kind of like Christmas for Leonie and I..
everyone signed my German Flag.. it as a lot of fun! haha

 last until about 4 am

earphones

This year.. two people have tried to steal my head phones when running..
the first time was an 8 yr old boy..
the second time.. yesterday a guy passed me on a motorcycle.. turns around.. comes back from behind me and tries to steal them..
it was so weird.

Last German Class!

Today was my last day at the VHS (My German class)
Sadly not many people showed up today..
the course usually lasts for 3 hours.. but we just did an hour today then had a going away party thing for me.. which was really nice..
everyone brought something to eat or drink..
i bought  german flag for everyone to sign..
they gave me a card and my german teacher gave me a really nice book.. it's a german language book with exercises in it taught through Duesseldorf history! They also contacted people from our previous German course...so it was nice to see them again : )

LAST SUPPER

Last night I made my last "thank you" meal for the Pfisters..
on the menu was:

• Rhubarb & Red wine beef tenderloin
• Honey soy salmon
• seared fennel in lemon
• Grilled Veggies in a miso sauce
• home made rosemary lemon foccacia

was all eaten : )
after dinner.. evy and peter were drinking red wine.. when evy took a whiff of it and said " Peter.. it smells like cheesey feet" hahahahahha

Biking

Saturday night Leonie was in another town for a birthday party so it was just me, peter and evy. It was about 79-81 degrees all day. A friend who is studying English at a nearby University came by  to record my voice for her oral exam. After that I went running to Duesseldorf where there was a gay pride festival on the Rhine.. that was pretty cool. I got home around 6:00pm and went to dinner with Peter and Evy. We rode our bikes to a nearby town.. and for any one who has visited me.. they know that it isn’t flat.. in fact it’s very hilly… and after running for two hours.. yes.. I felt the burn. But that doesn’t matter because it was a gorgeous night and dinner was good. With this whole Ecoli deal… it’s slim pickins for a vegetarian hahah. Oh well…..

SURPRISE!

Sunday I got my surprise from the Pfisters.. we drove to Essen (about 45 minutes away) and pulled up to this Segway place.. it was supposed to rain the ennnnntire day.. and hadn’t yet so we followed through with our plans. They knew that I had ridden segways in Florida and didn’t really like it.. so I think that this was an “overcoming your fears” metaphorical surprise…It was a lot of fun though.. it was more of a country side tour..until it started to get really stormy in one part so we sat down in an ice cream café on the second floor.. then it starts to POUR.. I mean really pour ive never seen anything like it.. it started to flood the outdoor seating.. we had to go inside haha. Oh well.. it was still fun. I actually got the hang of riding a segway. We came back to Mettmann and made dinner.. we were right in the middle of watching this movie called Italian for Beginners.. we were all making bets about what would happen and then all of the sudden our power went out.. and remained out for the rest fo the night.. it wasn’t even storming either so no one really knows why it went out.. super weird.. but oh well. The concludes my last free/relaxing weekend here in mettmann, germany and Europe. Next weekend is my going away party/Leonies birthday party.

MMJ

The new My Morning Jacket CD........... should be pretty damn good.

......

"RAWR-Material"

Day off

Today I didn't have school...
I slept in.. had brunch with mi familia.. then headed to Koeln with some friends to see this animal body exhibit at teh zoo.. it wasnt all that it was cracked up to be.. and took up teh whole day.. but it was fun.. we were going to ride to another town to have dinner because the weather was perfect but Leonie didn't feel like it so we ended up driving adn the dogs tagged along. It was a spanish restaurant.. because of the whole Ecoli epidemic here they didnt have gazpacho.. : (oh well.. There was a shrimp head left on teh table which we were planning on feeding to Lucky or Mila.. Sven didn't want to do it.. and Evy goes "Sven.. it's not living any more!!" so Peter picks it up and is like see it's easy.. he tosses it to Lucky (who is sitting right beside him) and Lucky misses it.. hitting it with his nose and knocks it back into Peters lap hahahahah it was hilarious... guess you had to have been there.. any way it was good..

Comedy

So my birthday present was a comedy show which we went to on Monday..
it was absolutely hilarious.. basically 3 women talking/acting out this whole wedding situation.. and they were all best friends.. tehy touched on men, life, luck, money, blah blah.. it was hilarious.. and a lot of fun!

Tonight

tonight im going to have dinner with Wolfgang and Build before Build goes back to Thailand!

mmm

entering  my first of lasts here in the motherland..

Ambassador Project

Here is my film:
Ambassador Project

check ussss out

CIEE-CBYX BERLIN 2011

Laura

Laura (the columbian girl) got the boot from 2 host families.. and is the second Exchange student with Experiment to be sent home in 3 years...that's sad... do you know how many students Experiment has?? they are world wide..

BERLIN 2011

I just got back from my end of the year/graduation in Berlin. At first I wasnt really looking forward to it because I figured it wouldn't be that fun, but as usual I was wrong. People hadnt really changed that much but I think that knowing we were close to the end brought us all closer any way. I met a few people on the way to Berlin so it was good to catch up with them, I don't really hang out with people from teh program throughout the year and don't get to speak english that often. A little break is good.. but weird haha. I waited for Sophie to arrive in Berlin before heading to the hostel. The youth hostel place was reallly cool and next to the Olympianstadium...however...it was about 30-40 minutes from Berlin city.. so.. even when we did have free time.. it was a pain to go. We hardly had any free time as it was. I think that the seminar should have been the week before we left and then all leave together.. because they basically get us ready to leave and reverese culture shock.. we graduate.. finish everything.. then have to go back to our host families for 3 weeks.. so it's basically 3 weeks of depression.. haha not cool...
It was a good time though..despite all of the stupid games and reflection exercises. I roomed with Sophie : ) !!!! We sat in on the Bundestag, asked questions, went to teh american embassy.. where Mississippi dirty danced infront of ....well everyone.... hahah that was interesting.. but I'm pretty sure that our region is the best one.. we are pretty much like a family. Even though I have only known these people for..what? not even a year.. I feel like I have known them for 10 years. When we did have free time I showed some people Tacheles(which is reaching its last month before the government takes it down) and I think they liked it.. hopefully..
we graduated on Saturday.. and come sunday we were crying again..
I can't even imagine what it will be like in Frankfurt! AHHHH
3 weeks.

Abortion

Today.. in my english class.. we did some newscast thing based on the book we read Moon Palace by Paul Auster.. and the topic was abortion..for 2 classes we talked/debated abortion which was really interesting because thats not a topic in american schools....

DSK... friend or foe?

So ... I've recently become obsessed and fascinated with this whole DSK scandal. Especially after coming back from France.. where I was approached by French people and questioned whether I think he's guilty or not. It's also interesting because Rebecca and her friends had been studying Political Science in France this past year... so they had some good insight. The general sentiment in France is that DSK was set up by Sarkozy... this is a possibility because DSK has the younger generations vote.. and is a possible candidate to be the next leader of France. Another interesting aspect is the way media is covered in America and France. The french are outraged with American coverage because it's illegal to publish a photograph of someone in handcuffs unless they have been convicted - whereas in America.... we just go for the juicy scandals. A cultural difference is that in France.. when it comes to politicians their personal lives are kept very separate from their jobs.. basically the two arent mixed. Unfortunately for DSK, his womanizing background/reputation doesnt exactly work in his favor here. It seems to me that when a really well known and important person checks in to a hotel.. the employees are notified.  With that said, I have a hard time believing the maid when she says she didnt know who he was. The whole situation is really strange..DSK went straight to lunch with his daughter after (if he is guilty.. then that's a little perverse)... he also left his phone at the hotel.. adn called the hotel nonchalantly to go a retrieve it.. and the police arrived on the scene about an hour after the news broke out.Clearly things are run different in France..especially when it comes to sexual affairs. DSK's wife said in an interview that she thinks it's good that he's a seducer and that politicians should be seducers.. as long as at the end of the day he is attracted to her....
if she had left out that last statement.. then I may have taken it a different way....
but...... WHAT?
I can't wait to see what happens wtih this.. it'll be a major political upset for France if he happens to be guilty...My host dad and mom believe that he's guilty... my dad and all of France believe he was set up..
What do you think???
it's so exciting.........

Clothes

I was planning on giving a lot of clothes away before I left (I already had a bag in my room) and there's a drop box thing around the corner. Yesterday, Leonie and I didn't have school. We slept in.. had breakfast.. hung out.. and she taught me a little guitar.I gave her my external hard drive because I didn't work on my mac adn shes been needing one. Later on I ran to Duesseldorf and went shopping. I got home around 4:30. Evy went walking wtih some friends and Leonie doesn't really like asparagus.. so Peter and I sat on the back porch and ate asparagus for dinner.. it was nice... we talked about DSK and all that jazz.. After that we made a fire.. and everyone else joined us..
back to the point.. Leonie was like.. Oh if you .. ya know.. leave any clothes here when you leave.. ill gladly take them off your hands..
I went a got the bag of clothes- not thinking she would want much out of it..
she took teh whole bag! hahahahah

oh leonie

...

I saw a snake today on my run..
and a snail...
I didn't eat snails in France like I wanted to... I couldn't do it without Leonie.. although she gave me permission.. just wouldn't have been the same.....

Things Coming up...

• Tomorrow.. No school.. kind of like a records day
• Tuesday: Spanish test, school, etc.
• Wednesday-Sunday: Berlin for my end of the year seminar
• May 31: Spanish exam
• June 4: maybe going to the animal muscle exhibit.
• Some time before June 10 have dinner with Wolfgang and Build before she flies back to Thailand
• June 8: Cooking my last thank you dinner..
• June 11: Leonies birthday party/ maybe my going away party at the same time..
• June 12: LEONIES 18TH BIRTHDAY!!!!
• June 14: no school
• Last week of school..
• June 18: shipped to Frankfurt to spend the night before flying back on the 19th

Haruki Murakami

So I randomly picked up a Haruki Murakami novel in the fall.. "A Wild Sheep Chase"
I absolutely loved it..and have been wanting to read more of his stuff..
when I was doing some marathon research, one of the articles I read quotes Murakami from his book "What I talk about when I talk about running.."
considering that I like his writing.. I decided to get it. It's a small book.. and just under 200 pages. It's basically relating running to his writing. He's really fascinating though. I almost feel like we are the same person.. only different decades..
He used to own a jazz club in Japan.. until one day at a baseball game he randomly decided to sell it and become a writer. His first book was actually " A Wild Sheep Chase"..
he's a mizuno running shoe fan..
he started seriously running at age 33.. and since then he done just about everything you can think of..
you would have to read it to get into it and into his writing...
but I highly recommend it.

GMAIL.

I learned that you can call people on their cell phones from you gmail account.. and it's free for both parties.....
you can call all over the world..
I've been taking full advantage...
so cool. haha

Paris

I just got back from Paris, France today.
I left last Thursday after last minute buying my train ticket the day before. Getting there was no problem, neither was finding Rebeccas appartment. The problem on the first day was that Rebecca wasnt at her apartment and my cell phone didn't have any money on it. We also didn't make a plan. So I waited infront of her appt for some time before asking someone if I could use their phone. The guy was really nice, he worked at a hotel bar on the corner. He let me use his friends iphone to get intouch with Rebecca. While I was waiting I befriended two Australian Grandma's who had so much plastic surgery done that they could barely move their mouths; needless to say I missed half of their answer when I asked what all I should see in Paris. They had been doing a Paris trip to the same location/hotel for the past 12 years. Rebeccas street was full of energy from sun up to sun down. The first night I just went to dinner with her and her 3 french guy friends. They are also all studying Political Science and will all be in the States next year going a semester abroad. One of them works at the one and only Abercrombie that just opened in Paris. The first day they made 50,000 euros an hour.. for 10 hours.. THAT RIDICULOUS! we passed by.. it is an old Parisian building with golden gates and a red carpet. Kind of funny considering it's a store that we avoid at home. The next day Kiki came.. she arrived at the apartment around 7:30. We got breakfast then headed out sightseeing. Luckily I have an EU visa.. so I got into all museums.etc for free.. we visited the Louvre, Champs Elysee, The arc, and just kind of bummed around. Rebecca is in the process of moving out and packing up to head back to Kentucky. So are her newly made American friends who have accompanied her this whole trip. Watching Rebecca go through the process of leaving Europe made me realize that I, too, will be there in a few weeks. Weird. Kiki and I went to go check into our hotel... which happened to be fairly far from Rebecca and in a really sketch neighborhood. The shades were pulled down at the hotel so we thought it was closed.........worst case scenario considering where we were haha. Turns out.. they were open and we successfully got into our room. We settled in and headed out to check out the neighborhood and grab some dinner. Kiki had survived her first day in Europe- without even sleeping on teh flight.. so seh was a bit tired. We hit up a grocery store to buy wine and apples... after that we got some sushi adn headed back to our room. The next morning we headed back to Rebeccas to go see Notre Dame. It was really pretty.. but after that we ended up taking the train to Versailles. THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE. it was ridiculous. What was even more ridiculous were the other americans on the train to Versailles. Three women(older and married) on vacation in Paris from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. They were making small talk these other guys (younger) who were happily helping them find their to Versailles with the train.. this is how their conversation went..
BIGTEXAS: so where are you all from?
GUYS: Mexico City
BIG TEXAS: OH.. so you know a lot about burritos, tacos and tortillas..
GUYS:uh.. I guess(??)
BIGTEXAS:............I can't believe we followed guys from Mexico City here...
BIG TEXTAS(talking to me,kiki and rebecca): Excuse me, but where are you all from?
US: Kentucky
BIGTEXAS: ohhh okay.. are you all going to Versailles?
US: Yes...
BIGTEXAS: oh great.. do you know where youre going?
US:yes..
BIGTEXAS: how?
US: my friend speaks french and studies here...
BIGTEXAS: OOOOH.. I feel better now..
.It was mortifying.
Any way, Versailles was interesting.. an old wealthy paris town..
later on rebecca was meeting with some friends to say goodbye so Kiki and I decided to go bum around and look at shops until we met for dinner. Kiki and I ended up grabbing a drink to just take a break and hang out.. we ended up in a gay bar.. and guess what? They had a KENTUCKY LICENSE PLATE... we had to get a picture hahah
My last night in Paris ended up with felafels and the Eiffel Tower. I had heard on my first night the horror stories of the Paris Metro.. adn not ot take it.. alone.. or at night..
I wasn't feeling at ease in Paris any way.. but this pretty much peaked when I had to be at the main train station at 8:00 am...
I was so paranoid and nervous about taking the metro and making a few stops at 6:00 am teh next morning that I couldnt eat or concentrate.. I thought I was going ot be sick...
Paris is pretty but I could never live there.. I don't really identify with the people and culture as much as I do the German... Paris is a big city.. but Ive been to big cities all over the world..
I felt more at home in China, Thailand and Africa then I did in France- a developed country..............
I am glad to be home : )

I wish I had saltines...

April shower bugs, bring slimy May slugs.

leg

A girl on my program got hit by a car going full speed when she was on her bike...
she broke her leg in 2 places... yikes!

Marathon!!!!

Sunday (May 8) was my first marathon..
I had started training a while back.. but I started to get mentally ready for it a few weeks before...
any way.. I woke up at 6 am on Sunday morning.. ate a banana and took a few sips of that nasty power bar gel crap.. (bleee)
Evy and I then drove to Duesseldorf.. although it probablyw ould have been smarter to take teh train since the streets were closed.. oh well.. I hopped out and walked with a crowed to teh starting line.
right before we started the cyclist took off- there were more unicyclists than normal bikes.. how cool is that?
hahaha any way.. i was towards teh front.. which was kind of stupid because I very quickly drifted back..With all of the adrenalin, it's really hard to not want to take off at a fast pace with everyone..
however.. I had been doing some research and got my tempo & taper run under control.... I went at a slower pace for my first 13 miles.. and then slowly picked it up..
my hair thing broke right before the race started so i had to tie it together- somehow it stayed together.. haha
Any way... the race went by fast.. I never felt as though I had any doubts or that I couldnt go.. My Betreuer, Wolfgang, and Laura traveled with me as I ran.. so I saw them 3-4 times .. that was nice..
I was definitely relieved to cross teh finish line.. i felt an insane headache coming on ahha..
luckily right hwen I finished it was starting ot get really hot..
I actually started to cry a little but when I finished because I was so happy hahaha
I had a headache for the rest of the day..
Yesterday and today I feel fine.. my legs don't really hurt.. only my right one does which is strange..
but im glad that I did it!!!!!
I came in 166th out of 476 something women.. and second in my age group!!!
VIVA METRO GROUP MARATHON!

weird...

 Last night I was having some strange dream with really random people in it..
any way.. at the end my childhood friend, Amelia, said " Sally.. You are about to hear a familiar song.."
and right at that moment my alarm went off- which is the song  Long way home by Tom Waits
is that weird or what?

almost Marathon time........

Osama Bin Laden

Well... Bin Laden is officially dead..
and I'm not quite sure how to feel.. or how I'm supposed to feel..
I am not exactly patriotic in the first place.. which patriotism is a strange thing...
where does it come from any way? do people just want an excuse to be boastful and proud? do they just need something to cling to?
I don't get it..
I understand why people (especially those fighting in Iraq or affected by 9/11) are really happy and excited... however.. it is most definitely not the end of what is going on.. and I can't help but think that our joyfulness will only push it a little further...
calm before the storm my friends... calm before the storm...

Coming up....

Back to school this week..
thennnnnnnnnnnn:

• May 7: Concert in Mettmann
• May 8: Mothers Day and my MARATHON! AH
• May 12: Svens Birthday
• May 15: SCHLOSS RUN WTIH CHAINMAIL- if i sign up that is...
• May 16: EMILYS BIRTHDAY!.. even though shes in NZ
• May 18: Sams Birthday..
• May 19-May 22: PARIS!!! with Kiki, Rebeccca and Stu!
• May 23: no school
• May 25- 29: BERLIN for end of the year seminar
• May 30: some comedy thing that was my birthday present..
• June 12: LEONIES BIRTHDAY!!!!
• June 13-14: no school
• last week in Germany..........

Mettmanner Bachlauf

Today was the Mettmanner Bachlauf.. which we all signed up for..
Peter and I ran the 10k while Evy and Leonie walked/ran the 5k..
it was about 50 degrees... sunny.. a little windy..
it was also my Mettmann running path.. so ..heheh..
any way... I got second out of the women.. finishing at 45:26.. the woman that beat me wins every year.. so I guess that's hard to beat.. haah
Some guy.. followed me the ENTIRE way.. but didnt' pass me.. literally a foot behind me.. it ticked me off so much ahah So I decided to play a little game with him.. I would zig zag.. and he would follow.. i couldnt help but laugh ahhaha
When we were getting out certificate.. tehy started asking us questions.. INFRONT OF EVERYONE.. i wasnt to DIEEEEEE .... I was so nervous hahah but luckily they just asked how much i train every week.. which I could answer.. I just got real nervous.. adn when I get nervous I blank you.. and my German goes down teh drain hahah or jsut becomes Chinese....
it was fun though.. we got our LIME green Mettmanner Bachlauf t-shirts.. and I got two cups. muahaha
cup fetish..

Easter!

Easter was pretty cool.. I made that damn bread that Experiment sent me.. however I didn't send them pictures.. beeecause yeah.. wasnt that exciting..
any way on Easter.. we woke up. ate breakfast then went to Duesseldorf because I was running in the Duesseldorf Brueckenlauf... only 5 kilometers.. it was SO hot.. and everyone started out in a dead spring.. which was fine.. ebcause I run over the two bridges when I run to Duesseldorf.. and finished in 22:08 minutes.. which means 7 minute mile.. i was amazed hahaha I havent run that fast since 7th grade I think..
any way.. i got a little plaque thing and a certificate. We bummed around duesseldorf after before returning home...
when we got home.. we just.. hung out.. read... relaxed then had an Easter dinner..Dad had REAL German Schnitzel... it was a very chill.. interesting Easter!

Dads visit!!

My easter break started two weeks ago and is now coming to an end... I did an unimaginable amount within that time..
for starters I flew to Sweden to reunite with my dad and travel around Scandinavia. I hadnt seen my dad is almost 10 months.. so it was really nice to see him!! I was really excited.. we went to Stockholm then picked up our volvo in Gothenburg..from there we drove to copenhagen (which was closed because of the holiday..merr...) from there we drove to Hamburg.. took the famous bridge from Denmark.. that goes underwater adn then a ferry. We stayed.. and welll...met our long lost German Henkel relatives.. they were reallllly really nice, genuine and funny people. They showed us all around their town (Hamburg is really cool..) and were very accommodating. After Hamburg..we drove a few hours to Hanover to pick up Leonie. We then ended up back in MEttmann around 4:00pm we went on a walk and then had dinner.. my dad has his FIRST white asparagus.. which is had never eaten because he was disgusted by the color. Plus.. fresh white asparagus is really uncommon in America. Any way.. my dad stayed in Emilys room right beside mine... I gave him a double cup of EXTRA strong black coffee every morning.. while he was here.. we...
went to Duesseldorf, made dinner twice, went to Keukenhof and Amsterdam, Went to Mosel, visited 2 castles, indulged in good wine and german food, toured Mettmann, went to the Neandertal Museum and Gummy bear factory, walked the dogs, and many other adventures. I am pretty sure the Pfisters wanted to keep him here.. haha I planned a surprise birthday celebration on his last night here since I wont be home for his birthday. We had cake and champagne.. I had been sketchily buying him gifts all week.. i got him an egg holder and warmer in Amsterdam.. and a Neandertal T-shirt... long with a collage.. the Pfisters gave him an egg cracker (they are the bomb...just sayin...) It was so much fun! hahah.. We definitely exhausted the day until the very end..I was sad when he left.. we both shed a pretty good amount of tears.. : ( but I will be home in 7 weeks.. so he came at a good time.. adn im glad that he got to know the Pfisters before they come to KY.. it's nice to put a face to the name and many emails..

whoops..

how about that for some negligence?
let's see here.. where did I leave off.....

Lucky

Sometimes... I like to sleep on my floor..
and last night happen to be one of those nights
any way.. Lucky, our black dog, likes to wander about at night by my room and sometimes in the bathroom (when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night in my blind/sleepy haze I forget that lucky is there adn wonder the HELL that warm fuzzy thing is..)

any way... I woke up around 4 am because I had an incredibly vivid dream that Lucky was in my room and started to lick my face. I got pissed off and woke up suddenly... then I realized it was a dream.
Needless to say.. it was very bizarre and I moved back into my bed haha

This week

This is my last week of school before Easter Break.. WOHO!!!!
here's what my week looks like:
Tuesday: Spanish, English, then German until about 5... Then I am meeting with my friend Merle to hang out..
Wednesday: Dont have spanish until noon.. so i will probably get up and run with teh sunrise... go to the market... go to Spanish.. then chill out until FAMILY SPINNING!!
Thursday: English, Art and then GERMAN until 5.
Friday: Spanish and then going hiking to two castles with some girls in my German class (Caitlins Birthday)
Saturday: picnic and hike with some amigos... maybe a belated Holi Fest : ) muahah
Sunday: SWEEEEEDDDDENNNNNN(Mimis Birthday!_

COUNTDOWN!!

6 day countdown until SWEDEN!!!

ow

I forgot that Germany is invested with an overgrowth of Stinging Knettle.....
shit.

taters

Note to self: Don't eat potatoes before going running.
damn you Deustch Kartoffeln

THANK YOU DINNER!!!!

So.. yet another "thank you meal" was prepared last night.. and on the menu was:

• Basil/herb goatcheese stuffed chicken 
• Zucchini lemon goatcheese crisps 
• Roasted green asparagus
• boiled white asparagus
• Lily bloom boiled... mean to buy Lotus root.. whoops.. still good though!
• and salad

Crane

Yesterday in the Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof I made a 10 euro donation to Japan (there were a bunch of japanese kids in kimonos asking for donations.. and if you donated then they gave you an origami crane...) and who can resist little kids in kimonos with cranes.. lets be honest here!!! haha so I now I have a little crane

MISAKI!!!!!!

IM SO EXCITED!! today I got a birthday package from Misaki!!!! it was so sweet... everything was labeled haha

• beautiful handkerchief: " this is handkerchief"
• Chopsticks and holder: " In this packet is the chopstick and chopstick rest."
• Sushi/car easers: "There are erasers"
• Origami paper: " This is folding paper. Japanese name is Origami."
• A letter that says: " Dear Sally, Happy birthday Sally! how are you?Do you enjoying your life in German? I spend a happy time with my family in Japan. By the way, I am sorry I am late to set for your birthday presents. If you can use presents, you will use these. Misaki"

AHHHH how cool!!!! made my day..
now I am off to make paella with my Spanish class at my teachers house! yeehaw

EMMMMY

Emily wrote me a letter from New Zealand!! it was suppppper nice.. WITH some NZ recipes :  ) ahha SHe really wants me to stay in Germany.. and was just kind of thanking me for everything.. and making her laugh whenever she was in a bad mood or something.. the last line is the funniest.. it says " dont let anyone or anything change you. Not even dad!!haha"
shes goofy.. but LOVES NZ and doesnt want to come home!!haha

SABINE!

So i have gotten my familia into Spinning.. we go almost every Wednesday evening haha... Leonie didn't like it at first.. but she's catching on. Spinning courses here are intense and so complicated because of the whole set up. Setting up the bike is a course itself hahah. Oh well.. better to be precise then to screw up on the bike. Our instructors name is Sabine.. she's nice but talks way too much... it's really funny when she sings to the music because seh gets REALLY into it haha.. most of hte people in the course are older... and unlike ours at home.. the room is lighted... with windows.. back home the course is really what you make it.. how hard you wanna push yourself here it's like.. she can see everyone and has no problem pointing you out hahaha.....
oh well.. Leonie and I went alone this past wednesday and that was funny...

Meeting

On Monday I had a meeting at our school with our guidance counselor and some other woman. It was a "welcome" meeting... almost 10 months late for me.. but better than never I suppose. We have two new exchange students at my school (one from Columbia and another from South Korea) so I guess my school figured they should hop on the band wagon haha. It was really nice of them though.. I was the only one of the 3 that could speak/understand German so.. hahah oh well.. they gave me a little journal..and yeah.. not bad! haha

Thursday

Yesterday was  FABULOUS day....
I woke up early.. rode my bike to School.. went to English..and then art.. talked half the day in german and half in Spanish.. to Laura the girl from Columbia. Then I rode my bike to Dusseldorf for my German class. Since I was early.. I bummed around Dusseldorf and picked up a Lily root at one of the asian markets (THEY HAVE AMAZING ASIAN MARKETS!..) because I am making dinner for my familia here on Saturday.. marinate lotus root or baked lotus chips?! I asked the Japanese women in my german class about a recipe (even though it's used more in China..) and they were like OH yes yes... um "Mayo...salt...and ham.." i was like.. oh. alrighty.. thanks.. (is that a Japanese dish..?) I learned that the Italian guy in my class just got his masters in Chemistry.. and is in Germany to learn German so that he can hopefully work for Henkel or another company. His brother.. actually lives in America and works for NASA, cool huh?
Then came time for me to ride all the way back to Mettmann in one stretch.. which let me tell ya.. I wasnt feeling. Plus, it was becoming very cloudy. So 1/3 of the way into my ride.. some old asshole decides that he is going to SPEED and STOP just before hitting me.. obviously seeing me because I had teh right away and turquoise shorts on..I was so pissed off for the rest of my ride.. not really mad just like WHAT WHAT WHAT!!!!
then I finallllllllly made it home... helped cook dinner.. did my homework.. and hit the hay

College

....well people I have reached a decision.. and I may freeze my ass off.. but who cares!!
It was between Denver and Vermont.. I landed on the University of Vermont in Burlington.
I am actually really excited about it. I also found out that a good friend I went to Thailand with is also going there!!!!
WOHO!!!!

They are back....

I would just like to tell you guys.. that this morning and ran with the sunrise.. BUT that's not my point..
THE SLUGS ARE BACK!!!!!!!! time for .....slugification.

talking to myself

sometimes I talk to myself.. then I don't know if I said anything outloud or not.. do you do that too?????? I think everyone does... it's kind of funny haha

Dogs.

Sometimes...when I hear dogs barking.. I create conversations in my head of what they are saying.. and what their voices sound like..... I blame George Orwell for that.... or maybe I am the next Eliza Thornberry hahaha

Spinning...

I have gotten Peter and Evy into SPINNING!!! we go about every week now haha.. it's SO complicated here though.. we did a beginners course.. and just setting up the bike is enough work.. then they do like aerobics WHILE cycling.. my multitasking skills are not that good.. I don't know if you have ever done pushups while pedaling - but it aint easy ahah.

Ambassador Project

So for my program I have to do an Ambassador Project.. which is basically a way to give back to your community or whatever.. teh guidelines are really vague.. some people did bible camps or something..
I don't thiiiiink so hahaha
so my first idea was to do a "mini derby" wiht my town.. adn have a KY info session.. and kid games.. but the timing is a little chaotic because its when dad adn mitzie will be here.. adn it's easter break.. and finding a place downtown to do it.. BLAHBLAHBLAH.. and it's complicated..
so then I came up with an idea to do a documentary on basically my life here.. my friend, Merle, is going to help me..

things coming up..

well ladies and gents.. I only have 13 weeks left here.. HOW LAME IS THAT? Ich will hier blieben... :'(any way.. here are some things coming up:

• This Friday: hearing from Vassar... OH GOD... and cooking Colombian food with our new Colombian friend, Laura.
• Saturday: My birthday celebration(party?) 
• Sunday: Meeting Evys other son, Sean. 
• April 2: EVYS BIRTHDAY!
• April 8: making Paella with my Spanish class
• April17: MIMIS BIRTHDAY & going to Stockholm to meet PADRE.
• April 17-22: On the road with daddio.. then returning to Mettmann
• April 22-30: Dad and Mitzies Visit
• April 23: Mitzie Comes
• April 26: Mitzies BIRTHDAY.
• May 2: DADS BIRTHDAY
• May 8: MARATHON.
• May 12: SVENS BIRTHDAY
• May 15:schlosslauf
• May19-22: PARIS WITH KIKI, REBECCA, AND STU (possible...)
• May24-29: BERLIN for end of the year program.

That is it for now..
busybusybusy.

Eismachine

Evelyns birthday is on April 2 and Im so excited because I got her an ice cream making machine :)!!!!
wohooooo

mmmmm

leashes piss me off.
I dont like fooling with them...on top of the fact that its cruel...
Imagine being yanked around all the time by a piece of rope....screw that...

going veg in Deutschland

Germans..... (traditional.. older ones especially) have absolutely no idea what to do with vegetarians.. or how to respond... I got enough interrogation (which i dont..and still don't know how to explain in german) in the beginning.. i mean GRILLED about it. Leonie for reasons unknown- even to her.. has not eaten meat in almost 3 months. She eats fish.. but she says that she just hasnt had the appetite for meat. That's pretty cool.. but tonight at our cousins birthday dinner.. she got NAILED by the extended family as to why she isnt eating meat. It is very much apart of the German diet.. but it is in America as well. Any way.. I can't decide whether germans honestly don't understand vegetarianism an are offended.. or if they are genuinely interested as to what dictated that decision. Tonight for dinner at our aunts house...she made some kind fo meat infested soup.. which of course Leonie and I couldnt eat... so... we got a bread basket instead... the LAST time we had dinner by them which was in the Fall..tehy grilled out.... and you know what i was served?(which is fine by me.. it's just funny to see the panic as to what the hell do we do with a vegetarian..) i was served a pile of grilled zucchini..

I would take a pile of zucchini over the damn bread basket any way... needless to say... I waited until we were home to eat dinner.

Next Sunday

Next Sunday.. I am going to meet Sean, Evys other son who is mentally handicapped. He lives in a 100 person town about 45 minutes from here.

Today

TODAY IS THE OFFICIAL DAY OF SPRING!!! thank god for Vitamin D.. it has returned...

today I went on a 3-4 hour bike ride.. I rode to Dusseldorf.. did a little mountain/offtrail biking along the way.. crossed both Dusseldorf Bridges.. saw the sheep in the park.. documented all of the spring flowers.. which were insane.. there were so many people out and about today..it was great..I saw a woman feeding a raven.. it followed her throughout the entire park hahah

PAUL.

okay.. about a month ago at our friends birthday party Leonie and I met a guy named Paul. He happens to live in our town and is good friends with one of our friends boyfriend.. any way.. he was REALLY nice and funny.. chill when we met him. Everything was great. We occasionally saw him on the train because we take the same one to school (he goes to school in Dusseldorf). Karnival was good.. but he kept poking me and being all .. yeha.. so that was weird.. his colors were starting to show then.. Leonie and I werent very amused (especially me hahaha) soooo then
leonie invited him to my bday thing.. which was cool because i was going to any way.. i guess.. it didnt really matter then.. so about a week later Paul was sick from school.. and i got off teh train.. and he had been WAITING for me.. totally creepy.. he wanted an invitation from me and not leonie.. then he wanted to know what i wanted for my bday (btw.. he walked me home) all i wanted for my bday was for people to make donations to people in Japan. So then he did the whole daffodil thing.. which was just REALLY over the top for someone that you hardly know.. it's creepy. AND on my birthday he was sick from school again. I took teh bus, thinking that I was being all sneaky.. OH no my friends.. he was AT the bus stop.. WHAT GIVES?? that's not right!!!he asked me if i got his present(yeah no shit.. it took up our entire garden.> WHICH btw the people.. i spent an hour yesterday replanting all 88 daffodils..)then walked me home again. He started to get really creepy then.. plus he is blatantly using Leonie to get to me.. and she's not stupid.. she is aware of that. It is so annoying and weird. .and BLAHHHHH so we have to talk to him.. and tell him to chill the hell out. He is usually really REALLY happy.. like over the top creepy happy.. so Im afraid that hwen hes upset or mad..that it is really bad.. and that also scares me. I don't like the mystery of what his reaction will be. He gets this really creepy look in his eyes now. .jsut completely fixated ...freaks me out haha. So that is Paul.... he's extreme.. adn creepy..
In terms of defending myself... with words it aint no thaangg... however.. Paul is really tall.. and big.. and btw.. he's studying sport.. he goes to school to study SPORT... great huh? SUPA TOLL.
so I have a German stalker...Im considering creating my own cartoon... NEANDERTAL PAUL.

Birthday!!!!

So ladies and gents..... I am officially a 19 year old... WHEW so old! hahah
any way..this is how March 15, 2011 went down.....
I woke up for school at 6:00am.. (btw.. Germans open presents on teh morning of...) so Leonie took me outside to see my present from Paul (the next post will explain Paul..) it was HAPPY BIRTHDAY <3 spelled out in our yard with 88 daffodils.. very thoughtful.. that was followed by presents from teh Pfisters.. and a 6 pg love letter from Paul(weird..) then i went to school... went to my German class whcih started again on my birthday.. met some new cool cats from around the world..
then we all went out to dinner.. it was very chill and relaxed..
the big birthday celebration is next weekend with two other friends!!!

whooops

Sorry for neglecting my blog......

March Thank you meal..

What's cookin?

APPETIZER:

• Home made artichoke dip with sun dried tomatoes and spinach.

ENTREE:

• Seared steak draped over sauteed chikory in a balsamic, tomato, rosemary sauce. 
• Roasted stuffed bell peppers for Leonie and myself.
• Salad

DESSERT:

• Walnut, ginger, and dark chocolate ice cream!

Things coming up...

Friday: my spanish exam..Eeeek...and a cooking evening with Leonie and Laura (Columbian exchange student...)
Saturday: Movie night by our friend Paul (don't get me started) but its supposed to be a GORGEOUS day.. so who knows... frisbee?!
Sunday: Squash!
Monday: Spinning with Evy!
Tuesday: my bday and my GERMAN CLASS STARTS!!
Thursday (mar 17): English exam!
Sunday(mar 20):SPRING BEGINS!!!
April 1: hear from colleges.. oh lawd!- must decide before april 15
April 2: EVYS BIRTHDAY!
April 8: Making Paella with my spanish class for our assistant teacher person, Luis, from Spain.
April 17-30: DADDDDDDIO!
May8: MARATHON.
May 15:SCHLOSS LAUF!!!
May 25-29: BERLIN (end of the year seminar..)

floor

I don't know why..
but i feel like sleeping on my floor tonight.....

OPRAH

today..
my english teacher didn't know who OPRAH was!!!!!
WHAT WHAT WHAT
the whole class flipped out on her haha

Wednesday morning zoo..

I usually go swimming at 8:00 am on Wednesday mornings.. because my class is later in the day and I would rather gte going early. Any way.. im always the YOUNGEST one at that time of hour at the Mettmann Hallenbad.. it's all older people. I don't mind it.. they are all nice. I will tell you what though, it's a total zoo at the Mettmann Hallenbad on Wednesday mornings. They might as well block it off with signs that say "don't feed the animals..."
gotta love it.

THANK GOD.

It is about time.. haha
YOUNG FARMERS.

PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO SEE:

1.) Mongolia homestay
2.) Tibet
3.) Color Festival, India
4.) Harbin ice festival
5.) Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines
6.) Horsetail Falls in Yosemite National Park
more more more!!!!!

merrrr

I have Achilles tendinitis in both of my feet.. which really really blows momentarily.. haha

Laura

We have a new exchange student at our school from Columbia. She is really cool. Her name is Laura and I met her last week. I invited her to go see the film Biutiful with Leonie and I because it was premiering in Dusseldorf in Spanish. She really enjoyed it and it was nice for her to meet someone who could speak/understand spanish. She is 16 and is done with school in Columbia, which means she will go to college next year... CRAZY! shes so young!!! ahah.. any way... she knows no english..and hardly any German. She also lives with a super conservative family- which isnt very good because shes a wild child. Shes an only child(her mom is going crazy right now because shes alone) and she also has a boyfriend back home. Needless to say..shes been rather tearful since she got here. When she first got here she was with a host family in southern germany..they were all vegetarians (ahh..my people!!!) hahah but if you know any thing about Columbian food- ITS VERY MEATY!!!and she wasnt allowed to cook her own food.. sooo that just wasnt working out!She will be here until next January.

KARNEVAL!!!!!

So Karneval started in Germany on Thursday. Leonie and I dressed up like Thing 1 & Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. We wore red longjohns and spray painted our hair blue haha. Everyone was dressed up at school and we had an assembly around 11. Most people were pretty drunk - which was odd for me because since they can legally drink its disregarded... hahah any way..
Karneval lasts until Tuesday. Tomorrow we are going to two parades.. I will be dressed up like a gummy bear for the first one giving out candy to little kids! Then we are going to the parade in Dusseldorf..should be interesting hahah

save up...

Rather important things that I am saving up for...
- a legit running watch that records distance, pace, all that jazz while you are running...
- some legit running glasses..
- new heels...haha
- a training 2 piece bathing suit
-a crazy creek hexalite camping chair
- trail running shoes
- a book on trail running
- a book on meditation
- more anthony burdain books
- Anything bourdain cook book
-Foodies of the world..

hmmmm......take it one at a time haha

CLUB.

So last night I went to my first club.. in Germany. It was mostly people from my school. I really wasn't feeling it. I bailed after an hour and a half. Ive been to bars and whatever, that's okay wtih me because its somewhat more relaxing and you can have an actual conversation wtih someone. This was just chaos... strobe lights, fog machines, extremely loud techno music, guys in tight shirts with spikey hair dancing by themselves showing off everywhere, etc. Not to mention, I am just really tired of woohoooo wasteddd party!!!! That really annoys me.. haha I think that me being older than everyone here just showed up really quickly. I am all for having fun, but I am too relaxed to be in a club. It's not exactly my idea of fun. Maybe it's because I wasnt with my friends... I was with friends, but no one that Im super comfortable around. At least I gave it a shot....

Lane lines..

I have concluded that..
Lane lines in a pool are like cat-nip for kids..
they just simply can't resist crawling, rolling and flipping all over them..

Today

Today I saw:

1. A girl with close pins in her ears...
2. A german Jamie Fox 
3. A man AT THE CITY SWIMMING POOL... swimming in his WHITE tighty-whitey underpants........

successful day.

Big red art!!

COOLEST BIG RED ART EVER!!
from BEN!

MOM&EMMA!

WOOOOO!!!! mom and emma got here this morning..
they are asleep right now... hahaha

Squashhhhh

Sven and I played squash again today.. we always end up laughing so hard that we can't even keep playing hahaha
just from our numerous misses...and today i hit the ball against the wall...too bad it  instantly bounced off and hit me in the head..
hahah

Cultural immersion is a funny funny thing

there's a point where stops being " you all" or "yours"...and become "we" and "our"

Pferde Fleisch...

Horse meat is a delicassy here...
WHAT!!!
we had a nice conversation with the horse meat butcher at the farmers market today

Long John Birthday party

SO last night 3 of our friends were celebrating their 18th birthday... they just had one big party.. well not so big .tehy arent really party people..
Leonie and I werent really looking forward to it.. so we decided to bring the party..
we definitely went to the party dressed in red long johns and our yellow rain boots.. we looked like frenchfries dipped in ketchup hahah
everyone was like..w aht? why are you dressed like that?
our response: because we are JUST that cool.
of course we showed up an hour late.. because it's just kind of our thing ...to be late hahah
and essentially did nothing for two hours..
but atleast we made it somewhat worth while haha

NEW COUSIN!

I HAVE A NEW BABY COUSIN!!! WOHO!!
im just thinking about how incredible WIERD itll be come home  to new family members.. or pax.. because he can talk adn walk.. and is just the cutest darn thing on the face of this planet...

woo

So i just found out that... Josh Moscow is studying in England all year... then Hunter Stephan is in Luxembourg this year.. small world eh?

Jello

So I taught the game of JELLO to leo, emy and sven teh other day... which seemed like a good idea at the time..
but the other night.. when we were going to dinner for Peters birthday, Leonie, Sven adn I were in the middle seat.. sven was sitting between us.. and we got a crazy game of jello going.. but it was more like Sven having total control of leonie and i hahahahaha.. lasted for a solid 5 minutes..

STOMP.

Last night we went to STOMP for Peters birthday... it was in Duisberg..
it was really really cool.. and funny..
i didnt expect it to be funny at all, but it was really funny!! twas a good birthday present and everyone had fun..

SQUASH!

Today I went with Sven to play squash..
it was really weird being back on the court.. but my new racket (that i got from Leo, Emy and Sven) worked really well and its light... we played for an hour because thats all we reserved the court for..
by the end of it we were so slap happy hahah
it was a lot of fun.. adn really relaxing...
it was all slowly starting to come back to me- own the T, get low, hand position on grip, racket slice, depth hits... etc..
wohooooo
then we went swimming.. to hopefully kill the soreness we will encounter tomorrow hahha

Dear Germany,

WHY ARE YOU SO FREAKING COOL?

Sweedish Fish.

A while ago.. Caroline Gray sent me a saweeeeet care package.. that had sweedish fish in it..
i was opening it with the Pfisters and i said OHHH SWEEDISH FISH!! adn htey thought that they were.. fish gummies.. that tasted like fish.. hahaha

good times!

This will be done at some point in my life...

MT. HUASHAN HIKING TRAIL.


http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin27d.htm

Sunrise.

WOHO!!!
I got a job at Sunrise Bakery this Summer :)

Things coming up...

Jan 24- PETERS BIRTHDAY!
Jan 26- We are surprising Peter being going to see the STOMP show.. wtih the drums and dancing!
Jan 27- Japanese exchange student day at the University in Dusseldorf that Im going to with Misaki adn Evy!
Jan 28- three friends are having a big birthday bash.
Jan 29- my friend, Merle, is having her first photography exhibition.

Feb 2- meeting with Misaki for the last time before she goes back to Japan on Feb 5
Feb 5- MOM AND EMMA GET HERE!
Feb 8- going to Amsterdam with mom & Emma
Feb 10- going to Berlin with mom & Emma
Feb 14- Going to Rome with mom & Emma
Feb 20-SOPHIES BIRTHDAY!

Smitten Kitchen.

THE SMITTEN KITCHEN COOKBOOK COMES OUT IN SPRING 2012.

Cook Book.

I am going to TRY... to write my own cook book..
woho!!
and im currently saving up to get the Art of French cooking, Le Cordon Bleu Cookbook, The Foodies of the world (by Julia Gaw!!), Anthony Bourdains Les Halles cook book, and a legit cutting knife!
woho.. let's get this partyy staaartteddd

MIDYEAR.

Thursday(Jan20) I leave Dusseldorf to head to Ahrweiler (just outside of Bonn) for my midyear seminar..
I get to Koln and have to wait for a few hours.. when i go to my platform.. my train never came.. TURNS out that i booked my ticket for the wrong times.. I had a major brain fart and forgot about military time- goodjob sally!!.. so that was stressful but i just got my ticket changed for a nother time.. adn didnt have pay anything extra..
then I met Sean (on my program) on the same platform.. so we went together.. however.. our train in Remagan never came.. so we had to wait outside for 40 minutes.. Sean is a little awkward fellow.. and I had to pee.. SO BAD it's not even funny.. he's more shy adn reserved so I feel bad that he had to endure my pee-pee dance.. hehe! We were the last ones to get to teh seminar.. we were actually like 2 hours late haha we got there around 7:30.. oh wellll.. we had a few activities before we went to bed.. In my room was Rachel, SOPHIE!, and EJ!! we are all pretty good friends

FRIDAY: we all took teh train to Bonn.. where we met with the governor of Bonn.. she was really nice.. then we went on a Political tour through bonn.. Bonn was the original capital .. it's also where Beethoven was born and grew up.. any way the tour was really boring.. adn it was all outside.. everyone FROZE their asses off.. hahah after that we had free time.. so me, Savanah, Ali and Sophie walked around Bonn.. until around 9:30 when we met up with everyone else.. a bunch of people were totally shitfaced too.. which was slightly entertaining..

Saturday: we had meetings alllllll day long at our Hostel about our experiences and what not. It wasnt that bad.. we also took a mandatory walk. This night we were all going out to the bars... so everyone went (didnt really have an option ahah) .. although we are just allowed beer and wine when we are with our program.. when we arent with our program and youre 18.. anything goes.. if youre 16 then you can legally drink beer and wine.. if youre under 16.. it's illegal.. BAM.
any way.. we went to a few bars.. I didnt drink anything beecause I wasnt really feeling it.. but i stayed fro the show any way..
it was absolutely insane.. i shit you not.. people went crazy.
but what really pissed me off.. was the next morning when I was looking out my window getting some fresh air.. and all of the sudden a wine bottle goes flying by... people who had bought alcohol were just pitching them on the lawn.. there were bottles everywhere.. I couldnt believe it..
any wya.. it was really really nice to see everyone.. adn we spoke WAY too uch english.. which blew when I had to come home and switch.. i really wish we would have spoken german the whole time.. but whatever.. we had an AMI weekend hahah
i was really happy to be back in Mettmann though.. sleep in my own bed... be with mi familia..
annnnd we skyped with Emily in New Zealand!!! and Peters birthday is today!

facebook midyear

So I just got back from Midyear.. and it was good to see everything.. aand alittle ridiculously crazy.. so to give you a taste of just how it went down.. now bear in mind that not everyone(me) went insane...
so here we go:

Savannah Beck

midyear blew all of my expectations out of the water. seriously, i thought language camp was crazy, then there was midyear... i hope we can survive berlin. xD

Hunter McCulloch

broken bottles of wine, crazy drunken hook ups with multiple people, searching hours for little bottles of jager, getting ICED, projectile vomit, snuggling, prowling for divas with swag, 19 hours of campfire sessions, waking up to seeing bottles of wine toilet paper and god knows what else outside of your window, and seeing people you... have wanted to see for five months,
yeah that is pretty much how we do mid year

 

Audrey Dent

that totally just happened.

Jonathan Skidmore

Last day in Bonn but probably one of the best weekends in a long time.

 

 

 

EMY

ahhh.. it's so weird without Emily here.. it's quiet...
anddd I miss her.. haha
but she's having a BLAST in New Zealand which is good!!
sucks that she comes back after I leave though..
good thing the Pfisters will visit soon!!

blaah

this morning around 7:30 I woke up with a horrrrrrrrrible headache....about 10 minutes later i found myself in the bathroom hugging the toilet seat.. this lasted for about 3-4 hours..
which was just dandy.. lemme tell ya.. especially because I hadnt eaten anything considering it was 7:30..
good thing I don thave school today any way.. woho
any way.. around 11 i went downstairs.. because I was feeling better
and i made Emy frenchtoast with bananas..
idk what else ill do today..

MAGICAL TREE!!!

facebook status..

probably one of the best facebook statuses of all time.. and commentary:

how many "who my baby daddy" tv shows do we need... i mean really

 

comment: are these girls keeping there eyes closed during the nasty or what...i dont understand

Claire comes to Germany...

Austria!!

So we got back from our skiing trip ... and it.. was...AMAZING!!
honestly.. we stayed in one little town.. (15 people in total) and we got an all mountain pass.. so we basically got to ski a bunch chunk of the alps for cheap.. and it was good skiing. It was a little icy in some parts, but we had great weather the whole time. My host sister, Emily, broke her arm snowboarding on the last skiing day. There were several other moments.. but I'm too lazy to type it all out hahah..
so here are some photos..