Christmas time!!!

I absolutly LOVE christmas time!
It has been snowing here for the past three days, not hard but light snow constantly and it is so pretty! I love it!
Last week we went on a class trip to Leipzig and went ice curling (turned out I am beyond horrible... haha pretty peinlich !) so we gave up ice curling and most everyone went ice skating which was soo much fun! It reminded me of one time when I was in 1st grade in Florida and my daddy came and picked me up from school (we played hookie !!) and he tricked me and said someone was following us so I had to hide in the car and I had no clue where we were going and turned out he tok me to the Ice Skating Rink! So much fun!
anyway, Ice skating was fabulous and when we were finished Svenja, Maria and I stayed in Leipzig longer so we could go shopping and go to the HUGE Weihnachtsmarkt. Lots of fun and I got the perfect christmas present for my mom! (ps. miss you mom, love you!)
We saw Romeo and Juliet the ballet on Sunday and it was amazing.. I cant really put it into words because Ive never been to a ballet before sunday but I loved it!. Dancing is so pretty!!
This is the last week of school and Im going to miss everyone.. Hopefully I will get a chance to see some of the girls again before I have to head home.
Last night my host mom taught me a German Christmas song haha So cute! Love it!! and we made christmas cookies and I read my first complete german book and understood it. haha it was Winnie The Poohs Christmas haha.. I know, Im a winner!
Today after school Svenja, me, Host mom, and Host Oma are going to Leipzig again to do some christmas shopping and visit the Weihnachtsmarkt again! Im excited!! Lots of fun and reallllly good food!.
I dont think I will be posting any more pictures until I get home becuase I wont be at the Internet cafe anymore and I dont like slowing down my host families computer clogging it up with the hundreds of pictures i have to upload..
Time is going by so fast!. I got to talk to Tom Randolph the other day on skype which was fun!, its weird how we are able to communicate from different continents when the weather is completely opposite.. technology is Crazy! Love it!. Jessica Heeth is doing fabulous in Costa Rica.. im worried Im going to have to go drag her back home to get her to leave!!.. i can relate though.. I feel like I have started a Life over here and Its going to be crazy to have to leave and leave this whole part of me.. I am looking forward to coming back though!.. More motivated than ever to work hard at school so I can have the carreer I want and be able to Travel!!!
Thats all for today.. getting ready to go to Leipzig! yay!
Happy Holidayys
Love and miss everyone!
oh and Happy Birthday to Tiffany Mode and Beatrice Kioschus!! Love you girls!
xoxo Emily
nur 13 Tage =((

fröhlich Weihnachten!

Everything has been going great!
I absolutly LOVE christmas time.. Especially in germany!
Every city sets up a "Weihnachtsmarkt" or christmas market in the center of town that is open on the weekends.. its so cute!
This past weekend I went with my host mom and dad and the neighbors to Altenburgs Weihnachtsmarkt and saw the Wiehnachtsmann (Santa) and watched the parade of children,.. they dress up as angels and come out of the church and then parade to the center where the big Tannenbaum (christmas tree) is. Its adorable!
Then we eat yummy bratwurst and drink hot wine. i think its called Glühwein.. i dont know. everyone drinks it, i guess its like the eggnog of germany haha.. I prefer the childrens version though.. which is just hot fruit punch. and let me tell you.. it is delicious!

Altenburg Weihnachtsmarkt!

December is full of fun for me! I am so excited!
Deceber 6th is Nikolaus tag. (St. Nicholas day).. where you put your boots out and St. Nicholas fills it with treats!!
December 9th! School trip to Leipzig for the Weihnachtsmarkt and ice curling!! .. be jealous.. and no activity busses.. we go mit dem Zug (by train)! woot woot
December 13th. Going to the Theater to see Romeo and Julia (Romeo and Juliet) the ballet
December 18th. Going to the Theater to see Hanzel und Gretyl (Hansel and Gretel) the play
December 19th. Last day of school! Christmas break begins!
December 25th is Christmas of course!
December 26-27th Svenjas Birthday Party
December 27th Svenjas Birthday
December 29th HOME =))

XOXO love and miss everyone. see you in a few weeks.

wenn die Katze aus dem Haus, tanzen die Mäuse!

Everything has been wonderful like usual!
Last weekend was a lot of fun becuase i got to hang out with some friends from school!
Svenja is gone for the weekend to a youth leadership conference type thing. im not one hundred percet sure what it is but it sounded cool. anywho.. tonight i am going into Altenburg with my host mom and we are going to listen to a christmas choir i think. im not exactly sure but i guess i will find out! it sounds cool!
Mr. Körner came to Altenburg last week which was fun to see him and his wife! They were wonderful and even brought us some halloween candy which was greatly appreciated!!! and tastes wonderful! haha We ate lunch at the Pizza Noodle Haus whch I love! I absolutly love their pizza, its the same place daddy and i ate when he came here!
Christmas markets are beginning to set up all over Germany. and I love them!
Christmas markets are so cute! i cant explain so i will make sure and take pictures and post them!!
On December 9th our Class is going on a trip to Leipig to visit the Christmas markets and play ice curling! haha HOW COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im so excited for ice curling.!! crazy cool!
anyways. running out of time at the internet cafe. gotta catch the bus home!
love and miss everyone.
I only have about 30 more days left in Germany. time is flying by! oh no!
Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!!
xoxoEmily

Sooo much to write!

Oh.. well lets see.. where do i start.
i havn't written in like a billion trillion years now hahah !..
lets start with school!.
I am no longer in classes with Svenja.. i got my own Stundenplan.
here are my new classes. .
Monday:
1. 7a. German
2. 7a. German
3. 7c. German
Break
4. 5a. German
5. Free Period
6. Free Period

Tuesday:
1. 7c. German
2. Free Period
3. 12. German
Break
4. 12. German
5. 7a. German
6. 7a. German

Wednesday:
1. 5a. German
2. 5a. German
3. 7b. English
Break
4. 6b. English
5. Free Period
6. Free Period

Thursday:
1. Free Period
2. 5a. German
3. 12. German
Break
4. 12. German
5. 7c. German
6. 8b. Debate

Friday:
1. 12. German
2. 12. German
3. 5a. German
Break
4. 8a. German
5. Free Period
6. Free Period


So. yeah im in classes with mostly the 5th grade 7th grade and 12th grade.. notice almost every class is a german class.. in an attempt to help me learn german faster i suppose but i miss math classes!. and on fridays during my free periods i usually go to art class and then after art we go to Vollyball/Basketball... the classes go on simultaneously and are right beside each other so i can choose whichever one iwant to play that day.. haha

Things have been going well.. its getting chilly outside !! Last weekend Svenja and I and her Parents went to the Chemnitz Center which is germany's version of a mall .. and it was really fun! we went shopping and ate ice cream and it was a really good day!. then last saturday night I went with Svenja, her boyfriend, Laura, and her bofriend (OH YEAH.. rocking the 5th wheel.. whats new! haha ) anyways we went and ate dinner and some india place and it was soo cool! we sat on the floor with pillows and the atmosphere was so awesome! and the food was of course AMAZING! It was altogether a good weekend.
On Sunday we had a big lunch with both Gunter's parents and Jana's parents (both sets of grandparents) it was so yummy and lots of fun!
After lunch Svenja had to leave becuase she is going to some sort of camp with the youth Theater group for 3 days so i wont see her until Tuesday. I didnt really want to just sit at home so i rode the bike into Altenburg.. found some shortcuts and go there in just a little over an hour! . went to the internet cafe and skyped with my wonderful family! it was good! then i had to start biking home at 4 because it startes getting dark at like 5 !! haha so i made my way home and had a yummy dinner with host parents and host brother (Conni) and his friend Pfeffi! It was a good weekend and school today was good. during two of my classes there was a play going on in the lunch room that we got to go watch.. i had SO much trouble following what was going on but it was entertaining! haha

My butt is so sore from riding the really cute but oldschool bike haha !

Only 4 more weeks of school left and then we have christmas break!

Over break I am already working on plans to go to Aachern again and visit everyone for a couple of days! which im really looking forward to!

Also, sometime in December Svenja and I are going to get our hair done!.. ill probably just get a trim becuase Im nervous about letting anyone other than Aunt Monica do my hair.. ive never had anyone else do my hair and i dont think i want to try something too crazy while im in Germany haha .. probably just a trim if i can figure out how to say that in german.. anyways im excited!

I think my host mom is getting us tickets to two more plays at the Theater in town dduring december.. Romeo and Juliet and then Hansel and Grettle! .. i cant spell that but anyways im soooo looking forward to it!

Ill be home in 6 weeks! that is crazy! time has flown! I miss everyone a ton!

Jessica is having a GREAT time in Costa Rica. I miss her like crazy though!

Hopefully I will remember to keep my blog up more often haha I always forget !!

love and miss everyone! xoxooxox Emily

43 Days until Im back in Morganton!

Theater!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was.. in one word. FABULOUSSSSSSSSS (ghetto white girl accent and all!).. seriously so cool!.. we went to school like any other day, but after the first two classes Svenja told me we were going to the Theater.. I though she just ment like theater practice, but she ment like to an actual play at the Theater in town!. I was so excited!.. i wish i could type the name of the play but i had enough trouble trying to pronounce it! hah!! .. anyways.. i somehow managed to get the lucky and had a front row seat.. not only front row but in the very center! how cool!!.. I was having trouble following exactly what was going on in the play but it was really entertaining! I loved it!.. i want to be an actress!!!! So there were two really cute young actors... i know i know, do i ever not think about cute guys.... haha uhmm well... anyways! they were really cute! and in one scene one of the cute guys was love struck and running around kissing the floor and blowing kisses to the sky and then all of a sudden he lays on his stomach at the very front and center of the stage (approx. 2 feet awaay from my face) looks me in the eyes and blows me a kiss.. i was like WOOT WOOT go meee!!! hahah .. just kidding but Sofia Bea and Svenja all sitting around me got a kick out of it! as the play continued it got more and more entertaining! im not sure if it was supposed to be funny or if i was just laughing for no reason (i make up what i think they are saying in my head.. its usually funnier than trying to pick out phrases and such hah) well the next thing i know the other cute actor comes up and sits on the edge of the stage, this time only about 1 foot away from me, i could have poked him had i the urge! .. haha anyways.. very funny and oh yeah i almost forgot! one of the actors was walking backwards and fell off the stage (purposfully of course) hah but landed right between svenja and me bracing himself on our seats.. haha it was really cool! Well thats all for now.. college applications are getting stressful becuase it keeps saying things i have submitted havnt been received and i cant get ahold of one of my recommenders.. anyways.. it will all work out i hope!.. today was so much fun!..
MISS EVERYONE!.. see you in 2 months!! hdl Emily

Hamburg!

I have been in Hamburg since Sunday visiting Austin and having so much fun!
Hamburg is soo Big and there are tons of things to do! .. we took a ferry around the Harbour and got some really great pictures.. then we went in the HighFlyer which is a Hot Air balloon that goes 150m up and you can see everything! it was amazing! Every day we ride our bike or walk to the subway or train station and from there you can go anywhere, i usually but a day pass everyday for 5 euro and it allows me to go on the ferry, subway, train, and bus all included! the transportation system is amazing!!!! very very cool, so we walk everywhere and went shopping in the billions of shops here which is fun! We were in H&M when we saw a bar on wheels so we ran outside to take a pictures, and pretty much it was a table where about 8 people sit and drink beer but while they are sitting they are peddling haha so its pretty much the coolest bike thing ever but very hard to explain.. i will get a picture up on facebook fairly soon. Austin and i went to Hamburg Dungeon which was probably the coolest thing ever!!!!! Its a haunted house but its wayy cool, like they went all out, its not a normal haunted house where people just jump out to scare you, everyone is like a professional actor and they let groups go in at like 20 people at a time and its very interactive.. so one part the guy chose me and austin to be his "examples" and i had to sit in a cage while he tortured austin and he got out tools to poke his eyes out and twist his tounge and all kinds of stuff it was so funny, and he would say that if i told him a secret he would stop torturing austin,, but it was too funny to watch so i kept quiet hahah.. anyways its hard to explain everything but it was cool and there was one part where we were walking and it was completely pitch black , i couldnt see 2 feet in front of me, and i was soo scared! haha tehn near the end you get on a boat and you go on like a water raft ride but its soo dark and i was so scared something was going to pop out of the dark haha and then all of a sudden the ride stops and you go down a hill baskwards haha.. it was soo crayz! and then you get out and walk into this room thats pitch black and you sit in a ride like drop zone and it takes you to the top and all of a sudden lights flash on and you see bodies hanging all around you, it was sooo crazy adn the next thing you know it drops you and just like at carowinds it takes a picture and needless to say my face was hilarious hahah austins was too.. really very very funny.. so those are just a few of the adventures and im pretty sure i have walked like a trillion miles haha but i really like Hamburg its great! Austins host family is really nice too and they are letting me stay at their house and ride their bike and stuff which is really nice of them! I am ready to go back to Altenburg though and see svenja and all of my friends! wish me luck on the train ride back becuase i have to switch trains at 2 places.. ohhh man . hahah i hope i figure it out!
love and miss everyone! xoxo emily

Trip with my wonderful Daddy!!

My dad and I have been traveling Germany!! We covered the whole bottom half leaving Altenburg to go to Coburg where we visited the coolest Fortress I have ever seen! Then we went to Bamberg (a very very very cute city) and looked at shopes, churches, and the beautiful rose garden, pictures on facebook! check mine and my dads.. We left Bamburg and headed to Nuremberg for the night and saw the castle. From Nuremberg we headed to Munich and saw the palace/castle which was beautiful and had the biggest garden/park i have ever seen, it was amazing!!! We left Munich for Garmisch which was like Boone on steroids.. there was snow on the huge mountains that surrounded us and we walked around and window shopped and stayed the night in a very cute hotel.. From Garmisch we went to Achern to visit my wonderful friends! I got to see Pia, Gül, Uwe, Laura, Lisa, Patricia, Caroline, and everyone else! I loved seeing them and I look forward to going back for a weekend sometime soon! We left Achern and drove across germany to Heidelburg for the night!.. We went shopping and bought me a warm winter coat since its snowy season right about now! haha !! We stayed in the coolest hotel i have ever seen which had a beautiful view of the castle on the hill, the river, and the church across the street right in the old city section! It was so wonderful, once again pictures are on facebook... We left Heidelburg for Dresden and expolored (my third time and still found awesome new things to see.. Dresden is a must see for anyone coming to germany!) We stayed the night and saw the underground fortress/castle and a student art museum (I dont understand art.. ahha) did i mention that it was SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we drove to Chemnitz and went bowling (im a beast) haha and then we went back to Altenburg and had dinner at the Pizza Noodle house which was yummy and cheap! Crashed back at home where Svenja and her family were nice enough to let daddy sleep in an extra bedroom! Today we expolored Altenburg and now we are at an internet cafe waisting time before dinner and a movie to celebrate daddys birthday!!!! (hes 41... and he thinks hes old.. haha, but based on some of his "jumping pictures" i think he is still a lot younger. mentally at least!) Tomorrow we are driving to Berlin for the night and Sunday morning he will leave for Leipzig to catch is plane home =(( and I will take a train to Hamburg to see Austin for a few days!! =)) I am excited but sad that daddy is leaving! I wish the rest of my family was here too, i miss them! and everyone at home!! I will try to keep the blog updated but you know how my spazzy brain works.. haha ---------hdl Emily

Over the river and through the woods...

ohk, so no river.. but we did go into the forest!.. sadly there was no wolf, or little red.. but there was an amazing castle! It was beautiful!!! Part of it was turned into a restruant and hotel, so we had ice cream and then explored.. holy cow!!!.. ohk so you know that feeling when you have a crush on somebody and you feel so complete and excited and you have butterflys and you are all warm inside all at once, well.. i think im IN LOVE with Germany.. seriously, standing at the top of the castle looking out was so beautiful.. if one country can be so gorgeous i cant imagine what the rest of the world looks like.. and you bet i plan on finding out.. This whole experience has been able to teach me a lot, but one thing for sure is that I am not going to be completely satisfyed living my life in one place forever.. i plan on moving to different countries or at least visiting as many as possible.. It is the most amazing feeling in the world to look out on the land after it just rained and the grass in glistening and for miles it looks like patchwork becuase of the fields and the sun is poking out through the clouds and you can see the rays of sunlight.. oh my gosh, kshdglahldgnladknk (excitment spazz) AMAZING! MY DAD IS COMING IN 4 DAYS!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait becuase i seriously am so fascinated by the history there is in germany.. i want to be a knight in the 1700's in a castle in germany.. HOW COOOL!!!!!!!! I cant belive my trip is almost half way over, the thought of it makes me want to cry!!.. I want to get married in germany.. ahah these are the random thoughts and day dreams i have when i look outside because its sooo wonderfully beautiful!!! I am working on planning a trip to visit austin over the break that is coming up so i can see Hamburg and get another taste of the city life.. side thought ** why dont women wear bonnets and dresses anymore?.. i want to wear bonnetts and dresses and aprons and cook in simple kitchens and dust with goose feathers and... haha ohk this castle has my mind going into super imagination mode.. haha sorry.. back to whatever i was saying.. uhmmm oh yeah well im working on that trip to visit austin, which will be cool!!.. this is exerpeince is amazing but having someone to share it with is even cooler.. someone to get excited over weird little things so im not the only one fascinated by the toilette.. haha sounds random i know but i saw the cooooolest toilet the other day!!! oops i just realised i spelt toilet the german way a few sentences ago.. haha oh well.. my languages are all confused.. haha back to the toilet!.. i finished aand pressed the flush buuttonn and then all of a sudding this rectangular thing shoots out and grabs the seat rim and then the rim rotates around while it gets sanitized and cleans.. HOW CRAZY ahha.. i was scared at first but seriously, coolest toilet in the world. haha My brain is so spaztic i apologize.. haha not sure what i have said and what i ment to say but today was fun.. a fairly uneventful weekend until today.. seems like sundays and thursdays are my favorite days of the week!. One of the counselors from CBC (carolina bible camp) has been sending me a bible verse every day for me to wake up to in the mornings.. and its so refreshing.. a great way to start everyday and something to reflect on and think about! thankss! .. well i suppose that is all for today.. no wait.. i lied its not.. i remember what i ment to write about! haha we are having an american bakesale at school friday!! im excited!!.. turns out, surprisingly enough, that in germany cookies, brownies, muffins, donuts, and cakes are not commmon desserts because they are considered "american desserts" haha.. so i gave all the kids from school receipts for fudge, and peanutbutter cookies, and cheesecake, and apple pie.. and all sorts of yummy desserts and we are going to sell them on friday at school to raise money for their graduation party thing.. haha im not exactly sure but im excited about the food! yay! well thats all for real this time.. haha hope everyone is doing well!! my host grandparents left for scottland yesterday for 10 days =(( but i cant wait to see my dad and explore germany with him! we are even going to Achern to visit Pia and Gül and maybe go to europapark!! FUNNNNN!! ohk seriously this time.. im going to stop writing haha.. prayers for a safe flight over here for my daddy!.. love and miss everyone!! I saw CC won homecoming queen at freedom! how cool!! A wonderful representative of our school and the picture on the morganton website was beautiful! i cant wait to see more pictures from everyone on facebook!!.. =)) ohkk tschüssiii .. hdl -Emily........ (hdl: hab dich lieb .. which is kindof like,, love you)

Schnellll....!!!!!!!

I dont have lots of time on the computer that i can spend blogging or on facebook because the little time i have i need to spend on college applications and scholarship essays and such.. soo i apologize for not blogging much , or not being very detailed!.. My daddy is coming next weeek!! I am so excited!!!! I want to tell you about Sunday though, haha i know im like three days late but still it was so fun!!.. We went to a big "pool" it was awesome, more like a day spa.. all of the pools were heated and they connected inside and outside and had two huge water slides that seriously were scary fast! I wish i could describe it better but it was so much fun!! It wasn't very crowded and there were timers everywhere and at certain times there would different jets and waterfalls and stuff would come on! We stayed there all day and it was only 8,50 euros! and then 1 euro for a wiener and roll at lunchtime!! I got to sit in a Sauna (can someone please tell me what the point of a Sauna is.. i just sat there burning up hahaha.. ) anyways.. its was a really cool place and part of the building was a huge glass pyramid so when we were swimming and it got dark you could see the sunset.. it was really cool!.. i want to build one in morganton! haha anyways! thats all for now!.. Gute Nacht!... oh man i almost forgot! Austin has a cell phone now too, and we texted the other night. hahah i cant tell you the last time i texted someone.. no wait, i can, it was when i was still in america.. hahaha anyways just thought i would let everyone know that texting withdrawls have ended.

oh no!

Austin has officially made my blog look boring =((
haha..
I am so excited that three of my friends are in different countries! This is such a cool experience and I love being able to share it with people who are able to relate! As far as I know, Jessica Tom and Austin are all having a great time.. and guess what SO AM I!!! School: I have my classes set now (Math, English, German, Physics, Art, Vollyball, History, Religion, Latin, and Law) School is going great! I am able to figure out most of the math and some of the physics. Of course I am doing fine in English, though I have learned that I kindof SUCK at grammer and spelling hahaha oh well, if i dont learn german while I'm here at least I know im learning english!! haha.. anyways.. Vollyball is so much fun! I LOVE IT! Art class is by far my favorite though, we are currently drawing people.. which, other than nature, is probably the hardest for me... but thats why i love it so much! Last thursday I started Theater! Oh my gosh, it was awesome!.. Why did I never do theater at home???.. They are currently doing a play that is a spoof on Romeo and Juliet, its pretty funny.. its what would have happened if they didnt die!! Theater has also helped a lot with learning German. When i can see the words they are saying, it is a thousand times easier to learn and remember! Before the older theater group we help with the little kids, they are adorable! There is a little girl named Mona and she was so excited to talk to me! She asked me if i have ever met Miley Cyrus and sadly i had to say no =(( haha!! This weekend my host parents are gone to Oktoberfest in Berlin, i think.. But the local disko where svenja works is opening tonight and there is a big celebration! I am so excited because everyone from school will be there! It is supposed to be so much fun! This afternoon we are going to the Grandparents house, YAY for lunch! I cant wait, i seriously llove her grandparents!! ... So it has officially reached the point where I DO NOT want to leave =(( I have made a lot of friends and will miss everyone and everything when I have to go.. Of course I cant wait to see my family and frieds at home, but I am DEFINITELY coming back to Germany. Some of the girls I have become friends with are named, Bea, Tina, Sofia, Katja, Maria, Anna, and of course Svenja! The weather is cooling down and the moped rides are getting chilly for sure but everything is just as beautiful as always! I am looking forward to October 8-18 because my daddy is flying over!!!!! We are going to drive around germany and visit a few other countries as well.. I am looking forward to it!!! I cant believe everything I am doing, and have already done.. this whole experience is crazy!! and its all happening so fast!!.. i have already been here for 2.5 months.. OH MY GOSH.. that means I only have 3 left =(( NOOOOOOOO.. time is flying! Well.. if there is anything you think i should post about, or you want to know.. just comment or email me at em.rooks@yahoo.com .. .sometimes i dont know what i have said already and i am always telling people at home so i dont know what im leaving out.. but if there is anything you want to know more about, or you just want my blog to be a little more interesting. let me know, i will do what i can! haha. Love and miss everyone!!.