Monday: I got my fencing uniform, so now I can actually fence. I ended up winning 2 of 5 matches...not to bad for a starter!
Tuesday: I learned how to "waveboard". I learned how to ride this thing during Gym class:
Tidbit about the wonderful Volcano in Iceland. (Eyjafjallajökull is the name.) For several days, basically all major airports in Europe weren't allowing any planes to fly. And unfortunately, Claude got some tough luck and had to take a bus from Spain back to Düsseldorf. He said it wasn't bad because he got to drive through all of France. But many others didn't have such luck, and it was pretty stressful situation for everyone. The only people that probably enjoyed the planes not flying were the neighbors of the airports. And I didn't seen a speck of ash here. We had clear skies the whole week!
Wednesday: Highlight of my week! I finally asked my host family if I could cook for them. I had a recipe for lentil soup, and my host dad helped a lot in the process. He took me food shopping, and then basically showed me how to do everything. In fact, he did like 80% of the work, and he gave me all the credit. But I learned quite a bit of new vocabulary. I'm going to have to "help" cook another time soon in order to actually remember the words! But I am really not sure how to explain "Why did I cook for my family sooner?", considering I've already been living with them for 4.5 months. Well I was a bit nervous because my host family are well-educated about food, and I'm not particularly. But it was probably more a "fear of failure" that I had. Well it wasn't a failure at all, and I learned quite a bit...and now I figure, I would have learned just as much or even more if I had "failed".
Thursday: I didn't feel like going Fencing, and the weather was so nice that I ended up meeting up with Betsy in Düsseldorf. It was a great reunion and our conversation didn't seem to stop it was so fluent (plus we had quite a bit to check up on), and sometimes I forget how much I miss some Jersey people. Except when I see or hear about the Jersey Shore (did I mention it's now in German MTV?!), I find it rather embarrassing.
Upcoming Weekend: My grade is having a "fundraiser" party Friday evening. Saturday I'll be visiting the Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn with AFS-Krefeld (Yes, I was there in March for Mid-stay. It's a great museum, so I'm glad to be able to go there one more time!) Saturday night: A birthday party for two peers. Sunday: Not planned out...I get to chill for once! This is a more "normal" weekend, compared to the past few travel weekends. And this is the first time 5 weekends that I'll be home in Krefeld.
Notice I say "home" now. I really do feel like I'm at home now. My family is great! They feel like my real family! My life feels normal, and yet, rather zealous. I sometimes think it's amazing that I'm in Germany for this year abroad, but now I feel like I have a normal life, plus bits of curiousity when I try to see or do something new. The garden is really gorgeous with all the blooming flowers, buzzing bees, and great weather...so I wrote this blog entry outside! That would be another first!
Schönes Wochenende,
Matt
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