Another month gone...

Wow, time really does fly by. I apologize to all my (remaining) readers for not updating. They do say that this is when most exchange students stop or update the least, and I am sorry for not being able to tell you every little detail. So once again, I'll give you the highlights.

Hm, where to start...

School is going well. I just started again after a VERY long break (three weeks, plus the class trip week.) I went with my class to Thun and went on a ship ride around the Thunersee. We also played games designed to create teamwork and all that good stuff. We also went to Gürtenberg, which is the Hausberg von Bern. Bryanne couldn't come due to a doctor's appointment, so it was just me and the girls. Now, if only they would remember to speak High German...

I had a physics test today and am pretty sure I failed. The questions I could understand, I didn't know how to solve. The rest had words not found in my dictionary. It seemed like we were allowed to use our books for known variables, or something, but I have yet to get one, so that was no help. Otherwise, all is well here.

During my break, I had a wonderful week in Italy that did not involve going around visiting people like a mad person, a day in Zürich and another in Lötschental (I hope to go back for Carnival because they have apparently so unusual traditions their) and another in Geneva. There was also a Rotex weekend that I baked brownies for. Did you know they don't have bottle vanilla in the supermarket here? It's either a powder or a paste. They seemed to be well like though. There we played games, went to a cookie bakery (Kambly) which had some very yummy crackers, and went bowling. I lost but it was fun!

Most excitingly for me, other than knowing German well enough that I want to spell bakery backery (German is bäckerei), is my TAI CHI CLASS!!!!! >

Also speaking of Halloween, Bryanne is looking into putting a party together. It's laser tag! I you go wearing a costume, there is a five franc discount. Just give me an excuse to dress up any time! However, it is also October 30 and I don't think I'll be able to make both. :(

Alright, I'm sure I had other things to say, but I can't think of them right now. The picture uploading thing is disabled right now so I have to put them up later. If you have Facebook, you might see them sooner!

Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope all is well wherever you are!!!!

Over a Month in....

Sorry for not writing in so long, I've been busy. Here's some highlights:

• I started school!!!! (I also passed my German course.) It gets out the earliest at 4:15, I get home about 5, then I have a billion worksheets to translate into something understandable, dinner is at 7-7:30, finishes usually an hour later, and I have to try to speak German all the time. Add in watching the news or a movie on somedays, and you can see why it's been. However, my classmates are very nice and I was excused from three classes (two because of a test and the third was gym. There was a volleyball competition). Friday is a test in German class on a book they read, so I'll probably be excused from that too. I've never taken Physics before, but it's the only one where I actually know what's going on, other than English. Bio was easy, as we are learning about Mitosis and Meiosis. For my advanced art class I have to paint a picture of water with oil paints. That will definitely be interesting.
• I am considering taking Tai Chi lessons while I'm here. I found a place 5 minutes from the train station, but I don't know how much it will cost. Otherwise I'm going to do yoga. There's also a German course on Saturdays I can do. At the end, I take a test and can earn some kind of diploma or something that shows I am proficient in German. That's also I my list of things to do.
• I met my second host mother. She was really nice. Her children are adults and don't live at home, but she has the daughter of a family friend, Laura, live with her a few days a week. Laura works at a hospital in Bern several days a week and it's easier to live in Stettlen than to go from Basel. We went to a football game and around Bern last Saturday.
• I went to the Historisches Museum of Bern! That was awesome!
• I went hiking in Adelboden with Indigo two Saturdays ago. It was long, but fun. We rode down on these Trottinettes (AKA really Big Scooters) On the way down we stopped in the town where they were celebrating their 600th anniversary combined with the annual return of the cows and sheep and other animals from the Alps. Yeah, that town is 600 years old.

Other than spending a lot of my time with the other exchange students in Bern and the Welcome Meeting in Zürich, which went well, that's what I've been up too.

Over and out!