So much has happened since I last posted. First of all, I found out all three of my host families and have even chatted a bit with them through email and facebook. In my first host family, I’ll have three host sisters who are 14 (I think), 17, and 18, but only one will be going to my school. That’s the next exciting thing — I found out which school I’m going to! It’s called the Humboldtschule. Third exciting thing: I found out my departure date. It’s tomorrow. Whoever knows me knows that I am a huge procrastinator. Something I am really going to work on in Germany because it is really messing with me! Anyways, my tendency to dawdle has led me to not be entirely packed even though I am leaving for the airport in about 6 hours. So actually, why am I writing in this? Good bye.

I found out something really quite exciting yesterday. I got an email from the youth exchange officer of my host Rotary club, which means I also found out the town I’ll be staying in! It’s called Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, but it’s often abbreviated as Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe. It’s in the state of Hessen, which is kind of central Germany (ish). Also kind of southern. Also kind of western. Here is an image for your viewing pleasure, as I’m probably being somewhat confusing.

It’s right outside of Frankfurt am Main. It looks really really pretty. Apparently it is a pretty wealthy city because lots o’ bankers who work in Frankfurt live there. There is also a serious abundance of spas in Bad Homburg v. d. H., which makes sense because I’m pretty sure that “bad” in German means ”bath” in English. When I first heard I was going to BAD Homburg, I couldn’t forget the meaning of “bad” in English. It doesn’t sound too promising at first. But now I’m glad that it is called Bad Homburg instead of Good Homburg, because spas sound really nice.

There are around 50,000 citizens of Bad Homburg! What a perfect size! According to Wikipedia, there are five schools: Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium, Humboldtschule, Gesamtschule am Gluckenstein, Maria-Ward-Schule, and Feldbergschule. I WONDER WHICH ONE I’M GOING TO?! I don’t even know if all of those would be appropriate for my age. So there might only be a couple possibilities out of those five. I don’t know!

But wow, Bad Homburg v. d. H. looks so cute and perfect. I am SO excited. Also, I’ve heard from a grand total of TWO people from Germany so far: the host district’s chairman and the host club’s youth exhange officer (both Rotarians). They both sound incredibly friendly and I really and truly cannot wait to meet them. I just want to meet ALL DEM GERMAN FOLK!

So here’s the dealio: I’ve always been jealous of anyone who’s bilingual, and that’s how this whole thang got started. One of my best friends (Christa, who is often so lovingly referred to as Our Lord) is actually Greek. A REAL Greek. Like, her family is FROM Greece and she SPEAKS Greek at home. Even her little teeny tiny sister, Anna, is bilingual. And she is 3 years old.

I’m 17 now, and I am ever so far from being as cool as Christa or her  bilingual super-toddler of a sister. I’m taking my sixth year of French this year, but I’m definitely not fluent. My writing is okay, but boi o boi, do I have some troubles communicatin’  in the verbal sense.

Anyways, as I said, I’m 17. I’m a senior right now at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, MA. And I’m going to Germany next year for a year! And it’s all because of Rotary International. Rotary International, if you haven’t heard of it before, is a service club organization. There are Rotary clubs all over the world that all strive for the same thing: “Service above Self.” According to rotary.org, “Rotarians provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.” And it’s true! Rotary International and their associated clubs are really quite impressive. I’ve witnessed it myself.

I think it’s pretty obvious that this will be a cool experience and all, but a lot of people have asked me why I specifically want to be an exchange student. Why not just skip the whole extra year of high school and travel around Europe? Well, I think I already made it pretty clear that I want to learn another language. And not just learn one, but actually become fluent in one. I feel like the only way to really be fluent in a language is to be completely immersed, which I will be when I’m plopped down in a German school. Oh, by the way, I don’t know any German. At all. I know how to say “I love you” (ich liebe dich) but I’m trying to learn some more on my own. I just have this feeling that if I arrive in Germany not knowing how to say anything other than “I love you,” I might seem too forward.

…I’m learning. I know how to say: my name is Suzanne (mein name ist Suzanne), Wie geht es Ihnen? (how are you?)…and well, that’s pretty much it. Oh, and I know the word for eleven, which is ‘elf.’ But I only remember this because elves are funny little creatures. And I love Harry Potter. The thing I don’t really understand at this point is when things are capitalized. I will learn soon enough though.

Recently, I have been frantically researching Germany, land of germs. Just kidding, it sounds to me like it’s actually a pretty sanitary place. I have learned from extensive google searches that:

1. the squirrels are much smaller than in the US.
2. the doughnuts have no holes.
3. the jelly doughnuts have less jelly in them.

Mouthwatering Wiener Schnitzel

I have also begun to learn about much more trivial things (har, har) such as the history of Germany. I’ve also been looking at all the delectable tasties on wikipedia. Any kind of schnitzel looks like a dream.  I am a carnivorous animal, so I look forward to the endless opportunities to devour the many meats of Germany.

Well, that is all I have to offer for today.