Saturday 20th March

Today was not the most exciting day yet it was still fun. I went to a place called the Billiard Gallerie and watched the soccer match between Werder Bremen and Nürnberg. Werder won 3-1. It was good fun and I enjoyed the atmosphere. After that I went out bowling with my host family. I dont know why but the first game I kept hooking the ball to the left and getting gutterballs for the first half. After that I started playing better and came third in the second game. That was the end of my day.

Friday 18th March

So, today was a slightly more than average friday. Basically get up at 0800 go to language school from 0900-1230. Then come home and eat lunch then go upstairs and organise my current projects and plans. Yet tonight I went out for dinner with my entire host family to very nice Italian restaurant called Gargarno. I had a Penne Alla Matriciana and although not quite as good as La Porchetta in North Melbourne is was still tasty. Language school is going quite well and every day it gets easier and easier. Anyway all in all a good day and the blogs will be getting a lot more regular.

Filling in 31st January - 16th March

Hey everyone. Sorry about there being no posts for a while. I was really busy and then it got out of hand and I didnt want to go back to it. Anyway, I will now fill you in on what I did or at least the main events. So my last post was in the last few days of January which makes me nearly 2 months behind. During this time I have done many new and exciting things. However the mains ones are going to Hamburg for a day, having my 'newbie orientation' in Bremerhaven and also Karneval in Bonn and Köln. So about Hamburg. It wasn't the best of days to go because it was very cold and raining all day. However, Hamburg is a very pretty place and it was still an enjoyable day. 4 other exchange students and me got in a train at 0900 and travelled 2 hours to Hamburg Hbf. The train station there is alot bigger than Bremens and it has alot more shops. We started off there and with no real plan for the day we wandered around Hamburg in the rain. We ended up in an old history building and at the Dom (church) which is extemely tall. We then ended up back at the train station were we met more exchange students from Hamburg and we walked around with them a bit. We then ended up going to St. Pauli which is a town 30 mins away. There really is only about 1 street and it looks like Las Vegas with lots of Casinos. Anyway after walking up and down the main street for a while it was about 2300hrs and time to start heading home. So we caught the train back to Bremen and me and a friend had to walk home because there were no trams. All in all a good day.

My 'newbie orientation' was on an old ship called the Seute Deern (http://www.bremerhaven-tourism.de/bremerhaven-touristik/deutsch/sehenswertes/images/seute_deern.jpg) and it was a great day. All of the winter inbounds were there so basically from Australia and Argentina. We talked for a few hours on the rules and regulations for exchange and also about the fun things like tours and other opportunities and events. We then went out to a place called the Klimahaus (http://klimahaus-bremerhaven.eu/). We had a guided tour of the place and it was a lot of fun and very interessting. After that we ate a very nice dinner and that was the day.

Karneval! Well what an experience. It is a 3 day mega party with lots of beer and bonbons. However, because I have school it was only 2 days for me. The first day I went with Götz (host dad) and Lea (host sister) to Bonn, the old capital of West Germany. We met up with an old friend of Götz's and dressed up as pirates and marched in a parade. We walked throughout the streets of Bonn throwing lollies out at all of the onlookers. This went on for three hours and I was rather tired. The next day we went to Köln (Colonge) and we were the onlookers. Köln is alot bigger than Bonn and the parade was also alot bigger. The costumes and the music and the dancers and the people were all amazing. It was a long day and yes mum i did have a beer. haha! Anyway so 5 hour train ride later back in Bremen and straight to bed. More posts coming soon!

Sunday 30th January

Today was my first day staying at Götz and Eva's house. They had planned to go to a Museum with me that day which was perfect because I had plans with a friend for that afternoon. The museum was called the Überseemuseum which basically means the Overseas museum which is great considering my status at the moment. It was an interesting museum with exhibits from all around the world including Australia. I wish I could of had my camera but I had left it at my other house not thinking that I could be doing anything like this. On the other levels of the museum there was more about Bremen and its history of shipping and trading. Sehr interessant! My language is getting a lot better which is beginning to be very helpful. I can actually understand some of what is being said. After the museum I went out with a friend in the city which on a Sunday was not a very good idea considering everything is closed but oh well, it was still fun. After that I went home and chilled. Gute Nacht Alles!

Saturday 29th Janurary

Today started off with Marcello and I helping Lothar move the wood that we got for the fireplace. It was only 1 cubic metre yet it took us an hour and it was a little difficult. After that I went into the city with Lothar and Petra to get me a sim card for my phone. Then I caught the bus to Götz and Eva's house where I would be staying for a few days. That night I went out with them and they showed me around the city. It was very enjoyable and then we went for a coffee. Overall, awesome.

Friday 28th January

It has been one week since I left Australia and it has gone so fast. I know everyone says "yeah, yeah whatever" when someone says that time flies. It actually does. I have been doing things pretty much everyday and I am not even sure what day it is. Although being a Friday it is one of my short days and short days are always good. It starts off with drama which is a very 'interesting' subject. Then I have Sport. It is the theory lesson but it is still fun and I really enjoy the class. Lastly I finish up with English. Except the teacher wasn't there so I didn't have to go. The rest of the day I pretty much just chilled.

Thursday 27th Janurary

Today was not a very busy day yet it was a different day. First off I went to Biology class and I mainly helped people with there Biology/English projects. It was fun because it was all in English and at this stage my language is still minimal. After that I had history but there was no class running for some reason. So I went home because I live very close to the school. The rest of the school day were the joint Biology/English presentations. They were basically on different types of health foods and how some companies advertise the supposed "good things" and hide the "bad things". They were all well done and rather entertaining. After school I went over to a friends house and we watched a movie (Superbad). It wasn't that good but it was better than nothing. Anyway I am having an awesome time over here and each day is better than the last.

Viele Grüße!

Wedneday 26 January

AUSTRALIA DAY! Happy Australia Day! Today is my shortest day of school because I am not doing any other languages apart from English and German. I start off with double German which is kind of difficult considering I dont speak much of the language yet I am sure that it will help in the future with my language getting better and better. After school I have my Rotary meeting. It is at the Park Hotel which is the best hotel in Bremen. It was my first meeting so I was very excited. I came home from school and donned my green blazer and took a few business cards with some pins attached to them for some of the Rotarians and then went to Marcello's house because he was showing me the way. The Park Hotel is a little bit like the Sofitel in Melbourne but a lot older and grander. We went into the dining hall and I met most of the Rotarians and was told that I had to do a speech about me and where I come from. Not much notice but nevermind. We had roast duck and vegetables for lunch and I found out that I like asparagus. For desert we had a custard tart type thing which was also very tasty. After the lunch Julius, Marcello and me went to the city to hang out with some other Rotary kids. Overall it was a very enjoyable day.

Tuesday 25th January

Tuesdays are my longest days at school. I finish at 1645 and it gets dark at about 1700 to 1730. Today I understood more of what the lessons were about and a little more German. I have found that I can understand a lot more German than I can speak. I found school to be very long and a bit tiring yet I know it is going to be worth it because my German is improving. I also really like the teachers that I have. They are all very considerate and try to include me as much as possible. So far Biology is my favourite because some of it is in English. I also found Chemistry good fun, probably because we were given a chemistry Lego set and I made glucose. The teacher laughed.

Finishing very late in the day is very tiring. Yet I am having fun. Alles Gute!

24th January 2011

Today was my first day of school in Germany. It was an interesting experience. The course that I am taking is one with English and Sport majors and German, Geography, History, Politics, Biology, Maths and Chemistry minors. The school day starts at 0800 and ends at 1645. There are 10 session a day each 45mins long. My first lesson was German. It was a good class and I understood the concept of what the teacher was teaching but as for the words my German is not anywhere near that level. After German I had 2 free periods so I went home for lunch. I love living close to school. The last two lessons for the day was geography. I found it quite interesting because I knew what he was talking about. I finished school at 1500 which was interesting because I thought German school finished a lot earlier. Anyway it is something that I learned about the school in germany and it is something that I will get used to. The rest of the day was spent at home having a mini German lesson with my host sister. Good Night!

23rd January 2011

After waking up at 0900 to go for a run with Lothar I helped him to prepare breakfast. It consisted of eggs, bread, bretzels, ham, sausage. I am sure that I will put on all the weight that I lost on the plane. Next I helped Till get my bike ready and we went for a ride. First we went to his fathers house to visit. Riding on a bike with no gloves on is a bad idea! Then we went to the Bahnhof (train station) to get me a map of Bremen including the tram and bus networks. After that we came home and then went with Lothar to visit Marcello (an Inbound from Ecuador). We had coffee and cake at their house and went up to Marcello's room to hang. Then we went home and I updated my blog. Later on that evening after dinner I help Lea do her English homework on Graffiti. I then watched Tropic Thunder in German with Lea and Lothar and then went to bed because I was quite tired due to the intense listening.

Gute Nacht alle!

21st January 2011/22nd January 2011

Hi everyone. Sorry for the late post but it took a while to get here and get the Internet set up. Photos will up soon on my photoblog page.

Today started really early as I had my Sponsor Club (North Melbourne) breakfast meeting. It was a rather enjoyable experience. I like my club because it is really relaxed and I think that is the best way to be. Anyway, I arrived at the Radisson Hotel in Melbourne and was greeted by faces that I have never seen before. It was quite a shock at how fast we became friends and started joking around. We had breakfast whilst chatting about exchange and how it would be a difficult yet enjoyable experience. The meeting wrapped up at about 0900 which was good because it gave me enough time to walk home and get ready to go to the airport. When I arrived at Melbourne Airport I was greeted by Geoff who directed me to the baggage check area. It was quite a nerve racking experience seeing as I have never done it before. The officer said if I wanted my bag to go right the way through to Bremen Airport, It seemed like a logical idea considering that it would mean that I had less to worry about. After waiting around and getting photos taken it was time to say our goodbyes. Surprisingly they didn't last any more than 5 minutes. I walked through the doors and that was it. Customs was rather annoying considering that I had to take everything out of my pockets and put it all through the scanner and the fact that they stole my Vegemite because to them it is a gel. 36 of us exchangees waited in the departure gate for about half an hour before boarding an 8 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). We had a three hour stopover before boarding our next flight to Frankfurt. It was a 13 hour flight. I think it is safe to say that I hate aeroplanes. After landing in Frankfurt airport my first impressions were BIG! We had to catch the train to get to another terminal for our domestic departure. Brendan, Steph, Pam and I went through the airport security which was a rather interesting experience. After checking in I ran into my first host father in the airport which I did not expect at all and nor did he. We began talking and as it turned out he was on the same flight as me to Bremen. We caught the bus onto the tarmac and to our plane. It was a 45 minute flight to Bremen airport were I walked off the plane with Lothar and was greeted by my first and second host families, my counsellor, youth exchange officer and the new youth exchange officer. They were all happy to see me and were all very kind. All of us went for a coffee and the first thing that I noticed about German coffee is that it is big and strong or in other words brilliant. Then I said my goodbyes to the rest of the clan and caught a taxi to my home for the next 6 months. The taxi ride took about 10 minutes and the taxi was a Mercedes Benz which I found awesome. The house is 4 stories high and my bedroom is on the 4th story. First I was shown around the house, unpacked and then went for a walk with Till around the neighbourhood. After that we came home and had dinner which was bread, ham, sausage, prosciutto and soup that our neighbours had made for us. Next I went to bed for 14 hours to sleep off jetlag. It has been a long two days. Gute Nacht!