Language Camp Wrap Up – Host Family Update

 

 

 

Hey there everyone! 

Sorry it’s been so long since i’ve last made a legitimate post! Language camp was super fun, and an expierence that i will never forget. It’s true, you never will know how much you miss something until it’s gone. We learned more in those 3 weeks than I have in my entire life, I left with my invisible suitcase of knowledge, it was overstuffed with important things. Camp was a great experience filled with fun activities and amazing people. For all of you New CBYXers, be prepared for a life changing experience.

 Musical ChairsKuchenherz at AltStadtFest

AltStadtFestMore AltStadtFestYhan in Marburg with Sven photobombing in the back 😛

Nick the Mascot ;D 

On the last day, the emotions were running high as we all said our goodbyes and watched the ones being picked up leave. I tried SO hard not to cry, but it seemed like everytime I told myself not to, I started to again. ( Dancing Cupcakes didn’t work this time) 😀 But, at 1:30 (13:30) the 15 of us who had the latest leave time, drove away in the taxi and left Schloss Wittgenstein.

Bad Laasphe Train Station

Okay, so my train went from Bad Laasphe-Marburg-Kassel-Augsburg and lets just say the train ride from Kassel to Augsburg was crazy for me! I got in the wrong wagon, then carried my suitcase down to the other end of the train (accidentally hitting people along the way) and it turned out that my wagon was at the opposite end. SUCH A BUMMER.  Once the train conductor said we were in Augsburg my heart started beating so fast! I was so, SO excited to step off of that train and be immersed into my new life for a year. Once I was off, I met with my host mom and we went into a restaurant where I ate Spaetzle and let me tell you, it is the most AMAZING thing on Earth.. oh and then as I was walking to the bathroom I saw my first real person in Lederhosen AND I saw a beer tower!!

  Here’s the Bier Tauer 😀

It was such an eventful night 😀 After that we drove to my cute little village of Zusmarshausen.

  Pretty Zusmarshausen Metal people at the beginning of Zusmarshausen

The Last Days

“Wherever you are, it is your Friends that make your World.”

Hey everyone, i’ve been super super busy lately, but how can you blame me? 😀 I’ll be gone in 5 days. Ever since Saturday (The day of my going away party) I have been hanging out with friends from early in the morning until late at night.. and this whole leaving that hasn’t really hit me until these last few days ive been spending with them. I mean, before i was just so excited to leave & didn’t really think about missing anyone or anything, But now that all of my friends are talking about homecoming & Junior prom , its all becoming so much more real & it is really sinking in. I will NEVER get this year back, this year my friends will change, but I will change so much more. I will come back a new person and their expectations of me will not be what they will get. I’ll never be able to know how things might have gone or what things I might have done if i’d stayed, I’ll miss out on SO much in my American life here at home. Bu at the same time, ill be making memories that ill never forget, and experiencing things that no one here at home ever will. Im super scared that the bonds with my American friends are going to change drastically (considering i changed schools last November and am just starting to really bond with everyone).. and maybe that’s okay. These are the times I will never get back. Things that may have mattered to me before may not matter in my future after this experience, they may just seem like little aspects or things that should be overlooked. As to where right now, they seem to be everything. People change, Feelings will change, but New experiences, challenges, and relationships will be made. I need to live in “the now” stop living for the past and stop living for the future, it is time that I spread my wings and venture off from what I’ve known for the past 15 years..This Is My Time To Live.

Until D.C.,

Joy’e 

“One thing will always stay the same, we are friends for life. When we’re together the years fall away, isn’t that what matters? To have someone who can remember with you? To have someone who remembers how far you’ve come..”

Zusmarshausen, Germany

“Dear Ryanne,

we’ve just got the information that you will be our new family member for ten month. We  are so happy to welcome you in September and we believe that you are perfectly fitting in our family. We think you are as excited as we and that you want to know a lot about your host family. We try to introduce our family a bit and if you have later more questions, don´t hesitate to ask us.

Our family, that is Rebecca, Larissa, Sandra and Martin.

Rebecca is our younger daughter. She is 16 years old and so in the same age as you. She’s a lively but also an affectionate girl. She likes sports like athletics, Zumba and ballroom dancing and she also likes much shopping and meeting friends. She´s going to an Gymnasium (it´s not a sports room, it´s the name for a school in Germany). We have another system than the US, in Germany we have a three level school system and a “Gymnasium” is the highest level. But next year she will change school probably.

You would go to the Realschule in Zusmarshausen with many friends of Rebecca and girls in the neighbourhood. You can go to this school by foot or by bike. You have also French there which I read is important for your credits. Don´t be afraid of the new language, even it will be hard the first time you are mainly here to learn a lot about Germany and our culture and at the end you will also speak fluently German. I know this because we had two exchange students before. Five years ago we had an exchange student from Australia  for 10 month and three years ago we had an exchange student from Bolivia for 6 month. It was a great time with them and it´s always sad when they have to leave, but the good thing is you have another family member for your life. And we are sure that we have the same good experience with you. We are really looking forward meeting you. Especially Rebecca, because it´s the first time an exchange student is at her age. We are still in contact with our former exchange students, although it´s difficult because they live so far away. So we are happy that you are from the US, than this is not “so” far away and we can see each other also later when you are back home. We also would be pleased if we later could welcome your family in Germany.

Larissa is our other daughter, she’s 18 years old. She is very interested in foreign languages and likes music and singing. When she was 14, she was at a boarding school in Australia. Because she visited our first exchange student. And last year she was for 6 month in France. She has just finished school and is going to start studying English, French, Russian and European Ethnology at University in Augsburg.

Sandra, that’s me. I’m 44 years old and I was a housewife for the last 10 years. In a few weeks I am going to start a further education in human resources. It will take 5 months and maybe I can later find a part-time job in this domain. I do lots of sport activities like  walking with the dog, gymnastics and a little bit lifting weights. I also like to watch casting shows with the girls like “Pop Idol”, “Germany´s next Top Model” and TV Series like “Vampire Diaries”. Martin is my husband. He is 46 years old. He studied mechanical engineering. Currently he’s Vice President Europe Devision of a big automotive supplier. He is very often on business trips in Europe, to the US  and Asia, but normally he is with us on weekends. Because of his time restrictions, he isn’t able to do sports regularly, but he tries to do exercises as often as possible. Furthermore we have a dog, her name is Fenja, and a cat called Pinki. “

Okay, so TODAY WAS THE DAY 🙂 . I finally got my host family, and oh my gosh, they are so perfect!!! They all are so gorgeous, and enjoy doing all of the things I do. I am SOSOSO happy that I have host siblings, since im an only child here in America. I CANNOT wait to meet them ! Maybe they will share some beauty tips 😉 . I just know the bonds we create will be amazing! Bleeh, im too excited to write anymore! 😀 Well until I post again,

Tschuess!

Almost Over!

“Home of The Pointers”

In 3 short days (technically 7 days, but Monday we have a bowling trip and I’m going to visit colleges Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday) my sophomore year will be over here , and my new school for my junior year will be somewhere in Germany.. I may not have been going to West Point for very long, but in that short amount of time I have met some of the most amazing people. 🙂 People who were there for me when I felt like I was on top of the world, and for times when I felt like my whole world was crashing down. These are the people who I will never forget. The people who have made a difference in my life.. for better & for worse. I will always be a Pointer. ❤ So, here’s to the Old, the New, and the Not Yet Met. 😀

 

 

CBYX, And All Things Included

Hallo alle ! 🙂

I just thought that I would let y’all know that if you have ANY questions about CBYX, CIEE, or the application/process that goes along with it, I will happily answer all of them to the best of my ability and give you helpful tips/advice! You can contact me through here, on facebook, or by email: littledeutschliebe@yahoo.com . Viel Gluck! 😀

What Is Exchange?

This is just perfect. 🙂

Wie sagt man...?

“Exchange is change. Rapid, brutal, beautiful, hurtful, colorful, amazing, unexpected, overwhelming and most of all constant change. Change in lifestyle, country, language, friends, parents, houses, school, simply everything.
Exchange is realizing that everything they told you beforehand is wrong, but also right in a way.
Exchange is going from thinking you know who you are, to having no idea who you are anymore to being someone new. But not entirely new. You are still the person you were before but you jumped into that ice cold lake. You know how it feels like to be on your own. Away from home, with no one you really know. And you find out that you can actually do it.
Exchange is learning to trust. Trust people, who, at first, are only names on a piece of paper, trust that they want the best for you, that they care. Trust, that you have…

View original post 900 more words

Forever Waiting

“Things worth having are worth waiting for..”

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been SO busy with school, sports, and getting ready for my departure 🙂 ! My grades have been bothering me lately, due to the fact it has been somewhat of a struggle to keep a 3.0 GPA. Maybe it’s because there are only 87 days until I leave for DC 😉 . Anyways, I am still waiting for a host family (sadly). I haven’t really been waiting that long (since I turned in my secondary application) , buuuut if you include the wait starting when I first applied for this scholarship.. it has been an EXTREMELY  long wait. I am really hoping for a host family with horses, horses are my life. ❤ I really would like to have siblings as well, considering the fact that I am an only child. I cant wait to get that one special email that will hold my host family letter! Then I can find them on Facebook and Skype them and this experience will become so much more “real”. 😀 I am so so so ready to embark on this adventure. HURRY UP AUGUST, WE NEED YOU. Yes, I will miss everyone here in America, but this experience will change my and 249 other students lives f o r e v e r. 🙂 So bring on the sausages, broetchen, and fun. Because us CIEEer’s are ready!!

-xoxo,

Joy’e ❤ 

Here Comes The Anchor

It is finally starting to sink in…within a matter of months I will be in a completely different country without my family,, this is my last big holiday at home; Easter. My 16th birthday is on September 3rd and that will be in Germany as well.. which im completely fine with. 😉 I am so excited to be able to have all of these experiences, I’m just maybe a little scared/nervous. What if my host family just wants a foreign exchange student so they can use me as their personal slave?? I know this isn’t rational thinking, but I know it is possible. My ex boyfriend was a foreign exchange student from Germany at my school last year and his host family was just like that. Which is UBER scaryyyy. Hopefully, this won’t happen to me or anyone else for that matter. 🙂 I am SO ready to start this adventure..HURRY UP AUGUST. Oh, and correction to my last post: it is 130 days until I leave! WOOOOO! :)) I am beyond excited, someone stop me before I spontaneously combust ;D hahaha. Okay, time to go eat deviled eggs, Hasta La Pasta guuuys! 😉

xoxo,

Me

My Intro Video :)

Sooo, this is my little intro video, yes it’s awko tacooo :p sorry about that hahaha. anyways I hope you like it 🙂 CBYX CIEE 2013-2014

Nur der Anfang :))

“Dear Joy,

We would like to be the first to congratulate you on your acceptance to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship Program! CIEE is thrilled to have you among our 50 students chosen from the Southeast United States. Now that you have made it through the selection process, we must begin preparations for the year ahead.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay 🙂 so , let me rewind a bit. Yesterday (March 27,2013) at 11:00 am (yes I was in school lol) I saw a strange number from Maine calling, so I answered it and it was Juliette!!! She said “Hello Joy’e, I have good news, someone has declined the scholarship and I was wondering if you wanted to go to Germany” of course I FREAKED out. This one phone call is what has decided my future for the next year 🙂 I am beyond thrilled. excited. amazed. shocked. etc. This next year will not be easy .. but it will be worthwile 🙂 SOOO, I have just completed my 23 page application (yes 23 PAGES *.* ) and all I have left to get is my official transcript and my physical, WOO! The only crappy part was that adobe reader was EXTREMELY hard to download on my PC.. it took 2 days..lol. im technically challenged :p ….so I’m going to go and freak out some more. 🙂 only 104 days left!!!
xoxo,
me