its not about the days anymore.... 22 HOURS!

My final blog for Germany is going to be about the person who I went through this year together with. My sister, Jaqueline! Jaque and I have been together from the very first day I was in Germany to her very last day in Germany. I could seriously go on and on for days about the crazy things we did this year together but that would get boring. I went to the airport with her yesterday and we had a good time just sitting around drinking coffee and talking about how fast the year went and how we can't even believe its over. She is going to be coming to my graduation in May.... 10 months and I am already excited. This year I got to know her family and she got to know mine. I feel like I have known her my entire life and I don't know what I am going to do without seeing her everyday. If I could write her a letter right now it would go a little like this.
 Dear Jaque,
First thing I want to say is that I love you. You are the best sister ever. At first I wasn't sure if we were really going to get along because you were kind of shy about talking with me but after a few weeks you got over that and now you never shut up but I love to listen to your stories! You were like a real sister to me. We never really got into any fights that lasted longer than a day and anytime that I wasn't with you I was texting you. I remember during Euro Tour when we had to be away for a week and when I saw you in Rome I cried like a baby because I knew I would have to be one more week without you. Well little did I know that was nothing compared to the airport yesterday. You are such an amazing girl and have a good head on you. You know what you want to do in life and where you are going and I admire that fully in you. I am going to make this short so that you don't have to read so much and I used easy words so you don't have to worry about understanding anything to difficult.. But the only thing that really matters is that you will always be my sister no matter what and I will always love you!
Bjoooooooo
EU TE AMO
Allysa...
See you all in Iowa on Thursday!
With love,
Allysa Spear

and then there were 3...

     DAY 3: Today is all about Rotex weekends and being able to act like an exchange student both of which I am going to miss and were simply amazing to experience. Rotex weekend were the things I looked forward to in the month during my exchange. I was so nervous for the first one but I made so many friends I couldn't even wait for the next one to come. I can still remember the first night with the girls in my room. We sat up all night talking about life back home and what we wanted to do in the year to come. With Rotex we got to see a new city each time we met and also did something fun each time. Once we sold our countries to the new exchange students who would be going on exchange next year. We made food from our countries one time. We spent one week in Berlin and one week on the Baltic Sea. All of us exchange students got to be like a big family. It was so hard to say goodbye to all of them not knowing when or if we would see each other again. As for the getting to act like an exchange student. We pretty much just got the best of both worlds we could be absoultly crazy or have to be well dressed and professional talking to the Rotary or giving speeches. It was truly nice and sometimes we could simply say we didn't understand and there was no more questions asked. I have truly loved this year and I would do it a million times over if I could and I wouldn't change one thing about it! I hope that more people choose to do a youth exchange or just to travel and see that the world is so much bigger than the town, state or even country you grew up in.

Bis Morgen

Allysa

This picture is of our first meeting together as a district and our last meeting together as a district. I will never forget any of the amazing people. I love them all like family!

4 Days left...

     Day 4 Memorable Moment: Growing up. This is not really a moment but it is something that I have had a lot of time to do this year. I came to a country alone speaking not a word of the language and had to stay with a family that I had never met before, to say the less I was a little more than just scared. Once I realized that my friends and family weren't just an easy phone call away I knew I would have to start figuring things out on my own. I still called them and sent them messages when I got the time or really needed something mostly money but when it came to talking to Rotary people or applying for my Euro tour it was just me, myself, and I. This year I also improved on my knowing what I was spending my money on and how much I would be getting in the month to spend. At first it was a little bit difficult for me but as I realized I was an exchange student and couldn't get a job to have my own income I had to be more careful with my spendings. I do have to say that Skype and Facebook could change my mood in a matter of a few mins for the good or sometimes for the bad. I got to see the people back home but I also got to see all of the things I was missing out on like Homecoming, Prom, Spring games, and all of the get togethers of my friends and family. If I could give any advice to another exchange student it would to not spend time on here when you are feeling homesick. Go out and do something with friends or host family. It will help the homesickness go away faster. This year I have also learned that there are all kinds of differnt people on this earth. Nothing matters about the way they look or where they come from you will have those people you get along great with and others that it just doesn't work so easily but you should always work hard to make the best out of any situation your put into. I have also learned to love Iowa. It is one of the most beautiful places and no matter where I go or for how long it will always be the place where I was born, raised, and foud out who I was. At first when people aked me about Iowa I was so "Oh its just in the middle of the U.S. not much there only corn and agricultural things" but as the year went on I was like you know what I actually miss small town Iowa where you can't go anywhere without seeing a friendly face. The quite country nights just hanging out with friends. It was kind of difficult to get used to being in a city where I knew no one.  I think I truly had to go away to see how much I missed my life back in good ol' Iowa!
Bis Morgen
Allysa Spear

Were half way there.... !

     DAY 5 Thing I Will Miss: Essen=the Food! I have already talked a little about the bread here but in Germany there are some other foods that I am going to miss. Just to name a few: Schnitzel, Döner, Ice cream, coffee time, Milka, and a thing like potatoe balls. I know food is such a superficial thing to miss about Germany but it was a big part of the experience too. I still don't long Brawtwurst and I have tried about as many as Germany has, which is a million. I now make coffee and eat something sweet at 3 in the afternoon regaurdless if my host family is here or if I am just hanging out at the house alone. I think I am going to buy a coffee machine when I get back. I really think I will miss the way they eat too. Normally it is a huge breakfast with tons of jams and bread. For lunch it is a hot meal and for supper maybe bread or a slad but usually not something very big.

     DAY 5 Memorable Memory: Having such an amazing counselor. Lynn and Walter have been there for Jaque and I this entire year. We met with  them the first month and just hit it off perfect. That night we decided we would met together and have a meal once every month. Lynn is an American and Walter did an exchange year in the U.S when he was our age with AFS. They are two of the most interesting and cutest people I know. We would always have things to tell them and they had stories for us about their lives. They were very much like another set of Grandparents for me. We got life lessons and there was always some good advice they had for us with any situation that we had. I will truly miss them dearly and plan to come back and visist them as soon as I can.

Bis Morgen,

Allysa Spear.

6 days to go...

     DAY 6 Memorable Memory: This was one of the things I knew I wanted to do as soon as I found out I was going to Germany. In Oktober my host family took me to Oktoberfest. This was way better than I could have ever imagined it would be. First we had to drive to 2 hours to get there so the excitement was building the whole time the only bummer was that the entire day it was like sprinkling. Once we got to Oktoberfest you could see the traditional dresses and pants for kilometers and kilometers..... The first thing we did was walk through all of the stands to help you understand it is kind of like state fair walking around in the buildings packed with people and different stands. You could barely walk without being shoulder to shoulder with the surrounding people. The rain didn't keep anyone away from the fest thats for sure. I didn't get to wear a traditional dress but it was all the same amazing. I rode a roller coaster with my host sister and then we went on a huge ferris wheel to see the whole park.. After the rides we went into one of the beer tents to eat lunch. We ate meat with potatoe balls. Most host family told me it was one of the most famous Bavairan meals. Jaque and I also got to split a beer. It has a differnt taste but I liked it. I will never forget this day and hopefully I can go again in a few years this time with a dress and with my family.

     DAY 6 Thing I Will Miss: Well truth is I am running out of the specific things I will miss. I already made a list and I am missing 3 things. I don't know what I should write about today. So I think I will just talk about what I have done in the past week. This week my whole class was in Berlin so one say Jaque and I went into the school to teach the 5th grade class english and say our goodbyes. The next day I went into the Kindergarten to say my goodbyes and play with the kids a little while. On Wednesday I went to my last Rotary meeting and to see my first host family. Thursday I sat at home because I woke up late and then it started pouring and I felt like just sitting around the house picking up my room and organizing things a little bit. Yesterday I went to the school the whole day and then there was a school fest for the end of the year. All of the classes set up stands to play games so that they could raise money to put into their class accounts. Right after school fest I went with my host family to see Faust as a play in an outdoor theater. I only understood what was going on because I read the book in the past 2 months. It was very intersting, a little bit boring but in the end I was glad I got to see and have read the book. It is one of the most famous German plays in Germany. That is the reason I am blogging my blog for yesterday today because I had no time to even get on the computer. Today I am going out with all of the girls from my class and Jaque for our last weekend in Germany. Next week I am not sure what I am going to do other than try and get things packed and take Jaque to the airport.
Bis Morgen
See you tomorrow,
Allysa Spear

and then there was 7!

DAY 7 Thing I Will Miss: My host families were a big part of this year. In fact I wouldn't have been able to do it without a place to stay and someone to give me food. They were so amazing. It wasn't always my ideal situation but it is all a part of the experience. Bad and Good I wouldn't have changed any of it and would do it a million times over if I could. My first host family I had 3 siblings. 2 sisters and 1 brother. The whole family was so nice and welcoming. It was like I was actually a part of the family. My parents argued with the kids infront of me and when I did something that was wrong my host parents treated my just like one of their kids. It was so nice and I will never forget them! Yesterday I had my last meeting with them and we sat just like family and talked about the time I spent with them and laughed about all the funny things I did or said. Afterwards I said my goodbyes and my host mom gave me a pair of socks from when I was living with them. For those of you who have forgotten I left their house back in December. She told me that the dryer didn't eat them afterall. (: My host families over all have done so much for me and I couldn't even begin to tell them how thankful I am for everything.
DAY 7 Memorable Moment: DEUTSCH!!!!!!! My German was one of the biggest difficulties I had to get through this year. I started off not knowing anything to now only speaking German. I have messed up so many times but I just keep smiling and keep on talking. Everyone has helped me in the process. I took an intensive course in the fall which was very beneficial after the course I went to the school everyday and continued to pick up on words. I am always asking questions and still trying to learn more and more. German grammar is so difficult but with some luck I will hopefully get the hang of it. Once I am back in Iowa I don't know how often I will have the chance to speak German. I am hoping to skype as much as possible with friends here in Germany. Well it is about 12 in the morning and I have to go to my last day of school tomorrow so I will call it a day.
Bis Morgen,
Greeting from Germany
Allysa Spear
Pictures to come due to it being late.

The Countdown is still going...

     DAY 8 Memorable Moment: Well this item I am writing about today is not really something to special. It kind of stinks and I would never want to have a job working with it. Here in Germany the people have at least 4 different places to seperate this thing. I never really gotten the hang of sorting it out because in my house we are not so good about being aware of what is better for us and the environment. This year I have quite often but the wrong sort into the wrong place and had to resort it back out. Can you guess what I had so much trouble figuring out and still can't manage to put it in the right place!? If you guessed Müll you are dead right! (:  For those of you who don't speak or know a little German. Müll is Garbage! Here in Germany it was something I had to figure out quick everything that a person would normally just throw into the big black garbage bags in the U.S has to be sorted into differnt bags here in Germany. In my house I now have a Gelb Sack for plastics and empty cartons or containers, Paper bin, Bio bin for everything that can help the earth like bad fruit leftovers and so on and then finally the bin for everything else that doesn't already have a place. I have gotten more used to sorting but still sometimes mess it up but I think it is something I would love to bring back to Iowa and hopefully spread around my community. It is so much better for the Earth.

Sorry for the picture of me with a sticky note. I will take a picture of me sorting the garbage tomorrow and upload it too! (:

     DAY 8 Thing I Will Miss: My school schedule in Germany. Here the school day is so much different than at SEW my school in Iowa. Both schools have their ups and downs but I will miss the school day here in Germany. I am not sure if I will miss the fact of how the school schedule was or the fact that I didn't really have to do that much homework. (: The school here you have different classes everday in a different order for example I have German the first period on Monday but the fourth period on Tuesday. My schedule this year I only had 2 days where I had to be in the school the whole day 7:45 until 3:00. The other days I was finished at 1:00pm. When we had school until 3pm you didn't get what we as Americans think of as a school lunch. There was a cafeteria but it wasn't prepared so that every student already had a meal. The lunch ladies made a menu for the week and then when you liked something you had to go in a buy what you wanted. If you couldn't find anything to your likings you could just go into the city and buy something from Subway, Burger King, the super market or my favorite a Döner. During the school day we would also have a break after two periods for 15 min. Then usually we ate our bread that we brought from home. At first I didn't really like the snack in the school idea but by January I picked up on it and now I don't leave the house in the mornings with out my bread and juice.

Unfortnately my other photo won't upload. ): I will try again tomorrow. Sorry for the problems

Have a nice day!

Bis Morgen

Until Tomorrow,

Allysa Spear

The Countdown Continues with 9!

     DAY 9 Thing I Will Miss: I am going to miss being able to get everywhere you need to get in the amount of minuets or even hours in the entire country of Germany. Public Transportaion has gotten pretty much everywhere this year. I have taken buses everyday to school, to dance, or to go to visit friends. The trains have taken me all over Germany and even though it was super long and boring I am going to miss getting on the train in my town in southern Germany and being able to make it to Berlin the same day in norhern Germany. I have also had the chance to ride a bike. It is very useful and can get you anywhere in the city in a very short time... depending on how fast you pedel. (: At first I missed having my car and having to depend on a bus schedule to make my plans but now I am getting used to it and will miss it dearly.

     DAY 9 Memorable Moment: Well I am doing these memorable moments in no specific order so day 10 is not any less important that day 7. Today I am not going to write about a moment but more about a thing that I have noticed about the Germans. In the very beginning I picked up on this right away it is time. The Germans are very punctual! When they tell you that they are leaving the house at 10:35 and you show up to the car at 10:40 chances are that the will be angry that you are late. The same goes with arriving to a party. If the party starts at 6pm at night the party starts at 6pm a night. Not later or earlier. I also had to learn to read in Military time. I am still not used to seeing 14:20 on the clocks and I usually have to think about the time before I tell someone when to be somewhere. I have also become more punctual this year. I hope to keep it up once being back in Iowa.
Bis Morgen,
Greeting from Germany,
Allysa Spear

The Countdown starting with 10.

     Ok this is going to be a picture countdown of the most memorable things that I have experienced while being in Germany and also of the things that I will miss most once being in the U.S. Hope you enjoy!

 

     DAY 10 Memorable Moment: Trying to speak in English/German to order a sandwhich at Burger King withouth pickles my first month in Germany. I have just realized in the last few months why the man taking the order looked at Jaque and I so weird because pickles translated into German means pimples. The whole time we were asking for a sandwhich without pimples. Needless to say that was one of my first attempts at German and one of the great first moments I had in Germany.

    

  DAY 10 Thing I Will Miss: The German bread! Here in Germany you can to go the backery and buy almost every kind of bread imaginable: dark, white, thick, thin, dark with nuts, toast bread, bretzel, rolls, croissants, donuts, cakes, and many many more. For lunch time in the school I would always buy a sandwhich with different bread. I am going to miss having so many options when I get back to Iowa. Hopefully I can find somewhere to buy all of it or maybe just bake some myself.

See you tomorrow

Bis Morgen,
Greetings from Germany
Allysa Spear

10 days.

Hallo,
Today I have 10 days left in Germany. I still can't believe how fast is went. I already have one suitcase packed with all of my gifts for Iowa the other one is half full with clothes but I still have so much to pack. I am hoping I can get it all into my 2 suitcases. This week I have no school but I have already found so many things that I need to do before I leave. Today I went into the school first period with the 5th grade to help with the english class for the last time. We took pictures together and had a little fun together. Then Jaque and I went into the city to tell the city hall that we are both going back to our home countries and get a paper signed. Then we went to the local grocerie store and bought Milka chocolate bars and Haribo a kind of gummy bears with different varieties. On Wednesday I am going to my last Rotary meeting to talk about Iowa, say thank you, and goodbye. There are still a few things I want to see before I go back in a week. Hopefully I accomplish everything in the next 10 days.
As for going home. I am ready getting a little nervous about what to expect when I return. I know that everyone will want to talk to me and tell me what I missed out on and want to know all about Germany. I am not sure how to handle everyone wanting me at one time. I already have plans to take a German course when I get back into school and finish my senior year but after that I am still undecided on what to study in college.  I will try to update my blog a few times as I am getting used to being back in Iowa.
Until next time.
Allysa Spear

18 Days left

Readers,
My year in Germany is coming to an end. I have been here for 10 months now and am starting to be ready just to be back in the United States again. I have had so many good times here and it will be so difficult for me to say goodbye but it will also be good knowing I will get to see my family soon after that. We are already 10 days into July and it just keeps going faster and faster. I can't even believe is will  be over so soon. I have grown custom to all of the things I once thought were strange about Germany culture. My schedule is beginning to fill up with meeting with friends before I leave and the to-do list just keeps growing and growing the closer we get. I have started to pack and have decided that I am going to need another suitcase to bring all of my things back. I have accumulated so many things in the past 10 months it is actually quite unrealistic.
Like always the weather is starting to get nice because it is summer but that is making so much harder to get up and go to school the whole day instead wanting to go to the swimming pool. Here in Germany the last day for my school isn't until July 29th but I will fortunately be turning in all of my books the week before that becase my class is taking a trip to Berlin and I don't have to attend the school for that week. I think I will work in the kindergarten once again.  I will write again soon
Until Next time
Allysa Spear

Euro Tour the final Chapter.

Paris, France. Well I didn't get the chance to see as much as I would have liked to see because I got really sick. I saw the Eifle Tower, Notre Dame,  and I also had to give my speech in German about the Arch de Triomphe. It was so neat to see it in person after doing all of the research and knowing about it. We continued on to see the rest of the city on the first day.  Afterwards we split up and went out to eat in groups again. Paris was very pretty and I really enjoyed the view and all of the buildings and people selling things on the streets. The second day in Paris we went to Versailles. There we walked throught the entire building and aslo met other exchange students with Rotary from Poland. On the last day in Paris we got back on the bus and headed to Luxemburg. There we did once again another city tour except this time there wasn't much to see. One momument and then some other old buildings. Afterwards we all went out to a club and it closed at 1am and all of the exchange students started singing a song in German about not wanting to go and wanting more dancing. It was really neat. The next day we were off to Belgium. The whole day we walked around the city and went to a mini Europe city with all of the most famous monuments from Europe. Afterwards we just walked around the city. I bought so much chocolate. It was so good. I also sent some of it home to the U.S. At night I met up with 3 other exchange students. One is from Iowa in Belgium on exchange this year, the other two were in Iowa last year on exchange in my district. It was so good to see them and to speak normal English again. We talked about what we had gone through so far and all of our experiences. I cried in the middle of the dance when they had to go home. The next morning we had to have everything packed up to go home to back to Germany.
The 3 weeks of Euro tour went by so fast and were some of the best times of my entire life. It was a chance of a lifetime to travel through Europe with a great group of kids and get to make my dreams come true. I would do it over a million times if I could. I am so greatful that Rotary has given me so many chances in one year. I could never say thank you enough.
With love, Allysa Spear

Ostsee(Baltic Sea)

Hey guys,
This past week I met with all of the other exchange students for our last little meeting before everyone starts going home. It was the most amazing week of my exchange year. I really felt like we were all family hanging out everynight and always being together. During the week we did group activities like going to the beach for 2 days, a bike tour, boat rides, a midevil festival, and a last little party on the beach together. At the end of the week we had to say goodbye to the ones who will be going home before the District Conference this weekend. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I have gotten so close to all of the others here in Germany. I will truly miss all of them so much but it is great to know that I have so many families around the world now. I can't wait to travel and see everyone in a few years. I have made friends for life.
During the last day we all looked back on the time we have spent together. We all remember the first meeting when we were all soooooo different. We have all grown so much in this year abroad.
I will miss all of them so much when I return to Iowa.
This week I am going with my host parents to an amusement park and then District Conference.
Until next time,
Allysa Spear

9 Months down

Hello reader,
I am going to take a break from Euro Tour and write about things happening in my last few months in Germany. Today I have been in Germany for 9 months and I can't really believe it. The time here has gone so much faster than I thought it would. It feels like just yesterday I was learning German and getting on my first train ride to go to our first exchange meeting in Weisswasser. I have learned so much this year and I will never forget all of the wonderful people I have had the chance to meet. I am so thankful for everyone but mostly my families, all of them. The ones here that hosted me and let me have a place to call home for a while and who also took me to see as much of Germany as possible but also my family in USA. They have had to go the whole year without me wether they admit is was harder than they thought or if they missed me or not is a different story. I love them anyways. I think I have overall learned the most about myself and found out that I don't really need everything that I thought was essential before. I have also learned how to see anothers point of view and to listen to what others have to say before judging anything. I will miss Germany so much, a lot more than I thought I was going to.
Last week I got a new class in the school and all of them are so nice and invite me to do so many things. I will miss them dearly.
This week I am going to the Baltic Sea with all of the other exchange students as our last little get-together before we all fly home. After the Baltic Sea I am going with my host family to an amusement park for a few days and then to visit an aunt from my host mom. After that I am going to my district conference in Dresden. It will be so much fun but sad at the same time because I will have to say goodbye to all of the other exchange students. It makes me sad to just think about it.
I will blog when I am done with my 2 weeks vacation.
Until next time, Allysa Spear

Euro Tour Part 5

Roma, So pretty and filled with as much history as you can get into one city. I went another part of the city tour and got to see the Collesum. This was so surreal to see. Just like in all of the movies and I was there taking my picture with it. Around it were men dressed up as gladiatiors waiting for you to take your picture with them to get some money. It was way beyond words to be there. After the Collesum we had free time for lunch. A group of girls and I went to eat spaghetti and afterwards we went and got ice cream. It was the most amazing ice cream I have ever had in my entire life. We also got free cream to go on the top. After the free time and walking around Rome the whole group met back up. We then seperated up into our sandwhich bar groups and eat supper together. It was so nice to sit with everyone and talk about what we had done and what all we got to see. Later that night we walked back to where we were staying at and met up with the West Tour. It was so nice to see Jaque again. I actually cried when I saw her. We all partied at the disco in the little village place we were all staying at until 3 in the morning. The next day we had to get up really early so that we could see the Pope give a speech. In the morning after going through security to get to our seats we had reserved for the Pope's speech. The speech was given in 6 different languages and at the end of each speech they announced groups that were there that spoke each language. After the German one all of the exchange students got announced and we all stood up and screamed waving all of our different flags. It was so neat to see all of the different cultures represented together. After seeing the Pope the East tour was off to Florence, Italy and the West stayed in Rome one more day.
In Florence we did a city tour and got to see all of the statues like David, Hercules, and many others. After walking around looking at various monuments we had free time once again to buy gifts for family and to eat lunch. That night at the hostel we had a talent show. Everyone was to think of something to do for the others. The funniest act was the Brazilians dressed in opposites. So the boys were girls and the girls were boys. They did a little skit.  The next day we left early to get to stop at Pisa and then to Nizza. In Pisa we saw the tour and took tons of pictures with the leaning tower and then we all got back on the bus and drove to Nizza, France. There we went to supper and then to the beach at night to sit around and play music. it was kind of cold but it was so much fun. The next day in Nizza we got up early to drive to Monaco to do a city tour. In Monaco we got to see soldiers switch positions infront of a government building which was very neat to see. We then had to walk to the complete other side of the city which was up a huge hill to see the casino. After that we split into groups, one went swimming and the other went to look around the city more. I went swimming the water was absolutly freezing! I jumped in and then swam back out to warm up. It was not a real beach either just a place with stairs and then you jump in the deep water. Once again we drove back to our hostel in Nizza and went to the beach to hang out some more all together. The next day in Nizza we did a quick city tour. We walked up a hill and got to see the whole beach that we had spent the last 2 nights at. It was so pretty so see the beach and all of the ocean. After seeing the city we were back on the bus and off to Avignon, France there is where we had supper that day. I ate escargo for the first and last time. It was ok but I am not a big fan, but for dessert we had a chocolate cake that was amazing. That night the exchange students stayed in the hostel and played cards together.  Next stop Paris, France.
Until next time
Allysa Spear.

Euro Tour Part 4

Venice, Italy one of the most pretty cities on the tour. To start off we had to take a boat ride to get to the city. Which is totally awesome and the only way of transportation is walking or taking a taxi boat. They also had so many gondolas and personal boats in the waterways through the city. The hostel we stayed in was seperated boys on one side girls on the other. The rooms were one big room with lots of beds spread out. This was very fun because all of us could be together the whole night. In the restaurant we ate at they only serves fish this would have been fantastic other than the fact I don't eat fish. Everyone said it was really good. Something in Italy I noticed was that the appetizer was like a full plate of Noodles and then you got your actual meal. It was always so much food and afterwards we couldn't possibly say no to the dessert. In the city streets there wasn't much space to walk because most of the streets were only like little passage ways. They also had big streets but the majority were little streets. In the Venice I went on a gondola ride with 4 other girls in my tour. We went through the city for 45 min. It was the coolest thing ever the man we had wore a striped shirt and that little hat. He  was also very good looking. On the boat ride he also sang one song in Italian.  We only stayed the one night in Venice and then were off to Rome.
To get to Rome we had to sleep on the bus overnight this was one of the worst nights of sleep but it was totally worth it. Once we got to Rome we toured a little section of the city on the way home we missed the last bus and had to be taken back in groups with the Rotexer car. I will write next time all about Rome that I don't have to split the days we spent in Rome up.
Until next time,
Allysa

Friendship Fair

On Wednesday the 25th of May I got the chance to skype the Southeast Warren Elementary school during their friendship fair. All of the kids had spent an amount of time learning about Germany and its culture. I got to skype with one class at a time and talk to them about living here and what some of the differences are between the two countries. After talking a little bit and showing them some money, a bus pass, and little souveniers they all got to ask me questions of their choice. It was so cute. I got asked a lot of things but some of the ones the stuck out the most  to me were the following:
Do they have tvs in Germany?
Do they have horses?
What is your favorite color? I answered in German to this one and they told me what it was in English.
What does your house look like?
Do they have a ton of German Shepards?
Favorite Number in German?
How do the Germans pronounce my name?
Whether I live in east or west Germany.
Have you seen the Berlin fence?
What was my biggest Challenage in Germany?
Do you have to be a good student to go to another country?
If soccer is the national sport.
What is my favorite food in Germany.
Why did you want to go to Germany.
and to finish What is your favorite thing about being in Germany?
Some of these were very easy for me to answer but some of them I really had to think about. It was such a good experience for me and I would do it a million times over if I could. At first I was super nervous and wasn't sure what I was going to say exactly but the longer I kept talking the more comfortable I got.
I would really just like to thank the Southeast Warren staff that let me be a part of the Friendship Fair. I hope that the little ones seeing me sparks a little fire inside of that says they can do whatever they want if they believe and make it happen. There is so much more out there than small town Iowa. There is a whole other world just waiting to be discovered.
Until next time. Allysa Spear

Euro Tour Part 3

The bus ride to get to Vienna was not a long one because I slept the entire way there. A little ways before we were actually into the city we stopped at a big outlet mall. I decided not to buy clothes and things that I really didn't need so me and 3 other girls went to Starbucks had a coffee and sat there for 2 hours chit-chatting. The first stop in the city was a yellow palace. We walked around the whole thing finding out tons of information, getting gifts for family and friends back home and then were off to spend the night sitting outside talking with everyone at the hostel. The next day we went to Stephans Dome and then had the complete day full of free time. Everyone split up ino seperate groups. The Brazilians tried to earn money by singing and playing music until they got told by the cops that it wasn't allowed to do that where they were at. After Vienna we were off to Salzburg through the Alps. This was the most beautiful bus ride the whole trip. We went directly through all of the huge mountains full of white snow at their tops. In Salzburg we went got a tour in a salt mine. We all had to put on jumpsuits so that we woulnd't ruin our clothes. We were on a train most of the way in and then in the middle we got off and then slid down a slide adn got photos taken. We then got back on the train and went a little further and got into a boat. I was a little bit scared because it was so dark that we couldn't see where we were going. At the end of the boat ride we got to taste a little bit of the water. It was so salty and not at all good. Then we got on the train for the last time and went back out of the mine. After the mine we went into the city for a tour. We got to see a lot of things about Motzart. After that we all went to the hostel to once again spend time with each other.
Next stop Venice, Italy.
Allysa Spear

Kindergarten

I'm going to take a little break from writing about Euro tour to tell you about my Easter Break in Germany. Well first thing that is very differnt is that we have 2 weeks vacation. In those two weeks Jaque and I worked in a kindergarten. It was like an internship, we worked with the kids, we played with them, we read books, told about our contries and most importantly had to speak German the whole time.
   When I had to tell the little kids about the USA I first explained everything in English. All of the little kids were wide eyed and didn't really know what to think after a minuet or two I then translated what I had said into German. They were all just kind of in shock and didn't really have to many questions for me. We got out the globe and showed them just how far Germany is away from Iowa.
  This was also a good experience in helping with my German. I had to use only german and couldn't use an english word when I didn't understand because the kids only know German instead I had to explain what I was trying to tell them or have them do. The children were very good at telling long stories and very fast. I was always reminding them to speak slower and they would for about 3 words then they would continue to speak fast again.
   I really enjoyed the two weeks that I worked there. I am planning on going back at the end of July right before I come back to Iowa. I am trying to upload 3 pictures but it is not working. I will try again tomorrow.
Allysa

Photos from Hannover, Prague, and Budapest

Prague with Gabi from Mexico.

Meeting with everyone that is going on East Tour.

Getting ready to load the buses.

Saying goodbye to the West Tour.

View from the balcony I had in Prague.

again the balcony in Prague.

Prague at night.

and again.

Main street in Prague.

Wenzelplatz in Prague.

Sandwhich bar.

On the bus and ready to go.

Euro Tour part 2

The first thing the group did in Budapest, Hungry was go to the hostel. The girls had to carry their suitcases up 3 flights of stairs and all of the boys were put on the first floor. It was so much work and all of us ladies thought it was ridiculous but it really didn't matter to much to us because we were in Budapest. So to begin the day, well actually it was late afternoon when everyone was checked in and got everything in order, we all went out to dinner in a restaurant. Then afterwards we went to a local pub that was compeletly on the other side of town and when we arrived the people there were not nice at all. We ordered drinks and when we tried to pay with paper money the man freaked out because we didn't have exact coins to pay for it. All of the exchange students only had paper Hungarian money from exchanging our euros. The next day we spent the day going around the city looking at all of the monuments. At about 1 we met with some other Rotary exchange students who showed us around the city during our free time. After our free time the group went to a thermal spa and on the way to the spa we had to take the subways and a group of about 6 of us exchange students go on the wrong train and had to wait for the rest of the others to get to the stop where we got off.  At the spa the water was so warm and crystal clear. The water is good for your health and it also helps with sicknesses.  I could have spent three days in the warm water. That night in Budapest we went out to another pub and danced the night away and on the next morning were on the road again rocking out to german music and catching some shut eye. Next stop on the tour Vienna, Austria

Euro Tour part 1

Hello Readers,
Sorry for such the long pause in blogging. I was on my tour having the best 3 weeks of my life. I home now and truly missing every aspect of the tour. The getting up early, living out of a suitcase, the loud people in the back of the bus singing while everyone else is trying to sleep, the german music everyday, sandwhich bar, the city tours, and most of all the other exchange students. They were some of the most interesting people I have had the chance to meet.
As for the tour itself, I am not so sure how I am going to go about blogging every detail about the trip. A lot of things happend and I think it will take days to type all of that up so I am going to blog about 2 or 3 cities in one blog and then the next day I will blog about the next cities.
So First stop on the tour was Hannover, Germany. All of the exchange students had to meet up and fill out any last forms that didn't get finished and double check all the information. I had to get up at 6 in the morning to catch the first train to get to Hannover in northern Germany. When everyone arrived they split us into the West and East groups. We all met with the others who would be going with us and also our leaders. After being in the East group they split us even further into 5 groups. That was just so that if we needed anything we had our own leader to talk to. It was also so that every day we had a group to make sandwhich bar. Ohh the infamous Sandwhich bar, for 3 weeks almost everyday with a few exceptions we ate cold meat sandwhiches. We had the same toast bread with a variety of either Salimi or turkey to put on our bread with cucumbers, lettus, and tomatoes. It was good at first but by the end of the trip I couldn't even look at the sandwhiches the same. While making it you had to cut all of the vegetables and sometimes like in France we also had to cut the bread. When we were ready to serve the sandwhiches we pretty much just found where ever we could that was flat and looked somewhat clean. It was sometimes on a curb, the ground, picnic tables, and once it was on the bottom of a statue. That night everyone was so excited and we could barely sleep. The girls in my room sat up and talked about all of the amazing things we were about to see. In the morning we were all getting ready and packed our suitcases back up and started to load the bus. We were the first group to not get all of our suitcases in the bus and some of them had to be put into the leaders van.
 Prague the capitol of the Czech Republic was the first city on our tour. Prague is a very pretty city with many fancy buildings. As soon as we got to the city we checked into our hostel and then were off on our first of many city tours. The Old city market place was full of little shaks selling a variety of things from foods to souveniours. At one end of the market place was an old astronomical clock on the side of an old watch tower. Every hour or so a man dressed up like a joker would appear at the top of the tower and play a little tune on the trumpet. We heard this 2 times in the days we were in Prague. After the market place we went to one of the oldest Synagogues in Europe. After that we got free time until 5 or 6pm to buy what we wanted and to take more pictures. I bought tons of postcards and a pin for my Rotary jacket. That night the whole group went out to eat together and then to a 5 story high dance club. The next morning we had to be up early and packed and ready to head off to Budapest. I am going to stop my blog here and write about the next two cities tomorrow. Hope you enjoy.
Allysa

Euro Tour.. :)

Hallo Readers,
This week is Euro Tour. I am so excited but with this long trip also brings a lot of things I still have to do. I have finished my speech I have to give. It unfortunately it is only 3 and half min long when it should be 5 min long. I have successfully thrown all of the clothes that I want to take on the trip on top of my suitcase and that is as far as packing will get until Thursday. The trip begins on Friday. I wil take a train early in the morning and travel to northern Germany. That night all of the exchange students will sleep in a hotel. On Saturday the real trip begins. Jaque and I are not going on the same trips together. There is two buses going in opposite directions. I am going east first starting with Prague, then Budapest, then Vienna, Salzburg,Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice ,Monoca, Avignon, Paris, Bruges, and finally Brussles. Jaque will start with Brussles. All of the exchange students will meet in Rome. It is will take 3 weeks starting Friday. I am so excited and I can't believe it is really happening.
I have found a 3rd family. I will be moving in with them the end of April during our vacations. I have one sister,14. I don't really know that much about them yet. They were over to my house now to have coffee and we only talked for a little bit. I am not going to be living to far from where I live now. As I now have to think about how I am going to get everything out of my room to move into a new house I have realized there is no way I am going to make weight requirements at the airport in July. I am going to have to do some major spring cleaning and send a huge box back home. Ok well that about wraps up my rambling for today. You wont hear from me until after the tour but I will have tons of great stories to write about
Much love
Allysa

6 months down.

Hallo,
Yesterday was my 6 month anniversary in Germany. (: I haven't done to much other than school since the last time I blogged. This week I am on vacation from school so on Wednesday I went with my host family to a neighboring village. There was a huge hill with a castle on the top. Luckily we got to a ride a bus to the to. It was so pretty you could see the whole town from the very top of the hill. Inside of the castle were 2 museums. One was full of facts and pictures about the history of the castle and the people who lived there just like any other museum. In the middle of the tour we saw a flag and the story behind it says that a military group of men from Bayreuth and the the neighboring town were sent to the U.S. They brought it with them and they worked with people at Westpoint in Virginia. The one here in Germany is a replica and the original is at Westpoint. This was intersting to me. There was also a chart of the royal families in Europe and how all of the are related. The other museum was all about little tin figurines. There was every kind of scene you could think of. They had one of a valley in Africa from wars in Europe, to pirates taking over a ship. Yesterday I went to Nurnberg to meet with 2 other exchange girls to go shopping for Euro Tour.. Which by the way is in 8 days! I am getting so excited but I still don't have my camera fixed. It is on my to-do list before next week. Next Tuesday or Wednesday I will post my itenerary for the Tour. I am not sure how much blogging will actually get done on tour but I will give it my best shot. I will be writing everything down every day. So  I can also blog when I get back. My speech I have to give on the tour is almost complete. It is suppose to be 5 min long in German. I timed myself reading it yesterday and it was about 2 min 30 sec. I am going to have to talk super super slow... If there is any questions that anyone wants me to answer about Germany comment on here and I will make sure to answer it in the next few blogs.
Until next time,
Auf wiedersehen
Allysa

March

Hello all,
As usual I have not been very good with the whole blogging. I am excited to say it is March. Here in Germany it is pretty much spring. We have had the most beautiful weather. Today I didnt have to wear my winter jacket for the first time since November. I have a countdown on my calender for Euro Tour. Next week I will post my agenda for the 3 weeks all of the places I will be going, seeing and everything.
   I still have a list of things I need to finish before this whole EuroTour gets under way. Most importantly I have a speech to write all in German. It is so difficult. I am sure I would have trouble with it if it were in English. My English class still thinks that I don't know anything because I couldn't tell them what the "American Dream" is. I am still not so sure. I had to write the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. on the board infront of everyone. It was the most nerve racking thing I had to do. There are some very difficult words in that speech. I also had to clarify some of the metaphors which is also difficult. It is not that I don't know about the information or that I don't understand it is that i don't know how to make it simple. I am finally used to only eating bread with salami at dinner time here. I have finished my U.S History class online for a credit to graduate. My german is improving everyday. Yesterday I bought the second edition to my workbook in german. Tomorrow I am meeting with my counselor and his wife. As usual I am so excited I can barely wait. School is well still school. I got information about going on a school trip with my class to Berlin the week before I come back to the U.S.. Oh yeah and most importantly I have my official date to come back
JULY 28th, 2011!!! I will be coming into Des Moines farely late. That next day I already have a family brunch planned. It also happens to be County Fair time. I am so excited. My mother has the official countdown on that one. I am sure she would be more than happy to tell anyone who wants to know.
Oh and in my spare time I have watched 5 movies in the past 3 days, I have listened to every song on my itunes at least 10 times  I can't listen to them anymore and I have read almost every magazine in my host family's house.
That is all . Kind of a cheese blog but think of it more as an update,
Until next time
Allysa

Blogging.

Hello All,
Well I have been in Germany for about a week and 5 months. The time has just flown by. My mom already has a calender with the countdown for my return day. I am not counting yet. I think it will make the time go faster than it needs to go. Being in another country for 5 months away from everything I was used to has made me realize alot of things about life, culture, and most importantly myself. I have learned I can make it threw anything I just have to give it my best effort. That there is so much more in this world than the little town you grew up in. I have gone through every emotion possible. The other day I was watching a TV show about a girl and she was going to college. Her brother and dad starting crying because she would be away for 3 months. As I sat there and thought about it I started crying thinking about all the time I had been away and all of the little things in my familys' lives I had missed but after about 3 min of thinking about what I had missed I told myself that I am in Germany only for 1 year and I am having the time of my life. I am missing most things I will not get to relive but I am also experiencing many things that most kids my age will never have the chance to do. I have made life long friends that have changed my life. I now have the sister I have always wanted. I can somewhat speak german. I don't have all the grammar down but I am looking into another German course.
On Monday I went to a Valentine's Day celebration with my counselor. It was with the German-American organiztion. I met new German and American friends. Most of the are older than me but they still had a lot of advice and good people in general. I met a man who I thought was german but he is from Wisconsin. The only other midwest American I have met. I knew because when he started speaking english he didn't have an accent for me. Most of the others are from everywhere but the midwest.
The snow has all melted away and it is starting to warm up a little bit. I don't have to leave the house with 10 layers on to walk to school. The last few days I have opened all my windows so the fresh air could come in. I am starting to get a little bit sick which is not good. I am sure it is just a little cold and will pass in no time. Tomorrow I am going way up north again to meet with the other group of exchange students to go on Euro Tour with me. I am not sure what we will be doing but it will be fun with all of us together. (:
Oh yea I almost forgot. As for the title of this blog. I have also learned that it is extremely difficult to blog as much as I blogged in September and October. I was nuts. I no longer know what to talk about but I will keep it up so everyone can follow me on my exchange year. In March when I go on the Euro  Tour it will be a little hard for me to blog but I am bringing a planner and I am going to write everything down I did each day and then blog about it when I get back.
Thanks for reading.
Gruße Allysa

The weekend.

Hallo Readers,
This is not going to be a very intersting blog. Not much has beening happening in Germany lately. Only going to school and then hanging out with friends. The normal teenage things. On Friday night Jaque and I went to a birthday party for a boy in our class. We had a lot of fun sitting around talking and meeting new people. He lives in a neighboring village so everyone was new. On Saturday I went to a farmers market full of fresh food. We bought things we would eat for lunch. This was very cool to me. I would upload pictures but I don't have a camera because the battery is broken and yesterday i dropped my new handy in the toilet. I don't have good luck with electronics. Thank god my computer is still alive and kicking. After the market we came back home and at 8 at night Jaque and I met up with another exchange student and went to a diner and sat and talked about our whole year and all of our experiences so far. Today I went to a castle here in Bayreuth. It was very neat. I was in a ballroom. I can't even imagine all of the people wearing their old fashioned clothing dancing around in the room. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I am going out with my counselor and his wife. I made 3 cards one for my host sister, my host mom and Jaque. It was just like old times in Elementary school. I used markers and cut out hearts. It was fun. Ill write tomorrow about Valentine's Day.
Auf wiedersehen
Allysa Spear

International Meal

Hey All,
This weekend I went on yet another exchange weekend with all of the other kids but this weekend was a little bit different. Instead of the usual everyone being all crazy running around a hotel in big groups we were split into 1,2,or 3 students. Then we stayed with a host family for the weekend because on Saturday we had to make something to eat from our country. So everyone had to use a kitchen and it is easier to cook in small groups. I was with 2 other girls from the U.S. Patricia and Libbi. On Friday both or our guest parents had meetings so we were in the house all alone. We cranked up the music danced around the house a little bit and then started watching game shows on TV. We called it an early night because we kne it was going to be a long day/night on Saturday.
Saturday morning we all three got up at about 8:15. We did some morning Yoga and then ate breakfast. I went and got ready after that while the other two started cutting things for their meals.Libbi made Apple pie, Patricia made Potatoe Salad, and I made Pizza. Yes I know germans have potatoe salad and pizza is italian but every part of the world makes is a little bit different. After the others were finshed our Guest dad took us on a walk around the city. Freiberg is a very old city. There is the usual old church and then a staute of a famous man. Everything is starting to look the same to me. There was also a building where an element on the Periodic Table was found. I can't remeber the name of the man or the element. Later that afternoon I started to work on my pizza. I started to cut the peppers and on the very first cut I cut my thumb. It would be just my luck to do something like that. So Patricia helped finish cutting everything. All I had to do was the crust, which was pre-made, and then add the toppings on top. After everything was finshed all of the students brought their foods to the local brewery. Everyone got to taste everything. It was such a nice night.
On Sunday we got another tour of the city with all of the Rotary. It was the same building differnt people. After the tour all of us went back to our homes. It was a very nice weekend. In 2 weeks I am going on another one with a differnt group of exchagne students. I cant wait. Well that is all that is happening or happend this weekend.
Auf wiedersehen.
Allysa Spear

Sherlock Holmes.. With a German accent

Hello Readers,
On Monday night my host family and I went to Sherlock Holmes the play by another school in Bayreuth. This play was all in English. The actors did a really good job with their lines. Sherlock was very good. He could act and speak very well and clearly. Only one person forgot their line but it was nothing major. I really enjoyed going to watch a whole play in English and it was not one of the actors first languages.
Other than the play not too much exciting has been going on here in Bayreuth. On Friday I get to meet with all of the other exchange students and cook things from our countries. I am making Pizza, yes i know it is not American but it was what I was given. I am just going to add a bunch of cheese on the top and it will be super yummy. I hoping it all works out, I am not the best cook in the world.
School life is as usual anywhere in the world boring and more boring. I just sit in my classes and when my english teacher asks me something I try my best to answer or just tell him i don't know. He likes to call on my in grammar situations which I am terrible in. I am actually regreting not paying more attention in my english classes. Today he asked why we say discriminated against. Why not just discriminated. I have no answer to that question.
The other day a man was visiting my host family. We were talking and he asked me a very difficult question that I have not really thought about. He asked "What are you going to miss about Bayreuth/Germany when you go back to your home country?" Usually it is the other way around asking ohh what do you miss about home? How are you feeling? Are you homesick?
I really don't know how I am going to answer this question. When I make a list or think of what I will truly miss I will make a post all about that.
Auf wiedersehen.
Allysa

Nurnberg.

Hallo All,
    This weekend I went to Nurnberg to visit another exchange student. It was only about an hour by train which is not very far at all. Jaque and I went together to stay all weekend. We met our friend's host family they were so welcoming and nice. We put our things upstairs and then we sat in the kitchen most of the night just talking about our families what we miss and about our exchange year. They have a daughter who is on exchange with Rotary. She just happens to be in Fairfield, Iowa. How crazy is that. She loves the school and most everything about Iowa. It truly is a small world. Later that night the family had the neighbors over. We all played Phase 10 together till 12pm. It was so nice and great to get to meet new people. This year is deffinately about meeting new people. No matter where I go or for how long I am in a place I always manage to meet someone new.
    On Saturday jaque, Marina and I went into the city to walk around and look through the shops. We also took the subways and went to another exchange students house who lives right outside of Nurnberg. We hung out with him for an hour or so. Late that night was a birthday party for another exchange student from Mexico, Vicky, She turned 18. There were so many exchange students and Germans. We danced all night and talked to everyone and met tons of new people. At the party I met a girl who goes to school in Bayreuth. Jaque and I are going to meet up with her after school sometime and maybe go out on the weekend together. She is from Argentina but she is with AFS instead of Rotary.
   In about 2 weeks I will have been in Germany for 5 months. The time has gone by so fast for me.To my mother I am sure it seems like 5 years but Skype is a great friend of ours. I still don't know exactly when I my return flight back to the US is. As soon as I find out I will post it on here. As for Euro tour right before I go on the trip I will post my agenda so you can follow me and see where I am at on everyday. I haven't decided if I am going to take my laptop with me and try and blog after 2 days or so because one post about an entire Euro Tour is a gaurntee to be super long. I know everyone doesn't want to have to spend 30 min reading all of that. I also dont want to spend 3 hours typing all of it. Maybe I will write it all down in a journal and then only post day by day when I get back. I have some thinking to do.
This weekend I broke the smallest of my 3 suitcases so I have to figure out what I am going to do about that. I have a list of things I need to buy in the super market but  I have no desire to go and buy them. Tonight I am going with my family to Sherlock Holmes a play done by a school in Bayreuth in English tonight.
Sorry for the grammatical errors. I am still really tired from this weekend and getting only a few hours of sleep.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Allysa Spear

Tanzen

Hallo all,
Today is the morning after my ball. It was a very long night and I am still a little bit tired but I wanted to blog about it so all of you could enjoy reading about my night. Ok so I think I should start with Friday night. I was trying on my dress to make sure everything was still ok before the ball on Saturday night. While I was trying it on my straps kept falling down. This is just something you can go with the flow with. I had to fix it. I tried saftey pinning it but it was just not going. So I decided to give my good ol' grandma a skype call. She always fixes anything wrong with my clothes or dance costumes during dance recital and I really needed to fix my dress. She explained what I had to do and I tried my very best to understand and stitch my dress and the same time but in the end I got everything taken care of with the dress. The straps were a little bit off but you couldn't tell with my hair down. Now that I had the dress fixed I had to find new shoes. The shoes I had planned on wearing didn't really match like I wanted them too. So Saturday morning Jaque and I went into the city right after breakfast and went shoe shopping. We went to a total of 4 stores but I found a pair. They were very cute and cheap. The best way to go. The ones I ended up buying were black with a little bow on the side. They also had heels. I originally didn't want heels but Jaque helped convince me that they looked really good and would be the best ones for the ball. So its about noon and I have my dress fixed, shoes to wear, showered, and eaten lunch. After lunch I just chilled and played games on my computer to not think about the ball. I was starting to get nervous. When I looked at the clock it was going on 6. I was supposed to be at the dance at 6:20. I did my hair, make-up and got dressed really fast. I was ready to go. I got to the ball and had to wait for my partner to arrive. He had to bring me flowers. I got red roses. They are sitting on my desk in a vase. After I got my flowers and I gave him his chocolates. We went inside and I met his parents. They were so nice and tried their best to speak English with me. I told them it was ok if they spoke German. We took photos with his parents and then just me and him. We just used his parents camera. Then we went upstairs and had to take group photos. It was very crazy and there were so many people to all fit in the shot but we got in done in 5 shots. Easy and painless. Then we went and got lined up for then entrance and beginning dances. I was really starting to get nervous at this point because the dance practice we learned all of this I was sick and couldn't go. The dancing began and it was fine I just had to watch the other girls for a few times and then I got the hang of it. We Waltzed first this is my worst dance but it was fun. The rest of night we just danced sat at our table and talked with friends. In the middle of the night I had to dance with my partners dad. It was so cute. It turns out that his dad was the president of Roteract here in Bayreuth so he knew about my exchange and how things worked. My dance partner and I also got individual pictures taken. It was funny a lot of the kids in our class were watching us and the lady was giving me directions in German and I didn't really understand everything and they were laughing at me but it was a lot of fun. The night was a great success. I met new people and danced the night away. My dress didn't fall apart and I didn't fall while dancing. My feet are still killing me from my shoes but it was all worth it. I will put pictures up as soon as I can. I have to get the pictures from the other kids.
Thanks for reading,
Allysa Spear

The Ball

Hallo Readers,
Well I don't really have much to write about. I am sorry for that and if this is a little bit boring. This week is my ball for school. I have been taking ballroom dance classes since I got here and now it is time to show everyone what we have learned. I have to get on a fancy dress, do my hair, wear make up, and finally just dance. It is a lot different than I am used to doing. I have to worry about a partner. Not only just a partner but a boy are that. When you dance on the competition team or your school dance team you have to worry about the rest of the team and make sure that you are all together but now I have to worry about a boy and it will only be me and him dancing. We aren't doing a solo but its only us two. I know I will have a select few people looking at me. Jaque my wonderful host sister is going to be taking pictures for me and hopefully making a video or two. I am not telling my partner until after she does it so he doesn't get nervous and mess up... (:
Some other news. Jaque has a new host family. She will be switching in 2 weeks. It is truly a bitter sweet feeling. She is so niche and I can't imagine not having her running in my room just to talk , her messing with me even when I really don't like it, our long talks till midnight in my room, her using my laptop while I am sleeping, or her just being the best sister ever. She is everything to me. She will never know how much she really means to me. Right now she is in my room  using Her phone speaking in Portuguese. It is so funny. I am trying not to be selfish about the move. I am honestly bummed that she wont be here but I am jumping inside that she gets to experience a new family and moving just like I got to. It is the coolest feeling to get a new family but it also has difficulties like everything in life. She will be just fine. We are going to make dates, have sleepovers, and meet each other before school everyday and walk together.
I will write all about my ball after Saturday.
Thanks for reading, Allysa Spear

Update.

Dear Readers,
Sorry for such a long pause in not writing. I tried to upload the pictures from Munich but my computer is not working. The last few days I have been really sick with the usual winter time cold. I haven't been sleeping much and school started after the long christmas break. Like always the first week is the hardest to get back into the swing of things. Mostly just the getting up early part...As for the cold. I have been taking meds 3x daily and things are starting to look better. I hope I will be completely better soon. My ball for the school is in 9 days. I am starting to get a little nervous for it. I have to get my partner a gift and of course I need to practice my dance which I have no time for.
Today in school my English teacher asked Jaque, the other exchange student,  and I to go with him to his 5th grade English class. We all got to introduce ourselves and then all of the little kids asked us questions. They don't know very much English so we had to use our German as well. They were the cutetest little kids I have ever seen. After we all introduced ourselves I had to teach the class. I had to assign roles in a little skit and I had to read one of them. The kids were really good at it. Then I had to give them vocabulary words. I would read the words out loud and then they would repeat them after me. I felt so good inside. They were so interested and asked if we could all come back tomorrow. We unfortunately can't go every day but I talked with my teacher and he said we could go again. There was this one little blonde boy. He alwaysa smiled and waved and Jaque. He talked with her about a Brazilian soccer player. It was the best. After the english class he asked us to go to another class about American Politics. It was for the 12th grade. I was a little bit scared at first not being so confident in my Politics but I said yes happily. In the class the kids talked about our president and the amendments to the constitution. I also got asked my opinion on the death penalty. This was very hard for me to discuss with them. We all had different opinions but it was cool at understand the whole class and even learn a few things. I only embarassed myself a few times but it was fun. That is all for now.
Ill write soon
Much love
Allysa

Munich

Dear Readers,
I have been on a 4 day trip with my host family to Munich. I got to see many things and eat tons of good food. I don't know how I will fit it all  into one blog. This one might be really long and I will upload pictures after I am done typing.
Monday January 3, 2011 I got up normal time and had breakfast with my family. After we all finished we packed our things into the car and were on our way. The drive to Munich is about 2 hours away. There we parked in a parking ramp and took the train into town. The first place was Residenz Museum. This museum has a very big collection of things from the Wittelsbach family. There are many different buildings including a super Theater. It was full of gold and the chairs were a deep red velvet. The rooms were full of metal works, crowns, glass sculptures, and ivory things. After we spent most of the day in the museum we walked  down the main strip of shops in the inner city Munich. There were so many shops for everything and everyone. In the middle was Munichs town hall. It was very big and very awesome. There were sculptures and a giant clock that went off every hour. My host family and I took the train back to the parking ramp and were off to our Guest House. Jaque and I got our own room. It was so nice. We watched German TV and sat up really late just talking and laughing.
Tuesday the 4th of January the second day of the trip the first place on our agenda was Bavaria Film Studios. This was very neat even though I didn't know any of the flims but still seeing the sets was amazing. We went in a submarine, in an hotel, some people even got to make a movie in space. I of course did not take part in that because of my not so great German. We walked around the studios the beginning part of the day. It was so cold I couldn't even feel my toes. After The Bavaria Film Studios we were off to BMW World. The buildings were so modern. One of the buildings was a tall tower and it looked like some part of a car. I don't know enough about cars to tell you what it is. All I know is it was way sweet. We went in the museum full of cars and you could sit in them and do whatever you pleased. They had old cars, new cars, motorcycles, and even a car you could costumize if you were interested. After spending about 2 hours in the car museum and eating lunch my host family and I went to a Sea Life exhibit. There were all types of fish. There was one part that was completely class or plastic not sure but you could see all around you the different fish, sharks and even a giant turtle swimming. In one section of the Sea Life tour you could feed the fish. Isa feed a few but I didn't want to so I just watched. That took up the rest of the day. We had supper at a little restaurant and Ice cream for desert... it was delicious.
Wednesday January 5th, Deutsches Museum. This is a building you could spend 3 days in to cover everything. There was things for every person. I found the Astronauts and airplanes the best. I wish my family could have been there to see all of it with me. There were life sized planes, boats, and equipment used on rocketships. They also had mini boats, factories with the workers, and games you could play. This museum was my favorite part of the trip. I was like a little kid on christmas seeing all of my gifts under the tree. After spending the first half of the day in the museum my host family and I went into the city with all of the shops on the main strip. Jaque and I went by ourselfs looking through shops for 2 hours. Everything was on sale. I bought a belt and a t-shirt. When the 2 hours were up we met back with our host family and went out to eat together. We went into a very typical Bavarian restaurant. The women were wearing the german dresses and everything was made of wood. You could see the colors of Bavaria all around the room.
Thursday January 6th was the last day or our trip. We packed all of our things up and put them back into the car. On the way home we drove into the ALPS and visisted the Neuschwanstein Castle. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. We got a tour around the castle and see the rooms that were finished. Kind Louis I was a fan of Richard Wagner. Which is awesome because Wagner built an opera house in the town that I am living now Bayreuth.
This was the best I could do on telling you about my travels in the winter break. I hope you enjoy. I will upload pictures as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading,
Auf wiedersehen. Allysa Spear

Sledding in the dark.

Hello Readers,
     Tonight I went sledding the in dark. It sounds kind of dangerous but it was actually tons of fun. There was a group of about 20 people and we all met in a forest. I wasn't so sure of how it was going to work when we first got there but as the night went on all was ok. We all walked up as a group and on the way we placed candels or other various lights to light the path down the hill in the forest. There was a cleared path so we didn't have to make our own. Which is a good thing. I only went down the hill 3 times but this was enough for me. The climb back to the top of the hill was quite a ways and it was very very dark by the time we could have went a 4th time. The first time I went by myself and very slowly, the other two I went with my friend Louisa. We went very fast and hit two boys the first time and the second time we couldn't see anything because the lights were going out and it was snowing so there was so much snow in our eyes it was impossible to see anything. We didn't crash and made it safely to the bottom of the hill. It was a very good night. After everyone was finished we went to a cafe and ate supper together and then we arrived home. Tomorrow my family is taking Jaque and I to Munchen for 3 days.  We are going to visit many places. I will unfortunately not be able to blog in this time. I will write as soon as I get back.
Thanks for Reading,
Allysa Spear

Photographs,

Isa and Jaque making cookies for Christmas.

All the gifts for my families and counselor here in Germany.

My host dad playing Christmas songs on the 24th.

Jaque and I singing Christmas songs in German... Ok well mostly just attempting.

Me infront of the Christmas Tree.

Opening my package from Iowa..(:

Sledding with my host sister Jaque.

Manger scene from Africa.

Real candles on the the Christmas tree.

Rocklett.

Jaque and I wasting our hour of spare time.