Amerika Blog

Ich habe mich dazu entschlossen im kommenden Schuljahr 2015/2016 meine Englisch-Kenntnisse zu verbessern.
Welche bessere Möglichkeit gibt es da, als ein Austauschjahr nach Amerika?!
Gesagt, getan und schon begannen die Vorbereitungen, zusammen mit unseren Freunden in den USA, die angeboten haben mich gerne aufzunehmen.
Zuerst ging es mal ans informieren, Wie läuft so ein Austausch ab, Was ist zu beachten?, Welche Agentur eignet sich am besten?, Wie ist das mit der Schule?, Was machen mit Pferd, Hund und Katz?, Wie ist das mit Visum? und noch vieles mehr.

Letzten Herbst /Winter wurden all diese Fragen endlich geklärt, ich habe eine Agentur gefunden, die sich sehr für mich engagiert hat und mit helfen wird damit

mein Vorhaben wahr wird.

Da viele meiner Freunde und meine Familie bereits jetzt schon Abschiedsschmerz haben (mich natürlich nicht ausgeschlossen), habe ich mich entschlossen eine Art Blog für sie einzurichten, damit ich sie immer auf dem Laufenden halten kann, da es mit der Zeitverschiebung eher schwer wird im Kontakt via Handy zu bleiben, außerdem ist dies auch unerwünscht, da es das Risiko von Heimweh gewaltig erhöht.

Ich werde versuchen sooft wie möglich aktuelles hier zu berichten und ihr könnt, wenn ihr Fragen habt entweder in mein Gästebuch schreiben oder mich über Kontakt kontaktieren.

# April/ May 2016

We still don't have spring nor summer. The weather has been really strange during the last coupple of weeks. Especially the day we returned from Springbreak, we had sunshine, snowstorm, rain, hail, rainbows and wind all within 10 Minutes. Everytime you looked out of the window it seemed like a different month. That was quite interesting. The following weeks were not much better, the temperatures were jumping up and down on a daily basis. For an example one day you need your winterboots and the next day you can run around in your summerdress. It was really difficult to decide what to wear each day. We even had frost yesterday night and that in the middle of May. How crazy ^.^ The only problem was that I don't have my winterjackets, they are already back in Austria, normally you would assume that there is no need for them at this time of the year, well not really. I would have loved to have them during freezing Softball games.
However, I think I'll need to write a letter to the weather fairy.

At the end of April we actually had a really nice and warm weekend, so we decided to drive southwest to an area called Starved Rock. For all those who know Germany a little bit, it was kind of like the Sächische Schweiz close by Dresden. I went hiking with my hostfamily and of course Scarlett, my hostdgogy. It was great to go outside again and to do something without getting wet, blown away or freezing. We went a big round over five hours and even though it was exhausting it was a lot of fun. We basically walked over Mini-Canyons with waterfalls, later we even went in them. Scarlett loved it, because she could take a bath by one of the waterfalls. We also had a picknick at the top of a hill and had a grandiose view. I will definitely put the pictures online. 
What else happened?
Oh yes, in english we have a new project which is I think worth talking about. So we started to read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In the book a group of boys stranded on an abandoned island after a plane crash. We don't know where the others are, but there are only young boys on the Island no adults. The book is about how they struggle as a community and slowly forget their social standards and become wild. Hierarchy, Order, Society, Conscience, Reality vs Dream and Chaos are big themes in the book. Like the boys on the Island we are stranded on our own little "Classroomisland". That means that our teacher stepped back from his normal position as a teacher and lets us do whatever we want to. However that doesn't mean that we are just daydreaming the entire class period, no. We, as a class, have to figure out a way to read the book and understand it, also we need to collect 50 points, which we can split up however we want to, either in tests, presentations, projects, etc. After each classperiod our teacher sends us a reflection of ourselve per e mail and writes main points, questions, suggestions in it. I think it is a fascinating project and it is very interesting how similar we are to the characters in the book. We have exactly the same struggles, mainly about hierarchy. On the other hand this project is a little bit upsetting as our class sometimes gets out of control and starts fighting. I am a bit disappointed to see that we are childish enough to use fighting and very offending words against each other. Especially when people suddenly blame someone for their mistakes. On the other hand we also had some great discussions and bounded through the project. Our teacher challenged us.....Are we going to survive the Island? At first I would have said yes, but now after 2 weeks I am not so sure anymore. But I believe in us as a class and we will prove our teacher wrong and we will survive! :D

We also got our Yearbooks last week! How fun! I am right now on a mission to let everyone sign it! 

This Monday (May 16th) was the last day for our Seniors (Abschlussklasse/12te). It was soo sad and I am gonna miss them soo terrible. The school seems so empty without them. In all classes we had Senior Goodbye Parties. Everyone brought food and we talked about our favorite memories with them. Especially hard for me was dance class, because as a goodbye gift the Seniors made a jar full of cute letters for me and gave it to me. I almost started to cry and I hope soo much to see them again. I became really close to some of them and we hung out together, I will miss that too!
On Sunday I even wrote a little poste on Facebook for all my friends from 12th grade:

"Tomorrow is the last day of our Seniors! I am gonna miss them so terribly and the school will seem so empty when they are gone! For them a new time begins, they will have so many adventures ahead of them and it doesn't matter if they are going to Collage, start working, take a year to travel, join the military, or whatever, I am sure they will do great and won't have a problem adjusting to new situations!

I also want to say thank you, to all the Seniors I got to know during this school year. You guys have always been there for me, in so many ways. You helped me as a friend, a classmate, a dance choreograph partner, a Senior teacher, a tutor, a photo model, sometimes you just talked to me, gave me good advise to survive school or even showed me new restaurants I've never been to!

Thank you!

I hope that I see you guys again one time, because you became an important part of my life here! And if you ever need a friend or you are visiting Austria, you know where I am!<3"

Well that's about it. Only one month left and than I am back home, isn't it amazing how fast time flies by? I am already afraid of saying goodbye! I wish I could stay another year at Deerfield High, I am really gonna miss this entire school spirit, my classes, the bond between student and teacher and the whole system! But I am also soooo happy to see my parents, friend and pets soon! :D

XoXo, Clara 

# March/ April 2016

So, we just came back from Springbreak and guys I have to tell you it was an amazing time! I loved it.

On March 17th, St. Patricksday, we drove to the Airport and took a plane to Seattle, Washington State. The day before I've been sick and so I satyed home, however it wasn't anything serious and after a little rest I was, as my stepdad always says "fit like a gymshoe" :D
After 4 hours flying we arrived in Seattle, it was already 10 o'clock and dark outside. Everything went really smooth and I think ten minutes after we arrived we had our luggage and went to look for a taxi. Our Taxidriver was quite extrem, he drove like he watched too much Fast&Furious or Need for Speed. Well by racing through Seattle we made it to the Hotel 15 minutes earlier. Our Hotel was fantastic! The name was Hotel Ändra and it was owned by a swedisch guy. The rooms were big, and modern, and ver clean. So was the entire building. In the morning we had Brunch at the Restaurant, which was exactly next to the hotel. And guys, I have to say I think I've never had such a good breakfast. I ordered Pankcakes with fresh fruit and Maple Syrup. Soooo delicious! If you ever go to Seattle you have to go to Lola's, you'll love it! ;D

We spent the day in Seattle Downtown, and we were very lucky to get a wonderful day with 80 degrees Fahrenheit! At first we went to see the famous Spaceneedle, which is a tower with an UFO on the top -> I'll put a picture online.

We got tickets for taking a trip up for two hours later. So we decided to use the time and go to Pikes Market. This is a really cute place, and famous for its fresh fisch and the flower shop. To attract people fish sales men came up with an idea. They throw whole fish trough the entire section. It was very funny to watch and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we went back to the needle, but we took a different way. It was beautiful and the streets reminded me a little bit of the pictures I had seen from San Francisco. Seattle has cool little restaurants and bars and looks very artisty! 
Back at the Needle, we finally made it to the top. We had a grandious view over Seattle and could even see the Moutains of Canada. 
Back down, we saw the first Starbucks ever and had very cool street music, we also took pictures of the EP Museum, which is known for its architecture! It was all soo great and I literally fell in love with Seattle, maybe I'll go there for collage :P (No little joke, haha). Well unfortunately there was a bad side to the story. During the flight to Seattle I had very painful earaches and the landing was quite bad for me. My ear closed and I could only hear on one ear. I thought it would go away but it did not. The entire day in Seattle everyone had to shout in Order to speak to me. Later that day I started to feel quite ill and the earaches came back. We rented a car and drove 2 hours north to Bellingham, where P. and M. live (Friends of my hostparents). They live in an unbelieveable house, directly on the bay. It looked amazing! But also P. and M. are such nice people and I loved them from the moment I met them! Luckily I found painkillers in my necessaire and so my pains got better, but my ability to hear did not return!

The next day the weather was a bit worse and we took a boat trip in the bay. The "Gypssi Pearl" is a cute middlesized yacht P. and M. own. The boattrip was great I really enjoyed it, unfortunately we did not see any seals only seagulls. We also had a really good picknick on board! To protect my still hurting ears I could borrow earmuffis! 

The next day we decided to go to  the doctor, and as we expected I had a strong inflammation of the middle ear. He gave me some antibiotica and some painkillers. Which helped a lot. The next couple of days the weather was quite bad so we mostly stayed in Bellingham. They had really nice shops there, somethinh like a little gallery store, with handcrafated vases, statues, plates, jewelery and so on. I found a really nice vase for my mum! Belligham also had an extremely cute bookstore, full of wood and somehow antique feeling.

Unfortunately the vacation in Seattle were way too short and soon we had to say goodbye. We did not go home, from Washington we went to Texas to visit my hostdad's famliy. Texas was extremely green, so completely different than I would have expected. At first I thought the Pilot took the wrong way. :D

Anyhow my host uncle picked us up and we drove 30 minutes to the ranch of my host grandmother. She lives on a cowranch, with 13 cows, which all have name and are all really cute! My hostdads sister has her ranch dircetly next to them, so I also got to meet my host cousins. The whole family is really nice and welcomed me in the family. The weather was great a little bit windy and not to hot! The day after we arrived we already went shopping, to Callahans which is a general store. Johanna and I each bought a Cowboyhat -> but not one of the silly cheap ones, we got real ones. And I also got myself a pair of original ARIAT Cowboy boots. I saw them and fell in love with them. The Lady in the store, obivousliy pretty long in the business, gave me instructions how to make the boots fit. Walk with them for 5 hours and then go through water so that they are really soaky wet and then let them dry on your feet for 2 hours. For the same evening we got Tickets for the Austin Rodeo. Before our vacation Johanna and I watched the movie "The Longest Ride" which is also about Bullriding and so. So we had our expectations, and we weren't dissapointed! The Rodeo was great, we saw Bareback Horse bucking, Saddle Horse Bucking, Reining, Barrel Racing, Mutton Busting( which was extremly cute, the kids tried to stay on racing sheep), and of course the highlight of the evening: The Bullriding. I had a adrenalinkick just from watching it and I had a steat fron row so I was basically infront of the Bull. I got really good pictures, I'll put them online as soon as possible.

On the weekend we drove out to Fredericksburg, an old german community with a “Vereinskirche”. On the way to the city, we stopped at the LBJ ranch and saw his birthplace and his grave. For everyone who does not know Lyndon B Johnson was a president of the United States.  Even though the village itself wasn’t that big it was just jammed with tourists, which was a bit annoying. It was extremely cute and a bit old Wild Western styled. I really liked it. We had lunch at a typical Dinner and it was yummy. An hour later we were out in the “Middle of Nowhere” and arrived at the  Ranch. This Ranch belongs to my host dad's aunt and is just huge. Over the Easter Weekend the entire family came together and celebrated. We lived in “Jake’s Cabin”, an old wooden hat, and looked liked copied out of a Wild West movie. Only made out of wood and everything completely old fashioned. I can’t really explain, but I’ll put pictures online, so that you can see. I got to know I think over 20 new people and they were all so extremely nice and welcoming to me. It was also such a great experience to be outside in the nature with no electronic like TV or phone. The only thing I used was my camera but besides that nothing. I couldn’t even remember my pin code when I turned on my phone after 1 week again. :D But was somewhat great to get away from all those things. It was completely silent out there and harmonic. But we also did a lot of fun stuff. Johanna and I went out fishing, unfortunately with not much luck, shot glass bottles (of course under the strict eyes of Uncle K.) drove around in the Mule, went horseback riding (which was so cool), just wandered around, took pictures of the waterfalls,  and we played Skibo and Five Crowns everyday with the rest of the family. In the evenings we always had a big dinner together and just chatted til late in the night. We also had S’mores.

The time on the Ranch went by way too fast and I wish we could have stayed there another week, but unfortunately that did not work out. On the way home we drove a different way home to see the Enchanted Rock which is an old prayer rock for Indians, and we took a round through the Willow City Loop to see the famous Bluebonnets from Texas, those are the national flowers. We had lunch at Coopers which is the best place ever. You don’t get plates you eat from a newspaper on your table, but that is what makes the place unique. The food was just delicious and especially the brisket. I wish I could bring Christoph there, he would love that place! We spent the rest of our vacation at my host grandma's ranch. The weather was still great, but we had a few thunderstorms. One day we went to Austin Downtown and explored the area around there, during this trip we saw the Capitol, which looks a bit like the one in Washington DC, but the one in Texas is pink. We also took a little roundtrip through the Texas University, with its (in) famous clock tower, and we spent some time in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The museum was really cool and you learned a lot about the history of Texas, we also watched a 5D movie about the independence of Texas. Overall Austin is a great city with a lot of nice things to see, I hope I can go there again one time!

The last couple of days went by really quickly and unfortunately we had to go back home. However, it was a great vacation with a lot of adventures and soooo much fun!  I would love to do it again and I am going to miss all of those wonderful people very much!

#March 2016

Hello everyone!

This is going to be a short entry. Soon we are going to Springbreak and then I am going to write a really long entry. So sorry guys, you have to wait a little bit.

Anyhow, do you remember that I bought concert tickets for Johanna  and me as a Christmas present?!

Well, the show was on the 12th of March and it was great!

The concert took place in the United Center, this is where the Bulls and the Blackhawks play, so it was huge. 20,500 people fit in the entire arena. We went to see Fall Out Boy, this is an american rockband formed in Illinois. The boys are extremely popular in the US and really good to see live. Normally I am always a bit afraid to see a live performance, because some bands actually can't sing live. Besides the two horrible pre-bands, the concert was really good, really loud too but that was ok. They played their greatest hits like Centuries, Uma Thurman, Irresistible, Light 'Em Up, and so on.

Johanna and I sang the entire time so we could hardly speak the next day, but it was worth it!

# February 2016

Hei guys,

Here, everything is ok and I enjoy my time. After Finals everything is a little bit less stressful. I can't believe I am already here for over 6 month, time flies by so quickly. Soon I need to go back home :P Well not much has happened. We have a new History teacher because our old one got a baby. Her sub seems quite nice she is really young and totally into basketball, she even coached a Collage Basketball team. I think I am going to like her. In Photography we have a new project, it is called the "Erase me Project" it is basically about combinig two pictures in one image. So you need a lot of Photoshop Knowledge. I might put that project online. You'll see! :P

On Valentines Day we originally wanted to go to CHina Town to see the Chinese New Year, but it was really cold and extremely windy so we decided against it and stayed home. That was also nice, we curled the entire Saturday in a blanket and drank coffee or hot chocolate and watched Mr. Selfridge this is a new TV-Show we discovered. It is not as good as Downton Abbey, but also really good. 

One weekend we went to the Art Institute in Chicago, which was great. I really liked the Modern Art Department, however the Contemporary Art was a little bit interesting, they had a few pictures, which were just a one coloured screen.   *how boring*. But the Museum is really great and I enjoyed the trip there a lot! So if you ever have the chance to go to Chicago, go to the Art Institute! :P

Afterwards we found an amazing burger place called Shake Shack, it was sooo good! I fell in love with their Cheeseburger, hahaha:D

Well that's about it.

Miss you guys,

Clara

#January 2016

Winterbreaks are over and a new year started. And with the new year schoolstress. 
Especially after Springbreak everyone starts to talk about Finals and the work that needs to be done. The first semester was soon over and that meant you have to take Finals. To explain you what it is, you have to understand that the American Schoolsystem works a little bit different than the Austrian one. In Austria we have those big tests called "Schularbeiten", you don't have them here. Americans take Finals two times a year. One time before the end of the first semester and then shortly before the schoolyear ends. Finals week can either be extremely stressfull or really relaxed. Eventhough I had a lot of work to do, I needed to turn in 3 History Papers, 1 English paper, 1 English as a second Language Comic, had to study for a french and a math test and so on. So it was a lot of work before Finals week. But the good thing was that durng this week we had Monday and Friday off. The exams were taken on Tuesday to Thursday, but each day only 3 subjects and you only have to come to certain classes. It is a bit difficult to explain, but I'll try to clarify. So I had tuesday off too, because My first period is dance -> no final, my second one was history-> I just had to upload my project on turnitin.com so I did not need to go to class, and 3rd period I have Theatre -> no final. On wednesday I had to come to school at 11:30 to take my ESL final and my Math Final, then on Thursday I cam to school at 1:45 to take my french final. It was so relaxed because you did not need to hurry, no stress just concentrate on your studying. I had a bus and I came to school totally relaxed in sweatpants and sweatshirt, with a bottle of water a granola bar and a pencil, took my final and went back home. I wish we would have the same system in Austria, because ususally the "Schularbeiten" are somewhere during the year and you have so much else going on that you really don't have time to concentrate. I experienced a different way here. It was so much more calm and I guess it was one of the best weeks here. When I came home I usually wrapped myself in a coat - we had snow and minus degrees- and took a long walk with Scarlett, up to two hours, each day. That was great, especially after the testing. It was also a really nice way to start you second semester. Before Finals we had a relaxation unit in my theatre class and even the PERC was open to work out before Finals. Everyone thought about you and the school helped you to make this week as easy as possible! I loved it.

Well that's about it, there wasn't anything else what happened during January!

Miss you guys,

Clara

#December 2015/January 2016

On the 19th of December the Christmas Holidays finally started. Many people  put up their Christmas decoration and the Trees, well at least those who haven't done it yet...We were already done two weeks ago. Here in America it is normal to put up the Christmastree in the middle of December. Many houses around here, including ours, have a lot of lights on the trees, fences or houses and it looks very nice when you're driving by in the evening. Especially our neighborhood has, I think something, like a small competition going on: Who has the brightest house :P

Here in America you don't have something like Avdventszeit, I think this is a little bit sad, because I always love the pre christmas time! I think it is the happiest time of the year! But at the last day of school, the marching band splitted up and played in many different parts of the school, when we entered teachers were standing in the entrance and gave us chocolate, and in front of the cafeteria you got free coffe and hot chocolate...I think this was so cool, you would never have something like that in Austria...and again I have to admit that I simply love this school!! :D

On the 20th we went to HouseofBlonde this is my Host Mom's hairdresser. Johanna and I got our hair cut and we got a manicure! Now my nails look ready for Christmas too.

One day later 3 days before the celebration, I finally went shopping together with Johanna, a little bit late or?!...but I found everything I needed and it was a really nice day with a yummy StarbucksCoffe in the end! :D This year I had to buy two extra presents for my Hostgrandmothers...the one from Sweden who stayed here and my Texas granny came for 10 days. Both of them are absolutely nice and I really enjoyed playing FiveCrowns(Card game) with them! :D

Unfortunately my dream of white Christmas popped, instead of having minus degrees and a Winter Wonderland outside, we had 15 degrees sunshine, but mud and it was too green. As I said in the headline I thought we had Easter. ^^

Here in America you're celebrating Christmas on the 25th of December usually in the morning. You're open up your stockings, which were hanging in front of the fireplace and Santa Claus filled during the night. But we as a Swedish-American-Austrian family celebrated on the 24th and the 25th.

On Christmas Eve we had a very nice dinner with a duck. It was very nice to have all those candles around, put up the stockings, listened to the typical music and got really into Christmas spirit! One day later the day started with a huge Brunch with waffles, nutella, jelly, fruits, maple syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, bread, cheese, bagels, butter, jam, ham...and so on. Afterwards we could open our stockings and Santa Claus was very nice everyone got something. My presents were a nice necklace, a really cool book "The girl with the dragon tattoo", the CD "American Beauty/American Psycho" from FallOutBoy, a band which I really like and a little bit of money!

Afterwards we had a pyjama day and Johanna and I spent the day in front of the TV and we watched movies we haven't seen for years...we started out with AristoCats, Arielle, Marry Poppins and Disney's Cinderella...

in the evening we had the next nice dinner with a traditional swedish ham...that was really good!

And after that we unwrapped our presents under the Christmastree, I got a bag, a scarf, a nice jacket, a soup cook book, a book "Murder on the last Frontier", eye shadow from Estee Lauder, money, and from austria a big package with, Stephen Kings "Love", nice letters, a sweater, money, a massage giftcard, a photobook, a diary and more! Thank you again sooo much!! :**

The next day was also Pyjama Day with DownTon Abby, a extremely good TV show, which I can really recommend. In the evening we went to see the Nutcracker Ballett in Chicago Downton. It was beautiful and I was totally amazed by the talent the dancers had. But after three evening in HighHeels my feet hurt a little bit, Haha..

The next few days were pretty much relaxing days...I just had to work on my History Final, I had to research about Congo and Panama. It wasn't as boring as I expected and to be honest, it was in fact pretty interesting!

On the 30th Johanna and I made a shopping day in Old Orchard this is an open air shopping mall, that means that you have to go outside when you want to go to the next shop. It was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot... I found some good sales, like a new dress and amazingly beautiful HighHeels! I also ate my first Thai Chicken Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen...It tasted better than I expected! :D

One day later was new year's eve, I phoned my parents at five o'clock and  counted down with them, it was pretty funny, because it was strange that they already had 2016 and we were still in 2015. For Dinner we invited our neighbour over and we had lobster...This was the first lobster I've ever eaten and the first living I ever held in my hands, because usually when you buy lobster it is still alive and you just cook it. A little bit sad, but ok that's how it is.

But it was very good to eat, even though a little bit difficult, but I liked it a lot! :D

Of course we stayed awake until midnight and celebrated the new year. But I was a little bit disappointed because here was no firework...I hoped to have a very big one...well next year :D

The good thing is that snow finally arrived, even though extremely hard and icy, we have about 30cm. :D

I am really looking forward to 2016, because 16 was always something like my lucky number *-*

How did you celebrate Christmas and New Year?

Miss you!

Clara

P.S. On the 25th I was woken by one of my austrian friends message...it was hilarious and I have to write it down…. Of course this is not his english and it is only a joke ;D

A little Weihnachtsgedicht

When the snow falls wunderbar, and the kinder happy are, When the glatteis on the street and we all a Glühwein need, Then you know it is soweit..

She is here the Weihnachtszeit!

Every Parkhaus is besetzt, weil die people fahren jetzt. All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt, kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt. Shopping hirn verbrannte things and the christmas glocke rings.

Mother in the kitchen bakes: Schoko-,Nuss- and Mandelkeks. Daddy in the Nebenraum schmücks a riesen Weihnachtsbaum. He is hanging on the balls when he from the Leiter falls. Finally the Kinderlein, to the Zimmer kommen rein. And it sings the family schauerlich “Oh Christmas Tree”. And a jeder in the house is packing the geschenke aus.

Mama finds under the tanne a super neue Teflon-Pfanne, Papa gets Schlips and Socken. Every does Frohlocken. President speaks in the TV all around his harmonie, bis mother in the kitchen runs: In Ofen burns the Weihnachtsgans.

And so comes the Feuerwehr with tatütata daher, and they bring a longlong schlauch and a longlong Leiter auch. And they schrei:”Wasser Marsch”

Christmas now is in the A****

#December 2016

Until now December was a pretty boring month, nothing interesting happened... I had a bunch of schoolsstuff to do, many quizzes, a lot of homework, the teachers are in final mode...:D

Well besides that, I went riding every week and I have to admit that my jumping became better and better, I am not jumping combinations, but verticals almost 70cm high! :D I am a little bit proud of myself! Hopefully I can compete in the competition in spring, we'll see..

In school a new Photography Project started, it is called the "Humans of DHS", it is something like Brandon Hony is doing in NewYork "Humans of NewYork", Hony is going out on the NewYorker streets everyday to find new people, he interviews them and takes a portrait of them, their story and their picture are on Facebook and Hony got famous for it. We are doing the same thing we interview students and take a photo of them, in my class the portrait is more important than the story but still the combination is wonderful! I think it is a wonderful idea and hopefully I'll find many students I can interview :D

Unfortunately there was no snow, but it was very messy outside, and because of the weather I got sick for four days, but it was only a little cold and a stomach flu...nothing serious;D

But on the 16th of December something very interesting happened...It was my Birthday *___* Unfortuantely the day started out with a History test about the Influence of America in the Independencewars of Latin America o.O Well, this was a little bit lalilala...

When I got home I read a little bit and then I went downstairs and we had a  coffe and the big present opening! Mhmm...let me think I got 2 sweaters, a scarf, a hood, a few books, money, a calendar, a gif card, very nice birthday cards and a camera(a Nikon D700<3) ....I was sooo happy!! And thank you all sooooooo much for the wonderful presents!!! That was soo nice of you!!!!

Afterwards we went to my new favourite restaurant in the US, it is called TheHappInn, I ate a delicious burger and we had a wonderful evening!!

Love, Clara

#November 2015

Finally it is the Thanksgivingweek and that means almost five days off. 

The week started with a Dinnerparty, we invited friends of my hostparents and I was kitchen helper and waitress, but of course I could also eat with them, it was a very nice dinner and I could finally wear my new HighHeels.:D

We had PumpkinMouse with Scallops, Salmon with potatoes and broccoli, and for dessert blood orange sorbet. It was just delicious!! It was also fun get to know new people and talk to them, they were all so nice and nice to chat with.

But the Highlight of this evening was that it started snowing! But not only a few centimeters...no...almost half a meter of nice and fluffy snow was outside. It was just beautiful and and the next day when I woke up and looked out of the window, I was in a dreamlike Winterwonderland...The sun was shining on the snow and made it glitter. I will put a few photos online!! :D

Unfortunately 3 days later for Thanksgiving everything was gone, only mud stayed. 

For Thanksgiving my hostgrandmother came to celebrate with us and also two other friends from Sweden. The day started early with a nice breakfast with waffles, scrambled eggs, and bagles, afterwards we began to prepare the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey. Johanna and I made the stuffing and I could put it into the Turkey...it was pretty messy. Fortunately our ofen was big enough and the huge bird fitted without a problem. Then we prepared the dessert and the appetizer and went for a walk with Scarlett. When we came come we dressed up, I could wear my second pair of HighHeels :P, and went downstairs to eat. It was an extremely nice evening and it was so fun to eat all of those different kinds of foot. We had traditional sweetpotatoes, gravy, and of course the delicious Turkey with stuffing. It was really good! My hostsister also started a whip around of things we are grateful for. I said, that I am grateful for the opportunity to came to the US, for my hostfamily, for my family and friends in Austria/Germany, that they are healthy and that I am able to be there and have this nice meal together with my them.

Th next day we decided to go to a very nice restaurant 20 minutes from here. The food was extremely good and it was a fun evening, unfortunately it was pretty loud in the restaurant...:/

But that wasn't the funny part of the evening: My hostsiter ordered a Homemade Sorbet for dessert, but they didn't say which kind of sorbet it was. While she was eating she couldn't figure it out, so I tasted and I knew I know the taste, but I couldn't tell it, when all other people on the table also tried without success, I waved for the waiter and asked him what kind of sorbet it was. But instead of an answer he just shook his head, looked a little bit terrified and ran away. Johanna started to laugh immediatly and I was more or less pretty confused. Well but the story isn't over, suddenly after ten minutes another waiter came and asked me if I would need something, I repeated my question. But he said that he didn't know but he would ask. Ten minutes later another waitress came and I had to ask her again, finally we got the answer, it was a sorbet made out of a specific kind of table grapes. :D

Well, even today I have to laugh when I remember this story!!

Unfortunately I stopped fencing, because it was just stupid that it was so late, it destroyed the whole evening....but to stay fit I go to the Fitnesscenter almost everyday, and the Softball pre season fitness program started! :D

And how are you? Everything ok?

Miss you,

Clara

#November 2015

Hello Everyone!

How are you and is everything ok? I hope so :)

I am so sorry, that I couldn't post a blog entry in October, but I had so much to do, with school, homework, studying and more.

But everything is fine and I have fun being here.

In the middle of October we had Homecoming. This is a tradition in America, and it includes a football game and afterwards a big school dance, or a nice evening with friends or a date. I went to the football game and then to a friends house. We got ready for homecoming and went to the dance. Unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed, because the dance was pretty boring. And only about 100 students were there. So we left earlier and I stayed at my friends house and we had s'mores. This is something like Knoppers, but instead of the milk cream, it is with marshmallows.  So it was a fun evening!

One week ago was Halloween. On friday everyone dressed up in school, and I've seen some really fancy costumes. That was cool. On saturday, one of the classmates of my host sister had a party and we went there. But it wasn't soo fun, because we had the most embarrassing costumes ever. I wore a tutu and a purple Mulan-princess shirt. It looked really stupid...but ok.

After the party we went for trick or treat and we both got a bag full of candies....

I still don't know what I should do with all those stuff....:D

I also started to go riding again, it is very nice to sit on a horse again, but it is a jumping stable, and  not a dressage stable, but I think it is good to learn jumping in a safe and calm way, because I had some bad experiences with that. And last week I jumped my first cross! :D

Unfortunately volleyball is over and so I have much more time after school! This is good and bad, because I miss it a lot. But now I go to the fitness center almost everyday, and I joined the International Club, the people there are really nice and it is so cool, to be with other students who had the same problems as me. I also started to fence in school, I'll see how it will work out, because the practice is twice a week from 7-9 pm. This is really late.

We had a wonderful atum, with so many colors, and  really nice weather. The weather is still very nice for November, but it is getting colder and the trees are almost leafless. So I think winter is coming soon..

I also put my next Photography project online, those photos are from my field trip to Chicago. And I will also put new photos in the america photos folder.

I miss you!

Clara

#September 2015

Hello Everyone!

I'm fine and everything is ok. I have school everyday and unfortunatly pretty much homework to do, but that's normal :D
In volleyball, the game season has already started, and we have 1-3 games per week. That's a bit boring for me, because I am not allowed to play, because there are some strange rules for students from a foregin country, who don't live in America. So I always have to sit beside the court and wait until we are finish. 
Except for that the school is pretty ok. I have many good courses, especially my Photography class is really cool (my first project is already online). I like all of my teachers, they're so nice to me and everyone understands my situation.

I also went to a few football games from my school, that was really cool.

Last weekend we were in ChinaTown that was fun, because it is totally different than the rest of Chicago, you walk down the street and suddenly you are in ChinaTown. We ate at a traditional chinese resaurant and we also bought two turtle babies in a shop. Lucky and Teddy. Those are our new pets, and I think they have a better life now, than in the little shop.
Today we were at Lake Michigan to go for a walk with my host dog and a friend of my host family, who also has a Golden Retriver. That was such a nice day, because the weather is still very good and it is really warm outside. I did a small photoshooting with the dogs, just for fun but also for my next photography project. (I will put the photos online as soon as possible).

I hope you are all fine, and everything is ok!

Miss you,
Clara :)

#September 2015

Hallo meine Lieben,

Also ich bin jetzt seit vier Wochen hier und die Schule hat auch schon begonnen.

In den ersten Tagen war alles ganz neu und fremd, aber mittlerweile habe ich mich hier gut eingelebt und auch schon so einiges erlebt. 

Ich war auf einem OneDirection Konzert, war auf einer Bat Mitzvah, Schulparty, am Lake Michigan, und trainiere seit drei Wochen mit dem Volleyball Team meiner Schule.

Allerdings muss ich eingestehen, dass es hier gar nicht so anders ist. 

Zwar ist alles etwas groesser, die Haeuser, die Autos, die Gschaefte und natuerlich das Essen. 

Aber es ist sehr schoen! 

Meine Schule ist eigentlich richtig cool, nur gibt es noch immer ein paar Schwierigkeiten mit meinen Platzierungen (in welchen Mathekurs soll ich kommen, wie ist das mit English, bin ich 9.te Schulstufe oder 10.te) Aber ich hoffe, dass sich das in den naechsten Tagen/Wochen regeln wird. Nur habe ich langsam die Schnauze voll von diesen ganzen Placement tests. Weil ich habe bis jetzt 3 machen muessen, voellig unvorbereitet und ich hatte keine Ahnug welchen Themen drankamen. Und Tschenrechner war auch nicht erlaubt -_-. Das war schon ziemlich aergerlich, da ich nicht mein ganzes Potential zeigen konnte und deswegen vermutlich in Klassen unter meinem Niveau gesteckt werde.

Aber naja, was soll man machen....

Ansonsten geht es mir super, ich habe jeden Tag von um 8 bis 6 am Abend Schule, da ich jeden Tag im Volleyballtraining bin.

Englisch ist bis jetzt eigentlich kein Problem und ich verstehe alles. Nur das mit dem sprechen klappt noch nicht so richtig. Ich bin noch zu sehr in dem Deutschen drinnen. ich hoffe das sich das auch in den naechsten Wochen aendern wird!

Hmm...das wars erstmal!

Wenn ihr fragen habt ihr wisst ja wie ihr mich erreichen koennt! :D

In den naechsten Tagen werde ich auch noch eine extra Seite fuer die Fotos einrichten, die koennt ihr dann oben neben dem Amerika-Blog finden!

Bis bald :)

#August 2015

Heute ist der 12. August....Nur noch 5 Tage dann geht es los!

Ich kann es noch gar nicht richtig fassen, aber jetzt wirds ernst....

Die Abschiedspartys sind gefeiert, die Geschenke fast alle verschenkt und die letzten Anrufe, Treffen und Nachrichten werden vorbereitet.

Ich muss allerdings eingestehen, dass ich bis jetzt noch nichts eingepackt habe, aber sowas zögere ich immer hinaus.  Vermutlich fange ich erst einen Tag vorher damit an :P

Langsam werde ich allerdings auch nervöser und aufgeregter ,aber auch trauriger. Ich freue mich zwar riesig auf die USA, aber ich habe jetzt schon Abschiedsschmerz, weil bei vielen Personen ich ganz genau weiß, dass ich sie jetzt ein Jahr nicht wiedersehen werde. :(

Ich werde die Personen und Tiere, dich ich liebe und die mir wichtig sind ganz stark vermissen, aber ich hoffe, dass mich all die neuen Eindrücke und Aufgaben, die mich drüben erwarten ablenken werden!

Naja, dies wird wohl der letzte Eintrag aus Österreich sein! Wenn ich das nächste Mal schreibe, dann sitze ich schon in meinem Zimmer in Chicago. Ich werde versuchen mindestens 1x pro Monat zu schreiben und euch informieren, wie es mir so geht, was ich erlebt habe und was so passiert!

Wenn ihr Fragen habt, ihr wisst ja wie ihr mich erreichen könnt! ;D

#Juli 2015

Die technischen Fehler sind behoben und ich habe Ende Juni endlich meinen Termin für die amerikanische Botschaft erhalten!

Ein bisschen Angst hatte ich schon davor, da man mir gesagt hatte, dass man mindestens 3 Stunden dort verbringt und ewig lange interviewt wird.

Aber wie das im Leben so ist, viel Wind um Nichts!

So bin ich am 9.Juli brav um 9:00 Uhr in der Botschaft aufgekreuzt und wurde erstmal wie am Flughafen durchsucht. Ich durfte keine Flüssigkeiten, elektronische Geräte, Bomben oder ähnliches bei mir haben :P

Weiter ging es in einen Raum, dort musste ich mich bei einem Schalter für Non Immigrant Visas anmelden und wurde aufgefordert zu warten.

Keine 10 Minuten später kam das große gefährliche Interview, vor dem mich alle so gewarnt hatten. ^^

Mich begrüßte eine sehr nette Dame, die mir genau vier Fragen stellte nämlich:
Wo ich hingehe!

Wie lange ich dort bleibe!

Was ich dort mache!

Und was meine Eltern arbeiten!

Als diese Prozedur vorüber war wurden noch meine Fingerabdrücke aufgezeichnet und schwupp schon wurde ich mit den Worten: "Vielen Dank, Ihr Visum wird Ihnen nächste Woche zugeschickt werden!"...vor die Tür gesetzt!

Der ganze Aufenthalt in der Botschaft dauerte gerade einmal eine halbe Stunde.
Also nichts wovor man Angst haben müsste! ;D

#Juni 2015

Ich bin gerade von dem Pre-Depature Meeting zurückgekommen. Es war wirklich eine tolle Erfahrung und ich habe echt eine ganze Menge gelernt. Insgesamt waren wir 100 Schülerinnen und Schüler aus ganz Deutschland, die alle nächstes Jahr nach Amerika wollen.
Wir hatten zwei Tage lang voll straffes Programm, jeden Tag mindestens 5 Stunden Kurs über diverse Themen und Regeln wie zum Beispiel: Kulturschock, Heimweh, Schule, Dresscode, richtige Ausdrucksweisen, und ganz besonders zu beachten: die Four "D"-Regel,diese Regel ist am stärksten zu beachten und darf auf keinen Fall gebrochen werden. Sie setzt aus folgendnen Dingen zusammen:
1. No Drugs

2. No Drinking

3. No Driving

4. No Dating

Während dieser drei Tage ist mir zum ersten Mal richtig bewusst geworden, dass es auf in die weite Welt geht und ein bisschen Panik habe ich schon. Aber am Meisten Angst habe ich derzeit noch gar nicht vor der Reise, sondern viel eher vor dem "Großen Abschied" von meinen Freunden, Verwandten und allen die mir wichtig sind. Ich weiß noch nicht, wie ich das überstehe......

Jedenfalls sind das Ausdenken der Abschiedsgeschenke und die Planungen der Abschiedsfeier voll im Gange.

Ich habe auch schon den Visumantrag gestellt, aber bis jetzt habe ich noch keinen Termin bekommen, da es einen technischen Fehler gab!

Drückt mir mal die Daumen, dass es klappt ;D

#April 2015

Soo, endlich alles geklärt. Meine Gastfamilie in den USA hat alle Unterlagen vervollständigt und abgeschickt.
Am 20.April erwartete mich dann kurz nach dem Aufwachen eine E-Mail von NWSE. Darin stand: "We are pleased to confirm Clara's placement on our program..."

Dann ist es jetzt also offiziell, ich fahre nach Amerika.
Den Flug habe ich dann auch ein paar Tage später gebucht...am 17.August geht's los!

Noch bin ich gar nicht nervös, das dauert ja eh noch so lange :D Naja mal schauen, wann ich meine Panik-Attacken bekomme :P
Zusätzlich habe ich eine Einladung für ein Pre-Depature Meeting in Bad Sulza erhalten. Dort bekomme ich noch mal nen Crash-Kurs in USAlogogie :P

#Jänner 2015

Vor einem knappen Monat erhielt ich eine Mail meiner Agentur der ein PDF-Dokument mit etwa 25 Seiten angehängt worden war. Es handelte sich um meine Anmeldung und alle möglichen Infos. Nach dem ersten Schock, einmal tief durchatmen und mit meinen Eltern einen Plan entwickeln, wie man diese doch recht umfangreiche Checklist abarbeiten konnte.
Ich musste eine Online- Anmeldung ausfüllen, mit dabei einen 500W. langen Brief für meine Host-Family (natürlich auf Englisch), 3 Empfehlungsschreiben von meinen Lehrern erhalten, ein Besuch des Hausarztes war auch mit dabei, vieeele Dokumente ausfüllen, und noch eine ganze Menge mehr.....

Aber da ich viel Hilfe vom meinen Eltern und meinen Lehrern hatte, war das alles doch nicht so schlimm. Und so konnte ich mein Anmeldung, am 22.12.2014 nach Amerika abschicken. :D

Anfang Jänner hatte ich auch noch ein persönliches Gespräch mit einer Frau meiner Agentur, sie wollte alles noch einmal genau wissen :P Aber sie war sehr nett und hat mir alle Fragen meinerseits beantwortet.

Ein paar Tage später erhielt ich dann auch die Bestätigung der Schule in Amerika! *-*

Jetzt heißt es warten, auf die Papiere für mein Visum und darauf, dass meine Gast Familie in den USA alles checkt!