08.02.10

My first day back at school after Winter Break! I got a new schedule, and now I get out of school at 12:25 every Wednesday! I also have no more geography, instead I have history.

09.02.10

I started taking free art classes every Tuesday in a renovated Citadel. Basically, I get to go to a room almost whenever I want Tuesday after school, and throw paint around or draw. And I actually mean it when I say „throw paint around“.



I don’t really have any skills at all with painting though, and my first painting is well... extremely ugly. It’s like a splotch of brown with orange. But also, there IS a teacher there, but he’s really only there to help you... the class really just let kids explore their own talents, and what they want to do. I want to throw paint :D.

10.02.10

I went over a very nice lady’s house with my host mom. The lady is my host mom’s friend, and she is also an artist. She even has her own art supplies shop that she runs with her husband, and her home is FILLED with paintings, and not just her own, but also from just random sources I believe. She gave (or let me borrow, I’m not sure) a novel, then gave me a book about painting.

11.02.10

I wanted to go ice-skating with a friend, but when we got there, the skating arena was going to close in half an hour... so we just walked around, found really good deals on Coca-Cola at the Euro Shop... and I think she ate a Döner.

12.02.10

No school today!

14.02.10

I went to Carnival celebrations with my host mom. You might know this event by the name of „Mardi Gras“. It’s celebrated in Germany, mainly in the southern area (especially in Cologne), with parades and other celebrations. And on TV, it seems like there’s nothing but constant footage of some guy making a comedy appearance, speaking in the German version of a Southern Drawl, standing in front of a bunch of people in outrageous costumes. And that’s a HUGE part of Carnival; the costumes. My host mother used to live in Bonn, a city close to Cologne, and there it is normal to come into work during Carnival with your fingernails all painted different colors, and something in your hair. You actually look out of place when you DON’T dress up.



In Berlin, that’s not really the case though... my host mom doesn’t like participating in Carnival in Berlin, because the spirit just isn’t there.

17.02.10

I went shopping with a friend, and found a really pretty dress for €13 or so, and earrings for only €1 per pair :D (they’re more like a bead glued onto an earring holder thing, so that sort of explains it... but they’re pretty!).

18.02.10

First, I met my community representative after school in the Florida Eis Café, and I ate ice cream. Second, I used that pretty dress I bought the day before. I went to my school’s „Valentine’s Ball“. The dress code was „glamorous“. Someone was talking to me a day later about the ball, and the first thing they said was, „I heard everyone got drunk“. He/she/it (I can’t remember) was sort of right... one of the first things I saw after getting off the bus to go to my school was guys drinking beer. A little bit before the school, the friends of a different exchange student stopped me, and asked me where I was from, and... well, they were acting like idiots. I assume they were drunk. And then a little later, in the school, someone was telling me that I can’t learn German without drinking beer. So, this was all surprising to me, but... well, it’s sort of normal in Germany. Alcohol isn’t so taboo, and you can start buying beer at 16. And then on the way home, I was wearing sandals and stepped on a beer bottle (they were ALL over the place)... yay!

But seriously, the party was fun. And it was more of a party than a „ball“. There was NO slow dancing when I was there, and there were strobe lights, and those lights that flash on and off REALLY fast, and well... it’s what I always thought a club was like ^^. But it was a lot of fun. Everyone was dancing, and they made like circles (to the best of their abilities, the whole dancing group was packed together like a sardine can, even though not the whole dance floor was being used) of friends, who were all like... dancing sort of, together. It wasn’t real partner dancing, just sort of moving ^^. And German club music was being played, but there was also some soldier boy ;). And people stepped on my feet. I seriously have a bruise from where someone stepped on my foot... but, I was dancing half the time with these girls I don’t know too well, but then I found my friends and was dancing with them until 10:30pm almost. I was really tired, so I went home early, even though the dance ended at 11pm. Also, there was artificial smoke in the room too, to add to the light effects, and there were SO many people! Their sweat and everything... ew. It was like, as soon as you walked into the dance room, you were covered with a layer of people-exhaust. You actually needed to go out and take a break from it every 15 minutes or so... but then the people-exhaust leaked into the entrance hall, and people were going outside into the snow filled outside world, without jackets, just to cool off.

19.02.10

I actually didn’t have any school for the first period, because of the dance last night ^^. So cool xD.