Im home!

I arrived home on June 12th... I cant explain how much I will miss it in Austria... I feel like I have to homes. Part of my heart will always belong in Austria. I am happy to be home with my family though!  I missed them like crazy!!


(The balloons have the colors of the Austrian flag)

Erica and I had a photoshoot!!

This girl is the one who I will miss the most. She was my best friend. She was just as crazy as I was, even a little more so. She made me happy when I was sad! And she was just as awkward as I am!  I will visit her soon. Because I'm having Erica withdrawals...

Class then and now

This was my class in Austria for Language camp, we took one at the beginning of the year and one at the end!


These people were the so nice and accepting. They never judged me on how horrible my German was and they always made me so happy!  I will miss these girls so much!! I really hope we get to have a reunion one day for our class :)

Italy!! :) Day 12-16

I got to finish Eurotour by visiting places in Italy. Cinque Terra (my favorite) Pisa, Florence, and Venice!!

  
This is in Cinque Terra!  It was so beautiful there, I can only descibe it as a dream come true.  We had Italian Gelato, and I will never be able to eat American Ice Cream again. Ever.  We had to walk into town because the sea was too wavy for boats. We had to walk because no cars or buses can get into the city!


This is us outside of an ice cream shop :)


I met some of the best friends I could ever ask for! I grew so close with them in only two weeks!  We are like a family!

This was a street performer in Italy. He was speaking German, but NO ONE understood him!! haha He had such a strong accent!


Each night we would sleep in a hostel. Its like a hotel for kids!  Its a lot cheaper and a lot dirtier. But it was fun nonetheless!

Italy was absolutely a great adventure!!!

Day 7-11

Andorra and Spain!

Andorra wasnt that great but me and Erica always have a good time together!!\

There was also some awesome art structures in Andorra

 And Barcelona, Spain was my FAVORITE!! Its probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to!!

 I got to be with amazing friends...

Make inside jokes...

Look at amazing views...

 Enjoy the architecture

 Take hikes...

and eat amazing food.  I know I have been saying amazing a lot, but I need to. Its the best word to describe Barcelona, that and unforgettable. 

France days 3-6

I cant believe I got to spend my birthday in FRANCE!! How crazy is that?  It was a dream come true!  The Eiffel tower was shimmering with lights and all the exchange students had a grin on their face.  It was an experience that i will never forget!


We spent 2 days on our own and 1 together in a bus.  It was difficult because during the bus tour guide would tell you about something, and we would look out the window but then we drove past it. So i couldnt see much that way!  We did visit the Louvre!  I got to see so many amazing paintings and artists!!! Mona Lisa, in my opinion, was highly over rated.

I tried to look french.... :)


I was so lucky to have the opportunity to go. I hope I will be able to go again someday. Though, hopefully next time I wont eat so many croissants ;)

Euro tour Days 1-3

Euro tour lasted 16 days. There were about 90 exchange students from all around the world and we visited 7 different countries.  I can honestly say that it was the best 2 weeks of my life so far!  I couldnt have wished for a better group of exchange students to go with <3

Day 1: We went to Köln, Germany and went to see the Dome :)

 We spent so much time on the bus, but it was soooooo much fun! We talked and laughed and had the greatest time ever!  And i got to sit next to Erica Scott! Who has become my best friend!!!

Im sorry about how creepy my face looks... 

there were so many beautiful buildings that i got to see!!

And we also got to go to  Brussels and Brugges, Belgium!

It was so beautiful!!!

There was SO MUCH CHOCOLATE! However, it was expensive so i didnt buy too much!

I LOVED BRUSSELS, BELGIUM!!! :)  and we ate so many waffles. To many waffles

I will post more pics later, but i procrastinate and i am far to lazy to do it all at once

Skiing in the Alps :)

So I can snowboard (not to well) but this week I had the chance to learn how to ski!!  I went with my host family and we enjoyed a weekend together.

The first day wasnt great.  There was a storm that knocked out the electricity. Which meant none of the lifts were working :(  The good news, is that we got a free pass.

Since the lifts were closed, we decided to make snow angels. This was my sad attempt.

The views were more beautiful than anything I have ever seen. While skiing, i had to take breaks just to pull out my camera and try to capture the moment.

The second day was a LOT better. The sun was shining and i only fell twice. 

The hotel we were staying at had a cooking course!  We learned how to make these noodle things stuffed with cheese. After i finished mine, the lady took it to show as an example... how embarrasing! haha

Me and my host papa

Ignore this pose. I couldnt turn without falling, so i ended up looking like this...

I got tired, so while everyone else went skiing, I took a break and made a tiny snowman.

Im not sure if this video will work. Lets hope

Christmas in Austria

Ich weiß, das 2 Monate zu spät ... aber besser spät als nie!

Diese Bilder von mir sind einfach nur schrecklich, weil Weihnachten wieder zu Hause, wachen wir auf, stören nicht mit Make-up, tragen pj und nur die Person, die die Kamera zu vermeiden. Dieses Weihnachten, sah ich schrecklich wie jedes Jahr, aber es waren so so so viele Bilder gemacht. Geschichte meines Lebens.

Österreicher feiern Weihnachten, spät in der Nacht am 24. Dezember.

Also mein Tag war ein wenig wie diese ...

I did help decorate the tree on December 23rd (New Years Eve). But i left early to hang out with some Austrian friends.  I saw the tree in the morning.

This is the finished result! 

We then went to a couple cemetaries to lay down candles for the great grandparents.  

After visiting the cemetary we stopped by for a 'short' visit to an uncles house. That short visit lasted 3 hours...

Then we went home and my Christmas dinner consisted of Sauer Kraut, Sausages, and ketchup. hahaha

Then we went upstairs and they sang Stille Nacht. Which is Silent Night in German, so i sang the English version. It was pretty neat.  

We were then told to sit down, as Killian played jingle bells on his tuba. Or french horn. Honestly, i have no idea what it is, but its loud.  He practices every day... every day

Anyway, so a slideshow was put on. It lasted only a couple minutes and it had some of the pictures of each event during the year. It was pretty special. :)

We then took a million pictures

Then we opened presents!!!  Thats always fun!

I then went to bed, and slept for a good 30 minutes. Because apparently at midnight there is always a church meeting. And i got to go with my family. It was an interesting experience and a whole different culture, but i accidentally fell asleep for a couple minutes... They havent taken me to church since, oops

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The next day, we went to my host dads parents house. We went for a long walk, I watched a movie about Cece and Ceaser and we ate alot or food. And took more pictures

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Its like i had 3 Christmas's... the third day I went to my host moms parents house. I again, watched Cece and Ceaser, I again ate alot of food, and indeed, once again, took a million pictures.

It was amazing to experience christmas in a different culture