The Last Day of School

The last time my alarm rang at 5:45,
The last time I made myself a peanut butter-jelly-sandwich,
The last time my sister drove me to school,
The last time I went to the library before my classes to study,
The last time I stood up for the Pledge of Allegiance,
The last time hearing "hi, Alex" on the hallway,
The last time eating lunch with my friends and 600 other people,
The last time taking a multiple-choice test,
The last time seeing all of my teachers,
The last picture in front of my locker,
The last time walking through the hallways,
The last time I walk out of the building,
I look back, I remember the hundreds of ours that I spent here,
The last "good bye", 
The last time the door closes behind me.

A huge "THANK YOU" to all the people who made this school year so special and unforgettable.
I will miss you!

Composition Page

One of the uncountable number of things that I learned to appreciate since I came here is writing.
I think the most important part of it was the Advanced Composition class, which I took during my first semester. So I decided to publish my best essays, because they show how fast your language can improve when you are surrounded by it every single day.
Look: On the right side there is a Composition bar! Klick on it if you are interested in reading my essays.

Fall State

As I wrote in one of my previous posts, I am a member of JSA (Junior State of America), which is a debating club.
Last weekend, I went to Madison to debate in the Capitol with and against other students from the Mid-West.
We left early on Saturday and debated the whole morning and the whole afternoon, after having lunch.
There are different types of debates. The two most common are normal debates and thought talks.
In a debate, there are two main speaker and multiple subsequent speaker.
In a thought talk everybody is allowed to share their thoughts and opinions.
All these debates were on political issues. Examples for prompts are:

• "Resolved, that social security programs no longer be made mandatory through the implementation of an opt-out clause."
• "Resolved, that the United States has an obligation to protect its foreign economic interests using force."
• "Resolved, that gender roles are important to the stability of the society."
• "Is religious faith a prerequisite for being elected to high political office?"
• "Resolved, that youth have a voice in today's government."
• "Resolved, that the National Security Agency's leaked surveillance actions are justified."
• "Resolved, that Congressmen be required to serve in the military before running office."

In the evening Anna and I went to a Sushi place. It was delicious.
The night activities were mostly fun debates.

I went to a debate on: "Resolved, that freshman aren't people." And we came to the resolution, that freshman aren't people.
There was a dance afterwards, but since it was a very long day and American teens dance really strange, Anna and I decided to go to bed.

The next morning started with another three blocks of debates, after a quick breakfast.
I was not brave enough to say anything during the whole weekend. It's so hard, when you didn't live in a country your whole life. You are not familiar with the history, government regulations and laws and on top of that your language isn't as advanced as the language of the other students.
At first, you have to understand the prompt, than the speeches of the other students and ,at last, you have to phrase your own speech, question or argument.
But finally, in the last block Anna and I went to a thought talk about:
"Do the motives of the United Nations coincide with the goals of our government?"
I was so nervous and I kind of messed it up. I didn't say, what I actually wanted to say, but at least I opened my mouth one time and it was a good end for this weekend.

Ice Hockey Game

Anna and I spontaniousely decided to go to the Ice Hockey game last Thursday.
The Warhawks (Arrowhead team) were playing a home game against the team with the best goalie in the state.
Unfortunately, there weren't many Gators (fans) there. Everybody cares about football here, but not a lot of people are interested in going to other sport events at school.

I think, that it was literally a pretty "cool" game. Our boys played really good and since the other team played well, too, it was a fun game. But in the end the Warhawks won (,because Arrowhead always wins).

"Ice Hockey is like violent ballet on ice." (Anna Wolfs)

The Past Two Month (part 1)

Finally, a found a little bit of time to tell you how I am spending my time.

First Day of School

School started on September 3rd and with the school everything else, including homework, started, too.
I don`t know, how I survived the first day of school without getting lost, but I made it.
We went early to school, so I could put my books in my locker. Then we went to the football field for the assembly. The principal talked to us, but nobody really listened, because everybody was excited to meet each other after three month of summer break. Only the freshman were quiet on their very first day of high school.
Afterwards the classes started. I was so nervous in my first class, I only had to introduce myself, but I didn`t know anybody, so I was kind of afraid.
The whole day was kind of boring, because we did the same things in each class: intoducing ourselves and listening to the teachers syllabus (rules and requirements).
At lunch I was sitting with Anna, her friends and the other exchange students. I was very happy to have them, otherwise I don`t know what I would have done.
I was really tired after school, but I had practice, and after practice I was even more tired. I had to do a little bit of homework. When I went to bed I fell asleep immdiately.

School Experiences

School here is very different.
First of all it is not only school. Some teams practice before school. The classes start at 7.30 and after school most of the teams practice. After practice there are meetings for the clubs.
The second thing, I would like to write about is the classes and the teachers. The classes are 40 minutes long, but they still seem longer than in Germany.
When you enter the class room the teacher usually asks you: "How are you?" And the teachers often talk about their private life and even show us pictures of their families, sometimes. They are really friendly and it is normal to be "friends" with a teacher. Besides that, all the teachers want you to get good grades. You can ask them for help and meet them before and after school or during their free hours and they will sit down with you and explain to you everything you didn`t understand.
I appreciate that; usually I go to some of the teachers two or three times a week to ask for help or for more time for assignments.
Every teacher has his or her own class room, so the students have to move after each period, but you always know where you can find them.
It is true that they have a lot of multiple choice here, but we have tests and quizzes every day. Sometimes I have four or five tests or quizzes a day.
The way of teaching is different, too. We work much more on the computer. The teachers have their own websites, where you can find everything you did in class, homework assignments, work shiets, ppts,.., that`s very helpful. I feel like the classes are better organized here, because the teachers only teach two or three classes, so they teach exactly the same a couple times a day, but they don`t seem bored.

Bathroom

To go to  the bathroom during class is an adventure: You have to sign out and write the time down, when you leave. And you have to grab the pass (usually some sort of a unnecessary thing with the name of the teacher. When you come back, you have to sign back in and write the time down again.

After School

After school I usually went to Cross Country practice, it was two hours every day (until 5pm), but since I am injured and I will not be able to run this season any more, I don`t have to go to practice.
So now I have a little bit more time. For homework. I am spending more than three hours on homework every day; I am never done before 9pm.
Every other week I have JSA (Junior States of America). It is basically debating, but I will tell you more about it later.

Schedule

Jeden Tag der gleiche Stundenplan:

Period	Time	Class
1	7.30-8.10	Marketing and Buisness
2	8.14-8.54	Economics
3	8.58-9.38	Study Hall
4	9.42-10.22	American Problems
5	10.26-11.06	Advanced Composition
6	11.10-11.40	Lunch
7	11.44-12.24	Woods Survey
8	12.28-1.08	Adventure Physical Education
9	1.12-1.52	Functions
10	1.56-2.36	Physics
	3.00-5.00	Cross Country Practice

Football

Gestern war das erste Football game in Arrowhead.
Natürlich sind Anna und ich hingegangen:
Wir sind Seniors, sodass wir die besten Plätze hatten und außerdem sind wir Gators. Gators sind Seniors, die sich für die Footballspiele verkleiden. Das gestrige Thema war "Beach".
Das Spiel war eher langweilig, weil es so viele Pausen gibt und weil die andere Mannschaft so schlecht, bzw. unsere so gut war. Wir haben 42 zu 0 gewonnen. Dafür war die Stimmung unglaublich. Die Cheerleader haben gecheerd:), die Dance Club Mädels haben getanzt und die Marchingband hat gespielt. Ein Football game ist mehr, als nur das Spiel an sich.

Heiße Footballspieler:)

Dance Group

Marching Band

Shannon and me as gators

Gators

Außerdem habe ich Tanja (Finnland) und Isabela (Brasilien) getroffen. Ich bin sicher, dass wir ein fantastisches Jahr gemeinsam haben werden.

My first week abroad

Tja, jetzt bin ich schon seit einer Woche hier und ich fühle mich pudelwohl hier. Ich verstehe mich bestens mit allen und Englisch bereitet mir auch keine allzu großen Probleme. Den Jetlag habe ich mitlerweile auch überwunden.

Ich habe echt viel erlebt:
Natürlich musste ich erstmal auspacken und mich ein bisschen einleben, aber viel Zeit hatte ich dafür nicht.
Ich war in Arrowhead, das ist echt eine riesige Schule. Ich glaube, ich werde mich am Anfang die ganze Zeit verlaufen.
Dann habe ich Johanna, eine gute Freundin von Anna kennengelernt. Ich stelle fest, dass Annas Freundeskreis genauso verrückt ist, wie meiner in Deutschland. Es wird also lustig.
Außerdem waren Micah, Anna und ich Schlittschuh laufen, es ist echt komisch im Sommer Schlittschuh zu laufen, aber wir hatten Spaß.
Wir haben eine verregnete Fahrradtour gemacht und ich habe endlich mexikanisches Essen probiert, awesome!!!