Weihnachten.

Christmas.


[to sum it up... it was surprisingly perfect]

But I'm sure you want the long drawn out story, ne?

Differences;

We celebrate it on the 24th at night.

• I had to get all prettied up with my host sisters and wait upstairs with them until about 6.
• We couldn't be by the tree...so we had to wait for a sound of a  b e l l .
• When that was rung, we went downstairs and began the present opening.

It's actually very formal.

Not like tearing everything up and getting it done and over with...

one

by

one

we opened our gifts.

THE BEST SURPRISE EVER?!?!

• package from my parents.

I had been ASKING and ASKING if it had arrived yet...

nope.

nope.

nope.

And then we were finished... all Christmas gifts were gone.
And I was okay with that.

And then I saw it... awhhhhhhh MAN did I see it.... yep, I saw it.

It made my Christmas absolutely PERFEKT.

My favorite gift?

A necklace that had a line from one of my favorite songs engraved in it...

You'll be with me like a hand print on my heart.

hand-made.

one of a kind!

Then of course all the little things I received... it was absolutely amazing. <3

{let me continue now}
Around 10:30 we headed to the church... mass started at 11 and went for about an hour...

then we had some meet and great time.

My host siblings and I went home early because it was kind of boring. 

onto.the.next.day

We traveled a few hours to my host dad's side of the family... and that night we had a get together with his mom... my "Oma".

I really actually no question about it felt at home.

kein heimweh.

overall it was  p e r f e c t .

and now....well... in two days we will go to Southern Germany and go skiing :)

this has been a GREAT break...

and a great family.

Questions.

In my last blog post, I asked you to ask me some questions that you wanted answered.
I received a few, so here you go;

Q: Was the time difference hard to get used to?
A: The first few days were filled with naps and sleeping in until noon.
--I arrived in Frankfurt at 6 am, which is midnight in Michigan... so everyone was starting their day when I felt like I should be ending mine. It was a really strange feeling of exhaustion.

Q: What is school like?
A: I could go on and on about how different it is.
So I will start with how my school week was like last year.
Everyday was the same... so it was  like; "American History, Choir, Theatre, Marching Band, Englisch, Chemistry" then of course, it switched at the semester and all of that. But that's normal.
HERE...
Monday; Physik, History[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Latin, Math[2 hrs]
Tuesday; Chemistry[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Biology[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Politik.
Wednesday; [2 hours free], Latin[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Deutsch[2 hrs], 20 minute break, 1 hour free, Math.
Thursday; Math, Politik, 20 minute break, Musik[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Physik, Englisch.
Friday; Englisch[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Religion[2 hrs], 20 minute break, Deutsch[2 hrs], 1 hour break, Sport[2 hrs]

So, in a[nutshell]... everyday is different, and every two hours there's normally a 20 minute break.
It's just...way different.
We don't choose our classes, and there's not choir or theatre or something....those are after school club things.
AND here I stay with the same class... I'm always with the same people switching rooms together.

Q: A typical daily routine for you?
A: It's changed since I've switched host families... but with my first host family I would wake up at 6:45 and have breakfast with everyone and get ready around 7:10 then I left the house with my bike at 7:30 to get to school before 7:45... then school goes until, well... depends on the day, then I come home and have a hot lunch with the family... then usually go downtown with some friends or something.
With this host family, I wake up at 6:20, have breakfast alone or with everyone... it's not as organized, then get ready so I can leave at 7 to catch the tram with my brother at 7:11. Then I get off downtown and get on another tram to get to school.
I mean.... that's not really my daily routine, but that's pretty much my school schedule thing.

Q: Americans behind in foreign language?
A: I'm thinking yes.... but the thing is, everyone is learning Englisch so it almost seems like we don't need to learn another language... but it'd be very helpful for Americans to learn another language almost fluently. It really helps with traveling. I'm very grateful that people knew Englisch here so I could learn the language quicker.

Q: Music?
A: Not quite sure what that question means.... but I'll just say the one kind of music that is HUGE in Germany that I never listened to in the States.
DUBSTEP!!!

Q: What is your  g e n e r a l   i m p r e s s i o n  of German people?
A: Way nicer than I expected.
I think a lot of people thing all Germans are mean or something.... but kids are kids wherever you are.
Obviously there are still some meanies around, but that's normal.
But I'd say Germans are more blunt about things... that was tough at first.

Q: Was it hard to be thrown into a new language?-Did you pick it up quickly?
A: Everything sounded like jibberish when I first got here... all I knew was how to say hello, how are you, where is the bathroom, and those kind of things. But it was definitely being thrown into cold water. I don't know if I've picked it up quickly... I'm always thinking I am not getting better, but then I realize I understand most things.
I speak as much German as possible, and I'm determined to learn as much as I can.... so I hope with that mindset it will just keep getting better and better.

Q: How's the food?
A: I'm fat now.
--There's definitely a lot of  b r e a d  here... at first I didn't like it, but then I learned to love it. And the cheese-- cheese is so good.
I've gotten accustomed to the drinks/food.... like tea? I never drank tea before, but now I love it.
And carbonated water..........it has no flavor, but it has bubbles.
^Disgusting at first.
Now it's my favorite!

Q: What do you like best about Germany, and what do you miss most about the United States?
A: What I like about Germany-
Transportation. Transportation is so easy here... I just get on a bus or tram and I can get to where I need to go. Or I just ride my bike around...because things are so close here. [but now that it's Winter, I don't ride my bike anymore obviously]
What I miss about the United States-

• Doorknobs
• Light switches
• Toilet handles

^But I really do miss my f a m i l y and my puppies...and my friends of course.
BUT! I'm not so homesick.. just hope that carries on until Christmas.... I'm not trying to be homesick.

Q: What are your greatest memories staying with the Grimm family?
A: First of all, for you that don't know, the Grimms were my host family, and now I am with the Wiemanns as I said. [Rotary has you switch every 3-4 months]
Anyways,

• With my host mom, it'd be her coming up and laying down with me...giving me a little pink stuffed bear that I sleep with every night now. It was her daughters' bear where they were babies, and now it's mine. <3
• With my host dad, nothing specific. He was always so great.... we would just sit and talk with each other about everything. He would always joke and make me laughed. - Definitely made me feel at home.
• With my host brother, the last Thursday night I was there. [He was getting a new exchange student on Friday...and I was leaving on Sunday]. So it was like our last brother-sister night. We just watched stupid videos and talked. He was always taking my laptop the last month I was there...so funny. d:

I miss them.

Q: What is your favorite German food?
A: Back to food again, I see...
That's hard to say.... they have the same kind of things here.
But I'd say I really like Schnitzel.
I don't even know what it is in Englisch.

Q: How is your {relationship} with God because of the changes in Germany?
A: I've been praying a lot more... especially after the first month when I was  t e r r i b l y  homesick. Things haven't changed much with our relationship...but I think I've realized now that He is always there for me. And that helps me so much.

Q: Are you in Germany?
A: Yes.

I don't want to go on and on with boring information, so I will end my blog here...

I'm open to any questions, so if you have any, shoot 'em at me!

:)

• 
  
• 
  

it's been a while

oh mann oh mann.....

here we go.

what to blog about?

I will get the facts out of the way.
-- I went to Berlin with my DISTRIKT 1860 [whom I still love to death, by the way]

By the way..........I messed up a travel ONCE AGAIN. We ended up taking a wrong train, had to go back to our original station, wait for two hours, THEN get on the right train.
Gut gemacht!!!

Back to Berlin! 
+It was even more interesting the second time around... I thought it'd be boring and stuff, but I saw things I missed the first time around, and I was with a great group of friends so it was fun!

^^really, it's the memories that make it all the better... the inside jokes, learning different languages [NOT JUST GERMAN!], and so much more.

ilovethem.

Next big event.

#went to Ulm again to see Steffen.
^end of story.

Onto bigger and better things! -- I went and met my third host family! :) [I LOVE THEM!]
My host dad, host brother, und myself went to a soccer game with my nextnext host dad and nextnext host brother.

AMAZING.

It was a great bonding experience along with seeing something totally awesome and wicked and stuff.

oh hey guess what?

I MOVE IN 4 DAYS.

#too bad all my stuff is scattered everywhere.

packing is going to be a nightmare.

^ i've already packed one suitcase kind of... but that's not even close to half of my things.

I think I'll get everything done on Friday...maybe.

but.hey!i'm.excited.

f r e s h , s t a r t .

It's definitely been easy hard.

I'm blessed beyond belief to have the family that I have... 

They help me through every hard time, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

I skyped with all of my family on Thanksgiving..... and it was amazing! No tears or anything :) Just happiness to see everyone and know that all is fine at home <3

-Now we just have to wait for Christmas... praying for no homesickness. 

fun|fact|time. 

Christmas is celebrated on the 24th in the evening.

[woah Kennadi, that's different]

Yes, yes it is.

#i think it will be a good experience.

change is cool.

i personally like it.

change, i mean.

• look what i can do
• bullet points
• it's cool, ne?

1. or hey
2. NUMBERS
3. alrighty.

ask me questions. 

i just thought of an idea for my next blog!

i am always just rambling on about nonsense.... so why not take time to listen to some questions and answer them in my next blog?

i don't know what people want to hear... so comment and let me know!
in mein next blog i will answer e v e r y single question!!!!

Wait a minute... EVERY QUESTION?!

Yes.

tschau! :)

Stuff&Things.

My parents keep telling me to blog.
Well... h e r e  y o u  g o .

Herbstferien <3
--Today is my last day of holiday... I had 2 week break. JUST BECAUSE!
Just. Because.

I lived with my next host family for a week because my host parents went to Greece. < jealous. But it was really cool seeing how my months will be like from December to March. Then for the past week I have just been hanging out with friends and having a grand ole time!
Und jetzt......well..morgen=schule /:

BUT!!!!!!

I leave for Berlin on Wednesday bis Sonday.
^^Okay, I was just going to fix what I just did there, but are you seeing this? bis? "until" and Soooonday? "Sontag". My Englisch is getting all funky.

ANYWAYS!!!!!!

I went to Berlin already with another exchange student and his host dad... it was beautiful! So many historical things. And it's so much more REAL actually being there and SEEING the wall.

In this picture, I am straddling where the wall actually was. I was in (past) East and West Germany.

I saw so many cool things in the two days I went, but I am definitely excited to go again with my Distrikt 1860 :) [all of the inbounds that live around my area]

I love these people so much! They help me through EVERYTHING and I know they will be my family forever. I can't imagine leaving this group in a few months.

A few months.

I've been here for almost three months already. I leave in about eight. I feel like my exchange ist going by WAYYYY to fast.

Okay, onto bigger and better things; Meine Familie in Amerika <3

I'm to the point where I'm not homesick, but I do  miss them. But it's more of a "hey, I'm going to see you in a few months and I'm REALLY excited to here about what I've missed" kind of missing thing.

My mom's birthday was a few days ago, and it was really weird not being there. It's really weird not being home for a lot of things...... but I'll have a lot to do when I get back, so I'm not worried. :)

ich habe keine heimweh.

My parents always tell me to live in the moment and enjoy what I have here, and I am going to do the best I can to do just that. I know I can do it.

I'm starting to realize that I really am only here for one year... I need to sink into the culture and really make this my home for the time being.

Deutschland ist mein Heim.

Schwer.

Hard.

Let me tell you, you  might think you are the strongest person in the world... then you are put into a situation that you can't even fathom. For the longest time I was prepared for this. "Yes, I am going to be an exchange student." ..."Yep, for a year." "No, I'll be fine.. I'll see everyone again." ..."Uh huh. Yup."
I've had so many conversations about being an exchange student that I thought I'd be fine.
And not be homesick.

Well, Deutschland has shown me that I'm not so strong...

But I think that's okay.

I feel so weak and alone in the moment, but I know in the future that will actually make me s t r o n g e r. It sounds impossible to me right now, but I have a feeling... I have hope that that is how everything will turn out.



Better.

"May be surrounded by a million people... I still feel all alone. I just wanna go home." [Home by Michael Buble]

Really, I have so much comfort here. My host dad is always there for me, always asking what he can do to make me happy... and when I was sick, my host mom brought me medicine and made me tee and everything.
It's just... different.
And I should be GLAD that I have such a loving family here... but...
It's not my family.

For the first time, I typed the words "I want to go home" yesterday.
Then I realized... how stupid.

Quit your cryin and keep your chin up, chickeedoo.


Make your grandma proud, and be the Princess she knows you are.
Make your parents proud, and be strong like they raised you to be.
Make your little cousins proud, and be their role model by living life to the fullest.
Make your big brother proud by showing him you're as brave as him.
Make your friends proud by making new memories to share with them.
Make yourself proud by sticking with it, Kenni.

^^ My inbounds call me Kenni, and I love it more than anything.
I love my inbounds... at my Sprachkurs, we all became so close.
Like family.

They ARE my family here.

I will meet them in Loreley next weekend... then the Berlin tour in October. Then (maybe) a ski trip in December (it's a little expensive). Then a 3 week European tour around Easter.

Sometimes, they are the what keeps me going. They are going through the same thing as me. And if they can stay strong, then I can too.

I'm going to make this the best year of my life. No matter how hard it is.

I can do this.

You want me to Blog?

I don't even know where to start.

So much has happened... kind of. And I don't know how to capture all of my feelings through this blog.

How can I make you understand what it has been like?

Amazing.

Sad.

Exciting.

Frustrating.

The best.

The worst.

Perfect.

It's impossible to get the message across.

H o m e s i c k n e s s has been a pain.

I've forgotten what a lot of things are like.

A hug.

A kiss.

Holding my cousin.

Hearing my dad's laugh.

Dancing with my mom.

Annoying Eric.

Painting nails with Shelb.

Goodwill trips with Alyssa.

Old Colorguard friends just getting together.

And all these things are so stupid.

...

And I miss these stupid little things more than anything.

But I absolutely love my life here.

For the past week, I have been at a speaking course. It's more work to me than actual school.

We stay at a hotel with the rest of the exchange students (which I love), and walk over to the University every morning at 10 AM. We're there until 4...and we just LEARN GERMAN.

Und...mein Deutsch ist besser! ... Ich denke.

Everybody understands everyone. I can TALK with them about stuff.

Or not even talk...... they just know.

It's really hard to explain.

But everyone knows how everything is.

No word has to be spoken.

Comfort is just always there.

Now, Kennadi... what have you been doing in Germany?

Well... I went to see Steffen. It was perfect.

I won't go on and on about that and get all mushy gushy.

But I am going to go visit him in November again.

It's crazy that after 3 years this bond has been formed.

Super crazy.

Soooo crazy.

Okay ähmmm..... that's just me babbling because I don't know what to say.

What do you want to hear?

Oh, you want to hear about my way back home from Ulm? Okay.

The way there, no problem. Supa pumped to see Steffen.

Way back, supa tired. Fell asleep.

Oh, my train is in Darmstadt... got there at 7:25. I wake up. It's 7:35. Oh, hey Kennadi. I think you slept through your stop.

But wait, the train is still not moving. How bout you try to ramble to someone in German to find out where in the world you are?

Yep, Darmstadt. OPE!!!!! < The train starts moving. Lemme just jump on the freaking train while it's moving and almost break your leg because you're an idiot and don't know how to stay calm in such a drastic situation.

Kidding.

It was scary though. 

I am now scared of the combination of sleeping and train riding.

I literally don't know what to say.

I just told you about a train ride.

Why did I do that?

I seem really bipolar and ADHD in this post, eh?

I swear I'll post better stuff a different day.

Mein nächste BLOG.... nur Deutsch ;)

Aber...... wirklich nicht.

Tschüß!

Listen to me Babble.

Nothing new has really happened.

Just living the German life. The way Germans do... Germanly.

Too lazy to make a creative and colorful blog.

If you have the patience to watch me and listen to me ramble on and on, then this blog is for you.
:)

Here I Am.

I really don't want to sit around and write a really long blog........
But you guys have no clue what's going on.
So here I go................................
It's perfect here.

Now I am settled with my host family... and I love it.

So much.

School?

Yep.

First day; one hour. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Second day; until 1ish? Cried.

^^ I'm fine now, but......that was a tough time.

My first "break down".
Warum, Kennadi? WARUM?!

I don't know.....

I felt like a loser.

But truth? I have a lot of friends already.........everyday this week I have hung out with someone. So okay, Kennadi. Give yourself a pat on the back, eh?

And now it's the weekend.

THANK GOD.

School.

Is.

Exhausting.

I don't understand a single word.

Lies.

18.9%

Bottom line, I'm doing fine and I don't know if I'll really want to leave here......... and it's only been a week-ish.

Tomorrow, I will be at a big party with my family and such.... I'll meet my aunts and uncles and all that jazz......... so that's cool, eh?

I DON'T FEEL CREATIVE RIGHT NOW SO I'M GOING TO STOP THIS BLOG AND MAYBE UPDATE IT IN A YEAR OR SO JOKES JOKES JOKES BUT I DON'T WANT TO SIT ON MY LAPTOP AND TYPE TYPE TYPE WHEN I CAN GO TO THE CITY OR HANG OUT WITH MY FRIENDS YES FRIENDS I HAVE FRIENDS SO I'M GOING TO STOP BLOGGING...

Thank you for your time. <3

I lied.

I thought I wouldn't be posting another blog until I was actually IN Germany.

Too excited.

I leave in two days.

Ich abreise in zwei tage.



Saying goodbye has been tougher than I thought it would be.

It's really varied from person to person.

Because I feel like I'll see everyone next week.....

I won't.

Leaving my closest friends has been pretty easy.... I know I'll come back and they'll be here.

Hopefully.

Same thing with my family.

 But the young ones.... it's hard to explain what is happening.

SIDE STORY.

After church today, I was saying goodbye to my cousin, Drew (9) and he gets it... gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye.

Along with my Aunt and Uncle.

Now... Faith, my 5 year old cousin, my closest cousin... she doesn't get it.

Kids are stubborn.

Especially this kid.

No hug, no kiss... this happens quite often with her, but I know there will be another time when she is in a better mood so I can get a million hugs and kisses from her after we do a make over or paint each others nails or something.

At my going away party, she kind of understood.

She said "When you get back, I'll be 6!" Yes, Faith... that's right. And I was glad she got it.

Then later she asked "Where are you going?"

Broke my heart.

God, I love her....

Back to earlier today.

Okay, so my aunt and I were trying to explain that I would be gone for a long long time, and I told her that the next time I see her will be around VBS time. (Vacation Bible School.... I lead all the kids in sing and praise every year. She absolutely loves it.)

Her eyes were welled with tears...not trying to cry,  her eyes were wide open... and she just asked "Why"

Long story short, I am going to miss her and I hope she understands that I love her to death.

Sorry for getting all serious on you.

I'm really actually excited.

This adventure will be life changing.

And I know I'll see everyone again.

I wonder what it will be like leaving Germany.

It's hard to believe that THAT will be my 2nd home....my 2nd family....I can't even fathom how it's going to be. But I can't wait to find out.

Oh.

I skyped with some of the people that will be in my class in Germany. They are really nice :) Max and Simon... nice nice boys. They asked if I want to sit by them in school.

So weird.

Yano, like... weird..... having friends over there already.

Anyways.

So when I get there, it'll be 6 AM... that's midnight here.

I'm going to be all FUNKYJUNKY when I land... people are getting up. I'M TRYNNA SLEEP!!

PS, see what I did with 'funky junky'? Yeah, I did that. Schwarz, rot, und gelb.

Wait, what was that Kennadi?

Oh, that's black, red, and yellow in German, dontcha know?

Rambling once again.

I tend to do that.

I'm so ready for this.

The Countdown

27 more days

27 more days...

I just went shopping for the last time in America for a LONG time.

ohmygod.

NOW WHAT?!

• wait
• pack in a few weeks
• PANIC
• learn GERMAN
• get pumped

                   Totally ready to leave.

Kennadi, are you nervous? NOPE.

not anymore....

Truth: I've had random outbursts of nervousness..ness? One official breakdown.

But as of right now, I'm so ready!

I remember counting down the days to when I'd actually find out where I'd be living for a year.

86

85

84

83

82

...

AND NOW I'M AT 27 DAYS TIL I LEAVE.

Wanna know what's weird?

When I arrive in Frankfurt... my host family won't be the ones picking me up... wanna know why?

They are in Austria.......................................................................................

SO!

I will live with their friends for a few days. Which is cool I guess. I like em!

I love my host family. ICH LIEBE MEIN GAST FAMILIE.

For my exchange, I'll live with three different families.

Could be a good thing.

Could be a bad thing.

                                                           But I want to stay with THIS host family.

Now, I know what everyone is thinking....will you, Kennadi Hester, get fat?!?

Oh, you weren't thinking that?

...Weird.

Answer; I hope not!

My host family likes hiking and yoga and all that j a z z .

CALVIN IS THIS WEEKEND.

As you know, I'll meet MANY foreign exchange students there... I'm very very very excited.

Everything is becoming so real. It's coming so fast. And I'm most definitely ready for this adventure.

I really like this font I've decided... it kind of looks like I'm typing on a typer writer or something... and that's always a good thing. Right? OF COURSE RIGHT. LALALA, look at me...typing... uhhhh

C'mon Kennadi, let's be serious.

I keep telling myself I won't be h o m e s i c k . But I can't help but wonder.

And this is the end of my blog.

Yano what I really want?

I want to be like a faithful husband soldier person, writing my poor alone wife at home on old paper that gets all wrinkley and caught in the rain, and gets lost, and gets hidden from her mother because she doesn't like me and...........

Bottom line, I want to write someone. No one does that anymore!

Truth: I'll probably end up just updating everyone on, what? FACEBOOK.

I'm rambling.

But if you read this... THANKS!

The next time I blog... I feel like I'll be in Germany.

                    AUF WIEDERSEHEN!

Preparation

It's been a little nuts getting ready for GermGerm.

Most days I'm super excited for my adventure..

Other days..... I'm super nervous, but I keep my big girl smile on.

Okay, so I have all I need... I have all the clothes, I have all the electronics, I have everything. Now all I really need is...

PATIENCE.

I'm waiting for some guarantee forms? I don't actually know..... so all I do is wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Recently, I've been putting together a slideshow of my city and country; Darmstadt, Deutschland.

Sometimes I think I don't know anything about the country I'm going to and it scares me.... really, I feel like I don't know ANYTHING about MY OWN country. < that's scary.

My next 'conference' I'm going to is July 8th through 10th. I'll be with SOOOO many exchange students.

Inbounds, outbounds, and rebounds.

Kennadi, what are inbounds, outbounds, and rebounds? Good question, follower.

Inbound [noun]:1) a person who is currently an exchange student. e.g.: At Calvin college (that's where my next conference is), there will still be people in America from Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Croatia, France, Switzerland, etc.

Outbound [noun]:1) a person who is preparing to BE an exchange student. e.g.: Me. I am an outbound right now in America, and once I'm in Germany I will be considered an 'inbound' in that country.

Rebound [noun]:1) a person who has come back from their host country to their home country. e.g.: In two years, I will be in this situation. I have had my preperation time, my actual exchange, and my settling back stage.

bada bing bada  boom

I just realized it was pointless for me to put a "1)"....but it kinda made it look....professional?

That's not the word, but I'm not gonna stress about it.

I'd say this was a pretty successful first blog.

Maybe not.

I kinda liked it.

(Insert something here)

AHHHH

^^^my attempt of looking cool

And this now concludes my blog.