NYC, Philly, Washington DC, Prom, Track, Color Guard,.....

Hey guys,

I'm soo sorry that I haven't updated my blog for so long, but I'm so busy right now with everything 😅

First things first...my computer is soo slow and doesn't really work that well right now so I don't have any pictures to put in here :(

NYC, Philly, and Washington DC trip. It was a belo trip so we were all YFU exchange students. It was so cool to be with people from all over the world, share our experiences, learn about each other cultures and so much more!! :) We stayed in New Jersey from Saturday to Wednesday. We drove a bus to New York City every day. We went to the public library, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway show: The phantom of the opera, Times Square, ate a Hard Rock Cafe, Chinatown, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, 9/11 memorial, United Nations,metropolitan art museum, and many more things!! It was so interesting to see all of it!! Wednesday after breakfast we left for Philadelphia. We went to a market where they had food from all over the world. They had one German store, but it was way too expensive. :( Unfortunately, it started raining in the afternoon when we did our city tour :( we visited the famous rocky stairs, liberty bell, a church, and different monuments. For dinner we had a 'Philly cheesesteak'! Was really good! At night we drove to Washington DC. We went to the White House, monuments/memorials (Jefferson, Lincoln, MLK, Washington,...), the first White House, went shopping,...!

On Saturday we went back home! It was an awesome trip. It was really interesting to learn more about the history, and see all the things you always see on TV! :D We had a really good time and so much fun!! We all made new friendships with people from all over the world! :) 

In New York I met Paula from my VBT who happened to be in NYC with her host family at the same time!! It was really nice to see her again, even though we only had about 30 minutes with each other! ❤️

Prom!! For everyone who doesn't know what prom is: it's a dance at high schools for juniors and seniors. Most people have a date and you wear pretty dresses. My date was the foreign exchange student from India, Rahil! :) I got my dress from my sister's friend! I got my nails done a couple days before. In the morning I got my hair done. I had a side up do (oh man it would be so much easier to have pictures on here!!!!!!). It looked really pretty! :) Grandma and grandpa came up and we took some pictures. Then I went to Rahils house where we also took pictures. Here its tradition to go to the city park to take pics with your friends. Next, we went to a friends house for lunch and then back to my house for more pictures. Pictures, pictures, pictures... :) *-*  Then we went to the school for Grand March. They decorated the gym and couples walk through it, they announce your names, and you stop at gates so parents and friends can take pictures. Then we went to a ballroom where we had dinner. It was delicious. Then we danced until about 11:30, they had a fotobooth, and free bowling. It was really fun! :) then we went back to the school, changed into comfy clothes, has snacks, and they had a hypnotist! That was so funny!! :D It was one of the best days here!! :) 

Track!! I started with hurdles but after falling a few times I decided to do sprinting! I usually ran 100 or 200 meters. I really liked it and the people on my team were really nice!! It was a good season, the weather was mostly good. :) JV is already done. It feels like the season just started....we had our last meet last Tuesday. 

Color Guard!! We are part of the marching band. It's basically dancing with flags. We have practice twice a week for 3 hours and some weekend rehearsals. I really like it and my team is really nice! :) we have our first performance tomorrow for Memorial Day.

Last times...we only have two weeks of school left. It's so scary how fast the time runs! Soon it'll be the last day of school, we already had the last day of track practice, the last track meet,...last times start over again. I'm not ready for that yet! :( tomorrow it'll be 2 month until I will go back to Germany. I don't know what I'm feeling... On the one side I'm excited to see everyone again but on the other side I don't want to leave my family and friends, my life...I got so close to them. It's like leaving your home to go home.....:(:( 

But I still have two months and so many exciting things to look forward to!! So keep smiling :D

I think that is it for now even though I probably forgot half of the things that happened...

I miss you all!! 

Loves, An-Ka ❤️

Spring Break in Arizona and Las Vegas! ♥

Hey everyone! :)

I had an awesome spring break! :)
We - Mom and dad, my friend Grace, and I - flew from Minneapolis to Phoenix, AZ and then drove through Arizona to Las Vegas from where we flew back to Minneapolis! :) We had a lot of fun!!! :D

Friday, 3/6
We left our house at about 8:30 am and went to the airport. Our flight left at 11 am, but then we had to switch airplanes in St. Louis, MO. So we arrived in Phoenix at around 4pm. It was really nice weather so of course we changed into shorts and flip flops! :P We met with mom's cousin Julie at a Mexican restaurant - OMG!! that was sooo yummy!! :) After we had ate she showed us downtown Phoenix, which was really nice! Then we went to her house and stayed there over night.

Ready to take off!

I and Grace

Downtown Phoenix

Saturday, 3/7
In the morning, mom's cousin showed us an Indian reservation in Phoenix. It was interesting to see. We also stopped at a Mexican store!

Mom & I in "Mexico" :D

After that, we went to a Hawaiian festival which was also fun! :D

Mom, I, Grace, Julie, and dad! :)

In the afternoon, we went to a western town. They had little stores, a shotgun show, horses,... It was really nice!

In jail in Arizona, haha :D 

After that, we drove to Tortilla Flats and stopped on the way to take pictures with huge cactuses. Arizona is full of cactuses...everywhere and so many different kinds and sizes...there are almost more cactuses in Arizona than people in Germany, haha :D

It's BIG!!

They are prickly!!!

Cactuses everywhere!!! :D

At dinner time, we met with mom's other cousin (Julie's sister), her husband and daugther, and Julie's husband Fred for dinner at a pizza restaurant! Really good pizza! :)

Sunday, 3/8
After breakfast (We got donuts *-*), mom, dad, Grace, and I left and went to an "Out of Africa" park! It was about an hour northern of Phoenix. We did a safari tour and we could feed a giraffe with celery! :D We saw a tiger show and a snake show. I got picked for the snake show to come into the arena and pet the snake to overcome my fear lol!! :D It was pretty cool!!! :) Afterwards it was feeding time for the other animals. It was pretty disgusting because they fed them horses!! :( It was a really nice day at the park! :)

She kissed the giraffe! :D

They have big teeth!

They are soo close!! It's not zoomed in! :D 

 

 For dinner we met with mom's and dad's friends who live another hour up north! They are really nice!! :)

Monday, 3/9
We left our hotel after breakfast and went to Sedona! There are red rocks and some of them have special names based on what they look like. For example a coffepot or Snoopy,... We went on a hike and climed up a little mountain! After we had got back we went shopping and then went to our hotel! Mom and I watched the Bachelor finale and then went to bed:D

In Sedona! :)

On the mountain!

 It was actually pretty deep, but it is hard to see on the pictures!

Getting some energy! :D

JUMP! :D

Selfie-time :D

With Grace!

Red Rocks

 Tuesday 3/10
We went to the Grand Canyon! :D It was amazing!!! *-* It's such a beautiful view from every angle!!! :D We went on a hike, but the path was super icy, so mom and Grace turned around at dome point and dad and I went on a little bit further! :) When we came back, we went to the west side of the canyon. It was soo cooool!!! :D Right when we left we saw a bunch of deer and elk right next to the parking lot - cute!! We had a two-hour drive to our hotel. When we got there we got a milkshake at a drive-in and then played a game to get used to staying up late for Vegas. :D

It's amazing! :)

So steep!!!

With mom and dad! ♥

With mom! ♥

Beautiful day! :)

Amazing view!!!!! *-*

The river! :)

Wednesday, 3/11
We left again after breakfast and went to Hoover Dam, which is on the way to Vegas. It was cool to walk over the bridge and look down so far!!

Another new State!! *-*

The view down!

The new bridge we walked on! :D

 Then we went to LAS VEGAS!!! *-* That was really amazing! All the hotels have different themes, from New York, Caesar Palace, Paris, to Treasure Island. And many, many more!! We stayed at Treasure Island, which has a pirate theme. At 7pm we watched the Cirque du soleil show!! That was really, really good!!! :) Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take picture of the show. :( Then we walked around along the strip with all the hotels at night! It was sooo cool!!! :D All the lights are just awesome! :D Every hotel is unique and interesting in a differnet way! Some hotels had watershows that were pretty cool to watch! :)

The strip with all the lights at night! *-*

Statue of liberty made out of Jelly Beans! :D

INside of Caesar's Palace- Sky changes at night!

Our hotel! :) Sooo many rooms!!

Eiffel tour

Thursday, 3/12
We went out in the morning and walked through other hotels! We ate lunch earlier and then went to the hotel to go to the pool! :) Later in the afternoon, we went to a big buffet in our hotel!! The food was really good and they had soo much amazing dessert! :D ♥ Then we packed and went outside for a little bit again and then left for the airport! :(  BYE Las Vegas!

Met Minnie&Mickey

A hotel in form of a pyramid!!

Las Vegas at night from the plane! *-*

Friday, 3/13
We came home at 6am and went to bed to get some sleep haha:D In the afternoon, mom took me to the barn and I rode Elvis! :D

Saturday, 3/14
Happy anniversary to mom and dad!! ♥
Happy birthday to Omi! ♥

We left in the morning and went down to visit my grandparents and great-grandma! :)

Sunday, 3/15
We came back home and had some lunch. Mom and I went to get my Track apparel! :)


School starts again tomorrow...that means 3rd trimester....that means last trimester... :( I can't believe it!!! :( I don't want to leave my life here!! :(((((
Track practice and Color Guard start tomorrow as well!! :D I'm excited for that!! :D

I had an awsome week and a ton of fun!! It was one of the best trips of my life!!! :D Thank you soo much for doing the trip with me!! ♥♥♥♥

See you,
An-Ka! :)

Rodeo, Dinner Theater, Half-time, Elvis,....

Hello everyone! :)

At the end of January, we had our mid-term orientation from YFU. Wait...WHAT??? It can't be already half-time...:( The time went soooo fast and it will even go faster the upcoming months...I can't imagine leaving everything here - my family, home, friends, school, everything - and don't want to. It is amazing who much experience you can get in just 6 months!! I learned soo many things, got a new family, new friends, a new home. It is awesome!! ♥  These were the best 6 months in my life! :) Thank you to everyone who helped becoming my dream true! ♥♥
But back to the orientation...it was kind of boring, because it basically covered all the topics we talked about at our orientation in Germany. But not all countries have such a good orientation, so we have to over all of that again. 

I went to the "World Thoughest Rodeo" with my parents and my friend Briel! :) It was sooo much fun! :D After the rodeo there was also a concert! :)

Briel, I, and mom! :)

Two weeks later, grandma and grandpa (mom's parents) came. :) Mom, grandma and I went to the Dinner Theater and watched "Hello Dolly"! That was a nice evening and I enjoyed the musical! :)

I also started riding a horse named Elvis! :) He is one of the sweetest horses I've ever seen! ♥ There is nobody who really rides him, so I can go out whenever I want to! :)

Yesterday, Hannah came to our house and will spend the weekend with us! :) She is also a YFU exchange student from Germany, we met at our orientation in GER! :) I also has other friends over, and we played games, talked, had pizza...and had FUN! :D I love you girls! ♥

It was fun! :)

 We also went Ice fishing in my Winter Biology class! :) It was fun, but suuuuper cold!! :D

We only have 4 days of that tri left, what means that 2/3 of my school time are already over ;(;(;(
But I am looking forward to my new classes and everything that will happen the next months :D
My new classes:
1. Speech
2. Health
3. MN Heritage and Culture
4. Recreation Activities
5. Trigonometry

Next Friday, we (Mom, dad, and my friend Grace) will leave for our spring break trip! :D We are going to Phoenix, AZ, Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas, NV! :D *-* I am soooo excited!!!!!! ♥♥

After spring break, Track and Field will start and I am also planning on doing Color Guard for Marching Band!! :D

Also, I am going on the East Coast trip from YFU and we are going to NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington DC! :D I am excited for that, as well. :D

I hope you all are doing great, as well! :) ♥

Love you all!!
An-Ka! :*

New Year's Eve and Sledding Party! :)

Hi everyone! :)
Here is the next post, as I promised! :)

My New Year's Eve was really good!! :D I went to a party at a friend's house. We had a lot of fun. We had snacks (Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sugar Cookies with Frosting - really good *-*, chex mix and a lot of other stuff) and later pizza :D We played some games, had music and watched New Year's Eve shows on TV! After the countdown we just hung out a little bit and then we went home. One of my friends stayed overnight at my house! :)

With Jonna ♥

Fun! :D

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and start in the new year, too! :)
I´m just putting the text from Facebook on here instead of writing something new :)
So here it is:
" This wonderful year is almost over...! Doing an exchange year was the best decision I could make. It´s such a great experience and I´m so thankful for all the people who helped me becoming this dream true! This was the best year of my life! heart emoticon Thank you to my new family for letting me become part of your great family. I´m so happy to have you and really appreciate and enjoy staying with you!! heart emoticon THANK YOU! smile emoticon I´m looking forward to spending the next year with you!
Have a happy new year!!"

My new year didn´t start that good though, because I got sick again. Same thing with my stomach again so we saw another nurse and she gave me some medicine and now I´m better! :) And I can enjoy the American food again! :D By the way, the food here is soooooo good and I like way more things than I used to in Germany! :D *-* But I don't know how I will survive without all this good food when I get back...??? :(  I don't want to go anyway!! I don't want to leave all the amazing people here and especially don't want to imagine living without my lovely family here.... :(:(:(:( ;(;(;( But I'm not thinking of going back right now!!! We have so many things we want to do before I have to go back and I´m pretty excited for all that!! :) :D

On Saturday I went to the dance competition at the high school with mom! :) I spent the morning with baking! :) I had a sledding party at our house in the night! I had a bunch of friends over and we had a lot of fun! :D We had pizza and some snacks and played some games and of course went sledding in the dark! It was really fun :D

Erika, Broolyn, Briel, Aleah, I, and Sophie! ♥

Selfie <3

 I also went to some hockey games, baskekball games, and wrestling meets with some friends!! :)
And I started Power Yoga again! It's really fun! :D Can't wait till Track starts :D Only a few more weeks :) But before that I'm going to Phoenix, Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas with mom, dad, and Grace :) *-* Soooo excited for the trip!! :D ♥

Yeah that was pretty much all that happened! :D
School is going pretty well! :)

I´m doing great and really love my family!!! ♥♥♥

Hope u r doing good on the other side of the world!! :*
Loves,
An-Ka :)

My American Christmas! *-*

Hey guys!

I´m so sorry it´s been so long since I´ve updated my blog! :( There was a lot going on between Thanksgiving and now so I decided that I write more little posts instead of one looooong one! ;) I start with the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

The second trimester started the Tuesday after Thanksgiving! I already told you all my classes. I really like the classes - they are all interesting and pretty much easy! And less homework!! *-* Sadly, I missed the second week of the tri because I was sick :( I also had my first experience with an American doctor! :( I had a stomach ache, felt dizzy, ... so we went to the doctor after a week. He said it was virus. It eventually got better over Christmas! :) We hoped it was the last time we have to see the doctor while I´m here!!!!

Our Christmas Break started the Monday before Christmas. Kyle came home Tuesday night! It was really nice to meet him. :) Then was Christmas! *-*
We baked a lot the weekend before Christmas. We made Oreo-balls (OMG!! They are the best*-*), pretzel sticks, pretzel rings with Hershey kisses and M&Ms, Snowman-sugar-cookies,... :)

Wednesday:
We had eggbake for breakfast! :) Mom and I basically spent all day to make appetizers for the evening. We made a lot of different things: Ham and cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs, Feta/Tomato bread, different dips, roll-ups, ... Then we went to church at 4:30 And it was a candellight service - it was beautiful! We all got a candle and lit it, then they turned the light off and we sang Silent Night! :) After church we ate dinner and then opened gifts! :) I got a necklace in heart-shape with Black Hills Gold, a bracelet, a Minnesota sweatshirt, boots, mittens, American measuring cups, United States ornament, warm socks, body lotion, and magnets from mom&dad, a blouse from Kelly and headbands from Kyle!! Thank you all sooooo much!!!!! <3<3<3 ♥♥♥  From my German family I got a necklace, a bracelet, a hat, candy, and money! Daaaaaankeschön für die schönen Sachen!! ♥♥ Then we played games and went to bed! :)

Our church :)

Christmas tree with gifts! :)

Appetizers *-*

Candy!!!

I love her!! She was probably the most excited one about the gifts!! :D

My gifts wrapped! *-*

My gifts opened! ♥

Thursday:
We left at bout 9 AM and headed down to Windom to grandma and grandpa! We went to dad´s parent´s first and head lunch with his sister, her husband, and her daughter, and dad´s uncle and his wife. We had turkey and ham, potatoes, homemade stuffing,...., and Snickers salad *-* We played games all afternoon and watched a movie at night! We satyed overnight there! :)

Love having you as my family! ♥♥

Friday:
After we all showered and ate breakfast we left at about 11:30 AM and went to a big Christmas party from mom´s side. Everybody brought food so we had a buffet for lunch! We played a game that´s called "White elephant": You look for something at home you don´t like or don´t need anymore - doesn´t matter what it is - and wrap it like a gift. Then you bring it to the party. Everyone draws a number and the one with number 1 can pick one of the gifts and opens it. Then number 2 opens the next one and then you have to decide if you want your gift or want to exchange it with number ones. Number 3 can decide between the first two and so on. So the last person can choose from all the gifts and at the end when all gifts are open number 1 can choose any of the gifts! And if you open something to wear, you have to put it on. It´s really fun to play! :D I got a box with old giftcards! ^^ We played a bunch of other games. I got to know a lot of people! :)) We left late-afternoon and went to the other grandparent´s house! We opened gifts again. I got a towel, a game called "Farkel" :),an ornament,

a lipstick, candy,..... :). We had pizza for supper and then played games till 1 AM at night! :D It was really fun! :D

Kyle, Uncle John (mom´s brother), and I :)

Uncle John and grandpa&grandma (mom´s parents) :)

Saturday:
It was great-grandma´s (mom´s grandma) 100th birthday party in the afternoon! We went there sometime between 1 and 2. We had cake :) I got to know a lot of people again! :) After that, we headed home and that was pretty much the end of Christmas celebration! :)

Great-grandma and I :)

I had a really nice time experiencing the American Christmas! It was one of the best Christmases I've ever had in my life! Thanks to my American family for everything you do for me! I'm so happy to have you as my new family!!! ♥♥♥♥♥

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, too!! :)
The next post will be about New Year´s Eve and I hope I´ll do it this week!! :)

See ya!
An-Ka ♥♥