Schauspielhause Zürich Schülertheatertreffen

So... we had another fesitval pertaining to the lovely art of theater.

Theater.

oh Theater....

Theater in antther language is einfach something anders...

Let's see... what to say?

Ought I to talk about the Street Parade next door?

Or sleeping in the bombshelter and playing Mafia (Werewolf in German...) until 2:00 in the morning?

Or about how me and Moritz and Helena went some evening to some random place and consumed beverages of fruit?

That was a nice evening.

Maggie Questions.

Not really sure what to say... there were a lot of brilliant plays.

The two favourites would have to be Krabat from Luzern (it was in Swiss German close to the Obwalden dialect so I could understand it well) and Much Ado About Nothing from a group from Basel filled with so many ingenious moments that I felt like pulling out a pad and paper and taking note of them but realizing I would miss something if I did.

I was mainly impressed by the builidng that this festival was held in...

An old werehouse thingy... suited up to be a theater. Huge empty rooms. Crazy stages... such as one entirely furry and blood stained for Clockwork Orange.

I am not really sure what I feel like telling you guys... go read about TAG, I felt inspired to write about it.

And that was...

Schauspielhause Zürich Schülertheatertreffen

Feet Of Holiness

My feet are weirding me out...

Anyways... today, I sit.

And *INTERJECTION* low and behold... I have some 2 weeks läft.

I wasn't going to do the countdown, but I hear it enought from my friends.

Gah.

Anyways.... I have been thinking lately about... AGES!

Yeah. Time. Age. How freakin stupid it is.

We have birthdays, that is cool.

But what the age you are given is supposed to pertain to your personality and development.

I was talking to some other exchangers. We talked about first impressions (they are funny).

And for me... every single one had something to do with me being small, cute, and, "How old is that girl and where did she come from? Did we pick her up along the way?"

Haha.. I guess it didn't help that I was carrying around George.

Anyways... I have no problem with those impressions... it's what I give off and how I have been treated. Always the little one.

But then I laugh when I think, HA! I am 18 in some 3 months.

18.

I don't look like it, or act like it... sometimes I think like it though.

Why are ages thrust upon us with ways we are supposed to be.

And why is just enjoying life sometimes consider juvinille?

Switzerland... you be awesome.

Photos from [swimnopoopnobyenomusicstorm]

[b a t h i n g]

Anywhere you go in this area (Oh Oh Obwalden, oh how schön du bist), you are near water. For me, it is just a 7 minute bike ride or so to the beautiful lake on a hot day. It is a 5 minute walk from the school.

Therefore, in the middle of the day, when it is time to eat, we can go swimming. I have not yet cause I have no idea where my swimiming clothes are, but I can go wading. And my friends just go and jump in and cool off in the middle of the day.a

Imagine that in Inglemoor. Say it was right on Lake Washington, and the water was cleaner. And the second the bell rang for lunch (which is 1 hour and 20 minutes long) you could run, jump in the lake. Swim around with everyone. Lay on the grass (that has no bird poop in it) and relax. Do whatever with your friends. And then, just pull on your clothes and head back to math class or whatever.

These last days, wow, ,going by so fast.

This is my last, last 5 days with my friends for some 2 years or until I come back. I will not see some of them for a long time. Some, never again, ever. Ever. I find that lame.

Today was the last music class. We had crousants and chocolate milk and gingerbread and talked about stuff. Then the teacher showed us old movies from the first class which were hilarious as they all danced. There were pictures too… my classmates have changed a lot.

Are good byes really important? Why do we need to mark the time we say good bye when it is the middle stuff that matters. I left the exchange gathering early that morning without really saying good byes… and I know now that I won’t see a lot of those people ever ever ever again. Never ever. And I didn’t say a good good bye. Anyways, but did I need to? Does that make it easier? I try not to think about it.

The weather has been crazy lately. Soo hot after a week of cold rainyness. Warm. Sunny. And then, people were swimming one moment in the sea and then in a 5 minute period there was a downpour complete with thunder. I like it. Just a bit wet.

I guess that is life now.

Established

So…. Ellie came over today, and it was today that I realized how much I know this village… or that they know me.

It was time to wrap up our time together, so me and Ellie went to grab our bikes from the bike rack. As we left our destination we saw Christoph waiting to cross the bridge. So talked to him for a moment. We got on the bikes and then we saw three girls. I knew 2 of them but all three knew me. Ages? 8 to 10 years old.

Then we rode our bikes, going the long way by the school. “Maggie!” I turned to see Jana and Marion and 5 seconds later, Fabian as well. Ages? I am guessing 14 to 16 years old…

We arrived at the train station, I didn’t know anyone. But after Ellie got on the train, I went to the bike rack and realized I knew all of the people there. Judith. Stefanie. I was talking to them. Beat. And then there was Timon (Happy 18th Birthday Timon!). And Nicole. And then Maya came a minute later on her bike. There was one person I did not know, but she was with Nicole (21 or so years old, I know her from the kitchen in the school) so I went and met her as well. Her name is Cornelia. New Friend. As I was talking to them, Moritz went by on the bike. I drove Stefanie’s bike with her behind me. Moritz was going quite slow, so we caught up with him, rode a bit. Dropped off Stefanie. I said good bye to Moritz (doubt I will ever see him again…) and then walked home. And on the way home, 5 minute walk, from the 4th story of some appartments Tamara yelled out, “Maggie!”

So… in this short trip from the school, to home, to the train station… maybe 25 minute time span… I saw…

Christoph
Three Girls Younger Who Knew Me
Jana
Marion
Fabian
Fabian’s Friend
Judith
Stefanie
Timon
Nicole
Cornelia (met her)
Moritz
Tamara

And that is in our little village… goodness… I feel more rooted here. Like I belong here. The people know me here. From 8 years, to 12, to 16, to 18, to 21… and I could talk to any of them. Goodness, this life is good. I think I will keep it forever and not leave this place. I feel loved here.

Hay Day

(view from my back porch)
Today is Hay Day… not officially, but somehow, all the farmers seemed to get the message.

I could safely say that 50% of the land in my town is hay, well, fields that is. When I go bike riding, I am surrounded by, well, hay, and farmers... cause they rock and sweat.

The grass was getting long. The rain kept coming, which is lame for the farmers cause then they can’t cut the hay when it was wet.

Finally today they cut it around 8:00 in the morning, let it dry all day, and finally started to gather it up at 1:00 or so after it had dried out in the sun.

I find it epic how all the farmers seem to know this.

As I rode my bike, I started to keep track of the number of tractors I saw… I gave up at 30… yes, I give up easily.

Anyways. The have some pretty hard core contraptions to cut this grass.

Of course they need one to cut it… but then another one comes and sweeps the grass into neat rows.

Then one more machine comes. It drives right over the grass and then gathers it up in a rolling machine till there is just a giant roll of grass. Then the giant tootsie roll of hay is rolled onto the next machine that wraps the roll up in plastic around and around and around.

It is quite hardcore.

Until it looks like a marshmallow, that when I stand by it, perhaps comes up between my shoulders and waist.

On the end of the day, all the fields are dotted with these giant marshmallows…

But I love just riding my bike through. Watching all the farmers, the farmers’ wives, the farmers’ children, working together on this project.

I live in a farming village… and I love it.

Saturday

I am coming to my countdown now... dang, it's pretty lame.

Let's see... last Saturday, I avoided filling up till I realized it was leer... oh dear. So I had to fill it up.

I ended up competing in my very first, and last Swiss Shooting Competition.

Yep.

I was in the adult catagory as we wore crazy jackets, head bands with eye patches, and shot 22s at targets that moved in a motion that reminded me of starwars.

The jackets hold your arms riged so you can't move them... the eye patch lets you keep the other eye open.

Anyways, I am proud to say I competed and got 41 out of 50 points... not enough to win, but it was a start.

I went with my neighbor, Tamara, she is pretty ninajish...

Then I went to a car wash and helped with a bunch of little girls.

That was cool.

What I want for my last weeks is for life to be like always.. and I want to be with my Swiss friends.

So I loved the little kids and we rocked the world together...

And then I hung out with Maya and Eliane and we went to my house.

Then me and my host famliy went out to eat and my host dad orded 32 CHF Schnitzell... and I did too.. AH!

and the I walked to Elianes and we looked at baby photos of her and watched a bit of the match and I checked my email.

Well.. that is life.

It is full and joyful.

Normal and spiffy.

And I love it.

How can I leave this place? How? THIS IS MY HOME!

Sorry... just a little rant.

I mean, I love you guys, I love the USA, but a year is a long time in many aspects to get settled in... but then again too short in the sense that I have to leave already.

Yes, I am excited to see my friends again, but how can I say good bye to the people I have met here?

Sigh...

I love being able to just right my bike though Giswil, through the fields, the woods, across the brooke, by the church... just fresh air. Not too much traffic, maybe a few tractors, and I know soo many people in this small town. I can just hop on the bike and find a friend.

Life here is so carefree... like something from a book... something I don't feel like ever forgetting.

And then I will go back to America. Stress. Homework. Hills. Yellow Busses. School. All of the cliches...

Gah.

I guess that is life.

TAG Theater Festival

Well, what can I say.

It is over.

This year I was a participant of the TAG (Theater am Gymnasium) Theater Festival 2008 in the Kanti Zug.

I’ve blogged about theater in Switzerland before.

I do enjoy it… especially the people aspect of it.

This was a festival of around 12 different theater groups.

It lasted 4 days, Wednesday to Saturday.

Thursday:

I arrived a day late, on Thursday morning, at 9:00 to see the courtyard of the Kantonsschule Zug filled with a huge mass of students running around as if in a war. Kids were on the ground, groaning in pain, while others screamed in triumph. You would never see such things except in a festival of this sort. I quickly disposed of my luggage and joined the group in a huge circle where we did theater tai chi and stood in a circle humming in unison till our hums turned to yells.

And this was my life for the next two nights and days.

We then headed at 9:45 to the Guthirt Hall for the first play of the day, Jean-Pierre Venguere de Clingrad…. Yes, it was in French. It was a more or less mondern take on the old tale of Douki Outo (no idea how to spell that). In this case, the main character was into Star Wars. I understood enough throuh words like, “la force,” “princess Leah,” “Obi On Canobi,” and “*french words that sounds like ‘may the force be with vou.” That’s the brilliancy of this weekend. We had Italian plays, French plays, German plays, and yes, even plays in English. I found the production pretty good. Some of the actors were not totally in the role, well, they were, but they over played it to the point of it being to unrealistic, but who am I to judge. I do so enjoy watching French speaking people pretend to be gangsters though…

After that came 1913 by some school with the word Montana in the name. This show was bilingual, in English and German. I, personally, enjoyed it. However the fact that they did not understand most of it led many of my friends to not find it all that good. 90% percent of the text was taken from newspapers and so forth in 1913 and it followed the life of Marie and the events leading to her death in 1913. It was confusing at points, but acting in a language other than your mother tongue is quite difficult, I know that first hand. I found many of them focusing on the language rather than the acting. In the middle, groups of people left which I found horrible. Leaving in the middle of the play is the simplest way of saying, “your play sucks and I don’t find it worth my time to sit down and simply watch it.” At the end, we learned that the two times they played it that day were the only times they would ever perform it. Ever. And it was obvious they went to quite a lot of work for it. Only twice, and for an audience who didn’t fully appreciate it.

Zmittag. Lunch. For the festival, we all received meal tickets to be redeemed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The system worked quite well and the food was ok… and almost always eaten outside. All of our free time was spent outside on benches or going for walks.

After lunch we split into group for work for the workshops. I signed up for… something that had to do with setting a scene with music. Through this I was able to meet more people, including three students from the Italian part of Switzerland… hence, two of them didn’t speak German so our teacher and another student translated everything. One of the students was bilingual so that helped. We played noise games where we would just sit for 10 minutes in pairs and take turns making noises with out mouth, fingers, clothes, and the floor. Other games were your typical theater games such as “Bippidy Bippidy Bah.” Well, I enjoyed it.

Then came “Soaped Up,” someone, or a group from Maturaarbeit Zug wrote and produced this play for their Matura, which is the IHS equivalent of the Senior Project. I have to admit, I was impressed with their production. It was a play with the format of a typical soap operah filled with the cliches we see played out over and over on the television. From the best friend sleeping with the other friend’s girlfriend, to the awkward trio, to the hairdresser that one of the leads goes to for moral support, to the cheesy commercials. They prefilmed an intro and commercials which were played at the beginning and various intervals of the film, specifically at those cliffhanger moments.

What these students created was a play that was tailored to what students of today want to see. Although I enjoyed doing my school’s performance of Medea, it was just too heavy for most of the student body. Students want to see interaction between people of the oppisite sex, they want to see other people in awkward situations, they want to laugh. This was something that could even keep my 15 year old host sister plugged the entire time, which says quite a bit. It was witty and filled with characters you couldn’t help but like… or loath. Even the ending was great, or brilliant, not sure which, perhaps both. So, for a students production, I was impressed. They did a lot of things right and it would be great to see them take it a step further than the TAG festival, who knows, maybe they are…

Dinner was a huge square of pizza.

Then two friends and I headed off to look for the Zuggersee or whatever it’s name is. Anyways, there was a lake somewhere and we were determined to find it. We ended walking behind part of the cast of Soaped Up until we reached the station. We made our ways to the lake. It was, well, beautiful. Sunset. Sunset. I do like sunsets. But my camera, oh where could it be? That I did not know. But then I rememeber I had left it on a bench at the festival, crap. Not by my friends, just on a bench. So we headed back. Passed the Soaped Up cast as they headed to the lake and asked, “Heading back already?” which in fact, we were. I was ok with waiting a bit longer, but having my camera back in my hand always gives me a peace of mind.

We got back, searched, inquired, searched. And did not find it. I was not too depressed, as I figured it had to show up, it always does. But if it doesn’t, mainly I was worried because then I would have no camera for the Eurotour. Finally, feeling defeated I prepared to call my parents and ask them to pray, I had already done so myself. But I headed back to my friends who were chatting with some random guy… when he pulled my camera out of his bag. Well, that made my day. I had my camera back.

So we headed back to the lake, a 20 or so minutes walk, and took a multitude of pictures. Two girls headed back but my friend stayed by the lake with me and we walked around, took pictures, and once again, passed the Soaped Up cast.

Zug. Zug is a pretty big town. Ok, city. Completely different from Obwalden, my kanton. And I am greatful that I am in Obwalden. Right now, right next to our house is a field… filled with cows. I see green hills and snow capped mountains. Blue skies. It is open. Zug was too, well, I didn’t see a charm in it. It was pretty much a city and just that. Sure, I guess it had some sort of character, but I saw nothing that separated it apart from the other great cities in Switzerland.

The school building was not to my liking. It was all concrete and structured. The views revealed nothing. I missed my school here in Switzerland. From the windows you can see mountains and grass. It isn’t very big, but some parts are old and have a lot of charm to them. Other parts are new and modern. A mix of everything. A small student body. I would feel lost in Zug. And as some of the Obwaldeners complained, it seemed like everybody in Zug, well, looked perfect, put together. A bit artificial. I am Maggie and I live near farmers! I like that.

We headed to our sleeping quarters… a bomb shelter, as usual. Those bomb shelters really are a great idea and really useful. There was a security man on duty the entire night so the doors were left open and we were free to stay out as late as we wanted. To my surprise, they had a theater group in every room… boys and girls sleeping together. I mean, it was ok. I just have never really been in a situation where they have organized it so. Yes, we are like a family. But it was just a bit, well, different. I admit, I moved to a place where I was sleeping next to girls. No problems with guys, I just don’t like sleeping by them…

May 23rd and 36 Exchangers

So… I finally got home from EuroTour on May 23rd. I woke up at 8:00 the next day realizing I had to get Miss Nelly a dress she had lent me and needed that night.

9:06 on the train.
10:00 on the train to Bern.

I met her at 11:03 in Bern, returned the dress, and learned that Taylor and his mother and sister, real family, were coming bald. With an empty day ahead of me, I decided to join them on their excursion to see the bears and other sights of Bern.

I bought a binder for my EuroTour memeories book.

At around 11:18 they arrived along with Alice.

We headed out and spent the next 2 or 3 hours checking out Bern. Conversations included hot cocoa, solar panels, EuroTour, organs, baby socks, and other things of important nature.

It was raining. I was lacking a jacket.

We headed to a café and were treated to something of something sort by Miss. Taylors Mom… Michelle? Thank you Taylor’s Mom.

In this café, there just so happened to be around 4 other exchange students.

Exchange Student Tally: 7

We drank, some smoked, discussed enlightening things. Another exchangie came.

Then we headed to the station to pick up more students… I believe after that we had 14 students total, but 2 had left. So that day I had seen 16 students so far…

We went to the top of the station. Drank beverages such as ice tea. Watched a dude do magic tricks which were trickily amazing.

I was quite amused when the police came to talk to me. Sitting on the steps, just 2 steps away from me and two others were other kids drinking vodka and smoking. Yet we were on the platform, and it was with us the police wanted to speak with. We were not in the play area, but apparently it was just for kids, and we were breaking some rules. We were just sitting under a tree… two steps away it was ok to drink and smoke, but a couple feet away and you were in trouble. So we moved. Checked out pics. Took pics.

Pee break on Gleis 5.

More tea.

They were going to head to some place, I honestly was not interested and the day seemed to be going slowly so I jumped on a train to Olten, which would then take me to Luzern. While on this train to Olten, I began to speak with Jorge, figured out he was on a train to Olten too and was going one stop further to Aargau. Well, why not? So I stayed on the train to Aargau and ended up meeting with some 10 other exchange students, the majority were latinos.

The latinos rock.

Students rode bikes around. I printed pictures. We went and got kebabs. Came back. Waited for people. Headed to Mr. Pickwicks and got coke and ice tea with lemons in. Just hung out.

I really enjoyed that evening. Just chillin, I guess you could say. Hanging out. Basking in the glow of a group of exchange students. I believe there were 18 of us there? I learned quite a bit of Spanish from the Ramiro and enjoyed bashing my head trying to remember certain words.

We took pictures.

I wore Miguel’s host dad’s jacket from Bolivia and fell in love with it.

On the train ride had us Patrick, Paz, and Jaxon. So we all had a good hour ride home together which I guess was enjoyable.

30 minutes in the Luzern Bahnhof.

Ride home part way with Jaxon.

We met a friend of his and discussed Nidwalden, which I just so happen to loath.

He got off.

I arrived in Giswil around 1:15.

In bed by 2:00.

So yeah, that was one lovely day.

In total I was with three different groups of exchange students, around 36 total in one day… not bad eh?

Venice?

Well... I feel like blogging, and I can.

We just finished our meal.. it was, er, interesting. Half of us actually finished it. But the cream covered cream puff completely made it complete.

Yes, the exchangers invaded the lovely city of Venice once again... taking it by storm and doing the unordinary.

We started in the tourist ary of this Marks platz... not sure the name. Anyways, there are a bajillion pijiogns.

Then someone asked me if I wanted to go check out those places that aren't touristy.... that was already my intentions and hopes of the day, so of course I said yes.

And that is essentially who my day was spent with.

Chloe, Chrystie, Taylor, and Travis.

We mounted walls, climbed fences, window grates.. anything. The majority of the time was in tiny alley ways... some so small your shoulders practically touched the walls.

We wanted to go where we were not to go... and did go to great lengths to achieve that.

I enjoyed the lingustic university... we ended up some 4 stories up and were able to overlook the entire city....

And then we made it to a lithograph shop, or somethying like that.. and bought somie snazzy postcards that really captured the Venice we had came to know... the real Venice. Not the tourist venice... Venice. Venice....

Finaly we split up into two groups... me with the ladies, naturally. And we got on a gondolla.

That was soemthing I will never regret spending my money on, that gondala ride.

The man sang to us. Just going down the canals.. like in the movies.

Nothing could beat that feeling of bliss....

Anyways, so Venice rocked my socks. I loved it. Really did. And it is defintily something that I was not dissapointed in...

We are about to go for a walk on the beach...

EuroTour Update

OK, so I only have a bit of time to update you guys.

But currently I would be located in Italy.. specifically a town in the near from Venice.

We have been at this for 7 days now... not bad eh.

51 of us, traveling around a on a bus.

We have invaced Vienna and Klaggenfuhrt in Austria and the rest of the week, till the 23rd will be in Italy.

Really, it is quite brilliant and like nothing i have ever done before. With so much time together, we are getting, well, really close. The conversations are moving from the future to our past. Yeah. Gelling. Sure we have our cliques, but life goes on.

Currently, we are right by the ocean, ready to swim... but there is a thunder and ilghtning making that not so probable.

I bet a lot of people want to shoot me ror writing this... but I feel a bit selfish at the moment.

Yeah... morgen we go to Venice... apparently a cafe can cost 12 Euros for one cup...

Random Little Tid Bizt

Tagged by Andrea DeBrino!
(Thanks Andrea, you make me smile... cause you do. And my mom sent me the newspaper clipping, and you were in it... Fun Raisers or something like that :P)

Ook..... I have not much so time to do this, I have no computer at the moment.

However...

--------------------------

Here's how you play.

Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog/note with 10 weird, random things, facts, habits, goals, or anything about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment ("You're It!") and to read your blog/note. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your blog so I can see your answers.
---------------------------------


1. I go on walks wearing bright clothes in the afternoon to see old people and try and make them smile by saying hello in Switzerland. Cause the old people are always walking... and they are not smiling. And I think old people that smile are SO CUTE! So I put on a huge grin and send my loving greetings to them.

2. In the last year I have learned to like tomatoes, nuts, potatoes, and ahem, beer. Not that I drink beer :P But in America, I loathed the above, and now I find them acceptable.

3. I find one of the most amazing things in life is when a little child sleeps in my arms. Wow. An entire life at rest, peaceful, trusting... and it keeps me warm.

4. I LOVE peeling sunburns... it doens't even have to be mine. I just peel it.. better than oranges!

5. A habit of mine... eh. Have I one? My habit would be... well, I get in song ruts. And can listen to a song over and over... once I listened to "My Shiny Teeth and Me" 31 times in one day...

6. Carrot Salat rocks!

7. I think it would rock if my future was not just a photographer.. but a book binder in England! I would really enjoy binding books for a living.. I think.

8. Mr. French guy at the comix festival... I will never forget you. But you willl DIE some day. You made me laugh... ahahhaaha.. you had a French accent.

9. A wish... I really want to go on a rubber boat on Sarner See, er, Lake before I go home.. better yet, sleep on the rubber boat.. mwmahah.

10. I don't really want to go back to IHS because of the so boxiness of it. It stinks. I mean, there are all these groups, and I feel like I am forced to stay in one. Heck. In Switzerland I could speak with anyone. The popular folks, the geeeks, the theater nerds (whom I love :P), jocks, it doesn't matter! I can just talk to whoever. But in America, wow, it is so different. I want to get to know more people, but they are so freakin judgemental! So, i guess it is the same here in Switzerland, and it is just the fact that I am a exchange student that allows me to do such things, but I want life to keep going on like that. I want to go and talk to whoever and whenever just because I want to get to know them.

10 people to tag eh? I ought to tell you why I tagged you, but due to limited time on the computer, make up a reason. Such as Jesse and Nate and Emily, its cause you wear converse.

Jenny
Caitie
Sarah
Jorge
Sergio
Emily
Nate
Jesse
Barbara
Ian

Paragliding in the House and Barefoot in the Snow

Monday, April 7, 2008 at 6:23am

After a late night of yodeling yesterday, I let myself sleep in till 9:00, and stay in bed till 10:00 or so. My I felt lazy, but it felt good. And the rest of the family was still in bed as well.

I looked out the window, and BANG, there was snow. It was snowing! Snowing! Right now… in April. I thought for sure my snowy days in Switzerland were over. And they were big, huge, heavy flakes.

I figured that they had already eaten and was ready to prepare myself breakfast when I saw a full, but clean dishwasher. So I unloaded it. Then the hostmom came in and started to make breakfast, guess I wasn’t late after all.

She made up a fantastic omlette for us all. And we also had Zopf, as usual, with raspberry jam! I love raspberry jam!

After breakfast, the host dad asked who wanted to go in the snow. I would have, but I left all my snow gear at the last house. But was surprised when all the kids and the dad started to roll up their pants and grab their jackets… but no shoes. I don’t know if it is normal for them or something, but soon I found myself doing laps outside in a snowy field barefoot… all of us were. The little Felix lasted a good 30 seconds before Peter had to carry him back in the house. After running in a circle, we would run back in and warm our feet up on a towel. The two oldest kids did the run again. They said it is good for your feet to go from warm to cold to warm to cold… hmmm. I find this family quite awesome.

Then we had a football, well, füssball match. Not in the snow. No. Table football. Me and the two oldest against the dad and Felix. Sadly, we lost the first round but by the second we had warmed up and won. So that was some more family time. That is one thing I like, Sundays are for families.

It wasn’t long before the kids made it up to my room again and asked if I wanted to play. Well sure, I am game for anything. But it ended up being a shooting game. Normally I would go for it but I believe the mom is trying to discourage that. So I died… and stayed dead till we played Uno. The little 3 year old Felix won his share. Then we played shoots and ladders and a sort of snake game. I dunno. But it was cool. Just me and my three host siblings playing together on the floor for the morning.

I gave the kids reign over my camera and we climbed a bit on the wall until the host dad came up and joined us. Then things really got fun. He would instruct them where and how to climb and they worked out pathways.

My host dad used to do paragliding, or still does, not really any more. Anyways, the paraglide you have sort of a hammock swing backpack thing. So we hooked that up to the ceiling with climbing ropes and made a snazzy swing in our hallway. For the next hour or so we swung, twisted, climbed, and just had a blast. So that was cool… and unordinary and like nothing I have ever done with a host family.

This family is not like the other host families. Totally different environment. And it takes just a minute to get used to eating breakfast as a little guy runs around the house with a huge drum banging it, and the other one a cow bell clanging it as loud as it goes.

And here I am now. Looking out the window. Typing my days away to remember forever. My hair is wet. I have a green towel around my shoulders. It is 7:59 at night, the kids should be in bed for now. Tomorrow school begins again after a two week break. Jorge changes host families tomorrow. The lower third of my view is grassy fields, all the snow has melted. Every once in a while a person walks by. In the middle, the mountains and hills tower over our small village. Everything up there is dusted with snow. Fog obscures some parts, but the peak is still visible. There are a few patches of lightness in the sky. And then, the top third is just sky. Grey, but beautiful. And I hear outside my bedroom door the little Felix babbling away, and outside the river carrying on.

9:05 --> Off to go pack my bag for school tomorrow and the sleep for 9 hours.

And that’s life.

Period.

The First Day With the New Famlilie

I woke up at 7:30 to little feet on hard wooden floors and the shrieks of my little host brother, Felix. Pain? Joy? Didn’t matter, I was awake. I stayed in bed a good 30 minutes more before getting ready for a day of who knows what.

Breakfast here is different, but good. I had a granola, nut, and banana mix with milk and, as usual, chocolate milk. I have to have the chocolate milk, yes, every morning.

After breakfast, I played with the kids a bit. The host mom isn’t into toy guns, but one somehow made it into the house, so that provided a good 30 minutes of entertainment as I died over and over again, shouting, “NEIN!” the entire time. We made it up to my room a couple times where we settled down when they found my iPod. This family has no electronic things for the boys to play with, except the stereo, so they were quite interested. I gave them free reign to explore that little thing of wonderfulness. WE ended up listening to Relient K, closing my blinds, and creating a disco setting with different kids manning different spot lights and one “dancing” in the middle.

Discovering the iPod.

Dance Party

Then I got on the floor and we started taking jumping pics. They would jump off m y blue couch onto my comforter, and I tried to capture them at the peak. The hardest was Felix, as he didn’t really jump, he fell. So that gave a good 1 second to capture him and try and make it look like he was flying.

I then asked Lisa for a mini concert. Lisa plays the violin quite nicely with great intonation. However, a concert was not physically impossible with two brothers doing all they could to stop it. It was insane! They would grab the violin, or turn the page of the music, or play the recorder, or jump on the bed, or whatever they could. That lasted a good 20 minutes. Finally I got to hear one song and it was worth the effort of getting the concert in the first place.

The hostrent kindly asked us to go to the grocery store to pick up the fixings for one of my favorite Swiss meals, Älpler Magronen… so fine! Ah! So good! We all hopped on our bikes and rode the 2 minute trip (with the Felix it was more so 4 or 5) to our local grocers. There, we proceeded to maneuver in the shop trying to decode the hostmom’s bidding. We couldn’t figure out the cheese and ended up with Parmesan. So the Älper Magronen was more Italian than normal. Then the apples and bananas. A kilo each? So we proceeded to weigh out different apples, bananas, and lemons for the hey of it.

Shopping with 4 kids (including me) in Luzern? Definitely.
Berchtolds in Luzern

So, well, we all went shopping in Luzern. Vrenni needed a picture book about water, anything with water, and a music book too. So we all bundled up, hopped on the fast train, and made our way towards that lovely old town. On the train ride, the ticket man came. He asked Felix if he had a ticket. Naturally he was joking as at the age of Felix, no ticket is necessary. And Felix giggled, laughed, shook his head, and said, “Nein.” Then the old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a “play ticket” for Felix and the rest of the kids.

I was just starting to see how the Swiss really can be. Normally I am just a teenager to them, or with exchange students, so service isn’t top notch. They don’t really go out of their way to help us. But with a host mom and little kids, things change.

In the pharmacy, each kid was treated to a little plastic toy when the host mom bought some “wellness tea.”

In the Lackerli Haus, we each got a sample of that amazing stuff. It is like gingerbread, but quite different. It originates, I believe, from the Basel region in Switzerland.

Then we went to “Lollipop,” a bit quaint, but well stocked candy shop in the heart of the old city. There, Vrenni let us each pick out two gummy candies! I felt honored, cause gummy candies are amazing, I am beginning to find. I ended up with a gummy frog and this stick filled with raspberry crème stuff… no idea what, but it tasted good. I also learned to eat a gummy like the Swiss, suck on it. I normally chew and bite through, but when I saw that my host sister had barely made a dent in hers, yet was tasting it, I was stoked to try this new method.

Then we went to Bachman’s, the big bakery in Switzerland that can be found almost anywhere. There we were once again allowed to pick something out. I got what the siblings got, this big bread roll filled with chunks of chocolate. And it was amazing! And I loved it! And it made my tastebuds happy!

Schoggibrot... it has some Swiss name, I forget it though.


So yeah, going out with the host family was quite the enjoyable experience.

We had quite the simple, but lovely dinner. Typical Swiss dinner… bread, meat, cheese. But to my surprise there was cream cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, on the table. Just like in America. You would think with so many cheeses, cream cheese would be normal here, but they only have Philadelphia. And that lead to a long discussion between me and my hostmom about bagels. She was in America for a while and really enjoyed the bagels.

Then she went away to a orchestra practice and I was left in charge, the Chief. It is quite the honor to be chief… except for the responsiblities that come with it. I was to put the kid’s down to bed. After listening to some jolly children’s music, including “Lollypop” in German, the mighty fight began!

No, not fight. Struggle! Go to bed! Nah, not so easy. So yeah, that was an interesting experience I think that I will have many times in this family. Am I their sister or their babysitter. Luckily we have family in town, a walks away, so I will not be always obligated to watch themm when I already have plans in store.

After they were in bed, I showered, unpacked a bit, and pretty much had a relaxing evening without computer or tv.

The new host family, naturally I have small fears about being a babysitter all the time, but I have a feeling that will work out. They seem like a great host family full of snazzy people.

I always think that at the beginning, but so far, every family has gone, overall, well.

A New Host Familie

A new host family, a new town… a fast train!



My new host family, as all of them have been, is wonderful. From what I can tell it will be a good 3 months. But I am guessing 3 months will be the perfect time with them. I still the oldest reigning over 3 younger siblings.

Lisa - Age 9

Max - Age 6

Felix - Age 3

And then I have my two hostparents Vrenni (Franny) and Peter.




I have not met my host father yet, well, since I moved in, but the host mom is great. She will speak her mind, likes bagels, and is fun to be around. Lisa is one sweet older/little sister, plays the violin, and likes the color red. Max is the rebel of the family, is good at climbing, and has selective hearing when you tell him to go to bed. Felix is the baby of the family, prone to accidents, and as opinionated as any other three-year-old.



This house, well, I would say it is huge! It is quite large... they just built it recently. And I think the highlight for me is my room. To get the room in the first place, I have to walk across a mat, while there is a huge climbing wall right out side my door. Then my room is quite large. Like an apartment. Spacious. High ceilings. All natural wood all over. And a bathroom connected to the room, my own bathroom, with a shower and a orange and green color scheme. I have a large window looking to the mountains and right, right next to our yard is the Dreiwässer Fluss… the Three Water, um, stream. I know Fluss and what it is, but not the translation to English. Anyway, it is quite lovely, quite blue, quite moving, and quite loud… so at night I get to hear it. Pretty much a babbling brook on steroids. And there are the walking paths through some fields also spreading out beyond the Fluss, and so I can do people watching even more.

Part of my room. The door leads to the lovely bathroom..

The fast train! Going from Luzern (the main station that I need to go to get anywhere) to Giswil travels two trains. A fast train and a slow train. The slow train stops in every little village along the way. I used to live in Sachseln, so with that, I could only take the slow train. Therefore requiring 42 minutes for every trip to Luzern. But now, well, I can take the fast or the slow train. As I am in one of the few selected villages along the fast train route. The fast train makes 4 or so stops. So now, it takes me a mere 20 to 25 minutes. It is quite the party. And now I take the train to school each day, with a refreshing view of Lake Sarnen the entire way.



They do speak Swiss German here, but by now that is no problem. I won’t say I understand every word that comes out of their mouths (the same goes for High German), but almost all… or at least enough to get the idee.

One Word

One word:

Crap!

I am at it again! Changing the host families. In, eh, 4 hours or so?

"Time keeps ticking away... tick tick ticking away!"

I really miss those British Crumpets from Trader Joes!

Anways, yeah, I am changing, at least I am not nervous.

I have mixed feelings about changing. I know it is time. And things with this family are going swell. Me and my hostmom did picture stuff together last night.

When you leave a host familiy, well, when I leave, I can only hope that I am leaving on a good note, a good impression. That they will, in fact, miss having me being in their home all the time.

They just had a baby lamb! It is SO tiny! They might name it, well, Maggie! I find that a very nice name for a baby sheep.

So yeah, I best be go packing.

So embarressing, first thing your new host famiy sees of you is your 7 million loaded bags that you have accquired in the past, eh, 8 months or so.

98 days.

98 days.

"Don't stress too much about how much time you have otherwise you will spend all your time worrying! :)"
-Margaret Shipe -

98 freakin' short days.

I will be ready to come home.

"I'm not saying to forget about the future, but think about what you're missing out on. The opportunities, the people you can met, the relationships you can have, and the knowledge you can gain. Go out there and live life."
-Andrea DeBrino -

It seemed that she [Andrea] was writing more on the topic of the distant future, college and such, at least that was moreorless the topic of the note. But it applies to these next 98 days as well... I think. Yeah, I think. Thinking is good.

I have to quit thinking about how I barely have any time left here.. or I won't be able to enjoy it.

Time will keep coming, so I best get moving (literally), enjoy myself. Defnitily live life.

I mean, that is why I am here right? To live life. When the Swiss school interviewed me on why I am here, I said just that, "To live life."

I have no regrets coming here.

No second thoughts.

I wouldn't change my life for anything else.

I love riding my bicycle along the blue clear waters and zwischen the mountains!

I am one happy camper.

Computer Situation

Well, I am now into the last third of my exchange. Crazy eh? And I am typing on an American keyboard which is driving my poor fingers insane as they finally have mastered the German.

I have changed host families and you won *searches for apostrophe*’ t be hearing from me as much lately as they have no (NO) computer. None at all. Which is ok with me. Good for me… but a bit of an inconvenience while I need it not just for blogging and photos, but to keep in contact with Rotary, Inglemoor, and family. So yeah, I will have to work that one out. For now I am using a dandy laptop from my dear father in America, it is a bit old, I am afraid it will break someday, but it definitely is a blessing and does the trick.

So, to keep in contact and keep the blogs coming, I will be making blog packets on CD’s for when I do get on the computer. Then I merely have to *edit copy edit paste* it into blogger.com and a blog will be up within minutes. Pictures also will be pre-edited and ready to be published.

I guess that is my technology update for now.

Jodeling conzert and Klosters

I am trying to get around Switzerland as much as possible… and made it to Klosters the other day. I only went there for the name. And had a good, um, 5 minutes before heading home. But it is for the train ride that I travel, not the ending place. Although I guess a bit more time would have been nice. It is in Graubunden, Eastern Switzerland.

Then, I was to be in the home by 5:00 as we had a dandy jodeling conzert.

It was sort of a meal and show deal, and my host mom was in the show. The entire concert was a compilation of different songs written by this dead man, who just so happens to be my great host uncle. So he was a composer and wrote the hymn and other classics for Nidwalden, the other half of my canton, Unterwalden. I live in Obwalden (and we are the best! I have been taught to have a loathing for the Nidwaldeners).

It was a great evening, just listening to the Swiss culture music of their heritage. What I find great is how a tiny little region, a city the size of Kenmore, can whip up quite the choir. They are really into community and stuff here and have pride in their heritage. I find that awesome.


In the middle came the Tombola. Like the Swiss lotery. For 10 CHF (which is practially 10 dollars due to our failing dollar) you become 11 ticket role tubes. They are mass produced, I think in Alpnach, and are tiny colored pieces of paper rolled up and stapled on the ends. On both sides, it is peforated so you can easily rip of the ends and see what the paper says.


The majority say, “Danke, Merci, Grazie, Thank You.” Which is the polite way of saying, “You just wasted a freakin’ dollar for this piece of paper and are just a looser!” However, every once in a while you encounter one with a secret message…. A number! You go to this booth where you match the number to a prize with the matching number. Overall there were around 150 prizes you could win. So lots of loosing and a bit of winning. It was quite addictive. My host family ended up spending a good, or bad 50 franks on this game and ended up with the following:
A clothes brush (for me)
A huge amazing cow bell (Max)
Towels (Max)
A blanket with those little tag thingys that babies like to play with (Lisa)
Free Caffee with schnapps (Me, and yes, it tasted quite good)
And those were our winnings. The bell was defnitly the highlight.

This concert went until 11:15 or so at night, so naturally the two youngest fell asleep. The middle child, Max, was on his mother’s lap, sleeping, when she had to go play the violin again. So I took her place. Barely anything beats a sleeping child in your lap. You can’t help but love the kid. Just breathing, who knows what is going on in their little head. That made me feel warm inside, sleeping Max.

After the concert, the afterparty began. A talented youth band of two accordions and a double bass took the stage… and I was quite impressed. These kid’s play to entertain. I was almost in awe, just watching their fingers fly over the keys… even the bassist was moving to play a different bass note every second. He wasn’t taking the one-note-a-measure road. Nope.

And pretty soon the old people got up and danced. Even the birthday lady, she was 94 years old to the date, got up and danced. She loves dancing.

And that was my second full day with the new host family.

60 KM

So yesterday...

We had the "1st Communion" thing in the church.. I have never seen the church so packed. Not my church. The church of my host family. Anways, that was cool as all the kids were dressed in white robes and there was hard core music (with one epic organist).

And then we drove home.

It was a beauitful day!

Warm, blue skies, sun shinning, one that made me just want to get out of the house.... for a while.

So I hopped on my bike and just rode and rode and rode.

"Where are you going?" my host dad inquired.
"I don't know... I never know." was my reply.

I had no idea... I just knew I was riding my bicycle.

I started out towards Sarnen and just kept going. Till my eyes caught a hold of one of the Veloland signs, those marroon signs that will get you anywhere by bike (the yellow signs are the wanderwegs, and you can literally get anywhere with them).

Anways, it said, "Luzern" and I though, "I like Luzern" so off I went following it.

I went from sign to sign following the roads and the paths and the trails. I was almost always by a body of water with a scenic mountain backround. Naturally I took pictures... but they are not up yet.

It was brilliant! I reached Alpnach Dorf and there was a match going on at FC Alpnach. I knew some of the guys playing and stayed around just to watch and cool off a bit.

I just kept riding... it felt so good.

And finally I reached Luzern and turned around and came back.

In Luzern, there was a bikeing sign that said, "30 km to Sarnen."

I live beyond Sarnen, in Sachseln, so I doubled that as I rode to Luzern and back, and got 60 km... that is around 38 miles.

Not bad eh?

(considering when I went out, I wasn't intending to do anything)

Frogs Don't Belong in Boxes

Lately I find myself slipping into daydreams about going home.

What it will be like...

I find myself asking the same questions that I asked about Switzerland before I came here.

• Will I fit in?
• Will they accept me?
• Will I find a friend?

Haha.. sounds lame, I admit, but what can you expect? I have left you all for a year and things have happend. I've changed and there are going to be some aspects of me you will just have to adjust to.

I don't feel like being forced and

conformed into the cliques

and cliches of Inglemoor!

It [Âmerican High Schools, such as IHS]are too much like a film, looking back. Too many genres, groups, they promote a school of acceptance but after coming to Switzerland, the school doesn't seem as ideal as it was.

Don't get me wrong. I am proud to be a Viking and am happy to return, but there are some things (that is an exageration, a lot of things) that I will miss. I know Inglemoor is a great school, probably one of the best. However...

Switzerland was one of the first times I got a fresh start in my teen years with a group of people. I already know who I am and want to be, and I got to be that in Switzerland. What can I say, I am a bit socially awkward, but in Switzerland and with the exchangers, that was ok! That was me! And I was special. I was the American. I was the Magic Frog! I totally feel accepted here in Switzerland. I don't feel stupid here. I don't feel like I am being judged.

Sigh. America. America. America. Judgemental. Tiny boxes. Sufficating.

Sorry if you can't follow my train of thought here..... it is still unclear in my brain as well.

The Love Theme to Romeo and Juliet

Tonight I went to the piano recital of a fellow friend of mine.

It is quite interesting to go to those things, some of the people you would have never guessed played the piano were there playing, well, the piano.

One of which was the Elias. He is in my friend Nicole’s class.

Not only did he play beautifully… he almost made me cry. I don’t cry.

It wasn’t really his playing, as nice as it was, but the song he played.

The love theme to Romeo and Juliet, also known as, “A Time for Us.”

If you heard a couple bars, you would know it.

I don’t cry here (except when I have to buy toothbrushes)… but music always hits that one, um, thing in me. String? Note? Chord? It is music. That is what my family does, we make music.

So when he got up to that piano and started to play that song, I thought of my mom. She plays that song (and if she doesn’t, well, then, I was just being sentimental for nothing, although didn’t Sarah, Thomas, and Emily play it in the 9th grade???). And so the entire freakin’ song all I could do is focus on not crying, which was quite difficult.

How could I not miss my mom through that song?

It is one of those songs that can make you cry just the way it moves, even if it has no sentimental connotations for you.

Anyways… that was my evening.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dHyR4ZzA2R0$

Going Home When?

I rode from the snow covered field in the picture up the hill to my house..

and got this view. It had just snowed.. sigh. Life is beautiful eh?

Duration calculation results:

From and including: Freitag, 14. März 2008
To, but not including : Mittwoch, 9. Juli 2008

117 days

Or 3 months, 25 days excluding the end date.

Alternative time units

• 117 days can be converted to one of these units:
• 10.108.800 seconds
• 168.480 minutes
• 2808 hours
• 16 weeks (rounded down)
  

Yep.. I coming home on the 9th of July.

King Philip II of Spain bans foreign Dutch students.

March 4, 08
1570 - King Philip II of Spain bans foreign Dutch students.

What is going on in my life? What??

Eh. Let`s see there.

Theatre has been taking over on overdrive... performances all the time. One thing I think I don't like is that the play we created, well, they had us perform it for the entire (ENTIRE) school.. during school time. And kid's who don't want to see a tradgedy play can be the worst audience.

What are you supposed to do when they are whispering in the front row? Yes. Ignore them. But then you, meaning I, tend to get a bit more self concious.



Coni and I... faces?

Coni, one snazzy amazing Swiss friend, got a GA! And I am stoked. I can finally see Switzerland with someone from the land... and work on my German.

We went to Thalwil and then hopped on a train to Hourgen or something.. and then hopped (boing!) on a boat on the Zürisee (Lake Zurich?). It was just an hour of what to me, is bliss. Just realaxing. Not having to do anything...



Hit isch Coni mit miär ufem Zürisee ga schiff fahrä.



Approaching Rapperswil.. such a sweet town.

And finally we got off in Rapperswil. Rapperswil is a quaint, decent sized town filled with history, culture, and great architechture. Worth exploring for a good one or two hours.. depending on if the shops are open.

We just went there for a short walk before heading home on the Voralpen Express.

Overall, a good day.



Jorge.. being awesome.

Yesterday, went to Jorges.

We decided to go for a bikeride to Giswil.. which ended up being a bike ride around the entire lake we both live on.



Map of Lake Sarnen...


Only a little over and hour.. and we both agreed that we need to do it again.

Just in that small period of time, we biked along the gorgeous blue Sarnersee with the mountais towering in the background. The rode through a semi quaint town. Coasted through a wooded area to be rewarded with a sweeping view of the area... and what I have come to consider a home.

Not many pictures from that trip.. to busy riding.

And overnight.. from blue skies, we no have a ton (TON!) of snow.. well, quite a bit. And it is still coming. Today I am heading to an International Film Festival.. should be grand.



View of some random place on the train ride home from Rapperswil with Coni.


I don't know how to improve this year. I am loving life.

Taking the time to explore.

Seeing what there is to see.

Getting out of the house.. even if it is just to go around the lake.

Yeah.. I am not ready for this year to end yet.

Lemonade

Life gave me lemonade and I can't imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I'm a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!
-Chris Rice-

Inspired? Of course, I am Maggie.
And beside me, my favourite Swissish Nederlander... Romy.

I am still totally digging life and how things are going.

You know.. well, nothing eventful.

I love Fasnacht. But life is not Fasnacht.

Life is going to school and talking to friends... well, on a shallow Maggie level, not that I am shallow.

Lately... my life has been theatre, all the time. Pretty crazy stuff.


GAH! Medea.

Tommorow gives the premier.. I should be nervous, but I don`t have it in me to be nervous. I will go out there and try and do my best, I am no actor, but I enjoy it.

Lately, let`s see.. the other day I hung out with Roswita and Helena. We just walked around, checked out Vögele or something, a shoe store, Migros, did a round of photos in the photo booth, went down by the water and sang and played the pan pipes.

Pan Pipes?

Yes! Pan Pipes are amazing!

Let`s see.. here are some pics from a theatre walk:

Stephanie and the blue wall...


Oh lay?
Stephanie and Jana, Jorge`s host sister.


Jump. Stephanie. Jump.

So I guess that was our theatre walk.. just enjoiyng the sun, we never see it on stage.

The other day, eh, went home with Jorge`s host sister for some orange punch and ended up talking to Jorge for a while about life in general. Poor guy has been sick for a while.

After Salsa Course...

Lately, a few of us exchangers have found a way to fill up our Wednesday evenings. Salsa. We found a great deal for a 6 week course in Luzern.

It is better than I thought it would be. We make a lot of progress. I figured Jorge couldn`t learn anything (Mr. Salsa Ninja) but I guess there is always something to learn in the dance world.

Currently it is me, Jorge, Patrick, Chris, and Paz. That`s right.. the guys out number the girls. And I just so happen to be a minority! A girl and American. That feels refreshing.

So the course is for 1.5 hours. The teacher mixes things up so we get to integrate with the Swiss people.

I just like getting out there and moving. I could be horrible at it... but I can get the steps down and rhythms without too much difficulty. Naturally it takes effort... but it is quite amusing and even more so, fun.

After the course, we have to way some 30 minutes or more before the right train comes, so we tend to just hang out at McDonalds or what not.

And that is life for me lately... theatre, salsa, walks, hanging out.. life.

Patrick... being a, er, tourist. Bus ride home from Salsa.

My Plan For Tomorrow

I picked a random kanton in Switzerland an am off to explore it tomorrow!

Schaffhausen in the kanton pretty much most Northern, and almost completely surrounded by Germany.

The capital is, well, Schaffhausen (no surprise there).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaffhausen_%28canton%29)

Then it is off to the only German city in Switzerland... how is that possible? Poor Büsingen is totally German, but it is seperated from the motherland by a strip of land and Dörflingen. The smallest the strip gets is 1 KM.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BCsingen)

So that will be a 24 minute bus ride to check out that town... hope they take my GA :P

I also want to check out Stein am Rhein, a 24 minute train ride away from the city... it is supposed to be beautiful.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stein_am_Rhein)

Just a mini adventure.. and a good excuse to take a million pictures.

Explanation and map of Büsingen and how it works.


Stein am Rhein


The town Schaffhausen.


Büsingen


Stay tuned for my own version of these towns and how I interpretted them and took them in through my camera...

The Toothbrush Incident

I write about the good times.. time to write about a time that was not so good.. and how I dealed with it and how God is awesome.

I like to change my tooth brush every 3 months. Simple eh? When I first came to my host family, I figured it was time to get a new one. They even gave me one. It was pink and soft and oh so lovely.

But three months passed and my dear toothbrush looked like it was shoved into my mouth every day and pushed around... it was. That plaque fighting machine was loosing speed... and I didn`t want my teeth to pay for it.

So finally... I got up the nerve to ask my host mom for another toothbrush. I don`t ask for much. Just a tooth brush.

She told me it would be better if I bought it myself.

Ok... I know this must have been an overreaction, a toothbrush right? But I cried. I cried into my pillow. Not long, not hard, but I felt homesick. I mean, my real mom would.

It was not the fact that I could not have a toothbrush.. it was the concept behind it. The thought. Host families... we are told they will treat us like family. They should. And my mom buys me my toothbrushes.

I am in no way trying to put down my host family. They are wonderful and I am greatful for them. I have no problem if they find this on the internet and read it. I mean.. they give me everything. What is wrong with saying no to a toothbrush? I am the one who was too sensitive.

But in my head were the thoughts... am I not worth it to them? I try to be the best host daughter. Going out of my way to help out how I can. Trying to not be a burden. What am I doing wrong that would make them not want to spend money for a toothbrush for me.

But I knew God was there... goodness yes.

And then I thought some more. Well.. my host parents do buy me lots of stuff. My host mom buys me bananas because she knows I love them. She bought me lots of stuff for my throat. And my very own bag of cough drops. They do care. And I shaped up a bit more.

My mind even drifted to how I hadn`t cried in forever, was doing great... and that I knew somehow God needed me to go through this. He would follow through. I would learn something through this.

And then I realized I still needed that toothbrush. But I was in a better mood, I did my mood shift there on my pillow and was back to normal soon. But that toothbrush. So I decided to totally turn it into a fun event. Something that I could enjoy. I would call it... "Maggie Goes To the Store and Buys the Most Amazing Toothbrush Ever."

Sounds good huh?

Anyways... I left my room when my host mother confronted me... toothbrush in hand. She asked if it would work. I must have looked pretty weird.. like she had given me the moon. But to me, it was the world. It was a toothbrush... for my very own. She cared!

And you know what?

It was even orange.