Washington D.C.

Actually, it's Silver Springs, Maryland, but nobody is getting technical so who cares. I woke up at 4:45 this morning and we left the house at 5:15. My suitcases were all completely packed and both of them weighed just under 50 pounds each! It was really hard to roll them through SeaTac, but once we checked them, it was fine. It was really hard to say goodbye to Mom and Dad and Sally, but we've already got a phone call lined up for this Sunday! The flight from SeaTac to Dulles was shorter than expected, but still long! I had a window seat which was great...I saw the area where I live, Chief Kanim Middle School, and Mount Si High School. The views flying over the Cascades were beautiful. Landing at Dulles was really fun...the surrounding area was beautiful and green. After we got to the airport, Ciara, Calvin, and I (two kids from Seattle) waited for our bags at the carousel. After that our whole group got on the big charter bus and drove about an hour to our hotel here in Silver Springs. One of my roommates, Rachel, got to the room before me, and Kaitlin arrived a little later. Rachel is from Folsom, California and Kaitlin is from Eagle, Idaho. We both love Brundage!!:) Our other roommate should be here soon. Well we have to meet in the lobby at 7:15 so I'd better go! Love ya...Carrie

Visa

I finally got my passport with visa in it this morning! I've heard lots of different things about visas. Some people say to start the process as soon as possible and others say to wait until arriving in Germany. I'd advise anyone who needs a visa to start early! My mom and I began filling out the paperwork and everything in April and I just got my passport with visa inside back today! So it definitely takes a long time...longer than you would expect.
The nearest consulate is in San Francisco, so that's where I had to send my passport and paperwork. It really helped that we went to an honorary consulate on Mercer Island who helped expedite the process by stamping and signing the papers.
One thing I have to say about the visa is that it is really cool looking. It has rainbow coloring and this shiny stamp of the world on it. Also, there are so many little designs on it that keep people from trying to produce counterfeit visas. My visa lasts for 90 days...obviously I am going to be in Germany longer than that! Once I get to Germany, I have to go to an Auslander office where they can give me the permanent residence visa or whatever I need to stay for the entire year.

On another note, I only have 1 day of school left!!!!! And only 40 more days until Washington D.C. and 44 more days until I arrive in Germany!!!!

It's really happening...:)

Pictures of St. Michael Gymnasium, Monschau

Hopefully these aren't all too small! I had to get them off the internet so maybe they aren't very good.

I think this is the courtyard of St. Michael

Another part of the school.

Ein Klassenzimmer...class room. No inspirational posters like in American classrooms :)haha

Another part of the courtyard maybe??

Biologiezimmer...some sort of Biology/lab room

I don't think I am going to be able to put pictures of my host family up because I can't figure out how to save the pictures off the documents they send me and attach them to these posts. But once I get some pictures that I can post, I'll put them up as soon as I can. Exactly 2 months from today I'll be leaving for Washington D.C. and then Germany!

Dang the pics are kinda small. Sorry...

Some Pictures

My school is here in Monschau!

This is another picture of Monschau. It is about a 15 minute bus ride from Lammersdorf/Simmerath. It's so pretty there!

Next I'm uploading host family pictures so keep checking for new posts :)

Flight Information

Now I'm really getting excited because I got my flight information for Germany! I kept on hearing about kids who had gotten their info that day, so I decided to go get the mail. Sure enough, there were two envelopes from ASSE waiting. One of them contained generic visa and passport information (still gotta get that visa stuff sent off!). The other envelope had some stuff about our flights and when we need to schedule them. I have to be at Dulles between 1 and 4 pm on August 2. Other than that, I have no idea what's happening that day! I think there is only one flight option, but I'm hoping to book it soon so I can get a window seat!:) Then we have three days of pre-departure orientation in Washington D.C. before we leave for Germany on August 5. Our flight leaves Dulles at 5:15pm and arrives in Frankfurt, Germany on August 6 at 7:10am. The flight is only 7 hours which I was really surprised about. That's only 2 hours longer than to D.C. and maybe 1 hour longer than to Hawaii. Not too bad. My mom emailed Karin, my host mom, so we'll see if GIVE (German version of ASSE) has given her any more info about how I am getting from Fankfurt to Aachen, or wherever I am going to meet my host family. Bis bald!

Second Phone Call With My Host Family

Yesterday, I called my host family for the first time! Since they called me last weekend, my mom wanted me to call them this weekend. My German teacher gave me a good website to go on to get a phone card. It is uniontelecard.com. It's super easy...all you have to do is make an account, choose the card you want (I got 13 hours for $10), and enter your credit card information. Then they give you a 1-800 number to call. You'll have a pin number to enter and after you enter it, all you have to do is dial the international calling code (011), the country code for Germany (49), 4 digit area code (leave off the first 0), and finally the phone number. It's actually really easy and if you ever need an international calling card, check out uniontelecard.com.
Yesterday, I only talked to Karin, but it was still really fun. We talked about their vacations (2 0r 3 weeks in Italy before I get there) and skiing in Austria (!) during the winter. We also talked about school, their daily schedule, and how they celebrate holidays in Germany. It was really interesting and fun to talk to her. She also told me about their awesome coffee maker that you put coffee beans into and a cup of coffee with cream in it. Haha my mom says I'm going to come back a major kaffee drinker. Dannah says hi.
I'm hoping I get another packet of information soon from ASSE. I really want to find out flight information and more stuff about Washington D.C. and what we do when we get to Frankfurt. I'm 99% sure we all meet in D.C. on August 3 and leave for Germany on August 6, but who knows.

Talked on the Phone With My Host Mom

At 11:25 this morning, the phone rang. I picked it up and the caller said "This is Karin from Deutschland". It was my host mom! I knew she was going to call sometime between 9 and 12 this morning but I didn't know exactly when. My mom and I talked to Karin for a couple minutes. She told us that after school gets out, they are going to a little town near Venice, Italy for a few weeks until I get to Germany. She also said that I arrive in Aachen, Germany on August 6. Apparently, I am going to be having my language camp in Aachen. That will work out really well because then I can live with the Windhorsts and get used to the area. Aachen is only a half hour to 45 minutes from Lammersdorf by bus, so it will be an easy trip. I also talked to Meike a little. It was hard because I felt like I couldn't say anything to her (wir haben Deutsch gesprochen). We don't learn very many conversational words or phrases in class. But I did alright and I just have to remember that it will get easier if I work hard to learn the language. I'm going to return the call next weekend...maybe I'll think of some questions to ask Meike auf Deutsch. On another note, I am just waiting for my police clearance form to come in the mail before I can send my visa application off the San Francisco. Hopefully it will come this week!