You light up my life.

So many of you have commented on my lack of photos from ordinary life. You know . . . school, eating, sleeping, pooping. Just like a baby. I have forgotten to take any pictures of the bathroom, but I thought I would share a few tidbits of life in Germany with you all.

A typical day(in the week):

6.15/6.30 wake up shower/get ready for school

7.00 Breakfast with Brochen (rolls) or Müsli (cereal/granola/bowl o' nuts) and Coffee

7.45 School starts, usually my least favorite class, French, happens to be first

12.35 School is out, walk home

13.00 Eat a large lunch with some potatoes and meat

Afternoon - Some sort of random activity, Art class today for example and Choir tomorrow

Also maybe take a walk with Maxi (the dog), go on the computer, do homework . . .etc.

8.00 Eat dinner, which nearly always consists of Bread in an open-faced sandwich with cheese and meat, as well as this non-sweet cream cheese like butter called Buko. Nutella, and luckily for me, Peanut Butter, is also an option. Tea is normally the drink at dinner

9.00 Watch a movie/Have a long conversation with Theresa/random evening activity

10.30/11.00 go to sleep

The Büchter family dinner table

One half of the living room - Theresas piano (Klavier) is to the left

The other half of the living room, where I have been fortunate enough to enjoy Harold and Maude in Germany, as well as certain Bayern soccer games :)

Looking out to the front lawn (while the grass is still green!)

The Büchter family refrigerator . . . wooo . . . . spooky . . . .

Stopping for a "Pause" with some of the girls from my class, we had Kaffee and Küchen on Wandertag(hiking day).

(Martina, Monika, Britta, Lena, Tamara, Carmen, Annegretl [from left>right])

Walking home one day, almost at the house looking over the city of Kempten.

At Katharinas horse tournament (she placed 4th), Dieter and Katharina are standing here before shes about to jump with Mylou.

Carl-von-Linde-Gymnasium (My school coming upon the main entrance)

Jenny and Lena in 11a (our classroom, where we spend most of our time but will once in a while switch around to the Physics room, etc. I sat by Lena the first week.

Julia, whom I sit by, giving me a surprised look as I snap a picture of her and her pencil case before English. Our classroom is right by the main entrance, with windows on the right side of this picture and a sort of library in the back. Students keep their (very small if I may add) books at school under their desks, and bring a binder (sometimes notebooks) to school everyday with them. One large binder should fit most of their work for the entire year, given that in Germany students arent taught, they "learn". I was absolutely amazed when I realized that I only had 3 questions of homework in Math, but then I grew to understand that the Homework isnt whats important, its that you learn and understand how everything works. They memorize everything! For those of you who may understand, it is similar to have Mr. Casper in every subject. In this manner, we have to memorize every small city and river in Bayern for Geography, and every tense of certain French verbs. Every day. It is quite refreshing to know that 30 minutes is about the most the spend on "learning" though a day. Another quick note: Students in high school "learn", Students in University "study". I find their use of the nouns/verbs quite interesting . . .

The steps leading up to further levels of the school, C-v-L has 3 floors and about 80 people in each grade, grades 5-13. The last two years of highschool, The Kollegstuffe (12th and 13th), are years that actually "count". During these years they study very hard to perform well on the Arbitur, or Final Test, that any student who goes to Gymnasium has to take. The test has different subjects you can so-to-speak major in, and then some that are required. My best comparision is that it is very similar to the SATs or SAT IIs. Half, or maybe a fourth, of your Arbitur grades are the ones you recieved in Kollegstuffe. The Arbitur determines where you can go to college, what you should study/are able to study . . . etc. Katharina, my older host sister, is in her first College level year (K12) right now.

There are basically 3 different types of schools in Germany: Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. Every student starts out in the Gründschule from the 1st to the 4th grade. Categories are then split up according to your performance as a child. If you are placed in the Hauptschule, you probably have a hard time learning or very lax study habits (even at age 8), and are stuck there until you graduate in the 9th grade, when you can start mediocre work. Those students with middle-ranging scores are placed in the Realschule, and if they are exceptional smart or work very hard they can be moved up to the Gymnasium. Gymnasiums are the most rigorous of the highschools, but you are also able to be moved down to the Realschule if you do not perform properly. Both Realschule and Gymnasium graduate after the completion of their Arbitur in the 13th grade, but if you graduate from a Realschule you could not go on to study law or medicine in University. Going to University is very cheap for natives in German, it used to be free.

There are also "Trade schools" where you can learn a certain craft, like woodworking or Police work. In every school however, you have to do some sort of internship to learn how the work world works.

Not every member of the German state find this a good system, Ulla (my host mom) for example, but it has been a system that has worked for the country for many years. During World War II the system was still intact, only in either West/East Germany (I cant quite recall) There was only two options for school, Realschule and Gymnasium, instead of three. C-v-L (where I am) isnt the smallest Gymnasium in Kempten, there are two others that are both much bigger.

Looking out at the backyard/courtyard of the school, where we spend our 20minute morning break (that is until it begins to snow).

Anne and Moni at the Herbstball (not the type to normally come, but they performed a Juggling act that I unfortunately missed)

Britta and I making fun of the table decorations, and apple that we eventually decided to eat.

I do not have many pictures of the Herbstball, an event occuring only every 2 years at C-v-L, but I must tell you that it is nothing like a school dance. There are performances by the Juggling group, Theater, and dance group. A band "Babel and the Goodman" (including the leader, our math/physics teacher on sax) played, and food and drink is offered (for a price). All the teachers are there in their finest, as well as parents when they feel up for coming. The Ball took place in the old wheat storage hall in Kempten, now renovated as a sort of Ballroom with a great room/wooden dance floor and a large balcony surrounding it above (where most of the students had tables). Waltz, Fox trot, Jive, and Cha-Cha were all enjoyed before midnight, where "Freestyle" dancing took ground and really kicked its shoes off, bellowing large steps of triumph until approxiamately 2.30am. I can not recall any hip-hop hitting the loud speakers however . . .

If any of these facts are incorrect, please let me know for I wrote this blog fairly quickly and with so much to concentrate on everyday, my memory has farts once in a while. So I apoligize.

Life is overall good here, the days get steadily colder (but not as wet anymore). I miss home of course, and for those of you living life up at William Kelley and reading this, embody double the amount of school spirit I would have if I was there for Homecoming this week. It may surprise you, but Silver Bay is something I have grown to miss very much here. When you are away, I believe you grow to appreciate where you come from just a little bit more.

The title comes from a very long story regarding sunshine and cedar trees that I was just reminded of, if you were wondering . . .