Hello!
Well, it looks like we missed you in the chatroom even though you said you would stay awake and try to talk to us online. But the time difference is hard and in Germany, Maren says they have to pay to use the chat rooms! I think it would be easiest to send e-mail so that we can read it and send it when we are awake and no one has to stay up late.
Yesterday morning was Maren's ABI- Strich which was the program they put on for the teachers and students at the school. She stayed up all night at the school with the other students to prepare and then she slept all day when she came home. The production they put on was really good. They made a set that was the cock pit of the star ship enterprise from Star Trek. The day before I had to help them cover all the windows in the gym so it was dark inside. The props lit up and they even moved three computers into the gym to make it look like real computers on the ship. They did a few skits and then they had competitions for the teachers to play against the students. The games were fun to watch because they were easy for me to understand. The rest of the program is all german, so I pretty much just laugh when they laugh.
Maren had to clean up after the Abi-strich yesterday afternoon and I didn't have to help, so I opted not to. So, I went outside and sat in the sun and read my magazine. It was so nice! I actually felt like I was on vacation! Remind me someday that traveling to another country isn't always that much of a vacation. Then, when we got home, Maren went to sleep and I decided to go for a run. I ran up the hill to see all the houses and gardens, and then I went into a forested area just north of Maren's house. There is an obstacle course along the path in the forest, so I played on that for a while and practiced my jumping. There was also a pole and I held the pole with my right arm and I can stretch and straighten my arm all the way now. I can't wait to be able to throw again.
Anyway, continuing my run. . .
I ran to Maren's school and on the way, I passed a children's playground, so I decided to run through it. And on my way, I looked down and there was a snake on the path!!! I immediately peed (?) in my pants! Just kidding. I think it was only a garder snake and it was only about a foot long. I watched it for a while but then I got the willies, so I kept running. I think it was good for me to get out though. I loved looking at the houses and it was nice to be outdoors.
Maren wants me to go to a class with her today. It is a spanish class. :( I don't really want to go, but she is trying to learn spanish and she keeps saying that it will be fun. Now, if it were a german class I'd be interested. Oh well. Say la vi!
Tonight we are supposed to go to a party for her class. Maren said they are going to have music and a lot of beer! Yeah! I can't wait! It sounds like my kind of party!! Oh, and don't forget that I also get to talk to myself because I don't speak the language. There is one girl that is friends with maren that speaks to me a lot, but the rest of them are too embarrassed to try their english. Oh well.
Last night I watched a movie that Maren had. It was called "Schlaflos (Sleepless) in Seattle." I liked it because I already knew what was happening and I could understand a few words here and there. It wasn't as good in german though. All of the songs were in english, so I liked those parts. The voices are not the same as the actual acter/actresses voices and it doesn't sound right to me. Yesterday I was flipping through the channels on the tv and I found the Cosby Show!! It was so great! And the best part was that the episode that I was watching was one where Bill Cosby tap dances at his daughter's tap class, and there was a lot of dancing and very little talking. Therefore, I could understand the humor. Hurray!! It is horrible to hear all the american tv shows in German. I keep hoping they will all the sudden start speaking english, but I haven't had good luck so far.
Did I tell you that they all listen to American music here? It's crazy! The boy from New York is coming today. Marita thinks that she has to go out and buy american food for him while he is here, because when Nikol (Maren's brother) was in NY, they asked him what he wanted and took him to the store to pick out the food he wanted. So, Marita feels like she has to cater to his every need instead of showing him the german experience. She is nervous, so I keep telling her how much I like her cooking and that I know he will like it too.
Fabio and his parents are going to buy the new car tomorrow, so we should be able to visit Shelly next week sometime. What day is the 10th? Maren has to be here for the ABI-ball on Friday and she needs to set up for it all this week. But after that, we should have more time. I can't wait to see him. I'm really glad that he speaks english too! I said that the train trip would take a few days, but I meant the trip from Portugal to Böblingen. We will drive down in Fabio's car to Shelly's house and visit for a while and then we will go to Portugal to take the car to Fabio's families summer home. So, then we will take a train back from Portugal, I think. How long does Shelly want us to stay with him? I wish I could hang out with him for a while longer. He sounds like a really great person. And I just happen to love Switzerland.
Well, my fingers are getting tired. I hope all is well at home. Congratulations on the successful diet. I'm glad to hear you are happy with the results. I will have to try it when I get home!
Oh, one last story. I was eating dinner with Marita last night and I said that whatever it was that she had made was my favorite meal so far. And she told me it was easy to make and that all it was was some turkey and a sauce that comes in a packet like the sauces we use at home. Crazy, huh? And here I thought she had slaved over a hot stove for hours trying to get the sauce to be perfect. :)
Ok. I will go now. I love you guys tons. Well, until next time. . .
Oh, if you see Sarah, give her a hug for me and tell her I miss her.
Love ya!!
Julie
German "Diddl Mause"
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 16:36:10
Hello!
Thank you for the e-mail. It is really nice to know that I can write to you and that everyone else will see it at the same time. I would dread coming home and having to retell the stories over and over. So, I
really appreciate what you and Aunt Wendy are doing.
Last night I hung out with Isabell, who is one of Maren's friends from school. She wanted to come over and watch a movie with me at Maren's house while Maren was at school. It was a movie called the Comedian Harmonists about a group of five German singers and their struggles over having 3 Jewish men in the group. It took place in the 1920's during the time of the Nazi's. It was really good, but a little sad and Isa and I cried together. She had to translate some of the parts, but I understood a lot of it by the actors actions and facial expressions.
Then, after the movie, Maren came home and we all went to the "Beer Party." It was the end of the year party for her class. We arrived at about 9 and stayed until 4am! I had a great time, but I was amazed at the amout of alcohol being consumed. It was incredible. They are very responsible for the most part though by having designated drivers and such. The American exchange students from Maren's brother's class arrived yesterday and they went to the party too. They were all very drunk by the end of the night because they were so excited that they were old enough to drink. A lot of them were also throwing up because they had drank too much. I talked with a few of them, but I spent most of the night with the German kids from Maren's school. It is amazing how good their english is after a few beers!
We danced a lot, but the room didn't have any windows, so it was literally a sauna by the end of the night. And, here in Germany, it is ok to smoke indoors, and the room was one big cloud of smoke. I was ok until my eyes started to hurt around 2am. The smoke was bothering my contact lenses, so I went outside and sat and talked to some other kids. We had a great time though. We even danced to the YMCA song! Haha! They think they are Americans! And I spent a lot of time talking to a guy named Andy. He was cute, and he was really interesting to talk to, so that was fun. He introduced me to his exchange student from the US, and the New Yorker was glad to talk to me because he was a little scared to be there. I felt like the experienced one there as far as traveling in Germany, so it was fun.
Well, Fabio's parents bought the car today and maren and Fabio want to leave on Monday of next week. So, we are going to try to call Shelly tonight and see if that is ok. I would love to go stay with him alone, but Maren and Fabio both love Switzerland and would like to go with me. Oh well.
Well, what else? I'm tired. I think I will go for a walk into town today for lack of better things to do. Boblingen is a big town and I haven't been given the tour, so I may just go give myself the tour. I just hope I don't get lost! I guess Marie is not very independent and she won't even go for walks alone, so Marita was so happy to know that I wasn't afraid to be on my own. I kind of like it. It gives me time to experience things at my own pace and I can take time to enjoy everything.
Well, I'm off to go back to Maren's house. I hope everything is going well at home. Congratulations on your diet!!!! That is so wonderful! I hope there is still something to hug when I get home! Tell Dad that I love him and I miss him. And you too! Have a great day!
Love,
Julie