What?! Switzerland doesn't fit in my suitcase?!

Woah. I leave to go back home on the 9th of june. I can't imagine what it will be like when I get home. I know that it must be different because of how long I was gone for, but here is a question that has been haunting me lately. "Has things changed at home? OR will it be exactly the same and I am the one that will be different?"
Here is probably a question that the readers of my blog(you) are asking.
Are you happy to come home? Or would you rather stay in Switzerland?
Here is my answer: I am happy to come home but I want to stay in Switzerland.
Of course I am excited to see my friends and family but I am not excited to leave my friends and family here.

Time goes way to fast. It feels as thought, I have just found an amazing place where I feel at home and now I have to pack my bags and leave.

The main reason why I would not want to leave: THOMAS DOES'NT FIT IN MY SUITCASE!
The last 7 months with Thomas have been so wonderful. But the feeling that we are forced to spend some time away from another is not so wonderful. We have decided to make the best of these last 3 weeks. We will see each other  in a few months. He is planning to come visit me in the Fall.

Me and Thomas

Hiking!

Flori!

HIS FIRST S'more!!!!

                             

hiking in Klöntal !

Thomas!!!
<3 :D SOOOO Schöne!!!
ahh!!! Er ist mein Freund! (inside joke)hehe

with my friend Kathrin on the river in Glarus! She is coming to visit me!!! :) She is the coolest!

Some people may question, "Does the sadness of leaving make you regret going abroad in the first place?"

Answer: APSOLUTELY NOT. I would never regret this year. If I hadn't have came here, I wouldn't have gotten to experience a different culture and become the person that I am now. I also wouldn't have met Thomas and all of the other amazing people.

I was told from earlier exchange students that it really helps to make a list of the things that you look forward to at home. I will do it right now.

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO AT HOME....

1. Layla, My dog! 

2. My tree house!

3. My family

4. My friends

5. My brother's guitar

6. In-N-Out( really good food!)

7. Going to Yosemite National park 

8. Yoga with my sister

9. Dance

10. our chickens in the back yard! (they were tiny when I left)

11. San Francisco 

12. Urban Outfitters

13. My piano

14. Mills canyon, (the forest by my house and the only place that will remind me of what it is like here in Schwändi.)

I guess making this list did make me feel a lot better. :)

My parents came to visit me!!:)

My parents came to visit me over my spring break. I had a great time with them and it was so nice to see them! I showed them around my Canton and a couple other cities in Switzerland. In the first week they had the chance to see how I am living, meet Thomas and his family, and spend time with my host family. In the second week, we traveled together to Germany! We visited Berlin and Hamburg.

Me, Flori, my Mom, my Dad :)
Barbara and I took my parents up to Braunwald. That is where I would often go snowboarding. It is about a half and hour away because you have to take a tram to go up. It is beautiful up there.

The view from our room in Berlin.

This is Alette. She lives in Hamburg, Germany.  She staid with my family and took care of my brother and sister before I was born. I have heard so much about her but I never have had the chance to meet her.
I finally met her and... WOW!!! She is so cool!!! We are about 25 years apart in age but we had so much fun together. Because I wanted to practice my german and she, her English, we spoke a mixture of both. We have just met and spent a couple days together, but it feels like we have been sisters my whole life! I miss her already and can't wait to visit her again!

me, Aletta <3

Alette, my Mom, me
(rOCk'n tHem eaR MUffs)

Berlin wall

My dad! :)

What has been Going on!

Over Winter break, my Sister, Mackenzie and two of my great friends, Leia and Lisen, came to Switzerland to visit me! It was amazing! We had such a great time together and they all got along very well with my host family! :)

Lisen(from Sweden), Mackenzie, Leia

Barbara, Mackenzie

Flori!

Luzern

Leia, Mackenzie, Thomas(my boyfriend<3), me!

Flori (my other boyfriend<3) and me!
Just hanging out together as normal! :)

Mackenzie(enjoying life), Leia(pumped to be in Europe for the first time)
On the train!

me and Barbara(my beautiful host mother)

Lisen, Mack, Me, Leia

Sisters after 6 months not seeing each other!

Christmas :)

Soon after the departure from Mackenzie, Leia, and Lisen, I had to say a couple more goodbyes.

My best friends finished their exchange year and all went back to their homeland. :(
Ella(Australia) , Amanda(Brazil), Cookie(Thailand)

I MISS THEM A LOT!!!!! We will be life-long friends! <3

I have to admit that I have had a tough time in the last month or so. Not only because I had to say so many goodbyes, but recently was the 2 year anniversary of my brother, Brett's death. But In this hard time of my exchange year I have someone that helps me through it a lot. That is my Boyfriend, Thomas. I am thankful to have him. His smile, music talent, humor and patience can make any bad day of mine 100 % better! When I say patience, I am referring to the fact that we speak only german together! Even though he can speak very good English, he knows that I am here to learn the language so he speaks german. I think that because of Thomas, my german has improved so much in the last 3 months.

This is Thomas! :)
We went iceskating on a lake! How cool is that? I definitely could not experience
 something like that in San Fransisco. 

<3

For Leah. Have fun in Germany! :D

I just got a message from someone named Leah. I don't know her but she enjoys reading my blog. She asked me to keep writing because she is getting ready for her exchange semester in Germany.

 Thank you Leah for reminding me to blog. :) I do admit that I have waited too long to write again. I have experienced a lot since my last post so I don't exactly know where to begin. I bet you are so excited to go to Germany, but also, a little nervous too. I will start with a list of tips that help me while I am abroad. Maybe they will help you too!

1. The less communication you have with your family and friends back home, the better!(especially in the beginning)

- It is hard, but I know you can do it. ;) This will help with homesickness. I found it helpful to deactivate my Facebook in the beginning because it made me sad to see what everyone back home is up to. I think it is extremely important to indulge yourself in making new friends, developing a relationship with your host family and just the new culture as much as possible. It is hard to try to live in 2 different cultures at once.

2. Speak only the language that you are learning. Don't be afraid to look stupid!! 

- English is an international language. Almost everyone that I know here speak English. A lot of people would love to practice their english with you. But this is YOUR exchange year and you are there to learn the language. Don't be afraid to tell them that. Most people would completely understand and probably really admire how much you want to learn. 

And yes, you might feel a little stupid at first while learning. But Learning a whole language is hard! And people will understand that. :)

I even speak german with the other exchange students that come from English speaking countries.

3. Please don't stress yourself with school!

- Learning chemistry in German is difficult. You are there to learn german. Just try your best. Have a dictionary out and write down new words as much as possible. Thats all you can do. 

Don't worry be happy! :)

4. Don't freak out when you start gaining weight. I am sorry, but it will happen. 

- There is a big chance that your diet will change dramatically in a new culture. Just enjoy it! This is a huge discussion between me and the other exchange students. ALL OF THEM GAINED WEIGHT. We came to the conclusion that we can lose the weight again when we go back home. It is worth it! (cheese&chocolate) ;)

5. Start a blog!

 This blog is my excuse to take a break from german. It is your blog and you can write what ever you want! Maybe it will help a future exchange student. ;) And I can't wait to read this in 10 years! :D

Remember, these tips helped me. You are your own person! You are going to find ways that work for yourself. :) If you have any specific questions, Don't hesitate to ask! I think it is great that you want to live in a different country and experience a new culture.  GO YOU! :)

I will write about the cool experiences I had recently sometime this week! I promise! :)

WIth time your mind seems to adjust to the way things are. I already feel that I have changed and grown so much in the past 4 months.

I recently had 2 weeks off from school for autumn break. Yes, We have autumn break here. :) During these 2 weeks I went to Italy and the Italian speaking part of Switzerland with my host parents. In Italy we visited Barbara's Brother Ueli. He lives about and hour from the city, Florenz. He is a really nice guy and he remembers my dad when he was here even though he was about 10 years old! I had a great time.

Right before my holidays, I received an early Christmas gift from my Grandpa!!! He got me a really nice Nikon camera! I LOVE IT!! I have already taken so many pictures. Probably too many but I am in love! :) Thank you again Grandpa! Love you!!

Barbara, Ueli, Christoph, and of coarse, the Family RV which we lived in it for 2 weeks! (lets just say that I am really happy to be sleeping in my bed in my own room now)!

Photography by Chloe :)

Christoph!
(My Host father. :) haha

Barbara!
(My host mother :) Hehe

I love my ...…

...New camera!!

Florence, Italy :)

Ice skating with Ella!!
Ella leaves in 2 months to go back to Australia  :( She recently moved to Schwändi!
She is my hot Chocolate buddy! I am going to miss her a lot but now I have a big excuse to have to go to Australia! :D 

Obviously, I could use some practice with Ice skating! :/

Cookie is still Cookie! :D

She leaves also in 2 months to go back home to Thailand. :(

Right when I get back to the states I am going to save up to go visit her!

I know that we are life-long friends. :)

   

                           

Field trip with the exchange students! :)
Brazil, Usa, Canada, Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia, Australia, Thailand!

We call this the Exchange student face...

 

...Because with German, we often don't know what is going on :)

Best buddies here in Schwändi. :)