New York, New Yoooork !

HELLO guys! I know it hasn’t been too long, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH TO TELL.

First off, my arrival and everything went pretty well (well, prematurely) and I’m  currently at home in Oklahoma. So that’s it about my location.

Imma just start from the beginning.

On Wednesday morning my uncle and his girlfriend picked my mom and me up at 10:15am and we drove to the airport (which took us about 15 minutes, I totally thought it would last longer.) When entering the parking lot, we listened to KC’s My Life Would Suck (of course), and it was awesome.

Then we grabbed my bags and made our way to the meeting spot. Having found it quite quickly, I said hi to some of the girls who were flying with me and to whom I’d talked to on the internet earlier. Not long after, Isi, Lisa and Ira joined us and I was so happy to see them. We all were like totally crazy (as if we hadn’t been crazy before) and it was so fun. Then we had to go through some checks, and gradually, the process through the airport took its way. At one point everyone had to leave their families behind so they could get through the last couple of checks and eventually on the plane, so I hugged all of my family and friends and waved them goodbye. Even though I didn’t think I’d cry, I had to cry a little bit when it came to my best friend and my mom. But I didn’t feel sad at all, so it was rather fine. When being already apart from them, I saw them all waving goodbye and it was the cutest – and funniest – thing when everyone of my guys were doing “feed the birds” to make their farewells. So we got on the plane but unfortunately everyone of our organization was sitting somewhere else, so we were kinda spread all over the plane. Luckily we could manage to switch so Dorina and I were able to sit next to each other, which was the greatest thing ever.

 

After having had some complications (something at the plane broke, they had to fix it which lasted about TWO hours we had to spend on the plane. Great.) we finally made our way to the airport in Newark. When arriving there everyone was really exhausted. Fortunately I got on the first shuttle that drove us to the hotel, so I got there at abou 6 o'clock in the evening (Some others partly got there like 3 hours afterwards, so..). They told me I had to share a room with 3 girls from Norway; they were quite nice but I thought it was sad that I didn’t share a room with Dorina, Angelina or some other girls from my organization I actually knew.

Then we had pizza dinner, but I just ate one piece since I was quite tired and not hungry at all (and since the pizza just tastes like.. fat. Haha!)

Afterwards I called my mom and went to bed, finally.

The next morning I woke up pretty early, like at 6oclock or something. I got up to look out of the window and the sunset was so beautiful; we could see all of the buildings in NYC being emphasized by the orange light of the sun. Look:

 

 

We then got up, breakfasted and began our trip to the Statue Of Liberty. Our trip guides were Chris (he’s so funny; he already took part in several quite famous movies!) and Sherry (also really nice) and riding the bus with them was a blast. We drove with the ferry to get to the Island; and I gotta say the Statue is really pretty, but I’d actually thought it was taller and thinner, but well. This is me, Dorina and Angelina in front it.

  

After that we took the ferry back and went to a mall where we could go shopping for a little bit and had our lunch (Subway sandwiches, yummy).  Then we walked around in town, watched several buildings and went to a graveyard, a memorial house and some other sightseeings.

At some point in the afternoon we all went to Chinatown and were able to spend a couple of hours there doing whatever we wanted to. So Dorina, Sabine, Angelina and me gathered and decided to head to Starbucks at first. When we ordered we had to tell them our names so they could name the mugs, and they totally got all of our names wrong, it was so fun. 

When wandering round in Chinatown we made a pretty good bargain. In the evening we went to have our chicken dinner; the chicken I took was delicious but the fries were so dark because of all of the fat and thex didn’t taste too delicious. Althought the brownies afterwards were reaaally tasty ;)

So then we drove back to the hotel, after a loong, loong day, took some pics while walking on the Brooklyn Bridge (it was an overwhelming and unbelievable experience and SO precious!!) and I finally went to bed when we got there.

The next morning Dorina, Angelina and I had breakfast together. We just baked waffles, took muffins, maple sirup, fruits and everything else there was to try, haha. Even though the waffle tastes quite extraordinary and not like a waffle at all (so did the scrambled eggs), the muffins were pretty delicious.

Then we got our lunch bags and drove to the city, our first stop was a new built parc through which we walked. It was really pretty but it was really hot because the sun kept burning on our head and bodies. Afterwards we went to Central Park and had our lunch there. I liked Central Park pretty much and I thought the fountain was beautiful! We took a picture altogether which was awesome. There you go:

Having left Central Park we drove back into the city and were dropped off in front of the Rockefeller Center Plaza. Now we had some time to go shopping (which was not that much of a use because walking to a store lasted so long so you had to come back quite soon to not be late; we made it to a H&M store, thought, which had three floors and was the biggest H&M I’ve EVER been to), then we met to go on top of the building (67 floors, omg. But the sight was soooo amazing! Look:

 

        

And when we rode the elevator there were some cool graphics and lights on the top bahaha)

After spending 20 minutes on the roof we had some more time to go shopping around in the area, but we were quite exhausted so we didn’t get to many stores. BUT. We got us some sparkling water (YAY) anddddddd I discovered a Ben & Jerry’s store I just couldn’t just pass by. OMG. I got myself “Late Night Snack” and it was ‘MAAAZIN !

Later on we drove to Times’ Square where we had to pair in groups of four; I gathered with Angelina, Sabine and Dorina (again, lol). We decided to have dinner at the Hard Rock Café first (it was DELICIOUS and I bought a Shirt for my uncle and me!!) and then we were joined by some other foreign students and went through the streets and some stores, for example the M&M’s store and an electronic store. I got a pic with an M&M AND with Micky Mouse, isn’t that awesome??

        

At some point we just placed at the stairs and sat there to watch the city darken and the lights glow even more. It was such an overwhelming and epic experience you can’t couch in terms.

  

At the end of the day we all got into the bus and just shortly stopped by at a lane a little bit distanced from the city so we could watch the skyline one last time and take pictures of it. MAVELLOUS is all I have to say.

The rest of the evening Angelina, Dorina and I were just exchanging pictures and then went to bed. The next morning I got up at 7 so I could breakfast with the two of them and say them goodbye since they had to leave at 8:30am already. After a pretty sad goodbye I went to my room and since everyone was gone I skyped with some of my best friends which was fun. I’d already gotten all of my stuff packed so I left the room on time at 12:00am and placed myself in the lobby with my pc. Sabine and some other girls joined me and we ended up looking at some pics we’d taken within the three days in New York City.

 

At 1:30pm our shuttle picked us up and Sabine and said Chris goodbye, got on the shuttle and quit it at Terminal C. Having gone through some checks, we were told to go to Terminal A so we drove there. After we’d finally found where I had to go we decided to get some dunkin’ donuts (AWESOME) and when it was about time to leave I made my farewell’s with Sabine and got through the last security check (I even had to take my shoes off, ANNOYING!). I quickly found my gate, bought some water and then sat on one of the chairs. During the 1 ½ that I had to wait before getting onto the plane I even talked to a couple who’d actually lived in Newalla, woo!

Okay guys, so that’s pretty much it about New York. I know I’ve already landed in Okla like 4 days ago, but everything’s been really busy. Tomorrow will be my first day at school and I’m pretty excited! So I’ll just post this for now and continue this entry later on (then I’ll tell you about my arrival and my first days in Oklahoma.)

Have a great day y’all! & Cheers from Okla!

Anja xoxo

P.S. I was really tired when I wrote this so if you find mistakes you can keep 'em (:

Goodbye Germany; HELLO New York !

Hey guyssss!
This is just a short update because I’m really tired and exhausted and I guess I should get some rest, but I didn’t wanna leave without writing another entry.

First off: I’M GETTING TO NY IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS AND I’M COMPLETELY THRILLED.

BUT. I’ve also got the tiniest bit of fear since I’ve never been on a plane before AND there is soo much I have to keep in mind and think of, my mind is just overloaded.

My farewell party this weekend was RAD, I had so much fun with my friends. In the end there was just me and three of my best friends left and we just danced and screamed and had a blast fooling around and freaking out. Here’s a pic:

Also, I wanna seize this opportunity to thank all of my friends for their lovely presents again! I LOVED all of ‘em!

At my family farewell party one week ago, my uncle and his girlfriend attached some envelopes with little wishes on ‘em and a map of Oklahoma with a set of photographs to the trolley they’re lending me, it looked so cute & I was so happy about it! Of course I also loved all of the other amazing presents J

Anyways, my bags are packed and I’m ready to rumbleee! Haha, well, I’d better say “ready to depart”, haha.

I will miss my family and friends so much, though, and it’s really hard leaving them, but I know it’s worth it since it’s been my dream to go to the US since forever.
In addition, I’m already greatly looking forward to getting to NY, Okla and the US in general, and to meeting everyone of my organization, having a wonderful time with them in NYC, and of course, getting to know my host family! Everyone is being so kind and I’ve got no doubt that I’ll have an amazing time!

Okay, I’m going to call it a night for now. I’ll update this blog as soon as possible, probably somewhen after I got to Oklahoma. (I’m getting there on Saturday evening and my host family & I are going to go out to a Mexican restaurant, YAY! I’ve never been to a Mexican diner before, hence I’m excited!!)

So have a great week everyone! And see you in ten months!

Goodbye good, old Germany and HELLO New York! USA, here I comeeee!

Nighty night,

Anja

2 weeks - where did time go ?

Hi everyone!

I have to apologize for such a long time of not writing, but I’ve had quite a busy time. Anyways, after such a hiatus there is pretty much new stuff to report!
First off, here are the pics of my host family etc. I wanted to post earlier but just needed my family’s permission which I got now.

So first off, this is my host family. My host dad, my host mom with my host brother’s child, my host brother, his wife and last but not least, my host sister. I really love this picture, because it’s such a typical family picture.. and I like the Christmas tree in the back, haha.

This will be my room. It has a dresser, a queen-size bed (omg yay!), a closet, a little tv and Kacy said she will put her old desk in my room so I can use it for several tasks like doing my homework.

Here you can see our house. I absolutely love it since it looks really country-like and pretty comfortable. Can’t wait to get to see it all live!

Well then, another thing I gotta tell y’all about is that I skyped with my host mom and dad some week ago.. and it was absolutely fantastic! It was so great to talk with them in person and to hear everyone speak! At first I was immensely excited and thrilled, even a little bit frightened. But after some connection problems everything worked out really well and we spoke for about one hour and a half! I had a blast talking with them and I thought it was the sweetest thing ever when my host dad told me that my host mom will care for me like I was her own daughter. I felt really flattered and I gotta say once again that I’m more than happy to have such a nice host family! The day after I skyped with my host sister (and partly also with her boyfriend; I could hear him in the background which was the most hilarious thing ever haha!), but since the connection sucked pretty much, we couldn’t talk and  ended up just writing and hearing the other type, haha. But nonetheless, it was awesome and I hope I’ll be able to skype with them again before I leave!

Additionally, I had my appointment at the embassy for my visa about 3 weeks ago. The preparation for the visa was a huge, huge effort and procedure; my mom and I had to fill in so many sheets and had to get plenty confirmations and everything, but luckily I had every sheet I needed when I got there. In fact, they just wanted 3-4 sheets and confirmations out of the bunch of papers I’d carried.

When we walked to the building I met Chiara, one of the girls I’d got to know at the preparation meeting in Würzburg; she was just returning from the embassy and had already got her visa. It was great meeting her again and I can’t wait to see all of the girls from the meeting in Würzburg and from the internet in only 14 days!

Anyways, having arrived at the building, I lined up in the queue and after I had to go to two counters I had to go inside and me and an American-speaking family were advised to walk through a check-up. It beeped when I went through it (I hate these things), but the beeping had no consequences (don’t ask me why, never understood the systems) so they told where to go and I headed to another building. Entering the room, I saw about 300 people waiting and 15 counters where people were called to go. You had a number and there was a screen on the wall where your number appeared two times, and when you had been at both of the counters, you could leave. It was a really complicated and weird system, I don’t think anyone got it. Gradually, I was called to go to the counters, had to answer a few questions and that’s it. Having spent there about 2 hours, I was finally free to go and met my mom outside who’d gathered up with some other waiting parents. Afterwards, my mom told me that she was so glad this was finally done and that it’d been terribly tearing at her seams, which I hadn’t known and felt really sorry for. But having been told that my visa will arrive during the next 7 days, I was also happy and in the end also relieved. Another step was done and time was floating by quickly.

When I checked my mail on Saturday, I found a huge envelope from Kaplan. A huge grin suddenly spread over my face and I immediately opened it when I got inside. 

In it I found my flight ticket (which is an electronic ticket), a packing list (just suggestions), other flight information and last but not least our NY schedule. On August 10^th we all meet at the airport at 11:00am and my flight leaves at 1:20pm. Then, after spending 3 days in NY, I have to leave at 8:00am to fly to Oklahoma. It’s pretty early in the morning, but the earlier I fly, the more time I’ve got in Oklahoma. My flight back was preliminarily booked for June 1^st, but that can still change.

Concerning the schedule when being in NY – it’s absolutely awesome and reading it raised my anticipation even more! So, the first day we’ll get there and will be transported to our hotel. Then we may go swimming or shopping and in the evening all of us will have a pizza dinner together. On Thursday there is an orientation meeting after breakfast where we’re going to discuss all sorts of topics concerning the exchange year. In the afternoon we’re going to spend our time with sightseeing, for example going to Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and so on. And in the evening we’re going to have a chicken dinner. On Friday our group is going to make a NY City- and Shopping Tour and at the end of the day we’ll have our last dinner at the Hard Rock Café. (my uncle already said I have to bring him a Hard Rock Café Shirt from New York, haha!) On Saturday we’re going to head to the airport after we all breakfasted, each flying to their city. During this trip we’ll apparently have a guide, whose name is Chris. He looks really kind & funny, and from what I was told, he’s awesome!

Oh and, by the way, I’m done with the invitations for my farewell party and I’m going to spread them now. I wanted to send them earlier, but during the last days there had been complications referred to the location and on top of that, my internet didn’t work. I hope everyone will be able to come!

I also thought of visiting my friends at school during the break the day before my departure, I don’t know whether I’ll end up actually doing it yet but it would certainly be fun.

In addition, I had troubles thinking of what to do the afternoon/evening right before August 10^th. I’ll probably go see my grandma again and meet up with some of my friends, respectively just spend time with my mom and my cat. Oh my, I really can’t realize all of that! I still have to make a packing list, or let’s say continue the one I started during school time (lol) and I have to buy a protective bag for my laptop which I’m going to take with me. As for the suitcase, my uncle’s girlfriend gave me hers since it’s really big and she rarely uses it.

Regarding presents for my host family, I already got almost everything and I’m really glad about that!

Besides, I’ve started passing a book within my friends where they can create some pages themselves and write whatever they want to tell me concerning my exchange year etc. Everyone is being really creative (I’ve only seen the first couple of pages) but they told me not to look at the other entries unless I’m inside the plane, so I won’t. But it’s hard not to, I’m really nosy and eager to see what they wrote! And I’m sure once I’ll be in that plane and actually read it, I’m totally gonna start crying.

Being on holidays, I’m spending much time with my friends and we’re having such an amazing time. It makes me realize even more how much I’m going to miss all of ‘em, though, and I still can’t imagine not seeing everyone for about 10 months. I know I almost say that in every entry, but it’s true. It’s so surreal and insane, but still, it’s the BEST THING EVER. Two weeks from today I’ll already be in the air, flying all the way to my dream. (This sentence somehow reminds me of the song “Free Falling” by Tom Petty; don’t ask me why, haha.)

So I’m going to end this entry now. All I say is 14 days: Rad, insane, awesome. Can’t wait!! There’s still so much to be done, but after conquering so many obstacles I’ve got no doubt my mom and I will manage this pretty well, too. She’s the person I’m going to miss the most and I’m feeling kinda guilty leaving her alone (okay, she’s still got our cat, haha.).. but I’ve got confidence in her that she’ll get past this time, too. 

Okay, Imma just stop talking and rambling now. 

I hope to be able to write on this blog again before I leave, but if this isn’t the case my next entry will be made from the US.. Thrilling!

Kbyee,

Anja