Life is Setting in

Days are getting busier and busier. More time is spent figuring out homework and schoolwork every day. Some days are good days, some days are not. A light clicks on, occasionally, and a sudden realization will be made. Other times, it's like having a cloud of question marks floating above your head.

The end of holidays was fun, despite the approaching Monday in school. Natasha (Rus) spent Saturday night with us after an AFS event in Oberhausen. She's one of the AFSers who has to change families because her family does not want her anymore. She stayed until Sunday evening, when she helped us make schnitzel with Jager sauce (mushrooms). Natasha and Jutta ended up doing most of the work, all I could do was skin potatoes. The kitchen is not big enough for 3 people working.

Many AFSers had birthdays during the holidays: Sarah, Alicia, Ana Paula, and Sanja, probably more. On Wednesday about 10 of us went to Sarah's house in Duisburg to celebrate her birthday, and on Sunday we went to Sanja's. It was interesting to hear "Happy Birthday" in seven different languages, or eat Bosnian cake.

The fun night with the AFS betrauers on Saturday was in the Oberhausen CentrO, the humongous mall. I've been to Oberhausen twice now. One of the coolest stores there is the Lego store, where they built a huge model of Harry Potter out of Lego bricks.

I wish I could do that.

Also in CentrO is a ton of clothing stores, phone stores, department stores, jewelry stores, you name it, they've got it. It has its own Bus station in the center, as well as its own mini theme park. On the grounds is also a theater type place, where I think Cold Play is playing for a while. The Backstreet Boys are apparently playing somewhere around this area, too, because one of my schoolmates went to their concert the other day. There are many, many performances of all types of bands, musicals, orchestras, and more between Oberhausen and Essen. Beauty and the Beast is playing here, as well as The Phantom of the Opera. I'm hoping to be able to attend at least one of these two in February-March when the German is better. Today's poll: which musical should I see?

This Wednesday Sara, a student at my school, came over for 4 hours to help with homework. Classurs, the class tests, are coming up in 3-4 weeks, and I want to have at least some idea about what's going on in my classes. Most of the time we just talked, though. We have a lot of common interests: we both love film music, Harry Potter, we're both reading Eragon in the other's language, and she loves Star Wars. We are already thinking about seeing Harry Potter 4 together when it comes out in November.

Today I had to visit Herr Thomä again (and this time I'm sure I've got his name right) for yet another schedule change. The chemistry class he put me in has a grand total of 34 students and the teacher is extremely unhappy with the size and kicked me out of the class. Now he changed it to art instead, because it's during the same period.

Then Herr Thomä showed me to the art room during my chemistry period so I would know where it is. When we approached the door, he said that something must be wrong because the class was too loud. Sure enough, when he opened the door, low and behold there was a room full of 6th graders coloring in pictures of castles and dragons. That might be a little too young for me. I got a lot of hellos, though, from the children in the after-school group. It's amazing how they can remember my name when the only time I've made it to their group was three weeks ago. I can't remember anyone's name here whom I've talked to multiple times.

So the art class is only on Mondays, and now I have 5th period free on Thursday. I also have nothing 6th period because the 11th grade has sport only once a week. Now school is only 1 1/2 hours on Thursdays, only physics class. I asked Herr Thomä if that was okay. In California there is some sort of law stating that children must be in school at least 3 hours a day. He said only two periods in one day is perfectly fine. If only Mondays were this easy...