Happy New Year from San Fran!

My aunt Kathryn, cousins Bert, Vincent, Nika, and I spent the last day of 2006 making the 7 hour trip to San Francisco. It actually wasn't that bad. The people in the back seat spent most of the morning sleeping, and I spent most of the time watching the scenery

"And this is what it's going to look like for the next 6 hours"

(where there was scenery to watch) and talking with Aunt Kathryn about Germany, so I had a good time. First view of San Francisco

If driving across the bay bridge was my first impression of San Francisco, it was an impressive one. I never realized how long a bridge could be. And that's supposed to be nothing compared to some bridges in other parts of the world. You can tell immediately that the city's flavor is drastically different than Socal's. For one, you drive over the bridge and you are no longer in any resemblance to surburbia. The buildings give off a lively vibe very different from those in European cities. When we were walking through downtown before midnight, I doubt it was just the New Year's enthusiasm rubbing off. I can imagine now why lots of young people go there for excitement. You only need to be standing on Market to feel it.

There are many things unique to the city that tell a lot about its culture and its people. Take, for instance, the street cars. Apparently the city buys old retiring street cars from other cities all over the world and put them to use (the ultimate mode of recycling?). It has its own Gay District, right along with the usual China Town and Hispanic District.

The city is going to take awhile to get used to. It's very, very different. But I'm enjoying it, a lot. We walked mainly through the "ritzy" part of the city last night. There was a pretty fancymall we got to walk through, though all the stores were closed. Did I mention how fancy it was? I look forward to seeing other parts of the city, places on the other side of market.

We went by the Ferry Building ("Once the tallest building in San Francisco") to watch the city's traditional New Year's fireworks. They were set off

We assumed that the Bomb Squad was transporting the fireworks...

under the Bay Bridge, which we drove across to get to San Fran. It was a spectacular display. I look forward to seeing them another year. Maybe the fireworks will be perfected so that the smiley faces are the right side up (I was amazed that there were smiley fireworks at all, actually).

Family Christmas Party

I received a request a couple days ago to update my blog, because "It's not Christmas anymore!!" Well, I decided to write a new post (Write? Nah. I meant, put up new pictures.), but I can't promise that the topic will be much different. Why, when Christmas is long-gone and the toys have been played with and broken already?

Because the annual Smith family party needs its time in the spotlight!

Every year, my family on the maternal side gets together either on Christmas or a few days after to have food, games, a gift exchange, and the traditional punch. What was particularly special about this year was that the entire family was present. That's usually quite a challenge, considering how many of us there are (2 grandparents, 13 aunts and uncles, and who knows how many of us cousins).
The games are always the most interesting part of the evening. This year was family trivia (this has recently become very popular at most of our family parties). Prizes include getting a present from underneath the tree and scratchable lottery tickets. I lost count of how many of those Mason got. Not only could she answer a lot of the trivia right, she got some for the cute stuff she submitted for the trivia. For instance, "I won't be able to say 'delicious' until I go to preschool." How much cuter can you get?

Here's the rest of the pictures from the evening. Belated Merry Christmas! (Like you haven't gotten tired of hearing that yet)

Merry Christmas!

From my computer to yours, I wish you a fantastic Christmas full of family, friends and food! If you live somewhere with snow...you probably wouldn't be reading this blog right now anyway. If you are, you really need to go out and build a snowman. Or, even better, find someone you have a bone to pick with and have a snowball fight!

Other than the absence of whiteness outside, except for the sunlight glaring off of the other houses, Christmas has been excellent. It's great to celebrate Christmas with my family and American friends again.

In honor of the holidays, I broke out my camera and took lots of pictures to document the Christmas I celebrate. Enjoy!

Christmas party in German class on the last day of school.

Jessica enjoying my German recipe for Herrencreme

Alexandra and her Victoria's Secret cupcakes
The Christmas Card door
Jenn frosting Christmas cookies
...in lots of weird colors.
Mom making sure that odd-colored cookies are edible.
I didn't eat anything!
Jenn taking a break from baking. Isn't she perty?
I assure you that my nostril excretions are nothing compared to hers.
Mom and Jenn playing handbells at the Christmas eve service.
Our tree...it did get decorated this year...somewhat.
The cat liked it anyway.
Too exhausted after cooking breakfast to even
think about opening presents!
David put on a little show for us.
...then the rest of us joined in.
Mom opening up a present which "sounds tasty enough to
season your food with"
Gametime: Guess what Chocolate!
What's the point of having a camera, if not to take
goofy pictures with?
Jon gave me Senet for Christmas (and it's fun!)
Sarah from Germany sent me a hand-crafted wood
nativity scene. I got to talk to her on the phone on
Christmas eve for the first time in months.

Still Alive...

...somewhat.
I took the SAT IIs, on Saturday (I don't even want to know my scores...it was that bad.......see what happens when you mix me and chemistry?), and since then have shifted my focus onto college application essays. I've had a number of projects and reports due this week, but besides those, schoolwork has been taking a backburner. Amazingly enough, though, I actually think I did well on the US History and Civics tests I wrote today, despite my lack of focus. Hopefully after Xmas break, things will fall back into place. Right now, college apps displace everything.
Does it seem odd that they take so long? Well, I'm putting a lot of effort into them. They need to be as perfect a representation of me as they can be, especially since they need to outweigh my SAT II scores. The other reason they have to be so good, is because of how competitive these schools are. You don't have a chance getting into an Ivy League with a mediocre essay.
Other than that, I've been getting Xmas stuff in the mail. I got a package from Germany in the mail this weekend. Milka, Haribo, and pictures! My host family knows what I like :)
Well, it's back to the grinding stone for me. I figured my devoted readers deserved an update. It seemed a good time for a break. Yes, I do take breaks every now and again.