The Dog Who Wants Luvin' and is an Escape Artist...Anton

Hello reader! I know it has been far too long and I promised you a post about my birthday. I haven't forgotten!! I am just so busy these days. This is going to be a pretty long post I think because I have so much to catch you up on. Life has been quite eventful lately.

So I'll get a few things out of the way first.

Mood: Excellent
Life: Busy
Homesickness: Manageable
School: Better
German: Constantly Improving
Overall feelings about life, the universe, and all that jazz: Mysterious...but good. =P

I think you can probably tell that I am on a bit of a sugar high, but story comes a lot later. So stay tuned.

Okay now I'm going to focus on what's kept me so busy! My last post was September 19th, so I'll begin by filling you in the September 20th. That was the day when I was going to hang out with some friends from school for the first time outside of school. It was one of the girls birthday's so we were going to go her 18th birthday party and then four of us including myself would stay overnight.

Needless to say I was nervous, terrified, and excited. (In that order.) As my parents and sister know. I bought and recieved a ridiculous amount of Canadiana stuff which I took to Germany. So I dug through all of this random stuff and pieced together a present for her. I also bought her some German chocolate, just in case she thought the rest of the present was incredibly lame.

Theresa was going to take me to the party, and I had just over an hour before we would meet and catch a train the short distance to Louisa's house. (My guest parents couldn't take me and neither could Theresa's so hence the train ride.) So anyways I went for a walk with Anton. We had been walking for about 20 minutes when my handy (that's what German's call a cell phone) began to ring. Now let me tell you, I was so surprised! Here, I am not used to having my phone ring. I only use it to communicate with my host parents or to ask Theresa when we meet in the morning. Anyways, it was Theresa and our train was coming earlier than expected. So she asked if I could meet her at her house in 5 minutes. I said yes, gosh what else could I say.

So I literally ran back to the house. I was there in 5 minutes and I had 5 minutes to change, grab my stuff, and bolt to Theresa's house. I was a few minutes late, but considering how far I was from the house when she called I did an incredible job!

We caught the train and went to the party. It was a really fun time. Louisa also pulled me aside and told me how wonderful the present was that I gave her. I was so happy. This was the moment when Louisa and I grew a little closer. So we ate, talked, listened to music, and played some table Fußball. It was a fun time. For the most part people didn't talk to me much, but Theresa and a few other girls tried to include me.

The sleep over was fun and in the morning I had peanut butter. CRUNCHY peanut butter. Seriously I died on the spot right then. It was amazing. I have´missed peanut butter so much. We had peanut butter once at my guest family's, but it wasn't the crunchy kind. (Believe me I wasn't complaining.) Anyways, horray for crunchy peanut butter. I'm rather perdictable for what I eat at breakfast in Canada. Every morning I have a glass of milk, a piece of toast with crunchy peanut butter and jam, and most of the time I also have half a grapefruit. No longer is this the case, but hey it's good to mix it up a little! I just miss my peanut butter.

That evening I went with my host father to the neighbours house where we met his acting trouppe. He acts every year in the villages theatre production. Isn't that cool!! So anyways the reason for this evening meeting was too watch the DVD of last year's play. It was all in German and the acoustics weren't great, so I understood very little, but it was fun to watch. People were also very kind to me.

After that I made invitations for my birthday party for the next weekend on Saturday (which just happens to be today). Monday was a bit of an intense day. I handed out my invitations and wow that took all the courage I had in me. I felt a bit sick to my stomache and I also felt like I might faint. I think I worked myself up a little. I was just so nervous to approach them and so nervous for the party and what I would do or say. I feel rather handicapped here, because I am unable to say all that I want to say.

About half way through the day I got this awful headache. My head was just banging. I made it through the day, but when I got home I watched an entire disc of Gilmore Girls in German. I just couldn't be bothered to do anything. I was going to go for a run or for a walk, but my head was just throbbing.

Tuesday was better because my raging headache was gone. Horray! I gave out the last of my invitations and one of the girls from some of my classes who is friends with a few girls in the group that I hang out with invited me to go with her and another girl for coffee, because our English class was cancelled. That was really nice. Both of the girls spoke with me in German, everyone at school does, and they included me in their conversations. It was a nice time.

I want so bad for them to like me. By no means am I going to change who I am just to have them like me, but I want to find those people who like me and enjoy my company. There are times when I am quite lonely here. So this coffee outing was definetly a step in the right direction.

There were more birthdays in my class today. So there was more cake. Wow there are a lot of September birthday's here. At my school back in Canada, this was not the case. Stephan told me to count 9 months back. Gosh! Sorry mom and dad, but I don't want to think about that! I know you understand!

After school Stephan took me to the local library. Oh you have no idea how excited I was! He said that they had a large movie collection that I could look at for movies to watch in German. We picked out a bunch of DVD'S, a German book for me to try to read, and some German grammar CD roms. (They are meant for German pupils so they are all in German. I don't know if they will be a great help.) The library was so cute! I was so happy. =) Then we went shopping for all the supplies for my birthday meal the next day and for the two cakes were were making. (One cake for the family and one for school.)

We made my cake for school when we got home. It is a fairly basic cake which we made in a bunt pan, but it has this special chocolate that would cut into pieces that was scattered throughout the cake. Then we covered the cake with chocolate. (Not icing, but just chocolate.) As Stephan was pouring on the chocolate I stuck Haribo Gummi Bears on it!! (These are a German speciality.) It was Stephan's idea and it was unbelievably cute!!! I have pictures!!!

We made the first part of the second cake which was a traditional Black Forest Cake, but as it turns out North American's have butchered the recipe for that cake. It is really different here and I'm glad, because I am not a huge fan of this cake back home. My host father and Jonas highly recommended I try it here so I trusted their judgment. This year is all about embracing a culture, so that's exactly what I did.

Stephan and I stayed up really late talking, youtubing ridiculously funny videos, and going through a lot of his music. I've found some new German bands to check out. Our taste of music isn't dead on, but there are definetly some bands that I will check out. It was fun! He is really good to me and I am so grateful. It was a little later than I wanted to stay up because I had school the next day, but I'm glad I stayed up.

So this leads me to my birthday. So, I was feeling a lot of emotions that morning. First of all I was really nervous to go to school. In Germany, on your birthday you bring a cake to share with your class. My host mother thought I should bring one too so Stephan and I made one. I was kind of nervous to do this because I wasn't sure if I should. I wondered if it would be awkward and if the students would be like, "What is she doing?" But then I figured that was silly because everyone loves cake so there would be no questions asked. I wasn't really sure what to expect at school and I wasn't sure what it was going to be like celebrating my birthday with my guest family.

Well, I need to say that all of that worry was for nothing and I had a really great day. It all started off with the outfit I chose. My parents sent me this beautiful necklace and earrings from my favourite store in Lethbridge-- Edit. I had my eye on the necklace before I left, but I didn't get it. Well my mom bought it for me the day after I left. (That's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.) Anyways, it is gorgeous and the designer is Canadian. It's a stylized heart, but not the cutsy <3. It's the shape of an actual human heart. It is beyond cute! So I wore it!

I came downstairs and my host mother was there. She had a candle at my place setting and on my plate in M & M's she had made the number 18. It was so cute. ( I have pictures!!!) She knows I eat a toast in the morning, so she got that for me. It was really sweet. Usually I drive with Theresa to school, but today my host mother took me to school. She had my cake all packaged up and ready for me, too. I also got a really warm hug from her and warm wishes. I was so touched.

So she took me to school and like the first day of school my legs shook as I walked up the steps. I found Theresa and the first thing she did was come over hug me and said Happy Birthday in German which is, Alles gut zum Geburtstag. Then she gave me a little cake in the shape of a heart topped with chocolate and in sprinkles it said 18. I was really touched. Then Julia came rushing up and gave me the cutest little card and wished me a happy birthday. All the girls from the group I hang out with at school also wished me a happy birthday and they all gave me hugs.

So all throughout the day this happened. People wished me a happy birthday, they shook my hand, and then they hugged me. It was so wonderful. I was seen...and I got hugs. Oh gosh I've missed that. Some of the girls had known it was my birthday in advance because they had asked me and I had told them. Theresa and Julia must have passed this information around to a lot of the other people. The cake was in a bag, so it wasn't noticeable that today was my birthday. Anywas that was super sweet of the two of them.

I gave out my cake in Math. People really liked it, but HELLO it was chocolaty goodness! I also brought Canada pencils, Canada stickers, and Canada pins which I gave out. People were really excited about that. I wondered if they would think it was a bit lame, but they were really excited about it. I was so thrilled. We had a fire drill near the end of class and while we were outside I had a group of 5 guys approach me and thank me for the Canadian stuff and then they all wished me a happy birthday. Wow that was pretty cool.

My Physics class was cancelled so I got to go home an hour early. I was pretty excited and my day at school had been great. When I got home I went for another run. It was nice, because it was overcast so it was still cool. It wasn't raining like it had been for the last few days and my run in the forest was breathtaking.

I got back and Stephan and I finished off the Black Forest Cake. We had a traditional Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) in the afternoon. Stephan, a friend of his I had met, Ann, her boyfriend, and my second host mother were all there. (Both my host parents were at work, and Jonas was at school.) Anyways, it was so elegant. The table had fresh pink roses courtesy of my guest mother's beautiful rose garden, candels, the good plates, cups, and of course the wonderful Black Forest Cake. (I have pictures!!!) I felt incredibly grown up. That's one thing about this birthday which has been so different. I actually feel older.

My second host mother had called to say she wanted to drop of a gift for me so Stephan invited her to our little party. It was great because I was included some, but not enough to be overwhelmed. All of the conversation was naturally in German. Her gift was so nice. I need to give you some background information so you understand it. Here in Germany a lot of the students use pens which have tips like calligraphy pens. There is ink inside of them so they aren't dipping the pens in ink or anything, but they are really neat. Anyways that's what she bought me. The present was lovely and I was thrilled that she knew it was my birthday. She had made the effort to know. She is a sweet lady.

After people left Stephan and I began making supper. I had asked for butter chicken, vegetable curry, and naan bread. (Ann had looked up some recipes on the internet.) They had asked me to choose what I wanted so naturally it was East Indian food. It's my favourite and they really wanted me to choose so I did. Anyways, we had a lot of fun making it. We actually made Naan from scratch. It was soooooo good. The butter chicken was good, but different from what we have at home. It was so fun! The vegetable curry was a bit more like a soup, but it also tasted good.

Before we ate I was up in my room writing in my diary and I heard a knock on my door. Lutz, my host father, comes in and gives me a big hug and wished me a happy birthday. My this time I had recieved so many hugs. I was just thrilled! When Jonas came home he also gave me a big hug and wished me a happy birthday. It was really nice.

Then it was present time. They bought me some really nice things. They bought me Stephenie Meyers new book Breaking Dawn, a fashion drawing book, tickets to a German hockey game in Kassel, and some chocolate. It was really nice of them. Then I wrapped up the evening by watching a movie called Snow Falling on Cedars. It was pretty good. So all in all it was a wonderful day. I have a small paragraph I wrote down on my birthday that I wanted to make sure to include in the blog. Here it is:

"So you know that stupid smile you get when wou can't stop thinking about that special someone and how you can't wipe it off of your face? Well that's me today, but it has nothing to do with a boy. This goofy smile is stuck on my face because today is my birthday and get this reader, it has been wonderful...."

Thursday was a pretty long day, because I have had such little sleep this week and it was a very early morning and long day. Theresa and Julia invited me to go with them to the cinema on Friday night. I was really touched by the invitation, but I had already RSVP'd to go to a party that my 3rd host family was having. I had never met them so I thought it was important for me to go. 8 of the 11 girls I invited RSVP's for my birthday. I was really quite excited now for Saturday, even though I was still a bit nervous.

Of course I had Drama, and it was really fun. We are still playing around with some ideas and wow it is going to be neat I think. It is the smallest cast I have ever worked with and the most serious play I have ever done and of course the first German play I have ever done so it is an entirely new experience. I think the drama kids really like me so I feel really comfortable there. We are going to be going on a trip together in November. I am so excited because I will be going too!

Friday was a pretty relaxed day. I went to school only until 11:40 because they were writing a big test so they said it wasn't necessary for me to stay. I took the bus home and while I was on the bus a young German girl approached me. She is on the bus in the mornings too when I go to school. She crawled under the seat to come and say Hi to me. I moved my bag and she sat down beside me. We had a conversation in German. She was adorable!! And I understood her!!! She understood me!! She talked about her family, her house, and she wanted to know where I came from. It was really neat and she was an adorable kid. She had strawberry blonde hair which was in a scrunchy on the top of her head. She was precious!!

When I got home, I went for a nice hour long walk with Anton and then for another half hour run. It is breathtaking in the forest here. The weather was also beautiful. I saw a beautiful blue sky again! Anton is currently lusting after a female dog in the neighbourhood. Actually, all the male dogs are. Apparently she is bleeding right now and they can all smell it. Anyways he whines all the time and when we went for a walk he had to pee on everything. I think he wanted to make sure that she knew he existed. Anton, the dog, also had to smell everthing. I think she had been out for a walk with her owners. He is such a goofy dog right now.

That evening I went to the party that my 3rd guest family hosted. Renato, the other exchange student in my Rotary Club was also there. I was so relieved to have him there to talk to. I have to say that meeting them made me realize how soon I will be moving families. It feels like I am just really finding my place here in this family and the awkward stage is definetly over. On October 30th I move to my next family. I am excited for the change, but at the same time I have grown quite comfortable here.

The party was pretty good. My second host family was there and we got to talk a bit. They are really nice people. The food was great, there was some good music, but it was a pretty late night. That leads me to today, the day of the party.

I slept in pretty late, but I was the first one up. I went downstairs and Anton was making a fuss. I thought maybe he just had to go to the bathroom. So I let him outside in the backyard. Just as I let him out I remembered what Stephan had said about him having a couple secret ways out of the garden and how he was VERY interested in the female dog down the street. Well Anton disappered into the bushes and I ran to grab my shoes. I searched the whole backyard and realized he was gone.

Well I was freaking out a little. I had just lost the family's dog and he might impregnate the neighbour's dog and they wouldn't be thrilled about that either. Wow I was in trouble. I heard some barking which definetly wasn't coming from the backyard so I rush into the front yard, just as the front door is opening. There is Stephan. So I sheepishly explain to him what's happened. He says not to worry about it. I think my jaw hit the floor. I JUST LOST YOUR DOG!

Then he said that Anton was right there. Lo and behold there is Anton in the driveway looking ridiculously happy with himself. I couldn't believe it! So crisis averted. PHEW! So we got him back inside and we sat down for breakfast. Then we both realized that the back door was still open and that Anton had disappeared again. We heard barking and both got up to find Anton had escaped again and had found company...another dog!

So Stephan went out and retreieved Anton. Luckily the other dog was with it's owner so it was OK. I closed the back door and Anton has been safely inside ever since besides his short excursions with a "babysitter" in the great outdoors. Oh Anton...

Stephan and I baked another cake. This time it was an Apple Streusel Cake. (They have an apple tree here, so we used fresh apples. Pretty cool!!) So we decked out the table again. I was so nervous, but really excited. All of the girls came and it was great. They all knew each other fairly well so there were no awkward silences. They included me in the conversations, but not too much so I was never overwhelmed. Everything was perfect. They were going to stay for a supper of raclette. (I'll explain that later.)

So one of the girl's suggested we go to a nearby city and go out on the town. So we did. It was really fun, we shopped a little and went to cafe. We had a great time! Then we came back to the house and had a wonderful supper of raclette. I would encourage you to look it up on Wiki for a good explanation. It's this hot plate with a grill ontop and there are these small pans that you can put into it that you can cook food on. It's really fun. We had all sorts of veggies, meat, and cheese which we cooked and grilled. It was like a fondu party kind of. It was ridiculously fun! Then we had icecream and they also brought me presents. It was really nice.

I had a great time. Stephan is an angel. He put together the stuff for supper while we were gone. He absolutely didn't have to do that. I thanked him a lot tonight. He is such a nice guy and he's been so good to me. The girls stayed until 9:30 pm and they arrived at 3 pm. So it was a success and I think I am forming some friendships. So I am starting to fit in a bit more here. I am so excited about that!

So my birthday was something I was pretty nervous about, but it ended up being wonderful. The day itself was great and so was the party. I will never forget it. I am also now an adult. So I spent this milestone not among strangers, but among people who want to know me better and make my birthday special and a success.

Well it is really late reader and this post has been pretty long. Thanks for bearing with me. I will post some photo's later, but soon it will be 2:30 AM and I really need to catch up on sleep not lose anymore! Goodnight!