Family Blog

I am really busy here!...You would wonder how many things you have to do here! First, there's the school. This week is my third week of school and it's really tiring! On a normal day I wake up at 6:30 AM, eat quickly and then go to school with my host-brother. I have school from 7:45 AM up to 3:05 PM. It's always the same time table and so there's not really something special on a schoolday. =) But I like it. You get used to it, after some days.

The teachers here are really different to the German ones'. They expect a lot of work from you and in some cases are really stricter than in Germany. But in some cases they are not so strict, not that you think, it's a really a strict school! ...and I don't have to wear a uniform! But what I have to get used to is the mountain of homeworks!!...The teachers really give very much homework - and that each day! That means, when I'm back from Cross Country Running at about 6 or 7 o'clock, I can do my homeworks!...Normally I finish them at 8 or 9 o'clock. Often I'm so tired, that I go straight to bed after that. For example, on Sunday I went to bed at 9 o'clock!

But I have also fun! =) The people, that I meet at Cross Country Running, are very nice. All people here are very nice! The people here are very open to each other and talk a lot to each other!...My dad talks sometimes to people, that even he doesn't know.=) I still know some people here. But because of the nice behaviors I sometimes don't know if the other one is polite or is interessted in "becoming a friend of me". =)

On Saturday there was a meeting of the exchange students in greater Milwaukee for preparation. It was really cool, because I have meet so many people from other countries! I liked it. You learn a lot about the world. And because I'm doing Cross Country Running here, I learned to respect the work of professional athletes!!! I run here every day about one hour and now I know, what for a hard work it is, to be a professional athlete. Sometimes my whole body hurts and it's really hard to do sport every day. I think, I'm arrived here very well.

I like my host-family. They are really nice to me and always look for me. Mom always cooks, and that pretty good. She has still tried to cook a german recepie!... I often play soccer on the computer with my brother or dad. The dog here is also very nice and I often play with him. The weather here is more or less good. Last week it was very cold but this week it should get warmer.

The first barricades of the language are also climbed. I think in the "short" time, that I'm here, I have learned a lot to speak fluently in english. But in school,there still are some problems. Often, I don't understand the specific words in math or I don't know, what to do in Advanced Composition. =)

As I heard this morning in the radio news there was a tornado at Asperg yesterday (at the moment I'm in Wiesbaden). Asperg is about 20 km in the north of Gerlingen. When I was young I never heard of a tornado in Germany. But in the last years it sometimes happens. Perhaps a sign of the beginning climatic change. (ob)

Manuel has a lot to do during the week and nearly no time to write an email. This weekend ,there was a camp from the AFS organization where he had
the chance to see the other exchange pupils.



On Sunday Manual was sailing on the Lake Michigan with his dad, one guy from the cross country club and his tutor from AFS (see picture). The waves were higher than he was used to,but he survived;-).

Philip wrote in his blog (see here) next week is "homecoming" at his school. And the day before yesterday he had his first practice for "powerpuff". I don't know what excactly it is but I found this video on YouTube.

You can read more about Philips other activities at his blog.

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I have free-time!!...ähm, not really. I still have to do much homework, despite I'm doing them nearly the whole afternoon. The school takes the time of all (!) the day...when school finishes, I have 2-3 hours cross country practice then I'm home at 6 o'clock or later and then I do my homeworks. Usually 2-4 hours a day!! That's a lot. The teachers are expecting many things from you! I have got many sheets to read, or a few sheets, with the rules of the teacher for the lessons, that I and my parents have to sign (with date of course!) and the homework!

And for changing the rooms for the next lessons I have exactly 4 minutes! If I'm too late, I will notice it in my mark or I have to stay after school for extra lessons, when I'm three times to late! The same with homeworks. But there are not really problems with finding my rooms. But at the first 2 days I was too late in Math and the Math teacher is very strict!! She looked so... =) angry?

The school "celebrates" its 75th year. (...) It was too bad, that the exchange students haven't been presented at the assembly! So, nearly no-one knows, that here are exchange students and doesn't really care about us. But, slowly, the pupils know it by talking each other... Here are 2 other German exchange students (one is from YFU, and I don't know him! I want to meet him!), one from Spain, and one from Brazil. In addition to that, here will be a girl from Brazil for half a year and three girls from a city near to Cologne for 3 month - this school has a partnership with their school and they are doing an exchange...

Yesterday there was a race from cross country (I wasn't really good =) but we had a lot of fun, and I could learn the other know a little bit more!) and after it I did my homework until 11:30 o'clock!!

One month ago Manuel and Philip left Germany. For us as parents this seems to be a long time ago. They both have a new familiy with new siblings who help them with their problems.

School has started for both and the school system is very different from Germany. School is usually from 8:00 AM till afternoon (3:00 PM) and a school hour goes over 70 minutes. Students must enter the classroom on time and they get much more homework as here in Germany.

The normal life differs also from here: all is bigger: the cars, the TVs and the distances. You go more often to a restaurant or snack bar than here.



One word to the organization for the students exchange: we had choosen AFS. The support of AFS looks very professional and we had a good feeling when our children left Germany.

If you can dream it, you can do it. (Walt Disney)

(Sorry for the delay, but we were 4 days offline)

Yesterday Manuel watched the baseball match of the Brewers (Milwaukee). Baseball is not known here in Germany and so it was his first baseball match in his life. It went nearly 3 hours and now he knows a little bit the rules of the game.

Tomorrow Manuel has his first school day. Good Luck! (ob)

I'm really tired, because school goes till 3 o'clock and then I have two more hours practice. I have a lot of fun here and have met my first few friends. Most of them I have met in leadership (a kind of SMV in Germany), which is a really fun class. Yesterday it was "back-to-school night", where the parents could go into our classes and see, what we will learn.

The school life is very different to Germany. One lesson is 70 minutes and the teacher have all their own room. The whole school is outside, so there is no one building. The break is 45 minutes, which is a lot.

You get a lot of homework. I do my homeworks in 2-4 hours, and the exercices are easy. And this every day! When I come home, I take a shower, eat something and the rest of the time I do my homewok. There is no freetime at a school day!! I ride my bike to school, and so I ride 5 miles and run 5 miles per day. And it's very hot!! You don't see any green, it's all brown.

My first two days of school are over, which were really great. At the first day of school, there was an assembly in the stadium. This year is the 100 year-celebration of our school and I have the luck to be there. At the assembly, the teaches spoke a lot about the new school year and then the exchange student had to stand up before 1500 pupils. Oh my god!! there are two other exchange students this year.

I have every day the same subjects. My first subjects was Maths, which is really hard in English. My second period is Art, where we make something of clay (Ton). My favourite subject is leadership, where I have met very nice pupils. Some from cheerleading and some from football. In leadership we organize some school activity, like the 'dress-up day", ... Another subject is Robots, where we will built a robotic and then we have to program it, so that it can take balls and
put them in a box. It's really hard!!! The last subject is Chemistry, which is very easy, because they start at the beginning. I hope, that I will learn some new stuff.

One trimester is 12 weeks and every period is 70 minutes. After school I have two hours cross country practices. To run about 4 - 6 miles with a temperature of about 37 - 40 degree is very hard. And this every day!!!

School is here very different to Germany, it's like a big family!!
I have school from 8 o'clock to 3 o'clock and then practice till 5
o'clock. At home I have to do homework, so there isn't any relax time for me!!

On Tuesday there is back-to-school night and on the labour day (Monday in a week) there is my first race of cross country.

I hope you get some information about my school. (Philip)

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
(Abraham Lincoln)

with the best wishes from Cordula, Carmen and me...

This is now the second weekend without our boys and it seems for us a long time ago they left Germany. But we were informed by emails (from our sons and also from their new dads), by photos and sometimes by phone. The photo above shows Philip and Jeff in a lake (no, it's not San Francisco Bay, the photos from the trip to S.F. this weekend you find here ;-)

Both sons seem to be getting more comfortable each day with their new families. But I think both are looking forward to the first day of school. While Manuel has to wait till the beginning of September school starts on thursday for Philip.

Manuel's Mom explained him "Homecoming" last week which is unknown in Germany. I read in Wikipedia that this is a tradition in the United States. Manuel thought that this event from the cross country group is soon, but it is in November.(ob)

Philip has started now also cross country running as his brother, because Tennis is first in spring possible. He has now his schedule of lessons which was a little bit complicated for him. He has now "robotics", a subject, which is unknown in German schools. Next week the school starts.

Manuel was with his family in Americas biggest water park with 45 water slides.

Cordula begins to like our Mac and the way of modern communication. I never saw her sitting in front of the computer so often as the last days... (ob)