Miranda

So it has been a big couple of days for the Aussies and also the Germans!

It feels a bit strange typing on this keyboard... it's very different to the Australian ones- yesterday I somehow turned on caps lock and I have no idea how and I couldn't fix it, so I had to hold down the shift button the whole time so that everything was not in capital letters!

We all said goodbye to our families at the airport after putting on our very trendy new exchange t- shirts! It was sad to say goodbye but I know that it is going to be a big adventure!

The first flight was the longest- 14 hours. It is really quite boring het but the movies are good and you can (try to!) sleep.

We had a stop over in Doha. It was 5 oclock in the morning, but the heat was so stifling that it felt like you couldn't breathe! It was lucky that we only had to stay there an hour but at least inside it was air conditioned...

Our next step was the final leg of the flight! I think we were all pretty excited by then! This leg was 6 hours.  I was sitting next to two men from Austria- they were very interested in my 'Frankie' magazine...! They told me that the weather in Germany will be cold and raining.

Soon we landed and walked off the plane through the airport like zombies- we probably looked like we were part of the 'Thriller' video clip!
Our host families met us at the airport and I was so excited to see everyone! Lukas had a giant Bretzel that everyone shared. 

I set off on the Autobahn with my host family- crazy town! At one point, I think we were sitting on 140 km- I just got my L's so it was very different (and a little bit scary!) to see how they drive in Germany!

I slept like a rock until 4 am then I was wide awake- that has happened every morning since then. Grrr... I think my sleeping pattern will even out soon.

My first full day in Germany was a lot of fun. I went to this really big, beautiful lake. You have to do a bit of a hike to get there past a waterfall. It is so amazing- it's naturally warm, and we might go swimming there next weekend. All of the trees are also changing. I had a bit of fun teaching Julia's familiy the difference between 'Pieces' and 'Peaches', which they were saying the exact same way!

Back home in the backyard was a squirrel! It was very cute!

For school I have to wake up at 6 in the morning. At first, this is not easy for someone who is not that much of a morning person... but you get used to it. When I come back to Australia, I  will be the first one awake instead of the last!   
For breakfast my family had Vegemite- Julia brought it back with her from Australia but no one has touched it!
We have to ride bikes to the train station. Here in Germany, everyone rides bikes! And the cars just stop in their tracks whenever bike riders go past. It's very different to Australia! 
We catch 2 trains- the trains are so crowded because so many students need to take the train.
The school is so modern and big! It has 500 students in one section, 1,200 in another and then another 1,200 or so! That is the population of Bright, all in one place!
School here starts at 8 o clock and finishes at 1. They have one break for half an hour.
After school, Julia and I take a walk through the forest to the farm, because she is getting chickens! We just got them today, and she bulit a little pen for them to play in. All of her friends wanted to come and see them but unfortunately they were asleep!

Today we went into the town in Bad Aibling and met the Mayor. We asked him some questions and he gave us all a Bad Aibling T-shirt. Afterwards we had the best ice cream in Germany!

Bad Aibling is a very pretty, old town. It is a lovely part of Europe to live in!

By Miranda Williams