XIII. Ferien equals vacation

   Today was my last day of normal school for three weeks. Not even joking. It is Herbstferien!
   Okay, I am used to having approximately 9-10 days off for Christmas, and even though that stinks, that unfortunately is normal at my American school. But this isn't Christmas; this is only fall vacation, and it's going to be awesome. I won't tell you anymore, but I will leave you to speculate...
   This past week was good, but the main difference between this week and the last couple of weeks was that I rode my bike to school. It's not far, but separating my house from my school is a big hill that I have to labor over everyday.
   Yesterday was pretty tough because I biked to school early in the morning when there was fog and it was freezing cold, and my first two classes were Sport (Gym). After that I had a break from physical activity until I biked home for lunch, ate lunch, and then returned to school for the afternoon. Then I had to bike home for the fourth and final time that day, and I was exhausted. Either this will turn me into an athlete or it will compensate for all the chocolate and goodies that I've been eating.
   I guess I didn't mention that I did very well on my first math test; I got a 5, which is the equivalent of a B. The next stuff that we are studying though, I have already learned, so it's pretty easy for me. We also had a Geschichte Prüfung (History test) yesterday, and I couldn't do it even if I tried. It was entirely a written test about things that I have never learned in my life. Why haven't I ever been able to study World History in America?
   Anyway, I have learned how to play a typical Swiss game called BrändiDog, which is almost exactly like
Sorry. It's a really good bonding time with my host family, so I enjoy it every time. My host parents are super nice, and my host brother and I are getting along well. We spent one evening debating which was harder to learn: English or German? Then we threw examples at each other of things that made absolutely no sense, and it was really eye-opening for both of us to see the complexities and exceptions that we as native speakers have memorized automatically. For instance, there are such things as Phrasal Verbs in the English language. Examples would be like, "I tore the letter up," "I turned the job down," and "He never showed up." If you think about it, it really doesn't make sense why we add the words "up" or "down," but that's just how it is. We don't even have to think about it.
   I finally feel like I've been welcomed into my class at school now that I know everyone's name and I can actually communicate with them, so where friends are concerned, you needn't worry.
   The last church service I went to was actually great because the pastor was so kind as to speak in Hoch-Deutsch (High-German) just for me, and even though I still didn't understand everything, I understood considerably more than when I was preached to in Swiss-German.
   Now, examples of differences. The floors in the house are all linoleum, so I always have to where socks because it's so cold. I am used to plush carpet, so it was a big change for me when I first got here.
   Let's see... all the English books in the school library are in British English. In fact, my English teacher has the sweetest British accent, and I absolutely love it whenever I get to have class with her. I am even beginning to read the Harry Potter books in the way that they were originally written.
   Speaking of reading, I grabbed some easy German readers from the library as well, so hopefully I can begin to read more German. It will be good practice for me.
   Well, I'm sorry to disappoint with no photos today. I'm afraid that I haven't the talent yet to always have a camera ready at the perfect moment, but nothing really special happened this week anyway. There will be pictures for my next post (I hope).
   By the way, I had my first taste of another typical Swiss dish, Raclette, and it was really good. You have a cooked potato, and then you pour melted cheese over it with other toppings, and it is just amazing.
   And now, I will relax and enjoy my Ferien. :)