Tuesday, March 26, 2013

XXXVII. Why is there snow on the ground?

   Today is March 26, and there is snow on the ground. It has snowed for the entire day in fact, and this is after a week of almost spring-like weather. Ironically, my hometown got snow too, pretty much the first snow of winter for them.
   The last week was specifically busy for me because I had three concerts with the school band, Kantibänd.
   Yes, all of the songs were actually in English, and most of them were taken from the musical "Hairspray". There were seven singers, and the rest of the band played various instruments, including brass. I also played my violin for two pieces.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

XXXVI. Integration

   This past week has been a little busy and a little stressful, but it's still been good. I guess I could begin by talking about the tests. I had a History test, and since all of it was comprehension and interpretation and writing long responses in German, I didn't stand much of a chance, but I could actually answer the last question to some degree. It asked how the US Constitution splits up the power in the US government, so I figured I should at least write something to that.
   I also got my Biology test back that we took a while ago, and when my teacher handed it to me, he was all smiles and telling me what a good job I did (I kind of thought he was joking, since I knew I had done a terrible job.). He was very proud that I earned 15 points.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

XXXV. Now and the future

   The weather is getting warmer, and the snow is finally gone, and my bike is getting more use once more. The birds are chirping, construction on houses is beginning, and my host family is working on fixing our backyard. (Remember that they had to fix the retaining wall last fall, so everything is just dirt.)
   This week at school has been a good one. I think the highlight was earning a 6 (the highest grade possible) on a German grammar quiz. In fact, I was even named class best! Nevermind that two others did just as well, but mostly everyone was kind of embarrassed that I did better than the majority, especially since it's not even my native language. I think the reason why I did so well though was because they were all the exact same exercises from the practice book that we had, and I have a pretty good memory. Yes, that was a good day.
   My host sister has recently rejoined the family, and I'm still trying to get accustomed to having another member of the family in the house, but she is really nice, and I can't wait to get to know her better!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

XXXIV. The coming of spring

   I've got to say that I'm really disappointed that February is such a short month because now it's gone already, and I have only 4 months left of my exchange year in Switzerland. However, with the coming of March, it is beginning to get slightly, slightly warmer. There is still some snow on the ground, but most of it has melted, and yesterday I actually biked to school again instead of taking the bus. It was still cold, but it was bearable, and I actually made it back and forth without getting too out of breath.
   I keep getting more and more comfortable with school, and now I'm sort of getting into a routine where I know how much I should work for each subject according to my abilities. For instance, in English class I don't have any excuses not to homework, and in Math and Physics, I am normally capable of doing most of the work. Actually in Math, we just started a new unit on logarithms, which I have already known about for 2 years but is new for everyone else, so I've sort of been helping the others who don't understand it at all. It's really difficult to explain Math in German, but somehow I manage it alright. We also have a new student