Chinatown
Downtown from where I live now
Flames vs. Phoenix
Dogsledding in Canmore
Skiing at Panorama
Lake Windermere
See the car?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Photos Miscellaneous
Chinatown Downtown from where I live now Flames vs. PhoenixDogsledding in Canmore Skiing at Panorama Lake Windermere See the car?
Friday, April 16, 2010
Miscellaneous February-April
Julia's third host family took me to Invermere from February 19-21 and we played hockey on the lake and went skiing. It was really great and sunny and I thought it's incredible that big lakes freeze completely! That is so awesome and they even make a lane for iceskaters around the lake. And guess what - even cars are driving on the lake :D The skiing was awesome as well and I did my first successful black run.
One of Marco's Rotarians took him and me out to a Brazilian restaurant - that was a great experience for me! Not only you learn about Canadian culture, I also learn a lot about other cultures from all over the world. Another traditional day in Canada is St. Patricks Day on March 17th. It is an Irish cultural event and everyone dresses in green and so on. The same day, Natalie hurt her knee and we went to Alberta Children's hospital and another xray clinic. That was a very long day. I can't compare this to Germany because I've never been in a hospital myself.
I once went to the YMCA with Marco and his host mum and with my host mum I did two bikerides along the Bow river. I'm a little out of shape but it is really great! Just 2 days before the start of the holidays, I went dogsledding in Canmore with Augusta (Norway). I was excused for school and we left in the morning. A bus took us up the mountain to the lake where the trip took place. We put the harnests on the dogs and put them in front of the sled and it is unbelievable how noisy it was! I sat and stood on the back as well. Half way, we made a break and had some little snacks and then we returned to the starting point. And yes, it is true that sleddogs poop while running, they even ate the snow.
Spring Break was from March 27 to April 6 and I hung out with Julia quite a bit. Once, we went to Fish Creek Park and walked her dogs, we also took Mojo for a walk a few days later and watched all the movies I talked about earlier. She invited me for a Flames game vs. Phoenix Coyotes and it was really amazing! They won 2:1 in a very exciting game! Unfortunately, the rest of the season didn't work out for them and so they didn't even make it to the play-offs. At her house, we played lots of Wii Fit with her whole family. I went riding a lot with my host family as well and on April 2nd, I went out for dinner with them at Earls. They went directly from the barn and I wanted to take the train from our house, but the station was closed and so I took the taxi. My gosh, that is expensive!
On the next morning, I went to the Calgary Farmer's Market where we bougth our Easter Dinner and had Belgium Waffles for breakfast. We had a dinner with Eva's boyfriend Stan and his family. Our dinner was seabass and chicken, but the traditional meal is ham. In the evening, we played a round of pictionary all together and had a lot of fun! The easteregghunt was postponed to the next morning and we had nice weather do do that! I gave Lindt Easterbunnies to my family! Afterwards, I went to Olympic Plaza to see all the Olympic Athletes from Alberta and we walked a little bit around Chinatown.
One Rotarian invited me and my friends for curling and I took Julia and Yin-Yin. We had a lesson on delievering the rock and a lot of fun!! I also started playing basketball again. I already had 4 practices and one game that we lost really high. We are 11 girls all about the same age and have a lot of fun together. It is on community level and our team practises more for fun than for competition. .
The most surprising thing lately was the weather! ^^ April 8th was a great morning, and in the evening we had a big snowstorm and loss of power in lots of Calgarian houses. Four days later, we had snow again and just 4 days ago there was a big snowstorm in Southern Alberta, that missed Calgary by about 20km. And today, we almost had +20 degrees and I didn't miss the oppertunity to put on shorts and a tshirt. :)
This was my last entry for now, I said everything I had to say :D :D Take care until the next time we see each other :)
One of Marco's Rotarians took him and me out to a Brazilian restaurant - that was a great experience for me! Not only you learn about Canadian culture, I also learn a lot about other cultures from all over the world. Another traditional day in Canada is St. Patricks Day on March 17th. It is an Irish cultural event and everyone dresses in green and so on. The same day, Natalie hurt her knee and we went to Alberta Children's hospital and another xray clinic. That was a very long day. I can't compare this to Germany because I've never been in a hospital myself.
I once went to the YMCA with Marco and his host mum and with my host mum I did two bikerides along the Bow river. I'm a little out of shape but it is really great! Just 2 days before the start of the holidays, I went dogsledding in Canmore with Augusta (Norway). I was excused for school and we left in the morning. A bus took us up the mountain to the lake where the trip took place. We put the harnests on the dogs and put them in front of the sled and it is unbelievable how noisy it was! I sat and stood on the back as well. Half way, we made a break and had some little snacks and then we returned to the starting point. And yes, it is true that sleddogs poop while running, they even ate the snow.
Spring Break was from March 27 to April 6 and I hung out with Julia quite a bit. Once, we went to Fish Creek Park and walked her dogs, we also took Mojo for a walk a few days later and watched all the movies I talked about earlier. She invited me for a Flames game vs. Phoenix Coyotes and it was really amazing! They won 2:1 in a very exciting game! Unfortunately, the rest of the season didn't work out for them and so they didn't even make it to the play-offs. At her house, we played lots of Wii Fit with her whole family. I went riding a lot with my host family as well and on April 2nd, I went out for dinner with them at Earls. They went directly from the barn and I wanted to take the train from our house, but the station was closed and so I took the taxi. My gosh, that is expensive!
On the next morning, I went to the Calgary Farmer's Market where we bougth our Easter Dinner and had Belgium Waffles for breakfast. We had a dinner with Eva's boyfriend Stan and his family. Our dinner was seabass and chicken, but the traditional meal is ham. In the evening, we played a round of pictionary all together and had a lot of fun! The easteregghunt was postponed to the next morning and we had nice weather do do that! I gave Lindt Easterbunnies to my family! Afterwards, I went to Olympic Plaza to see all the Olympic Athletes from Alberta and we walked a little bit around Chinatown.
One Rotarian invited me and my friends for curling and I took Julia and Yin-Yin. We had a lesson on delievering the rock and a lot of fun!! I also started playing basketball again. I already had 4 practices and one game that we lost really high. We are 11 girls all about the same age and have a lot of fun together. It is on community level and our team practises more for fun than for competition. .
The most surprising thing lately was the weather! ^^ April 8th was a great morning, and in the evening we had a big snowstorm and loss of power in lots of Calgarian houses. Four days later, we had snow again and just 4 days ago there was a big snowstorm in Southern Alberta, that missed Calgary by about 20km. And today, we almost had +20 degrees and I didn't miss the oppertunity to put on shorts and a tshirt. :)
This was my last entry for now, I said everything I had to say :D :D Take care until the next time we see each other :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Rotary
Rotary meetings: On February 16th, we had Dr. David Chalack, CEO and President of the Calgary Stampede Board at our meeting and he talked a little about Stampede Park and its future amongst other locations. The week afterwards, we had the mayor of Calgary, David Bronconnier, at our meeting. He talked about what he did to move Calgary forwards and announced that he won't go on with his job after fall. We had the media and the meetings was so formal. On March 2nd, Michael Brown talked to us about the Bow and its construction. It will be the highest building in Calgary Downtown with 58 stories and is used for office space. Sharon Carry was scheduled for the week after and gave us an update on Bow Valley College. On March 16th, Thomas d'Aquino told us his opinion about G-20 and G-8. And then was my big day -> my presentation on Tuesday, March 23rd. a Rotarian interviewed me and it made it a lot easier for me to talk along my slide show. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and I had to rush through the end and I didn't have time for questions in the end. (I gave one of the newspapers to mum.) I was glad that some of the current and former exchange students came to support me and my host mum brought Maria as well! I got a certificate "a donation has been made in your name to CAWST (Center for affordable water and sanitation technology)" that I can hang up in my room! And not that one presentation is enough; I helped Marco doing his presentation after my meeting. The next week carried on with a speech by Robert Laboucane about Aboriginal People and Effective Communication and then about Oil and Natural Gas in Northamerica. Last week, I wasn't there because I had my Science Final and a field trip with my PE class.
Our club won't have an outbound for next year because she wants to finish her school without a break. I also went to the Integrety Awards organized by all Rotary clubs in Calgary togehter with Julia, Vishesh and one of the outbounds. We had a weekend with Rebounds, Outbounds and Inbounds in Red Deer, just two hours north of Calgary and had a lot of fun. We had some orientations and on Saturdaymorning, we went bowling. We got information about our upcoming canoe trip in June and in the evening, we had a dinner with the RC of Red Deer and had to prepare skits about different situations that happen during the exchange: first day at school, first meeting with the host family, weather, food, etc. After all the Rotarians left, we had a dance. On Sunday, we heard from the Rotex students about what they took from their exchange and it was very emotional! We did our Yearbook with the Inbounds and that was a lot of fun, too (we also did pages for Anne, John and Mai). The had of the committe told us that Mai (Japan) was sent home as well. It was the first time that we got to meet our Russian boy who came in November.
I went to Julia's meeting once as well as to Marco's presentation. I wrote my last report for District1800 - the one in Germany. Wait!!!! Already the last one??! That went by so fast. Wasn't the last one just 2 weeks ago? It is incredible how fast the time goes by...and just 3.5 months left :(
SEE you soon.....................................[that doesn't sound good]
Our club won't have an outbound for next year because she wants to finish her school without a break. I also went to the Integrety Awards organized by all Rotary clubs in Calgary togehter with Julia, Vishesh and one of the outbounds. We had a weekend with Rebounds, Outbounds and Inbounds in Red Deer, just two hours north of Calgary and had a lot of fun. We had some orientations and on Saturdaymorning, we went bowling. We got information about our upcoming canoe trip in June and in the evening, we had a dinner with the RC of Red Deer and had to prepare skits about different situations that happen during the exchange: first day at school, first meeting with the host family, weather, food, etc. After all the Rotarians left, we had a dance. On Sunday, we heard from the Rotex students about what they took from their exchange and it was very emotional! We did our Yearbook with the Inbounds and that was a lot of fun, too (we also did pages for Anne, John and Mai). The had of the committe told us that Mai (Japan) was sent home as well. It was the first time that we got to meet our Russian boy who came in November.
I went to Julia's meeting once as well as to Marco's presentation. I wrote my last report for District1800 - the one in Germany. Wait!!!! Already the last one??! That went by so fast. Wasn't the last one just 2 weeks ago? It is incredible how fast the time goes by...and just 3.5 months left :(
SEE you soon.....................................[that doesn't sound good]
Pictures McFriesens
riding
my room
Mojo in his favourite spot
Natalie (middle back) and Maria (left back)
My 3rd host family & riding
It was a lot of work to get all my stuff togehter to move from my second to my third and at the same time last host family. On my last night with Barb and Al, they took me out for dinner at Tony Roma's for the worldbest ribs! *yummy* I moved on Sunday night, February 28. This time, I live in the Northwest, but still in walking distance to downtown. The Closing ceremonies were on and I got moved by Rosemary and WingKee after the official speeches. I have no idea what happened after as I didn't concentrate on that in my new house. I experienced a very warm welcome by my host mum Eva and my 11-year-old host sister Natalie. She showed me my room which is downstairs in the basement and very cosy. I put all the letters, postcards, pictures, etc. on the walls! They bought an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen for my arrival and for me it was a very good night! My 14-year-old host sister was in California for a showjumping competition and I met her on Monday, March 8, for the first time. That night, I just unpacked my suitcases and went to bed. On my first morning, Eva drove me to school and since then I took the bus which takes me about 30 minutes and is very handy as I don't have to change busses. When Maria came home, we picked her up from the airport and went to Milestones for dinner. Both my sisters are so lovely and I feel so good here! We also have a dog (Bijon mixed with Cocker Spaniel) who is very cute. His name is Mojo. I have very good breakfast in this home. During the week I have cereal, but at the weekends my host mum makes pancakes and waffles, sometimes she even does that before school. And then we have a meal at around 5pm and one at around 10pm - before and after riding. Both my sisters leave after me for school so that I sometimes don't see them in the morning, Maria has Onlineschool and stays at home for that, but she thinks about going to Western next year. And with a new family comes a new hobby, eh??! With this one it is - guess!!- horsebackriding. They go every day from 5.30 until 9.30 and of course I had to try it as well. On March 9th, I went the first time to the barn and it also was the first time that I rode! I ride my host mums horse, Princenton and have been quite often by now. I walked and did posting trott, and twice I had success doing a canter. But I'm still practicing on that and most of the times I am not successful. By now, I know how to groom and tack up a horse and a week ago, I had my first official lesson, before that my host mum taught me. But as they didn't have a school horse for me, I took Princeton again. I watched a clinic and a show of my family and Eva took me to Spruce Meadows, just picking up a passport, but it is very nice and I will watch them competing and then I might go to an International Competition also. Byebye
Movies
As always, I watched a lot of movies since February so that they get an own entry :D I watched "When in Rome" [When in Rome - fuenf Maenner sind vier zu viel] with Marco and tought that it was quite good, at least easy going. I then watched "Alice in Wonderland - IMAX" [Alice im Wunderland] with Julia and Marco and for the second time I watched it in 3D with my host sister Natalie and her friend Alina. I love that movie! I think that the animals are so cute :) At home, I watched "Made of Honour" [Verliebt in die Braut] with Maria and Natalie and later I watched "The Country Bears" [Die Country Bears - Hier tobt der Baer] and "Molly - An American girl on the home front" with Natalie together. Back in the theatre, I saw "Remember Me" with my host sisters and their friends. This movie was one of my favourite ones as it is one of the few that end sad! During Spring Break, Julia came over several times and together we watched "Ratatouille", "Post Grad" [(Traum) Job gesucht] and "A Cinderella Story". One day, we made our way to the theatre and decided on the movie "The Last Song" [Mit dir an meiner Seite] with Julia and her schoolfriend Binta. I loved that movie in the way that it stayed sad for a very long period of time but had a good ending! :) Another very good movie I've seen is the movie "The Blind Side" [Blind Side - Die grosse Chance] at home with my host mum and her friend. The worst movie lately was "Up in the Air". I didn't even finish watching it as it was sooo boring! Just a week ago, I watched "Precious" [Precious - das Leben ist kostbar] with my host sisters and I also saw "Shrek II" with Julia and her family recently. At school in Social class, we watched "Bend it like Beckham" [Kick it like Beckham] and "The Mission" [Mission].
Photos Vancouver
Um die Fotos in chronologischer Reihenfolge zu sehen, bitte unten anfangen!
Die Rockies auf dem Rueckflug
Tandemtour
Whistler Village
Waschbaer
Kopenhagen oder Vancouver?
Cauldron at night
Tandemtour
Whistler Village
Waschbaer
Kopenhagen oder Vancouver?
Cauldron at night
Close to the end
The Downhill run at our arrival
Cauldron
Inukshuk
gruenes Grass und bluehende Baeume
Taxiboot
NOCH...6 Stunden 9 Minuten und 5 Sekunden bis zur Eroeffnung!
Zipline
Paralympische Fackel
The Bay mit den offiziellen Outfits
Flughafen Vancouver
Zeitvertreib am Flughafen in Calgary
Vancouver March 12-14
As I said, I visited Vancouver for a weekend in March. We were 4 exchange students (Julia, Leila and Yin-Yin) and Yin-Yin's counselor and his wife and we had an amazing time! We stayed in the Suttan Place Hotel right in Downtown Vancouver and just the exchange students got their own suite :) Julia and I shared the couch in the living room. We left Calgary at 9 o'clock on Friday morning (I missed school for that) and arrived in Vancouver at 9:30 (Vancouver is 1 hour behind Calgary and the flight was 1.5 hours). The first thing we all notices was that everything in Vancouver is green! We were totally amazed, but not by the rain we had...We took the skytrain, that has no driver, from the airport to our hotel and then had to walk in the rain. We ran into the Paralympic torch and saw a change. Lucky us! And then we waited at Robson Square where we saw some celebrations. We continued the tour to our hotel in the rain, but when we left the sun came out and it was really nice. We took a taxi boat to Granville Island where we looked at the market and had fish 'n' chips for lunch. I met some German people there and talked to them for a little. It is so strange to hear German again! We then walked along Englisch Bay and took a look at the Inukshuk. You'd be surprised to hear that all the trees were blooming! :) It felt soooo nice. We finished our tour along the Northend of Downtown and walked by the unlit cauldron. Back at the hotel, we had a couple of hours break as our feet hurt really bad! Of course we had to take a look at the stores on Robson Street. We started watching the openings of the Paralympics and for dinner, we all went out for Thai food.
On Saturday, we left the hotel early to drive 1.5 hours up to Whistler. We had tickets for the Alpine skiing event and when we arrived, the competition was already delayed for 15 minutes. And after 2 hours waiting in the cold and not properly dressed, we decided to leave the place. :( That was too bad. And then a volunteer told us that the competition got cancelled. We were glad that we left for good. We walked a little around Whistler village which is really nice :) In the evening, we went to a little restaurant and I had a wrap and a milkshake and afterwards we went into a candystore. Just like the ones one would imagine. The last thing we did was driving by the cauldron, this time lit and in the dark! and it looks really a lot better this way. When back in the hotel, we all fell asleep right away.
On Sunday morning, we had time to sleep in and went out for breakfast (bacon, hashbrowns and eggs). We packed our things and rented tandems. We took a 2-hour tour around Stanley park and had a really great time. Julia and I saw some racoons and we were still amazed by the nature in Vancouver! I found a shell with a hole in it that I put on my blazer :). For lunch, we had fish 'n' chips again in Richmond and went to the airport. Our fligth left at 6pm and we reached Calgary by 8.30pm. When I came home, dinner was prepared for me - wraps again :) I love that the food is so international in Canada. It felt like coming home - and it was weird, because in the beginning Calgary was holiday, and now it is HOME; and Vancouver was holiday for us!
Love from Canada
On Saturday, we left the hotel early to drive 1.5 hours up to Whistler. We had tickets for the Alpine skiing event and when we arrived, the competition was already delayed for 15 minutes. And after 2 hours waiting in the cold and not properly dressed, we decided to leave the place. :( That was too bad. And then a volunteer told us that the competition got cancelled. We were glad that we left for good. We walked a little around Whistler village which is really nice :) In the evening, we went to a little restaurant and I had a wrap and a milkshake and afterwards we went into a candystore. Just like the ones one would imagine. The last thing we did was driving by the cauldron, this time lit and in the dark! and it looks really a lot better this way. When back in the hotel, we all fell asleep right away.
On Sunday morning, we had time to sleep in and went out for breakfast (bacon, hashbrowns and eggs). We packed our things and rented tandems. We took a 2-hour tour around Stanley park and had a really great time. Julia and I saw some racoons and we were still amazed by the nature in Vancouver! I found a shell with a hole in it that I put on my blazer :). For lunch, we had fish 'n' chips again in Richmond and went to the airport. Our fligth left at 6pm and we reached Calgary by 8.30pm. When I came home, dinner was prepared for me - wraps again :) I love that the food is so international in Canada. It felt like coming home - and it was weird, because in the beginning Calgary was holiday, and now it is HOME; and Vancouver was holiday for us!
Love from Canada
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
