Collin is gone now :(( Well, I know that I'll see him again in Germany but still it is very sad because it is ever going to be the same like here again. He really was one of my best friends here. Antonia is going next Saturday and I will bring her with her host family to the airport.

Since I am here I appreciate Germany so much more. Don't get me wrong!! I love it here and I love my host family and friends and all of that. It is just little things that happen and then you are like " Thank God I am German and we do it in a different way!" I started to listen a lot to German music and all of that. But it is not like that I really want to go home. I actually wouldn't mind staying a second year but my parents don't allow it. Anyway since I am here I noticed that these little things you do at home or other people do for you that are normal to you so you just take them as granted, but when you are going into a different culture you start to miss them. And if it is just a hug from your mum!!

But no matter how bad my homesickness is or how much I am going to miss Antonia and Collin I'll be always glad that I have the chance to experience this here!! And I am so thankful that I got such an amazing host family. They have their mistakes, but I couldn't imagine a better one for me!!

Only 60 days left!!! Then my parents will come to Ireland!! When they are here I haven't seen them for about 7 months!! But it feels so much less to me, because I have such a great host family and great friends here.

Time runs so fast!! I can't believe that I will go home in less than 20 weeks!! I mean I really miss home but it will be hard because I settled in here and I will miss my "second home".

It was snowing since 3-4 days in Monaghan but until Sunday nothing and with nothing I really mean nothing) stayed. But on Sunday evening and Monday evening a little bit stayed on the ground. It was mostly gone, but it was enough for a wee snowfight with the kids outside :) It was so funny even though the snow was very "icy" and when a snowball hit you it hurted a bit.

I hope it is going to snow more so maybe we won't have school then, because the school busses won't go then. Here it is not like in Germany. They don't need to have them "winter wheels"... most of the time it is not snowing anyway and when it snows it is not staying for long. 

On the weekend Antonia had her last sleepover at my house.. that is so sad!! We really became close to each other and I will miss her a lot. I mean I know that I will see her again in Germany but it will never be the same as it was here. I can't just go over to her house and see if she is there. Same for Collin.. he is going the day after tomorrow!! This feels so weird!!

But anyway... I am still happy here and on Friday I'm going to Clones to the disco... it will be fun I think :)

And again one week is over. Nothing exciting happend, I am just really, really tired for no reason. I just need hours to actually fall asleep and when I sleep then it feels like it is just 10 min and then the next schoolmorning is there already!! My hostmum always thinks now that I am sad or fed uo or something. She is probably worrying because Collin the german boy living in my street and one of my best friends here is leaving in 8 days and Antonia is leaving in two weeks :( Maybe that is one of the reasons why I am so quiet in the last time even though I didn't mean too!! Because I feel good after all!! I am happy!! :D:D ( lesson is overnow >D)

ohh God... had my first day of school today -.- and I want to have Holidays again already. I just hate getting up early in the morning and my sleeping routine is completly destroyed ! But anyway... I did good in the christmas exams ( as far as I know... Business results are still waiting for me..). So it was an alright day. I was in dublin on Saturday and finally got a new webcam ( mine was broken). what else... well..it is rainig at the moment ( what a surprise in Ireland :D:D) Thats pretty much it I can say about the last few days:)

R.I.P. Jason McGovern

On New years eve this young fella was found dead in his friends house. He was out in Omagh Co. Tyrone partying and it is not completely clear but some person assaulted him twice. He went home and over night he died, because of that!!! He was from Emyvale Co.Monaghan and went to my school (before I was in Ireland). I didn't know him but I think that is so sad!!! How can people do that to each other with no reason???   I just hope that his family finds the strenght to go trough this time and that the persons who did this to him will get into prison!!!

Rest in Peace Jason!!

http://www.facebook.com/RipJasonMcgovern?fref=ts

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0102/jason-mcgovern-omagh.html

December, December....a whole lot of events..and no post from me...

Oh my God!! I didn't realise that I wasn't posting in my blog for over a Month!!

So I am going to write a "December summary" now, because December was actually quite interesting with Christmas, New years eve etc. :)

At the beginning of December, the 2. actually I finally turned 17. It was really nice I got a camera from my parents and I had a nice small Birthday party in my host families house.Antonia and Collin made a really colourful cake for me! I was happy like a little child but it was just so cool :D:D My Birthday was on a Sunday, but we didn't have school the next day so I could celebrate it on that day, which was quite handy.

 The amazing cake. and yes it tasted good! :)

and me...

Then from the 4th to the 7th  we had our work experience. I did mine at the hair dresser "Che Veux" in Monaghan town. They are really good hair dresser and really friendly, but I have to admit that I was really bored,because I couldn't really do something and on Tuesday and Wednesday there were hardly any customers. Well, it has its good side, because on the first day the one girl that works there practised here styles on me and on the second day I got my hair done ( Highlights, cutting...) and got 10€ off the full price :) Friday was better because there were two other girls from college and so at least we could talk a little bit because one of them was my neighbour :)

That is how I looked after the first day:)

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

- Unknown"

We also had our Christmas exams and I really have to say that it was not as easy as all the exchange students thought!! I mean History was really good and science was "easy" as well, but Math... :O In the lessons it was always so simple and I had 90% of all tasks right but then in the exams I was sitting there like "WTF?? What do you want from me I have never seen these type of questions before!" and as you can imagine I felt pretty stupid because when someone asked me about school in Germany  I always was like " Oh well school in Germany is harder and we are so much further in Math...". But Thank God it was not just me... I asked around and quite a lot of the exchanges AND Irish students felt the same .. 

Then Christmas was there and I actually enjoyed it, even thou I am so glad that all that is over now. Before that I was really panicking because I was so afraid of getting homesick, because for me there was no was to celebrate Christmas for the first ( and hopefully only time for the next few years) without family without missing them. The point when I really just wanted to book a ticket home was the 22nd or 23rd, I was at Antonia's house and we watched "Home alone" ("Kevin allein Zuhaus"). Did you ever watch it?? Well basically the boy is home alone in the time before Christmas because his family did a mistake and didn't notice that he is not in the plane. He has fun and is doing everything he normally wouldn't be allowed to but on the day before Christmas he goes to "Santa" ( some man dressed up as Santa) and wishes that his mum will come home for Christmas. Then on Christmas day he goes downstairs and his mum really came home. That was the moment when I just wanted to go to my family. Just for a few hours to hug them and to say merry Christmas. Thank God I had Antonia. She is a great friend and without her.. who knows maybe I would have went home..... So we celebrated our own "German" Christmas on the 24th in the evening and unwrapped our presents from our parents together and played Monopoly:). And on the 25th, the actual Christmas Day in Ireland My host family and I went to their Granny's house and it was really nice!! I felt like I couldn't eat for the next few days but it way so delicious!! I wasn't homesick that day at all I just enjoyed it. Everyone in this family is so nice to me!! I am really lucky that I can live with them!

Antonia's and my stunning Christmas tree :)

I love you Antonia!! A pity that you are going home in a few weeks. But we will see each other in summer so, Roll on Summer!!! <3

And finally, New years eve!! This was just great in my opinion. We (Antonia, Eva, Charlotte and me) went to the shamrock and then Eva and I went to the "Forum", that is a disco here in Monaghan. It was really fun, except from the part that my host mum forgot that Antonia was having a sleepover at mine so we had to share a bed and no...I didn't sleep. at about 7 am I went downstairs to get at least 3 hours of sleep on the sofa but I just couldn't sleep!!! Well.... the next night I went to bed at 10 :D:D

 I bought them purple extensions up in the North:)) I just think they are amazing ( and they were so cheap :D:D )

That is how I looked on New years..well... I did my hair better and everything.. that picture was just to show my mum what I am going to wear :)

But December was also the time of saying Goodbye to some students. I really hope that they will have a great time at home and had an even better time here in Ireland, so as I still have it. Some of them I am really going to miss. Most students actually went home over Christmas, but a lot are coming back in a few days or are already back.

But Hello !!  I get a neighbour on Saturday!! I hope he is good craic, because Collin is going and it would be just nice if he would kind of "replace" him as a good friend.

Antonia's host dad took us to another trip before Christmas. Again to some Cliffs. They are called "Sliabh liag" and they are supposed to be the highest cliffs in Europe. It was a little bit foggy so we couldn't see the top but it was still pretty amazing. Here are just "some" pictures :)