I long wanted to write this one but never came around to do s but now :d

I wanna tell you guys about the last weekend.

I went on a camp out with my church. We went to a place called Sacramento Methodist Assembly in Sacramento, approximately 5 to 6 hours away from Albuquerque. So we set the 14 of us (including two adults) into two cars and drove down there. That in itself was enough fun to just drive back and have a great experience more. But we stayed up there for a weekend. The Assembly itself is placed in the end of a valley in the mountains. Which had the need effect that we could easily hike up to one of three peeks and we viewed a beautiful countryside. The thing was still a church trip so the weekend was filled with worships and work in small groups as well as with other religious related fun activities such as hunting (plastic) ducks. At this point I wanna take the time and explain or talk about the difference in regular worship that I am experiencing right now between m German church and the one here. I think everyone who is interested in this knows what I mean b worship in Germany, Pastor talks for way to long and hymns are sung. Here our worships start with two to three songs. But they aren’t hymns the are more modern music, not played with an organ but with drums, guitars and keyboards. Then there usually comes the introduction to the theme and a prayer that is underlined by music as well as the scripture read. In the following another song, of the same type as the first once is sung and afterwards the pastor or worship leader talks. So there still is a sermon. Which somehow appears to me to be more interesting here but that’s may just cause it’s in English and I can’t any more quite recall the once in Germany so well. Anyway after the talk there is the finishing song. Left to say that there are more prayers at some unfixed points in the worship and people sit for the prayers (always). So far for a general summary. But what I experienced in Sacramento was also different in another aspect that I view from two different points of view. I am talking about how much people get into this spiritually. So one side is that everyone is really into it, people stand for every song clap and have fun. It just is a total different atmosphere one of these you have to be there thing. Here for a funny story: during one of the songs at CCYM (the name of the campout) we used to form a polonaise. So this is were the “good” point of view is. The “bad” side is that it sometimes feels like people get so far into it that the are easily led to do something that shouldn’t be done. No idea how to explain it further, I will try though if I need to. So besides the, I think 5, worships we mainly had small groups, of cause my one was the best. In which we further discussed the theme of the week “light and darkness”. The most amazing hour of the whole weekend was a hike up to one of the peaks at about 11Pm in total darkness with only a few candles, such a beautiful sky. But Sunday afternoon the camp was over and we started out home. On the trip we had a lot of fun with “Red vines” (type into Google images) as Ty suddenly said “my one is longer” and his sister observed that when you use them as straws “it is coming out of the top”. After we all had laughed and sobbed for about 30 min. After that everyone had trouble getting away from this general direction of thinking and it continued with things like “he dropped one of his balls” etc. Other from that we spend the time on the road drinking energy drinks and singing along with the songs. To explain the Narnia part in the Headline. Our youth director said, and she s right, that at one point on the trip, when you drive through a tunnel with dessert on one and forest on the other side, it feels like entering Narnia.

So now this week and weekend were mainly dominated by the birthday of my host sis. Her sweet sixteen. I still wonder why sweet because here you need to be 17 or 21 to have fun, but oh well. So on Tuesday we went out for dinner and on Friday we had a little celebration, due to the fact that half of the people couldn’t open the invitation file and a quarter thought it was a virus. But we still had a chocolate fountain and a black marbelish looking dance floor which actually was used by guys and girls (together and alone). Yeah me and the other two guys had fun making up dances, you will NEVER see the videos of that. The only “bad” (kinda sarcastic) thing was that the two best friends of my sis spend the night over at our house watching Disney princess movies in the room that’s in front of my one and sound wise not really good separated. So I ended up watching with them until 5:30 AM next morning and then again from about 8AM. The same day we then went to take family pictures during which I mainly sat around but hey I got food for it.

So you see live over here doesn’t get boring and I somehow always end up with a bunch of girls, or at least more girls ‘n boys. But hey that’s not a bad thing is it?

I may gonna set smileys into this when I have time but for now I am off for youth

The last weeks were truly..  interesting, to say the least so let me tell you the story.

It all started with me moving in with my new host family. This also meant that I moved into a different district of APS (Albuquerque Public Schools). And there is a little policy of APS stating that exchange students are required to attend the school in which’s district there host family lives. So I would have had to transfer to a different high school more exactly highland high school. OK it is close by, about a 10-15 min. walk but it doesn’t have that great of a reputation. Also there is the fact that it took my, literally, months to really find good friends at Sandia and to get involved. And I didn’t feel like doing that all over again. So I tried to stay at Sandia. More précised the day my old host dad was withdrawing me, after all paperwork was signed I started fighting that decision. Here fore you need to know that usually the organizations, YU so to speak, deal with the placements of foreign exchange students because otherwise they mess up there relationship with the schools which than in return won’t take any more exchange students. So YFU was pissed. APS had its policies and wanted to be consistent so basically they were pissed, too. Nice position to start from. Oh yeah by the way my old host dad said I should stick to my decision and not piss everyone of so basically he was pissed, too. But don’t get me wrong not everyone was pissed. My Advisor and the Co-Principal as well as my new host dad stood behind me. And so a struggle began. Which had the side effect that for one week I was going to Sandia without having a locker or book which is kinda nice. During this week The Co-Principal Ms. Stan and my host dad (the new one) started contact with the responsible persons of APS and at first everyone was very confident we had many arguments and a reason for hope. But only for a few days than Ms. Stan had to give up her hopes because she used all her arguments and after all she is an employee of APS. But my host dad and I came up with some more things to do and caped trying. Until last Friday when my host dad had a phone call with the responsibles telling him that they couldn’t brake with there policies etc. But again as the title says “Never Back Down” and we didn’t. Paul (my host dad) simply wrote to the boss of the person who had denied the whole thing. He send him everything and also Ms. Stan made and appeal, put in a good word for me. And then suddenly out of nowhere 9while I was watching Heroes Season 4 an awesome show) we got a mail from the Secretary of Education (or something like that) of APS telling me that I would be allowed to stay at Sandia and that APD would reconsider its policies.

Awesome there really is byrocraci admitting a mistake, I couldn’t believe it but it is true. So now Pal gives me a ride to school every morning and in the afternoon I take the City Bus home (takes about 70min.). So I am happy and of cause that is reason enough for APS to want me to tell my story, after all I am happy with APS.

I guess you would also like to know about my new host family. I now have two little host sisters no idea how old they are (though I think 15 and 12) a new host mother and a new host father we also have two dogs, to whom I by now refer to as small (they are up to my hip). And the last part is the one that makes my wonder because I still haven’t lost all my fear of dogs, though with those two guys everything went just perfect. I now have my own room which still is kinda in progress. When I came here a bit more than a week ago it was a room with unpainted walls and no furniture, we even raised a wall to separate it from the laundry room. But now it is painted has a brand new extremely comfortable bed, a working desk, some hangers for cloth (more are coming this weekend) and a unplumbed sink. Last of which is by far the coolest part of the whole room. Otherwise the house has two stories one of which is half belonging to the girls, they kinda have there own “wing”. I personally don’t like the fact that I now have to use Vista if I wanna use a computer, but hey you can’t have everything. One other good thing is that I can continue to attend services at the same church and be at that youth group since my new host family is heavily involved in it and my old host family doesn’t go to church at all.

Yeah so far my life is pretty awesome. And it is still going up since the pool club at Sandia now has its own Tables.