It's november already and I can't really believe it. I've been here for over three months now and it's crazy to think about that. I've done a lot of fun things but during the week I also just go to school and do homework. Last weekend was Halloween and it was awesome! In the Netherlands Halloween isn't a big thing, and no one goes trick-or-treating. But here in the USA it's an important time! Lots of houses are decorated and all the kids go trick-or-treating. Even though I'm not a kid anymore I still went trick-or-treating with Julia, a German exchange student.
Julia dressed up as Albert Einstein and I dresses up as Superman. We went into my neighborhood and had lots of fun! Some people were like 'you are even taller then me!', but when we told that we're exchange students they gave us even more candy haha. For the people who aren't sure what trick-or-treating is, you basically go to a house and say 'trick-or-treat!'. Whoever opens the door gives you candy. Of course you can't just go there in 'normal' clothes, but you have to be dressed up as a scary or funny character.
I've also carved my very first pumpkin! Pumpkin carving is a really important thing here in the fall, and pretty much everyone does it. You have to make a hole in the top of the pumpkin and get all the stuff out of it. That can be pretty gross, believe me! I decided to make a cat, and just drew it on the outside of the pumpkin. I didn't come up with the design of it myself though, I'm not that creative ;) After that it was easy to cut the other parts out. Then we just put a little candle in the pumpkin and that was it! It was definitely a fun thing to do.
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| With my host-cousin Ella! |
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| Dutch kids during Sint Maarten |
In the Netherlands we have something comparable to Halloween which is called 'Sint Maarten'. It's every year on November 11th. Instead of pumpkins the kids take their selfmade lanterns with them. They sing special 'Sint Maarten' songs and get candy or fruit. Of course all the kids want candy, so when someone gives out fruit they're not really happy.
Last week I also had my first chorus concert! I'm in the concert choir of my school and I really enjoy it. My school organized a Fall Festival for the Fine Arts subjects chorus, drama & musical instruments. We sang three songs during the concert. The first one was a song from the musical 'Les Miserables', the second one was song called 'Cantate Domino' in Latin and the third one was a song called 'America, the Beautiful'. Obviously, it was about how great America is. It's funny for me to notice how proud people here are of their country, since a lot of songs we sing are about America. I like it though, and I feel like the Dutch people could do this a little bit more!
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| For our performance we had to wear these long, black dresses! |
I'm still playing Lacrosse, and right now we are busy with raising money for the game season. So we sell calendars and had one out of our two Spirit Nights at Chick-fil-A already. This basically means that a part of the Lacrosse team works at Chick-fil-A for a certain time, and then we get a part of the money they earn that night. So if you live in Greenville, you can come out next Thursday for our second Spirit Night!
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| At the last football game |
A thing I'm pretty sad about is the end of the football season. Two weeks ago we had our last football game, which we lost. So that means we're not gonna participate in the state championships. I've been to the majority of football games and it was an awesome place to meet new people and just have a lot of fun. I'm cherishing every memory I had because I'll probably never see a football game again. It was a great American experience!
That was all that's going on in my life right now! Next weekend I'll go on a retreat from my church which I'm really excited for. We will go to a camp in Georgia and do a lot of fun activities. Also, thanksgiving is coming up. We don't celebrate this in the Netherlands so it's something I'm definitely looking forward to. And, guess where I'll be spending New Years? Disney World!!! I can't believe that I'm gonna be able to go to Disney again and I'm my host family definitely thankful for that. But first I'll have to survive lots of homework and tests at school ;)
What are you looking forward to?
You have a rich life in America.
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