16 Days Until Switzerland

Hello People of the World,

         Happy May Monday! Currently I am sitting on a couch watching Criminal Minds. This week has been quite eventful be ready to read about it in

Tuesday:

This day was incredibly fun! I went shopping! I received my birthday money early since many people wanted to be sure I got the money before I left. For the first time I shopped to the point where I got tired from carrying bags. This rarely happens because I either 1.)have no money, 2.)only buy one or two things or 3.)buy things online. Since back to school shopping is coming up, some good sales came up which made me even more happy. 

Wednesday:

This was the day of my 5 Seconds of Summer concert. My last concert of the summer! I'd had the tickets for about a year, so I was beyond excited when the day finally arrived. We left rather early because we were hoping to beat traffic. We got stuck in traffic for a while with other people who also wanted to beat traffic. We eventually made it to the amphitheater.

I really liked the opening act, Hey Violet. Usually I check out the opening act before I go to the concert so I at least am somewhat familiar with their music. I was pretty pleased with their sound. A lot of people didn't really acknowledge them or give them much of a chance which I find sad because you paid money for the ticket might as well enjoy the whole show not just the main act.

This is Hey Violet performing

5 Seconds of Summer was fabulous as I predicted they would be. This show really opened my eyes. So many people were videotaping this show with their smartphones. It was unreal. I'll be honest, at previous concerts I've been to, I've been one of these people because pictures and videos are a way to make memories everlasting. Usually I only video a couple songs so I can watch them later. These people wouldn't put the phone down the whole time. They were basically watching the concert through the their phone or camera screens. What's the point of that? You're not really experiencing it. You're just going to go home and watch the videos on your computer or phone after the show. You could do the same thing by looking up their concerts on Youtube for free. I realized that I wasn't going to get any good footage about the third song in since so many people were holding their hands up. I had the best time watching the concert with my actual eyes. 

I took a quick picture of 5SOS taking a picture with the crowd

Thursday:

We stayed the night at a hotel on Wednesday, so we hung around the hotel for about half the day. I really liked the place of our hotel because it was near a Krispy Kreme.  Krispy Kreme is this really good doughnut shop. From there, we headed to the doctor's office for my last physical before I left to Switzerland. Then we just went home. Nothing too extraordinary happened this day.

Friday:

This was my little sister's birthday. I bought my sister a guitar for kids since she always loved to attempt to play my guitar. My sister found her guitar badly hidden in my closet a couple days before her birthday. She asked me daily if it was her birthday so I could give her guitar. When the day finally came she was ecstatic.  She was very cute playing her plastic guitar. I also baked her a cake that we decorated together.

Can you tell that my sister likes sprinkles?

Saturday:

I went to this record store in San Jose with my friend. The record store was really cool. There were a lot of vinyls of some classic band like Green Day, The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, The Goo Goo Dolls and a lot others. We took a stop at another record shop. This record shop had a lot more vinyls that were more mainstream. They had Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, The 1975, Sam Smith and couple others. I really like vinyls. I really want a record player, but they are just very expensive. Vinyls are also expensive, well the more recent ones are. I really want to start collecting vinyls to hang on my wall and eventually buy a record player. Right now I have Ed Sheeran's album "+" in vinyl which is hanging on my wall all alone. I want to buy more of my favorite albums on vinyl to keep the Ed Sheeran one company

But then in reality

Sunday:

I was very lazy Sunday. I stayed sitting on a couch the whole day watching a variation of TV shows and movies. This day was uneventful but it's okay because honestly I'm not the type of person to want to be up and going 24/7. I like my lazy days.

Today:

Today I went to the shopping outlets. We went to Hot Topic. I absolutely love Hot Topic because they have such cool merchandise. I especially love the little POP Figures they sell. I find them so adorable. My friend bought a dancing Groot which is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.(I'm sorry to those who haven't watched Guardians of the Galaxies and don't understand my Groot reference.) Later we went to the pet store to go buy some food for my friend's snake. 

This is my friend's snake looking very hungry

Upcoming News:

My departure date just keeps getting closer and closer. In 13 days, my journey will begin. In 16 days, I will be officially in Switzerland. I'm starting to get all packed and it's starting to feel more real by the second. In other news, next Thursday is my birthday! I will finally turn 16. I'm going to have like a birthday/goodbye party which will be nice. Need to start planning that more thoroughly. 

I'm getting pretty tired, so this is where I will be signing off.  I hope you all enjoy the remaining hours of your Monday and the rest of your week. I'll be back to update for another May Monday!

Until then....

-May

23 days until Switzerland

Hello People of the World,

         Happy May Monday! It's so hot today! Well where I live, perhaps not where you are. According to the weather report on my phone it is 88 degrees Fahrenheit. For my readers who are not from the  U.S. , that would be 31 degrees Celsius. Now it's time to fill you in on my week, so sit back, strap in and enjoy the ride.

Tuesday-Thursday:

This week I actually was fairly busy. I was babysitting a friend's little sister. Nothing really too exciting. I did a lot of Germans lessons on Rosetta Stone. Now I only need to finish one last overview, then I'll be officially done with the required part of my German. Still have plenty to learn though.

In other news, my fondness of cats has returned. My friend who's sister I was babysitting has three cats at her house, so I had plenty of time to bond with the cats. I really liked cats growing up, I even had one for a couple years until it passed from old age. I haven't had one for a while though, so I forgot how cute and adorable cats are.

Look at that cute face!

Friday:
This was the day my best friend was going to finally come home from her little college camp. She'd been away three weeks to a college camp in Rhode Island. Her mom took me to the airport where we patiently waited for my friend's arrival. I do not have any pictures from our little reunion since she didn't want to take any due to just being on a long plane ride and being sick.

Just to give you a mental image of when we were reunited, we looked something similar to this

Saturday:

I was at my best friend's house because I slept over from the night before. I watched Glee while waiting for my jet lagged friend to wake up. She slept for twelve hours straight, so I waited for a while. Eventually she did wake up, but we didn't really leave her room and just watched various movies and TV shows on Netflix.

We unintentionally spent all day watching Netflix. Next thing we knew it was 8:40 pm, so I stayed the night once again.

Sunday:

Sunday was yet another lazy day. However, we did manage to get out of bed, and stop watching Netflix. Another friend came over to the house. We all played Monopoly Disney Edition. The game went on for a while until I went completely bankrupt and lost.

Look at how cute the game board is

Upcoming Events:

As you can tell from the title, my departure is quickly approaching. In 23 days, I will be in Switzerland, but technically I will be leaving for Switzerland in 20 days. It takes three days because of duration of plane flights and my orientation in New York. Tomorrow I'm going shopping to pick up some clothes for the year. I love shopping, so I know that'll be fun.

I am going to a 5 Seconds of Summer concert in TWO DAYS! I bought these tickets like a year ago, so I've been waiting for this day for almost a year, so you can guess how excited I am. It's bittersweet though because this is going to be my last big event while I'm in the U.S. until I get back. I'm just really happy to go, and I know I'm going to have a good time.

Side Note

For those who know that I'm going to Switzerland, but don't know anything besides that let me fill you in. So sometime last year I worked on an application to study abroad. I chose Switzerland because it seemed like a nice country and I like snow, even though I don't get any of it here in California. I knew that tuition would be expensive so I applied to two different scholarships to try to cover the fee. A lot of people didn't really take me seriously that I was actually going abroad.  I come from a really small town so it's not common for people to be going to big places so young. I worked through a lot of paperwork. I got accepted by AFS Switzerland which just led to more paperwork. Fast forward a couple months I received received an email stating I was granted a $2,000 scholarship from the AFS Global Leaders. I had only a couple months to cover the rest which was about $12,000 more. I was relying on the other scholarship, and I knew if they didn't pay it all I would not be able to go. It was nerve racking because I didn't get contacted until late May, but the news I received was worth the wait, which was I was granted an $11,600 scholarship from the Elita Hawley Endowment Fund. My whole tuition was basically covered by scholarships. Everything started to become more real. Around late May, I was assigned two host families. The greatest part is that they are neighbors, so when I have to go to my second host family, I'll only be moving down the street which I find awesome. I was placed in a town called Winterthur which is outside of Zurich. It feels like just yesterday there were still months until I was leaving for Switzerland now its only three weeks.

Here is a 2D visual of what my journey will look like

Here is a 3D visual of what my journey will look like

Of course I'm not going to have a direct flight to Switzerland from where I live because I have to go to an orientation in New York first. My flight to New York takes eight and a half hours, and my flight to Switzerland from New York takes fourteen hours, so I will be spending twenty two and a half hours on a plane in a matter of three days. I can feel the jet lag already.

Well I have big plans for the week, and I must go to bed. This is where I'll be signing off.

Until then....
Auf Wiedersehen (for non German speakers that means goodbye)

-May

30 days until Switzerland

Hello People of the World,

           Happy May Monday! Currently, I am in bed looking back at all that has happened this week. I was actually pretty productive, so today I'm pretty tired. Also, since this week was eventful, expect a long post. Here is an overview of what has happened in the past week.

Drumroll Please

Tuesday:

Tuesday, I woke up very early to go to the dentist. Usually I'm an early bird, but I hate the dentist, so that day, I was not a morning person. They explained to me what they were going to do before they put me to sleep. They hooked me up to a bunch of machines, and I felt like I was in a Grey's Anatomy episode. After the surgery, I was very groggy and tired. I went home and slept a lot. My mom would come check in on me occasionally.Of course, I want to believe that I looked like Sleeping Beauty while I was sleeping but in reality I probably looked something similar to this

Wednesday:

I was very tired. My mouth was numb. It felt so weird having a tooth missing. I felt like I was a little kid with a missing tooth, except this time it's permanently gone and it's never going to grow back. The dentist said I'll get a replacement once I come home from Switzerland. Since I couldn't eat hard food, my diet consisted of ice cream, jello, and pudding. It would hurt to smile and laugh, so everywhere I went people would think I was sad or mad. 

So when people would joke I would be like

Thursday:

Thursday, I went out to Big Sur. For those of you that don't know, Big Sur is a town on the coast of California. The views are absolutely breathtaking. I went walking on a little trail and I couldn't believe how pretty it was. Here's some pictures

Friday:

Friday I honestly didn't do much except freak out over the fact that I was going to a One Direction concert the next day. My emotions can be captured in this gif

Saturday:

This was it the day I was looking forward to the most. The day of my One Direction concert. I live about an hour and a half away from the stadium they were performing at, Levi Stadium. We left around three and for to the stadium around four. Since we went somewhat early we beat traffic, and it was fairly easy to find our way to the stadium. Levi Stadium has a capacity around 60,000, so you can imagine how many people were there. It was very sweet of my friend to give me a free ticket as a going away present.

Here is my friends and I on the way to our concert

I couldn't believe how big the stadium was. It was also pretty new, so it was very clean and organized.

I took this picture of the stadium when I walked in

First off was One Direction's opening act, Icona Pop. You may know them from their popular single "I Love It" featuring Charlie XCX. They were fairly good. They played some songs to pump up the crowd for One Direction. I didn't take photos of Icona Pop because I wanted to save my battery for One Direction. If you want to check them out, I'd recommend to check out their latest single "Emergency" because it's very catchy. 

During the show, I was sitting on the very side of the stage so I had a good view of the main stage and a bit of back stage. While waiting for the boys to come on, I intently watched backstage because it intrigued me what goes on behind the scenes. I notice Liam Payne(a member of the group)'s parents walking toward the floor. Other girls took notice and started screaming their heads off.

Here is Liam's parents walking to the floor featuring the heads of girls going hysterical.

So I thought that they would be sitting on the floor since after all they are the reason for one of the band member's existence. Instead, security guided them to MY SECTION. They sat ten rows in front of me. Everyone in my section was going crazy. So many girls rushed to them to try to get pictures. The parents were starting to get mobbed. It was really sad to see. Thankfully security was good and kept teenage girls from shoving cameras in their faces. The show hadn't started yet, so Liam's parents were taking pictures or the crowd and waving to fans on the floor.

Liam's mom and dad waving to fans

Liam's dad taking pictures of the stadium

From the photos, you can see security guarding Liam's parents. I wanted to do something for Liam's parents, but I didn't want to disturb them. So I called over a man that was selling churros. I asked him if I bought a churro if he would deliver it to "the couple on the in the first row on the left". This guy obviously didn't know they were Liam's parents, and probably thought security was there to not allow people on the floor, so he agreed to it. He made his way over to them, and talked to security and explained the situation. Security let him through. The look of Liam's dad face when he was handed a churro was priceless because he was so confused. The churro guy explained to them that the churro was complimentary of me, and pointed to me. Liam's parents turned to me and started waving and mouthed thank you.

The churro guy on his way to Liam's parents

Liam's mom looking at me and Liam's dad about to wave(sorry it's shaky I was waving back)

So now on to the actual show. The boys were a tad late to the show they showed up at like nine. Nevertheless, the show was beyond incredible. I had so much fun. I sang and danced my heart out. They had fireworks and the special effects were cool. They were so to interact with the crowd and make everyone feel apart of the show. This was my third time seeing these boys perform, and they never disappoint. This was such a great going away present.

The stage featuring the fireworks

Louis Tomlinson on the big screen

The four boys on the catwalk

Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson

Harry Styles on the big screen

The four boys on the B stage

The show ended around 11. My friends and I sat in different sections but we had a meeting spot that we agreed on before the show, so it was pretty easy to find them. Then we walked over to the pick up lot where we would meet my mom. She went to the movie theatre while we were watching the show, but she got caught in traffic. You need to remember there were thousands of people that attended the show, so you could only imagine the traffic. After waiting for about two hours, my mom finally made it to pick us up. We made it home around three in the morning. I was so exhausted, but the night was memorable.

Sunday:

I slept in to about twelve. Yes, this is pretty normal for most teenagers, but I usually get up pretty early like seven or eight, and I rarely sleep in. I spent my day trying to relive the previous night through looking through pictures and videos I had taken from the concert. 

So I looked something similar to this

Today:

Today I worked more on my German. I'm almost done with what is required to complete. Of course I will not stop once I finish Level 1 of German since I need to learn all the German I can. As you can tell by the title, in 30 days I will be in the country of Switzerland. I'm very excited. Today I received my AFS luggage tags in the mail and the paper that tells me what to do when I get off the plane. It all is coming so fast. I just need to get my last physical done.I also need to start sorting out my clothes and start seriously thinking of how I'm going to pack. 

I think this is where I'm going to sign off. I hope you all enjoy the remaining hours of your Monday and the rest of your week. I'll be back to update for another May Monday!

Until then....

Auf Wiedersehen (for non German speakers that means goodbye)

-May

First Post

Hello People of the World,

             Happy May Monday!  Well, today has been quite eventful. I went to the dentist today to check up on my teeth to make sure that's all taken care of before my leave to Switzerland. I have a bad tooth that needs to be removed, so that is no bueno. Thankfully, we caught it early enough where my dentist says I will be fully recovered before I leave. I'm going to go get it fixed tomorrow. 

               In happier news, I am going to a concert this week. I am going to go watch One Direction perform on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to that. Okay "looking forward" to it really isn't the best words. I am beyond thrilled to be going. I've been counting down the days. ONLY FIVE DAYS UNTIL I GO.

I basically do a happy dance whenever I am reminded I'm going

              In other news, I'm still working on my German. Just know the basic things as of right now. I probably have the comprehension of a Swiss five year old. I try talking to my host siblings in German through Whatsapp. They are very nice people, and I appreciate their patience with me and my lack of German. I'm very excited to meet them along with my host parents. I'm sure by the time I get there my German will hopefully be slightly better than it is at the moment. I also learned I will be taking German classes before school starts so that makes me feel a little better. 

             

             Everyday I am in the U.S. is only another day closer to being in Switzerland. Only 37 days until I will officially be in the country of Switzerland. Still have to think of how I'm going to pack,  prepare myself to say goodbye to everyone, and complete my last physical. Don't think it had really fully hit me yet that I'm going. Most of my mind has been thinking of what to write on here. Honestly, anything slightly amusing that happens during my day 

I'm just like 

             I'm apologize for the lack of cool things this week. I just haven't done too many interesting things lately. Surely, next week's blog will be more intriguing. Well I have a a big day tomorrow, so I have to get some rest. Hope you all have a great Monday and enjoy the rest of your week. I'll be back to update for another May Monday. 

Until then.....

Gute Nacht (for non-German speakers reading that means good night)

-May