Finally in Sievershausen!

     The train pulled into Hannover about 3:30, and as soon as I stepped off,  my family (the Klees) met me.  Then we took another train to Haemmlerwald, a town a few kilometers away from Sievershausen.  And before I knew it, I was at my new home!
     And then the introductions began.  My Papa (Rainer), Mama (Christiane), older brother (Konstantin), younger brother (Jonathon), and younger sister (Mathilde) were all very excited to welcome me into their home, and to show me around.
     Sunday Mama, Papa, Mathilde, and I all went sailing.  Don't ask me the name of the lake we went to, because I didn't listen close enough to catch it.  I just heard "segeln" (sailing), and that was enough for me to know.  When we left home, it was sunny and looked like a promising day.  Hahaha, I bet you're thinking that the next sentence will say that it didn't stay that way for long!  Well, it actually held this time!!  There were a few moments where it got cloudy and windy, but then it cleared out again.  Mathilde and I went swimming alongside the boat for a bit when there wasn't much wind.

Mathilde and I by the sailboat (Papa's in the background)

     Monday was my first "official" day of "actual" school here.  I put that all in quotation marks, because it depends how you look at it...  I've been going to a type of school for the last four weeks, but now it's in an actual schoolbuilding and I've got actual classes.  And, I only ended up going to two hours of class.
     At 9 Mama and I went to meet with Herr Hammerschmidt, the teacher who organizes all the classes and such for exchange students.  And after that we went to the Rathaus so I could "sign in".  That way, in case anything happens while I'm here, the US and German governments know exactly where I am in Germany.  That took a bit of time, and so, by the time I got back to school, there were only two more hours of school left.  And both were the same class: Religion.  And after those two hours were through, I got to see firsthand which bus I take to come back home.
     Today I went for my first full day of school.  Jonathon and I went together to the bus stop, and we nearly missed the bus!!!  It was really funny-- right as we came around the corner, the bus was there, and it was closing its doors already, and preparing to pull away.  We broke into a run, and managed to wave the driver down before the bus got anywhere.
     In school, I talked with a few of the other kids about basic stuff (i.e., how long I've been in Germany, where in the USA I'm from, names of other students).  It's pretty nice; my neighbor who lives just across the way from my house (her name is Imke) is in my class.  So, I have someone I can talk to in case I forget which bus I need or the homework or something.  And, of course, it's just nice that one of my classmates lives so close to my house!  So then maybe we can get together outside of class and do something.  It's sorta strange, though, to be honest.  I'm in the 10th grade here, so all the rest of the students are 15, and a few are 16 years old.  So when I say that I'm 17, they're all like, "What?!  Why are you here, then?"  And so I explain that it's just easier to be in this class as an exchange student and.....

     After school, Jonathon, Mathilde, and I played a pick-up game of soccer.  Mathilde and I were on a team, and Jonathon had to play alone against us.  He's really good, though.  Well, not REALLY good, but better than either Mathilde or I am.  He won the first game, and the second... well, he won that one too.  Ah well, what do you expect?  He's a 14-year-old German boy.  And, no, I'm not being stereotypical.  Just saying, the most of them are good at soccer.  He plays handball though, not soccer, in case anyone cares to know.  So not ALL Germans are absolutely obsessed with soccer and perfect soccer players.
     Tonight Mama and I walked around Sievershausen a little while.  I wanted to drop a letter in the post box, and I didn't know where it was.  And then we just walked around so the layout of the town starts to make sense to me.  We talked the whole time about general topics: about everything from my college/future  plans to how large dogs are slightly intimidating.  And then we came back home.  And now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go to bed so I can wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.  Except that I'll have different classes--every day is a different schedule.  More on that later.  If I get any feedback that that'd be interesting.  (This is where you click below on "Post a comment" and type something into the box)