CATCH UP

This blog layout will look a bit different so that you can follow all the fun and walk back with me until the "now". You will read about my Halloween and Thanksgiving experience in America and finally about a big, difficult decision.

OCTOBER 31st: HALLOWEEN

A few days before Halloween, of course, we started preparation for this holiday. That included decorating the house, getting candy from the store, and of course carving pumpkins. We did the pumpkin carving at Lexi's house. Together with her brother and sisters, we held a "most beautiful pumpkin" contest. No one really won in the end as we all competed and there was no jury. Small error in judgment :) Although it was of course very pleasant and fun to do!

On October 31st I finally experienced my first Halloween in the US. This was our outfit:

While Lexi's little sister Sofie was on her way collecting candy herself, we waited outside the house for children to come 'trick or treat' and give them candy. My personal favorite were the Reeses candies. A chocolate cup filled with peanut butter. Really very tasty!

It was a very successful night! Had a lot of fun and laughs!

MID-NOVEMBER:

After many doubts, a long time thinking and a few lesser experiences, in mid-November I decided together with the organization to say goodbye to the host family I was in. Sometimes it just doesn't click any longer, and there's nothing you can do about that.

It took about a week before I could be relocated. They rushed me to a temporary host family because the family I was eventually planned to stay with was doing a TV show about their restaurant.

After a few days this temporary host family decided that they wanted to keep me. So now I've been with the wonderful Benhams for several weeks.

The Benhams are a very nice family who immediately welcomed me warmly and reassured me. The family consists of: Michelle, my host mom; Brian, host father; Brenna, their daughter; Laura, another exchange student from Italy who is staying with them and finally Bruin, their fluffy dog.

I am very happy that I ended up with these wonderful people, and extremely grateful for their help! Lots of fun things to come :)

NOVEMBER 25th: THANKSGIVING

Even before the decision was made to keep me within this family, I was already asked if I wanted to go with them to Phoenix (Arizona) and celebrate Thanksgiving with their family. I did not need to think twice about that! ;) And before I knew it we were in the car with a 5 hour drive scheduled, on our way to the neighboring state.

We drove past Palm Springs, through the desert into Arizona. We drove on one long straight road with a lot of desert and very beautiful mountains towards the inhabited part of the state. Arizona is the state known for its deserts and Native American reservations. From the moment we drove into the beautiful state, I could imagine that vividly.

Once we arrived in Phoenix we went straight to the hotel. Brenna, Laura and I shared a room together. Brian and Michelle had a room one floor up. Because we arrived late we drove on to Brian's brother's house almost immediately to get to know everyone there and have dinner together. They are also very warm and pleasant people!

The next day was another adventure. Lots of new experiences scheduled. The day started with top golf. Golf is generally very popular in the United States, but top golf a bit on a different level. In top golf, you stand on a platform and continuously hit balls in the direction of one of the circles on the field in front of you. You don't go after the ball, but find your score on the board next to the booth where you are standing. It felt a bit like bowling, but then ... well: golf! ;)

Also, me and Brenna spent a long period of the day at the poolside because yes, Arizona is hot!

On Day 3, Thanksgiving Day, we generally didn't do very much. No stores or fun things were open, so there wasn't much to do. We went to play mini golf next to the pool in the hotel. Not much later we left for Brian's brother's house to get ready for the famous Thanksgiving meal.

There was SO much to taste! I had had nothing like this on my entire trip to America. As a result, I left the table completely stuffed ;)

It was a really fun trip, and I feel it helped a lot to get to know everyone in the family better.

And now we are  preparing for the Christmas season, but first those dreaded finals... Next week another blog, this time about the high school experience and how I am doing at my new school now. Definitely something to look forward to!