Ten Days to Go

Hi again everyone :)

This week has been an interesting one, with lots of ups and downs and the strong awareness of my impending departure...

Last Sunday, Lissi, Johnny, Lea and I went to Nymphenburg castle, the castle in Munich, which is also right next to the botanical gardens. The weather was a bit average - no snow, just wind and rain - but it was pretty beautiful nonetheless.

Then on Monday it was back to school, which was fine :) Starting to feel properly independent now, I'm able to take the UBahn into town to pick up a few things I need, or walk home from school by myself with a diversion to a cafe etc. It's really nice!

On Wednesday Lea and I headed off with our class to Fischhausen Schliersee, where we had a small school camp for two nights. We did little workshops on love and relationships, typical gender roles and finding out what people really thought of each other in the class. These little seminars were quite awkward for me, as the class doesn't really know me and I don't know them, but I tried my best and they did too, so it was fine. We had a lot of spare time as well, which we spent hanging out with a whole bunch of different people. It was really nice. One of the highlights was the boy who just came back from NZ trying to teach the other guys rugby, plus shared inside jokes about Sonny Bill Williams hahaha. He's talked a wee bit with Lea as well, about how strong the accent is etc (he did an imitation which was hilarious). We did have a couple of issues at the camp though - we went sledding, which was amazing fun until two girls ended up going to hospital for a broken ankle and a head injury. Eek. (They're both fine now, apart from the fact that Thérésa can't walk...)

There was about a half metre of snow everywhere. It was gorgeous!

Girls from my class :) 

Sledding!

We saw this massive plume of smoke as we were sledding, and there were helicopters and everything, a big deal for such a little town. We went to the wreckage the next day and found out the disturbing real story - last month, a man and his wife took their children away and tried to burn their house down for insurance money. It didn't work, and subsequently (I'm not sure if this was because of the attempted fire) the children were taken into care. That day we were there, the father was out and the mother set the house on fire, killing herself. Both parents had previously been in psychiatric institutions. It made national news. Scary stuff.

We got back from camp, both Lea and I rather exhausted, on the Friday. Lea got really sick, and she's been in bed all weekend with a flu, I think. She's feeling a bit better now. Anyway, her being sick meant she couldn't come on the planned family trip to Salzburg on the Saturday, and Lissi was also feeling a bit off (circulation problems - they're very interested in circulation) so it turned out to be just Johnny and I on the train to the beautiful Austrian city. As luck/coincidence would have it, another New Zealander on the exchange who I'd met in town a few weeks ago, was sitting across from us. She was just with her host mother with the same intention of a day trip to Salzburg, so we ended up spending the whole day as a little group. Worked out pretty well! The city was so lovely, and I sang My Favourite Things the whole time (although my host family barely knows the movie. I am very distressed.)

Bretzels hangin from doorways!

Outside Mozart's birthplace 

Having outstandingly delicious hot chocolate and raspberry cake in the most famous cafe in Salzburg, Cafe Tomaselli's. 

Heeheehee

Yesterday, Sunday, my friend Rosie who's also here on the exchange came to Munich for the first time. We spent the day going to a few landmarks that I hadn't seen yet - Alter Peter tower, the Rathaus Glockenspiel and the Residenz.

Looking down at the Marienplatz and the Rathaus from the rickety balcony of Alter Peter

A detail of one of the many, many stunning things in the thousands of rooms of the Residenz, or the old palace - this was an enormous sculpture, decorated entirely with shells.

Today, not just Lea, not just me, but Johnny too are all sick in bed, all for different reasons (I'm just very tired and headachy - remnants from the not-much sleep on camp I think. Nothing serious.)

And I only have 10 days to go. 9 really, not including today. That's really scary, because I'm just starting to make some good friends and fit in properly here. I am just starting to get the feeling that it's time for me to come home, though. Not deep, intense homesickness or anything - just a gradual sense that my time in Munich is coming to an end at just the right moment. Not sure if this feeling will last until I actually leave though, haha!

Schöne Grüsse to everyone back home, I hope the weather's being nice to you and that you're happy and well :)

Camille xxx