finally, a new post.

Well, sorry everyone, seems as if I forgot to post anything for about a month. There is so muh going on here, Its easy to lose track of things. So this could very well be a blog post of epic proportions, since I've been slacking off for nearly a month.

So where to begin? There's so much...and unfortunately i dont have nearly as many pics as before.

Well I'll start out with my host family here, since everything basically revolves around them. My father's name is Hubert, he is an engineer in a power plant. Usually he is very active, but unfortunately he contracted a leg infection and had to be hospitalized for 2 weeks. Luckily he is ok now, and next week we are all going to Austria to go hiking and cycling. My host mom is Gerlinda, she definitely gets it done, so to speak. Somehow she managed to juggle 10 year old triplets, a sick husband, and an exchange student; meanwhile keeping the entire house in ship-shape. So hats off to her for all of that. Then of course there are the triplets, I think chaos is probably the first thing that comes to mind when describing them. As previously stated, they are absoloutely nothing alike; and like all brothers, they are always arguing or fighting or just not getting along! All three are completely soccer crazed; they all play together on a team, and naturally take it very seriously.

And then there's Pulheim, or is it geyen or Sinthern? or wait brauweiler? no no, it must be Sinnersdorf. Well in reality, I live in Sinthen, a small villiage outside of Pulheim (pause for google maps)....ok and we're back. If you looked at the map, you probably saw the veritable plethora of small villiages outside of the main city, Pulheim. Its always confusing to get around, with all of these little villiages and insane streets. Im lucky to make it home every night! Its definitely very pretty here, we are located right smack dab in the Rhine River valley. The rhine is kinda like the mississipi here in Germany, it is a huge artery for shipping and fabrication. Consequently, the are where I live is the most populated in all of germany.

Speaking of population, haw about Cologne? Im sure most of you know of that city in Germany. It takes about 15 minutes with the German mass transit system (i.e. train) to reach the city center. So far I have been about 4 times, twice with friends from school, once with my family, and I also met with a couple students from the exchange program. The coolest thing in the city is definitely the cathederal. When the entire city was razed by allied bombs during WWII, the cathederal was the only building not damaged.






When I was in Cologne with my school friends (second pic), we ended up climbing all 509 steps to the top of the cathederal. it was a pain in the rear, but the view was amazing.





And then some pictures with my fellow exchange students!



And what trip to Germany would be complete without a little bike racing?



There was a criterium in Cologne yesterday, I raced with my friend Dennis from the cycling team here in Pulheim. Unfortunately I flatted on the 3rd lap and couldnt get back in. but I had a good time regardless!




Right now Im on a two week school break, and next week we are going to Austria!

And there's one more thing! I was on a soccer team for a few weeks, but turns out Im no Ronaldino (good soccer player for all you americans :) ). But we had a rugby coach come to our school during sport class, and we played a game of rugby. Apparently I'm good at Rugby? I dont know, didnt see that one coming. But anyways, Im playing rugby in a city about 10k away. Twice a week we practice, and my first game is on the 17th October!

for anyone interested:

Cycling team- www.radteampulheim.de

Rugby Club- www.huerth-rugby.de