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Cali we are coming!!!On Friday December 16th we flew to Lake Tahoe in California. When we landed in Reno, Nevada we were freezing. I did not bring any winter clothes to Hawaii. The landscape and just everything is so different than Hawaii. Lake Tahoe had snow and it was freezing. Saturday we visited a victorian christmas market in Nevada City. The market was cool I especially liked the city with the houses and stuff but nothing to compare to our christmas markets in Switzerland. During out time at Lake Tahoe we went skiing three times one day was amazing because it there was a lot of fresh and powdery snow I loved it. The vies and the ski resorts are amazing and so beautiful. We flew back to Hawaii on January 31 and spent New Year at home watching fireworks in shorts and t-shirts. ChristmasOn December 24th we were on our skies the whole day and had lobster for dinner because it was Jason's (my host uncle) birthday. In the United States people don't really celebrate on the 24th. So in the morning of the 25th, still in pajamas we unpacked our gifts that were under the christmas tree since we arrived in California after we had a christmas breakfast with self made waffles. It was a totally different christmas compared to Switzerland but I loved it and I will never forget that christmas. Before we arrived in Cali I was not in Christmas mood because it is summer in Hawaii and that felt so weird especially when I saw the christmas decorated houses. New Year and one more week christmas breakBack in Hawaii I had one more week no school, I have to say I liked this three week break. I went to the beach with Janne three times and I went hiking with Maria, Mrs. Keefer(my local coordinator) and her kids. It was a lot of climbing involved more than walking. The waterfall at the end was totally worth it. Archives March 2017 ThanksgivingThanksgiving is a popular holiday(Festtag) in the United States, you eat turkey, mashpatatoes, cranberries, and a lot more. We flew to Maui for Thanksgiving, it was amazing!! We flew with a little airplane, there were only nine seats. I loved it. We went snorkling, shopping in the little city of Maui, and we went on a little road trip along the coast. Those four days were over so fast. Dana's BirthdaypartyDana's Birthday was on December 8th and because she is such a girly Janne and I brought her a lanyard. She loved it. ;D On Friday she invented us all for bowling. I lost both rounds but it was still fun. I love you Dana you are an amazing person!! Stay as you are. Army Navy Party and WinterballOn Saturday 10th December was Lucky's birthday party. So the Army and the Navy Academy football teams were palying. Navy hasn't lost since 2001 this year they lost. It was really cool. Maria decorated and made the whole party wonderful. Two of Maria's high school friends who were visiting made my hair and make up. I loved it! At 4 pm they drove me to Janne were took some photos then we drove to the beach where we met Miranda and took photos again. The Winterball was in a hotel down in Waikiki and it was an amazing night with awsome people. Skydiving and PillboxhikeLucky my hostdad got from Maria my hostmom Skydiving as a birthday present, so we went really early (the day after my Winterball) up to the North Shore. My hostmoms friends Allison and Kristen jumped too. They all loved it. After they landed we did a short pillbox hike the view was gorgeous. The Billabong Pipe Masters competition was during that time but sadly at this day the waves where too flat so they were not surfing. (Not )Another PillboxhikeThere are a lot pillboxes hier. They are from World War 2, they were used as look outs. Most of them have gravities and are high up with an amazing view. We did this hike after school it was a little steep but I liked it. In my next post I will write about my trip to California, Christmas, and New Year. Americans always have food-- a lot of food! Aloha! The last weekend of fall break we flew to the Big Island where I met my host mom's sister. On the way from the airport to the hotel we were stunned about the difference in the landscape compared to Oahu. The left and right sides of the street were covered with black lava rocks. We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village- this hotel is huge!! It has it's own little train so you don't have to walk. On Friday we went to the salt and pepper sand beach. We saw so many turtles. They were swimming around us. On Saturday we ventured to Hapuna Beach, described as one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii. We went snorkeling in the clearest water I have ever seen. You just float in the water and watch the fish. It was amazing. On Sunday we stayed at the lagoon at the hotel, and in the afternoon we flew home. It was a really nice weekend and the time flew by so fast. 21 October - 23 October What a great weekend! My friend Miranda invited me to spend the weekend with her family in a cabin at Bellows Beach. It was very nice. We went to my first pumpkin patch where I learned a lot of the american halloween traditions. It also was my first time in a haunted house which was not scary at all. I went swimming in the ocean at night for the first time, and had my first ride in the back of a truck( it is legal in Hawaii). We also saw the only wolphin in the world (half wale and half dolphin) at the Sea Life Park. I had a lot of really nice and unforgettable first times this weekend. Thank you, Miranda, for this really nice weekend!!HalloweenMonday 31 October 2016 was Halloween!! Americans love Halloween! Some students came to school in costumes. After school I went to Miranda's house to carve our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. The people from our street all brought a table, and we all served candy together. Here you get a lot more candy!! There also was a lot of other food. Americans always have food -- a lot of food! Here you can also go trick or treating when you're older. On Monday November 14 was the super moon. We ate dinner at the beach with friends and watched the moon rising. It was so awesome. The pictures can't really show the real beauty as it was. Aloha! I know in Switzerland the winter comes and with it the cold temperatures. Here in Hawai'i it is still summer. I see all the pictures where you all wear warm jackets and scarves. I still walk around in short pants and t-shirts. On Saturday the 24th of September Maria and I went to the Pacific Aviaton Museum at Pearl Harbor. Julianna was volunteering, and while she was working we walked around. All helicopters and planes were military. It was really cool, and I learned lots of new things about military and military planes. On Sunday Maria, Lucky and I went hiking. It was very hot, steep and overwhelming. We hiked 30 minutes until we got to the first pillbox. The view was awesome!! The hike was worth it just for this view! These pillboxes were used to over look the ocean if rivals were coming. We hiked up to the highest pillbox, took some photos and went back. Going down was much faster! On the 30th of September was my birthday, and I turned 16. It was my first birthday without my mom and my sister. I missed them a bit. It was Friday so I invited friends for dinner. Maria organized a very cool party! We had pizza, oreo cake with cookie dough ice cream <3 and fancy popcorn. It was one of my best birthdays ever. I will never forget this birthday. I have been on fall break since Friday. The week before we had quarter exams. We tested in two subjects each day. I didn't have a test in all of my classes so I had two food parties and watched a movie instead. It wasn't that hard because school ended every day at 12:00. I didn't really study so I was already kind of on holiday. On Thursday I only had one subject, and school ended at 9:30. We had a food party. On Friday my friends and I went to the beach. On this day I learned two things. First we should be allowed to drive at 16 in Switzerland. It is really cool when you just can go somewhere in the car with your friends. And second we need Menchie's in Switzerland! I love it! The shop is like a buffet -- you can take what you want and how much you want! On Saturday Maria and I went to the beach in Kailua, and it was relaxing and a little cool because of the breeze. On Monday Julianna, Maria, a friend of Maria's and I went to Queen Emma's Summer House. She was the Queen of Hawai'i. Hawaii had Kings and Queens before it became a U.S state. Today I went to the beach in Kailua with Miranda. It was awesome, and we took a lot of pictures. ;) Aloha. I've already been in Hawai'i two months. The time goes so fast. I decided to write this blog to practice my english and for all those who always wanted to know what an exchange year is like. In the beginning it was really hard to understand English. You think you know a lot but what we learned in school is not enough. Now I've been here two months, and my English gets better and better. Sometimes when I speak Swiss-German I use English words. Some things are the same just like in the movies. My host family is really nice! They said hello with open arms, and they always try hard to make it comfortable for me. We do a lot of really fun stuff. They show me the island and the American culture. My host mom helped me decorate my room so that it feels like my room. She cooks really well. I love her food. We go snorkeling a lot and I love it. It's so beautiful here. I sometimes still can't believe that I live here. It's like paradise. Some things I've already done since I've been here: snorkeling, swimming, wind surfing, sailing, tubing, shopping at Macy's, seeing turtles, Waikiki, North Shore, hurricane, meeting other exchange students, eating shaved ice, eating lots of oreos, spending a day at the Disney hotel Aulani, visiting a waterfall, powder puff game, fun school assemblies, ice skating, and more. I've been in school for one and a half months now, and I've made a lot of really nice friends! The school is different than in Switzerland. For every class/Fach we have different teachers and different classmates. We eat lunch at school, and school is from 08:00 to 14:00. We work most of the time with computers and with google classroom. We already had homecoming week, and that was a great experience. We dressed up, had a bonfire and the homecoming football game. Events like the bonfire and football games are really cool because you can hang out with your friends and just have a lot of fun. Aloha Yara |
AuthorMy name is Yara, and I'm a swiss exchange student in Hawai'i. Archive
March 2017
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