You have the right to remain romantic

Uhh what a day!

Yesterday my host father, mother, brother and I went into St.G centre to do stuff for my visa but then ended up going into villingen. My host brother and father are so bonkers about this Geo-cashing thing, we stopped all over the place so they would make their mark on whatever was there! The even brought a ladder and ended up climbing a tree and goodness me it was insane!

But lets talk about something more exciting and significant, like.. my day.. today!


I just spent the last light hour resizing pictures, so I am going to give the joy of looking at them. They are mostly of Villingen as Villingen is like my new favourite place in the whole world (it´´s so Beautiful!) and everytime I have gone there my camera has been out of battery or something. So here and now I have choosen 25 photos out of like 300. We went there today for the parade and boy have I got some stories for you, crazy germans! Just you wait, Henry ´iggens, just you wait.

Melanie and I, at a river outside the town square

My crazy family dressed up as cowboys

The notorious Jessie

Photography babes

Only in Germany

Croud or scenery, I don´t know

Fruhling!

Fasnacht fashion????

Schön, ja?

Süss!

Again, süss!

New favourite hobbey, take pictures of people looking ot windows.

Is he looking at me, I don´t know. He´s in like 90% of my pictures

As I said, it´s very fun

Thre were so many of these!

Hi

Ok, so we rock up to parad eabout an hour early, get a good spot and I take pictures of people inside their houses, choice. I am at the front so I am very happy. Front= best place to be cute and score lollys. But no. the parade starts and turns out our ´schön´ spot which is perfect because all my family can see OK is not so great. Just to the left of me (and the parade is coming form the left) is some lil children who know thius secret german cute code song and makes all the people in the parade go awww and give them heaps of lolly. Even my host family didn´´t know the song, so it must of been a villingen fasnacht song. After maybe 20 minutes of no lolly for Jessie I am extreamly.. ticked off. So I do what I do best. Put the charm on. The kids may have got worse, but I deffiately got better. I was waving and smiling and calling all random chants I could learn and the lollys and shots were rolling in. It was great, I was getting heaps more thrown at me then my little brother, and good stuff too. My host father kept saying Jessie youtr hae a talent, your very talented at this! Now your all thinking that´s sooo Jessie, competing with todlers for lollys and being better then them, but things happen to attention seekings teens that dont happen to attention seeking kids.

But just to say, parades in Germany rock. It´s mostly all bands and costumed people, some framed with interesting floats. But it´s so much better then in NZ. Better lolly for one, and they give out shots. And its just more interesting. The pople in the parade also prank the croud and it just more involved. Maybe its more casual or something. You get that impression when there is a man walking up and down the parade road holding a platter of beer. And when the, say, band, see him they just stop playing and croud him. Alles gut. Casual.

I guess the interesting things for me today was a prank. I was just doing my thing, scoring mid-night-snacks for then next few weeks, calling things out, smiling etc etc. And then a Hexen thing comes up to me throws me over his shoulder and, littlery. I don´t think someone has thrown me over there shoulder since I was like 6. I never really like it. Plus let review what I was/am wearing today. Turtle neck, high waisted skirt, cape, tights, and bright orange underwear, not sexy. The half of villingen that saw my ass probably could barely notice my orange boyshorts under my tights ubt ladies, you know how it is. You wearing a high waisted skirt and as a food baby grows it raises higher and sometimes you forget to care so when you practically upside down and kicking over some strangers shoulder and seems to be taking you to a starge place and you ass is in the middle of a parade.. well... it´s not so wonderful. And trust Jessie to be in that situation. And trust Jessie to understand.

So I eventually end up in a float, when are putting me into this spinny thingy. And I freak out (in my head of course, I´m always poised haahhaha) cuz I don´t understand what to hold on to, or what to do so I ask this man beside me and then I do this thing I´ll explain later where I don´t listen and just use I dont speak good German. But all was OK cuz they didnt spin us around to fast and there was no need to hold on. All that and I didn´t even get a chocolate.

Take two of trust Jessie.

Again, I´m just doing my thing to get lollys and chocolate, and it´s working a dream. I was a little bit of a mess because earlier this child had stuffed hay down my turtle neck and this clown looking thing had thown all this paper stuff in my direstion. But nothing like this. As I said, I´m doing my thang, it one of the last groups to go past. I had been going straight for two and a half hours so, ya know- not going to let those youngn´s get the better of me. I´m waving to this Hexen, these particular hexens have a big bag and some a little basket. I see saw some child score some chips so I´m, ya know, going in for the win. I start to smile as this creature walk toward to hand in bag. Wait! This is not right! His hands are on my head, messing my hair! I, now have paper in my hair, radical -.- . And like the poised, elegent, suave lady I am I say Danke schön (the one thing I say with the schwarzwald accent, I think) I then, thinking I deserve one after that, say to this creature and his fallow associates ´´bon bon?´´ My family laugh at this. Again, somethings come towards me and suprise, no bon bons. Mess, all over my hair, my cape (which is always needing a good lint) then someone else has a turn. I felt attacked! I thought, just my luck. I seek bon bons and I get mess. Now almost five hours later then paper is still falling out of my hair..

I guess thats what you get when you shine this bright...

It´s still quite hard not speaking German not so great though. I was smiling at a ..creature for bons bons and he comes up to me, give me one.. and starts hard out talking to me. Yes, I forget these things are human for one. And when people start hard out talking to me without me thinking like, without my tranlating hat on, or at dinner when I have no desire to listen I just dont actually try and hear what they saying. Like that time at hockey last year I started talking to the hot guy anbd forgot his name immediatly, its just too much pressure! I´m thankful for what I do know however, I think it make it easier for me to learn (maybe) I feel so sorry for like 95% of the exchange student here who know nothing.. yet.

Must sleep, I hope this makes sence. I hope I made you laugh. But even if my story telling failed I guess when I read this in years to come it will make me laugh.

I´m worth it ;)