Hello Everyone,
I hope from all my heart that you all had a wonderfull christmas and enjoyed the time with your families and friends! The year is almost over. I am really thanksfull for everything that has happend to me during this year! It may not always have been easy but exactly these moments, the moments that were hard on me, were the ones that tought me the most. I learnd to appriciate so many things that seemed so normal. Things that were just always there. And because they were always just there I kinda forgot to appriciate them.
(For example things like my moms food ;-) or the good public transports)... Now, during my christmasbreak, I am trying to get my energy back up because I have to admit, being away from home, away from everything you are so used to, can get pretty tiring! But I am sure that in the end of my christmas break I'll be full of energy again and ready for the second half of my adventure here in Ireland.

Honestly this month was pretty hard with all the teachers asking if me and my german hostsister if we were really staying here for christmas and how brave we are to do so... A lot of the other exchange students are also not able to talk about anything else than about how much they were looking forward to seeing their families again when they go home for christmas... But luckely I had my hostsister and was not the only one staying here for christmas! But anyways, this month wasn't very interesting eighter... I meen little things like my hostsister and I managing to burn microwave popcorn have happend but other than that we spent a lot of time doing nothing.

Altough one day we went iceskating with two of my older hostsiblings for the 18th birthday of my older hostbrother. It was only for an hour and it was very expensive as well but it was a lot of fun spending time with my hostsiblings and being able to practice at least one wintersport this year!

Iceskating with my Hostsisters

We also spent a lot of time baking. We baked a birthday cake for my older hostbrother and of course a few things for christmas! Our prestents to the Hostmfamily were mainly some kind of home baked bisquits :-). And they were actually pretty hard to make because first of all, we had to find all the ingredients, which was a real challenge! I don't know if I'm wrong but I really have the feeling that most Irish peoples never bake! They really don't have any baking ingredients. I mean they do have ready mixed pancake or scone mixtures but other than that they don't really have anything to bake with. Okey maybe I am exagerating a little bit but it honestly was really hard to finde all the ingredients!😂
And sometimes when we were not baking we often went for walks arround our house which is always very relaxing and just nice to be outside and get some movement!

"Gritibänz" baking

On one of our walks (with an other german exchange as well)
on the Metalbridge of Killorglin

In the last schoolweek before our christmals break we had a little christmas concert (and we all had to wear christmas jumpers), where some students sang and even all the teachers sang a song toghether. It was really good and there a lot of students with really nice voices in my school. But it was pretty long aswell and we had to sit on the ground the whole time which was pretty tiring with the time... After that we had christmas exams. We had one or two exams each day and every exam was about 2h long. But you had to go to school for the whole day anyways and were supposed to study whenever we were not writing an exam... I used  the study time to write all my christmasletters, to draw or I even wrote a little poem (it didn't turn out to well but it made the time pass by a little faster :-)) On two days we didn't go to school at all because on monday my german hostsiter got pretty sick and I got to stay home with her and on tusday only the irish exam was on, so we didn't have to go to school anyways. On wendesday I went to school by myself for the last exam because my hostsister was still sick but she could move again so she wasn't sick enough anymore for me having to stay home with her and besides, it was only a halfday anyways.

On christmas eve my german hostsister and I went for a little walk in the morning and finished of baking our chrismas presents. In the evening we watched a christmas movie and opened some of the presents from back home to try to get into the christmas feeling but it didn't really work...(the weaher felt wasmpretty warm and sunny which made it even harder to get into the christmas feeling) Also we were both pretty homesick and missing our families...
On the 25th we selebrated christmas with the hostfamily. In the morning we all opened our presents and watched a chrismas movie together. Arround 4 o'clock our neighbour (an elderly lady of which the family takes care) joined us for the big christmasdinner. The dinner was really good and just spending time with the whole family was really nice! We sat there for a few hours just talking and letting my little hostsister do our makeup with the little makupkit she got for christmas (It did not tur out very well but it was pretty funny anyways).
Later my older hostsiblings, my hostmother, my german hostsister and I sat in the livingroom toghether and just talked and the atmosphere was just really nice and calm🙈.
I really enjoyed spending christmas with my hostfamily and it was just a really nice day. I even got into the christmas feeling a little bit afterall (and there was even finally snow on the mountains again!)

On our walk at christmas eve

On our walk at christmas eve on the road infront of our house

Sadly we haven't gone swimming in a while...We actually planned to go every week but our hostsister ususally takes us there und she hasn't been able to go the the past few weeks so we couldn't go eighther... But hopeully we will start to go more often again after christmas break.
My german hostsister an I will be going to Galway for a few days in the very beginning of the new year. I am really looking forward to going there and to seeing another part of Ireland!

I am really looking forward to hopefully living more exciting adventures and meeting new peoples! And with that I wish you all the best for the new year and hope that all your dreams come true!