Hello Everyone, I hope you all had a geat start in the new year! I still haven't gotten used to write 2018 instead of 2017... I can't belive half of my time is already up...

Just after Christmas we went to a Magicshow with the whole famaily (besides the two little ones). This was our christmas present from our oldest hostbrother. The magician (Keith Barry) was really good and he does a lot of brain magic as well (which I
really like!)

Our New Years Eve was not very interesting... It doesn't seem to be a really big thing here. Everyone just does their own thing. We were supposed to go watch fieworks in Dingle but my little hostbrother was to scared so we ended up not doing anything. But I honestly didn't really mind because I didn't even really realise that it was already the end of the year/the beginning of the new year. For me it felt like it was still maybe the end of November or something like that.

Anyways, in the very beginning of the year my german hostsister and I went on a little trip to Galway. Unfortunately we arrived there at the exact same time as storm "Eleanor"... But luckly our hostel wasn't to close to the sea and on a hill. We honestly didn't even really realise that the storm had been so bad until we went down, closer to the sea in the morning and saw that a garage had been totaly fludded over night... but everything else was already dry in the morning when we got there and there were already tourists walking along the costline again. I mean it was still pretty windy but that was it.
And besides this we really had a great time! It was so nice to see an other part of Ireland, beeing outside and walking around the whole day! It was just awsome! But I'd say the best part about it was that we were able to buy and cook our own food!!😊 We bought brown bread (instead of the toast bread we always get at the house), cream cheese and chips and made sandwiches out of it (yeah, simple things like this can make me the happiest person on earth!). One time we bought Pasta and cooked ouself pesto-pasta and took the leftovers for lunch the next day.
But enough of food now because that was not the only good part about the trip! We always spent as much time as we could outside. On the first day we just walked arround town and tried to make a plan for what we would do the next days.The second day we went around the shops because the weather was pretty bad... We liturally ran from one shop to the other to not drow in the rain. But it was really a lot of fun! In the evening the weather had calmed down so we walked to an other part of the town where we ended up going to the cinema, which was a lot of fun as well! on the third day the weather was really amazing! bright sunshine and not even too cold! I decided to get my first haircut experiance here in irealand in the morning (because I couldn't really brush my hair through anymore because the wind had been so strong...😕) and in the afternoon we went one nice lng walk along the sea. It was soo beautifull! I epecially loved the beaches with the sandpipers (my favorite birds) on them! After our walk we sat into a cute little cafe and drunk a "tea pot" to warm ouselfs up again:). Than, in the evenings, we walked arround town again and listend to all the different street musicians. The atmosphere was really really nice with all the street lights on and the different musicians playing and some peoples even dancing. the last day we didn't walk alot because we had to carry all our stuff with us... We sat down in another cafe and watched some other street musicians from there and soon enough it was time to go back home again anyways. Although we did have a really great time we were really happy to get back home into a quiet room and to finally get a good night sleep again! (we didn't really sleep a lot in the hostel because we had  to share our room with other gusests that seemed to really love the nightlife in galway... but it was okay)




After the trip to galway we didn't really do a lot anymore in the end of our christmas break. We stayed home most of the time and I spend my time chrocheting hats and opening them again because i didn't have a lot of wool but  wanted to keep crocheting... I read a lot because i had bought two book in Galway.
One day our oldest Hostbrother was really bored so in the afternon he took us on a little roadtrip to very touristic spots around here. He took us through Black Valley (the last place in Ireland without electricity). The nature there is absoloutly stunning und there is also a cute little village (1 tiny school, a few houses, a church and a shop that sells things that are gone off by a few years). The road through the Black Vally is quite an experiance as well. It remined me a bit of the Swiss mountain roads (probably because both make me pretty carsick...😷) Than he brought us to "Torc waterfall" in the Killarney national park and to "Ladie's View" and finally to "Ross Castle". He was a pretty good tourist guide and it was great craic!

Ladies View

Black Vally

Tuesday the 9th of January we had to go back to school. During the first two days we didn't really do a lot. We mainly got the results for the christmas exams, we had to write the week before christmas break. I was actually really pleased with my results (Not that I would really care about them)! I was especially suprised about my english exam result. I had a pretty high mark and I think my scores were one of the best in my higher level english class... I really don't know how I managed to do that without studying at all but to be honest it felt pretty good and I might be a tiny little proud of my self🙈.
Also I will get to go to a place called Cappenalea for a few houers every Monday from now on with a group of other 4th years from my school. It's a place where they offer loads of different outdoor and/or team building activities (for example kayaking, canoeing, orientiering, team games...). Our school offers that because we do not have a Transition year so they do this as an alternative.
Other than that school was just school I guess.

One weekend my older hostsister took my german hostsister and I climbing in Dingle which was just awsome! My muscles were really sore the next few days but it felt good! Climbing was honestly just so fun!! I hope my older Hostsister will bring me again sometime, I will definitely ask here to. The only problem is that we have to drive a little less than two hours to get there... But on a weekend it should be possible.

On Thursday the 25the we were off school, so my two older hostbrothers took my german hostsister and myself to the Aquarium in Dingle. Nothing spectacular but a lot of fun anyways! It was really nice to spend some time with my hostbrothers! Their both great craic.

Than the last few days for my german hostsister arrived... We had a wonderfull last day together! We baked a goodbye cake fist thing in the morning. Than we went off for a walk in the "Muckross gardens"(Killarney Nationalpark) with our older hostsister. The nature there ist just stunning! We walked for about two and a half hours, mostly along the lakeside. We had a grat time fooling around, talking pictures and talking! At one point the trail we were walking was completely flooded... There was really no way arround withaut getting wet feelt... So we took off our shoes. My german hostsister and I even enjoyed it so much to finally walk in our barefeet againg, that we ended up walking in ou barefeet all the way back to the car (about 20min). We even convinced our irish hostsister to do so aswell:) I was really proud of her! (Irish peoples have really sensible feet and are not used to walk in their barefeet at all). Anyways, our feet were frozen after put it was soo much fun (especially the face expressions of the peoples we were walking past🙊).
After that we went back home and ate dinner with the whole family and played different games all toghether. I really enjoyed it but I was really sad at the same time... My german hostsister and I spent 24/7 toghether the last 3 month (even a bit more) and we always had so much fun! Its going to be really weird not having her around anymore... Not having to share my room with anyone... Not having her next to me in school and in the schoolbus... It's just going to be very lonely in the beginnign! But hopefully new doors will open up for me to walk through. If something coes to an and there is always something new beginning instead! I'll just have to stay positive! We will for sure stay in contact. I am really glad I got to meet her and spend such a wonderfull time with her!

Muckrosslake

Muckrosshous

Walking on the fludded footpath  in our barefeet

Half of my time is over now and the second half is throwing a lot of changes at me... But changes are not always bad! I am really looking forward to everything that will happen in the next 4 month that I have left!