I arrived back from ski camp on the 20th. It was wierd leaving all the exchange students. I really became close to many of them. As we were told prior; it was a really good time to catch up and talk with people in the same situation as us. Although the ones i hadnt met had a 6 month head start on me, they all had all the same little worries and problems that i have found in adjusting to a new and different country. I think i drew some comfort from knowing that everyone else has gone through almost exactly the same thing. And to add to that, when i got back i checked my email, and had an email from an exchange student friend, entitled: 'You know your an exchange student when.....'. It was so funny to read because it basically described everything that i had done whilst here! The two i particularly liked were: - You stay up late just because that is when the only english shows are on, and theyre really bad anyway, like jerry springer. Actually i stay up late to what 'Cribs' and 'Dismissed' on MTV, but dont worry, theyre in the Jerry Springer class! haha. But the next one is better, - when your family asks you why your watching them, you say 'oh because they are in english and subtitled in German, and its all about learning the language isnt it'. Haha, my excuse was: 'umm, none of the programs are subtitled in english and this is really helpful for my german.' Haha, i think my wording is much better. But it is good to know that im walking the path in pretty much the same way as everyone else.
Getting back 'home' was good though. Nice to be back. I mean, it was awesome to go skiing, miss a week of school, and meet all these people, but nice to get back here at the same time. When i got back, we had a friend of Konrad's staying, his name is Sean, from Canada and studied with Konrad in Canada at uni. He was pretty shocked when i told him mum was a Canuk and even better, that i had Canadian citizenship! Haha. But he was a really nice guy, and a good person to talk to about all sorts of things. One really really good conversation we had was also with Konrad (in English, Gott sei dank!) about the war in Iraq.
I had spoken to an American at the outbreak of the war what they thought about it and whether Bush was doing the right thing. He asked me how i would feel if thousands of Australians died in a terrorist attack, and i saw his point of view. Then again, that happened in Bali, and it was handled by the Australians in a different way. But he said that if going to war would ensure that his country was not attacked again and that he could live in a safer place then it was all worth it, and he was completely behind Bush. To throw a spanner in, i asked him if there were not better ways to solve the problem. I mean will going in with guns solve the problem or only perpetuate what is already in action. He saw my point of view, but felt different and was convinced that this was the right course of action. Now this was a very inteliigent and well spoken and clear thinking person, and obviously i respect his opinion, so it was interesting to hear what he had to say. You can probably tell that i was not in favour of the Americans invading Iraq. I just thought as though we had lost sight of the main problem. It was Osama bin Laden that they were after and i just think that the two completely separate issues were cleverly intertwined and seemed the same thing. Ill continue this in the next entry.