If you read till the end you will get my embarrassing story for the day...

Yesterday was my second day of school. Hannah and I rode the train together and we didn't have any problems getting there. I now know how the train system works. It is very easy.

Before school, Katherine showed me how to get to the post office and the bank. Then we went to the Migros. It is the biggest store in Rheinfelden. It is almost like a tiny Walmart.

It has carts alike Aldis 

 There were also these cute little goats in a yard we walked by. This one had a bell around it's neck, but it wouldn't let me get a good picture of it.

 This little latter is so a cat can climb in and out of it's house. We have a rope for Bolero, but the window is not that high.

 This is just a cool looking fire hydrant. There are multiple ones like this in Rheinfelden.

 Swiss advertising is not what I'm used to. This is a Burger King add and there is a lady painted gold in it. I don't understand why. I've noticed on other adds and in magazines there are very provocative pictures. Which is strange because people dress more conservative than back in the States.

And this is just part of the chocolate self in the Migros at the train station in Basel. So YUMMY!!!

After school I cam home and ate some yummy soup and cheesy bread. Then I went to an Organ concert in the church. It was a short concert. I didn't focus on the first some very much because I was not use to the sound of an Organ. It sounds kind of humorous to me. It was strange and I felt kind of awkward because people didn't clap after each song. I almost thought they weren't going to clap at the end, but after a long awkward pause they did.

After that I sat in the Garden with Peter, Katherine and Matthias. We spoke in German and I could understand most things and say what I wanted too. I am not so nervous and shy about speaking anymore. And it's nice when i can understand some of the jokes. It is awkward when I am sitting at the table with my host family and I can't really understand what they are saying then everyone starts laughing at a joke i didn't understand. 

I also found out what Matthias does. He decided to do an apprenticeship and he works with machines. It is they same thing Zeke did at Votech this past year. However, Matthias has been doing it for 4 years. He goes to work 4 days out of the week and goes to school for one. 

                                                Here are some pictures of the garden

 This is the key to the Garden. It is enclosed by a wall so no one can get in unless they have a key to the door.

Then Peter asked me if I wanted to see the bells. I hear them everyday, so of course I wanted to see them.

We went up in the church tower to see them.

                                              Please observe how tall the clock tower is.

           Old things that were inside the bells that help it ring (I don't know what they are called)

So a man use to have to come up in the tower every morning and "wind it up" like how a cuckoo clock works. In the room that he did that he had a bunch of pictures and newspaper articles up. This one is from the mom landing.

                               Peter leaves all this things up. he says it is like a "tiny museum".

                         These are the gears that use to work the clock. it is all electronic now.

                                           The biggest bell. (there are five in the tower total.)

After we see the first two big bells, Peter asks me if I want to go see the other three. I said yes then he said it is very dangerous but we will go. Of course he tells me its dangerous after I say yes! We had to climb up a ladder then walk across a thin board. It was probably a foot wide. If I had fallen it wouldn't have killed me, but it would still hurt! It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights! But we made to them and the two pictures above are them. 

On the way down it was time for the bell to ring. It was crazy being right next to a ringing bell. It echoed for such a long time!!
 

Today I woke up to the bells ringing at eight. I got dressed and went downstairs for some yogurt and coffee. Then I took a walk around Rheinfelden. I walled on the Marktgasse (main street) The Inseli (small Island) and I found a park. 

                     Here is a stack of rocks someone made in the Rhine right by the Inseli.

                                   The view of the Rhine and Inseli from a bench I found.

                                                   A small fountain in the park.

 This is the second one of these I've seen. There is one on a playground by my house. Kids lay on it the someone else will spin it and it just goes and tilts in a circle. It looks like a lot of fun!

                                                             A tiki head trash can

                                        I think this is very cool. A Shelter house made out of trees.

                                                      The inside looking up.

                                                             Rock seats inside of it.

 In the park, there was a shallow pond with goldfish and ducks. Next time I go I'll have to bring something to feed them with.

Class started later today, so a lot of my class mates were going to go into Basel early to check it out. Well a lot of them weren't able to come so it ended up being just Hannah and me. We found an awesome store in the Basel Bahnhof (train station). It is called Chicoree, and it is very cheap. For Switzerland and even for the US. I got two scarfs, 6 pairs of earings, and a satchel for 23 Franks! That is almost 30 dollars. I am excited because there is a Chicoree in Rheinfelden! I now know where I will be buying most of my clothes! 

While at the Bahnhof I had to use the restroom. I swear I walked around that place for like 15 minutes and I could not find a Bathroom! Finally, Hannah and I go outside and we see a sign for restrooms. It leads us to a small building and you had to pay to use it. But I really had to go so I paid the half a frank. The door was kind of like and elevator door and after I put my money the door came open. (At this point your probably wondering why I'm telling you a story of me going to the bathroom but this is the funny part.) After taking care of my business I saw a red button next to the toilet. Well I pressed it assuming it was the flush. Right after I pressed it the door started opening!! I had to quickly pull my pants up!!! I never did find how to flush...

Another Great day!

Today was a good day. I finally got over my jet lag. I slept in till about ten, then I woke up to the sounds of kids playing and yelling. There is a building right next to my house that is used as a Kindergarten The playground is right out back.

My first day of language school was today! I got to ride the train to the town it was in. This is the first time I've been on the train since I've been here. I will be riding it to school everyday. Riding with me is another exchange student going to the same language school as me, and the same high school. (YAY! Friends!) Today, we were shown how to get there by someone Hannah knew (Hannah is my new friend) I'm not sure if it was a Rotarian from her host club or her host mother. But from now on we know how to get there ourselves. Hannah is also from the USA. She is from Oregon.
There are about 10 of us in the language school. My teacher is very nice, and I think I will learn a lot these nest 4 weeks. We even have textbooks that have assignments, and CD's to follow along with. I am excited to have homework, and it helps that this is the only subject I have to focus on all year.
After class, I came home and everyone in the house was leaving for a few minutes. Peter had a meeting, Katherine and Matthias were going to the train station, and I don't know where Jonathan was. I changed into shorts because it was hot and the train ride home was packed! I had to stand the whole way!
After that I decided to take a walk by myself. And I took a few pictures along the way.

 This is a small arch way in an ally. The street has a name that has something to do with criminals. But if you look, on the bottom left of the archway is a seat. And Peter told me that long ago if you were a criminal and were running from the authorities, if you could make it to the seat and sit down, then you couldn't be arrested. It was a sort of sanctuary.

 These are typical flowers on the widow seal. You can find them anywhere in Switzerland.

I was trying to take a picture of myself with the Rhine behind me, but I was photo bombed by some men surfing. The Rhine has a fast current. What these guys did was have a rope tied to a wall right on the rivers edge. Then down from the rope they would get a surf board and go out from the edge of the river. Once they were out far enough they would get on top of the surf board and hold the rope. It looked like they were water skiing, except they stayed in the same place. It looked like a lot of fun!!! But I guess the water is cold because they were both wearing wet suits.

This is my host family's cat, Bolero. He is very friendly.

My first day!!!

I began my Journey on August 9th. My mom, dad, and Kyle took me to the airport. My flight out of Kansas City ended up being delayed by an hour and a half because of bad weather, so I was nervous I would be later for my flight out of Washington Dulles. When we arrived to Dulles they had the people who had to make connecting flights get off first. So when I was getting off a lady next to me asked me where I was going to. When I told her Zurich the couple in front of me said they were going there too and I could just follow them because they knew the gate number. The plane to Dulles was small so everyone had to put their second carry on bag under the plane. So after we got off we still had to wait longer to get our stuff. The guy and me waited for the suitcases while his wife went on to the gate to hopefully get them to wait for us if they were getting ready to leave. When we got the suitcases the guy and me started to run to the gate. I don't know if it's because my backpack was really heavy, I was really tired, or because I'm out of shape, but I was so out of breathe and could hardly run. It took so much effort! But the guy wasn't exactly a track star either so we only ran halfway then ended up fast walking the rest of the way. Luckily, we made it!! And the plane to Zurich ended up leaving an hour late anyway. It was about an 8 hour flight, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not sleep!

Here is a photo out of my window in the morning! It was beautiful to see the sunrise from a plane. The colors were so bright! 

When I got into Zurich, I went through customs without any problems and I got my checked bag. Waiting for me was my host father, Peter, my counselor, Dominique, my youth exchange officer, Mike, and his daughter Steffi (who just got back from her exchange in Canada). They were all so nice! We stopped at a place for water and croissants. Then we started the drive to Rheinfelden, which was a little under an hour. They could all speck English well, but I could pick up a few words when they spoke German. They also got me a cell phone to use while I'm here. 

When we got to Rheinfelden, Peter showed me around the house, which is HUGE!!!! It is four stories tall! And guess where my room is!!! The fourth floor!!! I will definitely be getting my exercise going up all those stairs everyday! It's a beautiful home and it is decorated nicely. They have a lot of different art that is very beautiful and interesting. I got to meet the rest of my host family, and they made it very clear that this was my home now. 

After showing me around the house, Peter took me around the historic part of Rheinfelden that they live, which is more than 800 years old! Peter knows a lot about the town history and told me all about it. 

This yellow tent is for the Natur-und Volgetschutzverein. Which is basically an organization of people that take care of the Storks and other wildlife in the area. Storks are very important to Rheinfelden The even have a tower dedicated to them, and today I was very lucky and able to go up in it. It is usually locked, but there is a reelection coming up in Rheinfeld and all the candidates were out around town giving speeches, talking with people, and (what I liked best) giving out free food and drinks. 

                                This is a view of the Rhein River from the Stork Tower. 

I also went to Germany today! This is a picture of Rheinfelden, Switzerland from the bridge connecting it with Germany! Peter was telling me that people will jump off the bridge and swim down to another part of the Rhine. But then he started telling me how people had jumped off the wrong part of the bridge and died because the current pushed them under. So Peter said "Never jump off the bridge into the Rhein! But when you do jump off over there." And he showed me the safe part to jump. I'm not sure if I will be doing that or not.

Peter also showed me inside the Church by his house. I was awestruck when I went in! It is so beautiful! he said it was 1000 years old. 

The art in the church is so detailed and there is so much of it. I just love it! Peter is a priest but he is  Christian Catholic. They broke away from the Roman catholic church and so they have different rules. Priests can get married and have children and women can also be priests. 

I ended up taking a nap after lunch (which was delicious!) I woke up to music. Someone was having a party in a yard nearby and I could hear people singing and playing instruments. It was a lovely way to wake up. 

I went downstairs to the kitchen, and my mother Katherine had made some chocolate mousse. It was so good!!!!! 

After that Peter and I walked around town some more. 

Between the 2 big buildings you can see a small sliver of a building. That is the smallest house in Rheinfelden. 

I had a great day, and I looks like the start to a great year!