Day 7 - 2nd 'Day Off' 🌴🌊

Yes, now the first week is actually over. But that's okay, because everything ends at some point and I'm still so incredibly grateful that I get to do this and I know that I've taken more than just the essentials from this week 😇😍.

Today I set my alarm properly 👅🙆🏼. It wakes me up at 7:00, then I have enough time to get ready in peace. I need time for myself in the morning ☺️.

By 7:30, I am already done with everything and decide to go downstairs, sit in the morning sun, and wait for my friend.



Although we are supposed to meet for breakfast at 7:45 and he is the type of person who is ALWAYS late, strangely enough, he shows up today at 7:36 😂. Shortly after, I remember why... Although you had to sign up for the trip to Busch Gardens by last Wednesday, because it has to be paid for, he still wants to try to come today. I don't know if this is because guys take it easier or if he is just the disorganized type... If you have an answer, please write it in the comments, I would be really interested 😅😁😂.

If you want to take a closer look at Busch Gardens, you can see some photos here: 😊🌱

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x88c2c651c1ea53e3:0xbb0114385ea7e41b!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e115!4shttp://mealtrip.com/busch-gardens-tampa-bengal-bistro.asp!5stampa+busch+gardens+-+Google-Suche&imagekey=!1e1!2shttp://core.mealtrip.com/00_upbank/bb_dir_img_rs/dirID351/front-of-begal-bistro-building-busch-gardens-tampa.jpg?builder%3Dfreeimage%26fi.scale%3Dlanczos%26quality%3D100%26w%3D840&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8uIfoh-rNAhXFPCYKHVYYAagQoioIkgEwDg

So we go to have breakfast. I wonder why there is no eggs, no sausages, no fried potatoes, no pancakes or other warm food today...🍳🌭

I don't eat any of those anyway, so I don't have a problem with it. I have a hardboiled egg, a mini bagel with cream cheese, and as always a bit of fruit salad 🍏🍊🍋🍌🍉🍇.

João apparently managed to go to Busch Gardens, since I didn't see him later. He left breakfast earlier.

When I wanted to go back to my room, I met the two Brazilians who were at the pool with us yesterday. Since I had no specific plans for the day, I went to the cafeteria with them. They hadn't had breakfast yet ☕️.

When they arrived, it was 8:34, breakfast ends at 8:30 and the barricades were just being lowered. The two of them just casually walked under the closing gate 😂.

Then a girl who also plays tennis came to us. She was born in Germany 🇩🇪, but only lived in Munich for 1 year before moving to Brazil 🇧🇷, so she can naturally speak Portuguese with the boys. Now she lives in New York 🇺🇸.

We watched a bit of Murray's Wimbledon match on the giant TV in the cafeteria.

At some point, it got too cold for me there, because Americans only know shock frosting or heatstroke with their air conditioning. So I went upstairs. Just as I had tidied up my room and wanted to go out again, we had another Weather Safety 🚨🙄. So I read a bit 😊. 

Around 11:00, I wasn't sure if I could go out again. Since my watch was already urging me to move, I went downstairs ⌚️.

There, I met one of the girls I met on the first day here in the room. She is not staying in the same room, but she is friends with my roommate. When she asked me if I also wanted to go to lunch, I was a bit surprised because it was only 11:00. Usually, lunch is at 12:30...

But since today is Sunday, there is already a brunch at 11:00. Without my watch, I wouldn't have known 🙂. But since we were still on Weather Safety and I didn't feel like waiting for a van that would take me 5 meters, I went back upstairs and continued reading.

I wasn't hungry yet 🙆🏼.

As usual, I went to lunch at 12:30. Before that, I sat in the sun for a while. At the brunch-lunch or whatever you want to call it 😂, I realized why there was no warm food this morning. There is still some now, of course. So there was a mixture of breakfast leftovers like bagels, rolls, yogurt, fruit, toast, cream cheese, eggs, potatoes, and so on, and also salad, fish cakes, and pesto pasta. And to celebrate the day, waffles with cream 🍰.

Since I didn't really feel like anything, I made myself a sandwich with salad and cheese 🧀🍞🍅. It was pretty tasty. By the way, I can highly recommend gluten-free bread 😂 for some reason, that appealed to me more than toast... 😅.

Actually, there was supposed to be a beach trip at 12:00, but it was canceled because of Weather Safety. Shortly after, the sun came out 😂🌥⛅️🌤☀️. 

So I went to the pool, where there was supposed to be a pool party today. But it didn't seem like it 😁. However, I ran into the Brazilians and the German-Brazilian-American girl again 😂. After spending some time at the pool, I went back, showered, and changed.

Next, I went outside and wanted to find a place to sit in the sun and have some peace and quiet to listen to a podcast. I found a spot behind the sleeping building on the sports field, where the 'party' took place on the first evening.

There is a kind of pavilion from Gatorade that provides shade and many chairs. I comfortably lay down in the sun or maybe more sat down and enjoyed the sun, the podcast, and some me time 💆🏼☀️🎵.

At 5:00, I wanted to take the bus to Walmart. 

Since I didn't want to miss it again, I was already there at 4:15. The bus, too 🚌. Unfortunately, only the chaperone who notes who is coming along. But the bus driver was kind enough to let me in ☺️. A little while after me, a girl from Texas arrived, and we had a conversation. She is here to play lacrosse for 3 weeks 🗣. Eventually, 3 guys joined us, who approached us. They play basketball 🏀. They were also really cool. When the bus left, there were only about 15 people on board... But you never know beforehand 😅😇.

After a short ride, we arrived:



The Walmarts seem to be so famous here and they are located all over America. I was really excited to see what it looks like inside.

When we entered, most people immediately took a whole shopping cart 😂. But I didn't plan on buying a lot, rather just to get impressions and maybe take a few small items with me 🎁.

As I looked around, it became clear to me why supermarkets are so popular. This is simply the craziest and coolest supermarket I have ever seen! This supermarket has EVERYTHING! And in almost every aisle, you can find some crazy thing 😂. I'm a big fan of that!

Of course, there are all kinds of typically American sweets, which also look as colorful and crazy as possible. I don't eat sweets, but I was really excited by the sight of the sweetly decorated things 😊.



Next to this stuff, there were also TONS of chips. Americans are so crazy about them that there are even giant bags with a total of 20 bags of chips. 4 bags each of 5 different varieties 😂. It's pretty cool 🙆🏼. One thing that amazed me was a 15-meter-long shelf with a variety of Pop-Tarts 😮 simply because the packaging is so colorful. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it, but since I think some people may not know what they are, here is a photo 😋:

There were so many crazy things, but I won't list them all now because the list would be almost endless.

When I came out again and met the people I met on the bus, they had at least 3 bags each 🛍. All sorts of sweets or drinks, as it really isn't expensive there.

Speaking of bags, even though the bags are a real environmental pollution, I found it really cool how the items were packed by the cashier. After the conveyor belt, there was a kind of carousel where bags were hanging everywhere. He opened them and could fill them while they hung on the hook. When the bag was full, he just kept turning. Eventually, the customer got to the finished bags. 



When I was outside again, I noticed how much everyone really buys in this supermarket! It's not just 1 or 2 things. Either nothing or a whole shopping cart full.

Seriously. And I'm not exaggerating 😅.

By the way, there are also special electric shopping carts for people in wheelchairs. We spontaneously tried them out 😂.



The bus then took us back to IMG 🚌.

I went to the cafeteria to get dinner, and it was overwhelming. It was so crowded because 900 new people arrived today 😳.



In the photo, the empty part is in the foreground. Most people are in the back, where the registration takes place 📝.

For dinner, there was original American jumbo pizza 🍕.



For dinner, I had a delicious salad plate and some pasta with tomato sauce 🍝 🍆🍅🌽.

When I was sitting outside again, two girls who arrived today came up to me and we had a nice little chat 💬. They will be playing soccer here for one week ⚽️.

Originally, I wanted to go upstairs then. But I hadn't reached my goal yet 🚶🏾👣. I was actually too lazy to walk... but, a goal is a goal! So I took a relaxed walk towards the tennis courts. And later, I was glad that I did it 😊.

I have to say that even though it takes a lot of time, I really really enjoy writing this blog and being able to share my experiences with you 😇. Even if it means going to bed earlier in the evening, it's totally worth it for me 😊.

I probably wouldn't do it with so much enthusiasm if I didn't know that my posts are sometimes read up to 85 times. I would still do it because I enjoy it. But the fact that so many people are interested in it naturally inspires me to write a lot, in detail, and above all, frequently.

Oh my God, that's such a high number and I am infinitely grateful to everyone who reads the blog, maybe even gets a little inspired by it, sometimes maybe even takes something for themselves or feels like they are traveling with me 😊🙏🏽😻. 

Thank you so much for taking the time and supporting me in this way. 

Really. It means more to me than I can express in words here ❣️



Tomorrow starts early again because, like every Monday, the auditions start at 7:00. If I, like now, end up in group B again, then I will have time for breakfast afterwards. But if I end up in group A this time, there won't be time for that because these groups will go straight to practice. So I will get up at 6:00, get ready comfortably, have breakfast, and finally be back in action 😍💃🏼. I'm really looking forward to having a schedule again, learning new things, and improving old ones ✨.

My new schedule will be available tomorrow. What I already have today is the schedule with the on- and off-campus program for next week:



Finally, I would like to wish everyone who is going on vacation or staying at home for vacation a very relaxed and beautiful time 😸. Enjoy it!

Quote of the day: 'Tennis takes care of everything. It requires agility and quickness to get to the ball, core strength to get power into your shorts, and stamina to last for an entire match. In addition to toning your arms and shoulders, it's a total body workout for your legs and abs and works your heart and core unlike any other sport.' - Samantha Stosur 🌈