#4 Summary of the past months, New York City, class reunion in Toronto

Please don't be mad at me for not writing for so long. Sooo many exciting things have happened and the 6th month is already over! I'm currently in my last week of school and I still have 2.5 weeks left with my host family before I continue to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Vancouver. I don't even want to think about saying 'bye' to my two host kids. There were times when they really got on my nerves and sometimes they weren't so nice to me, but in the end, I love them so much and sometimes I don't want to leave them at all. But if everything goes well, I'll come back to Toronto in August and then fly back to Germany.

A lot has happened in the past months. The two most beautiful events were Laura's weekend visit to New York City and the visit of Peggy, Philipp, and Laura to Toronto. I spent a long weekend (Friday-Monday) in New York City with Laura and I absolutely enjoyed exploring it with her. Even though it was short, I will always remember this weekend as a wonderful experience. We visited Times Square, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge at night, the National History Museum, and the 9/11 Museum and Memorial. Of course, we also went to the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center and took the ferry past the Statue of Liberty. My personal favorite was the Top of the Rock and the 9/11 Museum. But the whole weekend was perfect and it was incredibly nice to meet Laura, spend time with her, and get to know her host family. I really like New York City and I definitely want to come back to take a closer look at everything and see more.

In mid-March, Peggy, Philipp, and Laura visited me in Toronto and I showed them around the city. We had a lot of fun together and it was very nice, especially because I never expected that we would all meet in Canada. We went to Toronto Island, the CN Tower, and visited St. Lawrence Market, Kensington Market, Distillery District, and the ROM.

In the meantime, I finally went to a hockey game (Toronto Marlies vs. Binghamton Devils) and my successor has arrived. Everything is very exciting and thrilling, and I can't believe how quickly 6 months have passed. There were ups and downs, and I must say that an exchange year is like a roller coaster of emotions, but still, I will never regret this decision and I would recommend everyone to try it at least once!

Since my host family is Jewish, we are celebrating Passover/Pesach instead of Easter at the moment. This festival lasts for 7 days and we celebrate the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. The actual reason why we celebrate this festival is to free ourselves from our own burdens and debts. Besides Hanukkah and Purim, this event is probably the most exciting one. For a few days now, we only have matzah, fruits, vegetables, and kosher cheese, yogurt, tea, and coffee. My host mother even bought special kitchen appliances for this. Part of our kitchen is also kosher, and we use different dishes and have to wash everything separately. It sounds very complicated and it is in the beginning, but you get used to it. Anyway, it's very exciting and interesting to experience. The most exhausting and annoying part of this festival was having to empty, clean, and refill ALL (!) kitchen cabinets. In addition, I had to clean ALL (!) toys of the children again together with our new Demi Pair.

Other than that, I'm doing very well and I'm trying to enjoy the last weeks in Toronto and see the rest of the city, which is not so easy because I also have another babysitting job on the side. But somehow I'll manage. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the coming time, to the other cities, and finally to the national parks and nature. Because after 6 months in big cities, it's time to see some smaller, less hectic, and quieter cities.

You will definitely hear from me again when I'm in Ottawa & Co.

Take care of yourselves and see you soon!!