 Hello, my name is Lukas Grosse-Kleimann, I am from western
Germany and just arrived here on August 5th. I live with my host family in
Oakland Park.
I really like to spend time with my host brothers, we go
fishing or swimming, or sometimes, we play videogames. I also like reading,
drawing and doing sports.
At first I can say, that I feel really well here in
Florida. This started with the really nice welcome on the airport with my
counselor, John Aquino, a really nice guy, my host father and a lot of other
Rotarians from my host club RC Fort Lauderdale. Then I got really lucky
because my host family was on vacation in the Keys, and I just joined them
there for 3 more days, which were really exciting. At this point, thanks
again to my host family for these great days!
I go to Cardinal Gibbons High, not far away from my house.
It's a Catholic private school, which has a high level of education. So
except for math, school here in America is not that easy as many people in
Europe say. I wear a nice uniform and have every day the same classes at the
same time. In this school are very exciting subjects, I hadn't the chance to
take them in Germany, for example drawing. I also joined the Science &
Engineering Club, which is really fun.
On my weekend I spend most time with my family. I really
enjoyed the first Orientation meeting; it was fun to get to know all these
people from all over the world. Last weekend I went with John to the movies
and had a nice dinner after that.
So, these are my first experiences in Florida! Thanks
again to Rotary for giving me this wonderful opportunity. |
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Homecoming, Halloween and the election
First, I still feel very good here in Florida, and I have
a lot of fun! Thanks to Rotary and all the involved people again!
For those who never heard of it, Homecoming is a great
dance around October, organized by the high school. Usually it takes place
in a big ball room which can be in a hotel or convention center for example.
Everybody is supposed to dress up properly, that means tuxedos and evening
dresses.
The Cardinal Gibbons (my high school) Homecoming dance
with the topic Halloween took place in the Fort Lauderdale Convention
Center. If you weren't here at 8 o'clock they wouldn't let you in, so I left
early and arrived at 7. Another special thing, which really surprised me,
was that some students collected money together and rented a big limo or a
party bus. These big Hummer-limousines looked really luxurious and were very
comfortable inside. I've never been inside one before and I haven't seen
those that often in general. At the Dance was a big Buffet, where everybody
could eat as much as he wanted. In the middle of the big room was a gigantic
dance floor, and the DJ already played music. I thought there would some
kind of assembly first, or at least a little speech, but as everybody
arrived, all these nice dressed people charged the dance floor. And that was
basically what everything was about: A big dance party. When the event ended
at eleven I was really exhausted but I had soo much fun that evening and met
a bunch of new people. All these things made my first (and unfortunately
last) Homecoming to a great experience! I know the tickets aren't that
cheap, but I can recommend everybody to go!
Halloween is another great American event. Though I
already had an idea of Halloween because it is very popular in the area in
Germany I live, but it was nothing compared to the real American Halloween.
Even in school we did a dress-up day, where everybody was wearing a costume.
And not any costume, especially the seniors really tried to wear the best
and most extraordinary one. We had a lot of fun, that day in school
J.
With my host-brother I carved out a pumpkin and put it out
in the front yard.
The evening was the best, trick or treating with some
friends, all in a great costume is really a great experience. We collected
so much candy, that our all-together-bag collapsed in the middle of the
street, and we suddenly had a big candy mountain there.
Many people were sitting with a nice costume and a big
bowl of candy in front of their houses, having a nice evening and giving
away candy to all the people passing by. All in all another great day and
evening!
I'm really happy that I came here this year, so I was able
experience the Presidential Election 2008, an arresting event. At the day I
arrived I noticed all the little signs in the front yards and the bumper
stickers on the cars. These things, and especially the TV ads are not used
in Germany's elections. In general, I never experienced so much passion for
politics, I saw a lot of people standing at the highways, showing posters of
their candidates. If my parents were watching political magazines on TV,
even my two brothers (12 and 14) came to watch. So, we all sat there
together until late in the night on election-day, waiting for the scores.
I think now, after everything is over, these passions will
lose a bit of their strength, but still, politics are very interesting here
in the USA!
So, these are my experiences of the last time, I hope you
enjoyed reading them.
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Lukas Grosse-Kleimann
