Category: 2020/21 Klara B. (Germany) Blog Blogger High School Exchange School Year Abroad Study Abroad UK UK High School

Hey and welcome to my third blog!

 

In the last three months a lot had happen in the UK and therefore within my exchange year here in Brighton as well.

But let me start with December. In December my friends and I went a lot Christmas shopping together. We all had to send some parcels to our family at home, buy some presents for our host family and we bought some presents for each other.

Furthermore, our school make on the second last day before the holidays a “Christmas dinner“. This means we did not have our normal lessons.

We had the whole day little competitions within small groups and at the end we had a very nice Christmas lunch all together.

 

 

In Germany we have on the 6th of December St Nicolaus Day.

This means that we are celebrating the generosity of Nicolaus. Therefore, we are putting one of our shoes the night before outside in front of the door and then in the night is Nicolaus coming and is filling the shoes with some little gifts and candy if you were very nice within the last year. If you were bad the last year you would get a rod.

I played St Nicolaus this year for my host family and put in the evening some gifts and sweets in the shoes from my host family. They were really happy about it and liked the idea very much!

I had a very lovely and wonderful Christmas with my host family but it was a bit strange to celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December and not the 24th like in Germany.

My host parents put for all of us in the night before something in the stocking, which I found very cool and typical British. On the 25th in the morning we had a great breakfast and opened our presents after that. In afternoon we went for a nice walk and had a typical and delicious Christmas dinner. Sadly, did the parcel from my parents came two weeks after Christmas but I got great presents from my host family and my friends. And as the parcel arrived I was very happy and I got a few more presents, there were a present form my host family inside and biscuits which my mum baked by herself.

On New Years Eve we could not really do anything because the COVID rules got more strict. Therefore, we spend the evening all together and played the whole time board games, which was a lot of fun.

After the holidays whole England went into a national lockdown.

Therefore, the school closed until the 8th of March and you were only allowed to meet someone to go for a walk or do exercise with. Within these two months we had the whole time online lessons. This time was difficult for all of us but we all made the best out of it.

I met one of my friends the whole time and we went for great walks together. Also me and my host family came much closer because we were spending the whole time together, which is awesome. Often I did call my friends so that we could all talk together. We started to cut and dye our own hairs over these calls because all the hairdressers are closed and we were bored.

My friend and I bought ourselves a skateboard and now we are trying to learn skateboard which is a lot of fun!

 

Then finally on the 8th of March we were allowed to go back to school. Since then we are getting tested twice a week at school and from next week on (22nd of March) we are getting the tests home and should test ourselves at home.

Fortunately we were all negative so far!

It is very nice to see all our friends again and to spend more time together. We are now also allowed to have a picnic with one other person outside.

But we are still staying longer in school so that we can all stay longer together.

 

I am very happy that the schools are reopen and we are all looking forward so that we can meet in bigger groups outside, that the shops are reopen and that we can hopefully go back to normality soon.

 

Sadly, did not happen that much within the last couple of months but I am looking forward tot he next months that me and my friends can do more and maybe travel to other cities…

 

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