My teeth part 2

     I FINALLY GOT MY RETAINER! I'm sorry I yelled but I'm just so excited! Plus today is Neville Longbottom's birthday so I made lemon cake and brought it into the orthodontist's office to share.
     They pretty much took the expander out told me about the retainer and some information and I was all set. That's just about it.  Short post today but I haven't really got much else to share about my teeth so yeah.

My teeth.

     Ugh Jolie! No one wants to hear you talk about your teeth. Too bad! I'm getting excited about this! So, for those of you who don't know I have a palatal expander but not for much longer! I get it taken out on the 30th and I'll get a retainer to wear while I'm in Belgium! I will now explain my palatal expander and tell some (hopefully) funny stories.
       I needed an expander because my teeth were crowded due to my narrow upper jaw. It's function really is best explained by the picture below.

So, before I could get my expander I had to go to the orthodontist to figure out what I needed and what would have to be done because of my going to Belgium for a year. He told us that I needed a palatal expander and when I'm in Belgium I'll have to wear a retainer.

     Before I could do anything else they had to put spacers between my teeth. All spacers are, are these little blue rubber bands they put between your teeth to make space enough for your expander.  I only lost a spacer because I ate a gummy vitamin to be a good example for my younger cousin! When they went to take out the spacers they found that one of them had embedded itself in my gums. That wasn't fun.

 

     I can't remember when I got the molds taken but those were part of the process. I had to bite down on some pink stuff that tried really hard to be berry flavored. That was the day they had to get x-rays and I confused the lady by saying "brain pan" because she thought I was going on and on about being able to see my brain but I wasn't she was very nice and tried to tell me that I couldn't see my brain on the x-ray though. They had to use these cheek spreader things to get pictures and they used mirrors and I was laughing really hard because it isn't normal to have your face pulled like that. They do seem to have to tell me to stop laughing at the dentist and orthodontist offices a lot, LOL!

     Ok, so then I went in and got the terrible device that is no fun at all. For this I had to miss my first hour English class. When I got back to school I had missed a few minutes of second hour Chinese but as I got all sorted out in the office the English teacher walked in and was joking about something along the lines of "Oh I see how it is. Skipping only my class.." and what not. I had to stop by my locker to get all sorted out for class and my English teacher caught me in the hall and asked me about my expander and what not. I had such a terrible lisp for those first few days and I thought it was funny that my first class with my expander was Chinese where I had to try and pronounce things properly and I knew I wouldn't be able to. My Chinese teacher was really great about it and told me that I could "get used to [my] teeth" and that cracked me up just because it was so completely true. Then I had to get used to eating lunch, that was a trip! Later that day I had World History and I flat out told everyone that it was ok to make fun of my lisp because I knew it would go away soon enough. When I was talking I could see a few people trying so hard not to laugh so after I gave the ok it was almost a game to get me to say "Solar System" or a hard word or phrase like that  the teacher jokingly told me to say "Suffering Succotash" so I did because I also got a kick out of my lisp on that first day. I was so glad that all of my teachers and classmates (at least the ones who matter) were so wonderful about being patient with me while I was lisping and tried not to laugh too hard.

     After the first day I HATED that lisp of mine but I viewed it as a chance to see what not being able to communicate in Belgium might be like. I couldn't form my words properly so I often had to repeat myself and what not. Between that and not being able to swallow properly at first I was all sorts of upset but life got better as things got easier. It was really hard to be so frustrated at myself and have everyone tell me that it was all right because I didn't feel all right with the world. It's a good thing I quickly got over myself!

    Something I also had to learn quickly is how painful turning the key of the expander is.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be but it wasn't fun to have an adult take the key and have to keep my mouth open really wide as they turned the part that made the expander work. Usually a while after I would get this pain right in the middle of my forehead and we called it "The Harry Potters" because it felt similar to how  J.K. Rowling described Harry's scar acting up only difference was that I could tolerate it and no evil guy was trying to mess with my head. Any who this is what the key looks like. 

    

 

The last picture I have isn't of my expander but it looks very similar, if not exactly the same.

      I think it's funny that now there are marks on my tongue. Like those arrows printed on the metal left a funny print and what not although sometimes it is quite painful especially those arms that stick toward the front! I was thankful for dental wax that I could put on those small parts that stick into your cheek because those little buggers are quite painful!

     I've also found that the following foods aren't as fun to eat with an expander: Carrots break off into sharp fragments that will stab you in the gums, Popcorn, Ice cream because not being able to reach the roof of your mouth and getting brain freeze stinks, Chips, Blueberries, Starburst, and pretty much anything else if you're not careful! Also another note to add is that when you first get your expander you drool a LOT and you have trouble with drinking fountains (this caused the amusement of several people during Gym class) and just beverages in general. Oh! I should also point out that I never dared to try celery with my expander. Thank goodness for the water pick and the scrubby brush thingies!

     Other than funny lisp moments and getting food caught in the expander there hasn't been any real interesting stories.  I hope that this post was at least somewhat entertaining. I am so sorry about how jumbled this all is and the spelling and grammar mistakes that I've surely made but it has been that sort of a day.

 

 

 



Update on like EVERYTHING

     This might sound all sorts of jumbled but I have quite a bit to update.
     Camping went really well! What was supposed to be a day trip to the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) turned out to be an overnight trip because we had to see some bears. We saw Kitch-iti-kippi springs and went to a zoo and a boardwalk the first day then we went to Oswald's bear ranch the second day. After the U.P. we went to our property and had a nice time.
     When we got back from camping we went to the family reunion. I got to play volley ball and am still sore from that.
     I have several drafts that I'll be working on for "Watch how I Soar" I just need to get to it. The posts aren't anything too important they just are (hopefully) more fun than a lot of what I've been posting recently.
     I've been talking with my host family so that's all good. After PDO I realize that the thing about exchange I'm most freaked out about right now is getting lost in the airport on the way to Belgium! I figure the rest of what happens I don't get much say in the rest of what happens so I shouldn't worry about that but if I get lost on my way that wouldn't be a good thing. I've also decided that some of the things I'm most excited about are meeting my host family, the food and seeing the places I've read about. I leave soon (ish) so yay!
     Today I realized that I'm by no means "normal" and that I'm cool with that. Not many other girls my age would probably watch part of a ceremony for Neil Armstrong on the NASA channel and then try to learn about other stuff for the rest of the day. I just hope I remember my Duolingo Dutch for the day! I should probably work on that now.
     Until next time. Doei! (See the Duolingo DOES help! That is a way to say "bye" in Dutch.)

#Apollo45

    Mr. Aldrin has asked everyone who was alive then to share where they were for the moon landing, for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to watch it on a television in 1969 he has asked us to share how the Apollo missions have inspired us. He has asked us to share all of this under #Apollo45 because it's the 45th anniversary of the moon landing. So here goes my version of #Apollo45.
     The Apollo missions proved to the world that we can put men on the moon! What could be more inspiring than that? And to think they put those men on the moon with computers that my pocket calculator could run circles around! Wow! That's not even mentioning that they got some of those men home with some duct tape and quick thinking (Apollo 13).
     One of my favorite quotes is "Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon." and to me that is probably the best thing about the Apollo missions. To me the Apollo missions show that we may be only human but we can shoot for the stars and we will try. We let our curiosity get the best of us and sometimes it isn't a bad thing.
     I believe that we should teach children to keep their curiosity and imagination because they are the problem solvers and hope for the future. I want to see a world where there are no questions dodged in a classroom just because "you'll learn that later" and if it just can't be answered I would like to see kids actually looking up the answers! We need to not shut down curiosity, we need to embrace it! That is something we can learn from Apollo. The Apollo missions and everything surrounding them were interesting and inspiring.
     

Pre Departure Orientation!

     I got to fly by myself for the first time EVER on Friday! That was a bit scary but it was a beautiful day and I took notes about what I saw and how amazing I thought it was. That was groovy. Then I found the YFU (Youth For Understanding) people and got all situated.
     When I got to the college EVERYONE was speaking different languages at me and I had to figure out what I had to do. I thought it was a brilliant exercise! Before that exercise ended I was handed a bucket with a scoop of rocks in it. I set the bucket down and all of a sudden EVERY volunteer swarmed me yelling "nenenenenenenenene" filling my bucket with rocks, they stopped when I picked it up. The bucket thing continued for the entire weekend and it was an exercise in learning unspoken cultural rules. It got tiring having to carry a bucket of rocks around but you could get rocks taken away for doing "good" things like telling someone "DO NOT PUT YOUR BUCKET DOWN, WHAT EVER YOU DO!"
     Green team was CLEARLY the BEST! I was on green team so everyone on my team was Scandinavia bound with someone going to the Netherlands and myself. I found out that I'm part of Benelux or Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg  so that was interesting. I miss my team but we started a Facebook group so we can keep up with what everyone is doing.
     My roommate was AWESOME! She and I talked about German food and Tintin and Santa traditions in Germany and Belgium and just all sorts of stuff! I liked her a lot.
     Everyone played a game where the rules at every table were different and we couldn't talk so we had to figure out what the rules were as we switched tables. I just volunteered to lose because I didn't know how to play even when I got back to my "home table" because someone had basically invaded us and imposed their rules on the table.
     The food was pretty good. I had to eat with the Benelux group on the day we had spicy food and the person who had gone to Belgium said "You're from the Midwest aren't you?" after I made a comment about how I didn't much care for spicy foods. One of the activities there was, was this set up where a bunch of people had tables in the middle of this room and were sharing about their exchange but some had food to try! I tried a Dutch food I've heard about and LOVED IT! I did not much care for black liquorish. Haribo Pico Bolla was pretty good and so was the Korean jello thing I tried but after I tried the VERY sweet jello treat I sampled some tea and threw my taste buds into shock! I probably would have liked the tea if it hadn't been for having something bitter right after having something sweet. Oh! German food day was the last lunch we had and I was so happy because it was among my favorite meals I had plus I had a lemon bar and those are my favorite so it was epic!
     I came home Sunday and had to navigate O'Hare airport in Chicago so that was interesting. I saw a friend off on their plane. I also walked around for HOURS and eventually bought a snack and went to go chill at my gate for an hour.
     This is the VERY condensed version of this story but it's getting extremely late and I am going camping tomorrow so I will update this story plus camping when I can. Have a great day!
 

Just imagine!

     Just imagine the things that would exist in another universe! Like if there were an infinite amount of universes and everything could happen. Some of those other universes have the coolest realities ever!
     If this is true then in one universe the Doctor (Doctor Who) is real! You could travel with him through space and time! Imagine the adventures you could have! Even if it meant being stuck in modern day London often it would be better than not going on an adventure! Plus there is an "even more different" universe where the Doctor is finally a ginger, good for him.
     In a different version of this universe the world is made of chocolate! Sure that would mean that chocolate wouldn't be as awesome as it is because it would be so common, but to a resident of a non chocolate world it sounds pretty, sweet. Hehe, get it?
       Think of all the possibilities! Think of all the cool stuff that could exist in a different version of this universe. I only gave two examples but the possibilities are endless!

Seven reasons why 7 is an awesome number

1. Seven books in the Harry Potter series
2. 7 ate 9 so that means that it can take care of its own problems
3. Seven books in the Narnia series
4. Seven players on a team in Quidditch/ Muggle Quidditch
5. The song a girl can sing for her seventh birthday "Seven, seven, sweet and seven. Past six goin' on seven. One plus two, plus four makes seven. Jiminy Cricket what a gal."  (I suppose "gal" can be changed to "guy" for boys)
6.  Kevin De Bruyne's number
   
7. Harry Potter's Quidditch number

 

Kevin

 

Belgian football

     I have started taking an interest in what the rest of the world would call football. This is an exciting time to begin an interest in soccer because of the world cup and it isn't the most boring sport to watch so yay!
     After the United States lost to Belgium I knew exactly who I was cheering for and then Belgium took on Argentina. I forgot about the game until I went to check what time it started and tuned in at half time and gathered that Argentina had already scored. I was relieved when I saw that it was half time and not the end of the game but that second half was the first time I've ever gotten very excitable about any sport.
    When Kevin De Bruyne went to make a goal and missed I was almost as angry as the people in the crowd! I was yelling in my head "MR. DE BRUYNE YOU WERE SO AWESOME WHEN YOU PLAYED THE USA HOW COULD YOU MISS THAT!" Of course I've only watched two soccer games but that one really caught my interest.
     There was some point where there was a bunch of Belgians gathered around this Argentinian and the man commentating on the game was all like blah, blah, blah "A thicket of Belgian legs" and then that quote became the new best joke ever! Now those words are being thrown into any conversation that they can be thrown into.
     Belgium lost and they were showing some of the activity in the stadium and the camera caught Kevin De Bruyne (can you tell he is like the only athlete whose name I actually know?) and Mr. De Bruyne was making the saddest face! Oh my Rowling, it just about made me cry because I don't like to see people sad.  I got all sad and stuff after the game but now I've decided to support Germany and the Netherlands in the next games. I think I am wanting to support them because they are geographically close to Belgium, I think that it is unfair that Brazil has won the most and I'm mad at Argentina for beating Belgium. My reasons probably sound ridiculous but I think they are good enough to want either of those teams to win.
     Good luck Germany and the Netherlands!
 

Modern times

     When are you from? It doesn't take a madman in a blue box to ask that question. Let a teenager in a small town ask it! When are you from?
     Well I'm from a time that is following a century of unbelievable change. If you want to be all technical I am from that century. I'm from a time and place where things are still not perfect.
    We are living in a time where we don't allow people to marry just because they don't have the same sexual orientation as "The Majority". Who is "The Majority"? Why do they get any say in other people's lives?
     We are the people in charge of a time where there is disease and hunger in parts of the world while there are people who have too much money. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That cannot be right.
    This day in age is a time where terror and war still plague some places. There are people still losing their lives over differences that will always be there. What good does the fighting do anyway? Yes, countries have gained freedom for fighting but what happens when those nations face their end? Empires end just ask any ancient Roman! Everything ends and we still feel the need to be in charge of something until that end.
     We are destroying the very Earth we depend on! We crowd out life and use the land for a zoo or parking complex. We will eventually die in our own filth, I picture this happening like in the movie WALL-E except we will still be on Earth because we were too busy being greedy to get ourselves into space.
     Someone is always better than someone else and the madness on this planet goes on and on! When will we learn to "live and let live"?  Will the sun ever shine on a world where things are as close to perfect as they can be? Perhaps this is as perfect as things will get, I hope not.
     Let us all just wait for the next IPhone to come out while we make a larger hole in the ozone layer as politicians argue over how they can make more money. If we do that why not just let things stay the way they are? It seems to be working pretty well for those people who have all the money. Why not be happy with that? Wake up and smell the pollution! Let's make a change.
  We consider ourselves so modern and that we are of the best time in history. When are you from? I'm from a time in history when we still follow rules set in place by people who are from thousands of years ago. That's when we are from, the time when we could have changed the world for better, the time mankind has been wasting on arguing over money and resources. I guess not much has ever changed. I guess we aren't so modern after all.

Brains AND beauty!

     I've asked a few people the question, "lab coat or bikini?" and got some very interesting answers. I asked this because although there are things like Science Olympiads and science fairs I still feel like beauty contests get more attention.
     I don't understand why the lady with a pretty smile and ability to walk in high heels gets more attention than the girl who is able to take notes and practice lab safety. Here is a link to a commercial done by the European Commission to try to promote science to girls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g032MPrSjFA   
I would LOVE IT if it didn't seem so much like a cosmetics commercial!
     Girls shouldn't need makeup to think that science is wonderful, with that in mind let me introduce you to some role models that I believe could get girls interested in science.

            Rosalind Franklin: used X-rays to figure out that DNA is in the shape of a double helix.

 

 

Henrietta Leavitt: Laid out the base to gage the distance of stars

              Annie Jump Cannon: Was a BIG part in developing a system

                                                     to classify stars by temperature.                                                

 

Jane Goodall: studied chimpanzee behavior

 

 

Sally Ride: First American woman in space

 

 

Valentina Tereshkova: First woman in space

 

 

Mae Jemison: First African American woman in space

 

Francine (Penny) Patterson: Taught Koko the gorilla sign language

     This list could be so much longer but I'll leave it at that. Don't go "Where is Marie Curie?" because I feel that whenever a conversation about female scientists comes up she is the only card anyone can play. Yes Marie Curie was amazing but we need to recognize other women too.
     I cannot wait for the day when girls are finally equal to boys. When women get paid the same amount as men. When everyone is equal. Who says we have to be happy with the way things are right now? 
    I understand that science isn't for everyone and that is fantastic! If everyone liked the same stuff how boring would this world be? I just wish more girls would realize that science is more than a class to sit through. You see male nurses why not female physicists? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my!

     Admit it! You read that in George Takei's voice, didn't you? "Oh my!" is the only thing I could think of to describe what I found with "Watch how I Soar's" page views today!
     I have finally broke 1,000 page views! Yay! It was at 900 something yesterday and with the rate things were going I thought it would be another few days to get to 1,000 views. What a wonderful surprise this Independence day!
     I was also surprised to see that I had a viewer from Ukraine. I've had a few from Germany and I think the Philippines. Of course I've got people who look at this blog in the United States of America I'm just always surprised to see when people in other countries actually clicked on my blog. It also makes me wonder how they stumbled across "Watch how I soar"!
    "Oh my Rowling!" "I just can't even." "Oh my!" Thank you all for making my day!
      

Existence

     Existence has never been good enough. Human existence has never or will ever be good enough. We exist on a little blue and green speck and are the "very best" living things on it and mere existence isn't good enough for us! What the heck?
     We have created religions and rituals around the fact that we hope that we exist beyond this existence but even in this existence there is boredom. What are we going to do with another existence if we get bored with this one? Especially since most of us believe that we won't have to work in the next existence.
     Other organisms don't get bored as easily as "man kind" because they have to work to stay alive! Imagine if you couldn't go to a grocery store and shop for what ever you want to eat. What if you instead had to evolve a long neck to reach leaves or if you had to stalk and kill your prey? Sure humans still hunt for food but in general we don't have to work very hard for anything really.
     We don't have to work for much so we have all sorts of time that we can spend on creating whatever kind of shelter we want, building vast empires and reading. Reading. We have developed a system of communication that uses symbols to describe sounds that are connected to thoughts. We read. What do we read? You can read what ever you like: biographies, diaries, letters, fictional works.
     Fiction. Why must we have a different reality if we have one right in front of us? Why must we slip between the pages of a book when we could work like the other organisms? We get bored! Merely existing is not good enough for us. 
     We have created television, radio, music and so many other types of entertainment and we still get bored. Is that not the most frustrating part of human existence? The fact that human existence isn't entertaining enough for us! Doesn't that make us the greediest organisms on this pretty blue, green orb? We want more with our time than just having time to exist.
     We want more. Existence will never be good enough. I dare say it never has been for humans. Go out there and celebrate your existence.

Today.

     Today is a rather unextraordinary day in my life but today is the day that someone:

• was born
• died
• laughed
• cried
• walked for the first time
• said their first word
• said their last word
• went to a wedding
• went to a funeral
• met the person they will spend the rest of their lives with
• left an abusive relationship
• got over a breakup
• went on a first date
• laughed for the first time
• learned to ride a bike
• became cancer free
• was diagnosed with cancer
• read a book that changed their life
• got help
• realized that others have lives just as complex as there own
• got a pet
• made a friend
• had their dreams come true
• learned the alphabet
• became addicted to drugs
• came home
• "Let it go"
• got the job
• was fired
• got that part they auditioned for
• became popular
• realized they didn't care
• smiled for the first time
• found a reason to live
• wanted to die
• had to say goodbye
• got a crush
• got noticed
• learned how to tie their shoes
• told everyone about their sexual orientation
• was forgiven
• finally forgot
• proposed marriage
• proposed a business plan
• got a divorce
• wrote a hit song that we will never hear
• gave an important speech
• became a parent
• learned to love
• lost trust
• gained faith in humanity
• is being tortured by someone or a thought
• figured out that problem!

That was a really long way to say "someone's live changed forever". Sure boring days change your life but someone's life changed in a big way today. Every day means something to someone. "Carpe diem!"

I'd like to hear from you!

     Yes, I understand that this blog is all up to me.I don't think I can do justice with my vocabulary in describing how weird it is just prattling on about whatever with out any feedback, not that I don't just do that anyways. I still love comments! I like to answer questions and hear what you think. I would like to make my blog easy to understand and fun but I need your help to do that!
     Things I'd like to hear are whether or not a post was "good". Heck! One time I had a friend correct me on a word and I got to learn! You could tell me if I need more interactive gadgety things or if I should do some sort of "ASK ME ANYTHING" post and do a sort of Q&A. I'll take post ideas as well. Constructive criticism is also good.
     Let me know! I like to hear from you and would like to make "Watch how I Soar" better!

So. How 'bout them sports teams?

     If you have talked to me then you may have heard me say "So. How 'bout them sports teams?" This all started one day in the car and I added that to the conversation, it stuck. I annoyed many people with the over use of it and it seems to be somewhat of a catch phrase of mine. I am finally getting the answer to my question!
     The first soccer game I've ever watched was the USA at Belgium game yesterday and I got caught up in it! Like halfway through I just started paying more attention to Belgium because of Kevin De Bruyne, oh my Rowling! Momma was who pointed him out to me when she went "TINTIN PLAYS FOR BELGIUM!" I missed him and so it became a game of  find the guy who looks like Tintin. Later after we spotted De Bruyne again Momma said "I hope he's wearing sunscreen!" and I had to laugh.
      I was ECSTATIC when he scored the first goal of the game. I went on to research him a bit and am now quite fond of him! Plus I now have an athlete I can discuss with my Belgian classmates!

 

 

     I was really proud of Tim Howard for all those saves and of the new guy (I don't remember his name) for having it be the first time he touched the ball and he got a goal! CRAZY! Simply insane!

                                               SWITCHING SPORTS

     Don't even get me started on Gaelic football! That sport is just crazy! It is like speed ball but you can tackle people! I support Kerry because I don't really ever know what's actually happening in that sport and I like their colors plus they have a rich history of their area and in the sport. The only names from that team I can remember are Declan and Darren O'Sullivan and Colm Cooper. I have no Idea who is in this picture but you can see Kerry's colors. Maybe later I'll do a post explaining all the rules and such.

CHANGING SPORTS FOR THE LAST TIME

 

     So the last sport and probably the only one I could rattle off all the rules to is Muggle Quidditch or Quidditch, I'll focus on MQ. I hardly ever know what's current in MQ but I can tell you that several colleges in Michigan have teams and I try to follow the Belgian teams. It is the only sport where I know that you can say "He's a keeper." or "CATCH THAT SNITCH!" with out it meaning the same thing as it does to the rest of the world. I will probably have to do a separate post for the rules of this quirky game.

      I believe that a good way to make connections to people is to ask about sports because everyone has at least one they love, or are at least willing to listen to. Sports are something you can't get away from so, yeah. So. How 'bout them sports teams?

 

On my mind

I have many irrational worries about going to Belgium in August. I'm excited but have a lot of fears that I know (or at least hope) are complete nonsense because they are very similar to how I felt going into high school. Some of my worries aren't complete nonsense but they are there.

1. What if I don't learn quickly enough? After all I do have to learn a different language and culture.
2. Will I adjust well to a new family?
3. What if I completely forgot how to make friends?
4. What if my teachers don't like me?
5. How difficult is learning a different language by immersion really? Other people do it all the time plus I think I did well in Chinese after all I scored 114% on the final exam that means I should do pretty well right?
6. How American do I dress?
7. What if no one has anything in common with me?
8. How much will I change while I'm gone?
9. How will I handle culture shock?
10. What about reverse culture shock?
11. Dutch looks pretty hard and I can't roll my R's so what if they roll any R's? Can I get away with just tapping my R's like some accents get away with? Maybe I can't roll my R's because of the palatal expander.
12. What if the other kids make fun of me? I wouldn't really be able to tell at first, of course they might talk about me but seriously!
13. What if I accidently offend someone? I would apologies of course but I don't want to offend anyone.

I don't want anyone thinking that I'm not COMPLETELY ecstatic about this. I just wanted to share some of the thoughts that roll across my mind. OH MY ROWLING! I'M GOING TO BELGIUM!

Chicago diary 7/ after thoughts

     We talked to a nice, apparently French man in the hotel lobby about his Tintin shirt and he said that when I go to Belgium I can come back with as many Tintin shirts as I want! I started thinking about ALL the people Tintin has allowed me to meet so far and have something in common with and I felt like I made a good choice in comic book obsessions.
     Then we went to the Hershey's store followed by the Ghiradelli store. I preferred the smell of the Ghiradelli shop because it wasn't IN YOUR FACE sweet it was just nice and slightly chocolaty, Hershey's was REALLY sweet but smelled like baking day at Grandma's.
     Then after shopping we went to the hotel and got our things and got to the train station. The train was delayed at Kalamazoo because someone got hit by the train ahead of us. I made good use of the Harry Potter book I brought.
     Now (thank goodness!) I'm back home and got to sleep! I also go to reflect on the trip a bit. I like lists so I will make this a list.

• I would like to start by saying, "Thank you cute boys. For just existing." Of course I say this because I'm a teenage girl and there were plenty of attractive people to look at!
• Chicago public transportation stinks compared to Washington D.C. It almost seemed like they kept making up subway stops and stuff.
• THANK GOODNESS for good tour guides and wait staff!
• My bed at home is wonderful and I am very grateful for it!
• Soft pretzels are amazing and one should never take them for granted. EVER!
• Russian, German, French, Asian languages (I'm not sure which ones I heard), Spanish, Accented English, Sign languages, and any other language I heard this trip are BEAUTIFUL. Enjoy language, I think it adds something beautiful to the world.
• The Carbide and Carbon building is probably the best joke ever! It's basically a giant Champaign bottle build during prohibition! Isn't that just the best thing you've heard like ever? Plus now it's the Hard Rock hotel so, yeah.
• I don't like how many alarms there are going constantly in the city.
• Boats are cool no matter where you are!