Homecoming Week!

Thank you, everyone, for all the nice comments on my last post. This week was my first week at Oak Grove Lutheran High School. It was a pretty hectic week to start in. In America, schools have a week when students come back to school called homecoming week. It's all about celebrations, games and dress-up days. On Monday, it was pyjama day, and I was introduced to my schedule and classes. We have 8 classes total, 4 each day, and we rotate between them. On a "maroon" day, I have Geometry, Band, Christian Studies, and Cultures and Cuisine. On a "White day", I have English, Band, U.S. History, and Study Hall. I have been enjoying my classes so far, and my favourite is probably band or U.S. History. The school also provides lunch each day, which is actually pretty good. 

Chicken sandwich, Caesar salad, Chips, Apple slices, and Chocolate milk for lunch.

My school

On Tuesday, it was country vs. country club day; like me, you probably have no idea what this means. You can either choose to dress up like a country person or a country club person. Some examples are a cowboy for country and a golfer for country club. After school, we went to a Volleyball game being played at the school; it was quite the experience, with everyone on their feet at all times and only sitting down for timeouts or in between quarters. When the team scored, the whole place erupted with cheers and chants. 

Volleyball game

The school mascot: Timber

After school, there was a welcome home party at the airport for all the Vietnam veterans who travelled to Washington, DC, to see the memorial. They run charter flights each year for anyone who wants to go. My host family's grandad served in the war and was on the flight from Washington, DC.

Welcome home party

On Wednesday, it was "copycat" day; this is a day when you dress up the same as someone else. There were lots of people who wore basketball jerseys and onesies. After school, there was a game called Powder Puff. This is when the girls from each grade play against each other in flag football; don't ask me why it's called Powder Puff I have no idea. After school, we went to this store called Scheele's, which is just like a bigger version of Rebel Sport. There is heaps of outdoor stuff and sports-related things. There was even a huge gun section with heaps of hunting rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic assault rifles 😬. They even had kits to build your own rifle or pistol, which was even crazier.

Scheels

Ferris wheel inside the store

Build your own gun!

On Thursday, it was dress as your favourite decade day. People dressed from the 50s all the way up to the 2020s, which was just their normal clothes 😂. After school, we had Buff Puff, which is when the boys from each grade play volleyball. Then the band played at a 5k run that the school had set up for a fundraiser. I played seven nation army on the drums and the cowbell for Me! by taylor swift and The Final Countdown. Friday is when the American activities went into full effect. It was grover spirit day and everyone wore their Oak Grove Homecoming shirts. We had a pep rally in the gym in the afternoon where everyone played games like musical chairs. After school all the other exchnage students and me were taken to Randy's diner which is a original american diner. I had eggs, hashbrowns, and biscuits and gravy for dinner. We then went to Shanley High School to watch football game because Oak Grove is combined with the shanley football team. It felt like the end of grease where they had all the amusement rides and bouncy castles up. I got my face paited with the New Zealand flag then settled into watch the game. 

Randy's Diner

Shanley High School

My face painting

The football game

The football team

After the football game we went to the elementary school campus to watch an outdoor movie and sit by the campfire. After, we went to Arby which is another fastfood chain and I got steak nuggets which were the worst thing I have ever smelt ever. I never ate them because I couldn't get past the stench that they had 😂.

The outdoor movie

Arby's steak nuggets 🤮

On Saturday it was the homecoming dance, I was invited out to have pizza for dinner before hand by my new friends and we had a great time. After the dance we got ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, at Cold stone they let you pick you ice cream flavour then you can choose as many toppings as you want to add into the ice cream. I chose M&Ms, chocolate chips, and a kit-kat. 

Dinner with friends

Homecoming dance

Photo with the boys

Bill, another exchange student from Vietnam

My ice cream from Cold Stone

Thats all I've got for now, next week should be a pretty normal week it seems like. I will be doing posts every Sunday (Monday Morning in NZ) from now on so be sure to check in then. Thanks.

18th September - 20th September. Travelling!

My day started at 3am on the 18th of september, we arrived at Wellington airport and were greeted by a very long line for check-in. This was not ideal, but I figured it was ok to stand for a bit before having to be seated for the rest of the day. I then waved goodbye to my parents and passed through security. I boarded my flight to Sydney, and we were soon in the air. 

My plane to Sydney

After landing in Sydney, I transferred through security, and my bag was flagged; I had forgotten to take out the water that I had brought in Wellington 🙄. I went to the mcdonalds in sydney airport for a feed. This McDonald's was one of the coolest I had seen; the workers were on the top floor, and they put the food on these conveyor belts, which brought the food down to me. 

Sydney Airport

McDonald's, Sydney Airport.

I did some duty-free shopping in the airport where I bought a speaker. Then I booked a quiet room where I had a rest and charged my devices before the 15 and a half hour flight to Dallas, Texas. 

The quiet room at Sydney Airport.

The plane taking me to Dallas.

On the flight to Dallas, I was sat next to this lovely couple from Paraparaumu, and funnily enough, they were also on my flight from Wellington at 6:05am. 

Zoe and Adam from Paraparaumu.

During the 15 hour flight, I gave some chocolates to the flight attendants, who were very happy to receive them and at the end of the flight they gave me some PJs from business class to keep. The flight was half an hour late to Dallas, which meant that I had just missed my connecting flight to Fargo by 5 minutes, which was very annoying because the next flight wasn't until 9:15 pm, which was 8 hours away. 

The departure board at Dallas airport.

I got some Chick-fil-A, then walked around the airport to pass the time. I got a room for a nap, which costed my $65usd for an hour! I was so tired I didn't even care 😂. After that, I found a gaming room, which was nice to spend some time in. I got some Whataburger for dinner, which is only available in the south of the U.S. Then it was finally time to catch my 2hr and 45min flight to Fargo. 

My first view of my home for the next 3 months.

I then got picked up by my host family and taken to their house, where I then slept for 12 hours 😬. That afternoon we had a barbecue, s'mores, and a nice fire before watching the North Dakota Bisons (the college football team) vs. Sacramento State. North Dakota won, which everyone was very happy about.

Oak Grove fire pit

My s'more

BBQ Dinner

NDSU vs. Sacramento State

This morning I was up bright and early at 7:45 to have breakfast and get ready for church. I was really surprised at the service, which was not your typical idea of a service. There was lots of music and singing, and it was actually really nice. 

Prairie Heights Church

The church band performing

I start my first day of school tomorrow at Oak Grove Lutheran School. This week is actually homecoming week, which is an annual celebration where schools celebrate their spirit. On Monday, it is pyjama day, which will be a nice introduction to the school 😁. That's all I've got to say for now; I'll be back soon with another post about school.