Die grosse Reise

Holy smokes, time seems to be flying by faster and faster as the year goes on. Since my last blog post I’ve visited over a dozen German cities and made lots of progress with my internship at the Red Cross. I’ll do my best to fill you in…

At the end of February I completed my EMT training with a ‘1’ (an A in American terms) The test consisted of a written section, a few oral/practical questions, and a hypothetical 112 (911 in America) call, where a partner and I responded to a patient with a heart attack. I really enjoyed this course at the GSG Rettungsdienstschule Hanau and, in case anyone there is reading this, I’d like to thank them for their hospitality and everything I learned from the course. After the test I started interning at the local hospital’s emergency room. I really enjoyed learning how an ER works and how nurses and doctors work together to treat patients, but my experience there wasn’t the absolute greatest. The person assigned to give me an orientation was always either too busy or not there at all so it took a lot of time to figure out my role there; in the first week lots of my time was spent shadowing doctors or doing little jobs as opposed to contributing to the hospital’s effort to care for patients, like I managed to do during the second week of the internship. After the ER internship I moved back to the Red Cross and since then it’s been nothing but fantastic. I really enjoy the role of an EMT assistant more than that of an ER assistant. Whether it’s a busy or a calm day, the time seems to fly by and my shift partners are great and teach me tons every day. I often work day-night-free-free shift, meaning I work from 7am to 7pm one day, 7pm to 7am the next, then I have two days off and the cycle repeats. The staff at the Red Cross is really fun to be around and I’m really glad that I’ll be spending the rest of my time in Germany interning for them.

As a Christmas gift from my host family we all got tickets to see the Lion King musical in Hamburg. The morning of Saturday, March 20^th we took the bullet train to Hamburg and spent the day getting to know the city. That night I went to Birdland jazz club and saw the Vana Gierig trio from New York. The next morning we visted the fish market then took the ferry to the theater and saw the show, which it was out of this world. Growing up with the Disney movie, I knew the story and all the songs and I was blown away with the quality of the acting, staging, and music (even though it was in German—remarkably well translated) The weekend was a great one; I got to spend quality time with my host family while seeing a cool city and experiencing a Broadway-quality musical.

My pal Chris, a fellow participant in the CBYX exhange, was translating for an American saxophone mouthpiece company at the Frankfurt International Music Fair so I visited him and checked out the hundreds of companies and thousands of instruments and products. I actually left my trumpet mouthpiece on a trumpet but I remembered where I left it and Chris was able to get it the next day. Thanks Chris!

Easter weekend was really nice with my host family. On Saturday Grandma Liane visited from Oberfranken and my sisters and I took her to Frankfurt to see the city and do some shopping. Easter Sunday was church, relaxing and eating. On Easter Monday we visited Grandma Anna in Frankfurt for brunch.

A few days later I rode my bike to Offenbach (20 km away) to see the Body Worlds exhibit. It was really amazing and informative; there were full body as well as organ plastinates with lots of information about the human body and how one should take care of it. The coolest thing, however, was an enormous wall with about 100 thin transversal slices of the human body from head to toe. After my EMT course I was able to identify many organs and see their relative position to one another in the cross-sections. Very cool, in my opinion.

And now, the highlight of the year and what many of you are eager to hear about—my family’s visit from the US!

On Sunday the 10^{th my parents and brothers arrived at Frankfurt airport. When I was there at the gate to meet them, Jack waved from a long way down the hall but I didn’t even recognize him; he’s grown almost a foot since I left! It was a really special moment, having my whole family there again to hug and catch up with. We didn’t want to waste any time so that very day we checked off Frankfurt from our list of places to see. We saw the Römer city square, the Kleinmarkthalle, and a view of the skyine from atop the Zeilgallerie. Then we went over to the Sachsenhausen side of the Main River and got lunch at a traditional applewine cellar called Gemahltes Haus. We had applewine, „Ebbelwoi“ as it’s known in the Frankfurter dialect, with traditional Hessisch foods; Sauerkraut, Grune Sosse, Frankfurter sausages, and tongue :P}

The next day my hostfamily and real family visited a local castle and then they all came to see my performance in a community production of „Fiddler on the Roof“ in which I play the trumpet.

Then on Monday we hit the road and made our way to Dresden, the „Venice on the Elbe“. Dresden is an absolutely gorgeous city and, although many of its historical buildings were destroyed in World War II, the black sandstone architecture is something that takes your breath away. On Monday we explored the Old Town and experienced a prayer service with organ at the Church of Our Lady. The next morning Sam and I climbed to the top of the Church and then we all rented bikes and took the bike path along the Elbe river to the Pilnitz Palace. The weather was great and we had an awesome time.

The next stop was Berlin, where we spent just two days; needless to say we had to fit a lot into a short time but we covered the must-sees. We saw the Memorial Church, the Bundestag Building, Brandenburg Gate, Jewish Holocaust Memorial, German History Museum, DDR Museum, the Alexanderplatz TV tower, and the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp. We then drove all the way up to Odense, Denmark for my Dad to visit a business partner.

My mom and brothers and I slept in during my dad’s meeting and visited the home and museum of Hans Christian Andersen, author of many fairytales and poems including the Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and the Little Mermaid. After jumping through hoops to get some ice cream (Denmark’s currency is Krones instead of Euros) we drove to Hamburg for a fish dinner and a quick walk along the harbor.

Then we drove to Cologne to spend the night and see the cathedral in the morning.The rest of that day was spent on the Mosel River in a tiny town called Beilstein. The Mosel is a beautiful, winding river that is known for its vineyards and castles. We explored the Roman ruins, visited the Burg Eltz castle, went to Church, and enjoyed a stroll through the tiny town before driving back to Frankfurt. We met my hostfamily at the soccer stadium in Frankfurt to see the Frankurt vs. Berlin game together. I picked out this game because Berlin is the absolute worst team in the league and I thought it was a sure W (or S in German terms) for Frankfurt. I was mistaken; Frankfurt played sloppy and tied Berlin 2:2 but we still enjoyed experiencing the European soccer game atmosphere.

The day after the game we drove to the Rhein for a day trip on the river. We started in Bacharach and explored the city until the ferry came to take us to St. Goar. The ride lasted about an hour we got to see the Loreley as well as all sorts of castles beautiful landscapes along the way. We got a drink at a café in St. Goar and ferried back to Bacharach where my brothers and I had an awesome time climbing the cliffs and walls at the Stahleck castle.

On Tuesday we drove down to southern Bavaria, stopping at Rothenburg on the way for a picnic. Our destination was the youth hostel at the foot of the alps in Schliersee, where we stayed with Herr Pfefferle during our class trip in 2007; thanks for the idea, Herr! After arriving in Schliersee, we spent a morning doing a long hike in the alps along a river with beautiful waterfalls. That afternoon we took a train to Munich to see Marienplatz, Petersplatz, and the Frauenkirche, followed by dinner at the Hofbräuhaus. After dinner we got back to the central station (in under 15 minutes, thank you very much) and watched FC Bayern Munich beat Lyon in the Champions league semis. The next day was filled with visiting the Wieskirche, a summer bob track, the Neuschwanstein castle, and a monastery brewery town called Ettal.

The next day we checked out of our youth hostel and spent another morning hiking and climbing in the alps. My little brother Jack and I actually climbed into a waterfall. I’m shivering thinking back on it; the cold and pressure of the water literally took our breath away. After we changed out of our wet clothes we drove back to the Frankfurt area, stopping at Nuremburg for a picnic.

The next day was my family’s last day in Germany and we spent the day packing and relaxing before the Harmonic Brass concert in my town. Harmonic Brass is an internationally renowned professional brass quintet from Munich with not only an amazing repertoire but also a remarkable live performance style, with insightful moderation and hilarious jokes between songs in multiple languages. The members of Harmonic Brass are friends with the director of the orchestra I have been playing with since I got here, so after the intermission our band played two song with Harmonic Brass with a little solo from yours truly. The concert was phantasmagorical (that’s what the German-English dictionary gave me for the word I was looking for :P ) They played basically all my favorite songs (Tocatta & Fugue, Carnival of Venice, etc) and the fact that I got to play with them really made it special. After the concert Harmonic Brass, our community band, and my family and I met at our band’s house and ate and partied. The members of Harmonic Brass are real cool guys; they’ve been all over the world and they have awesome stories about their experiences. Partying with a world-class band after a once-in-a-lifetime concert; what a great way to send off the family after a trip we’ll never forget, am I right? The next morning I took my family to the airport and we bid one another a sad farewell. Luckily it’s only a few weeks until we’ll see each other again.

This past weekend I visited my good buddy Jake in the Freiburg area to celebrate the first of May. May 1^st is practically Labor Day but celebrated very big because of Germany’s history and value in the worker. After a grillout on Friday night we woke up early to start our bike tour to Ottenheim where everyone in the area meets to party on the lakeshore. We rode our bikes with a trailer full of food, drink, and music blasting, stopping where we please for a dance & drink. The ride there was, in itself, awesome but the party at the lake was really something. Thousands of people were there to simply celebrate the day.

Jake, some of his buddies, and I ended up swimming in the lake even though it was still really cold and cloudy. We had an awesome time until it started raining, at which point we went to a buddy’s house for a while before heading home for dinner. After dinner we went to a club in Lahr from midnight to 6am, then Jake and I walked home. We got home shortly before 8 so we figured we’d stay up and go to bed early. Ummmm not so much. After this period of almost 20 hours of partying we were falling asleep spontaneously, so we ended up taking a nap before riding our bikes around his village. We played mini-golf (I won in a tiebreaker) and explored the church. We got a backstage pass to this really neat church in this town; underneath it are ruins of the church and monastery that Napoleon’s army destroyed and we climbed to the tippy top of its steeple, a journey that led us up rickety wooden ladders in dark lofts. After that we wanted to see Freiburg but it rained again so we headed home and watched some movies. Awesome weekend. Period. I left this morning and have more or less been writing this update ever since!

By the way, I've finally decided on a college... I'll be going to Marquette University this fall, participating in the Burke and Honors programs. I'm definitely looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading, everyone. Sorry again about the huge spans of time between posts, hopefully you enjoy reading them as much as I like writing them. If you would like to receive updates (or stop receiving updates) about new posts please let me know at ryannot9691@aol.com Lots of photos from my adventures are on my facebook profile, so feel free to find me and add me if you haven’t already. I’m off to Berlin for a seminar with my host parents to visit my German Parliamentarian representative so I’m going to go pack and get some shut-eye. Take care everyone!

Weihnachten & Berlin

GREAT NEWS: I’m not changing host families! Shortly before Christmas the family and I had a chat and we decided that things are going so well that I can stay until June J

Christmastime was magical. I had always heard about the Christmas celebration in Germany and how it is all about family, but to experience it was another matter. The whole Christmas season is filled with ‘Weihnachtsplaetzchen’ (yummy baked goods) and AMAZING food—I definitely gained a pound or two J Before Christmas we decorated the ‘Tannenbaum’ (Christmas tree) and built the ‘Krippe’ (manger scene). The Grandmas came over to celebrate Heilegenabend (Christmas Eve) and the ‘drei Feiertage’ (three days of Christmas). On Heiligenabend we went to church, ate dinner, exchanged gifts, and played for a midnight service with the orchestra.

We also did a video chat with my family in the US; I had a fun time introducing everyone and translating. The drei Feiertage were just as good; we took walks, played games, and spent some calm and peaceful time together. We all had a nice, relaxing holiday that I will never forget.

On Silvester (New Year’s Eve) I partied with the neighborhood. We brought in the New Year with awesome music and food AND I met a participant from last year’s CBYX program who came back for Silvester to visit his host family here in Ostheim. After Silvester my host family and I went to visit Grandma in Oberfranken. We spent a few days having fun on the farm, making snow forts, and going on walks. Verena and I rushed home on the 5^th to celebrate her birthday at a club in Frankfurt, which was a blast

On January 17^th was the New Year’s concert by our orchestra. I played with the youth and adults bands and we had lots of fun playing our songs.

Toward the end January I spent some time at an orthopedist’s office where I shadowed the doctors during their rounds in the clinic. I learned a lot about the skeletal structure, chronic spine injuries, hip & knee replacement, pain management, and therapy techniques.

Our CBYX program Mid-year Seminar took place in Berlin from the 24^th to the 29^th of January. When we arrived we were all so happy to see each other again; some of us haven’t seen each other since we dispersed in Bonn. We spent the mornings attending presentations from Ronnie Golz, an English-born Berliner with a remarkable knack for history, politics, economics, sociology, and jokes about America. He was a fantastic guide when we hit the streets to explore Berlin; he left the typical sites for us to see on our own time and showed us widely unknown corners of Berlin with great historical significance.

For example, we visited the Stasi prison in Hohenschoenhausen that was used during the time of the GDR to detain political prisoners; that is, completely normal East Berliners who openly disagreed with the communist policies. We were given a tour by Mike, a 4-time prisoner at this very prison. He showed us his cell and described how he survived a total 6.5 years in one of the most mentally and psychologically brutal prisons known to Europe. He told us how he used optimism and humor to overcome the oppressions of prison as well as the GDR itself. Berlin is full of fantastic museums; I visited the GDR museum, the Berlin Cathedral museum, the Checkpoint Charlie museum, and the Holocaust museum. We saw lots of landmarks; Brandenburg Gate, Jewish Holocaust memorial, the 1936 Olympic stadium, the Memorial Church, and the Reichstag (Parliament building). Among our busy schedule of presentations and sightseeing we had lots of fun too; we went clubbing in Matrix and I saw Avatar in the SonyCenter i-max theater at Potsdamerplatz with a few buddies (awesome movie, by the way. Especially if you sit in the third row J) These experiences and so much more made my time in Berlin the trip of a lifetime.

Starting right after I got home from Berlin I started an EMT course with the Red Cross. A four-week course, our class of ten spends eight hours a day learning the basics of anatomy, emergency response, pathology, and patient care. After two weeks we took an exam, and I got a 1! (an A, in American terms) I was the only one in the class to get a 1 J The class in itself is going very well; the last couple days we’ve been doing mainly case studies where one of us plays the role of the patient while two others play the role of the EMTs. The teacher tells the patient what symptoms to exhibit and the EMTs provide emergency care. Sometimes the patient falls unconscious, allowing the EMTs to continue care on the CPR mannequin. I really enjoy the theoretical and practical aspects of this career field; I think I will continue with emergency response during college to gain practical experience for further medical studies. I owe a HUGE thank you to the Red Cross here in Hanau, who has taken such good care of me by completely covering the cost of this thousand-Euro course and organizing the internships that I will do at the local hospital the week after next.

To wrap things up I’d like to tell you about Karneval here in Germany. Karneval might conjure images of MardiGras-like celebrations in Rio de Janeiro but don’t be fooled, Germany celebrates Karneval as well. Starting the week before Ash Wednesday, certain parts of Germany (mostly northern Germany; Cologne, Mainz, Frankfurt) celebrate Karneval, sometimes called “the fifth season”, with wild parties, parades, and costumes. I was hoping to visit friends in Cologne where the biggest, baddest Karneval partying takes place but my EMT course didn’t give us off on Monday and Tuesday, when the parades and parties take place in Cologne.

Nevertheless I was able to make the best of things and I went to a Hessisch Rock concert with friends followed by a Karneval masquerade here in Ostheim. The next day I went to a Karneval parade in Hanau with my host family. I had a wicked good weekend and fulfilled my desire to get a piece of the Karneval action J

Thanks for reading! Sorry it’s been so long, as you can tell I’ve been pretty busy! Feel free to send me an email anytime at ryannot9691@aol.com or via Facebook—I’d love you hear from you

Spaß mit dem Band

Once again, sorry for the mega-long wait between blog posts!

My week in Austria with the band was fantastic! We left early Saturday morning and I slept most of the way during the 5-hour drive south. Upon arriving in Obertsdorf (a German city on the Austrian border) we did some exploring and grocery shopping before heading up into the mountains. Then it was up in the mountains to a little mountain cabin and the surrounding Alps - one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. When we arrived, it was crisp, autumn weather with wonderful fall colors.

But it wasn’t long before the snow crept down from the mountaintop. Within a few days our cabin and the entire surrounding area was covered in over a foot of snow. ‘What did you do for a week in Austria?’ you may ask… well a lot of time was spent simply making music. We would see who was bored, find some music, and go at it. Sometimes we would play outside, with our dulcet tunes echoing over the snow-covered valley – I have no qualms over describing it as ‘magical’ :) We also did a few field trips to the SeaLife exhibit in Konstanz, the Olympic ski jump in Obertsdorf, and a church service on the Walmendinger Horn mountain. During the service, it was foggy and hard to see any of the surrounding mountains. The coolest thing by far, however, was climbing up to the tippy-top of the mountain after the service when the clouds had cleared up and we could see for miles (kilometers, rather) in every direction; nothing but beautifully snow-covered mountains. Here's a nice picture of the whole band after the service.

This panoramic picture is from the top of the mountain

I am proud to announce that I bought a pair of lederhosen in Obertsdorf. I recently found myself a proper hat and socks & shoes; as soon as I find a traditional shirt my outfit will be complete!

Tiffany Woelfel and Quinn Bongers (friends from high school who are studying abroad) were nice enough to visit and explore Frankfurt with me for a day. We saw all sorts of things; the Goethe museum, the Römer town square, Sachsenhausen, a great view from the top of the ZeilGalleria, and Mass at the Liebfrauenkirche. We had a lot of fun and, believe it or not, Tiffany an Quinn got along great! :-p

Austin (a friend from Florida, also in my exchange program) visited recently as well. Austin, James and I had a great time exploring Frankfurt together too.

Lea (my younger host sister) had her State gymnastics tournament recently. She performed really well on ALL the apparatuses (since some of her teammates were sick) and her team won third place! Congrats Lea!

Christoph, a friend from the band, held an “Oktoberfest in November” party. It gave me good excuse to wear my lederhosen and we had lots of fun playing Nagel. The concept of Nagel is simple – plow your nail into the stump. But there’s a catch; the hammer is hollow, so you have to hit the nail with the narrow rim of the hammerhead. If I can get my hands on a stump you will definitely be able to play Nagel in my dorm room next year :)

For about a month now I’ve been interning at the local Red Cross. I started with a basic first-aid course and then took a weeklong introductory EMT course. Following the course I was able to ride along with the EMTs in ambulances, experiencing emergency situations as well as what they do during downtime at the station.

I was able to spend five days with the EMTs and then I accompanied Markus, who manages the Red Cross’ House Emergency system. Markus spends his days explaining and setting up emergency systems for elderly and ill patients who are often home alone. These patients wear an emergency button around their neck or wrist and Markus responds to situations where an ambulance is not necessary. He also took me to the 112 (Germany’s 911) center in Gelnhausen. I learned about their brilliant, integrated system in which fire and medical emergency response units are notified of 112 calls. This center is also receives the House Emergency calls as well as automatic notifications from smoke detectors in public buildings. My time with the Red Cross is coming to an end as Christmas break approaches and I feel that I have learned a lot about Germany’s emergency response system. I look forward to participating in an internship at a local hospital or private practice after the break.

This time of year Germany is plagued with a most glorious thing that you really can’t find in America - the Christmas market. Just about every town holds a Christmas market at least one weekend during Advent and the bigger towns have them every day. A vital aspect to the Christmas market scene are jolly Christmas tunes, which is where the band and I come in. A few times a week we have the chance to play for an hour or two at a Christmas market, which is followed by enjoying the festivities. Said festivities include delicious food and drink, shopping in stands with local handmade goods, and an atmosphere of holiday merriment. I just got back from the christmas market in Frankfurt with my host family; it was massive and really packed (on a Wednesday) but definitely lots of fun. I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without the joys of the Christmas market; and I’m sure gonna miss it when I head home!

All in all, things are still going remarkably well. I have a wonderful relationship with my host family and I’m learning lots and lots of German. Thanks for reading! Until next time – auf Wiedersehen!

p.s. This is my little neighbor buddy Jesse - he's fun to bake cookies with :-D

Oktoberfest

Gee, it’s been a month since I updated this thing…lots to talk about!

Things are still going remarkably well for me over here, and it’s hard to grasp that I’ve been here for three months already. At the moment I’m at home sick, but the upside of that is that I finally have time to catch up on my blog! School is going well; I’m getting decent grades and improving my German every day. My host family is unbelievable; I feel very much at home and we really enjoy each other’s company. I’m starting to look around for an internship with a hospital or the Red Cross, which I should start in December.

A few days after my birthday I went on a bike ride on a trail that goes from my house all the way to downtown Frankfurt. I got over halfway to the city when I realized that I would not be able to make it back if I went all the way. I nevertheless enjoyed a nice bike ride with beautiful scenery and weather.

On the way back I snapped a photo of my town, Ostheim.

A few weeks after that was a fest in the area called “Streuobstwiesnfest”, roughly translated to “Orchard Fest”. I played polka tunes with the community band and we enjoyed fresh-pressed apple juice. Let me tell you, there is nothing like 100% juice from Hessisch apples…

Two buddies from school and I enjoy going to Club Cocoon, a massive club in Frankfurt owned by house DJ legend Sven Väth. We always a great time enjoying the music, meeting people, and going nuts on the dancefloor.

The Internationale Automobil Ausstellung (IAA) is Europe’s biggest autoshow and it is held in Frankfurt every other year. I went to the IAA with James and his host brothers and we saw all sorts of new cars and took tons of pictures. Some of my favorite cars included:

Lamborghini Reventón Roadster

Audi e-tron

Ferrari 458 Italia

Mercedes Gull-wing SLS

Two weekends ago I decided to take part in what is possibly the single most well-known aspect of German culture; Oktoberfest. My friend Amber from high school is working as an au pair near Munich and she invited me down to crash at her place and enjoy the festivities with her. I took the train down Friday night and Amber was there to meet me at the train station. We went out to dinner to catch up and we ended up meeting some Americans who were there for Oktoberfest. We chatted with them till 2am or so then headed home for some sleep before the big day at the fest. The next day we babysitted the little’ns till 1 then it was go-time. I got my lederhosen on and we were off to Munich.

We started at Marienplatz where we met Jonathan, a friend of mine from my Kansas days, for lunch. Jon was in England visiting his dad and he just happened to be in Munich the same day as me. We got to catch up over a yummy lunch and had a good time talking about where we've been and where we're going. After that we called up Quinn, a friend from high school, who ALSO happened to be visiting Munich at the same time. He is studying abroad with Northwestern University in Tubigen at the moment. Our time together was short-lived, but it sure was nice to see him.

Then we decided to make our way to the fest itself. The sight of the Oktoberfest grounds itself is breathtaking; never before have I seen so many people. The main drag is lined with carnival rides, beer tents & gardens, food stands, souvenir shops, and roller coasters. After looking around for a while, we got in line for the Braurosl tent where our American buddies from the night before had landed themselves a spot. In line we met people from all over the world, talking to people from Germany, Peru, England, Australia, and many more. One conversation (in German, by the way) went something like this, with a guy asking "So where are you from?" "America, you?" "Iraq..." "Well then... it's nice to meet you!!!" at which point we shook hands, did a quick photo-op, and continued to talk about what brought us to Germany and Oktoberfest.

After about an hour and a half we got into the tent and man oh man was that something. Literally thousands of people are standing on the tables, singing and dancing like there’s no tomorrow. A band, strategically placed in the center of the tent, plays everything from traditional German drinking songs to modern American pop hits. Amber and I managed to find a table near the band where we joined in on the fun. We had a great time, learned lots of songs, met lots of fun people, and danced the night away. After the tent closed we talked with a guy named Dario for the longest time about the election, Obama, and America and then with a pair of girls who took a particular liking to Amber :p Slowly but surely, we made our way home and I slept in late the next day.

Then Amber and I said our goodbyes and I met up with the American dudes we met Friday night. We checked out the Frauenkirche together; a very cool, historical church in the heart of Munich with amazing architecture. I slept during most of my 6-hour train ride back home, but I did so knowing that I had just experienced one of the most exciting, interesting, unique aspects of German culture there is.

This past weekend was a good one too. Saturday was the Day of German Unity, sort of like our 4^th of July but not as big. We celebrated with a block party where I got to meet all our neighbors and engage in some really interesting conversation. On Sunday I went to church and followed that up by playing at a jazz club called the Schlosskeller (the Castle Cellar; it actually is in the basement of a castle). We (me on trumpet with a tenor sax, upright bass, and e-guitar) played for a few hours before a small audience and had a great time just jamming and enjoying ourselves. This upcoming week (oct. 10-17) I’m going to Austria with the community band for a sort of retreat where we’ll get to do a lot of relaxing, rehearsing, hiking, and performing in the Alps. I look forward to telling you all about it, it should be a great time! Until then, auf Wiedersehen and goodbye!

Von Bonn nach Frankfurt

After seven full and exciting weeks in Bonn, the time for our tight-knit American group to disperse had finally come. We had our big closing party and we all prepared skits and songs and the like. A group of guys performed an original rap in German and Joe and I played some songs, he on the bagpipe and I on the trumpet (right). Then afterwards we all spent some quality time together in the park until all hours of the night. It was sad to say goodbye to all my wonderful friends, but the time to begin the next chapter of our experience in Germany had come.

The next day was moving day. My family (right) helped me gather all my things and James and I hopped on the ICE train headed for Frankfurt. Our program representatives, Meli and Moni, were there to greet us when we arrived in Hanau. We enjoyed a barbecue at Meli’s with her friends and stayed the night since our host families were on vacation. The day after I moved in with my host family. I was kind of nervous since I knew it was going to be a very long stay with this family but, in hindsight, I had nothing to worry about. My family is wonderful and I get along with everyone really well. My sisters are 15 and 13 and they’re a lot of fun to be around and my parents are equally awesome. Last week we went to see Meli’s band, went to church, built our patio, went to a renewable energy convention, watched Lea’s gymnastics tournament, went to Grandma’s for breakfast, and explored Frankfurt together. I’m so happy to have ended up here.

Two weeks ago was the first day of school for me along with the entire state of Hessen. It was a little crazy at first because I had to figure out what grade I would be in and what courses to take and so on, but now everythings going smoothly. My schedule includes: History, Math, Chemistry, Musik, Biology, English, Politics/Economics, Ethics, German, PE, and Physics. My only class in English is, of course, English. There’s school from 8 am to 1 or 3 pm every weekday with breaks between each 1.5 hour-long class. After school I come home for lunch and whatever else is going on: usually practicing trumpet, chatting with the family, doing homework, etc.

Guess what? Yesterday was my birthday! It was a great day; we started with breakfast and gifts, then church. I had dinner and cake (right) with family and friends then my friends and I (above, left) all went to a big fest in town. At the fest we checked out some awesome bands (I did a little crowd surfing) and we watched fireworks. When I came home, I skyped with my family and they sang Happy Birthday and I blew out candles on a cake via the internet. What a great day!

My lovely famiy during our day in Frankfurt (l-r)

Grandma Anna, Aunt Angelika, Lea, Verena, Christine, and Lukas

Our humble, eco-friendly abode: gutters collect rainwater for flushing toilets and the solarpanels heat water for showers, laundry, and dishes.