The flight was delayed by 12 hours so it went on from the day before yesterday until yesterday morning. I first met Svenja and Anja, my host sisters, and reunited with Florian again.
I got settled in while they went to school. I lounged around, relaxing, being tired as I waited for Svenja to return from school - early because they have -hot days-, it was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit then. Then I received a tour of the town, on foot, from which both of my feet were blistered. Came home and rested because I was so low on energy from the sun and jet lag, I had not slept much on the plane either.
We then watched a movie in German with English subtitles. We had a late lunch/dinner, simple but yummy. Nothing exotic but they were different from what I usually eat. It was a sort of salad... Then we did something I really did not expect. We went to a big organic strawberry field and picked a huge amount for only 7.50 euros and we made a cake with them this morning - it was absolutely scrumptious.
We continued to go to one of the "Five Lakes" and swam. The water was very clean and unpolluted. I could just sense the culture there from not only the numerous speedos I saw (although there were some who wore swim trunks) but also from the openness that everyone seemed to have, some changing clothes with only the small protection of a towel, some children with no clothes, and it just seemed very European. It was different to be there, but it was relaxing... Peaceful.
Then we went to a general store and it surprised me that ALL the labels were in German, as if the shopping and book stores and everything else with German labels from earlier in the day did not bother me. I had a German pretzel, the big, fluffy kind and it was yummy. Not the same as the ones in America. I feel that the way I speak English is already changing and my grammar is not the same. Anyways, then we went home and I had the chance to go to a festival (probably would be called a fair in America) but I was so tired all day from not sleeping at my normal hours so I declined the invitation to the wonderous Tollwood. 30 hours, maybe a couple more, without sleep and that is the first time I have ever done something like that. Very strange, and my brain was not all there. It was such an exciting and fun day, but I was so tired I could not even write about it in the night.
My host family have to explain many things for me in English and I am thankful for that as it is a gift. Gift however, means poison in German but sometimes it does not. Funny how that works. I feel that I did not learn very much, but actually I probably learned more than what I am thinking, and they said that I have made a whole lot of progress already.
Greetings from Germany,
and I am slowly getting used to this new environment.
