ich bin hier!

Yes, it’s true. I’ve finally made it to Germany all in one piece, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait.

Navigating the airport with seventy-seven people was quite the adventure, but, thanks to our stylish yellow tees, we made it through security without losing anyone. The plane wasn’t huge, so naturally most of us were sitting with another AFSer or two – I was the notable exception, ending up smack dab in the middle of a row between two random men. They were both nice, though, and I made it through the eight hours with a bit of reading, a bit of random conversation, a lot of journal-writing, and not enough sleep.

AFSers take over United Airlines flight 952 clad in stunning, eye-catching yellow tees.

After going through customs (a far less arduous process in Deutschland than in the US), most of our group was herded off to various trains that would take them to their host communities, leaving only those headed to southern Germany (not far from Frankfurt) and those being picked up directly from the airport. Kate (my friend from New York) and I went up to the AFS meeting place together, and I was suddenly incredibly nervous. She basically had to give me a pep talk the entire time, and finally I spotted Tobi and pretty much flipped out. He, Gaby, and Mona were all there, and we hugged and I hugged Kate goodbye and pretty much before I knew it, we were headed north in their car. My poor, tired, bad-airplane-coffee-addled brain really could not comprehend what was happening. I was beyond excited, but at the same time, I couldn’t believe it was real.

We drove for about two hours, during which time I contributed a lot of silence, some English, and even a bit of German to the conversation, and suddenly, we were arriving at home, which is inexplicably even more beautiful than it looks in the photos. There I immediately met Balu and Luna, the dogs, who were very, um, vocal in their welcome, and Tim, who was maybe a bit less enthusiastic (in other words, he didn’t jump on me, which was much appreciated).

My room, which was described to me as something like Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs, is anything but. It’s huge and gorgeous and just generally amazing.

Sadly, I have no extra batteries for my camera, so photographic documentation ends there, but you’ll see more of this beautiful place soon, I promise.

I have mainly stayed at home since I arrived. I ate lunch with the family – spätzle mit käse! Two of my favorite foods in one meal, plus a good salad and apfelschorle, my favorite drink. I took a long walk with Gaby and the dogs through some fields and the small forest nearby, all of which was lovely. I unpacked, Tim helped me choose my classes for school, and then we talked for a while about traveling, music, and stereotypes of Germany and America (flashbacks to orientation at that point), and then I pretty much talked his ear off about my views on American politics. Sorry, Tim! But Mona also sat with us for a little while, and it was quite nice to spend some time with my new siblings. Sadly for me, Tim is home now and Mona is on a class trip in Weimar, but the extra time means that I can get more college essays written…oh joy!

Even though my jetlag seems to have hit me all at once last night (of my allotted 8.5 hours of sleep, I was awake for literally six), today was a lot of fun. I had my first German lesson, and I was a bit nervous, but it ended up being relaxed and awesome, if a bit easy (!!). Gaby drove me to register to live in the town and then to a nearby village where Uta, my teacher, lives. I ate breakfast at her house with the other students: the boy she’s hosting from Colombia, Sebastian, and a Brasilian au pair, Neiva. Yes, there are three of us, and it’s perfect. I’m right in the middle, skill-wise – Neiva has lived here for something like seven months already, so her German is great, but Sebastian is a beginner. Well, so am I, so it’s a fairly level playing field there. Whether you know me personally or not, the fact that I’m an exchange student alone should be a pretty good indication that I love languages, so spending several hours a day speaking a mixture of English, German, and Spanish is basically my ideal pastime. It’s a bit harder when Neiva is there, because she speaks Portuguese (obviously), some German, and very little English, but she had to leave early to take care of the kids and being with Uta and Sebastian is so, so much fun. Sebastian will go to school with me when we start at the gymnasium in two weeks, too, and we’ll still have German lessons after school, so I look forward to having many trilingual conversations with him in the future.

After class, Uta drove me home and the dogs scared me half to death, but I made it into the house unscathed and then took a nice long walk around the village. It’s small, but there is still quite a bit to explore, and I look forward to continuing to do so (especially once my camera is working again).

So, to summarize that novel: I love it here. It’s gorgeous, the people are lovely, and my German is getting a bit better every day. I am so, so lucky.

bis später.