Way Down South

After a full day of viscious layovers and flights I arrived in Santiago, Chile! The flight to here was amazing. Flying over the Pacific Ocean and viewing the Andes Mountains was a first. I got here around 11am on Monday, but I haven´t had time to sit down and even think. I´ve constantly been doing something or going somewhere.

So Mom, I´m alive. I´m doing fine. Ignacia says ´Hello´.

After arriving in Santiago, I was greeted by Ignacia and her dad, Pablo. It was great seeing both of them again, I really missed Ignacia. Anyways, we then headed to Pablo´s house. It´s a nice house in a small village outside Santiago, right by a vineyard. We ate some breakfast then headed back out into the downtown parts of Santiago. What an amazing city, it´s huge and beautiful. We walked around and they got me this drink. It looked like it had somewhat of a brain in it, I still call it the brain drink. It was delicious though, very very sweet. I forget the name of it though. We got back in the car and started driving around and picked up Ignacia´s cousin, who speaks Spanish, English, and German! She also use to be a tour guide of Santiago, so I had a free private tour guide! What luck. We walked around and I got a VIP tour of Santiago. After our tour, we went back home where I crashed. I slept for around 14 hours. I was a bit tired.

The next morning I woke up, took a shower, then we headed out for Viña del Mar, aka the beach! But before we could go there, we had to make a stop at this tiny village to get a taste of real Chilean food and see some culture. Let´s talk about a real steak, I think the cow was still living on the other side of the building, not to mention the steak tasted great. I also had some fries with onions and eggs. They eat so much here, I´m having trouble keeping up! After chowing down, we walked around to some of the local shops, I got me a traditional Chilean Alpaca sweater. It´s pretty awesome. After visiting the village, we made our way for Viña del Mar. This city is absolutely beautiful, it looks like it´s from a painting. It´s right on the coast with houses and buildings going all the way up the side of a mountain, it was phenomenal. Right next to Viña del Mar is a city called Val Parasio, which we headed to right after laying down on the beach. Oh, also I went in the Pacific Ocean, another first. In Val Parasio, it´s the harbour part while Viña del Mar is the more tourist-based part, anyways, it was great. We walked around the city where everyday in the summer they have a jam band play all day and people have stuff that they sell. After walking around and seeing all the sights, we headed back home for a great night´s sleep.

This morning, we woke up early to head to La Serena. A decent drive with 7 people in a 5 passenger truck. After finally making it, I got to meet Ignacia´s mom. On our arrival we made a feast, also more commonly known as a barbeque. It was great, I like the food believe it or not. It´s very nice. After eating we headed down into La Serena to go to the beach some more. La Serena is right on the beach, there are miles upon miles of beach. After chilling on the beach, we went to the mall and walked around and got some ice cream from McDonalds, very Chilean. After that we went to a friend of Ignacia´s, then headed home.

I´ve been very busy I don´t know if I´ll be able to update again. I´m constantly doing something. I won´t be able to put pictures up until I get back in the US. I have taken pictures and Pablo has taken pictures.
Tomorrow is New Years, we going out on the beach all night to celebrate. Also on January 2nd we are heading North into the Atacama Desert. It´s a 15 hour bus right, thrilling I know. We will stay there I don´t know how long and we are also crossing the border into Peru for a day, where we will buy stuff for even cheaper than in the already cheap Chile. It´s really cheap, by the way.

BUT I appreciate those who read this, thank you for taking the time. I apologize for not being able to update more and add pictures but believe me, It´s beautiful. I´m really enjoying myself and having an amazing time.

Tomorrow, Chile Bound.

First off, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had an alright one. I was on quarantine, because I had a stomach virus. It wasn't the highlight of Christmas, but I still had a good Christmas regardless.

Tomorrow I leave for Chile! I'm ready to experience the full extent of Chilean culture. I'll be flying out of Nashville, TN tomorrow to Miami, FL then to Santiago, Chile. I'm not to sure how much I'll be keeping up with my blog, I know I will have pictures on here when I get back for sure, but during my trip I'm not too sure how much I will be posting.

I would really love to go to Easter Island while in Chile, but I don't think I have the time this trip. Oh well, there's always next time.

2 Weeks and Counting!

Today marks the countdown for when I leave for Chile. I leave in exactly 2 weeks, I'm very excited to go to South America, this is my first travel to the southern counterpart of my continent. I'm going to Santiago de Chile, I have no idea where else if anywhere else. Either way, I'm just excited for this trip. It's going to be summer and I'm sure it'll be very very nice weather, maybe hot, but I can deal with that. I'm excited to see the Andes Mountains, Pacific Ocean, Atacama Desert (hopefully), Chilean Culture, and Chilean people. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be blown away by the culture, food, and every aspect of my trip. This is such an exciting experience. I'm ready to leave!

Updaaaate

I figured since it's going to be a while until I actually have a travel update. I thought I would share that I officially have a major now. German for Commerce with minors in Management & International Studies. I'm confident this will help out my life in a way that will be beneficial. Also, I have been looking into some study abroad programs. I found one that's a year and another that is 1 semester. Both have their pros and cons (Oh, both are to go to Germany), I'm applying for both and whichever I get accepted first I suppose I will take. I am working on saving up money for Chile and this at the same time, nothing is impossible, but I am really hoping that I can further my education and do another study abroad program. My previous one in Münster was VERY beneficial for me. I just hope all goes according to plan...

Souuuth America!

So, I've been working and saving up my money for a new trip. I'm planning on going to Santiago de Chile for 2 weeks coming up in December. I'm really looking forward to this trip, a whole new continent. It will be amazing, I'm sure. I'm planning on buying my plane ticket in the upcoming week. The date of my trip is December 27, 2009 to January 10, 2010. So I will be over there during New Years, which I'm sure will be amazing. I'm quite excited about this trip, the details of this trip are still in the air, so I will update when I know more about what I'm doing.

Home

Sorry about not updating for a while, the rest of my trip did go very well. I got frustrated at the unstable or horrible computers that I had to use. So updating was a bit troublesome. My trip was amazing though, after the Alps. I went to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Venice, Rimini, Milan, Cologne, Bonn, Luxembourg, and Metz. It was a very good experience. I'm glad I got to experience all of this.

Alps

Well after Berlin and Poland, Taka and I went down to Garmisch. Where we walked 25 minutes up the base of a mountain to our hostel to find out it was closed until sunday. So we turned around and went to Innsbruck. Where we had a bit of trouble finding the hostel but eventually did. This morning Taka and I were planning on going hiking, well we get to the meeting place and no one is there and no one knows anything about it. So we made a quick decision and took a tram into the mountains. I cant express how beautiful it was. I was in awe the entire time. Snow covered mountains and I was at the top. It was amazing, as soon as I have time. Pictures and maybe a video will be up!

Poland

Well, after spending 2 days in Berlin, I needed a change in scenery. Berlin has been great though, met some awesome people, got some great stories, and saw a lot of new things. It was great, but no time to dwell in one place for to long. So today is being spent in Poland, and what a great way to spend it. Poland has been amazing, we took a train at 8 and arrived around 10. Already I could see obvious differences. Taka and I walked around and found some amazing buildings and churches. Oh, the city is called Szczecin. It was founded around the 8th century. Its amazing. Poland is a super cheap also. I bought a bottle of water 1,5 liters for 38 cents. Its been great, its a good country to visit for a day or two when backpacking. Its super green also.

Berlin

After an amazing time in Sweden, it was time to head back to Germany to go to the capital city, Berlin. After taking the most stereotypical overnight train with 6 person sleeping carts, I arrived in Berlin around 6A.M. Where Taka and I had to look for a place to stay. We grabbed a flyer for a hostel and headed towards it. 23€ for 2 nights, not bad. We arrived to early to check in so we went and walked around Berlin. What an amazing city. We got on the S-Bahn and just got off at a random stop, then just walked around with nothing but a city map. What an adventure. We ended up at the Zoo, so we bought a ticket and went in. I love Zoos, Berlin has one of the most amazing Zoos. It is huge. After killing time at the Zoo, we went and got some lunch then hopped back on the S-Bahn to our stop to check in into the Hostel. After finally arriving, it was time to take a shower and nap. Well, the shower... It was a shared shower, for 6 people... I have never ever been in a shared shower. Until today. Well I guess I had to do it sometime in my life. Well after the shower, I took a nap. A very well deserved nap. After that Taka and I walked around to look for some dinner, we found a nice cafe. Ordered some Pizza and chowed down. Berlin has been great so far.

I was planning on uploading pictures, but I can't find a computer at the internet cafe with a working USB port. I will look more later.

Sweden

One of my favorite countries is Sweden. It's incredible. After leaving Norway it was a bit refreshing to see familar Sweden. Well, my whole backpacking trip was a surprise, I surprised my friend Filippa for her graduation. It was a good surprise at that. She had no idea. But that was 2 days ago, yesterday we went to a competetion between 2 schools, it was intense. So much school spirit. The soccer game was phenominal, then they did track and field events. It was awesome. Today is graduation day though. My friend is graduating. Its a very busy day here. Yesterday was as well. But I dont have much time to update. I think the post will be shorter because Ill be busy with many things from here on out. But i will do my best to update as much as possible.

I forgot to mention the weather. Its been not so good. Cloudy and a tiny bit of rain... and no more than 50F. Its been reallllly cold!

Norway

I can't begin to explain how beautiful Norway is. It is truly one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. The land is beautiful. As soon as I can I will upload some pictures. It's been great here. Today, we went to an old Norwegian WWII bunker where they shot a german battleship in 1945, it was amazing you could see so much from there. Then we drove around some more and and went to another bunker, it was very cool and beautiful. I love the Norwegian mountains. But today is my last day. Tomorrow I'm going to Sweden for a couple of days. I'm really excited about Sweden, it's going to be very eventful.

Bremen & Traveling

So, last friday I went and visited a friend in Bremen. It was extremely nice. I had an amazing time. I also played paintball saturday for my first time ever. Then I hung out for a bit then went out and had some fun with the same people I went out with last year I was there. It was a blast :) I pulled an all nighter and got on the train to head to Hamburg at 5:55 A.M.

Well, yesterday Taka and I met up on the train and dozed on and off all day. Our first stop was Hamburg where we found some place to buy breakfast and we just waited for our next train. On our next train Hamburg to Copenhagen, I was out like a light. I fell asleep 10 minutes into it, I was very tired. But I was awoken for the boat ride, the exact same one I went on last year. It is still amazing, a train loading into boat. It never gets old. Then after arriving at Copenhagen, we switched trains to go to Göthenberg, where we stayed for an hour or so. Göthenberg was very beautiful from what little of it we saw. It was really nice, we also stopped at Burger King for lunch there. After that we got on a train to go to Oslo. The train we got on was possibly the nicest train I will ever be on. It was amazingly nice. And it was almost the most beautiful scenic route I've ever seen. We would be going in a forest then all of a sudden it would open up and there would be a lake surrounded by mountains. It was so beautiful. Well we got to Oslo around 9:45pm (look at the time we left) and it was still perfect daylight outside. We walked around looking for our hostel and got a bit lost until we asked someone for directions then found out exactly where to go. Pretty nice, I automatically took a shower, then went to bed. Then in the morning we got a free breakfast, and it was delicious.

Last day

It's kind of a bummer when you have to leave all the people who you have just met and became friends with. It's a bit sad. But life is like that.
Last night I met up with two of my friends from Kapito and we out to the Aasee and chilled, then went to a bar where we met some Americans who were photographing all of the original manuscripts of the new testament. Apparently Münster is the world leader in new testament manuscript. I didn't know that, but now I do. I also went to the swimming pool again yesterday, it was a bit cold then it warmed up. I noticed that people here never just do one thing, like at the swimming pool, we swam, then tossed around a ball, then played Volleyball. Always active when the weather is nice. I think that's interesting.

Final Days

These past final days have been great. I've met a lot of new people. Hopefully we will stay in contact. I had a friend the other day move to Berlin, yesterday we had a get together for her to say goodbye. It was fun. I have 2 more days at Kapito, I wish I had more. It's really a lot of fun. My time in Germany has been great. It's an amazing beautiful country, I can't get enough of it.

Today, I went on a city tour with CYE. We went to a few churches, a museum, a botanic(al) garden, a castle, city hall, and just the city in general. It was really interesting, I already saw a lot of the things but even if I saw them, I still learned new things. First we went to the city musuem which was really cool. The musuem was in a timeline fashion, so we started at the earliest time which was like 2000years B.C. I think. Then it built up and stopped around the 1950s. It was interesting to see how the city has expanded and how new structures lie on top of the old ones. Then we went to some of the churches. At the main church (Domplatz), there is a astronomical clock. I have pictures of it up. Anyways, it went off while we were there. It was very cool. I also took some more pictures which are up. After the churches, we walked around Münster and got some ice cream. I think my life would be half as great if ice cream didn't exist. Then we went to the palace which is really pretty and big. It's located right next to the University, behind the palace is a Botantic(al) Garden. It is amazing. It is a part of the biology student's class to monitor the garden, that's intense. It was amazing, they had all different plants from different parts and climates of the world. After that we walked back to the Hauptbahnhof then departed.

My Final Week

So today was the last Monday at Kapito. Today starts the end of my homestay in Germany. Kind of depressing, the time has gone by so fast! I really like my host family, they are great! I'm really glad that CYE did a great job finding me a host family. I also have been thinking about my German speaking abilities. Even though they still aren't that good, I can speak a lot easier now. I guess that's been the purpose of this whole voyage. But as time approaches, I have to move forward. I am really excited for the next couple of weeks. I think this may be the most monumental summer for me.

Well now, story time. Yesterday I went to the public swimming pool. As I said, Germans are way more social people. I can't think of anyone who uses the public swimming pool in Florence. Everyone thinks it's just gross, I guess that's because everyone has their own pool... But in Germany, you go to the public swimming pool! It's a lot of fun, they have platforms, spring diving boards, slides, and a couple of pools. It costs 1,50€ to get in, so what 2 bucks for all day? That's a deal. But it was fun, there are a lot of more social things to do in Germany. I mean, there are a lot in America, but it has a different feel over here. It's hard to explain.
Oh, I don't think I have mentioned enough how amazing the weather is. It's amazing and beautiful. I'm glad I've had mainly good weather since I've been here. It's great.

Social

So the past couple of days, I've been experiencing the night life, festivals, and barbeques. I won't go into much detail about night life, but festivals & BBQs. Germans are all about some festivals, this weekend has been EuroCity Fest/Stadtfest. Its insane, there are a lot of stands and the streets are decorated with all different stands and rows of flaggs hang over the streets going building to building. It's so beautiful. There are also INSANE amounts of people. It's insane, that and the amount of beer is phenominal. It's insane.
Okay, so yesterday I went to another BBQ for the students in Germany who are coming to America for this coming school year. It was fun, we played some soccer for a while, ate, and played more soccer. I am pretty confident when I say that I love brotwurst. It's so delicious. Soccer is also a lot of fun, but I hate playing with people who are good, which is basically everyone in Germany, but me. It sucks! Oh well though.

Today, I went to a Catholic Church service. It was all in German, I didn't understand that much, it was huge. Not up to date acoustics, and they spoke really fast or in song. It was very interesting though to see an actual catholic church service in the area where the catholic church first became predominant. But it was long too, roughly a 2 hour service. Lots of standing then sitting then standing. But overall it was very interesting.

After that we went to an Italian restaurant. Whoever thought of Salami and Pizza is a genius in my book. I have eaten probably at least 4 times. Its so good. But food is so delicious here, I don't think I've tried anything I haven't liked. A very surprising change.

Oberservation.

So, I've been trying to be observant for stuff that is different. And I noticed something, usually in America things on weeknights die down around 8 or 8:30. Well things in Germany usually start around then, I think that could be considered a cultural thing. Night life starts later, but it wasn't only teenagers or college kids. It was middle-aged adults. They would be sitting outside a bar, having a beer. I kinda found that to be a bit odd, especially when it was 10:30 pm. Oh, another thing, everything outside is better. Eating, Sleeping, Hanging out. Most everything Ive done has been outside. I kinda like it, because the weather here isnt insanely hot or insanely cold like in Alabama. I like that aspect.
Oh, I think Germans are more social than Americans, not to just like everyone they see on the street, but with people they know such as their friends. Always in groups.

Oh, I also met a guy from America, I hung out with him yesterday and some other people from Kapito. It was really cool, I kinda wish I was staying in Münster longer, but oh well..

Food.

For some reason, I can eat just about anything over here and like it. I can't do that back in America. Today I went and got some chinese food, I think it's safe to say it is my favorite food in all the world, and it was delicious. But it came with stuff like cabbage and green stuff that I usually don't eat. Well, I ate everything. I was thinking about, and I have tried that kind of stuff in America and it didn't really taste that good. I mean, it still wasn't the most delicious thing in the world, but it did taste a lot better. A lot more fresh. All of the fruits and vegetables in Germany taste a whole lot better. I think it's because they only use organic fertilizers or something, who knows. I just know it tastes a whole lot better.

It takes some time to grasp.

Sometimes, it takes a bit of time to realize how beautiful the world really is. Being here really has opened my eyes even more to the beauty in the world, it makes me want to see everything. I'm really anxious now to travel more.

Okay anyways, yesterday was fun. I went to a brunch at my language school, Kapito. Where I met a lot of new people who were from all over the world. I met people from Sweden, Israel, Colombia, Switzerland, and a couple of other countries. Very interesting. After that I met up with Jonas and we went to the library, I'm not big into books or libraries, but that was the nicest library I have ever seen in my entire life. It was very modern and up to date, not to mention HUGE. After the library, we walked around Münster. I thought I saw a lot of bikes last year, that was nothing compared to this. I saw more bikes than I have ever seen in my life. Saturday in the main part of Münster is so busy and there are so many people and bikes! It was incredible. Well, we went home after a while of walking around in the city. That night we had a BBQ, it was a lot of fun! There were a lot of people there, it was a lot of fun to hang out.

Today has been a bit slower. I woke up, helped clean the yard from the BBQ, slept, then went into the city with my host parents. In the city, we went to one of the churches. It was magnificient and old! It is 1,200 years old this year. It's incredible how old things are and still exist. After the church, we went on got some ice cream. One of my favorite dishes! It was delicious, I finally got to eat spaghetti eis again! Delicious! Well then we came back home, and I've been sitting around, relaxing. That's it for now. Bis spätter.

Todaaaaay

Today has been very good, it is just a good day. I went to school like normal, learned about some stuff, then Taka and I walked to the Mensa (University Lunch Room) to get some cheap food, I had 2 hot dogs, some french fries, and yogurt&blackberries for around 2,80€. Not to bad, fairly cheap and very good.

Okay, well yesterday I didn't get to post anything. So I'll summarize what I did. After school, Jonas and I met up with some friends at the library, Jonas had to get some books. After that we went to the store and bought some beer and went to the park and chilled and had a beer. After that we walked to a Dönner restaurant. Dönner is possibly one of the most delicious and cheap foods in this world, almost as good as Taco Bell. Almost. Then we went home around 10:30. Fun night.

Today is Friday! This week has soared by for me. I've been so busy adjusting to Germany that I haven't noticed how much time has gone by, but it's Friday! So we are going out on the town! I'm really excited, we're suppose to meet up with some friends and go somewhere, not sure where, but I'm sure it will be fun!

A much better day.

So today was much better. I feel much better, but I can still feel where the pressure was in my head. Anyways, today was a good day. I went to school like normal, I am understanding more and more everyday and speaking more and more German everyday. Even if I know my grammar is wrong, I still need to speak to better other parts of my speaking.

Okay so, I noticed something today. Aaron and I were walking around and we stopped at a Brotwurst stand for some chow. I ordered my food (in german) and aaron got the same thing I did, currywurst. So instead of having chairs and tables to sit and eat at. They just had like tables and a counter. This is very interesting because usually in America you eat sitting down, unless you are walking around and eating. Well, here you stand up at the counter or table, and chow down on your food. It's not a big deal, but I need to remember this for my class. It is a cultural difference... somehow.

Oh a tiny good story; after eating I went to catch the bus (Bus 9) so I see it and I get on. Not thinking of much I listen to my Zune and look out the window. Well after like 30 minutes, I have no idea where I am. So I decided just to wait it out and maybe we would go somewhere I recognize. Wrong. I got on the right bus, it was just going the other way. So I realize this, at the end of the route when I look at the bus schedule. So I go to my bus driver and ask him if he speaks English, which he didn't. So with my amazing German skills, I found out where I was and that I just had to ride the bus to the other side of town. I mean it only took like an hour and 20 minutes, not that bad. I was worn out though, I almost fell asleep on the bus.

Okay so, my day in a nutshell. I also added a link on the right column titled 'Pictures from Europe 2009'. Popular demand was some pictures, so I listened to the people. Enjoy.

Halfway through the first week

I guess this is what? Day 4? That feels about right, okay so today has been a bit different. It was a very pretty day today, but I have had a killer headache all day. It was horrible during class, my teacher speaks very loud in order for us to hear the correct pronunciation. My head was throbbing the entire class, I almost felt like throwing up. It hurt very bad. So I went immediately home right after class was done and layed down in my bed for a while. After a while my host mother came home, I told her I was feeling that well and I took some medicine, and it was not helping that much. After we ate, she advised me to go outside and lay in the hammock because fresh air and a nap would make me feel better. This did work a little, but it was windy today and COLD to me at least. So I woke up freezing came inside and took another nap, which helped out a bit. So I've been very lazy today at least it was with good intentions. So I do feel a bit better now, but earlier, I went with my host family to the grocery store, I dont know why but I love foreign grocery stores. We went and bought some stuff, and we had a conversation in German about the differences in the stores and what I like and don't like. I really want a grilled cheese and a bowl of chicken noodle soup right now, but I need to adapt. But man, that sounds so good right now.

Day 3

Okay so, there will be many post in this just to let everyone know. The reason: This is my log of my trip for the course I am taking at UNA. It is very important for me to write down everything I do, because that is how I get credit.

Anyways, today was very interesting. It was my first day of school at Kapito Sprachschule. First when I got there I had to take a placement test (to see how bad my german is). Well after that I was placed in a classroom, where everyone was speaking german, man I felt out of place, but as the class progressed I got more into the groove and picked up on it. There are 10 people in my class, excluding the teacher. People from literally all of the world are in there; South America, India, Central America, North America, Southeast Asia, a lot of places. Well I have class Monday through Friday 9-10:30 and 11-12:30 or something like that. I hope it will drastically improve my german. I need it to get better really quick. Okay so after school, Taka, Aaron, and I walked around Münster for a bit. Since it was lunch time, we went to eat. Where after almost a year of waiting I finally got to eat one of my favorite foods in the world, Dönner Kebob. Delicious is an understatement. I could go on, but I need to progress. We went into the train station to get Aaron a bus ticket for the month, I used a bit of my german to talk to the guy. It feels really cool when I talk to someone in german, I love the feeling I get. I hope I can be able to have conversations in German one day. Okay so Aaron left and Taka and I walked around the city for a bit, then I headed home by bus. I also rode the bus to school that morning. Anyways, my genius being got off at the wrong bus stop, so I had to walk about 2km to get home, I need the exercise though. But then finally I was home where I chilled out for a little bit, we ate dinner, then I went back to Kapito for a movie. Kapito offers a lot of extra activities to help learn German so I thought I would take advantage of it. It has been a long day, tomorrow I hope that my German will improve, which I am sure it will the more I use it, which I need to do more.

Day 2

So today, very long day indeed. I woke up at around 10AM for breakfast, which I had my favorite German breakfast, brötchen and käse (breakfast roll and cheese). Then we proceeded to the hauptbahnhof (main train station) to purchase a bus pass, which enables me to ride on the bus anytime, anyday. It will come in handy, then we walked around for a bit and I was shown where I am suppose to go to school starting Monday at 9AM. After we went home, at about 4PM we went to Jonas´s friends house for a BBQ. It was a lot of fun, I met several people. They´re all cool guys. We talked about America and Germany and such. Good food, good conversation. After the BBQ we came back to the house and chilled until we went to play some basketball. Well, after 3 games of 21, I am pretty much dead. The most exercise I get in America is walking to my car to and from UNA. I should have taken my own advice and done some running before I came here, I am feeling the reprocussions of my actions, well lack of actions I guess.

In Münster

After an agonizing 3 hour flight to Denver then a rigorous 9 hour flight to Frankfurt then a not so bad 1hour flight to Münster, I finally arrived. Luckily I was able to catch some Zs on the plane so I dont really have much jetlag. I have noticed quite a few differences between Germany and the US, such as the way the streets are (more narrow, crowded), bike lanes including bike stoplights, house - store - house - house - house - restaurant -house or a similar layout pattern.

Oh anyways, my host family is composed of 4 people. Jonas (host brother), Eva (host sister), Monika & Otto (Host Parents). Monika is currently away, but she should be home tomorrow so I will meet her then.

Today, after being picked up from the airpot, I was given a tour of the house. A very nice house, then I was shown my room and they gave me a bit of time to unpack my things. Then we had a small bowl of something that was delicious, dont ask what it was because Im not sure. After that, Jonas and I went to a street festival (Straßenfest). We walked around for a bit, it was very interesting I saw all of the different kinds of booths that they had, always trying to sell something, I guess thats universal. We meet up with some of Jonas' friends and went to Burger King, americanization, where I did order in German. Then we came back to the house and chilled. That's pretty much all Ive done today. Oh for dinner, we had pizza. Even if some food is in America, it still tastes different when it is somewhere else. It tasted more fresh than regular american delivery pizza. It was good.

I dont have any pictures yet, but I will put some up whenever I take some.

Today begins my 7 week adventure.

As time approaches...

I haven't updated in a long while. I really have just been working and saving up my money for my upcoming trip. I'll post the full itinerary soon, but I will give some updates about my trip. I still don't have a host family I should find out later this week, I am attending a language school for 3 weeks, then I will be free to do whatever I want for a month. I'm going to try to blog as much as I can and provide pictures. But here is a picture of the city I will be living in. Münster, Germany look out. I am coming in 18 days!

Also, when I get back I am leaving for Chicago. So I don't get much of a break to beat the jet lag, but I will also blog about that.

It seems we have trip!

So it's confirmed. I'm going to Germany. I already have my ticket which the University of North Alabama has graciously provided to me through their scholarship program. Now, the organization CYE is looking for a host family for me. I am extremely excited now that there is less than 5 months left. There are 3 people in the group going, including me. A small group, but it will be fun nonetheless. I am going to be taking a language school for 3 weeks and then I'm off to go places. My itinerary will be available soon. I am currently working on it with a friend who will be accompanying me this voyage.

More info to come!