November

We went to a big Halloween party (on Halloween), which was followed up by a four day weekend. The Thursday was a lazy day, however on the Friday, we went to visit Ingeborg's mother in Krefeld. Krefeld isn't that nice of a city, which I was told of before we went. The house, however, was very nice. Ingeborg's mom is also famous for her cakes, so I enjoyed a few pieces of that (my body, however, didn't). We had a nice quiet supper and talked about different things that are going on. She also showed us photos from a design competition her grandson won for Industrial Design, which he's studying in Stuttgart.

Two weeks later, the 12th-16th of November, I had a co-op week. Everyone in my grade had to do a week of on the job experience. I went to the local airport, where I worked in the maintenance facility. This was a lot of fun, I did various jobs including stripping paint off of a plane (had to wear a gas mask), cleaning a plane (least fun), repairing an engine mount, stripping down a section of a plane, doing daily checks of the fleet and other little jobs. I had a lot of fun that week, making it sad to head back to school.

The next big thing was my trip to Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, to visit Ingeborg's sister. It's a very nice city and the family is quite interesting. Their son is my age and is also a pilot, so he took me up flying over Frankfurt. It was quite enjoyable! We also checked out his father's Porsche, which is locked in the garage for the winter. It's quite the car! We talked about flying relentlessly that night, while still mingling with the conversation of the women.

Sunday morning, it was raining quite heavily, but we went to Phillip's (the son) school for a small Christmas Craft Fair. He goes to a Seventh Day Adventist private school, however, he is Catholic. The school was really old and quite nice. Following this fair, we drove home and the rain became much much worse on the way back, which made for terrible driving. I however, slept (and apparently snored... Oops!) for most of the drive home.

During that week, Jobst, my host father, was in South Africa on a business trip. He is the press director for Germany's largest (and oldest) Catholic aid agency, and was touring the agency's projects in the country. He bought us each a little trinket from South Africa, Nicolle received the Rugby jersey of South Africa, who had just won the World Cup, Isabelle and Ingeborg received jewelry, and I received a neat little radio made out of Coke cans. It's definitely one of the coolest things in my room!

Birthday/The Netherlands

Well, I'm quite a bit behind in my posting, but since the time of my trip to Usedom, a lot has happened! First, the day after I got back was my 18th Birthday! That means I can legally stay in the Clubs as late as I want (the 16 and 17 year olds must leave at midnight), of course, Rotary says I can't drink and my friends have to leave by midnight anyway, so it makes no difference to me. Since my birthday was in the middle of the holidays, I only had two people over to visit. Afterwards, we went to a huge "Abi Party", a party for the students who finish school this year, and anyone over 16 could go.

The next morning, we went to Egmond, in the Netherlands, to stay at Ingeborg's uncle's cottage. Her mother was also there. We saw the beach in the area and the dunes, (again, quite similar to PEI) and toured around the small town. The next morning, we went to Amsterdam (a very nice place, by the way), and toured the city, and we also went on a boat tour during the afternoon. The city was littered with police in riot gear, apparently there was a soccer game against the Czech Republic that night, and they were preparing to disperse any revellers. Amsterdam is amazing, but at times in a moderately scary way. Everywhere you look, there's an advertisement for porn and every second shop sells drug paraphernalia. It's impossible to avoid seeing either one, since it's everywhere. Jobst almost inadvertently led us (with two young girls and one old woman in tow) into the Red Light district (I figured he knew something I didn't. I was wrong) and quickly turned us around. Despite this rough edge, the city still has a lot of charm, and I definitely want to go back someday. That evening, we went to another beach, about one kilometre from the first one. We flew kites, and had some fun, and went for a walk, and then we had supper at a nice restaurant.

The next day, we went to another city, Alkmaar. It was also very nice, and we window shopped all day. I ended up buying a pair of jeans. We then returned to Egmond and had supper at another great restaurant.

The following morning, we returned home, and I was released to enjoy my first bit of time off in a few weeks.

Between then, and October 30th, very little happened, besides going to school, and getting lost about 10 km from my house in the middle of the night, past when I said I'd be home. That's what I get for a) not knowing the bus schedule, b) improper planning, and c) not travelling with a friend.

On October 30th, I went to a soccer match between Alemannia Aachen (it literally means "the Germans of Aachen," when translated from Latin) and VfL Bochum. The stadium was packed, and the atmosphere was ridiculous. Even if you were at either a packed house in Cahill Stadium (such as the Royal Bank Cup final in '97) or one of those final playoff games at the Wellness Centre, you'd still have no idea what the atmosphere was like. The only similarity is that the visiting team's supporters were relegated to one tiny corner of the stadium. Every single person in attendance (except my host father and I) had an Alemania Aachen scarf, and many also had huge flags on huge staffs, (3x4m, or bigger) supporting the team. Before the game, they play the Alemania anthem, which the whole crowd sings, followed by the Tivoli (the stadium) Hymn, again, sung by the whole crowd, this is without prompting too. The announcer read the first name of each player, with the whole crowed shouting back the last name for him, also out of memory, and at the end, he would shout "Danke Danke!" (thank you, thank you), and the crowd replied, "Bitte Bitte!" (you're welcome, you're welcome).

The whole crowd moves with the players, cheering, jeering, sighing, etc, and intensely following the match. The first goal was scored by Alemannia, however, it was into their own net, a bad head-butt off of a corner kick. However, they came back, and ended up winning 3-2, and after every goal, the crowd went nuts, twirling their scarves, and screaming, and chanting! It's a totally different experience than anything in North America.

Another interesting thing is that after the game, the police block off an entire street, and a column of buses are parked inside of it. The visiting fans exit via a special exit, the entire visiting section was blocked by fences, and they poured into the buses, which then departed, with a full police escort, to the train station, where a platform was blocked off by the police, and they were escorted onto a special train, which won't stop until it gets to Bochum. Supposedly, if the security was any less, there'd be riots.

This brings me to today, Halloween, and a four day weekend!

Trip to Usedom

I departed for Usedom on Wednesday, September 21^st, from Aachen. This was the start of my date with the German train system. My train, scheduled for 8:39, was cancelled. I was scheduled on a second train, taking the “Regional Express” (aka slow train) at 9:13 to Düsseldorf, and then the “ICE” or “InterCity Express” (fast train) from there to Berlin. Of course, this first train was the subject of car switching, and reconfiguration after reconfiguration, causing a 45 minute delay in our departure from Aachen. At this point, I knew that I likely would not make my next train on time, but I knew I would be closer to Berlin, so I went. We stopped 6 times on the tracks, and that did me in. I arrived 20 minutes after my train left for Berlin. After standing in a long lineup at customer service (the second of the day), I was put on a new train to Berlin, at 12:55. The ticket agent confirmed I'd be at a window seat with a table, (saloon style, I think, is the name) however, when the train arrived, my reservation wasn't at one of those seats. My reservation also was not noted on the seat like it should be, and someone was sitting there. Rather than complain, I found another free seat on the not-so-busy train. Happily in a seat, we departed for Berlin.

This train ride was fast, and all was going well until some town in the middle of nowhere. We coupled with two other trains (making a MASSIVE train going to Berlin, at least a kilometre long) and then continued as if nothing happened. We made it one town further, and things just went from bad to worse (I would've had 1 hour in Berlin instead of 4) some crazy terrorists held up a Kindergarten (this is all derived from German, the English announcement said “a police investigation will be delaying the train”) and the Kindergarten was next to the track, so the police blocked the track, and we waited at a station. For an extra hour. Luckily, the bar was open for free drinks of anything alcohol free. I indulged without hesitation, considering the cost of my ticket! Finally, we were on our way, with no further delays.

The train is interesting, with a stop every ten or fifteen minutes in West Germany (I use the term for description, because the country is still very much in two distinct halves), but as soon as you reach Hannover, the driver floors it, and you do 250 kilometres per hour, non-stop to the Berlin-Spandau train station. There is literally nothing but forest and open land between the two. You just go. So I met Mariana in Berlin, where the train company handed out more drinks. She was excited to see me, as I was to see her, but we had to run to make the last train for the coast.

Once on the train, we had three hours to kill, so we had a great discussion, catching up, and speaking of art and music festivals to see in Germany. She knows ALL of them, of course. We also discussed many many things about Germany, as well as Canada. When we arrived in Usedom, her father, Hans, met us at the train station. It has also been five years since I've seen him. Her mother, Erika, had supper ready when we reached their house, and both Mariana and I were exploring the house when we arrived.

Mariana hadn't been home in about a year, and in that time, her parents had almost completely remodelled the house. New kitchen, new stairs, new furniture, new entertainment system, most of the house was new, so she was exploring/giving me a tour. She was proud to say that her family had finally evolved from modest East-German era furnishings to ultra-modern “American Standard” appliances and furnishings. I was quite impressed, as it looked like a brand-new house. We all stayed up quite late chatting that night.

Thursday morning, after a long sleep, Mariana and her mom left for the dentist's office, and her father took me to Peenemünde, the home of Rocketry. A short drive from their house in Zinnowitz, the remnants of this formerly vast military base was a great, and very informative museum. The area was a military base right up until 1996, at which point the unified German military closed it down. In its heyday, before the largest single-target bombing raid in British history, there were up to 15 000 engineers, scientists, and POWs building the first long range rockets, with the hope of striking London (which they did, with minimal accuracy). As I toured the vast museum, I learnt that this project is believed to be the only weapons project in history where more people died making it (estimated at 20-30 000) than were killed by it (very few). So, after a 3 hour tour, I came out much more informed about the German rocket program. Oh, and Werner von Braun, the guy who ran the American Rocket program (including Apollo) pretty much until his death in 1977, ran the show here during the war.

Afterwards, we went for dinner at a nice little restaurant somewhere on the Island. After this adventure, I returned to see Mariana and her mother again. We spoke for a while, and then Mariana suggested going for a walk to the beach, to see the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). It was quite windy (apparently an 8 or 9 on the Beaufort scale, a Hurricane is 12), and it became windier since that report, so probably 10. We watched massive wave action, and had sand blow in our faces, and then walked out onto the pier in the looming darkness, only to have a huge wave crash over it and soak us! Then we went for a tour of the city, and had supper at a local Pizzeria that Mariana missed dearly. We stayed for quite a while there, and then came home after 10 pm, and then spoke with her father about the German military. Every time I meet someone, the question I am asked is either “Have you completed your military service,” or “When you go back, how long must you serve in the military,” it usually takes a few attempts to get the message across that no, I do not have to be in the military if I don't want to. It's how things work in many countries now. I leave that part out, however.

On Friday, we had a very slow start, and around noon, Mariana and I went on an exploration of the beach and town. We took pictures at the beach, and then went to look for souvenirs of Usedom. Afterwards, we returned to her house, where her mother had prepared a traditional German meal for special occasions. It was quite good, and I think I overate. Then, we went to a presentation about the town's plans to re-develop a Communist Era community centre (Hans is the Deputy Town Chair or something like that. Like a deputy mayor, but in a small town). There, I met a girl who went to India with Rotary last year, apparently the students there speak English. I would have expected Hindi. Hans was her outbound counselor, and referred her to Mariana for many questions, so they knew each other, and we all hung out for the evening. The girl wrote for the local paper, in a bi-weekly youth section, and asked Mariana and I some questions about our experience knowing each other for an article of hers.

Saturday morning, I went with Hans and Mariana to Poland. Part of Usedom is Polish, because for whatever reason, Stalin decided that the capital city of the island should become Polish, for economic reasons. The only connection to the rest of Poland from Usedom is by ferry, and it all seems quite silly. Regardless, things were quite cheap in Poland, but the quality was high, so I bought a couple Christmas presents for home (yes, I'm already thinking Christmas. I need to send the box home in a month and a half). I spent about 15 euros, and the quality of the products would have warranted a $50 price tag at the very least at home. After the trip to Poland, we returned to Zinnowitz and prepared for a night out. Mariana's friends from some high school group were having a reunion, and it was on the mainland, about a 15 minute drive from her house. We played games and chatted and ate food (this was a very eccentric bunch, by the way), and I learned that in the eastern part of Germany, having kids when you're young is common and socially acceptable, and that the institution of marriage is very different, they do nothing other than go down to the town hall with two friends and sign some paperwork. No celebration at all, and it makes for a completely different atmosphere. So, six years out of high school, a few of her friends were married, and several had children. At about 3 in the morning, I couldn't stay awake any longer, and went to sleep. I'm told the others were up until 7.

Sunday morning, we returned to Zinnowitz to say goodbye, and have one last meal. I boarded my train at 13:09, and off I went to Berlin. I arrived in Berlin at 4 o'clock, and my next train wasn't until 00:28, or 12:28 at night. So, I put my bags in a baggage storage place, and wandered around Berlin. I intended to go to Postdamer Platz, but I got a little lost. I looked at a map when I returned to Aachen, and it turns out I was a couple blocks south of my target. I had a nice supper, and saw some of the sights of Berlin (I was too cheap to go up the big tower), so I headed back towards the train station at around 8 pm.

On the way back, I found out that the Bundestag was open until 10 pm, even though it was Sunday, so I jumped at the opportunity, and waited in line for half an hour before going up to the glass dome on top. I took a few pictures and read up on the history of the German Government since around 1890. Most of the period when Germany was split up was omitted, due to the fact that the Bundestag was not in use, except to host a few conferences. There was some law that said that no legislative powers could meet in Berlin or something like that, because of the fact that it was in the middle of East Germany. After 2 hours at the Bundestag (I figured Rotary will rush us through in the spring), I went to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) and sat on a bench and read magazines while waiting for my train. The trip back was uneventful, thankfully, and I arrived in Aachen safely, and slept for a while!

I don't know what to call this

Hello. Finally, I'm going to update everyone, without pictures (they'll come later).

Tuesday, September 11th. Today I had a normal day at school, it's not really interesting enough to say much, except that I've met people. That's all. Seriously.

Wednesday, September 12th. Went to school. Came home. Went to scouts. It was fun. But I don't have much to say about it.

Thursday, September 13th. Went to school, then the Hauptbahnhof (train station), for train tickets for the weekend. Then home.

Friday, September 14th. Went to school. Bought new shoes, (Nike+) and the Nike+ iPod connector. Then I went to Bergheim for Rotary. The train ride was fun, but packed full of people. The bus ride, on the other hand, was just plain scary. I think the driver thought he was in a Porsche or something. Didn't do much on the first night, except stay up late, and realise that there are a lot of Mexicans here, like everyone was Mexican, or Brazilian, with a few Venezuelans and Argentinians to boot. There was one Taiwanese girl, a Japanese girl, a Thai girl, and an Indian girl, 10 Americans, and 5 Canadians. This is out of 50 students... and only one of the North Americans wasn't white.. so much for diversity, I guess. I'll post some pictures here later.
One of the Rotex (the people who run the meetings for the exchange students) girls was in Windsor two years ago for her exchange, so she knew a lot about the maritimes. We had a good chat.

Saturday, September 15th. We went to see a big open-pit mine, with the biggest equipment in the world. It was pretty cool, I'll add pictures later. Then we went to a part of the mine that had been reclaimed (they move the mine constantly, filling in the old hole with the extras from the new hole), which was well forested, and had a nice cabin from the company. You wouldn't have known that 20 years before, that was likely the most disgusting industrial wasteland on Earth! The food was good, and there were lots of alcohol-free beverages, to the dismay of some students.
After the mine tour, we went back to the school that we stayed at. We were told that we had to make a presentation about our country, in English, in six hours. It was to be a skit. One of the Canadian girls spent about three seconds deciding that she'd bail and join the Americans... (she calls herself a Liberal though. Don't they say it's the Tories who do that?) we were offended, but pressed on. We settled on performing the "I Am Canadian" routine, which took about 10 minutes to decide. With lots of time to kill, we went with the Americans to find a McDonalds (they claim they needed a bag for their skit). In true American style, we spent an hour or two finding this McDonalds, and had a snack (well, I had a snack. Can't speak for the others) Then we decided to find a faster way home. So I went online and got a map, and it looked like we were 2 towns over. Not believing the map, we asked for directions. The man pointed at a road, said go left, and then we it ends, take another left. Easy enough. So we walk out to this "road" and realise, it's a highway! We were two towns over! We went two towns for McDonalds! You could justify it by saying we burned a lot of calories getting there... So we got back, and had our presentation. It was good.

Sunday, September 16th. Today we got up, cleaned the place out, and left. We went to a town called Königswinter (Kings Winter), and were 15 minutes late for the meeting there. The Rotex people quickly blamed us, though we waited 20 minutes for the bus, ready to go, but they scheduled it for 9 am (when we should've left already). I wasn't impressed with the statement. The meeting was extremely boring, and it was just repeat #10 million of the Rotary rules and expectations. They didn't even have food there to make it better! After the meeting, Mr Popp (the councilor from Aachen's other Rotary club) and someone else came to pick us up. I went with Mr Popp, as he lives nearby. Madelyn, and Ana Patricia (one of the 4 Mexicans in Aachen) came with us as well. They slept, so I had a chat with Mr Popp, he's an Engineer who builds fancy ball bearings for the gearboxes of EVERY Formula 1 car! He also drove a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, and scoffed at its mileage, so I don't think he was poor. Once we hit the autobahn, he taught me a bit about it, and also showed me that in Germany, the car manufacturers have a "Gentleman's Agreement" limiting speeds at 250 kilometers per hour, though the Cayenne, as he demonstrated, topped out at 240 due to its size. (It still had LOTS of room left to go. It was weird, you put your foot down, and then it leaps from 150 to 240 in a few seconds, and then just stops accelerating!) So needless to say, the open stretches of the trip were, brisk. We stopped at his house for "cake" though it was really pie. Some damn good pie, actually. Afterwards, I went home.
It was also the one year anniversary of me dating Leah, so I called her and said hello.

Monday, September 17th. Went to school, went for a run. Das ist Alles.

Tuesday, September 18th. Went to school, then to Alfredo's (another Mexican) to watch a movie.

Wednesday, September 19th. Went to school, then for a run with the dog. Then Scouts. We made Pizza. That's seriously all that we did in the 1:30 that we were there!

Thursday, September 20th. Today I wished it was Friday so the weekend, and holidays, could start. Pretty boring day. Going to sleep early, as well.

Quick Update

Last week was quite busy, so I will add the post about it in the next 48 hours. Just to let everyone know, I have started exercising, as you may have seen from the Nike+ widget on the right hand panel. I have also made a spreadsheet to record my own data, which I will later add to the blog as well.

Busy Weekend (Sort of)

Well, I guess I need to recap the weekend.

Friday, September 7th. Last day of German Course. Had a little party. Here's the group. Afterwards, I went and got a few things for school. I went to the Cathedral for a school mass, no pictures this time though. I'll have a post just about the cathedral later. Afterwards, I went to a dinner with Jobst and Ingeborg (my host parents). It was at a friends house nearby. I was the only one under 45... but they wanted to know about Canada and stuff. (People are scared of how cold it will get once or twice a year... so I avoid mentioning that in the North, school is canceled when it hits -100.. so I'm told. And they all assume Fahrenheit, which lessens the blow, until I tell them Celsius, and of course, -40 is the same for both!) The food was good, and they also had some music that I must download (legally.) it was Supertramp, but more of a fusion type sound with horns. I haven't heard of it before.


Saturday, September 8th, I went to Pius Fest (a thing at school) and saw the place. Looked impressive. The festival was rather lame, unfortunately. Good food though, and I met people. That's what counts, right? That night I stayed around home, and made a couple video calls for about 5 hours.. everyone was gone that I called. But the calls made me happy.

Sunday, September 9th, I went to Monschau, a small town, to take Nicolle to a party. I could write an entire story about the house the party was at, and I was only in one room! Here it is. It's 300 years old, but has been redesigned recently, and looks amazing inside! Afterwards, Jobst, Ingeborg and I walked the dogs around the Eiffel National Park, in a section that was devastated (well, one hill was deforested) by a hurricane! Very nice though. It's right here. We finished our walk, then stopped at a cafe. I had a waffle with Cherries and Vanilla Ice Cream (very tasty, and I spent less than Jobst and Ingeborg this time. Thank god.) Afterwards, we finished the walk through town, and drove home. Basically did nothing afterwards.

Monday, September 10th, (today): today was my first day at the Pius Gymnasium (Pius Grammar School, supposedly the best (or second) in Aachen. Good rep, at least) it is very nice, and I think I will enjoy my lessons. I am in History, which I thought was about Germany. It's actual about the Roman Empire (well, today at least), so it will be what I missed out on at TOSH. The other courses are good so far. More on all this as time goes on. After school, I layed around sniffling with a cold. I'm only up right now 'cause I needed to make a phone call, which I woke up for after an hour's sleep. And then I wrote this.

September 6th

First off, Happy Birthday goes out to Kelli and Evan.

This morning, I found out that there was a bomb threat at the Aachen Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station), the bomb threat was last night, and now explains the military plane flying really low over my house last night. Well, I think it does, at least.

Today was a very quiet day, the second last day of classes for my German Course. Tomorrow we are having a little party! And Pius Fest (a celebration at my school) goes tomorrow evening and Saturday. It will be a great way to integrate into the school before starting classes on Monday!

September!

I haven't written in a while, so here I go!

August 28th: Don't really remember. Probably just went to school, and maybe shopped afterwards.

August 29th: Same as above.

August 30th: (Sense a trend? I really need to update more often.) Probably did nothing special again.

August 31st: Finally. Something to remember. Left for a Scout Trip, to a town who's name remains a mystery to all those involved. Took buses, did fun stuff.

September 1st: More time at the Scout thing, I was extremely tired, and since I had nothing else to do while the little kids were in workshops, I slept. During the afternoon, however, I roamed around chatting it up and taking pictures. That evening, it was decided that I would be the criminal for the finale. They told me it involved running.. sounded okay. But more to follow.

September 2nd: Went to a dam for the finale thing with the little kids, it was a good 30 or more minute walk down a mountain trail to the dam, and that's where I found out that I'd be running from the kids DOWN THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN! and back up. When the kids arrived, I ran down the trail, and a kid went straight down to cut me off. Following his lead, I went at full speed straight towards the next trail. I slipped, and shot down in a magnificent manner to the bottom. Clothes got dirty. Kept running. I had to walk back afterwards, and was ridiculously out of breath. Mountains suck.

September 3rd: Back to the language camp I went, it was a little more interesting since we went to a cafe for a practical lesson. Afterwards, the five of us students went to Starbucks, which we decided will be a weekly ritual now.

September 4th: I went to class again, and then into town with the other students. We went shopping, I bought new socks, and finally, Harry Potter. After that, I went home and waited til bed.

September 5th: Went to class, chilled with the other students. I'm still waiting for my big adventure. Hasn't happened yet though. Tomorrow I will make beignets for the end-of-course party on Friday.

Since my memory has faded so bad, that is everything up to today. I will try and post more often for the next 42 weeks. (Estimate. Could be 44)

Aachen

Hello! From this point on, my focus will be my year abroad, with minimal insight into the political happenings of Prince Edward Island, and Canada. Maybe I will start a second blog?
Anyhow, the first week in Aachen was very interesting, and quite busy. It will be great to learn German, which is quite difficult. I arrived in Köln (Cologne) and was greeted by the Rüthers, my first host family. We drove to Aachen, where I now live, and had a relaxed breakfast, in English, outside. Aachen is a fairly cloudy city, overcast almost daily, but still warm, and the outdoors is great. That first night, I biked for about 45 minutes with a new friend to a going-away party for another student. It was nice, and I met many people that I will be in school with soon.
On Sunday, there was a church festival, and I went, mainly to meet more people... for the benefit of those who don't know, I am an Atheist, but I always put Roman Catholic down for religion, because I was baptized that way. Now I go to a catholic private school. Last time I do that. The people were very nice, and I met even more people.
Monday was my first day at the language camp, and it was fun. I met the other exchange students. I guess you could say Madeline Street has become my best exchange-student friend, she is American, the other 3 are Mexican. Afterwards, I went to Saturn, much like Future Shop, and started shoring up on supplies.
Tuesday was just another day at language camp, and afterwards, I went with Ingeborg (my host mom) to get money for my insurance, and to purchase a Handy (cell phone).
Wednesday, I again took the bus to the camp, but afterwards, it was my first trip home alone on the bus. I did not get lost, however! That evening, I went to see the England-Germany football (soccer) match, albeit in a bar with the Scout Troop. In case any official sounding Rotarian or other person ensuring a chem-free exchange is wondering, there was no alcohol. Now, the match put me in a moral dilemma. Seeing as I am not a soccer fan, should I cheer for my adopted country? Or, since I am a British subject, should I cheer for England? I picked the middle, and merely smiled politely at each goal. One of the leaders of the Scouts is an Air Traffic Controller, so we had a great chat. As well, all three leaders were once in my position! I believe I was the quietest person at the end of the game, when Germany embarrassed England.
Thursday, the anticipation for the barbecue started to build. On Saturday, we would be hosting a barbecue for EVERY exchange student, their families, the upcoming host families, a few outbound students, a few rebound students, exchange coordinators, and a few others. I'll save the math. There were 60 people coming! To our house! Other than that, everything was normal.
Friday was a bad day. We all wanted to sleep in class, and obviously, couldn't. Afterwards, we had to buy meat. Lots of meat. 60 Germans eat a lot of meat. 150 Wurstcheins (little sausages), and at least 70-80 Steaks (now, in German steak describes beef, pork, and poultry, so there was a mixture). We also had to pick up the dishes for these same 60 people. And 5 cases of carbonated mineral water, 10 two-liter bottles of Coke, 3 2-4s, a case of Sprite, a case of Fanta, some iced tea, and other such things. I don't think our van was designed to fit that, AND three people!
Saturday involved three trips in the van around Laurensburg (the district of the city, like Royalty, or Wilmot, or St. Eleanors) to pick up enough seats and tables for these people. Now Germans, natural partiers, all have what we call Bier Banks (beer benches). They are all identical, and many can be found all over the place. We set up 4 of these, for 40 of the people, and other things for the rest. It was quite the adventure. The party was great, and I will add pictures later. One of the Mexicans, Alejandra, had her 16th birthday, so, instead of helping clean, us students went into town for pop, to celebrate. It was grand.
Sunday I had the chance to sleep in a little, before returning all the Bier Banks. We then went into the City, just Jobst, Ingeborg, and I. I believe I outspent them at a Cafe, where the encouraged me to sample a beverage and desert. I feel guilty and will be quite careful in the future. The city is beautiful, and I learned a lot of its history. I will add more details as I take the opportunity to hit each landmark in detail over the course of the year.
Finally, Monday, August 27. Another day of death via language camp. They need to hold it in the afternoon, not the morning! We all nearly fell asleep. Again. Then I had to help return the dishes. Minus one cup, which did not survive its two-day stay at the Rüthers residence. Now, I am staying up past my self-imposed curfew to write this, and must go to bed!

Moncton

I am almost done flying in Moncton! I will be home very soon, and I cannot wait! It's going to be a good week, before jet-setting it over to Germany for the year.