Braunschweig ist da BOMB!

Well this weekend has finally concluded the most eventful and Europian spring (Easter) break of my life. It concluded with me visiting a fellow CBYXer, Mike. It was a weekend that was certainly worthwhile. So I started off with failing to put in one contact lense in on Friday...and I didn't realize it till I was in the train to Braunschweig. And surprisingly I managed to do okay reading a book, playing ultimate frisbee, and get my first impression of Braunschweig. I could still see how ugly the main train station was and the eye sore that the New Yorker® store is. A funny tidbit: All cars licensed in Braunschweig have "BS" on their license plates, which does not stand for Bulls***. But other than that, I found the center city very pretty. Rather typical German...Braunschweig also has a small Red Light District (very little), a building where Goethe had written something on a wall, and castle that was renovated into a mall. I got to try the local beer, Wolters®. But I swear, I couldn't differentiate beer brands for my life...but it tasted good...to me like every other Pilsner. However, one shameful aspect of Braunschweig is that this town is where Hitler took his German citizenship test...and well the rest is history. But other than that, I found the city very pretty with the multiple parks and the Braunschweigers (not sure if that's the correct term) certainly have pride in their town. In fact, the Wolters Brewery was bought by InterBrew, and in 2006, the town of Braunschweig found enough private investors to buy their local brewery back, since they didn't like outsiders making their beer. And they are just as enthusiastic with their sport teams (soccer, basketball, and American football).
So on Saturday, another CBYXer, Ian came to Braunschweig, and I got to see Braunschweig again wearing my glasses and with a bit more sunlight. It was a good and relaxed day. An embarrassing anecdote from Saturday. Mike, Ian, and I had a Wolters® and I saw on the menu that I could order a "Krefelder". I live in Krefeld and had no idea was the drink was. I had expected a beer that was brewed in Krefeld. And I got a concoction of half beer and half Coke. I always knew of this type of drink as a Radler. So it was funny when I reacted in a "What the heck is this?" way. Saturday evening...Mike and I went to play poker...and I was the first person to lose (from 7 players), but Mike won...and had finally had more than €5 in his wallet. The rest of the evening was just hilarious! Because we decided to walk instead of taking the bus...and it was certainly more eventful.

And after an exhausting Saturday, Sunday was basically chill. I learned about some new world records, thanks to the Guinness Book of World Records 2010 (in German). And that brought the conclusion to Braunschweig, where I then got back on the train and went home. A special thanks to Mike's host family to letting stay there for the weekend!
The Braunschweig Theater

Well I would consider the train ride home was the time I used to reflect on the past seven months. Yes that's right, I've hit the seven month marker. I feel like I've accomplished so much, but it's alarming that I have less than 90 days left. I'm 100% positive that these three months will fly by faster than the first three months. And I started to feel a bit depressed. I remember when I was looking forward to my spring break when I started the year...since it would be my last break, and that made me realize how quickly the time has seemed to go by...I tried to figure out how many cities I've seen in Germany this year: the total came to around 40 cities in 4 countries. But that just made me realize all that this opportunity has offered me. And Mike and Ian had also mentioned how excited they are to start college in the fall...but I'm not mentally there yet. Personally, I'm too focused on Germany and feel like there's time when I get back to get excited about college. But Germany, overall with the weather warming up and summer approaching, the days getting longer, etc. I'm really enjoying the fact that I can spend more time outside and not worrying about freezing in an hour. But that train ride helped me realize a bit more than the changing weather. When my family visited me in Munich, that was the first time that I had seen a bee since November. And since the visit, I'm noticed the bees still buzzing around me. One even came in the bathroom when I was brushing my teeth. And it struck me that since I haven't seen a bee, I felt like I moved on somewhat not having my Pop Joe around. But on April 11th, April (my bird who died 7 weeks ago) would have turned 14 on Sunday. And I know, my bird wasn't a particularly huge aspect of my life, like Pop Joe was...but I asked myself..."What will I have when I go back to the States?" I'll get to that answer in a minute. But it feels like I've already lost some aspects of my childhood and how I knew my life back at home. I will admit that has been the hardest thing for me this year...knowing Pop won't be physically around. He will be buzzing around...but still. Pop has just been on my mind a lot, and I've cried recently because I miss him so much. But now to get to my answer: My family and friends will be all be a year older (and hopefully wiser). I have about 6 weeks to transition myself from being in Germany to moving into college. It took a few days to accept this, but I know my life will settle down for the summer...I'll reunit with my friends and family...but no matter some things won't be the same. But I've also tried to figure out, "What will I have gained this year?" The answer to this question could end up to be rather long. I have a host family that I love just as much as my real family. I've had experiences that I wouldn't have never had in the USA. I was pulled out of my comfort zone, which has made me be a bit more open-minded, more sensitive about others, and certainly more resilient. I know I've gained some friends this year that I feel will be my friend for a much longer time after the end of my CBYX year. But the fear in the back of head is...how many of these awesome, or interesting, people will I eventually lose touch with? This has happened to me before...including this year. I feel like I've really learned who my friends are back in the States...but will it be a similar case when I go back? I'm not a fortune teller, a psychic, a meterologist, or God; so I won't be able to find out that answer for a while. But I can sum this up by saying how this my time in that train just gave me another reality check about life. I will never have all the answers to my questions...which I tend to ask quite a bit of them. And you need to depend on other people. At times that's hard, but you do know who's your friend when they pull through for you in the end. I'm definitely confident that I am an independent individual...but I'm always more confident when I have some pals to count on because when I fall, it's a lot less painful when they catch me instead of figuratively falling on the ground. That was a summary of my recent thoughts.

Being back in school has pulled me back from my ecstasy of vacation exploration! But I seriously needed a few days and a lot of sleep to get myself back into my normal routine. Although school is not as thrilling as the break was.

Bis dann!
Matt