Saturday was a lot of fun in the Haus der Geschichte (House of History) Museum. I had already been there for my Mid-stay, but I chose to do the tour this time in English. And I found the tour to be better in German...probably because I found the German tour guide to be more thorough. I met some of the new exchange students in the area that arrived in February, and reunited with old one from the September group. I had some fond memories of when I as at that point in my year...makes me think how far I've progressed (and how everyone from the September group seems to have grown a bit wiser). And after the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn, we spent an hour in Köln before going back home. I only had enough time to eat ice cream by the time people had made up their mind what to do. After the trip, I got home to eat dinner and then went to a party. It was a fun time...especially since no one understood the slogan on the t-shirt I was wearing.
"Ohh hann isch die Flemm." means "I really don't feel like it (as in no motivation to do something)" in the Saarländisch dialect.Sunday was a gorgeous day. I went to the popular gathering spot; a park called Stadtwald (translation: City Forest). Very nice...and I had a lot of fun hanging out with my classmates...and it's something I noticed I've been missing out on a bit since I've recently been travelling quite a bit.
On Monday, I had a meeting with my German Congress (Bundestag) representative, Otto Fricke. I mixed up the time when our meeting was, so I ended up getting to his house two hours early. I first expected that I'd be going to his office. Instead I got to meet his family and the nanny. I even got to experience of his daily life. Because I got there so early, he invited me to come along when he had to pick his daughter up at school and bring her directly to field hockey practice, which I learned is a popular sport in Krefeld (guys and girls play it). And we chatted in the car. I spoke German and Otto...or Mr. Fricke spoke excellent English. He showed me where he's been in the USA and I lost count of all the places he's seen...certainly more than me (in the USA). Intermediately he had to take care of some business, so I also chatted a bit with his son. They even gave me chocolate milk and some sweets. Overall it was a great meeting and Mr. Fricke said he didn't want to seem intimidating, and I enjoyed spending a part of the my representative's day at home. He and his entire family were extremely genuine and Mr. Fricke invited me to his office in Berlin when I'm there for my End of Stay camp in Berlin in June. So I'll be looking forward to that. And after the meeting, Mr. Fricke drove me home, and then I had to get ready and off to fencing.
Tuesday was another nice day. School felt like eternity. I met up with Lucka after school. We shared some great points of what we've done this year, how we feel like we've changed, and potential fears about the end of the year approaching so quickly. I'm going to add my opinion to that in a little bit.
Wednesday. I lucked out with only 3 periods of class. And I watched Das Boot with Claude. The movie was very interesting to see how the living conditions really were in a German U-boat. I felt like I saw a human aspect to the Germans in the U-boat. I mean...the Germans were the "enemy" in the war, but they are still human and reconcile with their reputation up to this day. Just made me think..."War is really tragic, and I feel like everyone suffers." We watched the short version that was 3.5 hours, and I felt like it was never going to end when they were just in the U-boat not doing anything exciting...waiting to hear the slightest signal of a ship in their area. That's what war seems to be...a waiting game that you don't know how long will last. I think that's basically how we feel about what's going on in the Middle East now.
But I figured I'd end this with a thought that came to me today. A fellow CBYXer posted on their Facebook status "72". Several other CBYXers realized it stood for how many days we have left. Well, we all signed a contract saying that we would fly home on that day...so I don't feel like it's worth stressing over that fact since I don't have any control over it. But that doesn't mean I can't try to have as much fun and a memorable time as possible! I'm sure these upcoming weeks will fly by, like I've mentioned and noticed myself, but the phrase is "Time flies when you're having fun." So I'll be able to stay I had fun and had the "time of my life" all the way to the end of a year abroad that I will never forget!
From Thursday to Sunday, I'm participating on a sort of "pilgrimage" where I'll be walking a total of 75km (46.6 miles) towards Trier. We will be taking a bus for a portion of the way. I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but Marie-Claire said she had a great time last year and is looking forward to this one! I'll have to trust her on this one. :-D And plus...I've driven, taken the train, and flown to somewhere, but I haven't walked quite this far before...
Where I've Been 2009-2010 auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen
And just a quick tidbit of my weekend: I woke up on Saturday and Sunday with a bee in my room. And on Monday, there were two bees in the bathroom. And additionally, I do enjoy seeing all the bees in the garden and spring time in general!
Schönes Wochenende!
Matt
P.S. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! And Happy (90th) Birthday, Pop Bob!! Love you guys!
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