Post #45

After nap on Monday, we hung out with Mira and Heather and then all cooked dinner together!

On Tuesday, Benji went to Kindergarten in the morning with Sibylle again. I stayed home and baked some bread! After K, Benji went to Obermarkt to get picked up my Opa. Heather and I were going to spend the afternoon in Mannheim, but it was pretty bad weather, so we didn't end up going. We stayed here, bleached her hair, rode the bikes to buy Moritz a birthday present, and then headed to Neustadt. We bought a DVD-player for her new apartment with Alex and then hung out until Robert got off work. He met us at a pizzeria, which was delicious. After this, we met up with Mathias and hopped on the train to Kaiserslautern for Moritz's birthday evening of fun. On the train, we met his friends Pablo and Anita. We hung out at his new flat for a bit and then headed out on the town for the rest of the night, which was pretty fun. His friend Pablo gave him a coconut with Moritz's face drawn on it for his birthday--weird? When we got back to the flat, Heather and I immediately passed out in our sleeping bags, and the others started putting lotion and cream all over us! Not cool at all!

Wednesday morning, Heather and I took stopped by the fruit store and bought some apples and oranges and then took the trains back to BD. Benji was just returning home from Kindergarten with Klaus when we got there, so then I took him over until nap time. During nap time, all of us slept--Benji, Heather, and myself! Moritz came over in the afternoon after nap to pick up Heather and take her back to Alex's house since he was getting home from the Army the next day. I made dinner for everybody, including Mira, which was our last real family dinner. : [

This morning, Benji went to Kindergarten with Sibylle, and I went to W.TH to help bottle, label, and box a million Rieslings! It was really interesting to be a part of, actually. I haven't done much with the wineries like that since I've been here, so I was glad to be able to do it. I went to the supermarket for the last time afterward to pick up stuff some to bake and cook for dinner tonight. When I got home, I baked two loaves of bread and some brownies. Sib and Benji got back from K and headed to W.TH to get picked up by Opa. My work with Benji is now over! How weird is that?! I've spent the day cleaning my room, packing, organizing the kitchen, baking, and cooking for tonight. Alex, Heather, Robert, and Moritz are on their way over to have dinner and bonfire night since it's my last night.

I can NOT believe this is my last post from my journey. My flight leaves tomorrow morning. Thankfully, Robert is driving me all the way to the Frankfurt airport since tomorrow is a "work-free" day in Germany.

Now on to the emotional part. This has certainly been the best opportunity that I have ever taken in my life. I have absolutely no regrets and have truly found myself as a person. I know who I am, what's important to me, and where I'm headed with my life. I want to thank EVERYONE who had ANY part in this happening--I couldn't have done it without you all. Thanks to all of my friends in Germany for showing me a good time and being here for me. I love you all and promise I will be back as soon as I can. If you ever find yourselves in America and/or Florida, know that you will ALWAYS have a home wherever I may be.

Until we meet again,

Tschüss...und ich liebe euch!