On the Move Again!

So...remember my track record with public transportation?  Well, I gave it yet another shot, as a mere day after I returned to Granada after Morocco, I was leaving for Germany.  We had a week break before classes officially started, and I was taking mine to visit my brother and my friend Laura in Germany.  But a city bus to the bus station, a bus to Malaga, and an airplane stood in the way of my final destination.

My host mom told me the bus stop that would get me to the bus station, and I was off.    On the bus I met two russian girls heading for Malaga.  They invited me to join them for the day, which was perfect because I was staying the night in Malaga because my flight was at 6:55 in the morning.  If I hadn't met these girls I doubt that I would have explored Malaga at all.  Since I had the chance to explore with these girls, I did.  We explored the streets, walking around the cathedral, through a garden, and eventually along the beach.  Around five in the evening I took a taxi to my hotel by the airport, had a shower, dinner, and went to bed.

The plane ride went smoothly, and by ten the next morning I was in the beautiful country of Germany.  Now the last time I had met my friend Laura, I was four.  We know each other from my mom being an exchange student host by Laura's grandmother.  Then Laura's mother, Heidi, was an exchange student and Mom's family hosted her.  In the years that have passed, Mom and Heidi have traveled across the ocean to visit each other, and Heidi's children have stayed with us in the US.  Now my brother is staying with Laura.  From the moment I found my brother, Nathaniel, and Laura at the airport, Laura and I got along famously.

We spent that first day in the city of Colonge, visiting a church, the Döm.  At the Döm, we climbed the 500 and some stairs to the top of the tower, and saw of view of the entire city.  We also explored the city, seeing a few sights, and shopping.  On the whole, I was beyond pleased to be in Germany.  In fact, I really didn't want to leave at all.

It was great to see Nathaniel.  He is my best friend, my side kick, my partner in crime, and when Im not home, one of the things I miss most.  Also, who I talk about more than anyone else.  My classmates in Spain are probably sick and tired of me going on and on about him, but what can I say?  I'm a fan of my brother.  Actually, staying Laura and Nathaniel, and Laura's parents Heidi and Adolf, felt like being home.  I mean, it was different for sure.  But it felt like family.  All through the first day there, everyone was calling me Sternchen (little star), which was what everyone called my mom (whose name is Starr).  I felt loved and cared about, which was heavenly after toughing my way through my first month, feeling impossibly far from everyone I loved and everyone who loved me.

Also, I loved the landscape of Seigen, Germany.  Everything was so green.  The mountains were not so unlike the Adirondack mountains from home.  And it was cold.  In Granada, at this point, it was still quite warm, getting into the low eighties in the afternoon.  But here, in Germany, it was cold and windy and felt like fall.  I even had to wear a jacket!  Imagine that!

Language wise, it was interesting, because I don't know German.  However, when I was little, Mom taught Nathaniel and I some, and I must have remembered more than I thought.  Laura speaks English, Heidi speaks a good amount of English, and Adolf speaks some.  Most of the time, though, when Adolf talked, it was in a mixture of a few English words, and quite a bit of German.  Surprisingly, I usually got the gist of what he was saying.  Also, we met up with Laura's friends from time to time over the course of my visit, and they would speak in German and English.  There, too, I was not nearly as lost language wise as I had expected.  So, even though I can't speak German, sometimes I can understand a bit.  And then I also got inspired to learn German, which I hope to do when I return to Marlboro in January...we'll see.


We hiked in the mountains, explored the city, ate schnitzel and rolls with nutella and Haribu gummy candies.  Also sushi, and it was pretty good sushi.  And Laura and I fell asleep watching a chick flick one night.  It was relaxing beautiful, and as the hours ticked by, closing in on "Good bye", I felt myself wanting to leave less and less and less, and altogether too soon, the time came for me to leave Germany.  As I left, I promised that I would come back, and sealed the promise with a tear.