What I Will Miss

After being here for two weeks we have all become accustomed to the way our Germans live their day to day lives, and there are many things I will miss about the city and the German culture.

I will miss waking up at 6:30 am and seeing that the sun is already up. It makes it feel as if I have been asleep forever instead of just the few short hours that I have been getting. I will miss looking at the art on the walls at our school. Every wall is covered with clay sculptures or drawings done by the students that often depict social issuses or showcase their creativity. I will miss the independance that the public transport offers to you and watching the diversity of people interact all around Berlin, a city of 3.5 billion people. I will also miss sitting in the car, a standard car (the more popular option here), as Amelie's mom drives, and marvaling at the fact that I have not seen a car accident yet despite how seemingly crazy the drivers are. I will not necessarly miss this but it will be different to go home and not see people smoking everywhere or people drinking beer on the streets, transport, and parks. I will miss the graffiti all over the city and the cute little German houses on the cobblestone streets. I will miss the small cars and how they have to all squeeze into parallel parkng spots at night. I will miss the adventures around the city that the Germans lead us on daily. A special thank you to Ricardo (Jacob's German) for making sure we stay on schedule and do not get lost. I will miss walking into Amelie's living room and seeing her family sitting around the TV watching the European Cup games while cheering and booing. Lastly I will miss opening my window before I go to sleep (because there is no air conditioning) and listening to the cars and people going past my house.

This experience has exceeded any and all expectations I had. Amelie's family has been so welcoming and even tryed to convince me to stay another week. Living the life of a German for two weeks has been awesome (a word that Amelie learned in America and enjoys using). I cannot imagine having spent these weeks doing anything else and I would not trade them for anything. It is difficult to get across in a blog all that I have experienced and learned from the Germans and the culture, but one thing I know for sure is I will miss this city and cannot wait to return one day (hopefully soon).

See you soon Arkansas.

P.S. I just learned that I cannot bring back my stash of Kinder Eggs (even in my checked bag) because I could get fined. Nevermind I don't think I am comming back to America.