Germany is once again, one of the most comfortable places I can visit. Yesterday the rain finally stopped! I met up with Anne Dusemund, an old friend from ILA, last night. What started as a tad awkward ended up being a fabulous night. Had a little stop at her house, which is so gorgeous in this small town of Rachtig--which they continually keep trying to get me to pronounce correctly... Raccchhhhtig. As always, I felt bad for not being able to communicate fully, but we all made do- lots of jesturing haha. Soon after we arrived, we all walked over to the post-government-wedding party (there is to be another with all the glamor of a church wedding) of her cousin. In the German tradition, we met all the "youth" of Rachtig fully armed with horns, bells, air guns, and an engine (each with his own earplugs or ready set of fingers) to create as much noise and raise enough hell as possible. A lot of the parents smashed plates, pots, cups, anything in front of the couple. Was such a riot! The festivities included a ton of food and a ton of beer until all hours of the morning. Go Rachtig!

Today Anne and I woke up early to sightsee. We drove all around, stopping at gorgeous overlooks of the Mosel, Rachitg, Ürzig, and Berncastle. Had a coke at an old castle/overlook and ate lunch in Berncastle before boarding the boat to Rachtig. Chilly ride, but had great sights and a fun course. Anne and her mom showed me a DVD of the Carnival festivities in Rachtig... really cool dancing! And enjoyed the sun and her mom's garden for about an hour before heading back to Trier. Was such a short time, but such a fun one! Im falling in love with these small German towns... the pictures explain all its beauty and the friendships represent all its fabulousness.

A Rainy Day in Trier

Arrived in Trier at 4:30pm on Tuesday. Melina and her mom Claudia gave me a cute little bear with the German soccer team jearsey on it and a US flag. cute! We then had a 2-2.5 hour drive back to Trier, which was full of stories and lots of rain. My first meal in Germany was at a Chinese restaurant. Haha, but a yummy Chinese restaurant! Then Claudia took us to the grocery store to stock up Melina´s kictchen. We really almost had to tie her down to not buy everything, haha, shes a hoot. Finally got to see Melina´s flat, which is adorable I might say, and day one ended pretty early for all of us.

Yesterday I met up with Raphael and Andy, old friends from Sister Cities. Andy was only around for a bit, since he had to get ready to leave for FW (and there is a train workers strike, so he had to get another train). But our day was pretty full! Raphael took me to a cafe, the Roman baths, and then we met Andy at the ampitheater. Rained the whole time we walked around, but we dodged the heavy spells. The guys were set on trying to find a hot dog for me to have for the 4th of July... but the scarcity soon changed their minds, and we had pizza. We stayed there for quite a while, slow European service haha! Afterwards we walked around Trier a bit, looking at shops... I bought an English version of a German book called The Swarm for my long stay at the airport on the way back. Andy left to go get his bags and get ready... so Raphael and I went to the Porta Nigra and then had some yummy German ice cream in a shop just next to it. When the rain picked up soon after, we took refuge in watching Die Hard (and I saw it in German, too!), which I have to admit, wasnt too bad! We soon saw Andy off at the train station, and we ended our day in a local bar to have a beer. I cannot believe we did so much in one day, but everything in Trier is so close, its easy! The reality of its smallness was so clear, that the guys ran into 2 new ILA participants, and I ran into an SU student-- granted I did know he was there, but I didnt expect to see him! All in all, despite the rain and 50 degree weather, the day was a fabulous one!

Hostel-ville

Dealing with the ridiculousness of yesterday... Erika, Kas, and I are now safely in a hostel. We've escaped the concentration camp of yesterday (our host mother would not let us use the restroom, go into the kitchen, and she took our keys...which made trips across the street to pee an interesting adventure) and finally got a hostel near the ISA office--- thank god for ISA! Now for the discussions today... why the last week of the trip!?

A plus of being in the hostel.... I finally finished my interview for the project. The owner of the hostel was more than happy to fill me in on his opinions of the monarchy--and almost every other aspect of Spanish government haha. But was really interesting and got a few books recommended to me.

Presentation today and IM DONE WITH WORK. Alls left is to repack my things in a semi orderly way and I get to leave for Trier. Im soooooo happy about it!

Trying to enjoy the last day as best I can!