The Last Day :(

It's 3:20 in the morning and I can't believe in two hours I'm going to be at the Friedrichsafen airport saying my goodbyes to all of my German friends =(. These last three weeks have gone so fast that sometimes I don't have time to blog, which is what happened on Tuesday. I came home early from the kids camp in Austria to go with my fellow FOF students to Ulm. Ulm is a city about an hour away from Friedrichsafen by train. Of course we went shopping there but Ulm has a catherdal that's kwown to be the tallest in the world. It takes 786 steps to reach the top of the catherdal. Annah, Emma, and I walked all the way to the top of the catherdal. It was such a beautiful sight to see all of Ulm and even more beyond the city limits. Then, we walked all the way down the catherdal through winding staircases to reach the ground walking 1,536 stairs total.

That night, fellow FOF students celebrated Annah Waller's 18 birthday. We had delicious food prepared for us set up with a huge table that not everyone could be seated. The night was relaxing as we hung around enjoy the limited time we had left before the Americans depart.

Today was a hectic day as I got last minute packing and shopping finished. I purchased so much chocolate and special pasta for family and friends, then had the task of trying to pack everything in my suitcase to be under 23 kilos. I accomplished the task and Luisa and I went to the Farewell party sponsered by the Peoria Club. A cookout was provided along with dessert to finish our time here in Germany by enjoying the company of others while looking out at Lake Constance for the last time. Later on, a bunch of students were going to a local club to savor the lasting moments of the trip. Many students were going to stay at the club till 4:30 and then go straight to the airport. I stayed till 1:30 planning on staying up till the time came to leave for the airport, which leaves me at the place where I first started this post.

It's a bitter sweet feeling leaving such a beautiful city behind full of culture, history, friends, and memories, yet I'm yearning for my family, friends, and life back home. I feel so blessed to experience this time in Germany and would come back in a heart beat bringing along my fellow FOF freinds and family. I want to say thank you to all who enjoy my blog and followed me through my days in Germany. Also, thank you to those who have prayed for me while I was here. Well, its 4:00 in the morning, an hour till I have to leave and this chapter in my life and start the journey back home. Oh, how I'm so looking forward to sleeping on the sleep. I've been so tired I hope I sleep this time....lol. Thanks again for reading my blog and I hope to see you at the East Peoria Walmart parking lot tomorrow!!!

Day 16 and 17

Only a couple of days left of this wonderful 3 week exprience to Germany! Wow, I still can't believe that the time went by so fast. I got home early from the camping trip today, but while I was there, I had a good time. The camp is held for children ages 8 to 12 from Langenargen to participate for a week in the mountians of Austria. The theme was jungle based off The Jungle Book. To create a fun atomsphere the leaders dressed up costumes as tigers, natives, and lost tourists and painted green ivy and spots on ourselves. Later, we wait for the kids to come of the bus and surprise them with water balloons and squirt guns. The rest of the day consisted of games with the purpose of remembering each other's names.

Today, the kids were given activities to do inside due the rain. I swear every time I'm in Austria, it's always raining in the mountains, which is a bummer. Painting wild animals, creating dream catchers, and making ivery were some of the activities that the kids took part in while I was helping to prepare lunch for everyone. We made homemade pasta with cheese, and boy, was it delicious. And messy too!!

The rain didn't stop me and my host's mother, Susan, from going down to the festival to get some dinner. I had some very yummy food. We later talked to some of her good friends from Langenagen. Everything that I've been part taking in has finally caught up with me and I'm so exhausted. Tomoroow, I'm going to Ulm, a city two hours away by train. The trip should be fun even if the weather is cooperating.!! Night!!

Day 15

The weather was so prefect today that I took the opportunity to go shopping in Constance. I went shopping with Mrs. Ifft and her host and had the greatest time. We drove to Meersburg to park the car and took the boat over to Constance. The view of the lake was so breathtaking I literally swear I was in a dream. The city of Constance is named after the Lake Constance and it's such a neat city, by far my favorite!! So much is offered there such as amazing shopping, food, fun entertainment, and the atomsphere is very lively. As I said, the shopping is amazing so we went shopping then later meeting up with some other FOF students along with their host family to eat lunch at a Turkish restaurant. The food was so yummy. Afterwards, we shopped some more till we had to catch the boat.

Before we went home, we stopped at a cathedral not far from Constance. It turned out that a wedding had taken place and the bride and the groom were outside thanking all of their guests. The bride was very pretty and looked so happy. I can see why when I looked inside the cathedral. Oh my gosh, words can not describe how beautiful the colors, paintings, and architecture was. The walls were covered with various types of angels, which gave the church a sense of protection. I seriously was in awhh for a couple of moments. I'm in the process of planning my wedding to take place in the cathedral but I'm not getting married soon or have the resources to be wed in Germany.......a girl can dream lol.

As usual, the weather gets chilly at night, but that didn't keep the people of Langenargen from attenting a local festival. Festivals are very common in the holiday season so one week after another, festivals are happening. Tonight a fireworks display was going to be shown along with cordinating music. Let me tell you, those fireworks were the best that I've have ever seen and beat out the Peoria Riverfront Fourth of July fireworks. It was such a neat show. For two days, I'm going to be in Austria again helping out a summer camp for kids 9-13. I will not have internet access but will blog as soon as I can. I can't believe we have four days left until we leave for home. It's been such a great time and I can't wait to see everyone at home. Have a great day!!

Day 14

Today started out late in the afternoon due the crazy sleepover the night before! We stayed up late, each falling asleep at various times.....in other words, we were tired!!!! Luisa and I made the trip to Meersburg with a friend of hers. We also met other FOF students. Meersberg is a beautiful, neat town that gathers tons of tourists, such as ourselves, to come view the sight of a medieval castle. The castle was made in 600 A.D. and was created with a wall surrounding the rest of Meersburg in it. We took a tour of the castle, viewing all different varieties of rooms, such as the kitchen, the dungeon, and the royal bedroom. The castle had so much character with all of the different periods of time decorated. Overall, the opportunity to tour a castle with such history was really amazing.

As teenagers, we were getting hungry yet how could we eat from all of the other food we already had. We sat down at an Italian cafe that served coffee and gelato. Emma and I ordered three scopes of gelato and ate all of it!! It was so delicious and different from American ice cream. Sitting right by the lake was so nice and relaxing. Tonight we went to a disco and had a great night. I don't know what tomorrow holds since it's a free day till the farewell party. Can't believe that our time in here Germany is almost up. So many great memories have been made and many more are in store for us!!

Day 12 and 13

I have been so busy that I've haven't been able to blog to my followers at home. When I last left off, the FOF students went to the school muesum on Wednesday. The tour was very infromative on the history of schooling in Germany. The museum talked about how teachers sometime had 100 students in a class and had to teach obedience, reading, writing, and math. Also, the muesum was set up in sections of how the education system developed over time beginning with monks as teachers, corporal punishment being allowed, to the time of the control of Hitler, to what school is today. Overall, the museum was interesting and informative.

It was yet another rainy day so the city rally was cancelled. Instead, the FOF students went to the cathedral in Friedrichshafen. The view inside was absolutely gorgeous with the architecture, paintings, the old wood work, and the sense of calmness. We then walked across town to another church where we had the opportunity to climb the bell tower and view the city. I've recently learned that I'm not the greatest with heights without the moral support of another person. I don't know why I put myself through these kind of things...but oh well, I think it's worth it!!! The climb up was bareable with the stairs stopping every so often. The view at the top of the bell tower was amazing!! The walk down the stairs wasn't but I succeed!! That night, a bunch of FOF students went to a local club in Friedrichshafen to enjoy the night, but were told not to stay out to long due to our trip to Munich tomorrow!!!

The day of traveling to Munich finally arrived! The rain didn't work for our advantage but the trip was still in full swing. Forty, sleepy American and German students participated in the 2 hour bus ride to Munich and was ready to see the beautiful city. When we arrived, we had a tour guide come onto the bus and give us information about the city. The bus stopped at the Nuremberg Castle, which was a beautiful, white castle that gathered many tourists. Later, we were given five hours to enjoy Munich as we pleased. My group ate the Hard Rock Cafe and then went shopping. Our final activity was watching the Glockenspiel clock, which is a clock in the cathedral that rotates dancing figures at the hours of 12, 1, and 5. It was such a neat thing to see.

After we arrived home, a group of girls went over a to a fellow FOF student's house and had a sleepover. The typical sleepover food was provided: chocolate, gummy bears, chips, homemade pizza with corn, and banana juice!!! In the morning, we managed to make german chocolate chip pancakes that were delicious.

The linked worked!!! Ya!! So I'll post it to every blog I make so there's access to it everytime!! Enjoy!!

This is a link to my facbook photo album of Germany.....I don't know if it works... Let's hope!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182123&id=630872665&l=bfbf0ca208.