Host Family

I got my host family this morning! I'm going to be living in Weingarten, Baden-Württemburg, about an hour northwest of Stuttgart. It's really close to France, too! I have a mom, a dad, two sisters, and a brother. I'll be attending the Thomas-Mann Gymnasium in Stutensee, which is about 3 miles away.

They sound absolutely perfect for me! The only thing that disappoints me is the fact that they live almost six hours away from my best friend, but that doesn't mean we won't get to see each other eventually. I emailed them this evening, and can't wait to hear back! It feels great to have an actual destination in mind, rather than just knowing what country I'm going to.

I don't have much yet for host family presents, other than a cutting board in the shape of Michigan. Everything I can think of involves food! I wanted to bring t-shirts though, and knowing who I'll live with makes that a lot easier. Hopefully I'll think of something else soon! I'll also need to get presents for Andreas' sister's family, who will be taking me in for 10 days while my family is on vacation.

Bis dann,
Sarah

Local Pre-Departure Orientation

I'm happy to finally have an update after so long!

I had my Local PDO last weekend in Grand Rapids. There were only seven of us there; I really though there would be more. Apparently the other locations had tons of people, and they took forever. We were ahead of schedule most of the day, and it lasted about five hours. Five of us were CBYX winners, and the other two were going to France and Japan for the summer. We had to do a really weird skit called "Albatross" for our parents at the end. We tried to get out of it by hiding the directions when the people in charge left the room, but it was unsuccessful. It was supposed to be about experiencing different cultures, and how things might not be what you assume, but it was honestly really strange. We had to "speak" in clicks and hums, the women had to be barefoot and sit on the floor, while the men sat in chairs, and at the end we had to pick the girl with the biggest feet ("Ms. Big Feet"). It seemed like the women were "lesser" than the men, but in reality, the ground was holy, and only the women were allowed to touch it. They picked Ms. Big Feet because she touched the most ground. The rest of the day was pretty good. It was great to meet others who will be in Germany with me, and I learned some good information from a guy who just got back from Germany.

This morning I got an email from YFU saying I tested out of the three week language camp orientation, and will instead be attending a five day culture orientation near Hamburg! I didn't think my German was that good, but maybe I just need to be more confident. Because the camp will only be for one week instead of three, my tentative departure date is August 15th, and I'll be staying in a hostel instead of a temporary family. I'm really excited to be near Hamburg, since one of my best friends lives in the area, but it's unlikely that we'll get to see each other during the week. I'll be busy most of the day, and she'll be leaving for a visit to America a few days after I arrive.

I still have no information about a host family, but hopefully it will come soon!

Bis dann!
Sarah