Donnerstag, 21. Juli

Hello! Today was the last day that we spent with our Austausch partners in Germany. The day was kind of bittersweet as we attended our classes and went to school with our partners for the last time (although some didn’t go to school and went swimming in the Rhine river with their partners). I attended French class with my partner Isabel, where there was a small end-of-the-year party for them. We had delicious croissants and crepes that the teachers and students made right in the classroom, and then all of the class, including Jordan, Maeve, Eden, and I played this game called Promo Raten (a game kind of like 20 questions). After only 2 hours of school, Isabel and I biked home, where we chilled and watched a couple of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy together.

Breakfast! 

During the afternoon, we started making food for the going-away party (Abschiedsparty). After Isabel and I went grocery shopping in the Innenstadt, where I got to walk the streets of Tiengen one last time, we made mini pizzas, flamkuchen, and bruschettas from fresh baugettes (I won’t ever get over how good their bread is here).

Making mini baugette pizzas for the party!

The going-away party had amazing food, and all the American students sat together with our German partners and chatted as if we’d all been friends for years. The Academy kids took turns giving speeches and thanking our respective host families and the teachers that accompanied us during the exchange, as well as sharing a new favorite German word that they learned on this trip. Mine was “Fleischkaseweckle” – which was a name for a sandwich roll with meat and cheese on it. Others shared colloquial phrases and favorite phrases in Alemanisch, which was the local dialect. After the speeches, we ate food, listened to music, hung out with each other, and took pictures (thanks Meg!). 

Party! 

The food was delicious!

Leaving was hard. It didn’t really hit me (or any of us, really) until the bus rolled up at 9:30 PM that we were leaving our  partners, our families, and the German friends that we’d made during these two weeks. I'd only met Isabel and my host family two weeks ago, but it felt as if I'd been with them for much, much longer. We all lingered around the bus, but no one was willing to get on because we couldn’t bear the thought of leaving. Tears were shed and many hugs were exchanged. 

Eden and Hannah hugging goodbye

Maeve and her partner Caroline, reluctant to leave each other <3

It’s amazing to think of how much German language and culture we’ve learned in this short span of two weeks, but it’s even more incredible to think of how familiar our host families and Austausch friends have become to us. I’ve had many moments when everything has clicked. I’d be biking to school or be eating dinner out in the backyard, or find myself slipping into German conversation with my host family without even thinking about it, and for a moment, I’d be completely at ease. Suddenly, it’s almost as if we’ve always lived this way, with our incredibly loving families, and surrounded by quiet, winding streets and beautiful rolling hills. Staying with our Austausch partners, attending our Gymnasium classes, and going on our field trips definitely gave us wonderful experiences that broadened our horizons and helped us feel as involved in German life as possible.

Thanks to Frau Haidorf, Herr Stihl, Herr Axel, and all of our Austausch partners for making our exchange experience so great. I’m definitely sad to leave my Austausch family and friends, but I’m also very excited to keep traveling with our Academy class for the next week. Hamburg, Lbeck, and Berlin, we’re coming for you! But first—onto the night train. J

Maeve is ready. 

Heather trying to get in that last-minute arm workout (her suitcase broke)