I began my day like any other in the life of Dylan (drinking coffee), but this coffee is special because it's authentic Italian yet doesn't cost $3 per cup and come with a green straw if you drink it iced (don't worry I still like Starbucks). I was also greeted this morning with delicious croissants and the option to cut them in half and smear them with either honey or American peanut butter. On a sadder note, while I was eating breakfast my host family was reeling from the terrorist attack in Nice, France the night before, and it was very interesting to hear a European perspective regarding such an important geopolitical topic in the modern world. At about 7:30 AM after my host mother packed me a sandwich just in case I was hungry again before lunch (we have a lot of food here), my host brother Philip and I rode to school on our bikes. It's a beautiful commute as we first rode through the quaint streets of Lauchringen and then down a gravel path alongside a river and surrounded by farms. In Germany riding a bike to school or work is a lot more common than in America, and there were so many bikers clogging the bike paths this morning that I'm fairly certain they were more congested than the streets.
Due to a special field trip just for the teachers my exchange partner's only class today was English (lol), and we watched a movie about American racism and discussed whether America is a melting pot or a salad bowl. After English class, I went with Philip to work on a group presentation about aluminum in his school's cafeteria. It didn't take long for them to finish because apparently their geography class (I don't know why they learn about aluminum in geography) is very easy. Afterwards I played a card game with my exchange partner and his friends (I don't want to say what it's called because I'm not sure if I can use swear words in this blog), but it was a lot of fun!
Once we were done playing cards, my exchange partner and I rode our bikes back to his house and ate bratwurst and salad for lunch. When we were almost done eating, Philip's neighbor stopped by and handed his mother three boxes of Lindt chocolate since their roof was being repaired and the construction was making a lot of noise. I thought the chocolate was amazing and apparently it's not as expensive here as it is in America.
At around 2 PM many academites and their German exchange partners went bowling at a local bowling alley called KingPin which is surprisingly owned by Brunswick. Going bowling in Germany is exactly the same as bowling in America but we all had a great time even though some of us Americans seemingly forgot that we're supposed to knock down at least one of the pins (myself definitely included lol).
After bowling for an hour and a half, Philip and I met Maeve and her exchange partner at a mini golf place in Waldshut. Maeve and I found this course to be VERY challenging as the golf balls were as smooth as ping pong balls, each hole was made of concrete instead of turf, and obstacles such as the one shown above took a lot of skill to master. Considering how difficult each hole was and how far out of the way the balls were flung, I was surprised that none ended up in the Rhine River which borders the mini golf.
For dinner my host mother cooked a meal with beef and traditional German pasta, and we also ate salami and French cheese (I think this is the best cheese I've ever had) which are shown in the photo posted above. Also in the photo is a drink called Apfelschorle which is a mix of half apple juice and half sparkling water that's very popular throughout Germany.
Shortly after dinner, my host family took me to a local ruin called Kussaburg which is a castle that was constructed in the 12th century. It was interesting to see such an old castle in its untouched (albeit decaying) form. The walls are crumbling and the wood on the draw bridge is rotting, but it felt so authentic to me to be able to walk into the castle without passing through a gift shop or a visitors center or even a turnstile. The castle is simply sitting on top of a small mountain and all are welcome to walk up and explore. When we began walking through the ruins I found Katia and her host family exploring the old castle too and taking in the stunning views of the valley below.
(This photo was not edited in any form)
Today was a great day for everyone as we had a lot of time to spend both with each other and our host families. I think we're all excited to sleep in tomorrow because it will be Saturday (even my exchange partner knows TGIF), and tomorrow my host family is taking me to Freiburg which I heard is a beautiful city. I would like to thank Luke for his shoutout to me (I hope this blog met his high expectations), and I can't wait for Luke Amen's blog post tomorrow.
Ciao! (It's a German word too)
Dylan Chase
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