Naked Lady Gummies

(Note: Click on the pictures to make them bigger.)

I first need to apologize that it has been embarrassingly long since I have posted.

I can't believe it! I'm 18 years old! It really is crazy, and really special for many reasons. First being, that 18 year-olds here in Germany (Europe) are full-fledged adults. It is nice. The second being, of course, how many Americans get to say they spent their 18th birthday in Germany?! My host family threw me a nice little party. It was a pretty good time. I got a lot of nice presents: a bottle of Jägermeister (which I am not really fond of, but hell, I'm 18!), Lindt chocolates, a novel called Der Schwarm, a fake rose, real roses, and naked lady gummies.

I am very well adjusted here in Gr0ß-Gerau. It really is a nice, simple town. The people at school are great. School for these students is quite a bit different, and the most noticeable difference is in the difficulty. I go to what is known as a Beruflisches Gymnasium. It is special because it is more geared toward job training, but it isn't a trade school. The students will still have an Abitur, a final test, like other Germans going to a regular Gymnasium, but will have more career-interest related subjects.

I am very glad I finished high school in the United States. There is a lot of pressure here. If you want to go to college, you have to decide so early, and work very hard at it. There is some changing of schools, meaning kids can decide later to go to college and go to the proper school for it later. But, this often isn't the case. There are plenty of kids at my school who have known for a long time that they aren't going to college at all. That, to me, is a scary thought. I'd find it hard to go to school everyday, knowing for sure I am not going to college... even community college. But here it is different. Job training and getting work, for those not great in school, is all the rage. I really like the teachers and, of course, my classmates. I've made plenty of acquaintances, and some pretty good friends as well.

I am very excited thought to start my internship. Dunno where it is, or exactly what... but I hate the thought of still being in school! I just graduated! Can't wait to be out.

I've done so many cool things the past three weeks. I went to a festival in a town called Neuss. This festival, called Neußer Bürgerschüßenfest, was originally for the town to show off it's protection; it's guard, police, military. Now it is just a nice parade for marching bands, and traditional costumes. It was pretty exciting. One of the bands had a marching oboe. Epic fail.

Afterward, we had some kind of very tasty, very warm apple cake. A band was in there having lunch together, and randomly decided to start playing. It was awesome.

Also, I went to Frankfurt for a festival called Museumsuferfest. Originally a party where the museums stay open super late or all to enjoy, it is now a party along the river where food, drink, mini bar, and dance stands all set up and make party. :-) The museums still stay open late, but they aren't the main attraction. The majority of the river side in the city is lined with these stands, and is packed with tons of people.

This week, I went hiking in a town called Rüdesheim. It is a major tourist attraction city. Very old school German charming buildings line the Rhein's river side, and there are lots of shops and restaurants. Our hike wasn't through the town, but a couple hundred meters above it, in the hills near all of the grape vines which supply the grapes for the very famous wine made there. We went on a 10 km long hike. It was really a ton of fun. So much to see... The areas along the Rhein are really beautiful.Anyhow, here you can see a mini cruise boat looking ship. It is a Rhein river cruise. In German they call them Hotelschiffe or Hotel ships. Even though it isn't really a new concept... cruises have been around forever... it looks like SO much fun... Granted it is for older people mostly, my host dad says. Even so, it is surely a great way to see the length of the Rhein, which at night, can be breathtakingly beautiful.


I need to apply to college again soon. I can't believe that even when I go home next year, my life won't be the same at all!

I'll post more pictures of my town and my room when I take them. I will probably go take some of the downtown all lit up tonight. It is so picturesque.

Frankfurt is awesome. It is like my own private German-speaking piece of New York. I really enjoy going there and feeling like a big city dweller.

I think that's it for now. There will be posts more often now that I am used to the swing of things. I move to my final host family in about ten days! Then I can finally relax, unpack, and finally feel like I've arrived!

As always you can see more pictures on my Facebook!